whizbang

Does anyone actually read all this stuff? That is apart from the above. Or is it just a question of mutual gratification?

One other trick that works for me. If you have any AA vehicles keep them far away from your tanks. The aircraft will invariably go for the AA vehicle first of all and you don't want them to be too near to AckAck in case he misses. Put your tanks in a column and you can be sure of disaster. If it's an IL-2 there will be bomb runs, rocket attacks and then cannon srafing - usually in that order. Make sure you button up for the strafing otherwise you could lose your tank commander. I've found the IL-2 very effective against unwary opponents one of whom suggested it was disconcerting to say the least.

Well I tried Tracer's kind suggestion and tackled the monster Clash of the Titans playing the Axis. Great map and perfect until the reinforcements came - a whole bunch of useless halftracks when what I really needed to rap up a nice victory was just a couple more Tigers. As the halftracks were not even platoons but just hanging loose (so to speak) I have to assume they were thrown in as a makeweight to bring the Axis points up without giving them any help. Am I right? Having said all that I have to add that I haven't enjoyed myself so much in a game for a long time. Thanks Tracer and whoever the author might be. Now methinks I'll rewrite it with TANKS ONLY and certainly we don't need those two Assault Guns with nothing but HE.

Which scenario?

"Sarge...Can we go home now? I think they're coming this way."

Thanks! I think, having just looked at it, that the Clash of the Titans will keep me busy for a while as long as I don't die of a surfeit of tanks. Appreciate your help.

Can anyone recommend any scenarios that are almost exclusively tanks and aircraft - I hate messing with infantry?

Being averagely lazy I only read the manual when something happens that I cannot do or don't understand. I fondly beleived for quite a while that if you gave a tank the hunt command it would sniff around like a bloodhound looking for the enemy and then eliminating its members one by one. Actually it's much more useful than that as I discovered when writing my latest tutorial scenario. Imagine you have a long straight road and you suspect that there are ambushes along the way. Set the hunt command to the end of the road and your faithful tank commander will drive along it aware of the danger. As soon as he spots say an AT he will stop (and here is the remarkable thing) begin to turn his tank towards the danger as a defensive move while targeting it with his turret and when he has disposed of the threat will then quietly turn back towards the original direction and continue on his way. The beauty of all of this is that this allows you to set up a platoon in the formation you prefer (diamond, refuse left or right, line or column) and they will then more or less stay in formation without constant micromanagement from you. My entry for the wish-list when Combat Mission 3 appears on the shelves (or the internet) would be a formation command so that each driver would automatically return to formation after an encounter.

I see no problem with that, but it would also be helpful to then add H for historical or F for Fictional and qualify it (for us with learner plates) as Easy, Moderate or Difficult. I know that latter can be subjective and may depend on which side you play but it would be very helpful. PS I have a beginners scenario which I am just about to launch complete with a walkthrough that will be available on my website - where should it be posted? Scenario Depot?

Re IL-2 Sturmoviks. I have been playing around with a beginners scenario and put in two IL-2's to make things interesting. They were so devastating that I then had to give the allies two AckAck vehicles. The result every time was impressive. The Sturmoviks always dispatched the AA's first and on one occasion hit both with one bomb on each one on the same run. They always start with a bombing run, then rockets and finally strafing. It makes me feel quite homesick after hours playing IL-2 Sturmovik before I purchased CMBB.

So that you will join and increase their member numbers from one to two digits.

I'm not sure that that is any great loss. I was trying out a new scenario for a friend the otherday and after I had suffered a tactical defeat I tried it again but this time letting the AI place the defences. I lost once again and went to see what how the AI would make placements (with no FOW) and discovered to my amazement that it had placed three pilboxes at the extreme edge of the terrain (where no one would ever go) and even more incredible the pillboxes were facing each other :eek: :eek: :eek: Maybe the AI was so brilliant that it decided it could beat me with one hand tied behind its back and I have to admit the other placements were smart.

I also have found the CD scenarios less than satisfying which is why I recently posted a request for other peoples favourites. That got a fair response and I am enjoying all of those that I have so far tried. I also am a tad lazy but as I find writing fairly easy and I am impetuous to say the least, this method helps stop me from dashing ahead without thought

..like me. 1. Choose a scenario that has been recommended to you and that you think you will find appealing. 2. Select Full or whatever is recommended by the author. 3. Then play...but here's the rub...write down before each turn WHAT action you took, WHY you did so and then after you have seen the result record what happened. Repeat until the end and then write your own summary. I found that keeping the log going at the same time (ALT+TAB gets you to desktop where presumably you have your Word processor) helps concentrate the mind and makes the whole process much more enjoyable. Just a thought that worked for me.

It occurs to me that whoever designed the AI for CMBB could produce a very handy short "Dummies Guide" just by applying the basic rules that form the code. It's 46 years since I did any serious coding (in machine language with just 8,000 bits of storage ) but I imagine there are a series of basic Booleian algorithms that could be translated into some useful rules for those of us who have little of no experience of World War II gaming. I realise that the computer will do a much better job of scanning the terrain (to take an example) but surely the genius who did the original coding must be able (without giving too much away) to set out some basic rules. Or am I totally up the breek??

Crete I'm not aware of but will check with my friendly Amazon.com as here in Chile English books are few and far between - and usually translations into Spanish. I do have Beevor's "Berlin" on order which should tie in nicely with CMBB (just in case the moderator thinks we are having a private chat on his website).

Sorry about that. I checked the post but something weird happened. What I meant to say was that the panzer crew decided that the only safe way to attack the T-34 was from behind. This they did at point blank range etc etc.. (One more towards recpectability)

I took the term "sniperism" directly from Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and I think your point is well made. For those who haven't read it I thorougly recommend it because of its wealth of (documented) anecdotes. I particularly was impressed by story of the panzer crew who felt the only safe firing a hail of armor piercing shells at point blank range at the beleagured tank without any penetration, the Russian crew opened the hatch and bailed out unharmed. They couldn't stand the noise inside Now I know why my T'34 crews keep bailing out.

Thankyou one and all. I think I have enough to keep me going to Xmas. You all have a winning weekend.

You have to forgive us newbies who haven't been around forever and haven't as grown long in the tooth as you lot. I'm afraid it's inevitable that we will occasionally ask the same questions that you pondered back at length when we were at our mother's breast. It never occurred to me to search the CMBO forum but the fact that it was mulled over then makes it even more sad that history is still being ignored. As to balance I only meant that it would be interesting to have more than one or two ways to skin a cat. Oh dear... well at least I'm now nearer to losing my J tag

True, Bertram, but I think the addition of snipers would be faithful to history, provide some much needed balance between Axis and Allies and would also open the game a bit from it's rather rigid paper, stone, scissors (infantry, antitank, armor)structure. I don't really see its role as being that much different to the Arty spotter especially if they worked in pairs. Cheers

Congratulations - you have just 394 postings to go. I checked the postings for sharpshooter and discovered just two topics on the subject. The interesting thing is that it appears that snipers (who DID exeist and were specially trained) are not modelled in CMBB, just sharpshooters who were plucked from the ranks for their marksmanship. I'm talking about the zaichata or leverets who were equipped with rifles with telescopic sights and who worked from a network of trenches. Didn't Hollywood make a movie recently about one such Russian? :confused:

Please enlighten me. Why was Zaitsev called the Noble Sniper (ref Antony Beevor, Stalingrad, page 203/4) and not the Noble Sharpshooter. And what about Sniper Kovbasa, the Ukrainian? I searched under sniper in the title section and found just two references which were not too helpful. I'll go back and look under sharpshooter. 500 :eek: :eek: :eek: you have to be kidding. I'll do a check on you and see how many postings you have made. Cheers

With so many websites offering so many scenarios I would be most interested in hearing what are peoples favourite ones for single play against the computer and why. Until I get rid on my JM status I won't attempt a PBEM. :

Zaitsev, the Noble Sniper, of the Siberian 284th Rifle Division, trained his men in the art of sniperism. It seems to me that the CMBB sharpshooter (as he is called) would be ideal for taking out tank commanders, silencing those pesky HMG's and hunting for Arty spotters. Can anyone tell me if they have had any successes with them? At their low price they should be good value for money, but I read in an earlier posting that they are poor at hiding. PS How many more postings do I have to make before the perjorative term "junior" will vanish from my name?