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No, the shapes of the men can't be changed. Try to think of them like chess pieces or tokens. As you play the game after a while I'll bet you will see how the rest of us have accepted this limitation, and focussed on the serious and highly rewarding challenge of playing the game well. It more about tactics than total visual reality. (It was designed about seven years ago.)

Looks good! I like that zim pattern, too.

Looks good to me!

How do you know an aircraft has been destroyed? There is a big explosion sound effect. The aircraft's shadow crossing the terrain suddenly disappears. If it's yours that has been destroyed, your data window of 'enemy victory %' will reflect the aircraft's value. Also I seem to recall sometimes having seen an explosion in the sky upon loss of a plane, but in my current CMBB battle, in which I just lost a Henschel, none was shown.

Sure looks nice! Hmmm- I wonder what a MikeyD Jagdpanther would look like????? (Some of us can just never get enough.)

Nice camo!

A very pulchritudinous Panther!

From my point of view, the difficulty in identifying units in EFOW is acceptable. Sound cues are often a big help, even before the unit is officially ID'ed. You always know the enemy unit's division type by pressing return. Also, many squad types have a reasonably similar mix of weapons, so realistically that wouldn't be a sure giveaway of it's exact identity. Sure, there's less concrete information to put down, or more guess work, in the AAR's and DAR's. But when I'm writing them I write about the clues I have and my speculation and planning based upon them, which I think is a pretty interesting aspect of play. Also, since the game (unavoidably) gives the commander an unrealistically thorough knowledge of all his own units, and of the terrain, at all times, I have no problem accepting some gaps in what is reported about the enemy. (I'm writing this off the cuff without having looked at the link.)

Looks great!

That's very interesting. A wonder if it's a very rare vehicle. I have a book that shows one with a canvas cover over the gun, and I thought it must have been a 37mm. Now I know better.

About your example number 2- I think if you don't give any targetting order, your unit will be more likely to fire upon multiple targets per turn. It won't try to limit itself to a particular target. (Provided it decides it's worthwhile to fire at all.) A unit like a bunker, which has plenty of ammo and doesn't get suppressed easily, is probably pretty trigger-happy that way, regardless of whether it belongs to you or to the AI.

Great StuG's, Mikey D! What could be next? U.S. M3 Lee? Universal carrier?

Anyone interested in the Allied campaigns in Iraq and Syria should read The Golden Carpet, written by Somerset de Chair who was a British Intelligence officer there. It's mostly about Iraq, but also vividly describes the Axis air superiority in the Syria campaign- he was wounded by strafing aircraft.

Very nice. Especially good to see a Polish version.

Very nice looking work. Some of your best, Uncle Tgt, I think.

The Funky Polygons. I have all their albums! Cheers and good luck on the mods!

A rambling note on using the German TD's with good front armor and thin sides- These are awesome weapons if they keep to their specialized role. (Hetzer, PzIV/70, Jagdpanther.) That means don't go out where you can be flanked. Don't drive past any terrain that hasn't been cleared. Fight at long range. Cover your flanks with buildings, hills, etc. Take time to get into good position. That's how they did it in real life, I believe. I'm learning that a benefit of playing larger battles is that specialized units like these aren't forced to do a job they're not suited for. You're not tempted to assault into a village with your Hetzer, because you've got better units for that. The result is that they can be pretty darn survivable. Incidentally, overwatch is a dicey concept if the terrain is built up at all. It can be more like a cat and mouse game of LOS. Withdraw and reappear in a different, surprising spot. This is working well in my current game. My opponent, after losing a tank, is now hiding his numerous Sherman 75's and 105's behind houses instead of pounding my poor bloody infantry with them. He brought up a Sherman 76 to oppose my TD's, but it reversed and targeted smoke as soon as it caught sight of one! I loved that! Probably misidentified my PzIV70 as a Jagdpanther, or maybe even not. And his wide-flanking wild-ass unescorted bazooka team is about to walk straight into a German patrol. I love this game. Now I'll use my Semovente 105's to take down some of those houses while the clock ticks down for the Nebelwerfer barrage to come in: it's all about teamwork. (Incidentally, of all the Axis 105mm vehicles, the Semovente carries the most ammo, and more HE = more fun!)

MIkeyD, here's a photo you might find useful sometime soon... http://www.45thdivision.org/Photo_Gallery/wartime/Half_track_37mm.jpg

Snowed-upon rubble is the best rubble...!

I don't know the book, but the subject certainly looks interesting. If you do end up buying it, would you post your comments on it here when you've read it?

What is the best infantry support tank of the war? I would suggest the Sherman- good HE round (75mm) sizeable ammo load 3 machine guns fast 3 man turret, responsive to threats not too expensive per tank Off the top of my head, I can't think of another tank that has all these qualities. And can any other vehicle compete with the Sherman 105 in its own particular role?

Nice. Good posters, too.

Very nice resource! I searched under 'panzer' and right away saw something I'd never remembered seeing before- a Stug with the black cross painted on the very forward end of the skirt. Probably didn't want to get targetted by friendlies when just emerging from around corners, etc.

In towns they can be used as mobile fire support for your infantry. Keep them keyholed a few blocks behind your front line and use up their big 45mm ammo load. (Really the only good thing about them.) They won't wipe out the enemy infantry, but they can suppress him.

If the star disappears it is almost certainly a kill. The only other possibility is if the gun had time to move away, and one of your units has come close enough to see that the spot is unoccupied.