tar Posted July 12, 2000 Share Posted July 12, 2000 I was thinking a bit about some of the other threads (such as artillery and MG effectiveness, abuse of running) and thought that there might be an opportunity to introduce some additional morale states. Currently morale at the low end goes through Panic, Broken and Routed with the latter two causing units to move away from the threat. It would seem to me that in a lot of cases, particularly when under artillery or other longer range fire, troops would be more likely to just go to ground and cower than to actually break an run. It would seem to be a lot more likely if they were in good cover such as a building or foxhole. One idea would be to introduce a branching in the morale and introduce things like Frozen Paralyzed These would be at the same level as Broken and Routed, respectively, but would not cause the troops to move. This would require some coding to insert a probablistic branch into the morale effects code which would choose whether the unit in question runs or cowers. For morale effects from artillery, it should be more likely to cower (if in cover). That should fix the shelling troops out of their foxholes problem noted on the artillery thread. As for the abusive running, the most cogent point was the disorder that trying to run for any length of time has on troops. A sophisticated solution would be to track unit order and have something like a "Straggled" state. Some other simpler fixes that may be easier to fit into the current game system also follow. The simplest fix would be to make troops tire more quickly. CM could use tiredness, which I presume affects combat performance as well as movement, to model not only the physical exhaustion of individual squad members, but also the disorganization that occurs from trying to do rapid movement. This would imply that troops should recover more slowly in woods than in clear terrain, for example. One could also impose a morale penalty as well. Another possible effect of running, particularly through non-clear terrain would be to inflict "casualties" on the unit, representing stragglers who get lost and never really rejoin their unit for the duration of the battle. Unit quality could influence the production of such casualties, and the ability of some casualties to rejoin their unit during operations would simulate the sorting out of the lost soldiers after the battle. Any of these running effects should only happen when running over longer distances. That would still allow for short charges (~ 50m?) without penalty. And it would allow dashing from cover to cover over longer distances, as long as there was a recovery period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 FWIW, I endorse your suggestions. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sten Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 If a routed unit feels it is VERY hazardous to its health to run, it will go to ground. But it will resume running at first opportunity. Sten ------------------ Keep your whisky on the rocks and your tanks on the roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiJoe Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 This would serverly hamper attacking units which often have to run reasonable distances and keep to wooded areas for cover. I think attacking us hard enough as it is. AT teams tire very quickly as it is. Too much realism is often not a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarmo Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tar: Currently morale at the low end goes through Panic, Broken and Routed with the latter two causing units to move away from the threat. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If I remember correctly, panic under shelling is going to be tweaked so that the victims are less likely to start running, and more likely to stay put. But I support your "frozen" and "paralyzed" states. Green units in perfect condition could become frozed just by being ordered to assault enemy positions! As for running casualties, I dont think that'd be a good idea. Although I can't really put my finger on why it isn't. Just IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadayne Posted July 13, 2000 Share Posted July 13, 2000 isn't "straggling" somewhat represented already in casualties. Not all casualties are KIA. Most are just incapacitated in some way so they can no longer fight. I would consider units that flee the field to be very incapacitated. (PC note - "moralely challenged") In this case the units aren't deducted while running, but while under fire, but the effect is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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