NEW "Byte Battles" at der Kessel

[mensch]

Happy birthday! yes a new section is BORN at Der Kessel. When you are there Look to the left hand navigation section you all know well and you'll see a new section "Byte Battles (TCP/IP)".

So to start off our First day we have three Byte Battles, One from me (mensch) one from Berli and one from germanboy! More to come on Monday!

Have fun TCP/IPing away

[Holien]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the Battles did the St Lo job 3 times with Rett.

1st two Allies were creamed. The last time we are still playing but looks like it will be a draw or a loss to the Germans.

I would recommend that this is evened up slightly for the Allies.

It seems with the time limit and force selection that unless the Allied player takes a certain approach there is no hope.

This is of course if the German player plays / deploys moderately well.

In our 1st two attempts it was as follows:-

Allied German

KIA 73(23) / 91(29) 23(6) / 47(11)

3V / 5V 1G / 1G

Men OK

41 / 22 74 / 50

Score

22 / 23 78 / 77

I think for "normal" players this game is un balanced in favour of the Germans.

I would suggest down grading the German Inf or reduce the other AT assets.

The map was fine and we both enjoyed it. Even though it was painful as Allied.

The third game is the exception and is only working out differently as we now know what each other have and have gamed it as so.

Just some feed back.

A great concept and I need to find someone to play the other two with.

H

P.s. Any one want to send me a set up I will take it on. Or arrange a night (UK) time to play TCP/ IP.

[mensch]

Thanks Holien for the review =). As single player one has a good chance of winning with the Americans as the AI is a wee bit thick in the head and I suggest a AI bonus to be given of your choice of Bravado.

Berli said it was to easy, or he got a Major victory (I promiced if anyone could get that I would buy them their next kid heh.. - that's a joke guys)

Ya anyhow I am currently playing the Said "Mr. Evil" in a PBEM and we'll see how this guy does against my super FJ.

BTW.. I put out version 1.01 of Bocage to St.Lo, I changed some of the positions of the German troops to maximize LOS and Ambush zones for both players and the AI.

At the momment the Americans out gun the germans 844pts to the Germans 501pts.

[Holien]

****** SPOILER ******

*

*

*

*

*

We have yet to finish the third game and I can see Rett beating me on that game.

He has only achieved this by taking a big risk and storming all his forces down the main road.

My AT guns have taken 3 tanks for the loss of two and he seems to have enough infantry left to swing it his way. Although this is not certain.

In our first two games we both split our forces and were defeated convincingly by the FJ.

I really do think the FJ need down grading as the American Inf can not go toe to toe with them and are soon cut down.

Unless you have a player who stumbles across the "Mad Charge" approach then I don't think it is winnable by the Allied player. And even with this approach it is a big gamble, which for Rett has maybe paid off, but for others maybe not.

Anyway, still it was fun and it brought back boyhood memories of Airfix Shermans and small table top skirmishes. The map certainly captures the spirit of the region.

I would recommend it to anyone for a fun game. Just don't be too upset when you see all your tanks burning... (those graphics are better than cotton wool fire... )

Cheers H

P.s. Just need to find someone to play those other two blind....

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

[CMplayer]

***Spoilers***

The important thing is that this

little scenario has provided sustained

_fun_ for my opponent and myself. We

are into our third playing of it,

and are having a good time. That said,

I hope the following comments are

of some use.

Playing the Allies h2h double-blind I

felt extremely rushed by the time

limit. This led to very hasty scouting

with my infantry, and they naturally

ran into FJ's with smgs at close range.

End of scouting allied infantry. The

map was such that the FJ's could withdraw

to positions outside of my tank overwatch

fire, and for my tanks to reach new

positions, they had to move into the

kill zones of the guns. This is, of

course a very interesting defence, but

taking it on requires some time and

thought.

This tough nut would require some support

in the form of _mortars_ to be properly

crackable. I might suggest giving the

Allies a double command bonus HQ with some

60mm mortars, and 5 more turns. At least

for head-to-head play. But that might not

work because of the mortars' minimum range.

Something of that sort, though not a spotter

of course, would be the thing. I tried

using the Yank bazookas in this role,

wedging them into position to fire on

the AT guns, to give the Allied tanks

an opportunity to move into firing

positions against the FJ's. Perhaps

it would have been doable with a bit

more skill and luck. But this feels

like abuse of my zook teams.

As for the point balance...favourable

defensive terrain and short time limit

both augment the FJ's value, and this

augmentation is naturally all the greater

for a human.

A tactic I have used with success in

bocage battles is having a couple of

Shermans simply bust into a field and

take on enemy infantry for a turn or

two until supporting infantry arrive.

This is, of course, a bit desperate

and is an attempt to break a deadlock,

or stop a counterattack which will be

devestating if I remain where I am. But

in this game it didn't work...dead tanks.

This is not to fault the scenario, of

course, since the above tactic works

best against enemy infantry which is

out maneuvring in the fields, not

dug-in infantry protected by interlocked

fire.

It was probably an error, as the Allies,

to divide the tanks into two sections

(with a single tank in reserve), and

let each section accompany a platoon

on either side of the road respectively.

Again, though this is generally a sound

way to play, the short time demanded more

concentrated firepower.

To this end, the third time through I

massed everything together and advanced

slowly up the main road (what Holien called

a mad rush). I simply wanted every gun

available to hit his units piecemeal. This

is gamey since I know he won't have artillery

to counter my over-concentration, and

because one really ought to sweep the

sides of the road with infantry before

advancing vehicles. But, it seems that

this strategy is working, though at

a high cost.

thx for an exciting micro-game O Kessel Denizens!

--Rett

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

[mensch]

Thanks for the reviews, I would kindly ask ya to hop on over to the Combat Mission Scenario Depot and give a wack at it.

*****Spoiler********

I found at least the FJ AT guns quite easy to take out with the use of infantry to advance and keep those shermans out of the visuals of those AT assets, thus drawing out the FJ to shoot the infantry. HOLD back your Tanks on all costs and have them just in range to support those infantry and not get "plinked" by the AT guns.. I found using smoke worked wonders (a lot of gamers don't use smoke but I found it blinded the AT guns or at least one corridor, moved up my zook with two squads to concentrate on the AT gun.. once that was happening I moved at least two tanks up to hammer the area while the AT crews heads were down. Most of the time I found the low caliber of the guns bounced once or twice before getting some sort of penetration.

The FJ troops are split squads (most anyhow) now unless the Human player puts them close together in the set up to combine them on the second round, those units falter quite fast.

In light of this I think I would leave the troops as they are but increase the fanatizism of the US forces to "Regular or better +25%". If you want to test that out, give it a wack. Just open up my mission in the scenario editor and add the bonus.

I'm still in the game with Berli and he thought it was a cake walk for the Americans, I'm the FJ so still waiting, he is worried? wondering where my troops are... unlucky for him I am not telling till the last momment when I see the beedy eyes of his troops. (lets see if his USMC traning sunk in his widdle head)

Oh god I'm not gonna hear the end of it if he wins. Common lucky dice daddy needs a new Motorcycle!

[Fieldmarshall]

Mensch.........did you find the book on the resources for the 1945 scenarios....?

-Fieldmarshall

[mensch]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fieldmarshall:

Mensch.........did you find the book on the resources for the 1945 scenarios....?

-Fieldmarshall<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

jeezlaweez! give me a break.. yesterday was my 3rd Wedding Anniversary so I had no time to look for it. Your hunting me like a dog.

ok tonight I'll crack the book out.. it's not large its on the West wall mostly, and I think you have the book but heck.

since your here, DL my mission to bide time, heck play me against it.. I'll play the Americans and show these wet towels how a real man dies large

[ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: mensch ]

[CMplayer]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mensch:

I found at least the FJ AT guns quite easy to take out with the use of infantry to advance and keep those shermans out of the visuals of those AT assets, thus drawing out the FJ to shoot the infantry.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Playing double blind is completely diff

because you have no indication of what

to expect. I agree completely with

the tactics you describe, but a good

defender will find ways to foul up

the smooth machinery of a methodical

plan like that. Just an observation...

--Rett

[mensch]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CMplayer:

Playing double blind is completely diff

because you have no indication of what

to expect.

--Rett<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True true, it doesn't help that I'm the designer. Right now I'm gonna try it out with Fieldmarshall with 25% fantical americans but hmm. Now I need two guys who never played it to try that out.

Anyone interested give me a email I'll send out the version to you with the added US forces bonus.

[Fieldmarshall]

C'mon Mensch----where are you....Lets show these daft pansys how to fight a battle....The PBEM will result in the spilling of allied blood...but NO peeking at the Autosave to scout my troops thats cheating...and a certain David Aitken did that to me once...I hate that.

-Fieldmarshall

[CMplayer]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fieldmarshall:

NO peeking at the Autosave to scout my troops thats cheating...and a certain David Aitken did that to me once...I hate that.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did you tell him your password or what?

How could that be possible? Just

curious...

--Rett

[Fieldmarshall]

I just used my screen name as the password...not hard...But since then I have changed it....hahahahah

[CMplayer]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fieldmarshall:

I just used my screen name as the password...not hard...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Serves ya right, in that case!

--Rett

[Holien]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mensch:

The FJ troops are split squads (most anyhow) now unless the Human player puts them close together in the set up to combine them on the second round, those units falter quite fast.

In light of this I think I would leave the troops as they are but increase the fanatizism of the US forces to "Regular or better +25%". If you want to test that out, give it a wack. Just open up my mission in the scenario editor and add the bonus.

I'm still in the game with Berli and he thought it was a cake walk for the Americans, I'm the FJ so still waiting, he is worried? wondering where my troops are... unlucky for him I am not telling till the last momment when I see the beedy eyes of his troops. (lets see if his USMC traning sunk in his widdle head)

Oh god I'm not gonna hear the end of it if he wins. Common lucky dice daddy needs a new Motorcycle!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi,

To add to your comment about the split squads. I did and so did Rett combine them. Against the Yanks in the Open without Tank support they are mincemeat and soon break.

The third game Rett did the attack with the 5 down the road and baring some lucky break he will win with this approach. It has worked due to poor AT gun position and luck. It could have gone very nasty for him.

He was only brave enough to do that once we had played the game twice. When playing blind you are so much more cautious when you don't know what you are up against.

In my second game against Rett he realised that I had gone for a flank attack with a single Sherman on the other flank to act as decoy. So he swamped that Sherman with his defenders there and turned my flank.

He was only condfident in doing that because he knew what forces I had.

This game is best blind (IMO) and needs to be balanced and by increasing the Yanks Morale. That might well do the trick.

Let us know how your games go and if anyone plays the game blind I would love to know how it went.

Cheers

H

[Runyan99]

I played this one TCP.

I had the FJ and my hapless opponent had the Amis. I won a Major Victory pretty easily.

I feel that this scenario is pro-German. Maybe if the Amis had 20 turns, they could probe more carefully, or have more time to work a flank attack, but 10 mins makes this just a bloodbath charge for the poor Amis, who are facing a roughly equal number of FJ.

Not fair.

[CMplayer]

***Spoilers***

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Holien:

In my second game against Rett he realised that I had gone for a flank attack with a single Sherman on the other flank to act as decoy. So he swamped that Sherman with his defenders there and turned my flank.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's interesting to read an opponent's

description of your movements after a

game. My unorthox action there wasn't

a result of outguessing Holien's strategy,

but was a plan of my own that got lucky.

As the FJ's, knowing that I had a potent

advantage in SMGs and troop quality, I

decided to splurge and dedicated two

squads, an HQ and a vet schreck team

as a forward 'mobile' team. Turn 1 they

advanced on my right flank into and

eventually through the wheat field.

Under cover of the fog, I was sure that

whatever scouts I ran into I could dispatch

of quickly. They received a long string of

very short waypoints to maximize flexibility

after contact was made, and assist in a

pullout if the enemy's main force turned

out to be on that flank.

As it turned out they captured the mmg

and KO'd a Sherman tank, before swinging

left and digging into the main Allied

attack from behind. There they mostly

had to face routed infantry and crews.

They might just as well have met a force

they couldn't handle, in which case they

could stay put to stall the enemy, or

withdraw back to their foxholes under cover

of the fog.

In any event they could help to disrupt

the methodical advance of the Yanks and

win time, which is extra precious in a

quick scenario.

--Rett

[ 08-16-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

[Holien]

Getting inside your opponents head is something everyone tries but more often than not you put your own spin on the actions of the opposing player. Whose actual thought process is no where near your imagined thoughts for that person.

In a defensive game an attack like that against a potential force of 5 Shermans and two platoons could have cost you the game.

As it was it helped you win the game. The interesting thing was that the second game was within a point of being the same results as the first game.

The first game was played in a totally different style.

It will be interesting to see the points difference on this last game. My men have totally collasped and the famed FJ have barely dented you this time.

It certainly makes a difference with those Shermans getting through. (Well who would of guess that ...)

Anyway back to work....

H

[Murph]

You may have created a monster here...What's the problem? The problem is that I gobbled the three mini battles as soon as they came out...and NOW I NEED MORE! I check your site every day for updates, and nothing :eek:

Yes, I'm addicted...now hurry up and finish testing the ones that are in the pipeline!

Cheers,

Murph

[mensch]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Murph:

Yes, I'm addicted...now hurry up and finish testing the ones that are in the pipeline!

Cheers,

Murph<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ROTFL.. doing it as fast as can be, I'll be on it on Saturday and I hope some are cleared the Beta phase to publish.

And possibly a 1.03 version for Bocage to St.Lo.

For those who wish to test the modified version now as beta testers dl it here at this ftp addy.

Bocage to St.Lo 1.3beta version

All I ask is that you give a report to me AAR, and opinions.

The new Beta has changes to the fanaticism to the the Americans and the small Flag is replaced with a Large flag (difference 100pts for small and 300 for large - this will give the american a chance too still win if he/she even looses two tanks.)

I also tweeked the Americans with some extras... but doing so makes this naturaly a Dual player only and not single player game, unless you give the Germans a bonus before hand if your playing the americans as single player and vice versa as germans. The AI is just to stupid.

thanks

Mensch

[ 08-17-2001: Message edited by: mensch ]

[Holien]

Hi chaps the results are in on the third game.

Allied Attacker lost 68 men with 18 KIA and 3 vehicles knocked out.

The Germans lost 76 men with 24 KIA. 9 Men surrendered and all three guns were lost.

Even with such a resounding defeat it was only a minor victory at 56 Pts Allied 44 German.

I think your previous suggestion to change it will make it more balanced for human play. And as long as it is noted for human play then people can not complain. Not that anyone ever complains on this BB.

H

P.s. I have moved onto Trun and Miltary Intelligence. BTW with Miltary Intelligence I am the Allied commander and the designer of the game is truely evil... :eek: