sburke
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Posts posted by sburke
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Sgt Schultz
Some good and interesting advice.
It sure does remind me of why I do not enjoy playing QB's.
Some of you Guys get really masterful at crafting forces that give you some great abilities on the field of play.
As to the original question. Keep in mind , it is actually harder to play good defense. It takes more skill and experence to normally be good at defense, many players do not develope good defensive tactic.
In scenario play, it becomes even more challenging. because you are not able to select your forces. So each battle is giving different units to work with, and many a time they are lacking some of the tools to make a solid defensive set up. So learning to adapt to what you have and situation can be very challenging.
So just keep that in mind, you are looking for good concepts. but there really is not one set of rules that will be able to be followed to lead to the best answer for what is needed.
Funny, maybe just a matter of perspective I prefer defense. I feel it is really really hard to put together a good offense in CM (especially in CMBN bocage country). It could be just a matter of experience (I have played defense a lot more often), but trying to put together an offensive plan is harder for me than putting together a defensive one. However you are right about choices when it comes to scenarios. I fought one CMBN-CW module battle recently and when laying out my initial defense I looked around and thought, where the f**k are my PzShk? Uh oh.... It is a good thing though as you learn (well you hope to anyway- I'm still working on that) how to use different tools.
I haven't leaned toward QBs as I tend to look at them as these strange "what if" hodepodge of choices. Nothing wrong with it, the Germans in particular frequently threw together ad hoc formations especially during MG. Just not my cup of tea - yet.
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I recognize that map. Had a helluva fight there, Pete's Shadow of the hill series - Maltot I believe or something like that.. Nice map and I think you will find it very good terrain for your AT gun.
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I thought the whole point of hidden objectives was that they are only known to the side that has to achieve the objective(s).
For example the Axis side may need to take this location or that location or destroy the HQ or some other unit deemed important by the scenario designer to score points. All while the Allies have no clue that is the intention of the Axis. Meanwhile the Allies have a whole other set of objectives unknown to the Axis.
Nah that's simply different objectives for each side. A hidden objective is hidden from the side that has to achieve it. Usage could be something as simple as "find the german spy" or "rescue the downed pilot" You don't know where they are, but upon finding the hidden objective you are assumed to have achieved the goal.
In Nijmegen for example one unit was sent to a building to destroy the bridge demolition controls. They actually weren't there, in fact it was a pretty stupid thought as it would have meant the demolition controls were on the Allied facing side of the river. Apparently the Dutch thought they were there and the paras didn't think to question them. Back to the point you could have guys searching to locate the demolition controls for a bridge. Lots of potential use if you think about it.
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I've got a huge one towering over the top of my house. It's a cool tree, but I'm worried about it falling through my living room.
They are pretty tough to knock over. As cool breeze noted, the root mass is friggin ridiculous. It is more like a grass than a tree.
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I think we all need to go to a winery and stroll out amongst the vines...with a bottle or two of course...each. We can then discuss the finer points of combat in a vineyard. Maybe grab some cheese and a baguette while we are at it. You need something to point with.
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This is only marginally less lame than break-dance fighting.
Break dance fighting rocks!! Oh wait, wait a minute. Sorry I thought you said beer. Never mind.
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Yeah, I agree. With splitting of squads and such it's not needed.
Mord.
I split my teams as MGs are heavy. That gives the rest of a the force a better chance to run away and a sacrifical lamb of the slower MG team behind them to slow the enemy.
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From Sicily Today:
typically Mediterranean
That is a really really broad statement.
Typically Terran - carbon based life forms.....
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I had one yesterday where a Stuart was right next to a German haltrack on an open road and never did see it. I let it sit there for a full 30 seconds and then on the next turn had the Stuart unbutton. Still nothing. It could see the AT gun the Halftrack had been towing which was right next to it, but not the halftrack. The halftrack had been abandoned, but still running. Over a minute after the Stuart had pulled up next to it a Sherman coming down the road spotted the halftrack and destroyed it. (and almost hitting my own Stuart in the process, The Stuart commander was forced to button up).
For me that wasn't a "spotting cycle issue" I have no idea why but I fully expect that Stuart for some reason was incapable of ever seeing the Halftrack. I have a save so can play around with it to see if it ever does.
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Some times bodies were booby trapped to take advantage of GI acquisitiveness. You go to pluck that Luger and the next thing you know, you're dead.
Michael
or next thing your buddies know...
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watch out using the fast command, it can burn your guys out real quick and in an advance to contact situation that can be particularly annoying. You don't want your guys going into a potential firefight worn out.
Nail biting excitement here. Hat's off to both you and BD for this.
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Same here. At one point San Francisco and Las Vegas were almost at war over finding palm trees for different projects (at the time they were lining the whole Embarcadero area of the waterfront with them) but they aren't native despite how many of em homeowners keep planting. And what a mess. I dug one out of my yard. Hate the damn rat/pigeon infested things.
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What surprised me the most about the result was the fact that, for all intents and purposes, I had all but destroyed Mord's Italians at this point, at a very low cost in casualties, not to mention surrounded the objective and, IRL, would have at this point either had a walk onto the objective or just wait for the surrender. I would not do much, if anything, differently from a strategy POV if I were to play this out again.
I had assumed that not being directly on the objective would cost me a victory but not result in a defeat. The game should take the combat effectiveness of the remaining forces into account. The forces went into battle with a 5:6 manpower advantage for the Italians (and keep in mind, it was an American Attack scenario) and ended at a 4:1 advantage for the US (most all of whom were still combat ready).
The game result actually matters less to me than playing relatively well, seeing my plans work (mostly) and having fun; I thought Mord played a good game, despite having to deal with a number of tactical and force disadvantages.
Yeah that all comes down to what is set in the victory conditions. If there is no allowance for casualties, only objectives...
But I am like you in that I could really care less about the victory screen other than seeing how my force held up compared to the enemy. Fortunately I don't do ladders or tournaments.
I know I was entertained so I would consider this an unqualified success for both of you.
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He didn't find one...
Yeah, DC was robbed. The game ended on the exact last turn...I was expecting at least two more or so. Do QB's do the varied length like CMX1 did? In the VERY least it was a draw.
Mord.
Heh, never count on the clock running over and if there is an objective, you gotta be on it. Take it from me who has twice given up VLs recently just cause I don't want to be bothered leaving guys to sit on their arse. Besides you were only outnumbered by around 4 to 1 at the end. It's just a scratch. Running away eh? Come back here I'll bite yer legs off! LOL
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They surrender and now you have to feed them while they steal the rest of your supplies and sell them on the black market. Yep, you lost.
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I have a man seperated from a squad by 200m. He is stuck on a rock face. Should I have an officer use area fire on him?
no use something bigger, like a tank.
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PS. What is the policy for doctored images btw? I like to enhance my screenshots at times. Would it be ok to post them in this thread?
Cheers,
Dowly
Ha you can doctor them up anyway you want. Broadsword even went so far as to make one look like the old Sgt Rock comics. There have been a number of really cool shots people have toned up to look like old photographs etc.
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Excellent Tiresias. Not sure how it will turn out but I applaud your daring. My first PBEM I had similar issues with artillery. The confusion worked out for me in the end, but still it caused quite a bit of nervousnes and frustration on my part. Best of luck on 3rd platoons counterattack.
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Dang you guys certainly don't believe in farting around. 20 minutes and your hacking at each other like Godzilla vs Mothra.
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It's friggin AAR lovers paradise on the boards these days Far F**kin out!
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Enemy Side Note: This was an extremely lucky shot. I was not paying very close attention during the round before this and thought the Firefly was a Stuart for some reason. It backed out of my LOS so I gave my Jagd an area fire command because there were some infantry or something in that same vicinity that I wanted to harrass...and just happened to blow the crap out of it. I heard the penetration but couldn't figure out what I'd hit. It also explains why DC couldn't get a bead on me.
BTW, whenever I kill one of his mortar squads I jump up on my chair and start peeing on my keyboard while screaming "Take that, Canuckian Sumbastiche!" He's got me to the point where I loathe the very mention of the unit!
Mord.
You must be making someone happy on keyboard purchases.
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Yeah, I noticed that they were a little small....I didn't use them as much in the 2nd AAR.
Anyone got a set of unit icons in a decent size (ideally in green, khaki, grey) that they could upload to the repository for use in AAR screenshots?
I was joking about all the work you and mord put into the UI pics and the unit specific markings, not the game play icons.
Show off your stuff a bit. -
The problem here is that you're writing the campaign script, not setting the starting conditions.
CMMC2 (or 3?) never got off the ground, but the premise for that was /intended/ to be "Low Countries, mid Sept 1944. What are you going to do?" Each side was going to have very detailed and quite (but not completely) historical OoBs, and each side would have objectives set by the Game Master. How they achieved those objectives would be up to the players on each side. As I recall now, the top level Allied objective was to get across the Rhine, in the area of Wesel (maybe?), and they were to have 1st Allied Airborne Army (or part of it - I forget now exactly) available. But they didn't have to use them, and in particular they didn't have to try and re-run Op MARKET GARDEN. The airborne troops could have been used as regular leg infantry, if that's what the Allied player decided they wanted.
Starting a fictional campaign with "... and you have to land 82nd AB exactly here ..." seems too constraining, and too artificial.
Pick an area, set the scene, derive some objectives, make some forces and resources available, then get out of the way.
Depends on your scale. LOL I wasn't trying for Western front 1944. I was figuring an OP layer of anywhere from a single regiment of the 82nd to maybe a corp level game.
Anything beyond that to me is just too unwieldy for an OP layer. Personally I like the idea of a campaign centered around a single regiment trying to hold terrain till being relieved. I am figuring a number of months commitment by very few, not a labor of years by many. -
Thats encouraging - not. I would have thought some enthusiast could have been enlisted to make a more user friendly manual - if not in the actual manual at least linked deliberately as a must read. Something like this:
Priceless info and amusingly told. Something similar for terrain/cover and concealment without getting into boring statistics would be so so useful. : )
That is actually a great idea LOL Something written somewhat tongue in cheek but with appropriate comments as to what to expect from units in different situations.
On a more serious vein what would also I think help is if we had pics of terrain as it is supposed to be represented in CM. For example the heavy rock terrain is actually really low if you put it side by side with XT grass or crop 4. What I don't know is what it is supposed to represent. If I go at face value, it offers almost no concealment value whatsoever just some place to let your tank throw a tread.
The Road Ahead
in Combat Mission Fortress Italy
Posted
Ha you wanted to make sure it stuck in our heads. Not so subliminal advertising. Well it worked, I just added your icons. See my note in the repository.