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BadgerDog

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Posts posted by BadgerDog

    TRP and AT Guns....?

    in Combat Mission - Tips and Tricks

    Posted

    A question from a relative newbie .....

    I have read, practiced and understood TRP's and how they work for artillery. I also understand there's an additional value in a TRP, in that if you don't move an AT gun from its original set-up position and you aim at something in the vicinity of a TRP, the accuracy improves because of previous registration of range and azimuth. I know that's true in real life as well, because when we used our Shermans (M4A2E8), we used to use Range Cards to pre-zero in on various landmarks etc.

    What I'm trying to understand is within what radius range of the TRP's centre does this added accuracy work? I can't find anything in the manual that gives me a radius distance from the TRP, nor do I observe any changes in the LOS "hit %" or Targeting line colors for the AT guns, whether they're near the TRP or not?

    Finally, does this enhanced accuracy also apply to Tank fire?

    Regards,

    Badger

    [ January 22, 2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: BadgerDog ]

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    Wow -- dove headfirst into d/ling mods today

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Speaking of mods....

    I downloaded all of Andrew's excellent uniform sets. I unzipped them into my CMBB BMP directory (backed up first).

    Now I have German troops in what appears to be brown colored Fall looking camo, with white helmets. :D

    I think I pooched something. ;)

    Is there a document anywhere that can help me start over with this process, ending up with the proper uniforms in the proper places?

    Better then that, has anyone got a ZIP file of these already installed that I could just copy over top and save me more hours of self inflicted pain. :D

    I use CCMOS and it works great. Now I know why I like it.... :D:D

    Thanks in advance for any help...

    Regards,

    Badger

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    Speaking of gamey tactics...

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Originally posted by Joques:

    I did not feel that the last part of the sentence was relevant, since I as a gamer have no idea if in fact the Russians in that particular historic instance "were trying to conserve ever increasingly scarce people and equipment resources."

    A clarification... :D

    It was not the Russians ....

    We're speaking of the German forces who were attacking and facing dwindling re-supply, hence the qualification to the opinion that they "were trying to conserve ever increasingly scarce people and equipment resources."

    Thanks for the feedback...

    Regards,

    Badger

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    Speaking of gamey tactics...

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Originally posted by Joques:

    Ok, how is this: BadgerDog's assertion that this sort of thing wouldn't happen in real life, is manifestly untrue.

    Hello Joques... :D

    I notice by occupation you're a translator. So, first the acronym IMHO translates to "in my humble opinion". I never used the more forceful expression such as "assertion".

    Second, for whatever reason, you lifted partial text from my post and paraphrased it out of context. What I actually said was " .........IMHO there's no way in real life that would ever happen with real troops in a real life combat situation, particularly to a side who were trying to conserve ever increasingly scarce people and equipment resources."

    The latter of course is only my opinion, formed from my own military experiences. It wasn't stated as gospel but it still holds as my entitled opinion, which I was simply expressing here, just as it's your opinion it would happen under those circumstances.

    Thanks for listening.

    Regards,

    Badger

    [ January 18, 2003, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: BadgerDog ]

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    Speaking of gamey tactics...

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Originally posted by Scipio:

    Vadr, this guy/gal is a Weichflöte (loser, softie & and some worse), you should inform him about that. You should also recomment him/her to play vs the AI only, and maybe to stick his head in the own arse instead of wasting good peoples time.

    Well, since I'm being portrayed as the someone that doesn't understand just how real this game is, then I guess it's time for me to respond on behalf of all "Weichflöte" people. ;) This is a very long post and I do apologize to everyone for being so verbose, but I hope those sincerely interested in an opposing viewpoint will take the time to read and digest what I have to say, because I think I do represent a group of players with another point of view. Perhaps a group who want to enjoy something different from CMBB then what vadr and most here seem to get from it.

    First of all, everyone should know that Chuck (vadr) and I are very good friends in real life outside of this virtual "let's pretend we're soldiers" stuff. I'm new to CMBB and never had the good fortune to play CMBO, although I have both because of the bundling purchase that Battlefront offered when they released CMBB. I've played 4 or 5 matches with my good friend vadr. I've come to really enjoy CMBB and he taught me an incredible amount about the game mechanics. He's a terrific individual and a awesome CMBB player.

    Let me qualify my statements, just so you know a little about where my experience lays. I haven't driven or gunned a Sherman in over 30 years and I've only ever sat inside a stationary captured German WWII vintage Panther, Pz IV and Jagdpanther at the RCAC Museum. I taught at the Royal Canadian Armored Corps gunnery school (Camp Borden) from 1963-65. That combined with an additional 2 years of in-field "grunt" experience as a Troop Sergeant, gives me some real world knowledge of at least the late 1940's and 1950's vintage M4A2E8 76mm Sherman tanks, which the Canadian Army was still using then. I also trained on the "then new" Centurion with the British 105 smooth bore gun that was just appearing for us canucks and had some brief introduction to the standard Panzer Leopard as the Canadian Army bought 50 of them from Germany. I served with veterans of both Korea and WWII, most notably two close friends who fought with the 1st Hussars (6th Cdn Armored Regt) and served from 1941-68. They both fought on the afternoon of June 11th of 1944, where the 8th Company of the 12th SS Panzer Regiment (12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend") counterattacked the attempt by Canadian 6th Armored Regiment (along with support units) to capture the area of Le Mesnil-Patry. The 12th SS Panzer Regiment commanded by SS-Obersturmfuehrer Hans Siegel destroyed some 37 Shermans, while losing 2 Panzer IVs and forcing Canadians to retreat. I listened and learned from their experiences of that day. Both are no longer with us, but they are not forgotten.

    So, to the game.... I say game because gentlemen, it is just a game and not real life. The scenario Chuck (vadr) and I were playing was called "SP-Der Manstein Kommt". Vadr had performed an outstanding advance across a broad frontage to a position roughly parallel with and in front of, the major built-up area ahead of the bridge. Up to that point the match had been playing out in a very similar fashion to the way real world military engagements happen. He was steadily advancing with his 6 tanks, mutually supported by infantry and I was in deep "ca ca" trying to hold ground until re-enforcements arrived. Now, here's the part that moves it (at least for me) from playing a military simulation to a "capture the flag" Quake type game. It's move 20 of a 20 move game. All of a sudden, exactly on move 20 (not 16, 17, 18, or 19), but right on move 20... my good friend suddenly abandons his infantry, just as they begin engaging me at the edge of the built-up area. He charges down a road at high speed (5th gear) with the only three tanks he has in the area (50% of his entire armored force), doesn't even know whether the road is mined or not, but simply drives across the bridge and stops on the game flag. :D The game engine's A/I does the best it can with this movement in trying to resolve and simulate during the movies how RL troops would react, but it is limited in what it can do under the circumstances.

    I simply sat their stunned. I didn't know what to say, except that IMHO there's no way in real life that would ever happen with real troops in a real life combat situation, particularly to a side who were trying to conserve ever increasingly scarce people and equipment resources. IMHO, this wasn't some "bold military" move to be compared to real life past glories and isolated instances of WWII. On the Eastern front there was no artificial move 20 and no little flag to capture for points, or as a set-up positioning for new front lines to be drawn. Those soldiers would have been real people and comrades being ordered to their deaths, not just little anonymous computer figures to whom we have no emotional or personal attachment. I actually commented to vadr how proud I was that I had performed a "fighting withdrawal" though to that point with an absolute minimum amount of casualties. I even took the time during moves to carefully withdraw my "crews" and "out of ammo" personnel to save their lives, instead of just ignoring them to concentrate on more important units that would win points and flags.

    IMHO, there was no reason to "risk" throwing away 1/2 his armor (and his young warriors) since he was well on his way to achieving the objective anyway, particularly without increased risk of taking more needless casualties. It was obvious to me that the turn 20 move was just about that, motivated by the fact it was turn 20 and the scenario was ending. New front lines would be drawn by the game engine and the predictable re-enforcements (never happens that way in RL either) will arrive like clockwork. :D Here's the real "let's suspend reality" part. The scenario ended with his three tanks sitting on a flag deep behind enemy lines with a company of T-34's on their way. I wondered why he'd do such a silly (non-military) maneuver since 50% of is armor (and their crews) were now trapped behind enemy lines with no access to P.O.L. Vadr informed me that because of the way the game worked with the scenario ending, he could now decide if he wanted to simply pick them up and "teleport" (beam me up Scotty) them back across the front line to safety on their side of the newly drawn front. Huh? :D

    I said I really didn’t want to continue as the match had lost its sense of real life immersion and enjoyment for me. I indicted that I really wanted to play CMBB as a military simulation, not a game. Understandably, vadr was upset as he saw (sees) nothing wrong with this type of move in the game. I agree with him.. There's nothing wrong with this move when approaching the limited capabilities of this excellent software as a game, or using these tactics to win one of the various "game" tournaments held here. However, there's also a genre of player out there like me, who simply want to enjoy it as an immersive military role-playing simulation, using the weaponry, units and re-enacting the actual engagements as if one had been there.

    Anyway, it is an excellent game for "wannabees" like us who'd like to pretend from time to time, that we're real life military commanders like Rommel, Patton and Von Manstein. It's not a military simulation unless the players choose to play it like one, ignoring the turn 20 capture the flag stuff etc. I don’t believe either Chuck (vadr) or I are wrong in what we want to experience from this software. We simply want to get different kinds of enjoyment from it and that doesn't make either of us "Weichflöte". The moral is to make sure both you and your opponents have a clear understanding as to each other's mutual expectations about game play. Vadr and I still play combat flight simulations and Ghost Recon together, but we avoid CMBB matches. :D I have since found a few PBEM opponents who approach the software from a similar paradigm as I do. I've won some and lost some, but have really enjoyed them all. We've had some terrific battles with a stimulating sense of real life immersion, so now both vadr and I still share the enjoyment of this excellent software, but take away different things from it.

    Whoa this is long post... Sorry about that folks...

    Finally, for fun, here's a little experiment for everyone to try. Load up "SP-Der Manstein Kommt" and pick the German side. Do nothing except plot a FAST move of your six tanks straight forward and down the open terrain to your front, cross to the road anywhere and continue the FAST move plot to the flag on the other side of the bridge. Now, hit play and do nothing except quickly cycle through the movies for about 10-11 turns, letting the A/I resolve all of the combat as it normally does. I did this exercise 3 times until I got bored. First time, 5 of my 6 tanks (one hit a mine) and mounted infantry ended up with the German flag flying over the objective. The second time, 4 out of 6 captured the flag (1 hit a mine, 1 bogged transferring to road via scattered trees). The third time, all 6 of my tanks and mounted infantry reached and captured the objective with no casualties I could see. I then "clicked" past turn 11 and kept going to turn 22. During all of that time, none of the Russian forces were able to recover and deal with those tanks that had simply charged through their lines at FAST speed without stopping to engage and ended up behind them sitting on their flag. At turn 22 or 23, the game engine stopped the scenario and I'm sure you can imagine the mess it was faced with resolving drawing new front lines. Did I win? Of course, I won the flag, got the points and left my Russian opponent wondering what happened, but I certainly didn’t enjoy the experience. ;) For me, the exciting part of CMBB is really enjoying the journey of the simulation towards the game's end as an immersive experience, not the "win or lose" part. At my age, you really don't worry about the latter too much anymore. :D

    A big salute to Chuck (vadr) for turning me onto this product and also to the CMBO/CMBB community for possibly recognizing that players come to a game for its entertainment value and perhaps some of us have slightly different expectations as to what we want from it.

    Regards,

    Doug (Badger)

    Qualifed on Sherman (M4A2E8) & Centurion

    Group 3 Gunner (RCAC)

    Group 2 Driver Mechanic Tracked (RCAC)

    Group 2 Signaler (RCAC)

    CC and Trooper Leader Instructor

    wow....that sure was a long time ago. You guys are stirring up a whole bunch of old and hidden memories. Some good, some bad. BTW, if anyone would like to take on an old warrior who enjoys the type of game play I've described, don't hesitate to send me an email and let's try a match.

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    new kursk tiger mod!

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Outstanding....

    Glad it's going to come out CMMOS compatible... (Salute)

    Although I sincerely appreciate their efforts, I don't understand why more modders don't release their creations in CMMOS format.

    I think this program is one of the greatest add-ons to CMBB/CMBO I've used. It certainly simplifies my enjoyment and use of a lot of mods and enhances the sense of immersion effect within gameplay when I'm easily able to install them.

    Just my two cents...

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    Measuring distances?

    in Combat Mission Archive #4 (2002)

    Posted

    Hi...

    I'm a "newbie" to the genre and have to say that I've enjoyed CMBB very much. I also have CMBO (bought as a bundle), but haven't had the chance to really get into it yet.

    Anyway, my question may be naïve and perhaps I'm missing something in the manual, but is there any tool or function within either CMBB or CMBO to be able to measure distance?

    I know I can use the LOS function by clicking on a unit then drawing it out to measure from the unit itself, but is there any way to click on a point on the map, then do the same thing? It would be handy to be able to use this kind of function to get a sense of distances from a point to a point, so I could figure out the best place to move a unit to. As it stands all I can do now ( I think?), is measure the distance from where the unit is, not where I want to place him relative to a third point.

    In real life, as a platoon commander, I would have a 1/25,000 or better topographical map and I'd be able to easily do this with my protractor.

    Anyway, just some thoughts.... Thanks for the feedback.

    Regards,

    BadgerDog

    0

    CMBB MOD Catalogue Completed --> Open for Business

    in Combat Mission Archive #4 (2002)

    Posted

    Hi...

    I'm new to the genre having just purchased the CMBB/CMBO bundle on-line. I've had a chance to play a few PBEM games and have realy enjoyed this game.

    I went to this site and was amazed at the amount of work and organization that's gone into it.

    As a "newbie" it's a tremendous resource in helping me sort through the maze of mods available. I particularly enjoyed the "reviews" section which has helped me decide on Dan "KwazyDog" Olding's MDMP1 and MDPM2 mods packs for retro fitting CMBO.

    I also really like AussieJeff's Terrain Mods for CMBB which I've installed all of them.

    Thanks for the fabulous resource site and also a big thanks to ALL of the mod authors who put so much spare time into making CMBB/CMBO gaming more enjoyable for us all.

    BadgerDog

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