Steven482 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I really enjoy playing CM2. The way I interpret my role is not only to lead my troops to victory, I also like to crunch down the numbers in statistics. Therefore I try to keep track of the Ammunition, Casualties, enemy sightings, C2-Links and other details of each turn. However this is quite a cumbersome job to manually collect all the data from the replays / game. Are there any tools existing that would allow for collecting the info from the Save-Files in an automated way? I am currently using my self-created Excel-Sheet to keep track of things. However it takes quite a bit of time doing so on the right level of precision. It is all manual work. How do you work the game? Or are most of you just playing along without too much effort for the details? And BTW, I also spend sometimes about 2 hrs just watching and analyzing the last turn from the perspective of each individual unit in my OOB in order not to miss out on events. This can be exciting, but also *very* boring if nothing happens. How do others manage this? Do you first watch the overall replay and then drill down to the interesting areas? Or do you walk through your OOB according to the Chain of Command? Just wondering... Steven 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I have occasionally done a careful analysis of the ammo status of all my starting infantry, in order to divvy up the lewt from trucks and halftracks efficiently, but recording ammo use on a minute-by-minute basis is way too much micro, even for me (who splits every squad). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlife Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I start with watching the turn from the air looking for: 1) the obvious enemy icons 2) my own flashing icons indicating a hit 3) shell impacts indicating mortars orbit guns of some sort If I see those THEN I get down and dirty to begin analyzing what is happening. I might also get down and dirty with lead units (hopefully prior to contact) to make sure I understand the terrain and aren't walking my guys into a kill zone. I don't track rifle ammo at all. I'm a very high tempo commander that puts a lot of force at once onto target meaning firefights are very short. Ive yet to run out of rifle ammo. The only ammo I keep track of are specialty ammo so: zooks, AP, HEAT, mortar rounds, etc... C2 I worry about at setup. On the move I'm less concerned but restablish before probable contact. Casualties I only worry about with regards to buddy-aid. There I'm quite specific about cleaning up. I do wince at every casualty so I'm not throwing away my guys mind you. I just don't keep more track than memory serves. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltorrente Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I don't worry about ammo, except for mortars and bazookas. I take note of heavy MG ammo, if I am using them to area fire, or if they've been firing on distant targets for several turns. If I'm playing the computer, I watch my turns a couple times and don't get into the ground level much - just because it's hard for me to "get into" the game against the computer. When I'm playing PBEM's, which is most of the time, I watch each movie with great interest. I play almost like a role-playing game, where I care about each unit and each soldier. I HATE it when one of my guys dies. I like to unit lock on various units and watch the turn from their level, and see what they are seeing. I stick to ground level for several replays from different angles, and look for every dip and bump in the ground, trying to find the best places to go. I've found that I'm MUCH more successful when I take the time to watch from ground level, otherwise I miss important terrain features. I also like to make sure I watch the map zoomed out from straight above, where I can see the entire thing. This gives me a good strategic view, and it helps me see the overall lines and get a good feel for the situation. For a large battle PBEM, I often take 30minutes to an hour just watching the replay. However - this time is also spent planning and contemplating my next move(s). I like to plan during the replay, because I can take a careful look at how a firefight is going, which way a unit is moving or coming from, maybe a unit is invisible at the end of the turn, but I saw him moving over here during the replay, etc - and it helps to really understand the situation fully before you commit to a plan in the orders phase. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocice Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I dunno where you fellas find the time!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I watch the action from several levels, 1, 2, and 3 mostly, but will also take a look at the battlefield from level 4 once in a while just to get the big picture. Level 3 is usually the best for following the action, but if I am interested in a particular squad or vehicle, level 2 is good. Before I give units movement orders, I will usually go over the ground in level 1 and 2. Level 1 especially yields a sense of terrain, particularly any irregularities that might provide cover, either for me or my enemy. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SelfLoadingRifle Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 My analysis of a CM2 turn (for what it's worth) Here we go... Shermans MGs and mortars to give covering fire while the infantry go in... Right lads, go right flanking and make the best use of the cover. Press the button... ... So far so good, the infantry are making progress, what enemy fire there is is being supressed by the mortars and the Shermans... wait a minute... BLOODY HELL, A TIGER. ARE YOU BLIND HE'S ON YOUR LEFT YOUR CANNOT MISS HIM... OH GOD, REVERSE, REVERSE... TOO LATE. What's that? an MG 42 and wait... a mortar shell. Another minute or so and it'll be fire for effect, right where 3 Platoon is. BUG OUT WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. Right, plan B. 2 Platoon have just arrived as reinforcements and some TD's have reached my location... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theFightingSeabee Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 My analysis of a CM2 turn (for what it's worth) Here we go... Shermans MGs and mortars to give covering fire while the infantry go in... Right lads, go right flanking and make the best use of the cover. Press the button... ... So far so good, the infantry are making progress, what enemy fire there is is being supressed by the mortars and the Shermans... wait a minute... BLOODY HELL, A TIGER. ARE YOU BLIND HE'S ON YOUR LEFT YOUR CANNOT MISS HIM... OH GOD, REVERSE, REVERSE... TOO LATE. What's that? an MG 42 and wait... a mortar shell. Another minute or so and it'll be fire for effect, right where 3 Platoon is. BUG OUT WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE. Right, plan B. 2 Platoon have just arrived as reinforcements and some TD's have reached my location... That's about as detailed as my analysis gets as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenAsJade Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 If you play scenarios like The Mace, you'll need to watch rifle ammo overall But looking at it on a turn by turn basis is way over the top for me. More like "right, now where are these guys supposed to go next, do they have enough ammo?" Writing anything down from one turn to the next would be way past analysis I'd do. I also like to make sure I watch the map zoomed out from straight above, where I can see the entire thing. This gives me a good strategic view, and it helps me see the overall lines and get a good feel for the situation. I have learn the hard way that this is utterly vital. I try try try to have the discipline to click through (using fast forward button) the whole of each turn at level 8 or 9 (whatever fits the map to the screen) to spot unexpexcted enemy icons. The number of times you get "an OMFG, where did _that_ come from" really rewards this procedure... GaJ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George MC Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 That's about as detailed as my analysis gets as well. Yup - me too 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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