Little things I noticed

[Bloody Bill]

Hey gents just had a question on a few little things in the game.

1. Why do engineer units have to blast then run through the blast area? Why can they not blow the are and not run through. In the bocage some times this just decimates the engineers because they blow a gap run through get shot up. Normally the guy with the demo is hit and his is in a strange death spot that buddy aid cannot retrieve his demo.

2 Why when you need to get out of the open like the paratroopers on road to Nijmegen that they get a quick order than stack up in a single line to run out of the field instead of spreading and running.

[YankeeDog]

Re #1: They don't. Just issue the BLAST order parallel to the bocage line rather than through it, and they won't go through the gap after blasting. You can follow the BLAST order with a QUICK or FAST movement if you want them to move further out of trouble once they're done with the demolition.

[Placebo]

Re #1: They don't. Just issue the BLAST order parallel to the bocage line rather than through it, and they won't go through the gap after blasting. You can follow the BLAST order with a QUICK or FAST movement if you want them to move further out of trouble once they're done with the demolition.

Good tip, I did not know that.

[c3k]

Or "T" them into the obstacle, not through it. The parallel technique (sometimes) leaves a wider hole in bocage. That's what I use when I want vehicles to have access.

The "T" technique is useful for buildings, or other point obstacles when you don't want your engineers moving laterally.

Some good folks have created tutorials with great pictures of how to do this. My search skills are lacking, but the threads exist somewhere...

Ken

[AlexUK]

A related question - if engineers are on the second floor of a building and I want them to blow out the wall without any windows in it, so I can use it for firing out of the building, how can I do it without them exiting the building in the direction I want to open up?

[Bloody Bill]

Thanks for the tip with the engineers. That will help a lot.

[altipueri]

Re #1: They don't. Just issue the BLAST order parallel to the bocage line rather than through it, and they won't go through the gap after blasting. You can follow the BLAST order with a QUICK or FAST movement if you want them to move further out of trouble once they're done with the demolition.

This is why this game is hard work. Click this way rather than click that or your guys stand around doing something stupid. I thought the whole point of TacAI was that squads didn't have to have their noses wiped for them.

[YankeeDog]

What, do you want the game to play itself? That wouldn't be much fun.

At times, you *want* the assault team to move quickly through the hole they just blasted. Typical example is when assaulting a building -- the blast will suppress any enemy infantry inside, so you want to move in quickly and finish them off before the suppression subsides.

Other times, as when blasting a hole for a tank to pass through bocage, you don't.

It's an awfully tall order to expect the Tac AI to be able to read your mind...

[A Canadian Cat]

2 Why when you need to get out of the open like the paratroopers on road to Nijmegen that they get a quick order than stack up in a single line to run out of the field instead of spreading and running.

I see your number 2 is not getting any love...

Because they do is the answer (and there have been requests for changes so it might happen).

What you can do about it is split the squads and give them separate move orders running parallel. Also the longer the move order the longer they spend lined up because when they start they are spread out in the action square (AS) and then they get up and start moving the begin to line up. If you give them move orders that are two or three AS's apart they will separate at each way point and therefore spend more time spread out overall.

[Pak40]

Re #1: They don't. Just issue the BLAST order parallel to the bocage line rather than through it, and they won't go through the gap after blasting. You can follow the BLAST order with a QUICK or FAST movement if you want them to move further out of trouble once they're done with the demolition.

One word of warning with this technique, if you're in an area near intersections of bocage or narrow lanes with bocage on both sides, this will often lead to the wrong hedgerow being blown.

[Rokko]

You can also order them one action spot before the wall/hedge/bocage and then give the blast order to the action spot with the target in it. They will blow it up and then move up to it, instead of going through the hole.

[womble]

One word of warning with this technique, if you're in an area near intersections of bocage or narrow lanes with bocage on both sides, this will often lead to the wrong hedgerow being blown.

Any area with multiple potential Blast targets will require greater care in setting the orders, true, and in those cases, sometimes the only way of being sure the demo guy blows up what you want is to have them Blast through.

You can still stop them running through, though, if you've got the time. Set a pause at the waypoint before the Blast command which will mean they complete the demo operation at the very end of the turn. Then you can cancel the "Quick" or "Fast" order the Blast turns into once the boom has happened, in the next orders phase.

[poesel]

Or "T" them into the obstacle, not through it.

Sorry but what do you mean with 'T'?

[c3k]

"T": Rokko describes it just upstream, post 11.

There's a thread showing it. I'll try to find it.

Meanwhile, what you do is start at least 2 AS away from the obstacle. From 1 AS away, order a BLAST which takes you up to, but not through, the obstacle. So, using my l33t ascii skillz:

0-B-X

0 is start AS

B is blast AS

X is obstacle

The blast will be directed forwards, through the obstacle. Now, if your guys are finished at the B location, any enemy will fire through the gap they just created and decimate them. (At least, that's my experience.) So, after the BLAST command, give 'em a QUICK or FAST in a lateral direction (left or right) to shelter in cover.

That's the "T".

Edited to add: Here are two threads with pictures and words.

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=100140&highlight=Blast+command&page=2

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=98406&highlight=Blast+command

They should help.

Ken

[altipueri]

For the average soldier:

O is for obstacle

B is for bomb

X is for your grave marker

[mjkerner]

If you have to go through the wall/bocage, give them a HIDE order at the Blast waypoint, so they hit the ground immediately. That has helped me keep casualties down when blasting through.