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Tips & Tricks 101


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I thought I'd share a couple of things that are extremely useful but briefly or not at all mentioned in the manual.

Command & Control Links and the UI

From the manual page 64:

7. Chain of Command - displays the parent formations of the selected unit. A

green icon indicates that the HQ unit/formation is currently in contact with

the next higher HQ unit/formation, while a red icon indicates lack of contact.

In the previous example, if the icon beside the “1st Platoon” entry is

red, then the 1st Plt is out of contact with A Company HQr, while - if the icon

next to “A Company” is green - then Company A HQ is in contact with Battalion

HQ.

Note: this part of the interface does not tell you anything

about the selected unit being in command or out of

command with its parent HQ. That is indicated in the C2

Link (point 9 below).

Did you know that these parts of the UI are CLICKABLE? This effectively gives you a unit roster and a way of quickly clicking through command levels.

Hq%20Roster.bmp

However this only gives you a direct line from top to bottom, and it is best used in combination with the HQ formation tabs.

Unit%20Roster.bmp

These allow you to CLICK directly and be taken to the HQ of other formations under the command of a HQ, and also to see (and click on) teams directly attached and under the command of the HQ.

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A selectable Command Menu popup in the 3D area is also available. The onscreen

list of available commands can be viewed by selecting a unit and pressing

the SPACE BAR. Simply click on the desired Command and then follow

normal procedures for that Command (e.g. clicking a Waypoint or selecting

an enemy unit to Target). The menu can be dismissed with another press of

the space bar or by clicking the mouse anywhere outside the menu.

Try it, it is very CM old school.

Orders.bmp

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So, does that mean the little green squares next to squads 1, 2 and 3, down there on the right, mean they are in C2 with the Hq? If so, that will stop a lot of the command line arguing...'cept I tested it once and never managed to get those squares to turn red.

It would be a nice, quick way to simulate C2 quickly across a platoon.

14399949.jpg

Mord.

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Double click on a HQ unit to highlight all its subordinate units.

Make a small cover arc. Now all the units have a small cover arc.

(I am putting this here rather than start a new thread: I was proposing a "small cover arc" command, or having all HQ/FO/Mortars start with one. One of the ways of having an edge over the AI, or even another human, is currently to go through the tedium of putting small cover arcs on....most units (except maybe some MGs initially). But as much as I am willing to bear tedium to gain an edge in this game, newcomers may find routinely drawing all those cover arcs as off-putting.

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Wait, we had all those arguments about command lines and no one knew about the green boxes? Geez, I thought the 'we need the command line side' was just really upset with how the information is displayed.

I tested it once and never managed to get those squares to turn red.

Well I've seen the boxes go red a lot. I think it is a lot more complex then the CMx1 scenario. Distance, time, communications, line of sight, are all factors.

As a quick test I just set up a map, put the platoon on one side, and fast ran another unit in the opposite direction. While moving the unit went in and out of command as they lost line of sight for awhile before eventually getting far enough away that they were completely on their own.

Which is perhaps another reason the command lines disappeared. Not only could they at times have been very long (and then others very short before disappearing) you'd have them running to platoon and company HQs.

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Excellent. I suspected (and hoped) but I guess my guys just didn't go far enough.

LOL. I did look this up in the manual the other night but couldn't find any info.

I think this is one of the MOST important features that may not be known...it truly kills the Command Line argument...dead...as...a...door...nail. Much more elegant too.

THANKS!!!

Mord.

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As a quick test I just set up a map' date=' put the platoon [HQ'] on one side, and fast ran another unit in the opposite direction. While moving the unit went in and out of command as they lost line of sight for awhile before eventually getting far enough away that they were completely on their own.

lol - in some cases the best thing to do in order to re-establish C2 is to move further away from the HQ :D

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I always used the Eye and Voice icons in the lower left of the UI to judge C2...I can't believe all this time I didn't know about that. I just discovered the green boxes last week. Were they in CMSF too? Well, in my defense I was always good at keeping my guys in contact...but this will be an extra tool that will come in handy.

Mord.

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So, does that mean the little green squares next to squads 1, 2 and 3, down there on the right, mean they are in C2 with the Hq? If so, that will stop a lot of the command line arguing...'cept I tested it once and never managed to get those squares to turn red.

It would be a nice, quick way to simulate C2 quickly across a platoon.

14399949.jpg

Mord.

Hi, according to the manual the squares under Unit or Formation shows you the units and formations under the HQ and the current status (ranging from fully opearational to fully depleted to eliminated (red x)).

They are not to C2 as far as I know.

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There were some threads about dismounting and giving orders so I thought I'd add this last one.

If you select the vehicle itself or if you select the passengers, the Bail Out and Dismount buttons do different things.

In case 1 below, both buttons are highlighted. You'll see this if the vehicle is carrying passengers.

To disembark passengers only, select the PASSENGERS and hit dismount or bail out. They will execute this order at the start of the WEGO turn.

With the VEHICLE selected, you can disembark only the PASSENGERS by hitting DISMOUNT. If you wish to bail both PASSENGERS and CREW hit BAIL OUT.

Dismount.bmp

In point 3 you can see both buttons are greyed out. This means whatever orders you place are "locked" so BE CAREFUL, the order cannot be reversed.

With the crew or passengers given the order to bail, you can select the VEHICLE and give it a move order. This will be executed by the bailing crew when the turn starts. Similarly, give the passengers a move order and they will do it.

Quick.bmp

To dismount the passengers at the end of the turn, don't hit bail or dismount. Just give both vehicle and passengers move orders and when the vehicle does its move, the passengers will jump out and do theirs.

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Hi, according to the manual the squares under Unit or Formation shows you the units and formations under the HQ and the current status (ranging from fully opearational to fully depleted to eliminated (red x)).

They are not to C2 as far as I know.

Yes that's what I thought too. I see the red X's often enough :(.

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I always used the Eye and Voice icons in the lower left of the UI to judge C2...I can't believe all this time I didn't know about that. I just discovered the green boxes last week. Were they in CMSF too? Well, in my defense I was always good at keeping my guys in contact...but this will be an extra tool that will come in handy.

Mord.

yeah they were in CMSF jaja, suprising such a veteran member as yourself let it slip! :P

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LOL...just goes to show you that you can learn something every day...I probably saw them and just never paid attention.

But seems like NOW they don't do what I was hoping...So, they have NOTHING to do with C2?

Mord.

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There were some threads about dismounting and giving orders so I thought I'd add this last one.

If you select the vehicle itself or if you select the passengers, the Bail Out and Dismount buttons do different things.

In case 1 below, both buttons are highlighted. You'll see this if the vehicle is carrying passengers.

To disembark passengers only, select the PASSENGERS and hit dismount or bail out. They will execute this order at the start of the WEGO turn.

With the VEHICLE selected, you can disembark only the PASSENGERS by hitting DISMOUNT. If you wish to bail both PASSENGERS and CREW hit BAIL OUT.

Dismount.bmp

In point 3 you can see both buttons are greyed out. This means whatever orders you place are "locked" so BE CAREFUL, the order cannot be reversed.

With the crew or passengers given the order to bail, you can select the VEHICLE and give it a move order. This will be executed by the bailing crew when the turn starts. Similarly, give the passengers a move order and they will do it.

Quick.bmp

To dismount the passengers at the end of the turn, don't hit bail or dismount. Just give both vehicle and passengers move orders and when the vehicle does its move, the passengers will jump out and do theirs.

Am I understanding this correctly?

From what I have seen, passengers will only get out of a vehicle when it is DONE moving. Is there a way to get them to jump out of a vehicle BEFORE it starts moving?

Thx

jonpfl

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Double click on a HQ unit to highlight all its subordinate units.

Make a small cover arc. Now all the units have a small cover arc.

(I am putting this here rather than start a new thread: I was proposing a "small cover arc" command, or having all HQ/FO/Mortars start with one. One of the ways of having an edge over the AI, or even another human, is currently to go through the tedium of putting small cover arcs on....most units (except maybe some MGs initially). But as much as I am willing to bear tedium to gain an edge in this game, newcomers may find routinely drawing all those cover arcs as off-putting.

Why are we drawing small cover arcs?

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@ Bridger15: I use them when I want a unit to observe a given area, without firing on any targets that may come into its view. A short, 20m or so, cover arc in the direction of observation allows the unit to keep thier heads up, but not give away thier location. If they're attacked directly and/or at close range they will disregard the arc anyway. It's like a 'semi-hide' solution when I was situational awareness but don't want a firefight.

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Am I understanding this correctly?

From what I have seen, passengers will only get out of a vehicle when it is DONE moving. Is there a way to get them to jump out of a vehicle BEFORE it starts moving?

Thx

jonpfl

Yes they can dismount at the start of the turn. Select their icon and hit dismount, then give them a move order. They will jump out and go to where you have ordered.

They will otherwise only dismount when their transport vehicle stops moving ie they can't dismount at intermediate waypoints.

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Yes they can dismount at the start of the turn. Select their icon and hit dismount, then give them a move order. They will jump out and go to where you have ordered.

They will otherwise only dismount when their transport vehicle stops moving ie they can't dismount at intermediate waypoints.

But many times I see only one icon (the jeep) when there are passengers ( a HMG crew) riding in it. Even when I canceled all its move orders, the dismount button is still greyed out. How do you get the two separate icons to show?

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