Erwin

"Or you can just take the little bit of effort..." What? Are you crazy or a communist terrorist, or something...?

Well, he is working for free, like all mod and scenario designers, so...

+1 to that...

I think we WEGO fans simply enjoy replaying scenes so we get to enjoy the graphics and amazing action - like enjoying great movie scenes. I can't imagine playing a battalion-sized scenario in RT and having much of a clue as to what is going on (unless you pause all the time, and then what's the point?). It's ironic... When CM1 was first released I thought playing RT vs a human via tcp was the only way to play and I could not stand PBEM. But, I think as scenarios became larger, I abandoned RT and have played PBEM exclusively for the last 8+ years. Perhaps also age makes the wrist-twitch element of RT play just too stressful as well.

I thought the German assault on Chérencé-le-Roussel was the final battle. You are sayong there are 6 battles PLUS the woods scenario which is an optional 7th when you choose it?

Wargaming as a whole is great for analytical thinking training, I agree... I can't play anything this week, but if you can wait till December plz feel free to send the playtest scenario. If you're in the US have a good TG.

Ditto. In WEGO one has the time to locate units and there are so many other issues that imo do a much better job of causing irritation and wasting players' time. (Maybe in RT, the icon issue is more of a biatch?)

About 25 minutes into the 70 min final scenario #5. This has been a fun campaign with some surprise scenario situations. However, as I am a very critical bastid, I wanted to point out a couple of issues that there were right at the start: The map is a bit thin (altho' longish) and one has two companies plus support, vehicles, guns and armor. So, the set up area is a bit crowded. I left all units in their default positions at start except for the platoons I would be using for recon. I tested LOS from all the forward units and couldn't see anything over the rise in front. So, I felt nobody would be shooting at my set-up area. However, after 3-6 minutes, US arty started to land amongst my densely-packed trucks etc causing heavy casualties. I HATE having set-up zones that are restrictive (for the quantity of units) and somehow in LOS of enemy spotters. So, I felt this was legitimate reason to restart. This time I put all units back in a line at the friendly edge (just in front of the "optional" exit zone that stretches the entire width of the set-up area so one can get rid of "unwanted" units). No US arty strikes. But, when I came to disembark the trucks, of course everyone jumped out the back straight into the EXIT ZONE. And once in, they cannot get back to the map. They simply disappear! So, I lost a platoon. Another legitiimate replay of that turn. Moving the trucks forwards 5 meters before disembarking solved that issue. But, both the above are irritations that designers should test for and try to avoid. Since then, it's been a wonderful scenario. I am sending a recon platoons (defined as platoons that took the most casualties in prior scenarios) along the right and left flanks. I was surprised that there were no enemy snipers etc in the first cluster of buildings and woods that one encounters on the way to the town objective. As a recon "fanatic" I always send in recon teams carefully, always expecting an ambush. And in general, I do not recall anything in the way of early ambushes or delaying units like snipers in any of this campaign's scenarios. A shame, as it would give just that bit of extra fun. So, far my recon inf spotted a Sherman in town and I was able to successfully send a Panther to surgically take it out. (And despite my armor's past miserable performance it didn't bog/immobilize on its way!!) It's also fun to have "Werfers" and 150mm arty to play with in this final scenario. Am using the "tactical trick" of ordering preplanned strikes starting in 15 minutes from set-up using LIGHT intensity, so the strikes last quite a large number of turns. Doing this allows my recon units to (hopefully) get close enuff to the target zones to find out if indeed there are any enemy units there. If not, I can cancel or reposition the mission and save arty ammo. Repositioning a strike is good as it only takes a couple of minutes - not too many shells wasted on LIGHT, and wham, you have that heavy arty landing on someplace else that actually does have enemy units without waiting for 5-7 minutes for a new order. Of course the spotter will have to have LOS to the new position, but one can usually reposition FO's pretty quickly in CMBN. So far, with about 45 minutes to go, I feel I have too many units/too much power/arty to deal with the mission. I have gotten into the habit in this campaign when I have two companies of attempting to do the job with one, using the 2nd as support only when needed. But, frankly it's nice to do a campaign with missions in which one is armed adequately for the job, and it's not a desperate 1:1 assault with barely enuff units. (Esp after the infamous "Courage and Fortitude" campaign.) And you never know, resistance may get much tougher as I get into the objective town.

I am most impressed that you can be a trial lawyer AND a CM scenario designer considering how much time it takes to design in CM2. I have a vision of your poor clients going to jail while you're playing CMBN on your laptop in court, hehe... heh(?)

I love it - the CUCKOO command - given by a nearby unit to a HIDE unit so that it springs up and throws grenades at anything it sees (enemy hopefully). What other similarly useful commands can we think up? For us Brits we could have TEA BREAK. Whereupon all Brit action ceases while they sit down and spend 5 turns having a cuppa. For Jerry, it could be the SILENT NIGHT singing break, whereupon... well you get the idea. And don't get me started on the EyeTies...

There does seem to be a requirement for something in the middle between HIDE (everyone has their face in the dirst and can't see much) and "not hiding" - which seems to be everyone poking their heads up and rubber-necking like tourists at the zoo (regardless of what the graphic shows) thus being too easily seen and shot at. Maybe an AMBUSH setting, where one or two guys CAREFULLY look around for the enemy whilst being almost invisible in cover, while the rest HIDE. That's what the graphic shows, but it seems they are way too easily spotted currently. So, I wonder what the computer system "sees" them as actually doing.

+1 to the comment re Achtung Panzer! I really tried to like and learn it, but compared to CM it was a complete mess I thought.

When I move/hunt/run a unit into an unknown but safe-looking new position I will usually make them HIDE at the end, just in case an enemy saw them. Then UNHIDE next turn. (I play WEGO pretty exclusively.) The other time is when I have a lot of troops waiting, I would HIDE almost all except for a couple of the best small teams with binocs to keep an eye out, thus providing the fewest men for the enemy to spot and shoot at.

The videos are also a great lesson on what works what doesn't, or what to do and NOT do. At first I thought maybe it was a RT game that had turned into a clickfest with little time to consider good tactics, but rather an Ancients-type game where everyone rushes out in a mob to do battle. Then I saw it was PBEM. What I saw (mostly issues with the US): 1) Troops bunched up way too much. 2) Troops sent in squads or platoons through gaps that were obvious ambush points rather than sending recon teams in first. 3) Failure to protect flanks. 4) Failed assaults continued to no good end. 5) Success of relatively small teams to do a lot. What lessons did you guys learn?

Add it to the list...

I like Vinnart's visual ideas re the info display.

Yes, really terrific editing. Clearly a lot of work.

We used to have dozens of charts for CM1 telling us visibility through various terrains, movement speeds, arty etc etc. So, this info is very helpful. Thanks to whomever did the charts.

Don't know how I missed the 250/9 d/l. Thanks...

So we can start checking them off (thanks to Aris). US: 76L/50 gun M4A3(105) Early; Mid; Rhino German: All the guns... 251/9 251/3 250/9 StuH 42 Early; Mid JPzIV Early; Mid PzVA Mid

Well of course they had to have MOPP since WMD was the whole rationale for invasion. We knew Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 other than having lunch or somesuch with known Al Q. types. But, suppose we were all liable to getting arrested/killed for people we had lunch with/associated with...

Some people said the same things about Tigers in CM and miniatures. It's the way you use em...

IIRC it's one of the many abstractions/compromises that CM2 system had to make. In RL, it's highly unlikely one would leave a prime support weapon essentially unmanned.

What might be really helpful is if BF posted a list of requests/ideas from customers and had us vote on what was most important to us so there was a ranking. Then BF could go down the list and decide what items were most practicable to program/had most bang for the buck. Otherwise all everyone is doing here is yakking, yakking, yakking...

Thanks. Will check it out. (Would it work with CMA or CMBN?)