Artillery niceties

[Freyberg]

Having plotted an artillery strike, is it possible to adjust it without beginning again from scratch. For example, can one add extra time-delay, or is the only option to begin over...?

[Freyberg]

I seem to recall one could add a time delay to an already-prepared strike in CMBB

[noob]

Having plotted an artillery strike, is it possible to adjust it without beginning again from scratch. For example, can one add extra time-delay, or is the only option to begin over...?

Yes, it is possible to adjust an artillery strike without incurring the maximum delay, there is an adjust fire button in the artillery UI that shows up once the artillery status changes to spotting, test it in single player turn based mode, set your artillery, then keep checking the artillery UI after each turn by clicking on the artillery info box, then eventually you will see the "adjust mission" button below "cease fire".

[womble]

You can only adjust the targeting aspects of the mission, though, not increase its duration (you can decrease the duration by Ceasing fire, of course) or alter its weight. I don't think you can explicitly add delay, either, but usually adjusting a mission takes half the time that it took to call. If you adjust after a mission is FFE, it will continue to fire at its initial target for a little while (possibly even the whole of the adjustment time). When I'm plotting roving harrassing fires (using 100mm or better on Harrass or Light, firing half the battery, usually), I tend to adjust the mission pretty much as soon as it's firing for effect when it's going to take 4 minutes to move. You get some terminal impacts, but don't waste too much ammo.

[Lt Belenko]

I'd love to see an extend and increase rate of fire order available once the FFE got started. RIGHT ON TARGET, GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT and KEEP IT COMING.

Panzer Blitz/Leader had a rule where a M or H indirect type weapon could go to 3X attack factor for one attack then be basically eliminated.

[Erwin]

"Panzer Blitz/Leader had a rule where a M or H indirect type weapon could go to 3X attack factor for one attack then be basically eliminated."

Have to look that one up if I still have my copies, as I don't remember that at all. That was the first game discovered in my 20's that started my wargaming obsession.

[JasonC]

Erwin - Lt Belenko is basically remembering correctly. The rule was for M units only in the original, and it was needed to make the underpowered 81mm mortars good for anything. Those were given 3 attack factors, and in the game as written that wasn't enough to ever hurt anything but a truck or wagon, pretty much. Maybe pin an enemy gun. But useless against enemy infantry.

With the optional rule to rapid fire, they could get a surge FP of 9 as a one time thing, enough to maybe disrupt a single enemy infantry platoon.

The heavier 120mm mortars started with 15 FP and could "surge" to 45, which is a bit more than what a 105mm battery got (40), but as a one time thing.

I do not remember any such rule for the H weapons, but I can see players house-ruling it for the similarly nearly useless light infantry guns, which were like 2 FP with 12 range, ranging up to 4 FP for light flak and similar. Again pretty much limited to shooting soft transport or spotted enemy guns in the original game. But you would not want to let a 105mm battery starting with 40 FP to triple it...

[Lt Belenko]

Ok, maybe not "H" weapons... I haven't held a PB counter in my hands in 30 years or more.

And I'd still like the arty command "Give it everything you got" and a change to an existing order. Only works once FFE is arriving. And the unit uses all its ammo.