John S

I own all of the Ww2 games, completely updated, latest versions plus all the additional packs. These were installed on my computer over time, going way back to when they first came out and then bringing them up to date with the newest version, updates etc. The good news is I am getting a new computer. The question is - is there an easy way to get all the Combat Mission stuff onto the new computer? Do I have to reinstall each game and each additional packet one at a time? Can I simply copy the files and bring them over from the old computer or will I run into problems doing that? Will my old serial numbers work on the new computer when I already used them on the old computer? What’s the best way to do this. this is a nice problem to have but I wanted to get you advice re best method to get things working. Any help, much appreciated.

Mord - I really appreciate your tips. Will not be able to test them out until tomorrow...but...you probably should be a doctor re diagnosing things. Like an idiot I DID rename the file - put a “1” into the file name to distinguish it from the other similar files that I was working with. I suspect that I have learned a lesson here. Many thanks.

Sorry to extend this but I still have a Howling Wind/White Noise problem and hope someone can help. I took an old "silent" wav file that I found buried in my old files and put it into the User Data file with a Mods subfile but I still get the same old howling wind. One note - I am working with a saved QB game - does pulling up a saved game (even after fully leaving the Program) somehow also pull up the old sounds that were in the saved game? (I would not have thought so!). Erwin - you mentioned "having birdsong" and "quiet" and I remember having those in the past. Can anyone direct me to those specific Wav files, the ones that I have been able to pull up so far do not seem to work that way? Any help, much appreciated. I am semi-retired now and enjoy playing the game but the background sound periodically give me the deja vu feeling that I am reviewing a 60 page contract and wishing that the g--dda-n place were quiet.

Thank you very much, Mord. Very helpful. Love the game but having the wind howling in my ears is not great - reminds me too much of what used to be the background noise at work. Too many office designers think that "white noise" is the solution for no walls.

For about a year I did other stuff and held off playing. I have added the most recent versions and updates. I used to hate the howling wind and in years past you guys helped me get to the sounds of silence. Now, coming back again, whether as a result of the new version or an update, the wind has returned. Would appreciate any help in locating the best Wav. file that gets rid of the wind and also quick advice as to exactly where the "Z" file now needs to be placed. Thanks a bunch guys.

Just a quick suggestion - if you have not read the recent book "Battle Hardened" by Craig Chapman, you really should. I have read a lot of WW2 histories over the last 55 or so years and I cannot recall a book that gave me so much "real life" information regarding front line infantry tactics and weapons use. The author's father served in the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and was on the front lines (except for the two periods when he was recovering from wounds) from D Day thru VE Day. He was an officer who first commanded a mortar section, then a heavy machine gun platoon and finally served as commander of an infantry company. The son has reconstructed the details of his father's service through summaries of his father's recollections, battle reports, letters home, interviews, review of Field Manuals etc. In the process, he describes in detail the manner in which the squads and platoons used mortars, machine guns, artillery, tanks, etc. at the squad, platoon and company level. He describes German tactics as seen by the US infantryman and the learning curve which brought increased use by the US companies of combined arms tactics and provides, anecdotally, a whole range of information on the methods and methodology of WW2 infantry combat. In addition, the author provides an excellent description of his father's experiences and great examples of the sacrifices and dedication of the WW2 infantryman. A very, very worthwhile read. As I read it, I consistently had the reaction of ------ "Interesting how that reflects on how I should be playing scenarios in Combat Mission."

Thanks to all the people who have responded to my previous questions. Your efforts are much appreciated. Let me try just a few more questions. 1) While the headquarters is still intact, does the Assistant Leader/SIC (second in command) unit perform any real function? Example - assume there is both a company HQ Leader who is uninjured and an SIC unit. If I decide I need to separate the two platoons of the company by a pretty great distance, will sending the SIC with one of the platoons serve as a substitute for having the company HQ nearby? Does having the SIC nearby when separated from the company Leader help with "maintain internal discipline, direct fire to be more effective and keep contact with other Leaders" - the functions that the Manual (page 63) says that Leaders perform? This also begs another question. I know with respect to the squads the platoon leaders helps "maintain internal discipline, direct fire to be more effective and keep contact with other Leaders", does a nearby Company Leader perform the same assistance to units at the squad level? 2) The Manual notes that "Units do not always follow the exact Command Line drawn on the map but [the AI] will choose their movement path independently based upon terrain....." etc. (p42). Have you found that units will deviate from the selected path if it appears "crowded" or if it somehow too narrow (but not at all impassable)?? I had a couple of incidents in an urban area where I was trying to send a ten man squad down a relatively narrow alley (buildings close on each side) as opposed to their becoming targets going down the parallel wide street. The alley already had a few of my folks in it. I used pretty short movement commands to send the squad into the alley and then to go up the alley. To my horror, about half the squad went up the alley as directed but the other half decided to go up the parallel wide street. Any thoughts on where I went wrong? 3) I have found the AI to be pretty good when playing meeting engagements and as the attacker in probes and assault. Going back even as far as strategy games of the early 90's it has always seemed to me that with pretty rare exceptions computer AI is usually better on the defense and somewhat weak on the attack. Just curious - how have you guys found the AI to be if you are defending against an AI assault or probe? Thanks for any thoughts and comments.

Thank you all for your help. Sorry for the delay in responding - the cold/flu going around leveled me for a few days. I went on and finished the Quick Battle but I believe that I saved the game at the correct point so I think I will take some time to go back and explore and see if I can figure out what went wrong. Thanks again.

Playing in a very built up urban area. House has two doors. One door is totally protected from fire and my troops are on that side of the building. The other door is totally exposed and my troops have to go around the building in order to enter from there.. In two different instances now my guys have chosen to go around the building and try to enter from the door on the exposed side. In each case I am "pretty sure" that the instructions that I gave placed them just outside the correct door and then instructed to enter. What is it that I likely did wrong? There were guys already inside the building, is it possible for "overcrowding to lead to this? Is it possible (likely?) that the path that I drew somehow cut a corner and gave them more flexibility than I wanted to give them? As I look over the dead bodies lying outside the door, any suggestions as to how to prevent this??

1) Delay in Release - I move my unit and then either right click or left click on the sky to try to "release" and go to another unit. A number of times there is either no release or it takes a really long time. Any better ways to address this and get a "quick" release? (Is it my computer??...thought it was pretty strong...) 2 - Holding Objective - When the scenarios requires you to hold an objective in order to get Victory points - is there any minimum on the number of units needed to do the holding? Assuming no enemy, is a crew or scout team or bazooka team enough to get the points? 3) Quick Battle/Really Tiny - what is the best way to get quick battles below "tiny"? Example - single company or a couple of platoons. Any way to do this without "cheating" and selecting the unit makeup for the other side? 4) Stupid Question but just to be sure (because the manual seems to miss here) - when I see the brownish/orange dot below the rifle on a unit display, does this mean he is slightly wounded but still functioning? 5) Quick Battle Maps - how strong do you take the indication re "side"? Example if I want to do a probe as Germans but the little description on the map selection square says "Allies" how much am I screwing up if I do it as Germans? Thanks for any help. Much appreciated.

Assume I have a number of units (but too few) already firing on an enemy unit. I have another unit, assume either an infantry squad or AFV on the other side of a hill from the enemy. in other words, the enemy unit is currently spotted and is being fired upon by others. Is there any simple command by which I can command the unit to move until it sees the target and then stop and fire??? So far, my feeling has been that I need to zoom in and carefully eyeball the situation at ground level and place the end of the movement point at the location at which my "best guess" is that my unit will see the enemy unit. When I do this, sometimes I am right but a fair amount of times I guess wrong and the unit either ends up short of the ridge (with no target) or keeps moving over the ridges and takes shots from the enemy when it should have stopped to fire. Is there a way that I don't know about to "automatically" address this through a series of commands? (does "hull down" fix this for AFV's but not for infantry?).

Returning to CM again after yet another layoff. A few questions. 1) I am trying the Quick Battles at the "Tiny" level to get back into the game again. Is there any way to slightly increase the points you (and the opponent) are allowed? I don't want to jump up to the next level but a couple hundred more would sometimes be fun. 2) I played the "generation one" games quite a bit (Barbarossa to Berlin etc.). As best as I recall, the instructions in those games noted that if you had already given orders to a unit and you wanted to change the direction or the distance, you would be better, for example, clicking on the circle and extending or moving the current order rather than deleting the order and issuing a new one because the latter would cause a delay in execution by the unit. Is that true in the current generation of games? 3) German Heavy Machine gun. Currently "semi deployed". You issue a "Deploy" command BUT you also want some area fire from it ASAP. If you have it fire from the semi deployment status does that materially slow down the deployment that you ordered? (I would think it would). 4) The description on the bottom left of the display telling you what the individuals within the unit are doing ("spotting" "cowering", God forbid "surrendering" etc). I had a two man AT team fired on but there was no apparent damage to either them or to the infantry unit near by. The little triangle was at its lowest level and all of the team members looked ok on the display. The description on the lower left for each of the two antitank team members says "Antitank:Medic". Are they injured? (if so, why no indicator on the unit info piece?)? What is this telling me? 5) When you split a squad. Is there any way to force them to get back together? I sometimes find it hard to get them into exactly the same location and i'd love to know about a "just get together, already" command. 6) Enemy unit (an infantry gun) is lit up on the display. When you click on it a nearby friendly infantry unit is shown as being one on the guys spotting it. Nonetheless, when I try to have the friendly unit open fire on the gun there is no target. What is the concept here? (Did they just hear the unit shoot or something?). 7) Is there any hot key whereby you can save the game in a single click? Any help and tips, much appreciated.

Thanks to all of you for your help. I can see a lot of things that I have been doing wrong but also see a lot of work ahead before improvement.

Just started playing Combat Mission again after a two year layoff. I am a veteran wargamer (started 1960) but never felt like I was any good at Combat Mission. Now, in semi retirement, I am hopeful that I can get the comfort level that I have never had. Let me ask you experts a few questions. 1) Scouts - how do you guys use scouts to approach exposed high risk positions? Do you crawl ("Slow") to the ridgeline. If you use Hunt with Hide does that help reduce the casualties/pinning in trying to get to an high risk observation position? 2) Assault - do you Assault with an entire squad or do you take a squad and split it using the Split Teams/Assault team command. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? 3) Help me understand "Hide". Is it a good way to end movement when you are approaching a danger point or does it lower observation such that it is really a bad idea if advancing. Once you hit "Hide", how do you call it off? 4) What are the tips for assaulting a building - at some point years ago I recall someone saying you stop outside and pause cause then they throw grenades in. What steps work best here? 5) Can you use panzerfaust/bazooka against a building or pillbox? If so, any special steps you need to take? 6) I recently had a squad (in the Out On A Limb scenario, Market Garden) which had high explosives near a wooden enemy pillbox. I tried to use the Blast command but could not get them (non engineers) to blow the pillbox. Any explanation or tips? 7) There is an odd comment in Tutorial Mission 3 for Final Blitzkrieg. It says "In all missions, you will receive a default setup that is usually good enough to begin playing with immediately...." Not sure whether this reference is intended to apply only to the tutorial Missions. Is this comment true of the Battles? I have always assumed that I needed to substantially rejigger the setup in all Battles and Quick Battles? Have I been wasting a lot of time by doing so? Any help much appreciated. Thanks guys.

Thank you very much. I was aware of the "huge" piece but had completely overlooked that rarity setting on the early screen. Much appreciated.