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Help with Artillery UI


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Hello All:

1. On page 103, under the Matchup section, they mention a yellow square as being average. On my screen I see a yellow triangle so I assume the manual should say yellow triangle?

2. I have my Company HQ trying to call in that 105mm Howitzer that is showing that yellow triangle above. Why is it only an average match?

3. It's taking forever, playing Warrior level, to get it to come in. Going on 20 mins. I assume this is because of the matchup?

4. In relation to 3) above, the FFE is about to start ( 2 mins away) but for the last few minutes I hear "Fire for effect". Why would they say that for minutes when it's not close to starting? I thought this was only said when it would start firing the next turn.

Thanks in advance,

Gerry

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Hello All:

1. On page 103, under the Matchup section, they mention a yellow square as being average. On my screen I see a yellow triangle so I assume the manual should say yellow triangle?

I think so. IIRC there is one other discrepancy, but I don't recall what it is just now.

2. I have my Company HQ trying to call in that 105mm Howitzer that is showing that yellow triangle above. Why is it only an average match?

Probably because the 105s are a division level asset. If they were battalion level in the same battalion of the company HQ they would be a closer matchup.

3. It's taking forever, playing Warrior level, to get it to come in. Going on 20 mins. I assume this is because of the matchup?

A reasonable assumption. Your company is having to compete for the attention of the ADC and there are a total of 81 rifle companies, plus other small formations, in the division. Take a number and get in line.

Michael

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Also, in relation to #3, since requests for support must follow the chain of command, try to visualize your scenario this way:

-Company HQ passes request on to Battalion

-Battalion passes the request on to Regiment

-Regiment passes the request on to Division

Once approved by Division, the approval/acknowledgement of the fire request then works its way in reverse down the chain of command. So, like Emrys said, this all takes time. That's why requests for e.g., 60mm mortars takes far less time, since they are a platoon-level asset.

Just wait until we have to deal the massive inertia that was the WWII-era Soviet fire control system. :D

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Also, in relation to #3, since requests for support must follow the chain of command, try to visualize your scenario this way:

-Company HQ passes request on to Battalion

-Battalion passes the request on to Regiment

-Regiment passes the request on to Division

Once approved by Division, the approval/acknowledgement of the fire request then works its way in reverse down the chain of command. So, like Emrys said, this all takes time. That's why requests for e.g., 60mm mortars takes far less time, since they are a platoon-level asset.

Just wait until we have to deal the massive inertia that was the WWII-era Soviet fire control system. :D

Just one problem approval. Even if you have approved credit it takes quite a while, since the batteries would need to calculate the fire parameters and in WW2 they didn't have computers - slide rules at best to make these calculations - sometimes for each gun (that's why the soviets preferred linear gun arrangements - easier to calculate and to command).

So the path after you got approval would be FO --> Fire Direction Center --> Battery --> Gun.

Usually you had one FDC per artillery batallion or division.

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4. In relation to 3) above, the FFE is about to start ( 2 mins away) but for the last few minutes I hear "Fire for effect". Why would they say that for minutes when it's not close to starting? I thought this was only said when it would start firing the next turn.

often they would range with just one gun. after the FO calls for FFE because the spread is ok they would give the parameters to the other guns and fire. the rounds would then fly for quite a while until they arrive in the target area. that's also why you have some latency when you call for an abort. you can't abort the rounds which are already flying.

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4- that may mean the fo can't see the adjusting rounds. where ever the adiusting rounds are falling now, expect ffe 50m over them.

That was my thought. Have spotting rounds come down at all? It's possible for spotting rounds to be fired and your spotter to miss them (killed, cowering, hiding, view blocked, etc). If that happens you might get more spotting rounds or you might just get no fire for effect and have to re-call the mission.

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Yes, it seems one spotting round comes down per minute. The HQ unit is safe and hasn't moved since they called it in.

Are you asking if they have LOS to the spotting round? Then that might be a problem for a few of the rounds, but for sure some spotting rounds have come down in LOS. Unless they fell asleep like Medex!

Gerry

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There are tables posted somewhere .... let me seee ....

ahhhh here they are ...

http://combatmission.wikia.com/wiki/German_Artillery_Characteristics

http://combatmission.wikia.com/wiki/US_Artillery_Characteristics

http://combatmission.wikia.com/wiki/US_Naval_Fire_Support_Characteristics

print them, learn them, live them, or regret it.

:)

I thought we were all old wargamers here. Everyone has a thick binder full of printed CMBN crapola they need to refer to constantly to play ... right? right??

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That was my thought. Have spotting rounds come down at all? It's possible for spotting rounds to be fired and your spotter to miss them (killed, cowering, hiding, view blocked, etc). If that happens you might get more spotting rounds or you might just get no fire for effect and have to re-call the mission.

I just had this situation in a HTH wego battle -- my American FO managed to call in a 4.2" chemical mortar strike from the XIX Corps artillery general support pool, and then had to dash for cover, only to get ambushed and killed before even the spotting rounds arrived.

I wondered what was going to happen -- whether the mission would happen at all, whether there would just be lots of random spotting rounds and no FFE, or what. What happened was interesting:

Quite a few turns after the official delay (according to the artillery GUI) big HE spotting rounds started impacting on the map -- nowhere near where the FO had plotted them, and some in empty areas, but some others just happened to land in on or near some enemy-held areas and may have done some good. The FFE never came, but it felt as if Corps was aware of this company's plight and the FO's dying gasps over the radio, and was trying to help from afar as best it could.

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The charts above have call-in times for FO and HQs.

I have yet to test how Motivation and Experience of both the calling unit and battery affect these times.

There is no way that I have found yet to make any FO attach to any unit to change the color or shape of the "compatibility" icon. A yellow triangle is a yellow triangle, so motivation and experience may be the only variables.

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