Game to hard

[pzrshrek]

Well, i suck in this game, playing campaigns at easisest level and still get beaten. I tried to edit an existing campaign, like giving myself some extra hvy arty etc but it seems this is not possible? When i try to load a campaign in the editor it cannot find any files there despite they are all there?

:eek:

[gunnergoz]

Hopefully, one of the forum members who is designing campaigns can answer your question.

My advice: Don't give up. This game rewards patience and slow, methodical tactics. Scout out your movements beforehand so you don't get ambushed. Don't rush enemy positions without first suppressing them with any available firepower.

Sure, heavy artillery is great if you have it, but most scenarios can be won with just the tools in hand. Play your first campaigns at the easiest settings until you get the hang of command and control of your forces.

I just want to encourage you not to get disheartened. It is a challenging game and there is a lot to learn. Read as much as you can in these forums, for there is a lot of group wisdom in them.

[Michael Emrys]

I tried to edit an existing campaign, like giving myself some extra hvy arty etc but it seems this is not possible? When i try to load a campaign in the editor it cannot find any files there despite they are all there?

You might try editing single battles instead of campaigns. But like gunnergoz says, don't give up yet. Do the tutorials, following along in the manual until you start to get the hang of it. This game does have a steep initial learning curve, but with patience and familiarity, you can start to feel more comfortable with it and begin doing almost automatically things that were an impenetrable mystery at first.

Michael

[Oddball_E8]

simple answer: play scared...

do everything as if you were a coward and not some movie hero...

if youre gonna attack a set of hedgerows where you suspect there MIGHT be enemies, bomb the crap out of it with artillery, put coveringfire on it from machinegunners and tanks before you even send a single scouting unit in there...

[Vanir Ausf B]

If you're struggling with your tactics you're probably doing one or both of 2 things wrong: 1) Being impatient and trying to do things too fast 2) Not paying close enough attention to keeping your guys in C2.

[BloodyBucket]

...

My advice: Don't give up. This game rewards patience and slow, methodical tactics...

Great advice. The only time for unbridled haste as a newer player is when moving out of the coming impact area when spotting rounds start falling nearby.

I'm no CM guru, but I've got a pretty good handle on infantry tactics from a military career, and the basics apply in game. Try to get on the flanks while you suppress and fix the enemy in place with fire. If you can't flank 'em, blow them away with superior firepower or supporting fires. If you can't do that, either be content to trade shots while you bring in more help or find another area of the map for your big play. Don't get impatient and charge!

There are some great tips on when to use what kind of movement in the manual, and that can be key. The manual has some pretty good overviews of tactics. Lots of info in there.

Every once in awhile I get cocky when I think I've got the AI on the run and that's when my men start dropping in droves.

I was giving the AI a sound thrashing in a Quick Battle today, and I was having so much fun with a squad I'd gotten in a flanking position I decided to move them in one big bunch on to the next block of buildings, using a wall hugging quick move order. A single head-on burst from an MG42 that was out of sight until I obligingly moved my guys out lined up and at the double toppled my GIs like tenpins. The few survivors of that squad went from Audie Murphy understudies to Brave Sir Robin in seconds.

Bad luck? Nope, impatient me. It would have only cost a minute to split the squad and send a scout team ahead. Even using a slower movement rate would have saved them.

Downloading or finding a copy of FM7-8, the US Army manual on infantry tactics, would be a good introduction to the basic principles, and it's interesting to see how well "the real deal" works in the game.

I'd stick with smaller battles until you start feeling confident, then move on to larger, more complex scenarios. Doing a bunch of infantry only quick battles might help you master the basics.

Maybe there should be a commander clinic thread, with a bunch of tips and thought on basic tactics.

Good luck, and once you start to figure it out it's an addicting challenge!

[Doug Williams]

Yep, Zerg Rush tactics tend not to succeed too well in this game. Plenty of good advice already given in this thread.

[Lt Belenko]

The game definitely has a learning curve. A bit embarrassed to say, so far I've played nothing but the tutorial campaigns 3 or 4 times due to time constraints and to due getting slaughtered.

I've dropped every mortar round in the demo on the AT gun and still lost 3 tanks and a full squad to it.

I've cleared the farm, took out the first MG. Then rushed the AT gun from the farm with 2 squads, while supressing the with mortars, only to have the attaackers cut to ribbons by the 2nd MG.

It hasn't been fun at all, but I'll heed the words of Winston Churchill“Never, never, never, never give up.”

[Michael Emrys]

I've cleared the farm, took out the first MG. Then rushed the AT gun from the farm with 2 squads, while supressing the with mortars, only to have the attaackers cut to ribbons by the 2nd MG.

This is one that really pays to be patient. I've waited until I had only about 13-14 minutes left on the clock before I started rushing my infantry forward. before that I had my tanks and most of the infantry firing from behind the hedgerow at Overwatch at anything they could spot. I had the mortars drop shells on suspected ATG positions. Finally, when I did get ready to move, I had my tanks lay down a curtain of smoke in front of the German positions. Right now, there is a fairly fierce firefight going on at close quarters that I am winning. I have taken the left flank and am rolling them up. Hopefully I have timed it all right and will have possession of the crossroads by the end of the game.

Michael

[pzrshrek]

Thanks for the moral support :-)

It's not that i am lost with tactics, just that especially cm games i have never been able to master. 1 hour ago i lost 60 guys due to insane friendly arty. An all out concentration on a 3 story building missed by half a map and landed in the mist of my build up, those things makes you kindof wanna resign.

I try to rush 1 squad and use the other for covering fire but it seldom works.

Also i find it very hard to use my mortars effectively.. In comparison with the germans who seems to hit every shell right ontop of my units..

Zukhov or fieldmarshal Haig tactics doesn't work here thats for sure hehe

A question regarding engaging the enemy, i normally run the last bit adjacent to a hedge row in a wide line of fire so i can concentrate as many guns as possible at the same time, but maybe i should change tactics and start to crawl around every place instead?

[Other Means]

Start a QB, pick both forces and give yourself a difficult but winnable battle.

No, you've got it right, the key is shooting the enemy more than they shoot you.

Engineer situations where a lot of you are shooting at a few of them and you'll win. Decide where you're going to attack by how you can isolate from the enemies side and support from your own.

Put your support weapons in place first.

Use the right tool for the job: indirect fire when the have the f/p advantage, direct when not.

Or throw that out the window when you need to

[Johnny Canuck]

I agree with the OP about the difficulty in the campaign and battles. Sure would be nice to have easy/medium/hard settings or the percentage option that we get in Quick Battles.

More often than not, I run out of ammo trying to suppress the enemy and both 'flanking' sides end of dying horribly.

[Agua]

Don't rush that squad unless you've got everything suppressed, meaning: 1) there's been fire exchanged for a while, so you are pretty sure all the units opposite yours have shown themselves; 2) all the little icons are hunkered down to generic nationality rather than a "soldier" silhouette.

DON'T GIVE UP on the game. Be patient with moving your troops around. "Play scared" is good advice for moving your troops forward in the presence of known enemies, which in this game, is just about everywhere.

[MikeyD]

I'm reminded of an old old comment by a former drill instructor. They had to spend a lot of time un-teaching recruits lessons they had learned from watching John Wayne war movies.

There's also that strategic maxim credited to General MacArthur (though it doesn't sound at all like him)- "Hit 'em where they ain't." A common 'game player' reaction is to assault in the direction of the enemy once you've spotted him. If you can instead isolate his position, encircle him and get him in a cross fire things usually work out better than a frontal assault pile-on.

[xian]

Well, i suck in this game, playing campaigns at easisest level and still get beaten.

:eek:

Be thankful that the AI gives you a great challenge. This means you'll have lots of fun trying to outwit it.

In 3 months you'll be complaining that it's too easy on 'Iron'.

[Grell63]

I too find it too difficult.

I sent Moon a PM about the difficulty of CMSF with the NATO module. The original CMSF with the Marine module were at a perfect difficulty level for me.

CMBN is very difficult and the fact that I have a terminal illness called Huntingtons Disease that causes brain damage is the reason why.

Regards,

Greg

[Tarquelne]

The game can't be all that hard - otherwise the Peng challenge guys couldn't play it.

A game I'm having trouble with makes me happy - I can get a lot of play out of figuring it out. IMO too many games are too easy.

Don't rush that squad unless you've got everything suppressed,

And before they un-suppress... a big factor with artillery. But it happens with small arms, too: Your HMG might decide to shift and need to be re-setup, or reload, for example. I played one scenario where a squad actually ran out of ammo...

Getting the timing down is much of the difference between knowing the right tactic and actually pulling it off. And experience may be the only way to get it.

But erring on the side of caution *is* good, at least when learning the game: Better slow than dead.

[Michael Emrys]

There's also that strategic maxim credited to General MacArthur (though it doesn't sound at all like him)- "Hit 'em where they ain't."

Right, it doesn't sound like him. He might have practiced that, but it wasn't his verbal style. I've read it quoted from Patton, whom it sounds more like, but he could have ripped it off somebody else.

Michael

[MikeyD]

Google claims the line "hit 'em where they ain't" originated with turn-of-the-century baseball pitcher Willie Keller. One supposes a 50-60 year old in the mid 1940s would've remembered the quote from his youth and recycled it. Like people repurposing the quote "shock and awe" from 2003.

[Michael Emrys]

Google claims the line "hit 'em where they ain't" originated with turn-of-the-century baseball pitcher Willie Keller.

Oh yeah. I don't remember Keller, but you have jogged my memory into recalling that the phrase referred to hitting the ball between the fielders. Good catch.

Michael

[xian]

I too find it too difficult.

I sent Moon a PM about the difficulty of CMSF with the NATO module. The original CMSF with the Marine module were at a perfect difficulty level for me.

CMBN is very difficult and the fact that I have a terminal illness called Huntingtons Disease that causes brain damage is the reason why.

Regards,

Greg

Sorry to hear that you have such a disabling disease.

When it comes to getting good AARs with CMBN I really think that it's just a matter of getting the knack. It will come with practice.

I'm not a hardcore military gaming fan but I've learned enough from playing the game and discussions on the forum to get good results.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Be cautious! For me every causality is a tragedy. Many missions score points for friendly casualty objectives, so it's doubly important to minimise casualties.

2. First contact is often the most critical moment, so I recommend splitting a few of your squads to create separate scout teams. Use 'hunt' to send them forwards, moving from cover to cover.

3. Once you have made contact try and send troops around the enemy to outflank them.

4. Don't be afraid to withdraw your squads if things get too hot for them.

5. Avoid sending your armour into areas you haven't get scouted with your infantry. Tanks find it hard to spot enemies. It's very easy to lose tanks to hidden panzerschrecks or AT guns. Once you spot an AT gun - move any tanks out of the way and try and hit them with your mortars.

6. Try and keep your HQs in contact with their squads - this dramatically improves morale and a squad's ability to lay down serious fire on a target.

I hope these few hints help you. I'm sure you'll get many other/better suggestions. Just use what works for you.

[Chek]

Firepower superiority.

1)Scouts to locate enemy(they often die in the process)

2)Smoke to blind enemy while you line your boys up in relative safety(squads,mortars,tanks whatever you can lay your hands)

3)Keep them hidden until smoke clears then blast the hell out of them,I mean really lay into them.

You should start to see them as they fall back or start to panic at which point.

4)Send an element forward onto the position(I will generally use about a third of my force)leading with infantry always,tanks provide support(Shermans are very hard to beat in this respect)

5)Once it all looks good move the rest of your force up.

Go back to number 1 and repeat.

This works well in bocage as you generally can't see to far.

On more open maps the same basic plan applies although artillery starts to come into it's own here as they become the firepower(along with your MGs) or support base if you like.

The tricky part is although this seems to be the same thing all the time,no two situations are the same and you will have to improvise around this basic "theme".

Sometimes you might need more scouts,or less firepower(although more is always best).You may have to move faster as enemy spotting rounds lick at your heels.

Trying to find the correct balance for each situation(it doesn't have to be exact near enough will do)is what's all about.

Well this is what I do,it usually works although not always.

Good luck and keep your head down.

[MikeyD]

About game difficulty, I see people posting about 'total victories' in scenarios that I struggle over! Damn them! :mad: This thing is, CM isn't a 'puzzle game', there's no trick to figure out in each scenario in order to get through it. Its a simulation of real-world tactics and usually the closer to real-world you play the better you do. I've put together scenarios that I didn't have a clue how to 'beat', myself. My job was just to present the tactical situation. Its up to the player to figure out a solution.

[guachi]

To some extent, CM *is* a puzzle game. Figuring out where and how many enemy there are. Then it becomes a rock-scissors-paper game in using the best tool for the job. Failing that, it's a game of having more of your rocks pounding on their rocks.

I'm sure I won my first PBEM (small scenario. my platoon vs. his company) simply because my opponent thought I had more units on my front line than I did. I had one squad and a few support units and 65% of my force was in reserve.

I suppose that's the downside of playing scared is waiting too long to make a move. He eventually did, but by then it was too late.

[vincere]

You could play pbem with some one kind enough to offer some feedback to.

Main advice is stick at it or put it down for a short while and come back to it because when things start to click CM consistantly rewards with great gaming moments.

I struggled with CM at for some time, but it pays off.

Grell63- all the best to you and yours with managing that.