Hellas Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Yep, Franko's True Combat rules from back in the day. Only way to make the AI challenging. Do you remember your experiences with it? Tried it with the newer engine, too? I'm considering giving it a try with a small scenario. I guess with "iron"-mode it would be even more challenging? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poesel Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Ok, I tried. Tiny city QB against the AI. Rules: - one screenshot of the map for orientation - setup normal - level 1, tabbed to unit - only next/prev unit and rotate - exception: in house move forward to look out the window - exception: turn 180° (‚v’) once but no other movement (simulates looking outward) The good: The AI greeted me with an artillery barrage and I ran into it. The feeling of confusion and terror as I hopped from team to team to get a grasp of what was happening was really something I hadn't experienced ever. Very cool. What I also liked is that you need a new way of thinking about troops & terrain. You get more personal with your men and have to think more like 'ok, I'm at that grey house and down the street is the MG from 2nd platoon. Let's try to get a view on that street on the other side...'. Difficult to describe - sorry, my English fails me here. The bad: - orientation is very difficult mainly because the view is always towards a unit and never away from it. That is a problem because you can not 'take a look around' - especially when you are inside a building. Most of the time you look at a wall. - that problem makes 'face' often difficult to execute. - ordering a unit around a corner is difficult or impossible. -‚view lock‘ is always on the level of lowest team member. If someone died on the floor the camera is stuck there. - next & previous unit includes dead teams. Solutions: I tried to stick to game features that are already in (opportunity costs, you know ): - pressing 'v' (180° turn) should not disengage view lock. Thus you could swivel around a unit looking outwards. - pressing '9' would lead to a straight down, no zoom, no icons fixed view. Panning allowed. IMHO such a mode would be a worthy addition to CM. It's a new view on the same game, much harder to play but yet rewarding. I suggest to try it at least once. A few turns in a tiny QB is enough. You wouldn't want to play a full game with the current UI. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellas Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 The good: The AI greeted me with an artillery barrage and I ran into it. The feeling of confusion and terror as I hopped from team to team to get a grasp of what was happening was really something I hadn't experienced ever. Very cool. So a usually not very exciting barrage from the AI in a tiny QB can lead to real confusion and "terror"? :eek: That's what I hope to experience! :cool: What I also liked is that you need a new way of thinking about troops & terrain. You get more personal with your men and have to think more like 'ok, I'm at that grey house and down the street is the MG from 2nd platoon. Let's try to get a view on that street on the other side...'. Difficult to describe - sorry, my English fails me here. The description is perfect for me. When I watch replays from level one this feeling also begins to appear. But when planning moves from above, it vanishes. I guess in the case of this mode, it does not vanish, it just sucks you in and doesn't let you escape. The bad: - orientation is very difficult mainly because the view is always towards a unit and never away from it. That is a problem because you can not 'take a look around' - especially when you are inside a building. Most of the time you look at a wall. - that problem makes 'face' often difficult to execute. - ordering a unit around a corner is difficult or impossible. -‚view lock‘ is always on the level of lowest team member. If someone died on the floor the camera is stuck there. - next & previous unit includes dead teams. Solutions: I tried to stick to game features that are already in (opportunity costs, you know ): - pressing 'v' (180° turn) should not disengage view lock. Thus you could swivel around a unit looking outwards. - pressing '9' would lead to a straight down, no zoom, no icons fixed view. Panning allowed. IMHO such a mode would be a worthy addition to CM. It's a new view on the same game, much harder to play but yet rewarding. I suggest to try it at least once. A few turns in a tiny QB is enough. You wouldn't want to play a full game with the current UI. Can't wait to give it a try. Thanks a lot mate. ps: What difficulty level did you play? Icons switched on? Nearby trees off? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Do you remember your experiences with it? Tried it with the newer engine, too? I'm considering giving it a try with a small scenario. I guess with "iron"-mode it would be even more challenging? I remember them well. I have mostly played pbem and multiplayer campaigns through the years, but there have been times where I played against the AI for one reason or another. In CMx1, staying at level 1 (unless the unit was on a 2nd floor), advancing from unit to unit via the + and - keys, never clicking on an enemy unit, and letting my units choose their own targets gave a real sense of immersion and limited control. It was always funny to jump to a routed unit in the woods and wonder where in the world they were. It was the only way the AI could ever even come close to a draw. In CMx2, I could see events leading to an actual AI win one day, which would actually be satisfying, but yes, it's still quite enjoyable in RT, BN, and FI. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poesel Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 So a usually not very exciting barrage from the AI in a tiny QB can lead to real confusion and "terror"? :eek: That's what I hope to experience! :cool: ... ps: What difficulty level did you play? Icons switched on? Nearby trees off? I never play QBs against the AI. So I was surprised by the initial barrage. But even if you know: you can either choose to see the bombs falling on your head or hear the bombs falling and not know where! Terror and confusion! I played iron with icons on. Without icons orientation is even more difficult. No trees in the city. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobo Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I have done this where I only play one unit in a scenario and leave everything else to the AI. This can really only be done in defensive scenarios where you are free to set you men up, create preplanned rally points, and TRPs for arty. This way it is not really cheating if you have leave your view to help your guys pick a path or blast a TRP. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Sertorius Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 FWIW, Mount & Blade is really fun. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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