New player help, please..

[cuendillar]

I realize I am way behind the curve, but I just bought the CM Anthology in anticipation of Strike Force. I need some help though.

Is there a beginner's FAQ somewhere? Or a site someone can recommend to me with newbie help?

My most pressing questions at the moment regard terrain, Line of sight, cursor speed, and unit capability.

1) Basically what I have been doing is changing the camera view to "flat", seeing where blind spots/ LOS will be available, and moving there. I use the LOS command from the menu as well, to ensure I my troops have sight of the enemy (hoepefully without them seeing me). Is this the "standard" way or am I missing something?

2) Is there a way to increase the speed at which the cursor keys allow me to scroll, pan, etc. the camera? Right now it's painfully slow and I end up using the buttons on the UI.

3) Is there somewhere I can look up what each unit can do or its' typical combat role?

Thanks

[Lt Bull]

Originally posted by cuendillar:

I just bought the CM Anthology in anticipation of Strike Force.

Where have you been and what took you so long?

Originally posted by cuendillar:

Is there a beginner's FAQ somewhere? Or a site someone can recommend to me with newbie help?

Someone else might be able to better advise you there.

Originally posted by cuendillar:

1) Basically what I have been doing is changing the camera view to "flat", seeing where blind spots/ LOS will be available, and moving there. I use the LOS command from the menu as well, to ensure I my troops have sight of the enemy (hoepefully without them seeing me). Is this the "standard" way or am I missing something?

Yes, what you are doing is part of what you need to do. Alternatively, you can greatly enhabce the 3D visualisation of the terrain by using a height contrast gridded terrain mod.

Check them out HERE .

Originally posted by cuendillar:

2) Is there a way to increase the speed at which the cursor keys allow me to scroll, pan, etc. the camera? Right now it's painfully slow and I end up using the buttons on the UI.

You can use CTRL+left click to jumo to a spot you point at with your mouse. Using the +/- button lets you cycle through from one unit to the next. TAB centres the camera view behind the unit selected.

Originally posted by cuendillar:

3) Is there somewhere I can look up what each unit can do or its' typical combat role?

Press ENTER to view the unit stats. It won't tell you HOW to use the unit though, that's where you need to perhaps combine historical antecdotes on the unit with your own ingenuiity to work out how to best use the units at your disposal. You must also know your enemy! Consult your friendly weapons of WW2 website or book to get the historic low down of what you see in the game. There is a CMAK Companion book that may help in this resepct. Read more HERE.

Originally posted by cuendillar:

Thanks

Enjoy the game. Make sure you play against a human opponent! Consult www.cmmods.com for graphical mods that can greatly enhance the visuals in the game.

[John Kettler]

cuendillar,

Welcome aboard! Here's the FAQ for CMBB, which is very similar to CMAK. The movement commands and such are practically identical, but there's no human wave attack order in CMAK, dust is in, as are tanks with multiple cannon mounts.

http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=004792

This should provide considerable help, despite being primarily geared to CMBO and CMBB.

http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000812

Here's the follow-on thread, which also includes CMAK.

http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=001648

CMAK Unit Data Base charts, Part 1.

http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=001663

Regards,

John Kettler

[cuendillar]

I took a look at the linked threads and found way more than I can digest for some time. I got the terrain hex mod, the units tables, and am going to print the .pdf manual out for leisure reading.

Thanks for the tips!

[realest]

Cuen, congrats to finding a great game. Quickest way to learn is to get your electronic soldiers blow to he11. LOL, it's what i'm doing. Good luck from one newb to another.

[Other Means]

Falk's sites are a great reference for units:

http://cmak.jemian.com/

and

http://cmbb.jemian.com/

Look in the BB forum for threads on the Russian primers JasonC wrote. Ask there if you can't find the thread. They're a great primer on how to use your units to attack in an attritional style.

Good luck.

[dieseltaylor]

My advice is don't read JasonC's yet as you will get bogged down in reading. Most people learn to play quite happily without reading his useful research.

Just play with the game , remember to use the numbers to get higher up so you can scroll more quickly. play for about a fortnight doing silly things like racing up roads at top speed and just mess about. If you take scenarios seriously from the off you will get depressed - most scenarios are designed to be a challenge for those who have mastered the basics.

Play both sides to find out how depressed your infantry get depending what is firing at them - all of this stuff helps you understand when you start fighting for real.

[David Chapuis]

Seriously, you should start at least one game against a human. That will be the key to learning how to play well.

I can remember thinking what do all these different vehicles do - and still do to some degree. Just start using stuff that you know, and you will learn the others as you go.

[John Kettler]

cuendillar,

I highly recommend you start devouring the screenshot based lessons of Poor Old Spike, available here:

http://www.fewgoodmen.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

A highly successful CM warrior, he has a mania for running tests and presenting the results via annotated screenshots, making the lessons easy to follow. This should make your eventual mastering of the games a much easier, less stressful progress.

Regards,

John Kettler

[ February 16, 2007, 12:50 AM: Message edited by: John Kettler ]