Newb Question(S)

[ddkk]

So i just bought the game, and loving it.

I do have a few questions about game play. ( point me to any guide tips and such, i did peruse the manual)

1) is there a way to see LOS for each unit? i think in other games there was? i now you get the baby blue line when you are targeting but something else?

2) if you park a PUMA ( or any unit really) and give it the hide order. it wont fire on enemy units, Correct? It can be killed if spotted by enemy units

3) Its difficult to watch every unit at once. How/what is the best way to determine when a unit is being sniped at / hit/ observes something? I now you can back up the tape in the 30 sec game turns, is there a similar option for real time?

4) sometimes the mortars are out of control. i gater thats because the leader unit isnt near by. Any hints about placement of leaders so they can see the battlefield/not get knocked off and still communicate with their peeps?

5) I love the scout unit feature

6) can someone point me to operational strategy of recce units? I find they are cannon fodder() and nothing more, any tips about best use, application, deployment - particularly the armour elements?

[Oddball_E8]

So i just bought the game, and loving it.

I do have a few questions about game play. ( point me to any guide tips and such, i did peruse the manual)

1) is there a way to see LOS for each unit? i think in other games there was? i now you get the baby blue line when you are targeting but something else?

2) if you park a PUMA ( or any unit really) and give it the hide order. it wont fire on enemy units, Correct? It can be killed if spotted by enemy units

3) Its difficult to watch every unit at once. How/what is the best way to determine when a unit is being sniped at / hit/ observes something? I now you can back up the tape in the 30 sec game turns, is there a similar option for real time?

4) sometimes the mortars are out of control. i gater thats because the leader unit isnt near by. Any hints about placement of leaders so they can see the battlefield/not get knocked off and still communicate with their peeps?

5) I love the scout unit feature

6) can someone point me to operational strategy of recce units? I find they are cannon fodder() and nothing more, any tips about best use, application, deployment - particularly the armour elements?

1: No, you have to use the blue targeting line.

2: If any unit is hiding it will give priority to staying hidden. Even if an enemy starts shooting at it, it may decide to stay hidden. But sometimes, if it feels that it is in imminent danger, it might start shooting.

3: In real time you cannot go back in time (which is why i never play in real time). I usually only notice when a unit suffers losses and its icon blinks. Other than that, i go by sound to determine where the action is.

4: keep a command unit near the mortars. Make sure the command unit has a radio and that it is not the highest command unit you have (so pick one as low down in the command chain as you can).

5: You can make your own "scout units" by splitting up squads into smaller groups

6: Don't use armour as scouts in general. Use a small 3-5 man unit since that will minimise not only possible casualties, but also how easy it is for the enemy to spot the unit.

Try to use as much cover as possible when moving. Make short dashes from cover to cover with the unit. Do not cover too much ground in a turn.

Use hunt if you think you are likely to run into enemies at close range.

Thats it really. Hope that answers some of your questions.

And welcome to the combat mission series

[JasonC]

Tactics with armored recon -

- don't do "recon by death", which means driving down the road until someone kills you.

- the first use of their speed is to cross ground you believe isn't covered by enemy fire rapidly, to reach the forward edge of your "safe", already controllable areas.

- the second use of their speed is to get out of Dodge if heavier enemies move toward them.

- keyhole with light armor. That means peek out between two buildings or around a clump of trees, with only a narrow line of LOS to the enemy side of the field. At the end of that thin line, pick one enemy that can't hurt light armor, and hose it with your weapons.

- foot scouts go first whenever enemy fire is expected or possible. Armored cars shoot up the light infantry and MG positions that can stop foot scouts.

- decoy heavier enemy elements (e.g. tanks) past your stronger forces, retreating out of their LOS, and daring them to come closer to get LOS to your light armor back. The armored car as "bait", in other words.

[Oddball_E8]

Tactics with armored recon -

- don't do "recon by death", which means driving down the road until someone kills you.

- the first use of their speed is to cross ground you believe isn't covered by enemy fire rapidly, to reach the forward edge of your "safe", already controllable areas.

- the second use of their speed is to get out of Dodge if heavier enemies move toward them.

- keyhole with light armor. That means peek out between two buildings or around a clump of trees, with only a narrow line of LOS to the enemy side of the field. At the end of that thin line, pick one enemy that can't hurt light armor, and hose it with your weapons.

- foot scouts go first whenever enemy fire is expected or possible. Armored cars shoot up the light infantry and MG positions that can stop foot scouts.

- decoy heavier enemy elements (e.g. tanks) past your stronger forces, retreating out of their LOS, and daring them to come closer to get LOS to your light armor back. The armored car as "bait", in other words.

Those tactics are all much easier to pull off in realtime mode than in WeGo.

[altipueri]

"Just drive down that road until you get blown up."

That was Patton's instructions to a recce unit wasn't it?

[womble]

To elaborate some on:

1: No, you have to use the blue targeting line.

But hey, it goes purple when there's no LOS. You can also use that line to determine LOS from any waypoint. It will use the current posture of the unit (where relevant) and as always, the LOS tool evaluates to ground level at the target end, unless the shooter has a unit spotted there.

2: If any unit is hiding it will give priority to staying hidden. Even if an enemy starts shooting at it, it may decide to stay hidden. But sometimes, if it feels that it is in imminent danger, it might start shooting.

And a further consequence of hiding is that the unit doesn't spend as much time keeping abreast of current affairs, so is much more likely to be surprised by the enemy. If what you want is for them not to shoot, you're often better off giving them a Covered Arc that doesn't reach any potential targets. This way you can allow them to shoot if the enemy gets dangerously close. It's worth noting that the default behaviour of pTruppen is to find the best cover and concealment relative to the direction they're facing that they can while maintaining awareness all around.

[A Canadian Cat]

So i just bought the game, and loving it.

I do have a few questions about game play. ( point me to any guide tips and such, i did peruse the manual)

Excellent - welcome the forum

1) is there a way to see LOS for each unit? i think in other games there was? i now you get the baby blue line when you are targeting but something else?

Yes, use the target command to check the LOS - same tool.

2) if you park a PUMA ( or any unit really) and give it the hide order. it wont fire on enemy units, Correct? It can be killed if spotted by enemy units

Correct - mostly. Honestly I have never hidden an AFV yet. I sometimes hide soldiers but only when the artillery are coming in and they have no option to get away (or they are in fox holes). If you want your guys to hold thier fire use a cover arch (hold the shift key down to create a circular covered arc) instead. That way they will still see what's coming.

3) Its difficult to watch every unit at once. How/what is the best way to determine when a unit is being sniped at / hit/ observes something? I now you can back up the tape in the 30 sec game turns, is there a similar option for real time?

60s turns. No rewind for real time (RT).

I just watch the turn over a few times with the camera looking at key areas of the battle field.

4) sometimes the mortars are out of control. i gater thats because the leader unit isnt near by. Any hints about placement of leaders so they can see the battlefield/not get knocked off and still communicate with their peeps?

You need a unit with radios near the mortar teams to keep them in contact. Often their own HQ will have a radio.

5) I love the scout unit feature

You can make your own scouts too by splitting off a scout team - look on the admin menu.

6) can someone point me to operational strategy of recce units? I find they are cannon fodder() and nothing more, any tips about best use, application, deployment - particularly the armour elements?

Let them go a head but not too far ahead. The idea is one they get shot at you want the force they are scouting for return fire. Move them forward for short distances and have them sit still between - even a full minute or more at a time. That will increase their chances of spotting the enemy with out spotting bullets.

[ddkk]

Wow thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate the comments and insight.

I am sure I will have more. A couple of hours ago, i discovered dropping off truppen from halftrack requires that the halftrack actually sit still for a few seconds as the men depart. Yikes.

I really hate a unit getting whacked when your not watching and not having any idea of what it was from/ where it was from.

I remember playing CM:Barbarossa to Berlin(SP) and rewinding to see the battle per turn played out. Maybe i will go back to that.

[Wodin]

Welcome to the community....you've got many hours of top class wargaming ahead of you.

Lots of tips on the forum..enjoy.

[Apocal]

Wow thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate the comments and insight.

I am sure I will have more. A couple of hours ago, i discovered dropping off truppen from halftrack requires that the halftrack actually sit still for a few seconds as the men depart. Yikes.

Try to drop them off behind buildings, in covered ground, using a ditch to shield the vehicle, etc. This wasn't really the era of leisurely rolling through small-arms in armored PCs.

I really hate a unit getting whacked when your not watching and not having any idea of what it was from/ where it was from.

They take awhile to get spots on guys shooting at them, don't stress too much.

[Michael Emrys]

I remember playing CM:Barbarossa to Berlin(SP) and rewinding to see the battle per turn played out. Maybe i will go back to that.

Whether to play WEGO or RT ultimately comes down to a matter of personal preference. Both have advantages and disadvantages. I have only played WEGO but there have been times when I pined for some of the advantages that come with RT.

Michael

[Oddball_E8]

Whether to play WEGO or RT ultimately comes down to a matter of personal preference. Both have advantages and disadvantages. I have only played WEGO but there have been times when I pined for some of the advantages that come with RT.

Michael

Oh, you mean like when your tank rolles out from behind that building, spots the enemy tank to its right, but decides to shoot at the infantry to its left instead?

You mean like that?

(yeah, i hate the TacAI sometimes...)

[womble]

Wow thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate the comments and insight.

You're welcome.

A couple of hours ago, i discovered dropping off truppen from halftrack requires that the halftrack actually sit still for a few seconds as the men depart. Yikes.

While you've noticed something, you've not quite nailed that yet You can't dismount troops from a vehicle which currently has orders. If you're playing realtime, I guess that usually means a vehicle that's stationary, since you'll be addressing things as they occur, but the distinction becomes significant in WeGo play. If you give a "movement" order to passengers while a vehicle is in motion, they'll dismount and begin to execute that order once their ride has completed what you've told it to do. If the vehicle has no orders, you can select the passengers, press "Dismount" and then give them movement orders, and they'll get out before they execute them. You can then give the transport movement orders and it, IIRC, will wait til the footsloggers have gotten out before moving off.

I really hate a unit getting whacked when your not watching and not having any idea of what it was from/ where it was from.

So did the poor buggers who had to fight the real war.

I remember playing CM:Barbarossa to Berlin(SP) and rewinding to see the battle per turn played out. Maybe i will go back to that.

I still think that's the way the game is meant to be (not by the designers, obviously...). WeGo was game-changing with CMBO, and I've not seen anyone do it as well as BFC. The vignettes and drama you get with the replay options make up a good chunk of the entertainment, for me.

[ratdeath]

Welcome to the forum!

Maybe the excellent videos from Armchair General is good source for tips on how to play Combat Mission.

Armchair General presents Combat Mission Normandy Tactics Episode I

You should find links to the other 5 videos from there.