met66 Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Am just getting into demo and have ordered game. I noticed that many platoons have a 60mm mortar..but he never seems able to get an LOS on anyone. Should he be able to lob shells over hills? Second, I've also noticed spotters for mortars and artillery. How do you go about getting fire support from these dudes? Lastly...how much better is the total game than the demo? Because the demo is damned good..I can only imagine the full game. Thanks for any advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATguy Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 You have no idea how the scope of the game compares to the demo... in short it will become a "cult" classic if I may and is making waves in the wargaming community as a whole... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATguy Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Ohh and I forget, welcome abroad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rommel22 Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Well, it is hard to get a LOS with mortars, place em on hills or something. If you have a Platoon HQ or Company HQ close by they can provide the LOS for the mortar units. Arty observes you have to make them target where ever you want arty to fall down. They can do it even if they don't have a LOS but than their accuracy is much lower and the shells fall over the place. The Game kicks ASS!!! ------------------ Rommel22s Kampfgruppe site: http://rommel22diarys.homestead.com/MyPage1.html "I saw 5 Germans walking down the side of the road, so I followed them for a few yard to get closer. Then I shot them! Later that day I found out the war has been over for a few weeks." - someone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunoReactor Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 In his excitement, CAT must have forgotten that you have asked some questions.. 1) You can use HQs that are in contact with mortar teams to "spot" for them. Place your HQ unit in a top floor with a wide field of view and place your mortar teams just behind the house. Then, select your mortar team and order them to fire a point where your HQ can see. 2) Just use "target" order for your spotters. Any point on the map will do, but if they have LOS to the target, shells will come down faster and more accurately. Oh, and welcome abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
met66 Posted March 13, 2001 Author Share Posted March 13, 2001 Thanks for the assistance. I sort of figured that the artillery spotters worked that way, but wanted to be certain. I was pretty much clueless about the mortar guys however. Imagined them jogging to a hilltop and pointing the tube like a bazooka.<<grin>> This game appears to be amazing and incredibly well supported...and now I find that the forums are thriving, friendly, and very helpful. I dont need no stinking job! THANKS ALL< Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeo Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 As long as your on-map mortars are within the command radius of an HQ unit (dark red line between mortar and HQ unit), the HQ unit can be a spotter for the on-map mortar. Check the LOS from the HQ unit, and then use the target command from the mortar unit to specify a target. If the target is within line-of-sight (LOS) of the HQ unit, then the targeting line from the mortar will "stick" to the target, and the mortar will fire at it's earliest convenience. Off-map artillery spotters (mortar spotters included) just use the targeting command to designate a target, and the time delay 'til the shells start falling appears in the unit info window. Hope this helps! Leeo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATguy Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 ooops... yes I was enthusastic for another CM player! never can have enough fresh meat/fodder for TCP/IP.... I mean new and challenging opponenets!!! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rommel22 Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Well, it is hard to get a LOS with mortars, place em on hills or something. If you have a Platoon HQ or Company HQ close by they can provide the LOS for the mortar units. Arty observes you have to make them target where ever you want arty to fall down. They can do it even if they don't have a LOS but than their accuracy is much lower and the shells fall over the place. The Game kicks ASS!!! ------------------ Rommel22s Kampfgruppe site: http://rommel22diarys.homestead.com/MyPage1.html "I saw 5 Germans walking down the side of the road, so I followed them for a few yard to get closer. Then I shot them! Later that day I found out the war has been over for a few weeks." - someone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinCheng+ Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Hello Met, welcome aboard. The use of on-board mortars and FO are very different. On-board mortars can be used in 3 ways: 1. Direct fire. You need a clear, direct LOS to your target area. This unit can fire from almost any position, possible except within buildings. It is hard to get them into pos , especially in advnaces and meeting engagements. 2. Indirect fire. You can fire mortars without direct LOS. But there are 2 conditions: A. The motar must not move after the Setup Pnase. B. The mortar unit must be wihtin the command radius (red line) of a HQ unit (aka "0" unit). So long as the above 2 conditions are met, the mortars can drop on any targets within the LOS of the HQ unit and the HQ unit can move freely. 3. Target Marker. If you have purchase a Target Marker (or the scenario provides one), your mortar does not need LOS to the Marker, iirc, to fire. The accurracy and the time delay is shorter than Direct mode. It also works with the Indirect Fire mode as described above. For FO, the way to use is different. You can move your FO around, such unit can work independently or be attached to a "0" unit. No LOS is needed to target an area. When attached to a "0" unit with combat modifier, the accurracy and effectiveness of the OBA increases. The delay depends on the "experience level" of the unit, LOS, suppression level, whether it is attached and whether the unit is moved before or after target is set. It is an art to use artillery effectively. Play more and learn to use them. They are very powerful if used right. Hope it helps. Griffin. ------------------ "When you find your PBEM opportents too hard to beat, there is always the AI." "Can't get enough Tank?" Come to my Combat Missing Command Post (CMCP) at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/CMCP/ [This message has been edited by GriffinCheng+ (edited 03-13-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Not entirely on topic, but I have another newbie question: how come you know what kind of arty enemy FO:s spot for? In a recent QB i stumbled over an enemy FO which I promptly eliminated. When I then opened the details box of it, it said something like "Main gun: 140mm off-map arty". It might not make much a difference in scenarios, but in QB:s you always know how many points the enemy has, and if you know exactly what kind of arty you just killed, it is easy to calculate if the enemy has any arty left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinCheng+ Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Hurricane, sorry but I am not entirely sure about your question, I still attempt a try... Normally, you don't spot enemy FO right away, unless your opfor does something funny letting the FO targets somewhere less than 100m before him so you can id the FO and the kind of gun he is directing. One way to know is about the sound of the incoming rounds: mortars/artillery and rockets sound very differently when they are in flight. Different calibur of rounds sounds and create diffent size of impact craters, you can give a good guess about what hits you. I suggest you may wish to set up deliberately differnet FOs using the scenario editor and observer how the rounds make. However, in larger points situation, your opfor may have more than 1 FOs or the opfor may deceive you with on-board artillery pieces. Remember "military never stops deceiving". Griffin. ------------------ "When you find your PBEM opportents too hard to beat, there is always the AI." "Can't get enough Tank?" Come to my Combat Missing Command Post (CMCP) at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/CMCP/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Griffin - I thought the indirect fire condition of 'not moving' only applied to Target Reference Points? I have moved mortars around a lot but still within command radius of HQ units who are able to call in their (indirect) fire. They can no longer acquire TRPs then though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Sorry if I wasn´t clear enough. Second try. Situation: my infantry fast moves trough some woods into a building which I believed was empty, but when my two squads enter they find an arty FO, which is killed within 10 seconds. The FO hasn´t fired any arty at all (this is in the beginning of the battle). When I select the dead FO (the dead body on the ground), it just says arty FO. But when I click enter, the ugly black box pops up and says "140mm off-map arty". How the heck can my men know that? I guess its possible the FO while he got a burst of bullets through his chest screamed into his radio "Get those 140mm pieces firing already!", but since the fog of war is pretty thick most of the time, I think it would be more realistic to just have the box say off-map arty FO, nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriendlyFire Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Yeah, getting full ID of dead units is sometimes a bit unrealistic - but then so is being able to differentiate between a (live) Green tank and an Elite one at 1.5km If you want a little in-game justification, maybe the FO had range/spotting tables on him for 140mm guns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterNZer Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 In the Demo platoon/hq/etc units may not be able to provide the LOS for the mortars. But do in the full game. I like putting my mortars behind buildings with a company CO in the 2nd floor spotting for them hehe. PeterNZ ------------------ - Official owner of the sig files of Dalem, Croda and JeffShandorf - Der Kessel scenario design group Combat Vision movies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GriffinCheng+ Posted March 13, 2001 Share Posted March 13, 2001 Apache, I stand corrected. I have checked the Manual and that you can move your mortar units witin the "O" units to achieve indirect fire missions without LOS. This was different from the Gold Demo. Griffin. ------------------ "When you find your PBEM opportents too hard to beat, there is always the AI." "Can't get enough Tank?" Come to my Combat Missing Command Post (CMCP) at http://www.angelfire.com/games3/CMCP/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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