Monty's Double

Andreas, if you are ever travelling North (and why you'd need an excuse to get out of that hell-hole we call a capital God only knows), there's a little village called Saxton where you'll find a pub called the Greyhound. They serve (or used to when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, OK a giant mutant grasshopper if you're being picky), Sam Smith's finest from oak casks kept behind the bar. That's because the pub is 400 years old and has sunk into its own cellar (they had to shore up the wall in the ladies' loos because the bodies from the graveyard next door were starting to poke through the wall. Delightful place, give it a try if you get chance. It's only 5 miles from the Towton battlefield, which is worth a quick look, and 10 miles from York, which is worth a much longer one. PS Isn't the reason Dandelion's drunken Marine friend refused to call the Army Royal because it isn't. Can't remember why, might be to do with the Civil War.

OK Jason, maybe I should qulify that remark; it isn't gamey on medium to large maps with plenty of time for the game. As ever, the best thing to do is to talk to your opponent beforehand.

Wasn't the whole point of adding the pre-barrage feature so you could do just that? And wasn't it added because that's exactly what happens in war? In George Blackburn's Guns of War he often talks about calling in fire on forming up points for German attacks. When I set up an attack, I always disperse my forces, on the assumption that a pre-barrage might be in the offing. In fact sometimes I set up a few half squads or a light tank in full view of the defenders just to try and provoke such a thing. After all, the defender can hardly afford to waste points on a barrage that doesn't cause major casualties, or slow up the attack.

Woo hoo! I finally get to recreate the scenario where my grandfather blew himself up at Salerno (he survived by the way). Pass the Bangalore torpedo Terence! Italy and Crete will be awesome. Let's just hope they fix the firing rate for off-map 25-pounders.

Ask my PBEM opponent...

Don't listen to him, he's just making excuses because he can't face the thought of the colossal waves of TNT I'm going to hurl his way the moment he buys it. He even went to the trouble of moving from Beeston out to Long Eaton because he knew there were no software shops out there. Maggot.

Impressive lurking sir, I salute you. Ryo, your elders and betters have it right. Just like most company commanders in WWII, you have no control over the fly-boys. Keep the sound up and you'll start to hear buzzing as they get closer. When they attack all you'll see is a shadow on the ground, but by tracking it and clicking enemy units under the flightpath you can get a target line to see what they are dropping their stuff on. Air support tends to be pretty random, and most players don't use it much in QBs; it's best for scenarios.

Several ways round this. Most simply, check what map size you have, as if you pick "small", you tend to get long, narrow maps. Go for medium or large and see if that helps. Alternatively, go into the scenario editor and increase the dimension of the map until you are happy, then click auto-generate. Save the map in the QB map folder without adding units and then import when you launch a QB. If you are playing against a human opponent you might want to generate a few maps and let them pick. You can also import maps from the scenarios, and these can be great fun as then are more "sculpted". This is the only way to get rivers and bridges into a QB. Edited because I did the morning feed. [ March 20, 2003, 04:11 AM: Message edited by: Monty's Double ]

Don't get me wrong, playing against the AI is still fun, especially in well-designed scenarios. The AI does best when it has lots of set up options; when it's presented with an obvious line of attack it usually takes it (as opposed to pushing a diversionary force down to flush out the defenders, that a human might try). As to the comment about opening up late, that depends on a lot of factors. To win as the defender you don't have to kill much, you just have to hold the flags. I like to use a handful of units (HMGs, mortars firing through an HQ, sharpshooters etc) to open up at long range and slow down the enemy's advance. They can even be used to draw barrages if they are well spaced. Infantry squads are best saved until closer, I agree, but even then there are exceptions. I've seen company-sized assaults drop and call in arty on a couple of half squads that fired a few rounds and bugged out. I try and used a layed defence where possible, as it slows down the attacker and makes him rush his final assault. That's the plan anyway, I'm not claiming it works!

Playing against the AI is like playing a poker player who never bluffs. The secret to beating it is to use its predictability against it, unlike playing a human, where there's a huge amount of bluff and double bluff. The kicker for a lot of us is that what worked in CMBO won't always work in CMBB, because of the added sophistication and options. For example, in CMBO when you assault a flag placed in woods, you can guarantee the AI will have put his AT guns in there, so you drop HE all over it and saunter up. Try that in CMBB and you'll find your tanks taken out by the guns in the trenches you hadn't spotted. Beating the AI is about careful planning and always playing the safe odds, which is why ultimately it can become a little stale. Playing a human opponent forces you to think creatively, and that's something that never loses its appeal.

Soddball would tell you that everything is covered in his FAQ, but I was plumbing in a sink yesterday and couldn't find anything helpful at all. You'll also find plenty of threads debating whether arty is "broken" in CMBB, but I don't remember anything specifically addressing using arty for defensive purposes. What's pretty much beyond doubt is that the huge leadtimes on heavy (especially Soviet) arty mean that it's not much use in defensive QB's unless you get to see the map first and can plan prep barrages. If you can check the map beforehand then heavy arty might be worth considering if there are obvious funnel points for the attacker. That said, a human opponent will probably spot them too and try and time his attack to frustrate your plans. Light arty is more responsive, and might be worthwhile, especially if you can see your opponents jumping off points for the final assault (only in infantry games, obviously). Where VLs are in trees, you might even consider letting him occupy them and then dropping 81mm mortars and counterattacking him off them. Generally speaking though, light arty won't kill that many men, its main value is to disrupt and break up attacks. Given the choice I'd generally spend the points on DF HE-chuckers and heavy machine guns. Oops, edited to add TRPs. These can make those out-of-LOS funnel points much more vulnerable. However, beware casualty settings; in a current PBEM I lost my 76mm spotter to the 10% casualty setting, leaving me with a TRP that seemed as useful as a beermat. Still, my opponent was thoughtful enough to drive a halftrack over it at high speed, amply demonstarting the accuracy bonus TRPs give to dug-in guns. [ March 03, 2003, 08:37 AM: Message edited by: Monty's Double ]

Nope, Mods don't change the game data one scintilla, so for example, a camo pattern mod doesn't help your tank hide. You could mod all your tanks bright pink and it wouldn't change how they are spotted a bit. You might get some funny looks mind.

The mods are just graphic "skins" rememeber. The unit data is hardcoded so you can't change it. How come you are having trouble getting hold of CMBO?

I'm with CombinedArms that split squads assaulting are very brittle, so the advantage you'd get from flanking is outweighed by the reduction in firepower and morale. When attacking I sometimes split a team from each platoon and put them under the Co. HQ to create a reserve platoon, usually the B suads as they are less useful in assault and better for holding locations against counterattacks. I use split squads in defence for forward spotting, and occasionally as sacrificial "roadblocks". In a PBEM at the moment a single half squad has held up two PzIII's and a reinforced platoon for over 4 turns. They are in a foxhole, so he's having a tough time winkling them out with 50mm guns, and he is nervous about rushing them because he doesn't know where the rest of the platoon is.

Sorted it thanks, not quite sure how, but a little "jiggling" seems to have fixed it.

Just upgraded and every time I try and load the game it tells me to eject and reinsert the CD. I'm using the CDV version. Anybody help, my PBEM opponents are getting itchy. Jim

The Glider EP was my favourite, though Loveless was storming too. Pity about the home counties shoegazing foppery they spawned. Chapterhouse were just about passable (sorry Russ), but there really was no excuse for Slowdive.

No it doesn't have one in CMBO, that's why it's so much harder to spot. For more PIAT hilarity read Gearge MacDonald Fraser's account of using one against fleeing Japanese troops - in boats! The book is called "Quartered safe out here".

Too lazy to DO A SEARCH, but I seem to remember Steve replying to this one, to the effect that the radio cars are just for historical completeness, they don't do anything in the game. Could be wrong tho.

Walpurgis I'm quite aware of Stalin's record on human rights - Churchill's comment about making favourable references to the Devil if Hitler invaded Hell pretty much sums up my view on Uncle Joe. However, that doesn't change the thrust of my arguement that a figure like Stalin is equivocal - he's associated with many things, some good some bad. The fact that many still see him as the saviour of their country doesn't alter his crimes, but it does put them in perspective. Somebody choosing to associate themself with Stalin could at leats make a case they were associating primarily with the positive things he did - someone making the same association with Heydrich is on pretty thin ground. At the end of the day, the fact that many people, especially in Europe, find Nazi associations unsettling if not downright offensive should be respected. It does noone any harm to recognise that, and apologise if you cause offense, even if you did so innocently.

Mealy-mouthed rationalising bollocks. There's a world of difference between a name that is at best equivocal (Rommel, Galland) or humorous (Stalin's Organ), or at worst dubious (KG Pieper etc) and picking a name that seems almost calculated to cause offence. Heydrich is associated with one action and one alone: that of the massacre of six million people. And saying "hey, what the Nazis did was no worse than the Romans, you're just sensitive because it was on Discovery last night" is veering pretty close to revisionism in my book. PS To the original poster: possibly dubious username choice aside, welcome to the forum. I'd respectfully suggest you'll get more help with using Russian tanks if you post in a slightly less hysterical way. CMBB is a beautifully crafted simulation, and the vast majority of problems you'll encounter are part of that simulation. That said, there's a healthy amount of discussion over whether BFC have got their sums right in some areas. Well informed opinions on the subject are always welcome. [ February 03, 2003, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Monty's Double ]

Dammit man, do some work. While you were busy shooting your mouth off I was checking my facts. Having done so I can confidently declare: "DO A SEARCH!" Here's a free one to get you started: t34 armour thread number 84,306

Snake Eyes. While you're absolutely right on the real reload time, I suspect the times modelled in CMBB are for playability, rather than a mistake. If the game reloads were 10 mins plus, I'd guess this forum would be plagued with "my Sturmkitty is broked, BTS please fix or somefink" threads. Since CM models "compressed" action, the 3 minute reload feels about right.

I set up a game against the AI to try out trench effectiveness, with a load of light guns, AT rifles and MGs against lots of light armour and infantry (steppe and open, small hills). Just my observation, but it looked like the guns didn't get quite as much cover as the MGs, and I had 2 guns KOed without crew casualties. I'm guessing the AI was modelling damage to the guns in these cases (morale was no worse than Shaken, I'm sure). Also, although things started well, suddenly the AI withdrew, put down smoke and blow me if he didn't do a flank charge. Now that made me think; trenches look straight, but are they coded to include zig-zags, to prevent enfilading (correct me if that's not the right term) fire?

And in case it isn't obvious from that rather excellent article, the reasons you won't find too many in QBs: 1. With rarity on they are massively expensive. 2. They aren't particularly accurate, and the reload time is vast. 3. They bog like buggers. Still, a great fun addition, especially for premade scenarios. Oh yes, and before somebody else points it out, they actually saw more action on the Western front than the Eastern one, so they should have been in CMBO. Does anyone have the link to the video of one firing, I can't find mine.