Attention Level 1 Players: Franko's Rules, Iron Man etc.

[Louie the Toad]

Would anyone like to contribute to and continue a thread that deals with the particular idiosyncracies of playing CM at its most challenging level ?

Iron Clad Toad

[Louie the Toad]

Anyone? Anyone? Beuhler? Anyone?

[Peter Panzer]

…playing in the dirt is, for me, the only option. not only is it a superlative tension builder, but it also challenges one to adopt the most appropriate, reasoned pattern of movement capable of sustaining unit cohesion without the benefit of the oracle-like, elevated perspectives.

yes sir, when some yank goes cyclic with one of those goddamn .50 cal.’s, I need to taste the grit as those little grenadiers fling themselves into a ditch… aside from actually propositioning a stranger to lay down a thick stream of enfilade fire in my direction as I play the game, I find the semi-exclusive use of “level 1” to be a gratifying remedy in terms of player immersion and in establishing a proportional flow of battlefield information.

…I have only recently concluded my first scenario/engagement – a little soiree between the U.S. 7th Armored and an impromptu kampfgruppe of volksgrenadiers deep within the ruhr pocket (the boys of “Charlie” company report: rumors of the krauts mounting a sizable, high velocity anti-aircraft gun on the panzer VIB chassis are both credible and highly substantiated). before this experience, admittedly, I was rather skeptical as to whether or not all of the frothy mouthed applause this title had received was truly deserving. well, count me in boys, combat mission delivers, especially when one amplifies the apprehension and confusion so commonplace to the battlefield by plastering one’s face to the virtual soil…

[Gpig]

Whoa.

Sounds like I gotta try this . . .

[Sergeant Saunders]

I'm still learning, but plan on playing this way when I "graduate" from OCS!

[Peter Panzer]

…should it be your kink, there are a few other methods one may employ in order to ratchet the anxiety level of a scenario up a notch or two – I believe franko has dutifully listed them at some location and, in a peculiar fashion, applied his name to this style of play as though he had invented it (no doubt for clarity’s sake – multiplay agreements/easy reference and what not...) that trivial oddity aside, I must say, I completely fall in line with the refreshing sense of gameplay and the flair for the dramatic, which he too espouses…

…in essence, this manner of play emphasizes a collected sense of restraint which results in countless opportunities for improvised action and a sometimes genuine sense of dismay…

forming up in an opportune treeline, “baker” platoon is charged with reconnoitering a nearby hill: aside from a shallow copse of trees at the center and to the right of the crest, Lt. mcGourtney and his boys don’t have a damn clue what may or may not be waiting for them, why should you?

[“Full” fog of war, level 1 perspective situated behind or in the extreme proximity of the highlighted squad/team, only troops within visual range or command radius may be issued orders, you may not “scout” the terrain with your mouse…]

so, sgt. tutillo’s green as grass, 2nd squad lost their bearings while humping through the last cluster of woodland, eh? tough **** Lt., either you have 1st squad doubleback in an attempt to hussle them up or you continue pressing toward the objective, all the while cpt. jablonski continues berating you over the wireless: “…mcGourtney, your jamming us up back here son, now you get those men off their asses and up that goddamn hill…”

…stumbling up jablonski’s “hill”, 1st and 3rd squads discover it is, in actuality, the first of a series of false ridges, beyond which, lay numerous wooded ravines and escarpments, generously laced with dug-in infantry and machine gun positions, as the boys from ohio would soon testify…

…again, I refer you to franko’s highly detailed outline of this gameplay style, have a look, try it out, have fun…

[ 07-30-2001: Message edited by: Peter Panzer ]

[Louie the Toad]

You understand the meaning of " Keep your head down soldier! "

Right now I am routing the krauts and ready to move onto the tarmak at St. Pierre Airstrip in a PBEM premade scenario. I would recommend this one played from the US side. Poses some good command control problems. Plus problems crossing open fields of fire in front of enemy strong points.

I would be glad to hear about experiences, lessons learned in conducting an attack or move to contact with forces over 1500 pts.

Toad

[Franko]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peter Panzer:

…should it be your kink, there are a few other methods one may employ in order to ratchet the anxiety level of a scenario up a notch or two – I believe franko has dutifully listed them at some location and, in a peculiar fashion, applied his name to this style of play as though he had invented it (no doubt for clarity’s sake – multiplay agreements/easy reference and what not...) that trivial oddity aside, I must say, I completely fall in line with the refreshing sense of gameplay and the flair for the dramatic, which he too espouses…

…in essence, this manner of play emphasizes a collected sense of restraint which results in countless opportunities for improvised action and a sometimes genuine sense of dismay…

forming up in an opportune treeline, “baker” platoon is charged with reconnoitering a nearby hill: aside from a shallow copse of trees at the center and to the right of the crest, Lt. mcGourtney and his boys don’t have a damn clue what may or may not be waiting for them, why should you?

[“Full” fog of war, level 1 perspective situated behind or in the extreme proximity of the highlighted squad/team, only troops within visual range or command radius may be issued orders, you may not “scout” the terrain with your mouse…]

so, sgt. tutillo’s green as grass, 2nd squad lost their bearings while humping through the last cluster of woodland, eh? tough **** Lt., either you have 1st squad doubleback in an attempt to hussle them up or you continue pressing toward the objective, all the while cpt. jablonski continues berating you over the wireless: “…mcGourtney, your jamming us up back here son, now you get those men off their asses and up that goddamn hill…”

…stumbling up jablonski’s “hill”, 1st and 3rd squads discover it is, in actuality, the first of a series of false ridges, beyond which, lay numerous wooded ravines and escarpments, generously laced with dug-in infantry and machine gun positions, as the boys from ohio would soon testify…

…again, I refer you to franko’s highly detailed outline of this gameplay style, have a look, try it out, have fun…

[ 07-30-2001: Message edited by: Peter Panzer ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Elegantly put..but honestly, folks, I never HEARD of the IRONMAN rules. I simply compiled a set of rules to make AI more realistic and more challenging. And, I daresay, it WORKS. I lose my OWN scenarios playing FTC. By the way, my new version is coming out soon.

Frank

[Peter Panzer]

originally posted by franko:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I lose my OWN scenarios...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

...ha! the same damn thing happens to me, great fun...

[Louie the Toad]

Hi Franko,

Say, I just tried clicking on your rules at the Combat Missions website. They come up for about two seconds, then the area that should have the rules goes black.

Darkly Toad

[Franko]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Louie the Toad:

Hi Franko,

Say, I just tried clicking on your rules at the Combat Missions website. They come up for about two seconds, then the area that should have the rules goes black.

Darkly Toad<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know, I'll have to notify Manx..but he's on vacation. Hey Toad, would you be interested in being a playtester on my next FTC-specific designed scenario? I almost got it complete.

F.

[Louie the Toad]

Franko,

Later I checked at the bottom of the page I mentioned and there was a way to download your rules and a couple of your scenarios.

So now I have them.

I appreciate the playtester offer and would look forward to it. Let me know your expectations, especially regarding time.

Anticipating Toad

[Wesreidau]

Hey Franko! Please can you tell me if there are any specific scenarios already available for level 1 gaming?

I`m keen to give it a shot..but would like to start out with something setup for it. I`m too scared to do anything else

[Midnight Warrior]

Does anyone know if CM2 will have any features designed specially to enhance level 1 only play?

[Louie the Toad]

Hey Wesreidau,

For FTCR check out the Combat Missions site I refered to in my two earlier posts.

Toad

[Louie the Toad]

Hello Midnight,

I would not want to foist FTCR on anyone but it would be important for Email and internet play to have a lock in so no one cheats.

Trusting Toad

[Franko]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wesreidau:

Hey Franko! Please can you tell me if there are any specific scenarios already available for level 1 gaming?

I`m keen to give it a shot..but would like to start out with something setup for it. I`m too scared to do anything else <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have two scenarios on Manx's sight (see link below), which come with the FTC rules. Also, I'm working on additional scenarios, to be released soon, which are ONLY FTC. If Manx's site does not work, let me know, and I'll email you the first FTC Pack.

Frank

[rvalle]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Louie the Toad:

Hello Midnight,

I would not want to foist FTCR on anyone but it would be important for Email and internet play to have a lock in so no one cheats.

Trusting Toad<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would think that if someone even agrees to play by these rules they could be trusted to follow them. You would have to be a fanatic to play that way in the first place!!

rv

[Louie the Toad]

I assume we all know what I am talking about when I advocate the use of level 5 for adjusting in tight corners, such as in buildings, around walls and the edges of woods and such. The player should not be allowed to scroll at level 5.

Reasoning: The unit being adjusted would be able to see and know the dimensions of its immediate area.

Adjustable Toad

[dragonwagon]

I'm printing out these rules as I type this reply out. Seems very interesting indeed.

[Louie the Toad]

Just finished a satisfying 300 pt QB vs AI.

Had to take the main bldg in a village. Suppression fire, movement and leapfrogging worked so well I was able to maneuver a flamethrower (computer gave me a reinforced engineer squad)into position unseen. In the last minute of a 20 turn fight he moved into a building, and climbed to the second story, just across the street from the german stronghold, the VL building. In the last 10 seconds with suppressive fire making the germans keep their heads down he torched the building with two sprays. Two german squads bolted from the building, one was eliminated by the suppressing fire, the other as it turned out was panicked. The game ended with that turn. The VL was ? and I won the body count by 3X.

An interesting game for several reasons:

There was no contact until turn 8. This most likely because I leapfrogged from house to house thru the town with overwatch.

As it turned out I had to move thru the town while the germans had a nice walk up a road right to the VL building. But I never knew this since I only used LEVEL 1 and 2. I never saw the other side of the map until after the game was over. While I thought the VL was in the middle of the town, it actually was on the far edge.

This was one of my most successful uses of small unit tactics. It worked just like out of a field manual. Both of us tried to lay down suppressive fire and then maneuver to the flanks. I got there "the fastest with the mostest" and routed his manevering force. Here another thing happened, I inadvertantly hit Done before I had seen every firefight. The german maneuvering squad was in the thick of it from one view but then must have run when it was attacked from the flank, but I never saw it retreat. ...and I never was sure where it went, between houses, in houses or where?

Its the NOT KNOWING that makes Level 1 play the best.

Satisfied Toad

[Brian Rock]

I had my first try at these rules last night. I found them an excellent innovation that gives a substantially different feel to the game. The fog of war increases by an order of magnitude, and the pace of the battle adjusts to match this.

I built a QB, advancing to capture a village, with three inf platoons, an 80mm mortar spotter, a single Sherman 76, and two MG jeeps.

Yeah the jeeps are gamey, but I wanted to see how well they'd hold up in a scenario with limited intel. In this battle at least: badly. Both died on turn one, splattered by enemies I never even saw.

The infantry moved out along the left flank, where there was plenty of wooded cover, and in the middle where there were some buildings with good LOS.

The AI had placed some light guns with excellent firing lanes that toasted my platoon in the middle. Two platoons entered a light building just in time for the gun to bring it down on their heads.

In the meantime my platoons down the left flank were addvancing unopposed. One squad got well ahead of the others, one took fire and bolted towards the rear, and the last squad and HQ sat in the middle as the enemy moved into position on the edge of the village and pinned them down.

It's interesting moving infantry forward with full foliage on. I tended to advance to the edge of the woods with greater caution as I couldn't see what the ground looked like at the edge of the woods. Where was the high ground? Where would the enemy be in relation to where I came out?

Much less clear and far more interesting. Even trickier to work out when the Germans shelled my advance position with smoke.

The Sherman also moved forward much more cautiously than I would have done if I'd viewed the map from level 3 or 4. It took longer to get into battle, but was deadly-as when it did, killing two guns and a Lynx.

My 80mm mortar spotter managed to get into position on a two storey building a few hundred metres out of town and started raising hell while my infantry advanced along the flank. The combination of mortars, infantry and tank fire finally began to take its toll, and the Germans have started to pull back. It was about turn 12 when I saved to game.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't tried it yet. It won't be to everyone's taste, but for me it came much closer to catching the feel of small unit combat. Certainly moreso than the standard level 4 god's-eye game I play

[Louie the Toad]

Is there any way to adjust the screen resolution so that buildings (at level one) appear more 3 dimensional ? I know you can use the los tool and the occasional reference to the map to determine relative distances, but I would prefer to be able to discern the differences in distances to objects by looking at the screen. I currently use 800 x 600 resolution.

Curious Toad

[eba]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peter Panzer:

[“Full” fog of war, level 1 perspective situated behind or in the extreme proximity of the highlighted squad/team, only troops within visual range or command radius may be issued orders, you may not “scout” the terrain with your mouse…] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Question about issuing orders. I assume each HQ can issue orders to any unit that it can see or that is within command radius. That means infantry units not in sight of or within command radius of an HQ can't receive orders.

What about vehicles, guns and FOs? Since they often operate outside of HQ range and commonly had radios, it seems to make sense to issue orders to them separately.

Also, how do you handle plotting movement orders for tanks and other vehicles that move long distances? While it's more realistic to avoid scrolling the map, it's unrealistic if that means your tanks stops on top of a hill when a hull down position is nearby (but you couldn't see it when you issued the orders). In real life an experienced crew ordered to "go over there" would find the best place "over there" to set up. But you can't do that unless you look around the destination a bit to know where to direct them.

Thoughts?

[ 08-07-2001: Message edited by: eba ]

[Ales Dvorak]

After all, it is an Iron man.