Purchasing units for PBEM?

[markshot]

I am just getting started with PBEM play and purchasing units. Are there any good guides or threads that provide an overview for beginners?

Thanks.

[Redwolf]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by markshot:

I am just getting started with PBEM play and purchasing units. Are there any good guides or threads that provide an overview for beginners?

<hr></blockquote>

I think this is buried and and no single threads exist. There was a "defending against the assault thread" some time ago that had a lot of useful info

I would not recommend to try to optimize your forces early in your against-human career. If you still want to approach a ladder-capable force selection, here are some tips:

- no expensive tanks. They are toast against experienced ladder players. Only expensive tanks worth it are Jumbo, Churchill VIII, Panzer IV/70, Jagdpanther and King Tiger, but only in big enough games so that they are not alone

- HE capability is more important than AT capability. Also you usually have enough HC ammunition. The British 95mm is especially nice

- Big arty is better and more cost-effective than small one. When you play an experienced opponent, get the biggest mortars you can, you need the fast response time

- Avoid thin vehicles. You need Priests, Sexton Wespe and 251/9 to get the HE capability, but be sure you have enough other armour so that the thin stuff only needs to operate in very limited ways

- There is no conclusion on whether big or small squads are better or more cost-effective, matter of taste

- SMGs are more cost/ammo-effective (I can't use them, however). MP 44 and MG 42 - heavy squads can be very effective, but are very bad to get destroyed

- Veteran armour is not worth it. Veteran AT teams are. Other stuff may vary.

- German turretless armour is very cost-effective

- avoid flamethrowers and engineers, they get too many victory points for the opponent on knockout. If you get on-map mortars, watch your crews, don't let them get captured

- always have a small gun to shoot up intruders in your own home

- Flak guns, including 20mm tanks and vehicles are extremly precise

If you want realiistic gameplay:

- get rifle infantry

- get HE-heavy support AFV or tanks, but not both. Support stuff may be paired with few TDs. If you choose tanks, get many of the same or similar kind. Howitzer tanks count as support AFVs. Real SP arty like Priest, Sexton, Wespe has no business in frontline except for exceptions

- get mortars and small arty FOs, not the big stuff

- get very few veterans or better

- mix lots of crappy transport stuff into the force, especially on meeting engagements

- as the allies, get a fighter-bomber

- as the British on attack, get flamethrower vehicles

- don't mix M8 HMC in any force that doesn't resemble cavalry (means no armour besides Greyhounds). Also they are artillery that should be preferred to be used indirect (reads: you get the 75mm FO)

- as the Germans on defense, mix in expensive guns, don't only rely on cheap guns paired with Panzer IV/70 or Jagdpanther for serious AT defense. If you need to defend against heavy tank forces, it is more realistic to have StuG (not StuH), Jagdpanzer IV (if any armour), Hetzer or even Marders, paired with big towed guns.

- attacking as the allies, don't have 37mm or 40mm armour (Daimler AC, Greyhound, Stuart). They ruin bunker and pillbox realism and they emphasize the turret undermodeling of the Panzer IV

[Mr. Johnson--]

Redwolf said about everything.

If playing something like Unrestricted Fog after devember 44, don't feel bad buying Allied Paras. You can be almost 100% positive the German playing is stocking up on SMG troops.

[Redwolf]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Mr. Johnson-<THC>-:

If playing something like Unrestricted Fog [...]<hr></blockquote>

Don't get me started on weather, or this thread will be *very* long

[Col Deadmarsh]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by redwolf:

attacking as the allies, don't have 37mm or 40mm armour (Daimler AC, Greyhound, Stuart). They ruin bunker and pillbox realism and they emphasize the turret undermodeling of the Panzer IV<hr></blockquote>

What about the Panzer IV turret is undermodeled? Too slow or not enough armor?

[Redwolf]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Colonel_Deadmarsh:

What about the Panzer IV turret is undermodeled? Too slow or not enough armor?<hr></blockquote>

The turret's front size relative to the overall size of the tank's front is smaller than for other tanks (at least the part not heavily angled). Thus, a lower number of hits should hit the turret compared to other tanks, but CMBO doesn't have a seperate "turret silhuette" datapoint for tanks that would allow to tune the probablity of turret hit.

The gun mantlet is about 30mm think and covers about 1/3 of the turret's front (together with the actual gun), but all turret hits are assumed to hit 50mm armour. The game would need to have an exception like the "c" for panthers/stugs/etc and the "+" for the Tiger. But then, you can probably find more tanks that need such exceptions and BTS had to stop somewhere.

Note that these are not "data too conservative" kind of problems, but it would need game extensions to fix them, thus no need to blame BTS.

The small guns are precise, with high rate of fire, which is probably right, and the chance of knockout on penetration is very high even for the small shell. That is what really hurts when you put Greyhounds against Pz IV. There is another thread going on on the issue. This would be a matter of just changing the data, but I have difficulties coming up with hard data to convince BTS to do so.

[ 11-06-2001: Message edited by: redwolf ]</p>