Anyone using Franko's Rules of Combat?

[Wally's World]

The search just hung on me so I'm just posting a topic here asking if anyone has tried or is using some or all of Franko's Rules of Combat?

I'm trying a couple of Franko's rules that state you cannot click on an enemy unit to find out how many men are left in a squad or team or find out their experience level. The other rule that I'm using is that you cannot target an enemy unit yourself. You must let your own units' AI target the enemy.

Both of these rules do make the game more interesting and tougher because you feel as if you cannot target everything that your units can see and thus it can get frustrating when your armor will not target that anti-tank team that's getting ready to open fire on them. You lose a sense of control over the fighting which is fine with me because every force commander could not always tell every unit under his command as to what specific enemy to target.

A rule I don't think I'll use is restricting myself to certain camera views. I like to 'fly' over the battlefield to see the action and the great maps.

Otherwise, I'm interested to see if anyone else has tried some of Franko's rules. Nice work, Franko!

[Pvt. Ryan]

I tried them once but I don't have the discipline to stay on ground level. If the game forced me to play at those levels it would be great. The only problem I have with playing that way is the trees in CM are mostly solid textures and don't let you see through the leaves as you would in Real Life. A vehicle could be on the other side of a few trees and you wouldn't be able to see in CM, but you probably would in RL. Otherwise I think it adds a whole new dimension to the game and you really get to appreciate the mods.

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Its the only way I play the AI. I use all the rules, and generally print out view 7 or 8 (depending on total map size) before play.

As to the being able to see through the trees, if the AFV is visible, you will see it. You can move your view slightly forward to clear the sprite if you're in the middle of it.

[Clubfoot]

Use Franko's rules? Nope. Swear by them? Yep.

[Mikael]

Well, others and myself were actually using parts of these rules before Franko made them "official". I especially liked the one that doesn't let you click on enemy squads, plus disallow unit bases, and restricting myself to views 1 and 2, only using the zoom feature for HQs. They add much fun, challenge, and realism to the game.

[Boff]

I generally use them in small (500 pt) games when defending against the AI, it gets quite claustrophobic at level 1 and it's almost a relief to take a look from a 2 storey building to get a better view.. when defending like this I must admit I use the camera at level 1 all around the defended area and don't just use + to move between units. Haven't used it in larger battles but it must get more difficult..?

[russellmz]

i like seeing all my troops lined up but i did manage to maintain discipline for the first half of one of his scenarios (a nice night one). after that i was so anxious to get my orders in that i just started using the rest because it was faster.

however, i am trying not to target stuff with my troops: your teling them where to aim at isn't as effective most times!

[Brian Rock]

Sometimes. If I just want a quick fun game I won't, but when I'm looking for a full-on immersive game I do.

The problem with trees is about the only thing I have an issue with. OTOH, it does cause you to get your troops to move to the treeline *very* carefully, which is more realistic than the current move-at-full-speed-then-stop-at-the optimal-point approach I usually use from higher camera angles.

[Lanzfeld]

Well I tried to play by these rules for the first time today and I have to say it makes CM hard as hell! The restricted views kill me! HQ's get zoom 2X and Sharpshooters, tanks (Allied too?), and AT guns get zoom 8X. What about German HMG's? Did'nt they have optics?

[ 11-01-2001: Message edited by: Lanzfeld ]</p>

[Louie the Toad]

Yes I use Franko's Rules too. I am probably the one who mouths off about them the most. I have tried them with platoon sized battles and company sized battles. All for great enjoyment. It does slow things down, but makes the AI a formidable opponent who wont cheat. I tried the new rule about no aiming but not enough to give a verdict. I use level 5 to move around in tight places, only to move the particular unit into a corner or such, something it would be able to do in real life but that the AI has great trouble doing. I also think it is ok to use the "map views"

7 and 8 to LOOK at the situation. My assumption is that as commander I am getting info from my guys and they update the map. I never use the map to manipulate units only to view the situation. I also find that the Level 1 view is lacking in depth (maybe its me or my video card) and the map view at least gives some perspective that one would have in real life. In fact, that is the question and the reason for using Franko. "What would it be like in real life." If I am going to play a game using Franko's Rules, I use them. If I want to play a "regular" game I use everything available to me. I don't mix things together.

Pvt. Ryan is right on with the Tree problem. If you can run the LOS tool from you unit out of the woods and it stays blue then you should be able to see from out of the woods. So just use the arrow key to inch forward your Tab 1 view until you have cleared the sprite.

FTCR Toad