Falconander

c3k, Either give me your e-mail or e-mail me at phillipwight@hotmail.com and I will give you the saved game file. Thanks, Falconander

I'll boost up the difficulty level tonight and see if it persists. It is not really a fog of war deal as lines of sight or still pretty much realistic. Especially in this case where the Blue started high in the hills and were just raining down javalins onto the encampments below. Red could not even see my guys until I got bored and rushed through a hole in the wall to engage them. Hot seat is pretty cool especially if you have someone you want to show the game. Don't think it is a deal breaker either as if you know it is there, one with honor would not try to exploit it. Sergei I think is more on line with the difficulty level as it gives you a chance to see what is going on and how the other team is delpoying its forces and weapons. Kind of cool that with 7,000+ posts this is the first I have seen this come up. Be honest, I kind of like the feature when I am playing against myself as it lets me check the accuracy/effect of my fire. For example I have machine guns set to area fire on the hills. Is this a waste of resources or is this having some effect on impeding/hindering blues forces. When I am Blue I can see my men as well as the enemy area fire target and determine how effective the area fire is. On the other hand, that area fire artillery marker right square in the middle of nothing is going to have to move so that is why I call it gamey. But at Basic Training level you need to learn these lessons so maybe that is why it is present. Thanks for the input so far, any other ideas?

Mark, YOu have mail. Back home looking at the game right now and it is showing everything. I can even see Blue's target arcs. My machinegunnner is real happy that is falls short of his position. He can pull out a Mag and catch a smoke. Saw something else on this map. I am targeting with Blue onto Red even though Red is not a "seen" icon, meaning dull orange and not bright orange. But alas Red cannot target the dull blue Icons. Is this due to the communication of Blue equipment? I believe this is the case.

It think Fort Lewis had issues, While I was there on movement, we ended up on a tank live fire range. That is the best we could make of it. I have vague memories of it but I remember a very dark night and a lot of "oh ****s" and some frantic hussling to get the hell off. On the way off I think we saw a sign or something that said beware live fire range. Did not do us much good in the dark.

Not to sound like a Newbie but how do I send a saved file? Appreciate the help...

Difficulty was basic training. Might have something to do with it. Keep it easy for the newbies....

Roger that, I'll check again tonight. Maybe in the heat of battle I got turned around. Pretty sure of myself as the Syrians had a hard time finding any of my men on the ridge where I could see half of his men/armor. So I was looking at all of my men and seeing only some of his. So pretty sure I was "blue' at that time. I'll check to see if I was confused though...

Ok, Playing hot-seat and controlling both teams on a QB map. I was firing on the syrians and saw his FO pop up (well actually my FO... but let's not get complicated). So as the "Blue" force I clicked on the Syrian FO and it showed his fire fire marker for his artillery right on my men. I saw the green circle and everthing. I clicked on the machinegun units and sure enough I saw their red line makring their area fire. I am pretty sure I even saw the movement lines of the BMPs when I clicked on the Syrians BMPS. Surely this can not be intended? As naturally speaking if you can see the firing zones and movement of the enemy you can plan accordingly. Has anyone else noticed this in a hot seat game. I did not use passwords as I was both sides. --> I was playing hotseat to figure out how sighting works as well as try and set up a fair game for my son to play. Seeing the attack/move markers is not a big deal but I would think this is an oversight and not an intentional feature of hotseat.

Checked things out again last night, The syrian FO could only land rounds when not under fire. Soon as he came under fire the rounds stopped. I killed him with a Javalin, bit of an overkill but still so fun. All was quiet after he died. I think the "denied" came into play when I went to another unit to check on the status of the inbound rounds and it showed denied since I was on a regular unit. I'll go back tonight and see if the FO's window shows denied when under fire.

Yea, I had a grunt call in four artillery strikes in one round on the run jumping over a wall as he assaulted a building. Talk about one multi-tasking grunt.... I think it has to deal with surpression because I don't think I changed the caller and it alternated between firing and denied. But than again I was desperate to try anything as the marines were coming through the woods and I was being pounded by the results of the "blue" grunt calling arty on the fly. As much as I like real-time, hot-seat is pretty darn cool as an alternative. You get to learn both sides and see the effects.

Moon, I'll pick it up when it comes out. I really want to like it. One thing that miffed me was the spawning of groups. So you could artillery/mortar a position on your approach to only have units spawn out of nowhere. Not quite as much immersion as CMSF but I loved your purchase system. I have no clue why this was left out of CM games. But each road takes its own path and that is why I own as many games as I do. To say I shelved a game means that there was just too much else to play at the time. I admit I think about playing it again. The first addition to anything usually is not up to par especially if it had the "From the makers of Combat Mission..." plastered all over it. Having not found this board yet I was chomping at the bit. Actually TOW led me back to CM with the downloads and purchasing Marines. So I have a lot to be thankful for with TOW. I remember playing Shogun Total War. Compare that to the upcoming Empire Total War and you realize that my 5-6 games invested in that company was well worth it. Almost like a good wine, they get better with time. Ok, since you mentioned it and the TOW forums are sparse, give an estimate for the demo for TOW2.....

Just my two cents... TOW was terrible and I shelved it after 2 days. The same is not true for CMSF which is a travesty to have their name even associated with TOW. TOW had so much potential but a little too Sudden Strike-ish for my tastes. Though I do like Sudden Strike when really bored... The experience and traking of units/purchasing is the only saving grace to TOW.

Playing last night in a turn-based game as well as playing both sides and saw that the Syrians spotter had artillery but that it was denied. A little while later it let me squeeze off some rounds but went back to denied. I know the US does not need eyes on target after the call but do the Syrians need eyes on the target the whole time? He was getting supressed at one point does that matter? Or was this simulating the US counter-artillery? It was fun playing both sides. Massive marine surge caused the Syrians to break and run for it eventually.

You are right. With the M60 you could effectively fire over a rise/burm/hill and walk the beaten path to a target. You would need a spotter or some other means to see that you are on target. Not used too much in my days but I thought it was pretty cool. Still remember the tracers bouncing off of rocks and buildings flying up into the sky at night. Pretty cool stuff. You realize why they don't let flyovers during live fires.

I was doing some research annd thought I'd share. I did not think they would deploy to Iraq but they did and lost 53 of their own. The 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division is the Army's newest Airborne unit. The "Spartan Brigade" was officially formed July 14, 2005, at Fort Richardson, Alaska. The Spartans became a part of Task Force Marne on April 23. The Brigade is the first, new Airborne unit created in the U.S. Army since the end of World War II and is the only Airborne unit west of the Mississippi River. Located on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, the Spartan Brigade is a strategic asset to the Department of Defense’s Pacific Command. It provides a quick reaction force capable of deploying anywhere in the world in 18 hours or less. The Spartan Brigade was formed with six battalions; 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, known as 1 Geronimo; 3 Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry, known as 3 Geronimo; 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry known as Denali; 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 377th Field Artillery, called Spartan Steel; 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, the Warrior Battalion and the 725th Brigade Support Battalion, the Centurions. Since the Brigade was formed, the Spartans have conducted training missions all over the world. The Paratroopers have conducted parachute operations and mass attack airborne assaults on three different continents, in both hemispheres and at both, the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., and the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana. In its first year, the Spartan Brigade conducted more than 10 Battalion sized and two Brigade sized field training exercises. The Paratroopers of the Spartan Brigade have trained in the jungles of Thailand and the deserts of the Australian Outback and the American Southwest. They conducted operational training in -60 degree weather near the Arctic Circle and the 120 degree heat of the swamps of Louisiana, all in preparation for their deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In October 2006, less than a year after the Spartan Brigade was fully formed, it deployed to southern Iraq and took over operational control of the Babil, Karbala and An Najaf provinces. The brigade returned from deployment in December 2007 after losing 53 of their paratroopers.

Seabee, Good recount of machinegun use. I was an M60 team leader and this is all dead on. Flanker15, I could swear that area fire causes the machinegun to traverse/sweep back and fort hacross a target area. Had a BMP area fire my snipers i nthe bush one time. Son of a gun could not see me too well but that area fire swept around a bit and kep them pinned until they were dead. As far as grazing fire goes, I would love to hear of someone who has deployed this in actual combat and how effective it was. Plus a guess at the rounds they put down range for this. Grazing fire was always on the range card but I rarely used it.

Whether a scenario or QB, how do you choose what map to play? I think in the old days you had to say medium, night, attack, village, small etc... and hope that your map came up that fit the parameters. Is there any easier way? Sorry for the basic question but I have been toying with the WEGO method and wanted to test some maps. So a real basic walk through would be appreciated... Maybe best practices on saving a scenario for quick retrieval as well. So if I make a scenario and save it as a .qb (??) what is the easiest way to find and play this battle?

While some real life training will never cross over, other things will, some practical and some not. Reading manuals and research will help non-military play and it is hard to say who has the edge. I think military knowledge has the edge on the gamer in this game. My son and nephews can take me easily in a 'shooter' like COD: Modern Warfare. But I can school them in this game. So many different variables to consider from weapons ,fields of fire, cover&concealment, endurance, morale, squad tactics etc. That being said, it is a short lived advantage. Since as you play someone, you learn their tactics. Bounding overwatch or the use of highground and fields of fire are probably the best lessons learned that I apply in this game.

Just as a side note, In a perfect world, units are trained and deployed where they have the best expertise and tactical knowledge. Stationed down in Panama, I had little fear of being deployed into a cold weather climate as there are other units more suitable for deployment there. So I never had to imagine being in the snow when trecking through the jungle. But we practiced jungle warfare over and over again. Up in Fort Lewis, we often had to train with 'miles' gear or at worse was without ammo from lack of funding. Other times we shot thousands of round into the air just to be sure we were issues the same amount of ammo next time around. So we had alot of training that was 'free'. We started using simulators more towards the end but mainly mount type items nothing on the squad/platoon/company level. The modeling of fear/morale is always going to be difficult and I would have to say hard to train on. The one thing is life that can hold true is that just when you expect someone to do something, they completely surpise you. One of the worst attributes that the US military has is to underestimate the resolve of the enemy. Our over confidence has cost us some very painful lessons. But yes, I can see some applications of this in the military and wargaming will always be a great pairing to actual hands on experience. It is applied knowledge at it best so I agree with you on that point. Lastly, if you really think about things. Wargaming conditions us and our society for the acceptance of the condition of war. I have young sons and cousins who play wargames and not to trivialize things but they are more apt to go into the military and be prepared than those who do not play wargames. So I'd move to the point that we are being conditioned at an early age to take on a soldiers view. The conspiracy part of me would say that the military and the game companies would one day in the near future share ideas on what attributes to focus on. I think we will see a blend of gaming/military controls as we continue to condition ourselved to the transition from civilian to military. Lastly, way off the subject, but I wonder if there is any difference in battle field fatigue/ shell-shock or whatever for those who have been wargamers for a long time. Almost like a prepping....

http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/rooftop.asp Terrain dictates everything and when there is no road or other viable alternative, helo operations are going to be used. Quick insertion/extraction is the role of helicopters. When permitting, off target for the walk in to obviously keep them safe but there will be many times to come when they are going to have to be danger close. I still love this picture.

Even after Black Hawk Down, you are still going to have use of Airborne and Air Assault missions. Even is being dropped into a hot LZ isn't ideal, neither was the 'drive' out. I'd take a covert flight in any day over driving through a maze of streets or walking several miles through hostile city streets. Fast roping in is one way but think of the paratroopers in WWII. Many of them did not land in ideal formation/location but the quick insertion was needed. Air Assault and Airborne ops will always be part of the mission. Different locations/terrain/objectives require different tactics. Snatch and grab ops are just one example. How about Afghanistan mountains? I'll take the Chinook to the top any day over the walk.

Saw a good article this morning... Take a look at this.. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081212/ap_on_re_us/ten_silver_stars Talk about walking into the belly of the beast and making it out alive. Thank God for Close Air Support. Thes guys would have been toast without it.

Grrrrrrr.... freaking wacko ! After I finish Milk Run, I am going to take one of their spotters, strap him on to the hood of my Hummer and drive him into the nearest minefield. If the mines don't get him than maybe the Arty will..... Oh man that would be sweet.... POWs. That would solve the figuring out where minefields are. Just do the POW forward sweep. OK.. .request 532,467 is to let us capture POWs and being able to simulate what we want with them. Cmon I know it might take 500 man hours of time to do this but think of the joy you would bring to us as we had the ability to throw people off of roofs or interrogate them.

snake_eye, By Dragon, I meant the anti-tank weapon. I started in Ranger Batt in Georgia after Airborne school. Later decided to go to 1/508th in Panama which was an Airborne battalion (sister battalion to the 82nd). After the treaty deactivated, my Colonel wanted me to go to 3rd SOSC (Spec Ops) but having been recently married to a non-army wife I told him I needed to go back to state-side. Finished up with the 3rd/9th Manchus in Fort Lewis who I believe became 1/24th infantry. NTC, Northern Training Center?? I believe I remember a couple rounds through NTC. What I really missed was the Presidio in Monterey California. I had a beautiful girl I met in college who lived there. I was going to be a linguist/cryptologist over there but they goofed my paperwork at the last moment. I was fed up with them and went back to a Ranger Officer who had intercepted me earlier. It would have been a sweet gig at Monterey but in the end I think I was always meant to be a 11-B 1P. This is where my heart was.

YOu know what I remember now is that I did have sight for the M60 at Fort Lewis. It was very expensive as I remember it was tied down and 500-mile-hour taped to the 60. Walking through the woods at night it was ripped off of my M60. The First Sergeant who was a very large black man had the luxury of stepping on it in the middle of the night along the wooded path. He came up to me and asked me where my sight was and I said it was right here...pointing to where it obviously wasn't. I was low crawling up and down this ridge all morning long. I also lost my wedding ring during the process so my LT and I had to go back up the ridge to find it. By some miracle, we found it. But I do not think it was thermal, I think this one had a laser sight with night vision scope. Anyway, pretty embarrassing memory.