Imperial Sardaukar

Hello chaps! I've not played CMBN for a good while and since I've picked up a Heroes of Normandie boardgame, I've come to miss CMBN again. I bought this game originally as a bundle with commonwealth and 2.0. Can anyone give me clear instructions as to how to get the most up-to-date version of the game? Will my 2.0 install stuff still work? If I buy 3.0, does it come with it's own install? What's the general view of 3.0? Is it worth the upgrade over 2.0? I remember starting out with 2.0 because players said it was a great improvement over the vanilla game. Thanks for any help! I do apologize if this has already been covered in other threads; my search skills are weak.

I'm a bit confused how to do this. I think I know what a bocage is; I've never seen one but I've seen some movies. The scenario I am having trouble with is one that has a road with bocage on both sides. I have my guys Quick move to just before the bocage, then Slow or Hunt move to the bocage itself. Even if I let them stay on one side of the bocage for a minute, sometimes when I send some troops over to go to the bocage on the other side of the road, it turns out there are enemies there and my troops get gunned down. How do I "clear out" the opposite bocage before crossing the road? How do I even know if there are enemies on that side of the bocage? Another problem is deploying MG teams at the bocage. When I set my waypoint, or even checking after the MG team has found their places, checking Target shows that the MG team can't "see" over/thru the bocage. The guys with rifles do shoot over/thru the bocage, but the MG guy doesn't One annoying scenario had me move my tank up the road, and it turns out that there were enemy troops on the road-side of the bocage that my tank guys and my troops on both outer-sides of the bocage didn't see.

Yep, I got a few of these and will install promptly.

Thanks for the replies guys and again, thanks womble! That's an interesting technique, I'll give it a try.

Okay... here's one of my biggest difficulties in the game at the moment --- controlling the view. Often times I'll get units in a certain position to cover a particular avenue of approach only to realize that they've got a major blind spot and would've probably been better off on a more-exposed but better LOS position. My preferred view is they typical RTS-style view, zoomed out with as much of the battlefield in view to get a "big picture," kinda like pre-set view 5. However, I realize now that this has major drawbacks. I would fail to see the terrain elevation changes or appreciate LOS, say over a ridge or between a hedgerow and a building. I'm still finding my way around the pre-set views (1-9) but I was wondering if there was an easier way to "get a feel" of the eye-level battlefield? My most common method **was** to put a waypoint then make a cover arc, but I realize that the arc is just an arc, it doesn't tell me whether the units can see over an elevation-change terrain feature, such as a small hump in the road or a dip over a field. Watching the Armchair General vids, I realize I should be using the Target command, but feels odd having the line originate at the current unit location but have the calculations done from the waypoint location. This also makes it difficult for me to determine just where the LOS gets "cut off" due to the elevation change. So, my questions for the more experienced wargamer are: 1. Which views do you use the most? 2. What is the best way to determine LOS or field of view of a particular position? 3. When placed near a useful terrain feature like a ridgeline, will tanks and infantry automatically use that feature for cover/hull-down?

Ah, sharing info of contacts... I see. So if they are in C2, they have a more "accurate picture" of the battlefield even if the enemy in question is out of the LOS. As for tanks, each tank has its own radio, right? So they are always in C2? Any reason they will **NOT** be in C2?

I got a ATI HD6970 and still got shimmering on hedgerows and hedgerow shadows on 2.01. The mission was the last on Task Force Raff and would happen on a certain view angle and height. Rotating the view "solved" it for a moment. Surely this can't be a "graphics card issue"?

Wow, thanks for that link. I did download your mod but was not able to appreciate the importance yet as the thumbnails were itty-bitty tiny. The link pics are better. Regarding eye candy, I don't much care for terrain textures or building textures as I tend to view the battle from "higher up" to get a better field-of-view of the battlefield. Thus, hi-res barn textures are lost on my experience. I don't care if my troops have the proper patches or not, as I will rarely see them, if at all. However, UI eye-candy **will** be in my face all the time and are thus useful and appreciated.

Just finished reading the appropriate sections of the manual and I'm a bit confused as to how C2 is supposed to work in-game. I understand its importance in RL, but in an environment where you have the ability to select other troops to see what they see, I can't seem to appreciate it in-game. First of all, let me say that I understand the value of C2 when it relates to asking for arty or mortar support. I also understand the "morale boost" HQ units give to nearby units, especially when Assaulting or under fire. What I fail to grasp is the value of C2 for normal squads of infantry. So what if the 1st Squad can't see/hear the HQ unit? So what if the 1st Squad doesn't know where 2nd Squad is or what its up to? Or let's say 1st Platoon HQ is in control of all of its squads (is it 3 or 4 squads per platoon?), but is not in communication with 2nd Platoon HQ? So what?

I'm looking for mods that will enhance or help me play CMBN. I'm not looking for hi-res or better-texture mods as these are eye-candy mods, but I remember seeing in one post a mod for the terrain so that it has "grids" and the lines help you, the commander, "see" the elevation changes. Such aids is what I am looking for. Anything to help with playing and streamlining the experience would be much appreciated. Still finding my way around the Repository so if anyone could point me to something specific, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I did consider hotseat... but really, would you trust YOUR dad not to look over your shoulder as you plan his demise?

No, not like that.... I remember reading that I can have two "installs" of CMBN... I was wondering if I can install CMBN on the office computer downstairs so I can have a few turns when things are slow, but still keep my install on my gaming PC in the man-cave? If that is possible, would it also be possible to play vs. myself (or my dad, actually, when he comes over) with just one "copy" of the game? I'd like to try this but if it's not possible, I'd rather not get my hopes up...

Whew! Last mission and I felt swamped with all the units available at my disposal! And the Breaching command is awesome! TRP is quite cool too! 8 men killed, 12 wounded, and 1 tank lost to a hidden AT gun. 22 minutes elapsed since mission start. I guess this one I could've done better if I had not been in a hurry. Coordinating attacks from 3 directions is quite difficult though! Final stats come down to 23 killed, 29 wounded, 2 tanks and 1 armored vehicle lost vs. 267 killed, 158 wounded, 32 missing, 3 tanks killed, 1 armored vehicle killed (1 damaged), and 4 "other" vehicles killed. If my math is correct, that's a 1:11.6 ratio of kills, but still feel like I could've done better with the casualty rate. Such is war though, I guess. womble, thanks for the info regarding Fast/Quick/Normal. I almost never get my guys to move in the Normal mode --- I think it's more important to get to cover first, then return fire, rather than crouching on open ground and returning fire immediately.

Thanks for the clarification guys! I just finished Mission 2 and another Total Victory. 2 men killed and 4 wounded; I guess those are the numbers I'm more comfortable with. None killed would be better but I guess I'm a bit naive for going for that goal considering what this game is all about. I've since learned not to trust one unit's eyes now, I keep skipping from one unit to another to confirm/verify enemy troop placement, even to the point of moving some troops to a closer hedgerow for a better view. In Mission 2, I was lucky enough to have been able to jump on to 4-5 squads of Germans from behind. I sent two squads to take out the German anti-tank group and then noticed my right flank was getting engaged from behind a hedgerow, so I sent my guys to the hedgerow BEHIND it. It was a massacre, and I did feel sorry for the German lads. This did get me thinking though --- is hedgerow-fighting better than being inside a building? Pity I was not able to practice the Blast command, my guys were able to handle the situation just fine. Regarding Fast vs. Quick, I did not notice Fast to be any more faster than Quick, but I did notice some of my guys would not Fast-move anymore when they were tired, so I guess another lesson learned there --- save Fast for when it really counts. However, sometimes "really counts" applies for advances as well as retreats. I think I'm a little bloodthirsty at times.

I just completed Mission 1 of Task Force Raff and I got a US Army Total Victory, with 13 men killed and another 13 wounded. I also lost 1 tank and 1 armored car. I am wondering if such losses are "acceptable" or if I could've done better? Playing on Veteran level, turn based, I found myself confused a couple of times. Firstly, when moving my scout team to the Observation Post position, I did not see any of the enemy units even though the manual said I should see the German MG team. In fact, this was true for the whole scenario and I was left with using my other forward units to "locate" the enemy and the HQ unit on the Observation Post was simply there to ensure that the mortar fire was where I wanted it to be --- the HQ unit never saw any enemy units at all from that position. Second, while trying to take the St. Martin Farm, I did not really know what to do. I had nearly all my troops at the overwatch position and had two squads just to the left ready to assault.... and I found that getting them to Fast-move to the stone fence closer to the farm buildings was better than having them Assault-move. With Fast, at least they get to cover quicker rather than crawling/crouching/cowering with the slower Assault. As for my overwatch troops, they were busier engaging the enemies at the crossroad objective and never saw any of the enemy troops at the farm until my first squad tried to assault the farm building only to be repelled by the troops inside. Third, with regards to Contacts and Confirmed units... I understand the difference between the two but did not expect that the Contacts would remain for as long as it did. In fact, on the final push to the crossroad, my troops could be 20m from a "contact" with clear line-of-sight to it and the "contact" would not disappear. It'll go only after half my squad runs past it, so at the end of the battle, the map was littered with contacts which made it confusing. Same issue for the guys who were on the other side of the road fighting along the hedgerows... they'd engage an enemy "contact," find out it's a Confirmed enemy, kill it...... but then I don't know if it's safe to advance my guys as the Confirmed/Contact icon is still there! Even when I bring a tank and an armored vehicle up the road so they can see BEHIND the hedgerow where the enemy was, the icon still doesn't disappear until some of my guys are actually right next to it. So, what do you guys think? How did I do on this mission? Am I simply confused since I'm new or are these issues that even long-time players have to work with?

It's not just that... for some reason, I find that the images in the B&W version are clearer than on the brown version.

No, the printer-friendly version on 2.0 is the "brown" manual. I think the B&W was still available in 1.11. I think I'll just install CMBN again on a different PC, grab the manual, and be done with this.

No one? Can someone at least upload the B&W manual from older versions of CMBN?

I am looking for an "unlocked" manual that I can use with Adobe Acrobat so that I can play around with the borders and stuff so I can create a "better" printout when I do a 2-in-1 page. Really sleepy so I hope that made sense. Thanks!

Thanks for the advice guys! While some posts were more about "general missions" and bocage "tactics," I was referring more to the situation in the training scenario. A bocage is a great LOS-blocker so I'm not too worried about that, but in the training scenario, I am moving my troops through a forested area so that is obviously a different "terrain" picture altogether. Faelwolf mentioned checking LOS/line of fire, how do I do this? Re: Armchair general - yes, I am watching his vids but some are too "over my head" at the moment so I probably don't register all the info given.

Just doing the 3rd tutorial mission now (Battle Drill), and I wonder if there is a way to spot the enemy without being spotted in return? Would love to be able to send MG and mortar fire downrange without my guys getting shot at. Also, while sending my assault guys to Raleigh Woods, they encounter 3 groups of enemies, one group at a time. I send them (3 groups plus HQ) to move forward under Hunt orders and once contact is made, I have the other free units Assault the flanks while one or two units engage the enemy and keep him busy. Is this a good tactic? Reading the manual, it did not say anything about expecting resistance on the forested areas, but I guess such is the nature of war -- you never know where the enemy is. I've finished this mission twice now, best performance was a win with only 4 kills and 3 wounded on my side.... or was it 3 kills and 4 wounded? Anyway, would love to be a bit more efficient on this basic tutorial mission before I move on.

Glad to see it's just not me. I've not formed an opinion about this game yet, but a few friends have spoken highly of it that's why I'm giving it a fair trial. As for "understanding it very well," I'm not worried. I've got a few study sims under my belt although these have been of the naval and aircraft types. I know that good things do not come easy nor quickly.

Like I said, the demo may be fine for other wargamers who play a different type of wargame and simply wish to check what CMBN is all about. However, for that curious gamer who has just heard the term "wargaming" and has seen some cool screenshots or watched a cool tactical video of CMBN gameplay... or for that RTS gamer that is looking for a bit more depth to unit deployment and less "how many clicks per second you can do" type of gameplay... the demo does little for them if not slam the door on their face outright. Regarding the manual, well, let me say I am very impressed with it, even with my confusion and annoyance regarding the lack of the B&W version in the final 2.0 copy of the game. Just reading the first few pages of the tutorial section, I can see it walks the player through each aspect and just introduces a concept or two then allows the player to test and understand the concepts. However, again, this is useless as the potential-new-wargamer player cannot actually **LEARN** these concepts thru play since the relevant tutorial missions are not included in the demo. Sure, an argument may be made that he can do/practice these steps in the mission included in the demo, but what I'm saying is why does he have to "make-do" with it if the tutorials do exist in the first place? Bottom line is, the more help we can give the new players or the more accessible the demo is for potential-new-wargamers, I can't see anything but a win-win for all involved.

Okay, I'm starting to get a little annoyed. On the Demo, there were 3 manuals available, the full-graphics manual, the printer-friendly manual, and a B&W manual. I liked the B&W one as the details were a bit easier to see, but held off on printing it as I figured the full game + patches might introduce last-minute errata changes. Now I've just finished installing CMBN+Commonwealth, 1.11 patch, and 2.0 update.... and I'm only left with the full-graphics manual and the printer-friendly manual. Please tell me there's a B&W version somewhere!

First off, let me just say that I've jumped off the deep end with this game and bought the CMBN+Commonwealth bundle and the 2.0 upgrade. I want to give this game a fair try so I've bought the entire thing so that I can have a look at **everything** CMBN has to offer, then make up my mind about it. I had a little LOL when I read the "no return policy" of Battlefront. I completely understand where they're coming from and I have nothing but respect for the company, however, I have to say that the demo leaves something to be desired. As a demo, it does absolutely nothing with regards to introducing a newbie to wargaming. The included "training mission" -- Road to Berlin -- which is supposedly "adapted from a tutorial campaign for Beginners" is as much a "training mission" as is throwing a boy into the Pacific ocean 5 miles from any landmass to teach him how to swim. I've looked at the included manual and I am scratching my head as to why the training missions presented in pages 18-32 were not the ones chosen, or at least included.... the Road to Berlin mission is presented in pages 34-36, and seems like a mission-within-a-mission in itself! Now I understand that this demo may be better suited to other established wargamers who understand the basic principles and can simply try out CMBN to see if it is along the same lines that they would want to play, in terms of game mechanics or era, and that's fine. However, it does a pitiful job of enticing "new blood" to give the genre a try --- if anything, it is highly successful in making potential recruits throw their hands up in the air and go back to playing mind-numbing twitch games. I won't say I'm a wargamer but I've enjoyed games like BattleTech, D&D/Pathfinder, Total War (Rome and Empire I and II), Company of Heroes, and Dawn of War I, so I felt like CMBN was simply a more serious and realistic representation of a real-life event, a more gritty and realistic version of the games I've enjoyed, but even for me, I felt like turning my back on CMBN. It's only the delicious screenshots, after-action reports, and how-to vids on YouTube that kept me thinking of all the fun I could have once I learn the game........ Which I'd have to get the full game to get the full tutorials which I can use with the full manual. See where I'm going here? At this point, I've committed myself to the game without being 100% sure whether it is something I really want or if it's just interesting but too deep for me, but I had a bit extra so I'm taking a leap of faith. So anyway, I'm downloading the 2.0 upgrade now and will install CMBN in a few minutes and just wanted to put that idea out for the devs if they are listening. And yes, I know most info is buried deeper in the manual. What I'm just saying here is if the full version has the tutorial missions that can ease the learning curve a bit, why not include that instead of presenting a learning CLIFF to beginners and curious newbies that try out the demo? Okay, 2.0 just finished downloading so I'll stop here and start learning this! Whoohoo!