Bud Backer

They are watching.... *rubs hands together evilly* To be honest I'm not sure how the "views" are tabulated. I know if I reload a thread several times they do not increment. Yet people do look at what I've posted and it seems to increase the "views" amount. I believe they are registered members, who else would even notice this forum and choose to remain unregistered?

CMFI - STFU - Storming Toward France's Underside

And you know what bunker disease will lead to? People will just stand rooted to the spot, unable to leave... It's called Trench Foot.

Funny you mention that. I just replied on Bil's thread that a draw or a minor defeat is still a victory of sorts in some circumstances. So yeah, I'd say pulling back and waiting to come back another day would be quite realistic. A surrender in the game has the misfortune of making it an instant decisive loss but if one compares units destroyed, the picture is less clear*. In theory, Bil's losses are two armoured vehicles while I think Doug lost a fair bit of his supporting infantry. *if one is prepared to concede the map on the premise it's not vital to hold to the last man

I've done that with some battles as well. There are times when a draw or even a minor defeat is a victory of its own. You don't think you will be able to surprise his tanks with a bazooka shot if you clear his infantry?

Great stuff, Kohl. I may want to "borrow" some of your screenshots. Purely for academic purposes of course!

Ouch. When I read Doug's post about this last turn I really felt for you, Bil. The terrain on that map is really tricky, with tree cover being spotty and the slopes complicating things. With the trees shut off it looks so barren and without looking at the map in the game itself rather than screenshots I find it hard to gauge just how many gaps in cover there are but I thought you were well- protected. Doug is indeed doing a fine job, but you're also facing a situation that poses a big challenge to even an expert player. I hope you can recover.

Wow, that was lucky indeed! Neat to see arty really can KO a tank in the game.

I can second IanL's recommendations. None of the free versions of photoshop are legit; Adobe doesn't give away its software with the rare exception of a mobile app of limited capability. So you risk downloading spyware. I too used Paintshop pro for years before switching to Photoshop. If you're on a Mac! I can recommend Pixelmator for both iPad and OSX. Not free but less than $30.00. If you're on Windows, some swear by GIMP as a free alternative.

Good gracious! Hardly cluttering, everything you post is instructive to me!

Bil, how were you able to estimate how far P1 would be able to move so precisely in 10 second increments? Is it just experience? Educated guesses? Why I ask is because you're so clearly confident in your plans and also in your assessments of the enemy - I'm sure it's not bluster so I wonder now you manage it!

If I heard the broadcast correctly, he also had two Panzer IV's! Wow! Now that's taking collecting memorabilia seriously! LOL

Gary I have a Mac too. Indeed, all I needed to do was place the files in the respective folders and it worked fine. Are you certain that you didn't mistake what a given file was, and accidentally put, say, a campaign in a scenario folder or vice versa? You can check by examining the file extension and see if the file has the same extension as the ones that came with the game in that folder.

Welcome to the forums, and to Combat Mission. Don't be shy to ask for help.

I'm eager for another Beta AAR from Bil..... They're addictive!

Kieme and I played a game on this map and the result was much the same. Only he was Ukraine not US. His speed and aggressiveness surprised me. I did kill a few things but it was nonetheless a disaster for me. Good game.

If you check the encyclopedia in the game manual PDF you'll see the units that have Krasnopol ammunition. Those that do will be able to fire precision ammo. Generally my experience is that 120mm and better have it, but it's not hard to double check before purchasing by looking in the manual.

PM me the url of one and I'll take a look

Yes, in our game you taught me that very well!

IIRC the Tiger's rear armour is the same as its side - 80mm. The rear has a slight slope to it that the sides do not so one might argue that turning tail may have its advantages over being flanked!

I'd just add that Russian precision arty requires a laser designator, unlike US, so make sure you have FOO's and air controllers for that purpose.

At these ranges, the gunnery stats I've usually seen show the panther's 75L70 has better armour penetration than the Tiger's 88L56. The King Tiger's 88 is another matter. But really, its not a case of ballistic inadequacues, either German gun is more than enough. More telling is how thick the hide is and there, the tiger I believe is more suited for this fight.

Funny you mention the Tiger as a better alternative to the Panther. I was thinking the same thing earlier and wondered if I was just being biased. It's not merely a question of the slope of the armour but the thickness too. Panther flanks are barely over half the thickness of the Tiger. The Shermans would have a tougher time dealing with the Tiger from any angle, not just the front.

I think that last bit is the big worry - it's always risky to have so much depend on one unit. Now I know Bil is not unaware of that so he is going to be careful but still - it's the best chance of knocking out the Panthers or minimizing their contribution by making them pull back. Doug picked well when he chose Panthers, as long as he can protect their flanks. What about that mortar duel and the MG that Bil succeeded in knocking out? The German squads have a lot of firepower in their organic LMGs so does it really matter? The mortar seems to me to be the big thing.

Interesting theory, but doesn't apply to everyone who plays more games. I played quite a few, and still have several, and when I had a PC I had more games - some with more comprehensive graphics than CMx2 but what attracted me to CM was a multitude of factors: -Realism - now for someone that might be the graphical elements but I'll handle that as a separate thing - so realism to me is that the game works closely to how things do in real life - and that real tactics and strategy apply, rather than finding ways to exploit limitation in the game engine to succeed. -Graphics - I know everything can be improved and the mods I see are spectacular, but the base game already gives an amazing feel for what combat might have looked like in WW2. Especially close to the ground, the camera gives a perspective that feels life-like to me. Perhaps my imagination fills in the gaps in the technology but I'm not consciously aware of it. -Gameplay - CM is a game you can play for fun and be quite casual about it, or you can take things very seriously and work on elaborate systems to enhance realism - take Bil Hardenberger's C2 system as an example - but these choices exist and allow one to enjoy the game your way. Many other games don't offer that level of flexibility - they are by design made to work a certain way, and hence are more suited to those what enjoy or relate to that design. I feel less constrained in CM.