Newbie recon question: Route Lightning, Objective Grease

[crabbit]

I've started playing recently, and I'm loving it! It's been a while since I last played a Combat Mission game, and it's good to be back...

Anyway, I'm a couple of missions into the TF Thunder campaign, on the mission where you have to move down a long road and occupy "Objective Grease" at the far end of the map. Initially, you only have recon assets and a Bradley. I'm having a hard time making use of the recon guys.

Now after a couple (ahem) false starts, I've won this scenario by just waiting for the tanks and Strykers to appear, and basically steamrollering the ambush trench systems. Minimal losses---no vehicles, just a few infantry casualties---but the recon guys played almost no role. In particular, they didn't spot any of the enemy infantry in the trenches; the assaulting troops found those. In fact, to be honest, I never even noticed the trenches on my first attempt, until the folks in them lit up my lead Humvee.

I replayed this again, taking just one recon Humvee and moving it slowly up to the ridgeline of the first hill on the right until it had a clear view of most of the battlefield. Then just waited to see if he'd spot ANYTHING. No luck. And yes, I did make sure the guy manning the FLIR-looking thingy was unbuttoned. Eventually, after several minutes, a nearby shellburst took out the unbuttoned guy, and I gave up.

So my question is, is there any way to make use of recon vehicles in this scenario or similar ones (other than as cannor fodder)? Are they just no good at spotting guys in trenches? I would have thought that with a thermal camera, they'd at least get a few "?"s.

Thanks for any advice!

CR

[Paul Green]

So my question is, is there any way to make use of recon vehicles in this scenario or similar ones (other than as cannor fodder)? Are they just no good at spotting guys in trenches? I would have thought that with a thermal camera, they'd at least get a few "?"s.

CR

I'd like to help but from my personal experience all I can say is that these recon Humvees are just plain blind..

They are not good at spotting anything not only guys in trenches.. In fact they have the best possible and very expensive recon devices but I didn't figured out the way how to use these recon guys..

Here's an example.. In the first scenario of the Forged Steel campaign there's a nice hill on the left side.. I moved on the top of the hill one of the recon Humvees, one M1, one Bradley, FO and recon squad.. The best spotting positions I dedicated to the FO and to the recon Humvee.. This group remained on the hill almost until the end of the mission.. Everyone spotted and indentified at least several enemy units providing FO (who spotted the most) with good areas for the support fire.. The only unit that had no idea what was going on was exactly the recon Humvee that has been seeing an endless amount of "?"s while their equipment has an automatic indentification ability as far as I know..

Sure, that's just mine personal experience..

Well anyways, welcome to the CMSF world.!

I myself discovered this game just a couple of months ago and honestly I love it.. Tons of fun and entertainment..

Paul.

[Lethaface]

Ah, I'm not the only one?

Thought I was just bad in using them. They do spot something sometimes, but I have learned to leave 'm in the back to play with their toys.

[George MC]

You have to unbutton the crew of the recon HUMVEE for the imagaing array to work I think.

Cheers fur noo

George

[Paul Green]

You have to unbutton the crew of the recon HUMVEE for the imagaing array to work I think.

Sure they are unbuttoned.. but no luck regardless..

Paul.