Need some help.

[let me offer you a nugget]

Although I've watched several Combat Mission "newbie" tutorial, such as Armchair General's video-series, when I get in game I just can't seem to put my new-found knowledge into practice.

Since the tutorial levels are very broad (and to be honest, not very helpful), I have to practice through the regular campaign, which is definitely not built to teach in-game tactics.  I usually start out OK, splitting teams and sending out scouts but, the further the level progresses, the worse it becomes; ammo and tanks are wasted, and my units morale and stamina is low, making the job of commanding them a whole lot harder--not fun at all.

So, I was wondering if there are any kind of community-made tutorial levels, teaching each individual role, tactics, etc., progressing from smaller engagements to larger ones? If not, do you have any tips for me? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[mirekm61]

I think is not a short tutorial, you need a lot of play to really understand how the game works. You should have a plan and try to implement it, do not play from case to case.          One is certain that you must be patient and not to rush. I know that these councils are very general but CM is not a template on how to play.

[mbarbaric]

few days ago i have decided to go back to FI (my first CM game) and restart Raging Buffalo campaign. That was the first thing (after tutorial) that i played and I did so poor that i left FI for about two years and concentrated on BN. Now that i came back i was able to finish the first mission with just five KIA and 8 wounded while my first playthrough i was decimated at first encounter with enemy.

what i wanted to say is that experience (with tactics and game mechanics) you gain playing is really important. the armchair general tutorial is indeed the most elaborate thing but until you have time to experience yourself all the proceedures it counts very little. i think playing a  campaign isn't the best way to learn the game as you will hinder yourself since dead pixeltruppen will not reappear in later scenarios. some poeple will disagree, but i believe staying in france, in bocage is much easier way to learn the basics of tactics than open terrain as it is easier to isolate the enemy.

[let me offer you a nugget]

Fortress Italy was probably not the best beginner choice, being such a different game terrain and unit-wise, so I'll probably try out BN when I get the money and return to FI once I'm more confident in basic tactics.

Thanks.

[A Canadian Cat]

This is an excellent site: http://battledrill.blogspot.ca/

In particular you will probably like these:

http://battledrill.blogspot.ca/2015/03/rifle-platoon-leader-platoon-attack.html

http://battledrill.blogspot.ca/2015/07/rifle-platoon-leader-platoon-attack_29.html

http://battledrill.blogspot.ca/2015/03/rifle-platoon-leader-approach-march.html

His site even includes .btt files you can download and try the drills out with.

[Ts4EVER]

21 hours ago, let me offer you a nugget said:

Fortress Italy was probably not the best beginner choice, being such a different game terrain and unit-wise, so I'll probably try out BN when I get the money and return to FI once I'm more confident in basic tactics.

Thanks.

Playing the Russian Red Thunder campaign, I can only agree. In my experience bocage, and to a lesser degree city fighting, is best suited for the CM gameplay. It basically becomes a weirdly compelling, methodical geometry puzzle that allows you to take enemy positions one by one. The more complex the terrain, the less fun the game, because it highlights the idiosyncrasies of the spotting system and the murkiness of controls. Especially forest fighting and subtle height differences often lead to a frustrating unpredictability of outcomes, the death of tactical planning.

[c3k]

The best thing to do is take the smallest battle (Beyond Belice?), and play it. You'll lose. Play again. And again. And again. Focus on small things, like getting that machinegun setup...in a GOOD location. Watch whether your squads stay in command (Alt-Z) or not and how that affects their combat performance.

Play in WeGo mode. (Turn-based.) That way you can rewind the turn and watch everything as long as you'd like. Notice how men get suppressed, who throws grenades, etc.

There are so many small things going on, the only way to suss it all out is through experience. Start with basic tactics. If your fundamentals are sound, the rest will sort itself out as you gain experience.

Get the basics of fire and movement, then use them until you've mastered the first battle. You'll be amazed how rapidly and how greatly you'll improve.

Ken

Edited because we all know alt-k toggles smoke and it's alt-z that toggles command lines.

Edited October 5, 2016 by c3k

[Badger73]

1 hour ago, c3k said:

The best thing to do is take the smallest battle (Beyond Belice?), and play it. You'll lose. Play again. And again. And again. Focus on small things, like getting that machinegun setup...in a GOOD location. Watch whether your squads stay in command (Alt-K) or not and how that affects their combat performance.

Play in WeGo mode. (Turn-based.) That way you can rewind the turn and watch everything as long as you'd like. Notice how men get suppressed, who throws grenades, etc.

There are so many small things going on, the only way to suss it all out is through experience. Start with basic tactics. If your fundamentals are sound, the rest will sort itself out as you gain experience.

Get the basics of fire and movement, then use them until you've mastered the first battle. You'll be amazed how rapidly and how greatly you'll improve.

Ken

+1 in all regards.  I concur that WeGo is the best learning mode.

[StieliAlpha]

15 hours ago, c3k said:

The best thing to do is take the smallest battle (Beyond Belice?), and play it. You'll lose. Play again. And again. And again. Focus on small things, like getting that machinegun setup...in a GOOD location. Watch whether your squads stay in command (Alt-Z) or not and how that affects their combat performance.

Play in WeGo mode. (Turn-based.) That way you can rewind the turn and watch everything as long as you'd like. Notice how men get suppressed, who throws grenades, etc.

There are so many small things going on, the only way to suss it all out is through experience. Start with basic tactics. If your fundamentals are sound, the rest will sort itself out as you gain experience.

Get the basics of fire and movement, then use them until you've mastered the first battle. You'll be amazed how rapidly and how greatly you'll improve.

Ken

Edited because we all know alt-k toggles smoke and it's alt-z that toggles command lines.

Yep. I, too, would say it is mostly a question of training. Even if you played the tutorials and "master" the game mechanics, things like the Armchair General videos won't help much, before you gained some experience and can understand what happens on the battlefield.

My advise would be play small scenarios and once you feel confident start to play PBEM (but look for an opponent, who is not playing too competitive, but willing to teach).

[Bulletpoint]

On 10/4/2016 at 10:57 AM, let me offer you a nugget said:

 I usually start out OK, splitting teams and sending out scouts but, the further the level progresses, the worse it becomes; ammo and tanks are wasted, and my units morale and stamina is low, making the job of commanding them a whole lot harder--not fun at all.

I think a key point here is to remember this game is really hard. I've been playing for years, and I still make mistakes. So don't be too disappointed when things go wrong - it happens to everyone.

With time, you'll begin to recognise two things that will help you do much better: Typical tactical situations & Game quirks. You need to learn plenty of both to really start getting success.

[Erwin]

One issue that was very hard for me as an experienced CM1 player was to discover how all the CM2 games are very unforgiving of errors. 

The smaller the scenario, the easier it is to make one mistake that makes the game very hard/impossible for a player to win.  It's good to start with a small scenario to get familiar with the game and its "tricks/quirks".  However, a small scenario may not be easier to win.  It could be harder.  I recall having a very hard time with "Beyond the Belice" myself.

[sburke]

Agree with what everyone else says. In addition you will learn through experience things that weren't obvious when you started paying attention to who has smoke grenades and how to get the best out of them, how to maximize your spotting chances, getting a better handle on how to use artillery etc etc. this game has a huge amount of depth and you never stop learning. 

[Michael Emrys]

To emphasize a point implicit in all the good advice above, CM is a very complicated game. There is a whole lot of stuff you have to master in order to play at all well, and most of it you need to know right at the beginning. If you were to go back and read the posts when BN first came out, you'd notice that even a lot of the old hands (like yours truly) were pissing and moaning about how steep the learning curve was. I think the best way to learn with the least amount of pain is to do what IanL advised and go to Battle Drill right away and go through the lessons as many times as you need until you really grasp the "why" behind all the tactics it teaches. Once all that becomes second nature for you, you'll be ready to tackle more challenging combat.

Michael