Panzer Leader Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Hi folks, I am waiting impatiently for the game, having ordered it last Thursday, and had a couple questions: First, will Big Time send me an email when the game ships, and will I get a tracking number? And second, where is a good place to start? I guess there are a fair amount of scenarios and operations included, so what do you all reccommend to get my feet wet? Man, I can hardly wait.... ------------------ And King Xerxes looked to King Leonidas and spoke. "Our Archers will rain arrows down upon you to blot out the sun." And King Leonidas replied: "Then we will fight in the shade." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Babra Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 I forget whether a confirmation email goes out or not. Re your question on where to start, just try out a particular size (small, medium, large, huge) and see if it fits the bill. If it seems hard to follow, try a smaller size. You'll be red-eyed and groggy in no time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Smith Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 I'm no pro, but there is a tutorial scenario that relates to the tutorial in the manual, plus some scenarios are labelled as training ones (such as Grafenwhor for infantry tactics etc). I found it useful to try those out. Best of luck, it's great fun learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted February 19, 2001 Author Share Posted February 19, 2001 Thanks for the info! On a similar note, what is everyone's favorite scenarios, and why? You can really tell how impatient I am... ------------------ And King Xerxes looked to King Leonidas and spoke. "Our Archers will rain arrows down upon you to blot out the sun." And King Leonidas replied: "Then we will fight in the shade." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Start with the time periods/battles/nationalities that are of most interest to you (if you have a preference). I haven't even touched the scenarios on the disk yet, there are too many great scenarios out on the net that cater to my particular tastes. Quick Battles are also fun; I played a few of those when I first got the game. Small (1000 points or less) or ok for getting the feet wet. I've found playing by email the best experience though - and the one Internet game I played was a blast, too. Post your name in the opponents wanted section and you'll soon find willing opponents. But try some quick battles on your own against the AI first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goanna Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 You will not get a tracking number or e-mail confirmation of shipment from BTS unless they have implemented this since I pre-ordered ages ago. I would suggest playing the AI on the scenarios named as "training" on the disk, then only play QBs against the AI to practice. Save the canned scenarios to play vs. a human (or nearly human if you play a Cesspooler) by PBEM or tcp/ip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoot Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Training Schmaining! Just pick a battle with 'huge' as it's size (preferably an armor heavy affair), jump right in and get your ass kicked. It's always best to get that out of the way early on. But seriously, once you get the Uberdisk and choose a mission (I chose All or Nothing right out of the gate, ouch), play it over and over until you get a few satisfying results. This is really the only way to learn what works well for you and what doesn't. My personal favorite CM 'primers' would have to be Grafenwohr (by C. Lourenco) for infantry assault tactics and Wiltz (by WBW) for combined arms attack or defense tactics. You'll pick your own favorites soon enough however. Clubfoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidekick Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 I'd add that you join a club and start a couple small games against some other players if you plan on playing human opponents by PBEM or TCP/IP eventually. most clubs have a space to note beginner staus or a training ground. You may get your butt kicked so hard you won't sit for a week but the experience is valuable and the thrill of those first battles unbeatable.I played by PBEM after playing the tutorial and a couple more games through to get the basics down and can still remember the tenseness of my first game, a small infantry attack on a town going uphill through the woods in the snow. I took each casualty personally and even remember one of the CO's names. <G> Plus in PBEM and TCP/IP you'll see tactics not employed by the AI which might help your overall understanding of the game. Most good players will gladly share some insights with you and lesser players will give you examples what not to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanco Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 The tutorial is great, I started there. Not too many pieces, 15 turns, nice map, weighted towards the Allies so you can mess up and still do OK... when I have somebody over and I show them CM I run them through the tutorial. If they're still interested after that I show them Sherbrooke Fusiliers, 3 turns playing defense, hehehe... ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal DI FOLCO Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by deanco: The tutorial is great, I started there. Not too many pieces, 15 turns, nice map, weighted towards the Allies so you can mess up and still do OK... I don't think it's much weighted towards Allies, indeed it also makes a good 1st PBEM game also IMO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal DI FOLCO Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by Panzer Leader: Thanks for the info! On a similar note, what is everyone's favorite scenarios, and why? Once you got used to infantry command, have a try at Hamminkeln, play the US Ab, test your guts ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsunit Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by Clubfoot: Training Schmaining! Just pick a battle with 'huge' as it's size (preferably an armor heavy affair), jump right in and get your ass kicked. It's always best to get that out of the way early on. But seriously, once you get the Uberdisk and choose a mission (I chose All or Nothing right out of the gate, ouch), play it over and over until you get a few satisfying results. This is really the only way to learn what works well for you and what doesn't. My personal favorite CM 'primers' would have to be Grafenwohr (by C. Lourenco) for infantry assault tactics and Wiltz (by WBW) for combined arms attack or defense tactics. You'll pick your own favorites soon enough however. Clubfoot. Hey..Clubfoot.Where is this Grafenwhor traing exersise located??I just got the new game..ver1.12 and played the two traing missions listed.one was an assault against A/T guns and the other was an engineer defense against recon forces.that last one the AI tried to cheat by bringing new or lost troops into the game behind my secure positions after I totally whipped it's butt by turn 9 and wouldn't surrender til turn 13 with only three(3) men left???? I havn't played any game scenerois yet,but have never played pbem or tc/ip games yet but want to get my feet wet.I want to practice a couple of more training missions first and served in Grafenwhor traing area durring the '70's and know the terrain well!!1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagdcarcajou Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by marsunit: Hey..Clubfoot.Where is this Grafenwhor traing exersise located?? Hey, Its one of the included scenarios. Look under 'G' in the list... I just got the new game..ver1.12 and played the two traing missions listed.one was an assault against A/T guns and the other was an engineer defense against recon forces.that last one the AI tried to cheat by bringing new or lost troops into the game behind my secure positions after I totally whipped it's butt by turn 9 and wouldn't surrender til turn 13 with only three(3) men left???? Those troops crossed at the ford in the river. There are a couple of hidden crossing points that you need to keep an eye on. In terms of scenarios, one of my favorites included with the game is (drawing a blank here at work) the one against the Poles where you need to exit German troops off the map. The scenario is a lot of fun and the map is very interesting. Play as either side, but I enjoyed the challenge as the Germans. Lots of armor to play with too! Chris ------------------ What the hell is a Jagdcarcajou? CM Recon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by Jagdcarcajou: In terms of scenarios, one of my favorites included with the game is (drawing a blank here at work) the one against the Poles where you need to exit German troops off the map. The scenario is a lot of fun and the map is very interesting. Play as either side, but I enjoyed the challenge as the Germans. Lots of armor to play with too! Chris Chambois, which I think is French for "look at all those burning tanks!" ------------------ "What do you know about surfing, major, you're from God damn New Jersey" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 I got a notification from BTS that my order had been shipped but I think it was a general e-mail that I got from subscribing to the notify part of their homepage. I doubt you'll wait long for the game now. It was back in stock and being shipped from around 2/17/01 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagdcarcajou Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Originally posted by Kingfish: Chambois, which I think is French for "look at all those burning tanks!" LOL! Yep, that is the one! Chris ------------------ What the hell is a Jagdcarcajou? CM Recon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henri Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 I would start with a small or medium scenario to learn the mechanics of the game.Wiltz is a good one, All or Nothing may be a bit much for a beginner, especially if you play the Allies where there is a lot of micro-management. Play Wiltz until you can beat the AI with both sides, then try something else. Just remember that the ONE most important factor in winning games is a detailed knowledge of unit strength and weaknesses, your own and those of the enemy.All fancy knowledge about tactics is useless if you don't know how to use your units to their best capabilities. Things like that Rifle platoons are better at long range and submachinegun platoons at short range, that Hetzers have a kickass cannon and a tough front armor but are slow to turn and have paper-thin side armor, these are the bread and butter that distinguish so-so players from the experts. I have been playing this game for a year and wargames for more years than I care to count, and this is still my main weakness in this game.When you are playing a game and you spot a Comet and you know immediately that it has a 50/50 chance of killing your JdPzIV with the first shot from 500 m, you are getting there. If you are like me, you will have to check out the specifications which you will misinterpret by forgetting to correct for the defective German armor, and confident that your JdPzIVis inivulnerable to the Comet, get a rude awakening when it is knocked out with the first shot, dooming you to defeat. Yes, it happened to me just last week Henri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted February 20, 2001 Author Share Posted February 20, 2001 Thanks Henri! I have played many wargames, from Squad Leader to West Front, and am always learning new things about my forces and those I oppose. The majority of my knowledge is of Germany 39-43 era, so this game will be a tough one for me to get used to. I am so used to running from KV-1's that I may underestimate those ugly looking Shermans! It took me so long to get on board the CM freight train because of a slow computer, but now that I have a super-fast Athlon under the hood I am ready to blaze! ------------------ And King Xerxes looked to King Leonidas and spoke. "Our Archers will rain arrows down upon you to blot out the sun." And King Leonidas replied: "Then we will fight in the shade." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsunit Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by Henri: Just remember that the ONE most important factor in winning games is a detailed knowledge of unit strength and weaknesses, your own and those of the enemy.All fancy knowledge about tactics is useless if you don't know how to use your units to their best capabilities. Things like that Rifle platoons are better at long range and submachinegun platoons at short range, that Hetzers have a kickass cannon and a tough front armor but are slow to turn and have paper-thin side armor, these are the bread and butter that distinguish so-so players from the experts. I have been playing this game for a year and wargames for more years than I care to count, and this is still my main weakness in this game.When you are playing a game and you spot a Comet and you know immediately that it has a 50/50 chance of killing your JdPzIV with the first shot from 500 m, you are getting there. If you are like me, you will have to check out the specifications which you will misinterpret by forgetting to correct for the defective German armor, and confident that your JdPzIVis inivulnerable to the Comet, get a rude awakening when it is knocked out with the first shot, dooming you to defeat. Yes, it happened to me just last week Henri Ahh yes...I get buck fever too...still after playing these games all these years myself.one little fact about german armour;though maybe you didn't know maybe was that german armor designated in the P-series,like III's & IV's are mainly anti-infantry armor and are best used for breaking through strong infantry positions after they've been softened up by artillery or mortars.or use the Pv's for mopping up after breakthru's and destroy his acillary equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Bombs Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I started on the Villers-Bocage scenario, playing as Wittman. It's pretty easy to play one tank, and if I was still around, I got to try some more tanks and infantry whent the reinforcements arrive. Plus, once I got smoked, it was really easy to start back up, there isn't a lot of setting up before hitting GO. It also helped to gradually play with the Fog of War settings, which helped me pick up on some stuff, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Smith Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I found the scenario Just Three Little Stuarts lots of fun - lots of scooting out of and into cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henri Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Originally posted by Brian Smith: I found the scenario Just Three Little Stuarts lots of fun - lots of scooting out of and into cover. I played the Germans against a human opponent, and although I won, I felt that the scenario was biased in favor of the Germans (although I would have preferred to think that it was because I am a military genius...). Henri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 I recommend playing through the Small and Tiny scenarios. If you get into a big battle at the start, you will realize how many mistakes you've made, and then you'll be stuck with those mistakes for the rest of the battle, which is frustrating. Villers-Bocage is fun for tank on tank. Grafenwohr is good for infantry on infantry. A good scenario that hasn't been mentioned yet is Chance Encounter, which has a nice combination of armor and infantry. Start with the Americans, and you should be able to win it easily by the second or third try. I played that one over and over as the Germans until I could get my 'shrecks to really take out American tanks. Don't get hung up on that 'first time' experience with a scenario, where you don't really know what you're up against. Leave that for later, when you're more experienced. You'll learn faster if you play the same scenario a couple of times from both sides, because you'll get a better feel for how the particular units in that scenario works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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