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coop_71

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  1. I like the TCS system, but completing the mechanics of it (checking LOS, resolving attacks) bogs the game down. In other words, it's suitable for computerization. If Battlefront ever does an "operational" Combat Mission, they should increase the scale to platoons and add some sort of command delay, like you're doing, or what TCS or Command OPs does. I scare-quote "operational" because the unit size would have to go up to regiments or divisions to really be operational.
  2. There are a some board games that http://www.gamersarchive.net/theGamers/archive/tcs.htmavethis feature built into the rules. The Tactical Combat System, Napoleonic Brigade System, and the Civil War Brigade System (and its descendents) all do this. TCS usually has about two reinforced brigade-sized forces fighting, commands get sent to battalions (or smaller), and platoons carry out the commands. There are command delays depending on the type of order. One key feature, which I may have missed, is that orders include fall-back positions that instruct where to go in case the attack or defense fails. Another is that if a formation takes too many losses, it's forced to stop doing the order. The last is a good way to resist pixeltruppen's tendency to fight to the last man. The series rules can be downloaded http://www.gamersarchive.net/theGamers/archive/tcs.htm
  3. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) was the original inspiration for Combat Mission, but obviously CM became something much more. With fog-of-war, better LOS modelling, and so on, CM can do a lot of good things that ASL can’t. There are some things your cardboard heroes can do in ASL that your pixeltruppen can’t do in CMx2. Some would be good features to add, and some wouldn’t. Here’s a list of things I thought of, with my comments: Ride in boats: There were tons of contested river crossings in WW2, and now that CMBS has amphibious BMP’s, this seems like a logical feature to add to CM’s WW2 games. Climb cliffs: I don’t know how often ASL players have their guys climb cliffs, because there’s little fog of war, and they’re sitting ducks while they do it. However, it’s an option. It might be a more viable tactical option in CM, because of its stronger FOW, but this is such an oddball thing for heavily-laden combat soldiers to attempt that it can be left off. Parachute and land in gliders: Given the rarity of battles where soldiers land and immediately start fighting, I think this can be left off CM. It would make for great visuals, though. If Battlefront wanted to include gliders, maybe landed gliders could be terrain objects? Fire starshells and flares at night: In the pre-night vision days, defenders needed to spot infiltrating enemy somehow. This would be a good artillery mission and unit action (Fire flare or illuminating round) to add for night battles, and WW2 night battles could be more realistic and exciting. Also, trip flares could be a new fortification. Get lost at night: ASL has a way for units to get lost at night. CMx2 could allow units’ destination to wander. Maybe if it takes a unit longer than a minute to complete the order, there’s a chance (depending on equipment, experience, etc) of having the destination or waypoint move. Obviously, inattentive players would suffer more than players who carefully watch their units. Either possibility is fine (you could have an inattentive or attentive battalion commander), and would be a realistic way to highlight the difficulties of night operations. Enter cellars: The standard ASL rules have cellars as places tanks can crash down to if they enter a building. Cellars are fleshed out in ASL’s urban fighting historical modules. There are plenty of WW2 accounts that mention waiting out artillery barrages in cellars or basements. Units could trade near-invulnerability (a shell crashing into the cellar is bad) for a lack of LOS. Of course, if an enemy unit occupies the ground floor, the cellar-dwellers will either surrender or die. I think this would be a great improvement for CM, especially for Siegfried Line battles. Move in sewers: This is a stereotypical part of Stalingrad fighting. I don’t think this is a necessary feature to add, since it happened in one battle (maybe during the Warsaw uprising too?), and wasn’t a key part of CM-scope fighting. Dig foxholes: It wouldn’t be a bad idea to let units dig shallow foxholes in the middle of a battle, but I don’t think it’s necessary for CM. I think a wider variety of foxholes would be better. Aside from regular foxholes, there could be shallow foxholes, foxholes with overhead cover, and water-logged concrete foxholes. Use captured equipment: This can be done in ASL, and there are penalties for use of captured equipment. I think it’s unrealistic for units to pick up discarded enemy equipment and immediately begin to use it. There are plenty of examples of countries using previously captured (and repainted) AFV’s and guns, and that’s easy enough to set up in CMx2’s scenario editor. MG or gun malfunction: This is in ASL, and it was in CMx1. I don’t remember the pros and cons of the arguments around including this effect, but used realistically, could make CM a little better. Cavalry, motorcycles, bicycles, and skis: Soldiers using any of these modes of transportation would dismount to fight. An exception would be early war cavalry charges, which weren’t only executed against German tanks! Any of these would make for neat visuals, but would mostly be for a nice flourish rather than a key game play feature. Still, directly modeling skis seems required for the eventual Winter War game. Aerosans: Aerosans are the propeller-driven snowmobiles used by the Soviets. Some were used for transportation, and some armored combat models were made. Although it would be cool to see a NKL-26 charging Germans, spitting fire, and towing four skiers behind it, they were used more for raids, recon, and light combat than typical CM battles. Prepared Fire Zones: A few ASL scenarios allow a player to place Prepared Fire Zones on the map, which effectively cut down trees or brush. This can be simulated in CM by the scenario designer during map design. However, players can’t adjust the map during setup. Allowing players to modify the map before the scenario starts would be a neat way to add variety to popular scenarios or quick-battle maps. Whether it would be worth the programming effort is another question, and I assume it would be difficult, for a relatively small payoff. Factory: A factory in ASL is a tall building that doesn’t have a second floor to climb up to. Depending on the era, this could be any building (warehouse, theater) that has a tall ceiling. I think this would be a nice addition to the terrain palette. Co-op Play: There aren't any specific rules for this, but there's no rule saying ASL has to be a one or two-player game. Obviously, the odds of this feature making it into CMx2 are very low. I'm sure, as Steve has said a few times, Battlefront already has their upcoming features mapped out, but there are a few good things on this list, and a few fluffy ones too.
  4. If CMFI is going to get some attention, will that include the PzKpfw M15/42 or the PzKpfw P26/40? They're Italian-built tanks used by the Germans, but made too late to be used by the Italian Army. They would be roughly similar (though inferior) to the Stuart and Sherman, and there were about 100 of each.
  5. Yes, to get back on topic, the Russians have made a few noises in Finland's direction in the last twelve months, so it wouldn't be a big stretch for game plausibility.
  6. When will we first see the Finns in Cmx2? Will it be a CMBS module (or derivation, CM:Baltic States & Finland), or will be it be part of Red Thunder (the Continuation War), or will we have to wait for the 1939 Winter War? Thanks,
  7. While there are plenty of US Army vs Heer battles, it would seem incomplete to have Bulge without the SS and FJ.
  8. Flares should be in the WW2 titles so we could have more than night scouting battles.
  9. I think a CM:Modern Estonia (or some other northern place) would be more likely for a modern winter war. Then we could have modern Finns. I think part of the premise is that everyone would run out of ammo or fresh units well before winter.
  10. The Piper Cub wikipedia page (citing a 1945 magazine) mentions spotting ambushes. The Army Green Books have a few Piper Cub mentions. In the breakout phase, US armored columns would have eyes in the sky (the passage is not clear if they were fighter-bombers spotting or Cubs spotting for FB's). They were commonly used for artillery observation and intelligence, and while counter-battery work is outside the scope, some of it is within. As far as rarity, I think they were more commonly used in CM-type battles than King Tigers.
  11. In the Normandy campaign, Piper Cubs and Taylorcraft Austers were used to look for ambushes in the hedgerows and spot for artillery. Is there any reason why they can’t be put into WW2 titles as “manned” UAV’s (aside from having scenario designers over-use them)? The game mechanism could be exactly like a UAV, including the possibility of getting shot down. They would have to be controlled by a FAC, otherwise the guys on the ground would have no idea what’s being spotted. Enemies spotted could get artillery called on them by the FAC, or that knowledge would slowly filter through the chain of command. Other CM titles (obviously not Normandy) could allow Germans to use the Fieseler Storch the same way.
  12. After my first few battles of Black Sea, it seemed like pitting two even MORE futuristic forces against each other for a CM: Space Lobsters wouldn't make much sense. The reason is that 2017 combat is already fast and deadly, so the forces spread out quite a bit. Even more futuristic weapons would spread the combatants out even more, so you'd have a single squad of future-troopers on each 1km x 1km grid. Combat would consist of sending weaponized drone swarms at your opponent, and might look dramatic, but not fun for a CM title. There would be two exceptions. The first would be to take the common sci-fi movie solution, and assume all weapons are controlled by their operator (think Star Wars). Then, you'd have WW2 with laser weapons, essentially. I don't think this would be very compelling, though, because it might play like a mod package of CMBN. The second, more interesting, exception would be an alien invasion scenario. Then, you'd have modern weapons (already done!) going against alien technology and tactics. The aliens can travel to Earth, but don't have the desire or technology to wipe out resistance in a day. "Starship Troopers", "Battle: Los Angeles" and "Edge Of Tomorrow" are a few movies that illustrate a few possibilities. Aliens could be plentiful but easy to destroy, similar to humans but tough to destroy, or very different and tough to destroy. Their strengths and disadvantages could require completely different tactics to succeed. Fast-moving aliens with short-range (for some reason) weaponry might be a fun combination. Additionally, the module possibilities are endless, as every country would send troops to fight aliens, or aliens from a different planet could get in on the invasion. The game would have to avoid the “kill the key alien and the whole invasion fails” trope, though, because that would make gameplay repetitious.
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