Childress

Hits will most certainly have an effect on crews, at least psychologically. The degree of that effect would be related to factors like what vehicle they are in, what hits them, training levels, preexisting fatigue, etc. Not sure how the game system reflects this but I assume it does. If someone thinks a 155mm shell going off 10 ft away from your APC would not effect you in any way, I beg to differ. Crew experience would be a major factor. In Black Sea, most crews, regardless of training, would have to be considered relatively inexperienced with actual combat. I agree with the post above that the normal response is often simply to seek cover. Sometimes just the distraction is enough to have a useful effect. 
 
Some of this discussion has jumped between WWII and modern combat. Big difference in an Abrams and a Sherman in terms of the effect non penetrating rounds would have. I personally feel most thin skinned vehicles like APCs would not stick around too long to find out what exactly is hitting them, but would rather seek to move and get out of the line of fire. The crew, knowing full well the lethality of modern weapons, would be affected at least in some manner, ranging from mild distraction to utter panic. Artillery in WWII was used on armor for just this reason. It has morale and other effects that go well past a simple kill. 
 
Love this game system, but one thing it does not model that well is the human element. It can tend to ignore the strong sense of self-preservation in humans. A certain percentage of soldiers have always shirked and even fail to fire their own weapons. It's a little too easy in this game to mount the Charge of the Light Brigade. I will level a building and then have a RPG gunner who was in that building pop up and and hit me from the debris. A fanatical member of Isis maybe, but a Russian conscript? Probably not. This is not a criticism of the game. Its done about as well as could be. Just could use a little tweeking in this regard. Anyone else notice the huge casualty lists that occur in a one hour game? Especially in infantry, I don't find them realistic. A unit that sees itself suffering 40% losses in 30 minutes will most likely become combat ineffective well before it can mount a final push to the objective. 
 
Real combat is often much more desultory than the game system tends to favor. Things are not decided in an hour. A lot more scouting and observation time is often needed to get men to risk their lives. A lot of scenarios tend to devolve into mad rushes for ground objectives, with little time to allow recon to get into position. The system sometimes forces a player to unrealistically disregard the human factor and just plow ahead. It models vehicle behavior pretty well, but the infantry is often pretty much forced to jog into battle or risk not getting into action at all. Of course I understand that realism had to be balanced with gameplay and enjoyability. 

Poland's strategic situation was more or less hopeless with the country surrounded, but the quickness of the German victory was still somewhat unexpected with unusually good autumn weather ("Hitler weather") playing a part, as well as the Russian stab in the back and German terror bombing. So while the French and British weren't exactly on top of things, it wasn't totally unreasonable to expect the Polish campaign to last into spring 1940. If the weather factor had gone the other way it might have.

Apart from the hopeless strategic situation the Poles were hampered by poor mobility, which allowed the Germans to run rings around them operationally even if the tactical situation was a lot more even. German air superiority
also turned retreats into routs, similar to what happened in France and Russia the following years.

Yes the campaigns in Poland, France, etc were stunning successes, especially seen in the light of the times where four years and millions of dead did nothing essentially. That said walkover completely belies the truth of the matter. Poland alone cost the Wehrmacht around 50,000 KIA which is 8k short of total US dead for Vietnam and that campaign was a month long. Norway was a disaster for the German navy and German troops in the far north (Narvik iirc) were almost ordered to turn themselves in to Sweden for internment after allied landings in the area. Hitler was talked out of it by the general staff and the German regiment in question fought a skilled delaying action but only was saved by the victory in France.

My impression: Wiggum, you seem to have a Freudian love/hate relationship going on with Battlefront. I find it reminiscent of of that classic study in contrasts, Sonny and Michael Corleone in the Godfather. It’s no surprise the two sons aren’t exactly BFFS, but in a weird way, they sort of need each other. And they have almost nothing to learn from the wimpy middle brother, Fredo. I'm glad you're not Fredo.

My impression: Wiggum, you seem to have a Freudian love/hate relationship going on with Battlefront. I find it reminiscent of of that classic study in contrasts, Sonny and Michael Corleone in the Godfather. It’s no surprise the two sons aren’t exactly BFFS, but in a weird way, they sort of need each other. And they have almost nothing to learn from the wimpy middle brother, Fredo. I'm glad you're not Fredo.

And they had a devastating impact. To the point that German troops refused to leave their bunkers. Interestingly the Germans were on their way to producing an equivalent weapon by 1940 but, by a fuhrer decree, it was postponed in favor of projects that were applicable to the upcoming Barbarossa campaign. They developed a working prototype in 1944 but it was too late for meaningful production.

For the benefit of those who have never played the game which started all of CM, CMx1's CMBO, which had it, and play only CMx2 WW II games, I wish to point out that an Allied super secret weapon called VT (Variable Time, cover term for radar proximity fuze) made its Landser shredding ground combat debut during the Battle of the Bulge. Prior to then, out of real fear the Germans might capture duds, VT fuzed munitions were only used at sea or firing over water, as in defending England against the V-1s. Short now it can be (sort of) told film. Further, apparently VT entered combat without official permission from Ike! All I ever knew was that it was first used at the Battle of the Bulge. bit of a shocker.
 

 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

I cannot help but marvel at how spoiled many players seem to be. But I guess its because I well remember playing board games in the 70's like Richthofens' War, Panzer Blitz, and Tobruk, among many other games.In my wildest dreams I never could have imagined games like the CMx2 series.
But when I see players in the forum lamenting things like how the snow disappoints them I just shake my head sometimes.

I use a laptop as well, MOS. It runs the game decently on higher settings.
Check out this one:
http://www.amazon.com/GL551JW-DS71-15-6-Inch-Gaming-Laptop-GTX960M/dp/B00T7XRH2A

Was reading about something else, when I came across this Patton quote. I'm sure we've already long since understood what Patton thought needed to be done and why, so let's stipulate that. What I'd like to see discussed is his argument that if he kept going (wanted to take Prague), he could beat the Red Army in six weeks. I'm hardly a Red Army expert, but I will say several of the Russian accounts I've read talk about how utterly supply depleted the Red Army was, especially after taking Berlin. The Russians had shot their bolt and had no means of rapidly resupplying their forces, if the russian sources are to be believed. Some go so far as to state they were semistarved and deeply grateful to find a big vat of German margarine to supplement their meager rations. In light of that, I invite you to discuss the quote below, particularly since there's been an outcry dating back to CMx1 CMBO asking for the means to let us pit the Red Army vs the US, possibly with some German units under US control. 
 
“The American Army as it now exists could beat the Russians with the greatest of ease, because, while the Russians have good infantry, they are lacking in artillery, air, tanks, and in the knowledge of the use of the combined arms, whereas we excel in all three of these.”
Regards,
John Kettler
 
 

Great minds think alike. Suppression 'light'- and the resulting inflation in casualties- has (arguably) characterized all the CM2 titles. It may be a calculated decision on the part of BF in order to make the games more approachable and fun for non-grogs. The sterner system in CM1 (especially Barbarossa to Berlin)  aroused complaints from many buyers. But not everyone. In an older post I alleged that the hardcore guys play with a modified and much more punitive version at a hotel in Vermont. These events are held quarterly and entry requires a secret handshake 
 
You'll need a cattle prod to get those cowering GIs or landsers over the next hill..

Great minds think alike. Suppression 'light'- and the resulting inflation in casualties- has (arguably) characterized all the CM2 titles. It may be a calculated decision on the part of BF in order to make the games more approachable and fun for non-grogs. The sterner system in CM1 (especially Barbarossa to Berlin)  aroused complaints from many buyers. But not everyone. In an older post I alleged that the hardcore guys play with a modified and much more punitive version at a hotel in Vermont. These events are held quarterly and entry requires a secret handshake 
 
You'll need a cattle prod to get those cowering GIs or landsers over the next hill..

I can think of a situation, common in all the CM titles, where providing the AI with area firing capability improves realism. There are scenarios in which the battlefield is dominated by a tall building or a church steeple or windmill. The first thing a human player does is send an FO team scrambling up to the top floor. Where it remains, enjoying total immunity from speculative fire from the enemy. Against another human opponent? Fughedabouit

Congratulations on your new game!
 
Yeah, not having fully-updated demos is a real bummer. Probably, they've had to keep them that way to avoid demoing features that you'd have to add an upgrade purchase to actually get.
 
In the QB screen, you can adjust the Attacker's forces up or down with the Force Adjustment setting at the bottom left. Once you get your feet wet, playing as the Attacker against the QB AI gives you the most challenge. Unless you give the AI overwhelming odds, it does not generally provide much of a challenge as the Attacker once the player has become comfortable with the CM system and core tactics.
 
Since you are a CMRT owner now, you should use that Forum to get caught up on tactics, tips, etc.
 
Here are some links for you though:
 
Controls
Tutorial on Basic Controls (start here):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEADCORhMu8 Big Combat Mission Tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbE8795rt2s Tactics
Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode I:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ6dDlqye9Q Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode II:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHm6FDh1738 Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode III:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4MNt-BtBM Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode IV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQgFnIW3VtE Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode V:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFc6ge53jZQ Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode VI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvoKNVDNtVI  
Map Making
 
Map Making Tutorials:
http://www.twitch.tv/chrisnd/c/5628262 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MygoJ4KQlSk  
Mods
(Juju) http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=351&game_type=7 (Vein) http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=336&game_type=7 (Aris) http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=355&game_type=7 (Kieme) http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=492&game_type=7 (Tanksalot) http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=408&game_type=7  
 
Some of the  tutorials are for older versions/other families, but the core principles still apply.
 
Have fun and I look very forward to hearing more feedback from you!

Seoul, by all accounts, is a throbbingly vital, 1st world city possessing every amenity conceivable. As  a DRPK apparatchik I'd think twice before letting my troops get a glimpse of the place.

Thanks. These would make great loading screens.

Prefer Russian side but am flexible. Realistic battles are a must so, please, no 'Meeting Engagements'.  And anyone uploading youtube AARs will be prosecuted. Or worse.
 
Contact me at virtualczar@kremlin.com. можетпобедит сильнейший!
 

Prefer Russian side but am flexible. Realistic battles are a must so, please, no 'Meeting Engagements'.  And anyone uploading youtube AARs will be prosecuted. Or worse.
 
Contact me at virtualczar@kremlin.com. можетпобедит сильнейший!
 

Prefer Russian side but am flexible. Realistic battles are a must so, please, no 'Meeting Engagements'.  And anyone uploading youtube AARs will be prosecuted. Or worse.
 
Contact me at virtualczar@kremlin.com. можетпобедит сильнейший!
 

My AA assets usually come through. Could be just a case of bad mojo.
 
Have you tried prayer?

My AA assets usually come through. Could be just a case of bad mojo.
 
Have you tried prayer?

cool breeze,
 
What's not-hotseat? If it's a gaming mode, I must've missed it. For me, the CMBN Demo, it was vs AI only, there being no potential opponent nearby. My hotseat experience is limited and goes all the way back to CMx1's CMBO. I found it awkward and counter immersive. Can you play the CMBS Demo on LAN? Am pretty sure there's no PBEM.
 
Regards,
 
John Kettler

My AA assets usually come through. Could be just a case of bad mojo.
 
Have you tried prayer?

Life is harsh, specially if you're old, alone and feeling rejected by the very people you like to talk with...

The reason for this thread is that John's good intentions, prolific reading and general enthusiasm for BFC games has drawn criticism from other forum members who don't share John's degree of wonderment with the world at large.
 
My opinion is that John should just say something like "Suck it up, princess" in response to the other posters' criticisms, but the apparent level of catharsis it brings him from 'brain dumping' in this forum keeps him wary of being banned or something, and thus on his back foot, and leads him to put too great of a weighting to others' negative opinions.
 
In summary, keep posting, John! Either in this thread or in the forum at large. Whatever works.