Does Artillery/Aircraft Do Anything?

[womble]

One of the biggest differences that the step up in resolution gives is the way terrain is handled for cover and concealment. In CMx1, a 20m square was pretty much homogenous: it was a square of forest or wheat or light woods, and a unit in it got a cover or concealment bonus for being in it. In x2, because the squares are so much smaller (8m), the terrain is much more finely grained. For starters, what's between your square and the target's makes more difference, because there's 8m of that, not 4m (on average) for the square you're in, and spotting penalties are "per metre of sight line intersected by". So being in the "edge square" of some (proper - I'll come to that) forest will only give you 1/3 the concealment as being in the square one back from the edge (half a square vs one and a half). What do I mean by "proper" forest? Well, since trees are individually placed, and provide 1:1 cover and concealment (approximately - they're a bit wooly in the foliage) the ground cover and the presence of trees aren't necessarily linked. Trees can be sprouting out of mown grass, representing an orchard or some such, or they can be planted in "Heavy Woods" ground tiles, representing congested woodland undergrowth, with fallen trees and branches etc. In the former case, infantry laying on the ground under the trees will have little additional concealment but in the latter, they'll be very hard to spot indeed.

[Bulletpoint]

Trees can be sprouting out of mown grass, representing an orchard or some such, or they can be planted in "Heavy Woods" ground tiles, representing congested woodland undergrowth, with fallen trees and branches etc. In the former case, infantry laying on the ground under the trees will have little additional concealment but in the latter, they'll be very hard to spot indeed.

 

This was one of the things that took a while for me to realise when I started out playing. I thought staying close to trees meant good concealment, and it was only much later that I started paying attention to the ground texture. Before that, I thought it was just for decoration.

[Doug Williams]

and remember the FO does *not* need to have LOS to the area while you are waiting for the battery to get prepared.  I often move the FO up to make the call and then pull back to sold cover for a while and then move back for the spotting rounds.

 

 

Today I Learned

 

Thanks Ian.

[A Canadian Cat]

I only received one manual in the mail. However, I did get 2 with the download version.

 

That other manual will probably help a lot with the learning curve.  Mind you so can this place so keep asking questions - we all learn stuff that way.

 

This was one of the things that took a while for me to realise when I started out playing. I thought staying close to trees meant good concealment, and it was only much later that I started paying attention to the ground texture. Before that, I thought it was just for decoration.

 

Indeed, the way the terrain combines to create so much variety is pretty cool.

 

Today I Learned

 

Thanks Ian.

 

Have fun with that one - save a few FO's lives.

[wagtunes]

Well, I'm starting to dig into the artillery and aircraft support and the lights are starting to come up. I've figured out the setup. Now all I have to do is figure out exactly how commands are issued. I'm hoping the manual will go into some detail on this. A video would really be great if anybody knows of one showing the whole process from spotting to execution.

[Mord]

Lots of things here that can help you. Don't know if there's anything specifically on arty but I know there is scenario design stuff.

 

Tutorials on the right...

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Proambulator/playlists

 

 

 

BTW...anybody know who Proambulator is on the boards?

 

Mord.

Edited June 14, 2015 by Mord

[Warts 'n' all]

I don't know his name on the boards. But, I think his videos are great. Particularly the fact that he doesn't try to edit out his mistakes.

[Bulletpoint]

This page has step by step info on calling artillery. 

 

http://combatmission.wikia.com/wiki/Artillery

 

It makes it seem a bit more difficult than it actually is though

[wagtunes]

Okay, I read the manual, set up an example and it's very easy. It's long winded, but it's easy. There are so many options when calling on an artillery or airstrike. More for the artillery. I don't quite understand the difference between all the options but will test them all out and see what happens on the battlefield.

 

And yes, it is very obvious when the bombs actually start falling. Graphics are so much better than CMBB.

 

Making progress a little bit each day.

[Baneman]

... Graphics are so much better than CMBB.

 

..

 

On that note - do yourself a favour and get hold of Vein's Effects - flames, smoke, muzzleflashes, 'splosions ...

 

See here : http://community.battlefront.com/topic/117756-veins-cmbs-effects/page-1

 

Don't worry about the fact it's a CMBS thread - the effects will work for CMRT/FI/BN too.

[wagtunes]

On that note - do yourself a favour and get hold of Vein's Effects - flames, smoke, muzzleflashes, 'splosions ...

 

See here : http://community.battlefront.com/topic/117756-veins-cmbs-effects/page-1

 

Don't worry about the fact it's a CMBS thread - the effects will work for CMRT/FI/BN too.

 

Thanks, but in order to get them you need to send him a PM. There are no links in the thread itself. Last post in that thread was back in February so who knows if he even checks the forum anymore.

[Bulletpoint]

--- 

Edited June 15, 2015 by Bulletpoint

[Bulletpoint]

Okay, I read the manual, set up an example and it's very easy. It's long winded, but it's easy. There are so many options when calling on an artillery or airstrike. More for the artillery. I don't quite understand the difference between all the options but will test them all out and see what happens on the battlefield.

 

And yes, it is very obvious when the bombs actually start falling. Graphics are so much better than CMBB.

 

Making progress a little bit each day.

 

Getting hold of how to call the strikes is pretty easy, but selecting the right options for the situation takes practice. Different artillery has different rates of fire, so a "light" mission with mortars might fire as fast as a "heavy" mission of 105's.

 

Also, be aware that it's not enough that your spotter can trace a line of fire to the point where you want the bombs to land. He also has to be able to observe the spotting rounds fall. If he doesn't, your strike might be off target.

[wagtunes]

Getting hold of how to call the strikes is pretty easy, but selecting the right options for the situation takes practice. Different artillery has different rates of fire, so a "light" mission with mortars might fire as fast as a "heavy" mission of 105's.

 

Also, be aware that it's not enough that your spotter can trace a line of fire to the point where you want the bombs to land. He also has to be able to observe the spotting rounds fall. If he doesn't, your strike might be off target.

 

Yes, I am sure that there is a lot involved here.

 

Taking it one step at a time.

[wagtunes]

Not for nothing, but just for the heck of it, I went to the main Battlefront site and looked up the complete list of CM scenarios that have been done so far and much to my surprise and shock, I can't believe that nothing has been created for the war in the Pacific against Japan.

 

I can't help but wonder why.

[Mord]

Ahem...

 

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2288

 

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2045

 

Not near as good as it would be for BFC to do a title but it has been tried.

 

 

Vein's effects...

 

http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=336&game_type=7

 

Will work with all CM games. And go ahead and sign up, GAJ's has a lot of stuff that isn't on the Repos and it's easier to find things there as well.

 

Mord.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Mord

[wagtunes]

Ahem...

 

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2288

 

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2045

 

Not near as good as it would be for BFC to do a title but it has been tried.

 

 

Vein's effects...

 

http://cmmods.greenasjade.net/mods?author_id=336&game_type=7

 

Will work with all CM games. And go ahead and sign up, GAJ's has a lot of stuff that isn't on the Repos and it's easier to find things there as well.

 

Mord.

 

Thanks Mord. I am SOOOOO pumped to get back into CM after quite some time off from CMBB due to work. But things have slowed down a bit and I actually have some free time again.

 

You've all been an amazing help. Can't thank you enough.

[Mord]

No problem, man. A lot of us enjoy helping out. The collective knowledge here is pretty vast (in all aspects) and spreading it makes the game and community stronger.

 

I dig your excitement...it's fun to watch (read). And if you remember all those cool little moments in CMBB that could happen during a scenario, you are gonna see even more in CMBN...at a much finer level of detail. They will really get you pumped up.

 

Here's a nice example from Macisle.

 

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/100099-cmbn-screenshot-thread-2/page-78#entry1542341

 

 

 

Mord.

[wagtunes]

No problem, man. A lot of us enjoy helping out. The collective knowledge here is pretty vast (in all aspects) and spreading it makes the game and community stronger.

 

I dig your excitement...it's fun to watch (read). And if you remember all those cool little moments in CMBB that could happen during a scenario, you are gonna see even more in CMBN...at a much finer level of detail. They will really get you pumped up.

 

Here's a nice example from Macisle.

 

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/100099-cmbn-screenshot-thread-2/page-78#entry1542341

 

 

 

Mord.

 

That's so cool. Thanks for sharing.

[wagtunes]

Question:

 

In CMBB, artillery casualty figured were included under the spotter stats. I'm noticing that the spotters (observers) show no stats after the battle completes. There were definitely artillery casualties as I made the test so that ground troops would be shielded from the battle and all their stats showed as zero, while total casualties were well over 200.

 

So, does CMBN no longer keep artillery stats?

[Mord]

It doesn't. The best you can get is direct fire mortar (possibly on map fire mission) stats. I don't remember the reasoning but we were happy as hell when they included kill lists in CMBN because they were MIA in the SF and A-Stan titles. It was one of the old  CMX1 features I was most hoping for.

 

 

Mord.

[wagtunes]

It doesn't. The best you can get is direct fire mortar (possibly on map fire mission) stats. I don't remember the reasoning but we were happy as hell when they included kill lists in CMBN because they were MIA in the SF and A-Stan titles. It was one of the old  CMX1 features I was most hoping for.

 

 

Mord.

 

When you say "kill lists" are you referring to that little box at the far left hand side of the map after the battle ends and you go back to view map?

[Mord]

The green text on the left side of the screen when you click on a unit when the battle is over...gives you a list of what they took out. It's called "combat victories" now. Most of us always referred to it as the "kill list".

 

 

Mord.

[wagtunes]

The green text on the left side of the screen when you click on a unit when the battle is over...gives you a list of what they took out. It's called "combat victories" now. Most of us always referred to it as the "kill list".

 

 

Mord.

 

Yeah, that's it. I like it. But still puzzled why the spotter stats were removed. Was there ever an explanation given as to why that was done?

[womble]

Yeah, that's it. I like it. But still puzzled why the spotter stats were removed. Was there ever an explanation given as to why that was done?

No explanation from BFC. Plenty of requests for it to be reinstated, even if the kill stats are attached to the FO/HQ that called the mission in (which would get around the difficulty of where to display the stats, since you can't click on the support assets in the post-game screen and get the frame of information, bottom-left).