Bridger

I really would like to play a PBEM or TCP game against some other new players, but i have no idea what the standerd settings are, and i havn't learned all the units yet :\ Would you guys recommend a good operation to play next to help me see a variety of units? Or a number of operations covering many kinds? Do multiplayer games usually play QB? operation? battle? What about game type? Most common is ME? Assault? Advance? [ August 01, 2003, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Bridger ]

Have you played Rise of Nations? It's a new RTS by the guy who made Civ II and Alpha Centarui (Brian Reynolds). It's got some of the best real time AI i've ever seen. In addition to it's ability to effectivly manage economy (most computers are very effiecient at that), it uses tactics and grand strategy. The AI will *never* attack in tiny units 1 at a time like you see in other games. It *always* brings a good sized army including seige and cavalry forces. He'll pull the general "seige the city and defend the seige, when the city falls, move in with army to claim it" strategy. Nothing fancy about it, but it generally works well. Then he'll get real smart on you, and break up his army. He'll send a small deversionary force at the front lines, while his main army marches on your capitol! After attacking one place and failing, he might come in from another direction, or attack a different city all together. He won't fight to the death either. If you take out all his seige (thus, destroying his ability to capture your city quickly) he will cut his losses and pull back, only to attack 2 minutes later with reinforcements and new seige. In fact, most people complain how difficult the "moderate" setting is, hehe. In fact, the computer doesn't even get any kind of handicap until the "tougher" setting. With moderate, he's actually holding back on you. Tough is the highest level before the computer starts cheating. He'll use spies to gain information on your troop composition, he'll build the correct counters for that composition, he'll ambush his cavalry and charge in from the right if you don't have scouts. It's really a great game Don't get me wrong, after mastering the game, a tough AI can be beaten 90% of the time by a skilled player, but the average player will probably always struggle with a tough AI. Anyways, back on topic. I figured the AI would be much better at defencive strategies, but the text recomended you play germany if it's the first time your playing the operation. One more question, do foxholes only apear after the first setup of the day? Between dawn/day battles i didn't get any fox-holes [ August 01, 2003, 04:50 AM: Message edited by: Bridger ]

I just recently picked up CMBO after readinga bout it in PCG. I'd heard about it before and even been to the site, but i never actually got it till the other day (i'm aware it wasn't on retail until recently). So i played through the tutorial, read the manual cover to cover, and i still feel kind of...unchalanged by the AI. I'm not sure if i just learn fast or the computer sucks or the scenario i'm playing is easy on the side i'm playing? I'm currently playing Operation Carentan V2 (what's the diff between V1 and V2?). As germans i've been able to knock out so many shermans it isn't funny! The AI drove 3 shermans 1 by 1 down a road into 2 panzershrecks waiting for them! Then in the next battle he's sending troops 1 by 1 into a killing zone of about 2 squads and an MG. They are getting whiped out every time. He's not pulling back and attacking from a different direction, just keeps sending them to the meat grinder. Finaly later on i notice that he's trying to flank me...with a morter and a machine gun? wtf? I easily destroy them both with a sharpshooter and a squad that's low on ammo! Then i get reinforcements for the next battle including tanks. I'm dug into a forest that extends almost in an L shap to the road and another treeline. So i'm able to get a really great crossfire going and anytime his troops even try to stick their head up from the treeline it gets hit by some 6 squads and 3 HMG42s. Safe to say he didn't advance at all. Then he finaly does something smart, he brings up 2 shermans and starts blasting the left flank of my line (and actually kills my panzershrek in a lucky first shot). He is *just* far enough back so that my AT gun can't hit him. Next comes the kicker. He's got an artilery spotter somewhere hidden and hidden *well*. He pours down artilery (first time i'd seen Artilery and not morters, it looks so sweet!) on my left flank in addition to the tank attack. He gets quite a few casualties and routs a few of my squads. I decide to cut my losses and pull back my left flank to a furhter wooded area. With no more targets, he sends his shermans up the road...and right into the line for my AT. 2 shots fired, 2 dead shermans. So now i flank around to the right side with my reserve platoon, while i bring another reserve platoon up to reinforce the platoon that got hit by the aritlery on the left flank. This whole time he's got infantry sitting in a forest way over to the left of the map. There's a small gap between hedgerows and he sends out a few units every 3 turns or so, they get shot up by 2 tanks i have stationed on either side of the gap and retreat. Not once does he use this other infantry (must have been at least 2 platoons before my double morter fire racked through it) to support his failing right side. He just keeps sending them out "gee, i wonder if those tanks are gone yet." He doesn't even try to send them a different way. By the end of this last battle, i had killed every single unit on the right side of the map, and still had his infantry pinned on the left side. So what is it? Is this operation easy for axis? Is the AI pretty bad? (hoping to look into multiplayer soon). Maybe i just learnt really fast-like

Ah, thanks, i assumed that the farther behind it you were the less you could see. I need to use LOS tool more often heh.

Had a few situations recently that i couldn't figure out. From what i've read in books, i've come to understand that the hedgerows of normandy were extremely large obsticals for the allies to overcome. They would have to cross a feild towards it on the other side, and they had no idea if there was anything on the other side till machine gun fire opened up on them from the bocage. In fact i remember something about the germans sticking many MG42 positions in the corners of these hedgerows because it makes very good ambush position for anybody crossing the feild. Yet in the game i've already had 2 of my units spotted in bocoge by allied units that were hundreds of meters away. Why is it so easy to spot units in bocage in CMBO? Am i doing something wrong? I had a panzerfaust unit hiding in the corner of a bocage area because he was out of ammo and i was using him as a scout. I figured he could watch over the whole clearing and never be spotted himself. Then a tank pulls up at 120 meters at least, spots and starts firing at him? Is this some error in the programing? Am i doing something wrong? It just seems that it would be damned hard to spot somebody in those kind of bushes from that far away.

Hey there! Been hearing about this game through PC Gamer mostly. There was a review for CMBB (and i think one a long time ago for CMBO), and just recently in one of the specialty sections in the back they had an article about it coming to retail with all the special goodies. Well that was enough for me! I had been intrested in it before, but other things caught my attention and it went out of my mind. Got to give some praise to you guys, it's a very detailed game with a good 3d engine. I'd also like to give a special praise for the 200+ page detailed USEFUL manual. It's so hard to find games that come with good, BIG, USEFUL, manuals these days I spent a good 2 hours reading the thing before i actually played, and it was much nicer knowing what i was doing I guess i only have one question: There are quite a few mods (mostly visual i'd assume?) in the mods folder. Do i have to install each of those manually? Do any of them overwrite the same things?