Jump to content

Follow command


Recommended Posts

I solve this by moving everything as a platoon at first, more in a general direction than anything, until I get close to actually fighting. Then move individual squads. If I'm playing PBEM, I'll then split the squads into teams so they can spread out more. Once the lines are formed, you usually aren't moving more than a few units at a time, so it's easier.

Just some friendly advice, don't move an entire company in one big blob. That's just begging to get hit by arty. Unless you are playing against me, then feel free to do so :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just some friendly advice, don't move an entire company in one big blob. That's just begging to get hit by arty. Unless you are playing against me, then feel free to do so :D

I think that's the core issue with a follow command. you would need to be able to define formation - which would then change e.g. when you pass a passage obligé (like a bridge). would be nice, but probably a nightmare for TacAI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I solve this by moving everything as a platoon at first, more in a general direction than anything, until I get close to actually fighting. Then move individual squads. If I'm playing PBEM, I'll then split the squads into teams so they can spread out more. Once the lines are formed, you usually aren't moving more than a few units at a time, so it's easier.

Just some friendly advice, don't move an entire company in one big blob. That's just begging to get hit by arty. Unless you are playing against me, then feel free to do so :D

Follow would be most useful for vehicles. Getting a column to move down a road, or through a couple of turns and a gap is an art form.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

in addition a "follow road" command would be nice too. just to give the end point and TacAI takes the optimal road.

The absence of a "follow road" command is a long-time discussion topic. The first time I complained about it was years ago in CMBO. I didn't even want the AI to select the optimal road; I just wanted to place waypoints at road intersections and at the point where I wanted my vehicles to leave the road. What I hated was having to place waypoints at every bend in the road because the AI made the vehicle follow a straight line from waypoint to waypoint.

In "real life" a leader would give a simple command, "follow me down the road until we get to St. Lo", but, in the game, you might have to plot a dozen waypoints if the road had curves. As I recall, BFC's objection was that the AI couldn't tell when you wanted your vehicles to stay on the road and when you wanted them to go straight (cross-country) to the next waypoint. Your intention would be clear with a "follow road" command, but there might be significant programming difficulties giving us that command.

My other objection was that I hated the spaghetti vehicle paths the AI created whenever "realistic" randomness caused some sort of driver panic. I'd plot a jeep to move down a road on one turn, and, at the start of the next turn, the jeep's projected path showed it going a few feet down the road, then backing up, then stopping, then turning into roadside brush, then ... This was particularly annoying when I saw nothing that could have caused the panic; the nearest enemy (or friendly) fire seemed hundreds of yards away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In "real life" a leader would give a simple command, "follow me down the road until we get to St. Lo", but, in the game, you might have to plot a dozen waypoints if the road had curves.

to make it even more realistic the first vehicle could then make an error in map reading and take the wrong turn and end up in another corner of the map. and naturally all vehicles with visual contact would follow the guy :rolleyes: as in real life :eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

to make it even more realistic the first vehicle could then make an error in map reading and take the wrong turn and end up in another corner of the map. and naturally all vehicles with visual contact would follow the guy :rolleyes: as in real life :eek:

Yes, Herr Winkel (a character in Orson Welles's "The Third Man"), wrong turns from bad map reading or bad maps are certainly possible in war, but the issue of concern was "why must you place waypoints at every bend in a road to keep your forces moving along a road?" A "Follow Road" command, for all units or only for vehicles, would be appreciated by many CM:BN aficionados. Consider me a member of that group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Herr Winkel (a character in Orson Welles's "The Third Man"), wrong turns from bad map reading or bad maps are certainly possible in war, but the issue of concern was "why must you place waypoints at every bend in a road to keep your forces moving along a road?" A "Follow Road" command, for all units or only for vehicles, would be appreciated by many CM:BN aficionados. Consider me a member of that group.

we're in the same group :D - for my callsign see Winkelried

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...