Help!! New to the CMBO battlefield

[MajorMel]

Bored with the standard first person shooter games on the Playstation i decided to get something more tactical for the PC and picked up a copy of the CMBO Special Edition in the bargain bin a week or so ago for a mere £4.99. I'd never heard of it but after a few goes i realised what a real bargain i'd got - the game is awesome, in fact my work is suffering because i seem to be continually burning the midnight oil trying to repel hordes of Nazi attackers. However all is not perfect because the box didn't include the manual - it was just a small box with 2 CD's. I thought there would be a file with the manual in on the CD or a link to one online but there was nothing. So i have been learning through trial and error and have pretty much got the hang of the basics of moving, targeting etc. It wasn't until i discovered this forum that i realised there is so much more i need to know about the little details, i have had a good trawl through the the posts and have learnt a lot but still feel in the dark over quite a few bits. So a couple of questions to anyone who may be able to help:

1. Is there a manual available to download anywhere? Or does anyone have one they could e-mail? Or will i need to buy CMBB or Afrika Corps to get one?!

2. When using the 6pd AT gun does it need line of sight, or is it just the FO that needs it?

3. When setting various way points for your troops and machinery, how do you set the time delay for each move? Mine seems to be permanently set at 13 secs. I read on one post that for example you can move a tank into position at the start of the 60secs and then set a reverse order at 55secs so it's hidden for the next go. I keep losing tanks because they're left in the open at the end of the go. Whithout the manual i've no idea what keys to use!!

If anyone can help i'd be really grateful!

[Alexei]

Hi,

Just two quick answers:

2. The 6-pounder AT gun, like any other AT gun, must have direct LOS to the target. FOs are only able to direct the fire of the artillery unit they are attached to.

3. The delay you can see when setting up waypoints (e.g. 13s) is the delay required for the unit to understand your orders. See it as the min delay before the unit actually starts doing what you want it to do.

Now you can increase this delay, using the 'p' key. For example if you start a turn with a tank on a crest, you can give it a reverse order and adjust the delay so that the order will be executed 50 seconds after the turns begins. Thus the tank will be hidden at the end of turn.

[MajorMel]

Thanks Alexei, that's a great help. Will try it this evening

[tar]

Expanding the answer to Q 3:

There is no way to add delays into the middle of a set of waypoints. You can only add delay at the beginning.

It also doesn't always matter when your tanks are left in the open. The Tactical AI that controls all units (including yours) during the turn will cause them to fire even without explicit targeting orders.

Sorry I can't help with the manual answer, since I'm not at all familiar with that particular package. I presume that since you found various orders, you figured out how to get the individual unit orders up and working.

You could always post questions here on the forum and see what sorts of replies you get. The basic information about movement orders is the following:

Fast: Makes infantry get tired. Reduced spotting ability. Increased vulnerability to fire. Reduced tendency to shoot.

Move: Does not tire infantry.

Sneak: Slow but stealthy. Will stop if unit becomes obviously detected.

Crawl: Reduced vulnerabilty to fire. Slow. Makes infantry tired.

Hunt: Vehicles only. Moves fast, but will stop and shoot at targets that it sees.

The ambush command is a bit trickier. Only headquarters units, vehicles and anti-tank infantry can place ambush markers. Once a HQ has set an ambush marker, though, other units can Target it. The idea is that units will (more or less, depending on experience) hold their fire until something they can hurt is close to the ambush marker. You will generally need to hide the units.

Hide: Makes unit harder to spot, and causes it to not shoot unless the enemy gets very close (again, depending on unit quality).

HQ units are quite important, since keeping your infantry within the command radius (shown by red, not black line and a little radio icon) gives them reduced movement delays and provides any command bonuses the HQ has. Also, HQ units can be used to spot for indirect fire by on-map infantry mortar units. That's real handy.

[Wicky]

Welcome to CM-UK

If it's a CDV version of CMBO, I believe it should include a PDF manual in the install.

I recommend you purchase the newer CMBB/CMAK bundle as they are progressively more refined and both are graphically a lot better out of the box. Order it direct from battlefront and it'll only take a few days as it's shipped from Ireland.

Plus you get nice printed manuals to read at leisure on the bog

[FlyingElvis]

on the bog

Heh.. I can guess what this is, but its funny to hear this phrase on this side of the pond.

[General Bolt]

Welcome Aboard. Now that you've found the site, click on the PRODUCTS or PURCHASE links at the top of the page. Then selecct and order CMBB and CMAK. They are a generation ahead of CMBO. Youi won't regret paying full price after "stealing" the CMBO.