Are Multi Group QB Maps The Future?

[MarkEzra]

"Multi Large Forest Town Water QB Map" has been placed on the repository and can be found in the base game/Maps section.

This QB map is a departure from the "normal" QB maps I make for the Game. I have applied 5 different Objects all with various Victory Pts. The Deeper the Attacker gets the More the Objectives are worth. The Attacker AI has 5 group orders, one for each objective. The pathing order consist of a time variable setup order and one movement order to the objective. The Attacker AI is left to figure it's own route to the Objective.

The Defender has 10 order groups, five on or near the Objectives and 5 near each objective. So the first 5 groups are set to ambush/dismount with no movement order. The last five are set to ambush/dismount plus a variable timed movement order to the objective. Movement times are set to reflect a one hour game limit. So if the player sets a game limit of only 35 minutes then defending units may just sit where they are (by the way I generally do this with QB Maps by default). The Defending groups variable timed movement orders reflect their location.

The map is set for "large" battles, but I hope players will use it to play any size battle that suits them. Your feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,

MarkEzra

[Vanir Ausf B]

I normally don't play QBs against the AI, but since you asked nicely... Plus, it gives me an excuse to put off the mountain of boring game testing I have lined up.

Do you have a preference as to whether the player is attacking or defending? If you have no preference I will play it as a large British probe, with myself taking the UK. 1 hour, random weather. I will pick the forces for both sides. It may be a week or two before I complete it as I have to finish up a CMRT scenario first.

[MarkEzra]

No preference it's a game played like you want.

[Vanir Ausf B]

Alright, I finally got this one done.

I set it up as stipulated above. Large British probe, random weather (which turned out to be clear). One hour time limit. I did reduce the amount of purchase points for my side by 30% to increase the challenge.

OOB

British Army

1 reduced infantry battalion

3x inf co

1x support co minus the anti-tank platoon; mortar platoon reduced to 1 section (2x 81mm).

2x Cromwell (75mm)

2x Challenger

2x Daimler II

German Army (picked by me)

1 reduced Grenadier battalion

2x inf co

heavy weapons company (6x HMG, 3x 81mm mortar)

2x Pak 40 AT gun

3x Stug III

The AI spent the first 3-4 turns blowing most of its mortar load on the woods fronting my setup zone. Other than delaying my advance for a few turns this accomplished nothing.

I captured the Road & Rail East and North-East Road objectives at the 50 and 48 minute marks respectively. The AI did not defend the R&R East objective at all and the NE Road only lightly (see setup screenshot below).

As I moved on towards the Road Bridge objective I hit a wall. The approach was on a reverse slope and the AI had set up the bulk of its forces defending it. The Stugs were very well situated on the edge of town where they could support the infantry and AT guns in the woods. Because of the reverse slope my infantry could rarely area target the German machine guns in the woods, and any armor I moved up got hit by the Stugs firing through holes in the tree cover. With casualties mounting and having lost half my armor I threw in the towel and called off the assault on the Road Bridge.

The silver lining to the AI defending the Road Bridge with most of it's heavy weaponry was that the Rail Bridge objective was relatively lightly defended. And it wasn't on a reverse slope. Nevertheless I did not eliminate the last resistance until only a few minutes remained. I was delayed by one of my tanks getting obliterated by a panzerschreck from 200+ meters away and the AI effectively using what little mortar ammo it had remaining. Had the AI not wasted most of its mortar rounds earlier it may have delayed me long enough to keep the objective.

At about the 20 minute mark the AI did a student body left maneuver where the infantry in the middle of the map along with the Stugs moved out of their initial positions and onto the Road Bridge objective. The AI was, of course, unaware that I had stopped even trying to capture the Road Bridge by that point (an AI trigger would have helped, I'm sure). The unfortunate (for the AI) result of this movement was the Stugs ending up with their ass-ends facing towards my forces, which allowed me to quickly knock out 2 of them and come within the width of an ironwood tree of bagging the third.

[Vanir Ausf B]

German setup. Note there are no units in buildings. Also, the Pak 40 ammo bearers are far away from their guns.

Eng game map

[MarkEzra]

Thank you for taking time to play this QB. I have also played this from both sides with very satisfying results. The concerns I've had about the QB engine ability to handle multiple groups,orders,victory obj, have been quieted.