PEB14

Which still indicates that Germany sells... Normandy is no exception: it features the German forces (including SS). BattleFront was really courageous to release CMFI, as I don't believe that WW2 in Italy is a popular subject. No iconic battle, no gigantic Panzer struggles... For sure they do. The younger public hasn't the same tastes as the previous generation. Interest for the Napoleonic campaigns has faded, as does interest for WW2. But I remain convinced that, as far as WW2 wargames (in the broad sense) are concerned, German centered topics are better seller than US centered ones, especially when they deal with iconic battles: Normandy is the best example, but Stalingrad or Kursk are excellent ones either...

I hope there is more than the three of us... Anyway, I have read somewhere that titles not featuring US forces don't sell well. I'm really wondering on what facts this assumption is based on, as there are very few Combat Mission titles NOT featuring US forces (Afghanistan and Red Thunder if I'm not mistaken), which makes few data for comparison ? WW2 wargamer popular wisdom tends to designate the German forces as a good seller, not the US ones. As a matter of fact, the original tactical games (SL and ASL) were based around the Eastern Front, with the US forces only appearing in later modules. I would be very interested to have Steve comments over this "only US forces sell" assumption!

So would I. ANY ! North Africa, East Africa, Poland, France, Greece, Barbarossa, Stalingrad, Finland, Norway, Spanish Civil War… All of them !

Nicely said!

Covering the Tunisian campaign? That said, I'm sorry the program isn't very exciting for WW2 afficionados; the long awaited CMFB Commonwealth module shouldn't add much which isn't already covered by CMFI or CMRT late modules...

No I didn't. One right before, and one just after. And as the first tank stopped, no chance for another try. From now on, I remember to save before each bridge crossing…

Indeed. That's exactly what I did with my stuck tank. Smooth turn before the bridge, along the road, to position the tank along the axis of the bridge, then one waypoint just before (at the end of the turn) and one after the bridge. My mistake might have been to use the hunt command, but I'm pretty sure that I went for a standard "move" command, and that the R35 stops because of TacAI overrule…

Thanks for the information! One question though: what bug is well known? The poor handling of vehicles movement on an obstructed bridge, or the fact that a vehicle might get stuck in the middle of the bridge without any reason? The first issue I can understand, the second one looks a lot more strange! By the way, what is the advice of the senior players to avoid this bridge thing? (Don't answer "avoid crossing bridges with vehicles", please…) PS: I have finished the scenario with my first total victory, despite having two tanks stuck on the bridge (the HQ tank finally managed to reverse away). I'm quite happy with that. But the AI had no issue crossing the other bridge with several halftracks. I'm jealous.

Hi everyone, This is my second scenario beyond the tutorials, and it's getting pretty frustrating. I encountered two "bugs", one which may be only "newbieness", but another real, boring bug. I'm playing CMFI "Avanti!!" scenario. I am trying two make my R-35 tanks cross the first bridge. Once in the middle of the bridge, the first tank stops to fire on a distant target. It will NEVER move again. Never. I cancelled all orders to give new ones, asked for a short-range armor target to keep him from targets distractions, I saved and reloaded. Nope. No way. Won't move. I have put his HQ tank next to him and unbuttoned both of them: no Sir. I won't move. I'm very pleased where I am, blowing the bridge. The tank is completely undamaged: It's getting really boring when the second tank ENTERS the first one and gets pausing every two seconds without moving anymore. Now I've got two tanks stuck at the same position. And the HQ tank, right behind them, refuses to reverse to another place to fight. Don't tell me it's on purpose… Shall I report a bug? Other bug (or misunderstanding): in this scenario I have got three light mortars and one FO team, the latter with a radio. I don't know why, by the way, because absolutely NO other Italian unit has a radio. Well, I placed the FO team right next to one mortar team and its HQ: impossible to call for indirect fire. Any time, any place, with any HQ unit. No indirect fire. I looked at somme AARs on the web: they shall be able to. So what's the hint here? Hopefully they proved more useful in direct fire than those damn f**g tanks!

Don't get me wrong: it IS a clever use of the XO team, more clever than to use it a reserve squad by example! By gamey I only mean that it is a completely ahistorical use of this team, no criticize intended. Anyway I don't think the XO team role is properly simulated, nor that it could be in such a game anyway. Indeed I don't understand why the XO team is not simply included in the HQ.

That's clever, but it sounds a little gamey as it is not the way the command structure was supposed to work, isn't it?

Great stuff, thank you!

Thank you.

Sorry, yet just another newbie question. Is it possible to fire only a tank's machineguns? Or is the weapon used only managed by the TacAI?

No screenshot unfortunately... Anyway I'm not shicked that a bridge is not appropriate for heavy vehicles, what is frustrating is the lack of info of any kind regarding a potential interdiction. I cannot trace a waypoint to a forbidden terrain (like marshes). But I can put a waypoint on this damn bridge for ANY of my units!

Balancing scenarios and testing them also takes time... But according to the number of beta testers credited it should not be an issue.

Hi, Let's go with another newbie question. I'm playing the last scenario of CMRT's introducing campaign. One of the objectives is a one-lane bridge. I secured this and managed to cross it with my T-34s, but it looks like neither the JS-2 nor the SU-152 can cross it: they stubbornly turn away when arriving at the entrance of the bridge! Extremely frustrating, especially as the smoke screen gently dissipates away!!! I can understand that some bridges are too small or too weak to afford heavy vehicles, but how does one know ? In this specific case I saw no information in the briefing. Did I miss something?

Well, this library is not that difficult to build, it think it could be built and maintained by the community. There is plenty of documentation regarding tanks, guns, TOEs as far as WW2 is soncerned, both in libraries and on the web!

Indeed. Basically, modding CC from 1939 to 1944 in Europe and North Africa, and Korean War as well, doesn't involve any game mechanics modification, so basically it's a matter of adding new stuff: maps, vehicles, guns, TOEs... and of course properly tested scenarios and campaigns! Biggest amount of work is probably adding graphics stuff (uniforms, vehicles, guns, etc.), isn't it?

Well, it looks like the modern era titles are getting far more popular than WW2 ones. A matter of gamers' age, I would bet. Anyway, playing a WW2 tactical game without Stalingrad, Kursk and Afrika Korps timeframes covered? Come one folks! (I enlist myself in the vocal minority wanting early war WW2: can't wait to run Hotchkiss tanks to fight Panzer II and have the Finns defend against monster SMK !)

And what about the XO team from US OOB? Is it considered as a HQ?

Thanks womble, very clear.

Hello gentlemen, Here's a newbie question. I have well understood the importance of low level (i.e. platoon) HQ in terms of chain of command and command bonus. What is not clear to me is the effect of the higher level HQ (company, most notably). The role in the chain of command is clear, but does it has some other effects like the platoon HQ does? Hence what is their optimal position with respect to the frontline? I am also wondering the effects go the mortars HQ when those mortars are used in indirect fire mode. Thanks in advance for your enlightening answers! PEB

Thank you gentlemen for this clarification.

Sorry if this question has been asked a thousand times by newcomers.... It is not clear to me wether buying a second title of the BattleFront series requires a new download or just an activation key. In other words, if you own CMFI, do you need any dowload if you buy, say, CMBN? Thanks in advance for the clarification! PEB