How do you play the game?

[Guardsman]

Hi all,

Since CM:SF has been a very playable game for a while now, I just wondered what approach you all adopt when playing a game?

For new players, I think that this would be a really useful thread, because as we all know with CM type games, the manual can only explain so much, and the lessons learnt from countless hours playing can be vital. I'm not talking about tactics and the best use of the equipment and men you have to hand, but rather your employment of the user interface.

Here's my approach for a defensive op to give you an idea of what I mean.

1. I always play real time elite which in itself is a suprise to me as I was a strong supporter of the WEGO system prior to SF.

2. Set up men with small cover arcs to avoid them loosing of rounds at the first sign of the enemy.

3. Click on a patch of land so that no unit is selected and you effectively see what is an overall view based on sightings of each of your units.

4. Once a threat has been sighted, I pause the game and click on the enemy unit. This is to establish what it is and also find out who spotted it. This is signified by whichever unit on your side that is highlighted.

5. Whilst still paused I then click on each unit that can see the threat and decide if it is worth them engaging the enemy or waiting, and also seeing if they have line of fire.

This is pretty much how I continue throughout the battle and it seems to serve me pretty well.

What are your views, and do you do things different that may enhance my results? Any feedback and comments would be much appreciated.

Regards Darren

[MikeyD]

For me its all about terrain terrain terrain (basically, the same way I played CMx1). You avoid their firepower, maneuver into an advantageous position and do your best to whittle the enemy down piece-by-piece. Though I do take a situational awareness hit playing Realtime (why is my tank burning at the far end of the board?) the immersion factor more than makes up for it. Things have to get VERY hairy for me to start punching the Pause button.

I tend to move my units forward in easy-to-control packets, find a cozy place for them to wait, then go back for the next group. That's an advantage of Wego over Realtime I guess, giving everybody mass orders at your leisure then hitting 'Go' - as long as an enemy T72 doesn't appear 15 seconds into the turn

[SgtMuhammed]

Realtime - elite. I was a big WEGO guy when it first came out but I now play realtime most of the time except for testing and really big scenarios.

The big thing to remember is that even though everyone talks about the speed of modern battles the big thing is to slow down. You have to be aware of every unit or you can lose them quickly. In WWII a mistake would get you shot at. In modern battle a mistake will get you shot and most likely killed. This means you must make maximum use of the terrain and of supporting fire. Movement must be along good routes. Even though modern vehicles can fire on the move, scanning is severly degraded so good firing positions are still a must. Things must be done with the plan in mind rather than just because you feel you need to move something.

The same basic tactics apply as in WWII type games but your margin of error is much less.

[Combatintman]

How do I play - badly! But is is still fun.

[Combatintman]

How do I play - badly! But it is still fun and realistic.

[ChrisND]

I tend to play real-time, since it allows me to make immediate corrections. If the battle is large, I will play WEGO. I always play Elite.

When playing a combined arms battle on the offensive, I tend to approach the target very cautiously and rely on fire support as much as possible. I have an armored / ATGM element in overwatch, with the infantry and the rest of the armor moving forward, usually in leap-frogging bounds. I usually dismount infantry at the very beginning of the battle and keep them dismounted, moving ahead of the armor.

Before moving any armor, I usually try to creep the infantry up as much as possible to identify enemy positions, especially ATGM positions, which I then call arty on. Once I am satisfied that my armor is safe from missiles, I move them up, with the overwatch ready for counterattacks and the mobile element blasting any enemy positions found by my infantry. With a few tank shells in the building the infantry move in and mop up. I try to cut the defense into "chunks" that are isolated and cleansed one by one.

Positions I know to contain enemy infantry, especially if it is a good position for ATGMs, are hit with arty ASAP. I save CAS for large buildings and vehicles that my armor cannot reach.

[Sequoia]

Wego elite just because I can't do without my replays.

[M1A1TC]

WEGO single-player always

[Pandur]

WEGO elite, also single player only as i dont see any sufficient or "flawless" working MP options right now, for my taste.

hopefully normandy game brings an end to the pain.

and yes, i cant do without replay too, also i consider WEGO the better multiplayer mode as it is "equal" for every player.

[MarkEzra]

I play Wego for larger or if I'm very involved with the action (most often the case). I play RT for games that I'm just relaxing with or are small units sized. I always test both ways when designing. By far I enjoy PBEM games (CMx1 was my introduction to PBEM's)...Human players are: Fun, Inventive, crafty, terrible and great...usually all at once!

[Guardsman]

Thanks for the replies.

The thing I was most trying to establish was how you use the interface when playing realtime, but it appears most of you are WEGO fans anyway. Some really interesting stuff has been mentioned especially about WEGO for large battles.

I have just found out the hard way that large battles are almost impossible in realtime. I have just played mission 2 of Hasrabit and although initially it was OK, when the reinforcements arrived it was completely out of control, and as a result I nearly ran out of time.

Regards, Darren