RT/TB hybrid...how does it work?

[Scythe]

Just curious before I get either CMBB or CMAK (or both)... how exactly does the much vaunted Real-time/Turn-Based hybrid game system work?

I understand that players simultaneously give out orders and then when both players are done the game enters a 60-second "cinematic" period where these orders are executed, also simultaneously.

Does the player have any control over his units during this 60-second period (i.e. to change orders in reaction to his opponent's orders)? Will units fire on newly spotted units of their own accord or do they have to wait till next turn to be ordered to?

Can you guys just clear up this whole RT/TB hybrid system for me?

[Steiner14]

In the order phase, you tell your units what they have to do.

You make the plan and give your units their orders accordingly. i.e. Squad1 assaults the house first, followed 10 seconds later by squad2, while the MG 200m away gives area fire on the enemy infantry unit in the house that they have to keep their heads down, while your men are without any cover crossing the street.

You try to predict, what the enemy will do next and choose your orders accordingly.

The enemy does the same.

After the order-phase, the computer calculates with the orders of both sides the simultaneous action on the battlefield.

Afterwards you can watch the famous, glorious, incredibly thrilling 3D realtime CM-movie.

[ October 29, 2003, 05:13 PM: Message edited by: Steiner14 ]

[Eric Alkema]

No, you don't have any control over your men once you hit "GO". That's a good thing. It takes reflexes out of the equation. The good news is that your men are not mindless robots. They will fire on newly spotted targets. They will also abort your orders if they are taking too much fire. There are also orders that you can choose that explicitly tell your men, or vehicles, to stop as soon as they see the enemy. In fact infantry can be told to advance along the path you define until they spot enemy units within a limited area in front of them (no need to freak out over a squad a mile away) and then hide. The tricky part is that it doesn't take a whole lot for poor quality troops to decide that you are nuts and they are heading for cover. Commanding green troops takes skill.

One of the other fun parts of this system is that you don't have to miss any of the action. You can replay, stop and restart the "movie" portion of the turn as many times as you want. No more "Hey! What the heck happened to that squad that I had over here?"

That help? If not, download the demo. Be warned that the CMBB demo was to show off how improved it was over CMBO and is therefor a bit tough. You might want to try the CMBO demo.

[YankeeDog]

To reiterate and expand a bit:

You cannot directly issue any new orders during the 60-second movie phase.

Some orders, such as "Move to Contact", are 'conditional' though, and tell units to do certain things when and if certain conditions are met, such as sigting on an enemy units.

In addition, units have their own situational awareness and self-preservation routines, commonly referred to as the "TacAI". Among other things, the TacAI is quite capable of recognizing and targeting newly spotted enemy units on its own - it is usually not necessary for the player to issue precise targeting orders to a unit.

In addition, TacAI routines can modify or even countermand player-issued orders. This can happen for both good and bad. On the one hand, especially inexperienced and/or poor morale units who come under fire can ignore movement orders and 'go to ground', even if it would be better for their long-term survival to keep moving (this isn't necessarily unrealistic). OTOH, the TacAI can also sometimes save a unit's @ss when an unanticipated danger emerges. If a T-70 crests a hill and suddenly finds itself in LOS of a Tiger, it will probably reverse itself right back down into defilade in an effort to get out of the line of fire long before the player has a chance to order it to do so.

Hope this gives you an idea of how the whole thing works. Try the demo 'sfun.

Cheers,

YD

[Scythe]

Thx guys I'm going to download the demo ASAP but I have a couple more questions. In QB games (or whatever the random map games are called) do you "buy" your units? How about in scenarios/operations?

Finally do your units gain experience as you go through an operation? Do units which are veteran cost more points (if you buy them) than green units? Do you see seperate characteristics for each and every soldier under your command (like in an RPG)?

[ October 30, 2003, 07:18 AM: Message edited by: Scythe ]

[Joachim]

Originally posted by Scythe:

Thx guys I'm going to download the demo ASAP but I have a couple more questions.

In QB games (or whatever the random map games are called) do you "buy" your units? How about in scenarios/operations?

QBs: You can choose your won or let the computer select them for you.

Scenario/Operations: Trrops bought by the designer. Scenario maps can be used in QBs. You can import the map instead of auto-generatint a new map, and you can import and add troops in QB mode - besides from editing the scen, of course.

Finally do your units gain experience as you go through an operation?

No. A few hours of battle don't increase the experience of a unit up one level.

There are user made campaign-generator (needing some bookkeeping and spreadsheets or programs) trying to emulate things like the old Sttel Panthers campaigns.

Do units which are veteran cost more points (if you buy them) than green units?

Yes. Each level is about 15% more.

Do you see seperate characteristics for each and every soldier under your command (like in an RPG)?

No. The smallest unit is the team. you see how many weapons the team has, but that's it. You can see the capabilites of plt leaders (or higher) regarding stealth, morale, command and combat. Each "bonus" affects the troops under his command as they behave one level better in that regard.

Gruß

Joachim

[ October 30, 2003, 07:32 AM: Message edited by: Scarhead ]

[Andrew Kulin]

In QBs you do buy your units. In scenarios/operations these are pre-set by the scenario designer. You usually are given some discretion in initial unit placement by way of set-up zones (you can place units anywhere within that set-up zone)

Units do not gain experience in battles nor in operations. BFC states this in their manual as they feel experience is gained over a much longer time frame than simulated. You do not have a core group of units that you can follow throughout the war.

Veteran units do cost more than green units.

No you do not see separate characteristics for each soldier in a squad. You do see command characteristics for leaders though (Command, combat, morale and stealth modifiers (0, +1, +2)).

Many of your questions will be answered by downloading the demo (but not QB because the demo does not support that if I recall)

Andrew

Andrew