Couldn't find in search: A suggestion!

[Raziaar]

Well, I couldn't find anything of this in the manual, and I couldn't find it doing what searches I could think of on the boards, I have decided to post it here myself.

My father, who a long time ago is the one who got me interested in World War II era warfare(up to the point where I think WWII planes are thousands of times more aesthetically pleasing than modern day jet fighters ), asked me a question as i'm trying to introduce him to this game. He likes the idea of wargames, but the tediousness of the board game versions he never liked, also cause he couldn't find anyone to play them WITH. So I hope to get him hooked on this. But I digress...

So the question he asked me this, was if there was a hotkey I could press which would allow me to see the bases, or the units colored in such a way that at a glance, over the whole battlefield you could see your green troops, and you could see your elite troops... etc etc etc.

I mean, the player actually has this capability, but it is tedious to click on em all, and it would actually just be a time saver to the player, to be able to find his most elite or lowliest grunts.

Battlefield commanders wouldn't just say, "Hey! Round up those 50 guys, who have varying strengths and capabilities for this difficult job"

They'd call for "Easy Company" or whatever other elite groups. Or varying elite squads and grouping em all together temporarily in a platoon for a uniquely challenging one time mission.

Basically, a command that lets the player have his easy ID bases on, but color coded so he can see which are conscript, green, regular, veteran, crack, elite. Though of course not fanatic!

What do you guys think? Has this been suggested before? Is this already in the game? Is it a good idea or what?

Thanks!

[Ales Dvorak]

Originally posted by Raziaar:

Has this been suggested before? Is this already in the game? Is it a good idea or what?

1) Don't know.

2) No

3) Medium

[Michael Emrys]

It's not in the game. As far as I am concerned, it's a toss up whether a plethora of colored bases would help or only be confusing in play.

Personally, I think you are exaggerating the problem. The way I play, the bulk of my troops are all the same experience level with only certain units at a different level (aside from those that have been given a different level by the program). The idea that a commander would cherry pick squads from various platoons to combine into an über platoon is strange to me. If done, it must have been awfully rare, as I have never come across it before.

One thing I do at set up is to go through my OOB and to note those platoons that are especially strong or weak or whose leaders have bonuses that I am interested in. Then as my battle plan develops in my mind, I place them so that they will advance toward the enemy in a certain order. That way, they will arrive at their objectives when their particular skills are needed. Hopefully.

I try to keep all the platoons of a company in one area, but will sometimes cross-attach.

Michael

[Captain Pies]

I think the earlier suggestions for having a clickable OOB would be a workaround for this idea and is something we are likely to get in the CM2 engine.

Just pop up the OOB, sort on troop quality, click the unit you want to see and the map will go there.

[Michael Emrys]

Much better idea. There are probably more things you can do with a clickable OOB.

Michael

[zukkov]

speaking of the next engine, has bfc ever stated what features will be likely included in cmx2? somebody pleaded for the hot seat feature and MM said definitely. but other than that, i'm not sure what they're promising...

[Captain Pies]

I don't think they've ever said they would include a pop up OOB, but its been requested so many times in various threads that it's a good bet it will make it in.

Maybe they would like to comment???

[YankeeDog]

I think a clickable OOB is an excellent idea, and I think it could be taken one step further.

It would be a big help to my planning and orders plotting if it were possible to organize my forces into smaller groups. I'm thinking of some sort of system like in the C&C or AOE series of games where you can select units, and then assign them to a hotkey. By pressing the hotkey, all units currently assigned to that hotkey are selected. Even better, each "Task Force" (or Kampfgruppe, or whatever) hotkey could have it's own color, so players could get an overview of where his various Task Forces were on the map by turning bases on. Players could also be given the option to sort by Task Force in an OOB screen window.

This way, individual players could sort their units based on preference and playing style. If you wanted to sort by quality, you could. Personally, I would probably sort more by task (overwatch, assault, reserve, etc.), but to each his own.

Especially with larger scenarios, I sometimes write up my own Rough OOB and 'Task Force' lists on paper during setup just so I can keep track of things - otherwise I sometimes completely forget about a unit or group of units during an orders phase. My playing time is sporadic and I often have to leave games for days or even weeks to be finished later. As it is now, I try to jot down a few notes as to my plans before I leave a game so I can remember what the *&?^% I was doing the next time I pick it up, but having these kinds of organizational tools within the game would make it a lot easier.

Cheers,

YD

[JeF]

Hi all,

It would indeed be nice to get some info/status about your troops displayed on the base.

Currently, only the side is displayed (Axis/Allies).

Color coding the bases sides would be good (like in the old Atomiw W@W games). You can have : color per platoon (to show organisation), for fatigue, morale, ammo level, etc ...

Of course, nowadays, some games offer more comple base indication (no just a square), with status, direction, etc ...

What do you think ?

JeF.