Vark

Yup, whatever map Bil plays on, he will bring his tactical expertise to and you will be leaving with a sore bottom, after a severe spanking. He will : analyse terrain, draw up his FRAGO, state his commanders intent and you better have a similar knowledge and maintenance of purpose, not just be there to push a few pixel soldiers and have some fun. Therein could be CM's Achilles heel, the sheer effort needed to have a decent game might put people off who liked the rough and ready approach to CM1, as the Danish review said perhaps, as it strives for ever greater fidelity, it is becoming 'soulless'. For some, less a game, more a rewarding project.

An 88m round, through a firing slot and only one man is hurt, boy those Rangers are tough, myopic, but tough.

10 points for a trench, IIRC. Would be interesting to run a CMGL and CMAK scenario side by side, similar terrain, force mix and play it simultaneously. I'm not saying skill is made redundant, and the end result probably not much different, but the butchers bill and the opportunities for fast and furious action, would be greater. Don't also forget the lack of resupply means infantry rapidly burn through their ammo, in attacks and the screen line, backed by support weapons could stop most scouting attempts unless heavily reinforced. Jason used to wax lyrical about scouting with a pair of tanks supported by a reinforced platoon and expect to loose half, GaJ is unlikely to even get this number of kills and he is a competent player. So my point stands, CM1 allowed lesser able players to compete and give a better showing, defeated most likely, but able to console themselves with a few moments of inflicting pain on their opponent. CM2 does not allow this ability, with relative spotting, placement and movement of units is key, and this is the hardest thing for non-military players to master, especially as terrain has more fidelity and granularity. You did get fall back fox holes, but try to use them without losing most of the relocating squad! Oh the memories of my pixel troopers twitching until one man finally lay spread-eagled.

Sorry, most of the time GaJ is frustrated by his lack of eyes on Bill's forces, and many units fail to fire. As attacker, the stay behind telepathic sharpshooter, destroyed many concealed approaches, if this were a CM1 game, yes GaJ would have had a fighting chance, he'd be able to detect and discern Bill's intent far quicker and that is often the key to a successful defence. For the attacker in CM1, borg spotting allowed an unrealistic speed and weight of fire that could eliminate many defensive assets, but only after they had revealed themselves at the most efficient and devastating time. Don't forget also that trenches were far more effective. So CM1 was far easier to play as defender.

I guess the retort of the attacker would be, he is forced to assault a defensive position from the front, so the advantages even out. I do think Bill's map gives him an advantage, but I think he would clinically dissect any map and exploit all its advantages. GaJ is simply outclassed, and as history shows, this often pre-determines the result of any engagement. Having bought a new PC I never reinstalled CM1, don't know if it would offer any real challenges and the lack of flexibility, especially in tactical choices would be frustrating.

I found the random maps, in CM1, were far more realistic when you used the random features. I did like having a completely random game as it generated some classic battles, my favourites included a 20% depleted recce company fighting through a very realistic Russian village, in the fog and rain!

I think the more 'accurate', i.e. close to a perceived reality, this game gets, the greater this disparity between 'professional soldiers' and amateurs will get. Especially as a computer engine will naturally err towards an approach that greatly favours the execution of a military METT analysis, with its precise timings and coordination. Though we all mocked the Borg spotting, it allowed neophytes to put up a good show against the old soldiers, and an exciting time was had by all. Here it's like watching a trained swordsmen outwit and humiliate an eager novice. I don't think most of the posters here, including myself, go into such a pre-game analysis and, as a result, would probably find themselves in a similar situation to GaJ, i.e. about to loose big time. Swap roles, and Bill would have executed a frustratingly efficient defence, with alternative firing points, covered avenues of approach, key holed ATG guns and support weapons covering carefully planned obstacles and a fast mobile reserve, not penny-packeted. GaJ might have been able to raise his kill count, but would still have lost. This then raises the question, was CM1 more fun to play for the average gamer? I'm not talking AI, which is always a good boost for the ego, but against a human opponent. A few posters have commented on the slowness of pace and sporadic clashes, get used to it.

Will skirts be damaged/removed if travelling through dense undergrowth, or as a result of near impacts by heavy HE, as historically happened.

It's reckless because an Elephant would have broken down or bogged by now. Given Ferdinand drivers were instructed to only make shallow turns, even on roads, one can only imagine what the Italian landscape did to them. As for spotting, most of the historical AAR's constantly refer to spotting units only after they have opened fire, perhaps GaJ should have used movie lighting to make his units harder to spot!

I think in game might be too much, but a unit who has a couple of hours before an assault will have improved their positions. This could be shell scrapes, removal of small trees blocking the LOS of a key holed position, knocking out firing loops etc. If engineering assets were available the unit could be far better prepared. If the defender has to pay for field defences, the attacker has an advantage. All I'm suggesting is that defenders get an automatic bonus defensive position if it is determined they have had time to prepare. Obviously a hasty attack is another matter.

I'm still working out how MG will play out without flamethrowers. Talking of objects, will you have the waist-high wire fences that channelled and slowed infantry movement? http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DNL4-9VTjJk/UKk6L6BEyeI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/VEa3wTJkDRI/s1600/633px-Soldiers_on_their_way_to_Arnhem.jpg

But were the men of Royal Fusiliers Company C wearing shorts? Never liked the uberly-pretentious Wall, though I am a teacher, so somewhat biased about the merits of education and the fashionable sniping at my profession.

I'm wondering if units should be able to have support/heavy weapons automatically dug in, or at least in a shallow shell scape. Looks like GaJ's forces were doing a SPR and wittering away telling funny anecdotes, when they should have been hard at work with the entrenching tools!

Colonel Menniger has a lot to answer for! My post was a simple statement about having to skip posts because they are a continuation of an intellectual skirmish that never dies down. As soon as JK posts you feel duty bound to attack anything he has to say, I've found his posts on a number of topics highly useful, others I mentally redact, without having to continually announce my dislike for them. Active enough for you?

I tell you what I find boring is the way certain posters take their animosity/grudge/hostility, toward one an another and parachute it into any post. Rather like a virtual, perpetually squabbling couple, as soon as one of them posts you wait for the sarcastic/defensive comments, from the other. Although mildly amusing, at first, this odd couple routine is one of the main derailer of posts. Don't read each others posts, simple.

Don't apologise, I'm useless at deciphering meanings, unless blatantly proffered, especially as my students have mentally already gone on holiday, it's like herding cats at the moment, big, noisy cats! Napoleon was meant to have said, about an officer who was highly proficient, brave and resourceful. ' "That's all very well," he said, "but is he lucky?" Your comment about GAJ's team raises another issue, the seeming lack of SA when teams open up. In real life would it not be better to try to sneak away, than blatting the TC? Tempting target though he may be. I'm a convert to movie view, even though think it's a bit SPR at times it's more atmospheric than the original colours. Some of the screen shots have verged on the visually poetic. Alan, no one's saying cower, just react in the usual surprised human reaction, action timescale.

The 'not having a go' was in relation to your tactics and playing style, I think, as a potential customer who has purchased and promoted BF products, I am quite in my rights to make an observation, made by many, that highlights the uncanny ability of tanks to rapidly spot and engage infantry. In CM1, for its many faults, tanks would be automatically shocked by a crew casualty, seems in CM 2 they are made of sterner stuff. Even If I do accept your scenario and they did fire ahead of them, whilst reversing, it's damn lucky they hit anything, then again you might have that Napoleonic criteria and GAJ the reverse.

Surely a tank crew would me more than rattled to have their TC taken out, he's screaming/groaning or slumped lifeless. Either way, the most important crew member is out of action and the remaining crew are not reversing but spraying accurate MG fire around. Not having a go Bill, your tactics have been highly professional, but tanks react far too quickly and effectively, especially against infantry and especially when having crewmen killed/injured. This then seriously unbalances the role of infantry and diminishes the efficacy and need for combined arms.

Imagine what Stalingrad will look like! I do hope they will make FIBUA less of a chore and an exercise in pot-luck. CM 1 had the balance down quite well, doable but difficult, CM2 is a path finding nightmare with no SOP's for house clearance available.

Have the legions of CM grogonauts run any tests to prove this theory, or is it anecdotal? I certainly am surprised at how quickly my Chally II's pick up close range infantry, which seems at odds to the stories told by an ex-Chally II commander I work with.

It's a Panzernest MG bunker. http://weaponsandwarfare.com/?p=759

I've seen stills of the movie, but never the actual thing, amazing how sinister some of the German kit still looks, even in defeat!

You can see why professional soldiers kill this lot by the truck full, when allowed by their ROE

If somebody develops a missile that homes onto the human voice, chanting Allah U' Akbar, this lot will be in trouble!

Aren't hefalumps vulnerable to top attacks due to their large engine grills? Could you have bought 4.2' mortars, or were they too expensive?