Beginner tutorials

[zasgard]

So, I've got the FI demo and I'm going to start the plunge with this game. Can someone here recommend to me good online tutorials to help educate me? I feel like I have a decent amount of knowledge when it comes to war gaming (I play a lot of WW2 table top miniature games) but little in the way of PC war gaming. I mean, I know not to run out in an open field at least  and smoke, smoke, and more smoke.

Thank you

Edit - I found some on Youtube! 

Edited August 28, 2023 by zasgard

[George MC]

I’d suggest checking out Usually Hapless’ YouTibe channel https://youtube.com/@usuallyhapless9481?si=6cC9TjI479N_nF5a

[zasgard]

3 minutes ago, George MC said:

I’d suggest checking out Usually Hapless’ YouTibe channel https://youtube.com/@usuallyhapless9481?si=6cC9TjI479N_nF5a

yep, those are the ones I found. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks

[George MC]

 

 

Cool  Also worth checking out @Bil Hardenberger's Battle Drill - has an excellent Tactical Toolbox series of posts all aimed at CM.

[dkchapuis]

8 hours ago, zasgard said:

 and smoke, smoke, and more smoke.

 

IMO, this is not a great general tactic for CM. 

If I was only going to give one beginner tip I would say dont move friendly infantry against an OPFOR that is not suppressed and is within 100m.  If you do, you are going to have a really bad time.

Edited August 29, 2023 by dkchapuis

[chuckdyke]

Smoke do it as a rehearsal to test your FO. Really useful when you play Soviet. Spotting rounds go all over the place and with smoke obscuration is always useful in the attack.

[Brille]

3 hours ago, dkchapuis said:

IMO, this is not a great general tactic for CM. 

If I was only going to give one beginner tip I would say dont move friendly infantry against an OPFOR that is not suppressed and is within 100m.  If you do, you are going to have a really bad time.

You can use smoke in more different ways than just to obscure your own front. 

It is a nice way to temporarily shield of the flanks without getting to much of your own forces involved. 

But you need to know when it wears of because otherwise you are caught in the open. 

And if you lay it just in front of your self you have at least a chance to move in closer to get more effective fire on the opponent. 

Though in general you are right. I don't like it myself to run against an unbattered foe. But sometimes you just don't have enough artillery to bomb all suspicious positions.

 

@zasgard

George has already posted some good stuff so nothing left so say here other than: If you have specific questions, just ask them.

Best way for me back then was finding me a good sparring partner who is open for communication and not just after competition. 

This way I learned the most because I could see directly what effects my troops had (or not) with some lecturing by my opponent. 

I guess I don't have to say that I got beaten regularly by him.   

[zasgard]

Appreciate all the tips. I did find someone on a PC wargaming FB page who plays a lot and they are going to take the time to show me the ropes, albeit on a CMx1 game, BoB.

[herr_oberst]

Get used to getting beat-up...

It's all an educational adventure. Crap, I've read tons o' books (mil hist generally, unit hist some), but that doesn't necessarily translate 1-1 to what you'll find in the game. Close, but not 100%. But then what is?

Got my arse handed to me in a play-by-email vs an unmentioned person in the New Zealand military. What they practice I tried to play. Professional vs amateur. If you find one, they are the BEST opponents ever... You want real combined-arms instruction.. play a real military person in Play-By-EMail.

It pays to:
- Play "realistic/smart" for the period (WWII vs modern are VERY different), gamey tactics from other games might leave you wondering WTF?)
- Educate yourself about what the period platforms are capable of (AFVs, arty, infantry squads) -- in WWII, a game year can mean a total change of tactics, especially against the Russkies in CMRT  )
- "You aren't as good as you think you are" - some scenario creators are EVIL, and have already thought out all those advance route routes you think are ingenious... prepare to be decimated in the real Roman sense.

All that being said, there is little I have spent as much money on, and have enjoyed less than the entire Battlefront series of games...
CMBO, CMAK, CMBB, etc, etc. Started on the Windows platform way back, then got 'smart' and switched to MacOs. And bought everything I had again, 'cause it's that good. Through (almost) all the current titles (I'm a WWII guy), the most valuable dollars I have ever spent.
 

[Brille]

16 hours ago, zasgard said:

Appreciate all the tips. I did find someone on a PC wargaming FB page who plays a lot and they are going to take the time to show me the ropes, albeit on a CMx1 game, BoB.

While Cmx1 was THE thing for me before Cmx2 came out, it can't hardly compare anymore. 

I'm not saying that it's bad, which it isn't but Cmx2 is far closer to reality than it's predecessor series. 

You could do very gamey tactics stuff in Cmx1 you couldnt do in Cmx2. Like the "tank centipede" or exploiting the borg spotting. 

Especially in terms of line of sight (Los) and line of fire (LOF) there are huge differences. 

Where in Cmx1 small arms fire have an area of effect, like a blast of an he shell: It only effects units within the targeted area around like 20m or so. 

Plus it heavily relies on a "firepower" value to actually cause casualties. 

In Cmx2 however each individual bullet is calculated from the moment it leaves the barrel to the point where it hits. 

So every enemy that is in its path can be wounded or killed. 

That makes crossfire very powerful against an infantry formation over relatively open ground which it didn't in Cmx1. 

So you not only have to watch your spacing between each squads/teams , you also have to watch where the fire actually comes from so that not all soldiers are affected by the bursts. 

 

What I want to say by this is that Cmx1 might be not suited good enough to understand Cmx2, especially in terms of applicable tactics. 

Like Herr Oberst said: Get accustomed to the hardware/formations of each battlefield. Watching YouTube videos of those or different tactics of each era helped me the most.

Combat Mission is not taking you by the hand by any means.

 

Ah and by the way: Welcome to the Combat mission community.

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Brille

[chuckdyke]

Pick which one of your units to pair against enemy units. Experiment like AT-Rifles against a Pack 75 for example. 

[zasgard]

7 hours ago, Brille said:

While Cmx1 was THE thing for me before Cmx2 came out, it can't hardly compare anymore. 

I'm not saying that it's bad, which it isn't but Cmx2 is far closer to reality than it's predecessor series. 

You could do very gamey tactics stuff in Cmx1 you couldnt do in Cmx2. Like the "tank centipede" or exploiting the borg spotting. 

Especially in terms of line of sight (Los) and line of fire (LOF) there are huge differences. 

Where in Cmx1 small arms fire have an area of effect, like a blast of an he shell: It only effects units within the targeted area around like 20m or so. 

Plus it heavily relies on a "firepower" value to actually cause casualties. 

In Cmx2 however each individual bullet is calculated from the moment it leaves the barrel to the point where it hits. 

So every enemy that is in its path can be wounded or killed. 

That makes crossfire very powerful against an infantry formation over relatively open ground which it didn't in Cmx1. 

So you not only have to watch your spacing between each squads/teams , you also have to watch where the fire actually comes from so that not all soldiers are affected by the bursts. 

 

What I want to say by this is that Cmx1 might be not suited good enough to understand Cmx2, especially in terms of applicable tactics. 

Like Herr Oberst said: Get accustomed to the hardware/formations of each battlefield. Watching YouTube videos of those or different tactics of each era helped me the most.

Combat Mission is not taking you by the hand by any means.

 

Ah and by the way: Welcome to the Combat mission community.

 

 

 

Ohh...so learning CMx1 (BoB in this case) isn't really going to help me much with learning the newer CM games? If so, I DO NOT want to do that. My game time is limited and I'd rather avoid trying to learn 2 systems.

Thank you for that nugget of info.

[dkchapuis]

1 hour ago, zasgard said:

Ohh...so learning CMx1 (BoB in this case) isn't really going to help me much with learning the newer CM games? If so, I DO NOT want to do that. My game time is limited and I'd rather avoid trying to learn 2 systems.

Thank you for that nugget of info.

I agree that learning CMx1 will not be much help.  Besides, CMx2 is such a better game.  I LOVED LOVED CMx1 games, but  I will never play it again.

[zasgard]

Thanks for confirming. Glad I only spent $3 on BoB then 

I'll play around with one of the demo versions and plead and beg for someone to help show me the ropes! 

[chuckdyke]

6 hours ago, zasgard said:

Thanks for confirming. Glad I only spent $3 on BoB then 

I'll play around with one of the demo versions and plead and beg for someone to help show me the ropes! 

What game are you playing now? Take the two Allies British Commonwealth and the US same system but different tactics. Even US airborne and regular US Infantry Formations you employ differently. Take the soft factors into account. Play the tutorial campaigns and read the briefings carefully.

[zasgard]

I only have the FI demo right now. I figure I best not drop any money on this until I give the demo a good spin.

[chuckdyke]

11 minutes ago, zasgard said:

I only have the FI demo right now.

 

 

[chuckdyke]

Plenty of good players but I like this guy the way he analysis before he starts.

[zasgard]

49 minutes ago, chuckdyke said:

Plenty of good players but I like this guy the way he analysis before he starts.

Thank you! I'll watch those too.

I'm going to play around with the demo and I'll more than likely post here if/when I get stuck. I think I'd learn so much more and quicker if someone could slap me around some and tell me what I'm doing wrong and provide some guidance. 

[chuckdyke]

11 minutes ago, zasgard said:

I'm going to play around with the demo and I'll more than likely post here if/when I get stuck. I think I'd learn so much more and quicker if someone could slap me around some and tell me what I'm doing wrong and provide some guidance. 

No two players play the same way. My tip 80% but more likely 90% of your game should be handled by the TacAI if you play against the computer that is called the AI. It took me a while before I got this. Your LOS tool is a guide only your TacAI has the last word. Communication with the Command and Control is all important. My home rule is RPG mode. Stands for Role Player Mode I start as the Unit I get when I press the + key on my keyboard. Here is a good link for a home rule by a very good player and scenario designer. To play like this is up to you or modify as you see fit. That's what I did.

https://battledrill.blogspot.com/

Edited August 31, 2023 by chuckdyke

[Brille]

On 8/31/2023 at 2:01 AM, zasgard said:

Thank you! I'll watch those too.

I'm going to play around with the demo and I'll more than likely post here if/when I get stuck. I think I'd learn so much more and quicker if someone could slap me around some and tell me what I'm doing wrong and provide some guidance. 

I'm totally open for that, though only via PBEM (play by Email). 

I have already helped a few guys in some matches with some notes and hints while playing. At least I hope it helped and didn't felt that annoying hahaha.

In my opinion with a good human player opponent you'll learn more than you would against the ai. 

But you have to get used to get beaten regularly, at least until you get the basics. (which can take a while).