Odin

@kohlenkau I'm reading looking forward to seeing the campaign pan out

Good stuff Phil. My hope is BF release a Kharkov 43 module, I'd love to play a PzC-CM game using it.

Yeah we're playing PBEM with no encryption. The scenario editor does give some of the FOW away, but it can be minimised by turning 'units off' in the settings before loading the PBEM file. If a moderator was conducting all the updates it would make for an ideal way of updating post CM battle as he would have complete control of the units and complete FOW would be maintained for the players.

Very useful diagram. Looking forward to seeing how the AARs pan out. Bootie (from www.thefewgoodmen.com) and I are currently playing out a PzC-CM campaign using Noob's demo. Having tried do-it-yourself campaigns which require shifting things around on Photoshop I've got to say using PzC is so much quicker. PS the scenario editor system I PM you about seems to be working <touch wood>. Using the scenario editor we've managed to add disruption, fatigue, edit headcount as a percentage, and move units on the PzC campaign map mid campaign - which is great for updating things post CM battle. Keep up the good work guys!

I think it's a good thing that vehicles have a problem firing through bocage, in fact I think it should be more problematic in CMBN than it currently is. I live in a part of the UK where the hedgerows are thick and in summer, when their foliage is in full bloom, I believe most gun sights would struggle to see through without a crew first hacking away at the hedge. Add to that the steep earth embankments underneath many of the older hedgerows running along the country lanes which would make it near impossible for an AT gun to fire from; and the thick gnarled branches which would prevent guns traversing, and I think you'd have serious problems firing from behind large stretches of bocage without time consuming preparation work. I'm not too sure how common it was in Normandy for AT guns and armoured vehicles to take up firing positions behind bocage, but looking at photographs of the period, more often than not these vehicles and guns seem to be in prepared defensive positions, rather than just having just pulled up to the hedgerow to start firing. I know the game can't model everything, eg a crew preparing a position, but I think spotting could be much harder for maybe the first 3-5 minutes that a tank pulls up to a piece of bocage and its turret traverse restricted to what an SPG could manage.

Great stuff Victor

Nice one GAJ, much appreciated

I know you were writing this tongue in cheek, but I think it could be done. EG Only command tanks could give an area fire order, and only those tanks in the platoon with LOS on the area would be able to fire on the area (I think something similar could be done for infantry units in CMBN, FI, and RT which could be offered through a new difficulty level to better reflect the problems of co-ordinating WWII infantry fire). Likewise for the movement of early war Soviet tanks, unless a crew is panicked and trying to get out of harmsway, tanks cannot be manoeuvred beyond short distances (say 30 metres max) without a platoon movement order coming from the command tank which brings about the movement of the whole platoon.

Yes I'm going to try and put together a video AAR for the campaign. Re movement of units at the campaign level, we push counters round the campaign map. This is done using photoshop, and once we have finished moving our units at the for each campaign turn the map is saved as a jpeg (there is an example of a populated campaign map in the FGM thread). There is no need to open up the Radzymin CM master map and sit there for an hour or so moving units into position - although thinking about it that method might save Ithikial a bit of time.

Buzz, just to elaborate a little more, the battle I'm currently fighting is around 2500m x 1500m. But maps can be much smaller or even a little bigger depending on the battle being fought. At the start of each 'campaign' turn both sides have a chance to manoeuvre their units on the operational map shown in my first post (infantry units represented at company level, armoured units at platoon). Where from, depending on the type of battle to be fought (the options being reconnaissance, meeting engagement, or attack), Ithikial draws up the battlefields (there can be a maximum of six scenarios each turn). During the first campaign turn we are currently playing out two reconnaissance scenarios and one attack, where I am trying to repulse a Soviet assault as they trying to cross a river which our defensive lines are based around. The battle with my opponent is currently on a knife edge, and a victory for either side would prove major blow for the other.

For some reason my link to the FGM thread keeps going down. Here's a link to the master thread page: http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/forums/cmrt-battle-of-radzymin-mini-campaign.371/ Hope this one doesn't get corrupted I also notice that the Soviets have started their AAR thread, so both sides of the story are now available

@Pete, flavour objects or not it looks great. Radzymin also makes for a nice change to the lare numbr of forest maps which come with RT. I don't really play single player much. Can I ask which campaign did you use Radzymin for?

Although only anecdotal, from my experience I would say yes the Russians have inferior optics/rifling/veocity in RT. From my experience of duels between Soviet and German tanks at 700m+ I usually find the German tanks to be the first to strike their target. Add to this the slow reload time for some of the Soviet heavies, like the JSII, and the Germans have a definite advantage at range. I don't think this is unrealistic though. The Germans had some high velocity guns at this point in the war which definitely helped with accuracy. Regarding the quality of their optics, I've read material which suggests the German's had better, and material which says this is not true. What the Germans did have though is the 'Mili-radian' sight. These use triangles laid over the optics to help gauge ranges. Panzer gunners were taught calculations which, when combined with a knowledge of the size of the target they were firing at (eg T-34), allowed them to work out a rough range of the target before taking a ranging shot. This gave German gunners a higher chance of striking their target with their first shot, or at least zeroing in faster. When combined with the high velocity guns, they had an advantage over Allied and Soviet tanks. Here's guide I found posted on the net http://www.75thguards.com/ww2online/downloads/Zheriz_Ziess_Sight_Guide.pdf That aside what I do think needs adjustment is the accuracy of tanks when firing on the move. Judging from a few tests I've done, although the accuracy does seem to decrease when firing on the move, I think they're still too accurate. Sorry no test results to hand

Link in the original post has been updated. Here's another copy just in case: http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/threads/19th-panzer-division-updates-from-the-front-day-1-dawn-no-soviet-players-allowed.20658/

Some of you may be interested in checking out a semi-historical operational level game Ithikial and I have developed. The game uses Pete Wenman's massive Radzymin master map (approximately 5.5km x 5.5km). It takes place over 3 days in early August 1944, and is set around Radzymin, which is 20 miles north east of Warsaw, where the Germans managed to finally halt the Soviet advance. Each day is divided into a number of campaign turns, and the battles are created from sections of the master map by Ithikial (the games master). We are playing out the campaign in two teams, each consisting of 3 players. To give you an idea of the scale, as the commander of the German team we will be playing the role of the 19th Panzer Division and will have 65,000 CM purchase points to spend on the creation of a number of the Division's regiments and battalions. We've just started the first campaign turn. We have a thread over on the The Few Good Men where we'll be posting AAR updates (I think the Soviet team will be doing the same). I have just started my first battle as part of the campaign, and I'm trying to repel a Russian assault across the River Struga and stop them from forming a bridgehead before our reinforcements arrive. Between both sides' artillery barrages for this opening scenario, I have never seen such a rate of fire in all my time playing CM. In the long run we also hope to produce some stand alone scenarios for the wider community to enjoy, which will be taken from the battles we create and fight as part of the campaign. If you're interested in operational/multi-player CM stuff You should check The Few Good Men, there is lots of great stuff going on over there. Pete if you read this, thanks for producing such a beautifully detailed map, it must have taken a hell of a lot of time and effort. Here are links to the German command AAR thread for turn 1 of the campaign, a pic of the campaign map, a link to download Pete's master map, and a copy of the rules we've developed: http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmf...allowed.20658/ http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=3074 https://www.dropbox.com/s/8f357a8zn67hy11/The%20Battle%20of%20Radzymin%20Final.pdf?dl=0

RT or BN for me

Most H2H players inc myself aren't strict about how frequently we receive turns. I play several games, some I get a turn back about once a week others twice a day on average. I firmly believe H2H provides a much better CM experience. Playing against the AI (even with the updates in RT) just doesn't compare to the tactical challenges and variations of playing against a human. If you do decide to give H2H a go make sure to you download GAJ's H2HH which removes almost all the the admin involved in an H2H game.

Money sent and thanks for all your hard work over the years. I probably would have stopped playing CM long ago if it wasn't for H2HH. I just wish Battlefront would pay you for the rights and include it with all future CM releases. I know I'm not the only one who regards it as pretty much essential for multiplayer.

Great tip, I'll have to try that one myself. I also concur that fraps works very well with the game. While Adobe Premier Elements is a cheap, easy to use, and effective piece of software for editing videos.

GAJ thank you for the effort you've gone to over the years, creating a piece of software which I consider essential to my CM play. I rarely play single player, and I don't think I'd play half as much multiplayer if it wasn't for H2HH and now CM Helper. Both make the multi-player PBEM experience so much more user friendly. I think the improvement's you've made to CM Helper are great and I like the new interface with all on going CM games listed in one location. Keep up the good work, and if anyone out there plays multi-player but doesn't use CM Helper - download it now! You won't regret it.

Glad you enjoyed it. @badger I think crack and veteran infantry are usually more effective in fire fights, when combined with improved motivation they can be tough opponents for regulars. I think troops are imrpoved incrementally depending on their experience and motivation levels. So there is probably not a great deal of difference between a crack soldier and a vet, ut I'd probably find the crack soldiers slightly better shots etc. I also think Allied infantry will have a tough time against Luftwaffe airborne with their large number of automatic weapons, they seem to be the tiger tanks of the CM infantry world.

It may not be RT, but here are two video AARs of a PBEM CMFI quick battle played between Ithikial and myself: My video: Ithikial's video: We've both got a few more video AARs on each of our channels, and I'm sure we'll both be making some RT ones soon after its release.

Hi chaps Just a quick post with a link to my latest video AAR. This time it's a quick battle played against Ithikial, who has also posted a video on his Youtube channel. The game is set in Italy and uses the Gustav Line pack. I play using fallschirmjager against Ithikial's Kiwi infantry. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcOVPkIRvnQ&feature=youtu.be Enjoy Odin

21 March 18.00 GMT

Nice vid, and look at that hull pivot speed 5.16 into the video