Rocky Balboa

Do you mean too complicated for the players to understand or too complicated to code?

Here’s a new idea to consider. Give leaders with a +1, or +2 rating the ability to issues a strict order timer that last for 60 secs. This strict order can only be used once(+1) or twice(+2) during the mission and when under the timer, the unit follows its orders to the letter with no self preservation checks. To qualify the unit receiving the strict order timer must be in the chain of command of the ordering HQ and must remain in C2 with the ordering HQ during the entire timer period. To issue the strict order timer the HQ/Leader moves into C2 with the unit to receive the order. The player presses the strict order button and targets the receiving unit. Using this strict order timer an important leader can possibly effect the out come of a battle by being in the right place at the right time. I realize a new command like this is not possible for this release of the game but might be considered for the future. Would anyone else like to see key leaders play a more pivotal role on the Cm battle field?

I would try to PM or contact the camp creator. In this case that would be BF but some of the beta testers did a few of the stock campaigns. I think its a reasonable request to have the campaign maps included as QB's in the next module ... What say you BF?

Here's something to try when this happens: Lets say your squad is behind a hedgerow and a Panther is in the open 100M from your position and your doggies open up on it. First of all you should have a bazooka and a 100m shot is worth taking because you might immobilize or even damage the gun or better yet make the crew dismount. After firing for 30 seconds to a minute, split off your AT team if you have one, and disengage 1 action spot behind the bocage, this will cause the Panther to lose sight of your squad. Now move the squad in one direction Parallel to the headgerow (25M-50M) and your AT team in the opposite direction but maybe a little farther so he can get a flank shot on the Panther. Now have your squad move back up to the bocage and engage the Panther, Give the AT team a slight pause so that the squad can start firing and distract the Panther. Now move the AT team up to the bocage and if you've timed it correctly you may have a decent flank shot with your AT team. If this doesn't work rinse and repeat but keep changing positions so the Panther has to take time to reacquire the target. Remeber your doggies are squishy but they are more mobile than the kitty. If your in this position and you have no AT assets then run like heck and curse the scenario maker for making a mission where your faced with armor but have no AT assets. you can even send him a PM and tell him what you think of his scenario. If its a QB and you forgot to purchase any AT assets then you have no one to blame but yourself ... Okay I guess that about covers it.

No simulation is perfect just as no model based soley on historical account will be perfect. The point here is which will be less perfect? It's a very iffy thing to model based on historical account because you have to code using all kinds of abstractions so that it feels the way someone thinks it should feel. BFC decided to take the route of letting the numbers tell the story and I find it refreshing. Could or did the numbers vary? Of course I'm sure they did, but how much? As BFC moves forward, if it can be proven that armor quality or shell propellant varied greatly from the same tank model of the same design then I'm sure they can build in some variability to their base numbers. Of course when you do this then you are engineering more chaos into your simulation which is exactly the thing you are arguing against. The nasty thing about chaos is that you must be willing to accept the good results with the bad.

I'm not discounting completely the combat accounts but I can assure you that those combat accounts varied probably more so than the quality of armor from tank to tank coming off the assembly line. Human recollection is a feeble thing to depend on. I'm sure you've heard the big fish story that got larger and more elaborate every time it was told. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle but closer to the mathematical side of things because numbers don't lie and I think BFC has got it nailed pretty tight unless someone can prove they have the numbers wrong as was done recently with the Tiger oblique firing angle.

This may be the way area fire with mortars work but if you have targets then there is no need for area fire. A good German hedgerow defense will normally include some dug in MG's which can make it difficult for Infantry to acquire fire superiority. The direct fire mortar is excellent for dealing with this. I normally hold them back behind the PLT until the MG's open up and are spotted. I then move the mortar up so he can direct fire on the MG's. The MG's are normally too busy shooting at the doggies to notice the mortar setting up and the next thing you know he's got a major headache to deal with. Tanks are also useful in this way as well.

You can do this now by splitting off a 2 man scout team. Give the mother squad a restricted firing arc and let the scout team spot and snipe. I do this a lot when in defense as I place scouts out in front of my MLRS. Most good defenses are set up this way ....

Backing it up with combat records isn't useful because of the way the armor is modeled and that's why its a simulation. Each tank is model according to its real world armor thickness/slope and armor quality at every point. Each AP round is modeled according to its engineered capabilities. Flight ballistics are modeled as the round is fired and travels to target. If all of these things are accurate then you should have a very close approximation of the real world capabilities of these tanks not someones recollection or opinion on how they behaved. IMO this makes CMBN much more realistic than any game I've seen or played.

I don't have a problem with my infantry firing at tanks and giving away my position because I take the time to set short covered arcs to prevent this from happening. I play mostly WEGO so I have the time to do it but I can imagine it being a pain have to micromanage so much when playing RT...

You may also find that your 60mm mortars are more effective in this scenario using direct sighting instead of indirect. Suppress the enemy hedgerows as much as possible with tanks and infantry, then move your mortars up to your hedgerow and let them fire directly at the opposite hedge.

Give it some more time, the games only been out a month and good quality battles, especially campaigns (which encompass several battles), can take a while to research and create. Meantime if you've exhausted all the missions shipped with the game then try playing tiny/small QB's.

use the pause command. Issue your direct fire command then give a 30 sec pause followed by a move order to the same action spot you currently occupy. Also make sure you re-deploy your mortar at the destination location. This will effectively have your mortars fire for 30 secs instead of the full minute ..

Someone just did a mod that makes the icons for forts 75% smaller than the unit icons, this should help with the problem if I understand the OP correctly. As for having my units bunched up in the setup zone, that doesn't bother me at all. I remember back in the day, before you could even begin playing any table top wargame, you would have to spend at least a few hours or even a full day just sorting and setting up your counters. And no matter how careful you were when you put the game away the pieces never stayed in those little plastic trays with the plastic lids. The next time you got it out you had to sort everything out again. Just amazing what we whine about today

Looks like your trying to mod the demo. I wouldn't be surprised if thats not allowed ...

Go to the link below and download the gridded terrain mod. http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=select&id=43 Create a Z folder in your CM:BN Data folder and unzip the mods contents into the Z folder. Start your game and you should see the gridded terrain. To turn it off you will need to exit from CMBN and remove the mod from your Z folder.

Go to the link below and download the gridded terrain mod. http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=select&id=43 Create a Z folder in your CM:BN Data folder and unzip the mods contents into the Z folder. Start your game and you should see the gridded terrain. To turn it off you will need to exit from CMBN and remove the mod from your Z folder.

Actually the 60MM mortar was designed to be used in direct fire mode as well as indirect, so it functions as both in game. The way I use them in direct fire mode is to hold them back until I have achieved fire superiority with my rifle squads then I bring the 60's up and let them finish the job while my squads maneuver. They are especially effective at taking out AT/Inf guns and MG positions.

FMB, Thanks to you and BB for the cleaner version. Glad to see it .... I'm currently in the middle of your campaign but if I load the new version, will that cause any problems? I'm guessing not since it sounds like only the text was modified but I thought I would ask anyway.

I listened to some of the files and they should really increase the dramatic/immersive effect. I can't wait to try them in game. You've done a great job but I may try and record some alternate voices to go along with this. Thanks for your hard work. The best part about this mod for me is when I''m playing the US side I have a problem telling if its one of my guys that got hit or one of the Germans because the screams sound the same.

No, it wasn't an assault command it was a quick move as I recall. If the SL is the only soldier to carry smoke then that's understandable and should be that way but if that's the case then all teams should have the pop smoke command disabled (except for the one that has the SL) ... shouldn't they?

Try putting troops in that tower and see how long they last. In a recent scenario, the Germans where positioned in just such a tower and I took them out very easily with small arms fire from about 200 meters away. I think BF needs to look at the protection given to troops by buildings because it doesn't seem quite right IMHO. I'm glad to see the tower holds up and doesn't collapse easily but logically it should also provide superior cover to troops as well.

I notice this weekend as I was playing FMB's excellent Devils Descent campaign. I split a squad to create an assault team then had my assault team bound forward being over watched by the squad. When the assault team reached its destination it started receiving a large volume of fire so I hit the pop smoke button to try and withdraw. Much to my surprise the squad in over-watch actually popped smoke and not the team. Is this a bug or working as intended? It makes sense that all teams don't carry smoke so that's understandable but shouldn't the UI disable those buttons/commands for the team if they don't carry smoke? Perhaps this is something that can be looked into for the UI revamp.

You can put the .bmp's in their on folder within the Data\Z folder or you can put all the .bmp's in a .brz file using the BFC mod tools.

Agreed, some terrain is harder to differentiate than others. There is discussion in another thread concerning some type of visual clue from the UI for blocked terrain. Since changes to the UI are not likely to happen anytime soon, I would suggest you make this post in the Mod forum. A good modder can tweak the terrain to make it easier to distinguish.