slysniper

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

It sure is funny how most of the people who complain about price and why is the games not on sale for bargain prices are people who have a handful of comments on the site and are recent new members.
In other wards I see them as typical gamers expecting the same thing they see with most of the rest of the industry. Expecting to get something for almost nothing after a short life span of the product , with a newer version out and selling again for that company.
They have never played any game for any extended period of time and are just waiting for the next thing on the market that they can consume.
The concept of a game with depth and years of endless playability is not a possibility in their thought process. Let alone a fact that the company is not capable of putting out new versions in a year or two with staffs in the hundreds to do such things. A product with only a handful of guys working on and making adjustments to and no ability to try and push the graphic limits of the present home computer each and every year.
They see it as a unknown logic in the world that they live in and cannot accept it.
I find it funny. BF is two guys that came from that world and hated it, created their own way to run and manage their game and have done what they wanted and made the life they wanted for themselves and provided us with games no one in the all powerful industry want to do.
So Bf keep selling and doing business how you want. I appreciate the games too much to care about sales and how they do business.

IanL
That sounds like a winner to me, a great method for setting victory conditions.
No matter how you look at it, the attacker in the game given enough time has a great advantage, thus the reason many designers create a short time to force the attacker into a sloppy attack that if incorrect choices are made, they have to stay with them because there is not enough time to adjust.
but like your suggestion, there is other settings that can be used to provide plenty of time and still give the defense a way to win.
So a good suggestion as to how to create some battles that give those that want time removed from the victory settings as a way of doing it.
But I do like to point out for those that hate tight time limits and think its unrealistic (they are wrong).
Yes the game is played in all aspects in a somewhat unrealistic compressed time frame. ( but In any real battle  where the opponent can get reinforcements or adjust units or reorganize if given time. The commander of the forces is always fighting to act as quickly as possible, to not allow the opponent the time to respond and to keep the advantage he has even if it might not be the cleanest approach. To seize the advantage and to push the advantage before the enemy has time to recover.
So not wanting to deal with time is a somewhat unrealistic approach except for some types of situations. Like many things we see presently in conflicts in the world today. (Where a powerful Nato force is against an ill equipped and trained force, where time does little to providing them with any added force or aid or any additional abilities) in such a situation, cutting such a force off, taking care to preserve life and to remove the threat as cleanly as possible all makes sense.

I think the statement about CMBB outselling CMBO is incorrect.
I recall comments from Steve saying that Yes CMBB had great sells from the true war gamer (those that tend to seek such games) but that they had more sells for CMBO from the casual gamer market which is and by far a much larger market and that is a majority a American market and they only buy games with American forces. Thus almost every game company will always start a series with a match up with American forces involved.
I also remember each game had less sells. CMBO outsold CMBB which outsold CMAF (between code issue and declining sells, that was what brought about CMII)
If CM3 does ever happen, it will be for similar reasons.
I have a hard time not believing each release is declining in sales. There is nothing to show any growth going on that I can tell.
and second, its already been mentioned in many threads as to the limits they have hit in this engine and that they re not going to be able to do much more with it.
 
So at some point those two things will fuel a change if the change ever happens.
So if enough keep buying and can live with the present capabilities of the current engine. Then maybe more past the list I mentioned could happen. But from what I sense, we keep losing more and more players to other things and more players keep expecting improvements that will never come under the present engine.  So sales will continue to drop til they bite the bullet and start again or they just say, time to retire.
 
 
 

well, out of all the things I have read here in a long time.
This is the first one that actually makes so much sense. These two items if they could be fixed to do just as mentioned. Sure would be a massive time saver for anyone who does work on creating scenarios.
My day to day job is working in 3d modeling. So every time I get in the editor of these games I know just how wasteful it is to have to try and envision the change and then have to go back and forth to view the changes and how things are reacting in the model. The thought has crossed my mind but have never thought about requesting if the programming could change. I would suspect it would only happen in the  cm#3  engine. Not the present engine
The units placement is also a big time waste. Its a feature that gets old really quick. Really would be nice if they could just manage to stay grouped somewhat to their organization.
 

Oh no, My shot in the dark on possible time frame missed CMRT mod
so here is my new guess
CMSFII partial release  (in a month)
CMSF II completely out and Game engine 4.0 update for all games (6 months)
CMFI Rome to victory  & CMRT mod (11.25 months) and lets put CMRT first (its long over due)
MOD for CMBS (12 months)
Mod for CMFB (12 Months)
 
I also place a vote for Russian front year 42-43 being the first CM3 game, even though they claim western front games sale better.
I can only imagine a new third engine will be at a point when they will want to do many things that they have not been able to do in the past. Along with all the years of learning how to program this type of game. The first game will change at least as much as we saw from CMX1 to CMx2 if not more.
It will not matter what the choice is, it should be a big success. ( But Russia does need their love, that front have become the step child in the CM2 series) and as we know, all true war gamers, its their favorite area of history.
Forget the money Steve, Please the true fans. 

The only game that comes remotely close to getting you the feel of realistic combat.
Plus the only way to ever have the chance to control such forces.
(Even real life commanders do not get that. They do give orders to such units, but they do not get to control them as to executing such orders.)
playing a battle right now I would have to be at least a lieutenant colonel in real life and I would have no clue as to what was going on in the details of the battle in all 4 fronts, maybe if I was leading from the front, I would HAVE A SLIGHT VIEW OF WHAT ONE FRONT WAS DOING.
who wants that much realism anyway. I enjoy having God like powers

Thanks Steve
Nice to have a comment from the source.
It sounds like everything is doing well as to your continued sells of games. (so we known you guys will be around for a while still giving us a great product.)
Second, it also seems you do see a day when CM3 will happen. (So sounds like retirement is not a thought process that is strong at the moment)
So if nothing else, it appears we will be given you our business for many years to come.
 

I think the statement about CMBB outselling CMBO is incorrect.
I recall comments from Steve saying that Yes CMBB had great sells from the true war gamer (those that tend to seek such games) but that they had more sells for CMBO from the casual gamer market which is and by far a much larger market and that is a majority a American market and they only buy games with American forces. Thus almost every game company will always start a series with a match up with American forces involved.
I also remember each game had less sells. CMBO outsold CMBB which outsold CMAF (between code issue and declining sells, that was what brought about CMII)
If CM3 does ever happen, it will be for similar reasons.
I have a hard time not believing each release is declining in sales. There is nothing to show any growth going on that I can tell.
and second, its already been mentioned in many threads as to the limits they have hit in this engine and that they re not going to be able to do much more with it.
 
So at some point those two things will fuel a change if the change ever happens.
So if enough keep buying and can live with the present capabilities of the current engine. Then maybe more past the list I mentioned could happen. But from what I sense, we keep losing more and more players to other things and more players keep expecting improvements that will never come under the present engine.  So sales will continue to drop til they bite the bullet and start again or they just say, time to retire.
 
 
 

Rome to Victory - this project got sidetracked due to a bunch of issues, but it's getting a lot of attention these days.  When completed, CMFI will have a big list of new forces and the timeframe extended to the end of the war.  It will likely be our next release Untitled Eastern Front Module - active work has been going on since the Spring and it's shaping up quite nicely.  This will take CMRT up to the end of the war, including some huge Berlin maps. Existing TO&E expanded to April 45, Germans get access to a range of non-Heer forces, new weather stuff, and a couple new Regions.  Waffen SS and rag-tag forces will be available for the Red Thunder Module. New Zealand Defense Forces training aid - pretty much that's all there is to say about it. CMBS is owed a Module.  CMBS is theoretically next after CMRT.  Marines are an obvious selection for the first Module and the work being done for CMSF2 is going to pave the way for that to happen.  
Personally I think we will be lucky to see these play out and maybe a mod for CMFB before its time to do some sort of new engine efforts.
If one thing has been consistent over the years, its been how much BF think they can do in a given time frame that never really happens.
So with work already well under way on the next two, no questions there that they are to be completed. Problem was, CMSFII, it has thrown all of these way behind schedule, a year plus at least.
Rome to victory was planned to be out a year ago, but then they had the personnel problems and too many projects to work on at the time, they had to shelf something, Rome was it, so once they ever do get back to it, it should be pretty quick to finish in comparison to what has been going on lately.
So that leaves CMRT, CMBS and CMFB all never having a mod yet, CMRT work in progress. CMBS-marines - parts to be used from cmsfII. and CMFB will get some help from the work on CMRT and CMFI.
So pretty sure these will all stay in the same engine and no major changes.
Now once they ever make it to that, I am pretty sure they will see the need to make a change, likely due to sells by that point.
But lets see how far out even these games will likely be before we see them.
CMSFII partial release  (in a month)
CMSF II completely out and Game engine 4.0 update for all games (6 months)
CMFI Rome to victory (6 months)
MOD for CMBS (12 months)
Mod for CMFB (12 Months)
 
So my guess is that is where the present engine will end. It will be the end of the year 2021. All present games will have at least one mod, they will all go to the end of the war for the WWII titles and CMBS will never see those other Nato forces.
it would be a good time to break into a new engine on a new topic by that point or a old tried and true topic.
 
 

Rome to Victory - this project got sidetracked due to a bunch of issues, but it's getting a lot of attention these days.  When completed, CMFI will have a big list of new forces and the timeframe extended to the end of the war.  It will likely be our next release Untitled Eastern Front Module - active work has been going on since the Spring and it's shaping up quite nicely.  This will take CMRT up to the end of the war, including some huge Berlin maps. Existing TO&E expanded to April 45, Germans get access to a range of non-Heer forces, new weather stuff, and a couple new Regions.  Waffen SS and rag-tag forces will be available for the Red Thunder Module. New Zealand Defense Forces training aid - pretty much that's all there is to say about it. CMBS is owed a Module.  CMBS is theoretically next after CMRT.  Marines are an obvious selection for the first Module and the work being done for CMSF2 is going to pave the way for that to happen.  
Personally I think we will be lucky to see these play out and maybe a mod for CMFB before its time to do some sort of new engine efforts.
If one thing has been consistent over the years, its been how much BF think they can do in a given time frame that never really happens.
So with work already well under way on the next two, no questions there that they are to be completed. Problem was, CMSFII, it has thrown all of these way behind schedule, a year plus at least.
Rome to victory was planned to be out a year ago, but then they had the personnel problems and too many projects to work on at the time, they had to shelf something, Rome was it, so once they ever do get back to it, it should be pretty quick to finish in comparison to what has been going on lately.
So that leaves CMRT, CMBS and CMFB all never having a mod yet, CMRT work in progress. CMBS-marines - parts to be used from cmsfII. and CMFB will get some help from the work on CMRT and CMFI.
So pretty sure these will all stay in the same engine and no major changes.
Now once they ever make it to that, I am pretty sure they will see the need to make a change, likely due to sells by that point.
But lets see how far out even these games will likely be before we see them.
CMSFII partial release  (in a month)
CMSF II completely out and Game engine 4.0 update for all games (6 months)
CMFI Rome to victory (6 months)
MOD for CMBS (12 months)
Mod for CMFB (12 Months)
 
So my guess is that is where the present engine will end. It will be the end of the year 2021. All present games will have at least one mod, they will all go to the end of the war for the WWII titles and CMBS will never see those other Nato forces.
it would be a good time to break into a new engine on a new topic by that point or a old tried and true topic.
 
 

Rome to Victory - this project got sidetracked due to a bunch of issues, but it's getting a lot of attention these days.  When completed, CMFI will have a big list of new forces and the timeframe extended to the end of the war.  It will likely be our next release Untitled Eastern Front Module - active work has been going on since the Spring and it's shaping up quite nicely.  This will take CMRT up to the end of the war, including some huge Berlin maps. Existing TO&E expanded to April 45, Germans get access to a range of non-Heer forces, new weather stuff, and a couple new Regions.  Waffen SS and rag-tag forces will be available for the Red Thunder Module. New Zealand Defense Forces training aid - pretty much that's all there is to say about it. CMBS is owed a Module.  CMBS is theoretically next after CMRT.  Marines are an obvious selection for the first Module and the work being done for CMSF2 is going to pave the way for that to happen.  
Personally I think we will be lucky to see these play out and maybe a mod for CMFB before its time to do some sort of new engine efforts.
If one thing has been consistent over the years, its been how much BF think they can do in a given time frame that never really happens.
So with work already well under way on the next two, no questions there that they are to be completed. Problem was, CMSFII, it has thrown all of these way behind schedule, a year plus at least.
Rome to victory was planned to be out a year ago, but then they had the personnel problems and too many projects to work on at the time, they had to shelf something, Rome was it, so once they ever do get back to it, it should be pretty quick to finish in comparison to what has been going on lately.
So that leaves CMRT, CMBS and CMFB all never having a mod yet, CMRT work in progress. CMBS-marines - parts to be used from cmsfII. and CMFB will get some help from the work on CMRT and CMFI.
So pretty sure these will all stay in the same engine and no major changes.
Now once they ever make it to that, I am pretty sure they will see the need to make a change, likely due to sells by that point.
But lets see how far out even these games will likely be before we see them.
CMSFII partial release  (in a month)
CMSF II completely out and Game engine 4.0 update for all games (6 months)
CMFI Rome to victory (6 months)
MOD for CMBS (12 months)
Mod for CMFB (12 Months)
 
So my guess is that is where the present engine will end. It will be the end of the year 2021. All present games will have at least one mod, they will all go to the end of the war for the WWII titles and CMBS will never see those other Nato forces.
it would be a good time to break into a new engine on a new topic by that point or a old tried and true topic.
 
 

I can never understand how so many otherwise intelligent people on these boards can't seem to understand and accept in regard the BFC business model.  And, while I'm at it, how so many insist on beating a dead horse over and over when BFC/Steve consistently tell them not to expect release dates, dev logs, etc., etc.
Yes, I'm a fanboi, but not because of the above posting, which is simply pointing out my wonderment at people ignoring the facts, repeated and consistent facts.
I'm a fanboi because, in spite of flaws, bugs, long silences and the like,  I love the game and have the utmost confidence in BFC based on a superlative track record of consistently putting out a superior product, continuously fixing bugs for free, upgrading constantly, back-upgrading older products, etc.,  years.
YMMV.

Just to show the drastic difference between how the game models the capabilities of western vs eastern tanks.
I did a battle in CMBS 
4- M1A2 with abs vs
31- T72 B3 range 1500 meters  at the time the abrams roll into place to take on the advancing reds.
ground basically flat with no advantages. Crews of the same quality for both sides
losses were 18 - T72's to take out the 4- M1's
 
Now does that seem like a realistic number, hard to say. what I did find interesting was the Abram kills were 2,3,3 & 10 for one tank
I ran him behind a dead comrade and between that and the smoke drifts that happened, he managed to get lucky and take on small groupings.
 
I think its always hard to decide how accurate the game is to RL. But we do have some real events that show just such results. but mostly these events were Israel conflicts and the tanks are not of the same era. Kuwait also, but there is still plenty of variables. but both have some very one sided results.
 
I find within the game, the basic rule is eastern tanks need to get the jump on allied tanks from flanking positions and even doing that, normally they need to have 2-1 odds and for a sure thing 3-1 odds. With that approach, they will normally have time to spot and at least one will fire before the allied unit. Now in truth, in the real world situation I would expect the same. Because no smart eastern tank commander should ever want to engage head to head without a massive advantage, since they are outclassed in many factors.
Point value wise its easy to get a 2-1 tank ratio. so game balance wise the game might not be all that bad between the two forces. 
But in scenarios where you might not have such advantages. learning how and when to use eastern tanks to take on western tanks is a skill to develop.
The trick is still to only engage if possible when multi units can attack and the tank has to choose to engage one target. letting infantry bait a enemy tank to engage them as your tank positions and fires from another direction is a good method to take away the western tank advantages.
In otherwards, trying to figure out if they have the modelling just right is worthless. Learning good tactics and getting realistic results is the goal.
Presently the game portrays most things pretty accurately. That is all that matters.
 

Select the IED, then draw a target command:
Target the ground nearby to activate it and the triggerman will try and detonate it whenever something gets close enough.
Target a specific enemy unit and the triggerman will try and detonate it when that unit gets close.

Bear in mind that if the triggerman is a potato, can't see, is suppressed, dead or generally unable to push the button, nothing will happen.
There are also Blufor electronic countermeasures to bear in mind: the British Warriors in Breaking the Bank definitely have little ECM sets on them that may- or may not- prevent IEDs from being detonated.

This is a quick, dirty video explanation which I would embed if I could remember how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXwfJbSag1g&feature=youtu.be

Note that the triggerman is a green and -1 leadership potato.

Below is my current IED drill: 
1. Click on IED combat order Target to activate IED1.
2. Click on ground to Target first OpFor to pass or click on specific OpFor unit2.
3. Check that triggerman is in range3.
Notes: 1)Radio triggerman needs LOS to IED to activate during game but not during setup. 2)For small & medium IEDs OpFor must enter the A/S to detonate for large & huge OpFor must enter adjacent A/S. 3)Triggermen needs to spot OpFor by IED to detonate.   
And some general notes on IEDs:
There are four sizes of IED: small, medium, large & huge. There are three types of IED: Wire 100m, 10% failure / Radio 300m, requires LOS to activate, 20% failure / Cell phone 600m, 10% failure. IED teams consist of the bomb and the triggerman.  To work the IED must be activated and the triggerman in range (if radio LOS also) and not panicked with an undamaged trigger device.  If this criteria is met when the triggerman observes OpFor enter the Action Spot (adjacent AS for huge or large device) the device will detonate.  (The triggerman will not detonate the IED unless he can spot OpFor next to it.)  An IED can be activated and detonated by any triggerman.  Example: A Wire triggerman can activate and/or detonate a cell or radio IED.  Any IED triggerman needs to be within 300 meters and LOS to activate a radio IED during the game and during setup.  Any IED triggerman needs to be within 100 meters to activate a wire IED during the game and during setup.  Any IED triggerman needs to be within 600 meters to activate a radio IED during the game and during setup.   
Have a BLAST!! 

You really need to read some books on the subject. 
But American snipers have many task that they can perform, I find that in CMBS I am able to pretty much do anything I was asked to do in RL.
 From scout to spotter, to recon, to delaying tactics. to combat fire support , to designated target missions.
In the WWII titles, they are not as flexible or as powerful. but they still can be a important factor in your force.
 
In CMBS when it is a buy your own force situation. I find that my snipers are my most important infantry asset. Armor, arty, then infantry.
With snipers doing more damage than any other infantry units I use, MG's, grenade launchers and such.
My sniper teams that get used normally will have kills in the teens and will be my units to create the most casualties on the enemy.
For two or 3 men teams and the cost, that is a good trade.
 
I will not write a book for you on how to use them, but everything mentioned is good.
But I will give one comment on a tactic not mentioned.
You do not need to baby them or keep them back in a battle if you want them to be killers on the battlefield for you. if you want them to kill, they need to be at the range they can do that. to keep them doing that they need to in a area where your normal infantry units has fire suppression on the enemy. While the other units can pin the enemy, Sniper units can eliminate them.
Learning to use them in the game for this might change your view on how snipers work.
Keep in mind, A sniper never puts himself in a fair fight, he always wants the advantage, and if he cannot keep that advantage, he always has a escape route to get  out of a bad situation and to set himself up at a new location where he has the advantage once more.
Gaming and losing snipers is no issue, these are not real men, risk reward actions is worth trying in the game, its not like losing someone in real life.