Combatintman

I'll raise you

So you either think that the Brits are going to be different or you don't. At the end of the day the Brits will bring a whole lot of difference - the accents are window dressing - if that is a deal breaker then I am sorry but to dismiss the kit just destroys me ...it's different and that is the point!!!

Just play and don't sweat about winning or losing - start slow and build up. So do all of the scenarios first before touching the campaign and start with wego basic training and move up from there. I've been playing this game for a year and have only just moved up to real time and veteran and haven't finished the campaign yet (some of this is due to system specs). I've enjoyed every minute - having recently moved to real time (now I have a decent system) and patched to V1.10 this game rocks and when I get beat I'm totally over it. Wego is good to start with though because you can replay and analyse what went right and wrong. Welcome and happy New Year.

I guess we'll have to wait and see won't we? The so called 'knee mortar' is on its way out and under a UOR is being replaced by a 60mm mortar and as Flamingknives correctly states it can be used as a standard indirect fire weapon or as a 'commando' weapon. However the 'knee mortar' is quite versatile and was popular until recently because it could be used to break into compounds in Afghanistan.

There's a British Module? What does this mean for the Normandy Module? (insert WW2 dullness here _____) I saw a Bren tripod at Pegasus Bridge 2 weeks ago btw ...

Bolt - Merry Xmas too. I'm not talking about the FOO having to switch nets to the arty net I'm talking about Joe Grunt which adds to the friction as I stated previously.

Now you mention TO&E - a couple of things bug me now that I've been picking through it in detail. 1. If you pick a Guards Mech Inf Bn with BMP-2 - not all of the members of the 4th Platoon (MG) of the Mech Inf Coy fit in the vehicles allocated to it. 2. I can't figure the logic of some of the unit picks. The default Coy-level mortar is the 120mm M-1943 but in certain formations (Regular Infantry if memory serves) if you go for the lower level equipment quality ratings the Bn Mortar Platoon ends up with M-1937 82mm mortars. That surely can't be right. Personally I'd go for 82mm as the default Coy-level mortar pick and then let the quality settings determine whether the Bn Mortar Platoon gets the M-1943 (Good) or M-1937 (Poor).

It means that there are less observers to cover the ground - one FOO is not going to give the same situational awareness as 3 or 4 for starters. If you're in the Syrian Army and you spot a target but your FOO doesn't it means you have to call in the Fire Mission. The likelihood is that your target indication and correction drills are not going to be as good and you're probably going to have change nets to the arty net to do it. It all adds up to more friction and slower response times.

There are still the soft factors to consider though - the Syrian artillery organisation is similar to the Former Soviet model in that there are 6 x guns to a battery and 18 x guns to a battalion. Within those structures the numbers of FOOs are less than those that you will see in a Western organisation - for example each British Army Battery will have between 3 and 4 x FOOs whereas the Former Soviet organisation had only one per battery meaning there are less people available to call in the guns.

No interest in contemporary warfare ... have you tried it? I cut my teeth on WW2 but have diversified since then and enjoyed the experience. Give it a go - you might surprise yourself rather than going over well-trodden ground.

Ok ... the point I make is that it would be nice if the priorities for the map editor represented stuff that was actually fought over rather than stuff that people see in war films. If there is the capacity to please both audiences then no problem but if a castle/chateau was thrown in at the expense of a bridge for instance then that would be a bit pants.

Yes but we have 40m UGL as well - two per section. The 51mm mortar has always been a platoon weapon and the 60mm procured as the UOR is a platoon weapon.

Why the need for a castle/chateau - how many were fought over that anybody would have read about? I go to Normandy in about 3 hours time - not one of the stands on the battlefield tour begins or even has the word 'chateau' in it.

The 51mm has no bipod and has a relatively short range - it is due to come out of service and is in the process of being replaced by the 60mm mortar which as a bipod (although can be used without) and a longer range. One of the reasons it is a popular weapon is that it is reportedly quite effective in knocking compound walls down in the 'Stan in a sort of direct fire role. That said - the 60mm mortar that has been purchased as a UOR also has the capability of being fired without the benefit of a tripod.

And in another thread the fact that new terrain would be available in the USMC module was specifically mentioned.

Not really - if I could swivel my cupola and have a shooter pointing in the right direction I'd do exactly that - easy for me to say - the only armoured vehicles I've crewed (FV-430 series) I had no protection when commanding it but the GPMG was always pointed at the enemy. So perfectly logical - when you go into action you have to believe in yourself and you have to put the job first. The job is commanding the vehicle which requires situational awareness and in that series of vehicles at that time you had to be exposed to make sure that the driver knew where he was going and that the guys in the back knew what was going on. So if you have a shooter to hand - then you grab hold of it and you swing it at the direction of travel or the enemy.

The Brits are coming - the irony of us being late for a war for once! It'll be worth the wait though - we eat pies so the blob behaviour you describe will be realistic.

Whilst I don't agree with the statement that the IDF would be cooler than the Brit module there is a clear case for the whole Arab Israeli thing over the years - points of reference and equipment and TO&Es that covers the period from the late '40s until now. That would be great and I'd love to see it. Also I think Battlefront may have the terrain sorted already

Your guess about size is probably wrong - there is nothing that I've seen that indicates that the map size will increase.

The Red Rage You state yourself that you have force preservation as your primary objective. That is an unnecessary constraint you are placing upon yourself unless the scenario/orders demand it. On the other hand you know that you have a maximum of 2 hours to complete the task yet refuse to abide by it. Personally I'd rather see longer battles myself but the whole art is working within the constraints and coming up with the best solution within your means - by adding your own constraints you aren't doing that. I've had my backside handed to me on a number of scenarios through either taking too long initially or through pushing on - I'm over it and learnt from it.

More applicable in COIN campaigns as well - insurgents relieving bodies of weapons and ammunition - would count up if the missions were designed right,

Time is always a constraint or at least a factor in any military operation - so you manage it basically. In this case you have a max 2 hour limit ... manage it.

From what I've read water will rock up when this engine goes back to WW2. Now don't get me wrong I'm a fan of this game but to miss water out in the Syrian setting was for me a bit of a disappointment. Having looked around the 'scape on Google Earth there are shed loads of water features and as we all know water is the basis of human life - ergo - settlement of any description must = nearby water. Trawling around Iraq and Afghanistan - same deal and although it's not part of the backstory the developers must have thought - ok modern game set it in the Middle East with FSU kit on one side and US Army on the other - modders and scenario designers will start to look around and do scenarios set in Iraq or Afghanistan. Certain areas of Afghanistan you can get around - I basically use a marsh tile for the 'wadi edge' and gravel tiles for the wadi - if you look at some areas in Helmand on Google Earth you'll see how accurate that can be ... but I can't do the Helmand River. Luckily - this will get sorted out by the time World War 2 returns - and I thought if finished in 1945 but hey I've been wrong before.

When the British Module comes out I could be persuaded to model - I've got great cheekbones you know!!

Well the answer is simple ... play WEGO. Or ... 'Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in'. Napoleon Bonaparte