CMSF FAQ

[ToadMan]

Well, as is traditional for almost every game, an FAQ is a good way to catch all the useful information that isn't captured in the manual and isn't immediately obvious....

I've written a few things down that I've found out and/or seen discussed here - so far only about gameplay really since there are so many people unsure of how to operate certain features of the game.

Perhaps this thread can be kept free of chit chat, praise, gripes, bug reports etc and just have useful info added.

Eventually I'm sure it'll all find its way to a semi-official source

Gameplay

Q) How can I quickly select units/multiple units?

A) The options include

i) Left click on a single unit

ii) Shift Left-Click to drag a box around multiple units

iii) Shift Left-Click on each individual unit in turn

iv) Double left click on a HQ unit (this will select all units subordinate to the HQ)

v) In the HQ unit Information box, you can click to select a subordinate unit (this will jump the camera to that unit)

vi) Use the '+' and '-' keys to cycle through units

Q) How can I quickly select the relevant order tab?

A) You can cycle through the selected orders tab (Movement, Combat, Special and Admin) with the 'T' and 'Y' keys.

Q) How can I make my units move somewhere and hide, or change facing etc?

A) Place a movement command as normal. Once it is placed, left click on the waypoint of interest. Now, with the waypoint selected, choose the relevant command (hide, adjust facing, pop smoke etc) and the unit will execute that command on arrival.

Q) How can I make an APC move somewhere and then have the squad dismount (and move on foot)

A) Give the APC an appropriate move order. Then either select the APC waypoint and choose the dismount command (will have the squad dismount and take up defensive positions around the APC), or choose the squad that is riding in the APC and give them a move order (e.g. QUICK to a buidling). Once the APC reaches the waypoint, the troops will dismount (and move) as ordered.

Q) Can I edit a path and or waypoint?

A) You can select an existing movement waypoint and change it's type. For example, if you have a QUICK move specified, you can select the QUICK waypoint and then click a different movement type (e.g. "NORMAL") and the movement type will change.

If you wish to change the waypoint position, then the waypoints will need to be deleted and recreated.

Q) How is the Blast Function used?

A) Firstly, there appear to be some bugs with the Blast function which limits its usefulness at the moment. However, this is how you can try it out now even though it is of limited practical use :

i) Make sure your selected unit has more than 4 satchel/explosive charges (see the manual for the icon and see below for why 4 are needed as a minimum)

ii) Move them close to the wall you wish to blast (not all walls can be blasted)

iii) Place a Blast movement order in to the building you wish to blast and choose a floor as per the usual building entry procedure.

iv) Your units will go prone, wait a few seconds and the wall will be blasted.

Having made a hole (or possibly not, see below) your units will stand up and move to the blast waypoint (inside the building).

Bugs :

i) Having blasted a wall, it is seemingly impossible to get your units to move through the hole. Instead, the will walk around to the doorway (or where the dorrway was if that wall was blasted) to enter the building.

ii) If your units are too far away from the wall when you choose the blast movement type, they will go prone and use a satchel charge (i.e. it will disappear from their inventory) as if they're blasting the wall. However, there is no blast explosion depicted, and the wall remains intact. There is apparently no indication that your unit is too far away for the blast function.

iii) If a unit gets down to 4 stachel charges (by default they start with 6) then they will no longer blast walls.

Q) My units won't fire Javelins at bunkers or other targets?

A) For an infantry unit to fire it's Javelins a few steps are required :

i) While they are inside an APC, go to the Special Orders Tab and choose the Acquire function.

ii) A pop-up list appears, from this list choose the Javelin Launcher Unit

iii) Now YOU MUST aquire again just as for step (i)

iv) From the pop-up window choose the Javelin Ordnance (Javelin T-HEAT rounds in 1, 2 or possibly 3 missile quantities).

v) Deploy your troops and consider giving them a Hide command to stop them firing their Javelins before you're ready/have selected a target.

vi) Give the Javelin Unit an Area fire command on the appropriate target and wait.

Notes :

The infantry and Javelins are not always 100% accurate. Javelins may miss short or long (possibly even flying off the battlefield map). It's possible, particularly in RT gameplay mode, to miss the Javelin flight path and assume it has not been fired.

Q) Why won't my tanks and/or IFV/MGS etc fire their last few explosive rounds at my designated target?

A) It appears that the AI makes a judgement call when they get to a low ammo state and will not use heavy ordanance on targets they feel are not sufficiently threatening. For example, an M1A1 will not fire it's final few rounds into an area targetted building.

That is the rationalisation of it, it could be a bug...

Q) I have some wounded soldiers - can I heal them?

A) This is done automatically by the game, but the squad must be in good order and remain near the casualty. You'll see that one of the infantry will attend to the casualty. More testing is needed to determine if this will return the casualty to fit status or in any other way affects the battle outcome.

Q) How can I set up an ambush?

A) Move your squads into suitable ambush positions and have them Hide. Once the enemy is in the "killzone" unhide your troops and if appropriate provide suitable targetting commands.

NOTE : If you provide a combat order to a unit that is currently Hiding, it will stop hiding and open fire.I have not tested enough to determine how to set up an ambush in WEGO mode - it may not be possible at this stage.

Well that's my lot for now.

TM

[Becket]

Great stuff. Should you really use an area fire command for Javelins, though, instead of a specific target or covered arc? As Steve noted in another thread, Javelins should never miss.

[thewood]

Does hide override the arc command. The was the way it was done in CM and it worked perfectly for ambushes.

[Stirling]

Pop smoke cannot be queued, at least in the demo.

[Lawndart]

This was really helpful, bump.

[ToadMan]

Becket :

If a specific target is chosen your units may not employ a Javelin. For example, if you target some troops who are in a bunker, then your troops will use appropriate force for the target - in this case small arms. If you want to destroy the bunker altogether, then area targetting is the way to get them to use the Javelin.

thewood :

As far as I can tell, while you can have your men cover an Arc and be hidden simultaneously, when an enemy unit enters the arc, your men will not open fire. They have to be manually unhidden first. I guess this means that ambushing in this way is not possible in WEGO as it stands. In RT, you just unhide your guys at the appropriate moment.

While that sounds bad for WEGO, just unhiding at the first unit of any type to enter the arc is probably not ideal either (MGs vs Armour, or exposing your AT crew to hit a half squad for example). So RT is really the only way to have proper control without making the various commands more complex.

Stirling :

I have queued Pop-Smoke on waypoints. However, it takes them quite a few seconds to get around to it, so make sure you give them time (and that they have smoke).... Would be better if the smoke out animation was a bit faster and as it is, all the guys have to arrive at the waypoint and get set up before the smoke throwing is commenced.

OK some more things to note. As mentioned above, a hidden unit will not automatically unhide when an enemy unit enters a covered arc - simplisitcally this means an automated ambush (for WEGO mainly) is not available as far as I can tell.

Also, having looked at the medic function, it appears that when you've sustained a casualty, another man will become a medic (if there's anyone still alive!) and tend to the wounded. It takes a long time but eventually the wounded man will be removed from the battle and presumably becomes a WIA instead of a KIA. Either way, you cannot get those men back into the battle which seems reasonable.

TM

[thewood]

That is why CM had two covered arcs, one for armor, one for everything else.

This is one other function that was a great addition in CM,, but seems to have been lost in the traslation to a more RT focus.

btw, I beat up TOW quite good on not being able to do ambushes automatically like in CM. I'll have to apologize to the TOW crowd.

[stikkypixie]

Bump

[Becket]

Originally posted by ToadMan:

Becket :

If a specific target is chosen your units may not employ a Javelin. For example, if you target some troops who are in a bunker, then your troops will use appropriate force for the target - in this case small arms. If you want to destroy the bunker altogether, then area targetting is the way to get them to use the Javelin.

Got it, I see now. I thought you were just talking generally, like a AFV rumbling down the street, which is why I got confused.

[stikkypixie]

Maybe it would be a good idea to sticky this and if possible update it.

[PrezCartman]

Originally posted by Becket:

Great stuff. Should you really use an area fire command for Javelins, though, instead of a specific target or covered arc? As Steve noted in another thread, Javelins should never miss.

Javelins should never miss but you also have to keep in mind it is still a piece of hardware, built in a factory, which has a certain margin of error, now this may be 1 hundred thousandth of a percent, but no weapons system currently developed is 100% reliable every shot. Just be happy that most of the time the Javs hit and when they do, goodbye whatever was there. I just completed the first campaign mission, had to go back cuz there was a file error in my later saved campaign, completed it without a single US casualty, used the Javs to nail all enemy armor plus a few bunkers and proceeded to level every target I could with my 155s. By the time my troops entered the base there was only a handful of badly wounded squads left to mop up.

[HawkerT]

Maybe it would be a good idea to sticky this and if possible update it.

Sir Stikkypixie is right on the money!

So as Grace Jones would sing

"... pull up to my bumper baby"

Sir ToadMan! We would surely treasure any updates you would be willing to edit into your initial post!

Hubba!

[Sergei]

My goodness, are we letting a new member with 6 posts under his belt run a FAQ? I mean, just look at that! It doesn't even have bolding!

Just to think of WineCape's CMSF FAQ... ahh...

[HawkerT]

LoL

Well hot diggidy Sir Sergei thau have a valid point!

Well then! I can think of no greater honour than thou, my esteemed articulate sober and witty Nordic brother, running such an endeavour for the greater good of this here fine Grog gathering.

Sincerely HawkerT

[Sergei]

I was hoping that you'd ask me to! Now only send me a few hundred Euro's, and I might consider it...

[Michael Dorosh]

Originally posted by Sergei:

I was hoping that you'd ask me to! Now only send me a few hundred Euro's, and I might consider it...

Does this not count as chit-chat, you horrible little Finn? :mad:

[BlAin]

Although it needs to be confirmed, MG Teams on some rooftops (mostly those with "higher" walls) do not/cannot deploy their heavy machine gun... It needs to be confirmed at this point, just in case.

[yapma]

bump