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Big or not so Big Thats the Question


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Originally posted by eichenbaum:

I believe the ideal size of the scenario has something to do with the amount of time the player wants to put in it.

Multi-player scenarios should be small especially when played by PBEM. But if you're into a battle with AI a huge one can bring a lot of joy.

Just looking at the amount of points does not tell you something about the size of the battle. 1000 points of infantry will be very different then 1000 pts of Tigers.

Nils

Indeed, and a scenario with two regiments clashing for 10 turns can be a briefer experience than two platoons fighting it out for 60 turns, especially in Pbem, sending turns back and forth.

Some players can get a few hours off at the weekend or every other weekend, others maybe ten minutes per day after work instead, busy with the family on weekends, I guess that sort of dictates tastes.

As a general question - what is "map hugging", as mentioned up above there?

Cheerio

Dandelion

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Originally posted by eichenbaum:

But if you're into a battle with AI a huge one can bring a lot of joy.

Depends. The AI has trouble even with small forces, so unless you give it hefty bonuses it's just too easy to defeat. Meanwhile I think with larger scenarios the best thing is that you can try something ingenious, and knowing that your opponent can have a few tricks for you just makes it all more exciting. But all this is lost when the AI warriors decide to jump out of their trenches and run across open steppe toward your tanks. It hurts to watch such stupidity. For this reason I have almost given up playing against the AI. Almost. Some scenarios suit better to the AI's style. And in smaller scenarios there's that element of randomness - you could lose simply because you lost one tank duel.
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Originally posted by Sergei:

Depends. The AI has trouble even with small forces...

True. The AI's behaviour can be very frustrating, especially for the scenario designer who's making operations. It takes a lot of time to place it well so that crazy behaviour is brought to a minimum. On large maps there's always one particular issue that bothers me the most; it doesn't have any cohesion in the command structure of infantry. After a few turns most infantry squads move away from their HQ and support weapons. When the confrontation with the player begins there's often no structure left at all.

After designing operations for OSF (CMBB) I have come to the conclusion that battles are far more manageable. With a pre-designed story board and carefully set reinforcement markers & objective flags; you get a good grip on the AI. Even in huge spaces.

Large maps are interesting when there are large impassable obstacles present like mountains or rivers.

Also is a scenario with late war tanks more fun when you have the space to shoot at targets that are sited at longer ranges then 500 meters.

But of course; those last to paragraphs are only personal favour. CM has so many different angles that the perception of a player is hard to canalize. Squad or Battalion; that will ways be an issue smile.gif

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Originally posted by Elmar Bijlsma:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> As a general question - what is "map hugging", as mentioned up above there?

Map edge hugging is meant here. For completeness I'll state the obvious: It's the advantage you gain by keeping your force near a map edge so your guaranteed that the flank on that side is secure. Gamey. </font>
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Yes, I like small battles and I have no problem running my units close to the edge of a map. But I don't make a "practice" out of it.

The Defender places his units near the edge, so why can't the attacker.

I played a medium sized battle (Battalion assault) against my friend and he accused me of "edge hugging."

Well, I was flagergasted. The map was a esentially a "horseshoe" of hills that I had to attack into. The open end of the horseshoe was facing me.

I KNEW my opponent would have defenders dug in on top of those hills to my left and right. How else was I going to dislodge them unless I attaced up those hills on my left and right.

He wanted me just to march right up the middle, into certain slaughter.

Nothin' doin', I say! :)

Bigger maps, smaller forces. That's my motto. smile.gif

Gpig

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Bigger maps, smaller forces
Amen!

If edges are so much of a bother, then make them tactically useless in the time alloted. Make it too far to try and actually run an end around within your 30 turns. (or whatever length)

The best fights I've had are ones that the important postitions are not locked into who controls a map edge. Good map design makes a big difference, big or small.

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I like battles as high as 1500 for an ME and the same for the attacker, though, I generally play no higher than 1000. Large battles just don't appeal to me. It's too easy to lose track of something. It's also an ordeal to setup the units or do a movement phase. It can take a long time for an older computer to process the turn.

Something about large battles that's a turnoff, is needing to check if opposing infantry is suppressed. You need to go to levels one or two. This is extremely time-consuming and tedious in a large battle. It can be a pain in a smaller one. Something I'd like to see in the new game, is clicking on an opposing infantry unit, and if it's suppressed, it will say Taking Cover in the unit window. This will make things a lot easier, instead of going to the low camera angles.

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