Combat mission campaigns, CM+Strategy

[Icy]

Today i read about this and it looks promissing. One thing that made me get bored of the CM series was that you couldn't play dynamic campaigs, just single battles, seems things will change soon.

http://www.battlefront.com/products/cmc/overview.html

[WSUCougar]

I can't wait to see how this turns out. It's exactly what I wanted for the CM series.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Great news! Thanks!

I can't wait to see how this turns out. It's exactly what I wanted for the CM series.
What he said.

This would complete the game as far as I'm concerned.

[Warhammer]

I know I am digging up an old thread, but how is the AI?

[Warhammer]

Digging up an old thread again. Do people still play Combat Mission? Which one should I get, and is the AI challenging enough to get fun out of it after playing for a few months?

[gstelmack]

My frustration with Combat Mission was that it was so freakin' hard to get a vehicle to line up hull down. You'd creep it forward, creep it forward, still no shot, creep it forward a tad more, and BAM! it's dead.

That, and the inability to find your troops in some of the urban scenarios where you're trying to reach down between buildings.

But the AI was actually pretty decent, graphics were cool, and the game style was pretty fun.

[WSUCougar]

Warhammer, I still play it, love it, and would recommend the newer combo pack. Beyond Overlord is a classic but it's outdated.

Greg, have you had this problem with the "seek hull down" command in the newer editions?

If anyone wants a PBEM partner this is a great game to play. I would also be happy to walk you through it tutorial-style in the first few battles if need be.

[Warhammer]

That settles it, I'm getting the game, can't afford the combo pack so I'll go for CM:BB first and if I like that get AK. BB appeals more to me than the AK does.

[WSUCougar]

If you want to give it a spin, I'd be happy to loan it to you. There are also demos available. Let me know if you want to try PBEM.

[Warhammer]

I'll definitely want to try PBEM, but I'll go ahead and just buy it. I get it faster that way with the Digital Download as well.

[gstelmack]

Greg, have you had this problem with the "seek hull down" command in the newer editions?

Can't remember. I mostly played Beyond Overlord, and then remembered trying BB and just not finding the demo mission any fun to play. Given my experience with BO, I wasn't quite up to taking a flyer on it if I didn't find the demo mission any fun (may have just been a bad choice for the demo, since you basically set up in an open field with a bunch of AT guns and waited for the tanks to come rolling in, so your initial setup was far more important than any in-mission tactics, which made the actual play-out rather boring). I've always wanted to give the newer ones a better shot.

If anyone wants a PBEM partner this is a great game to play. I would also be happy to walk you through it tutorial-style in the first few battles if need be.

That would potentially be the impetus to get me to pick up a newer one (especially with the campaign add-on coming). Especially since it seems so hard to keep a Civ IV PBEM game going...

[Warhammer]

Holy Cow! I picked this up on Saturday night, and I wish I would have told my wife first! I was supposed to pick it up today, but didn't want to lose weekend night gaming...

Anyway, the first battle I played was "A Chance Meeting II" and it was pretty cool. Basically, I had a small group of lost German units trying to get back to a friendly cross-roads. The Ruskies attacked with a bunch of T-26 tanks which just got eaten alive. The bad part was I lost 2 of my 3 tanks due to flanking fire, and me just not paying attention. The battle ended with a major victory for me.

My second battle was Pavlov's House. This recreates a famous battle for a house during the Stalingrad campaign. Russian Sgt. Pavlov took over command for a KIA Lt. and held this house for 58 days! The battle simulates the initial rush for the house before he was able to get there and dig in.

The map for this battle is basically a giant square. Large buildings in various states of damage line the square. As the German you start off in a corner of the map (SW by my reckoning, I lost track of true N). You also have a fair amount of troops on the S edge of the map. Pavlov's house is on the E Central side of the square, and there are two other objectives on the northern edge of the square.

My plan was to take my three tanks, and establish control over the central square from which the tanks could combine firepower to suppress any fire from the buildings. The plan worked great until I realized that there were plenty of anti-tank guns in the buildings. The two big guns were knocked out fairly early, but not before they had taken out one of my tanks.

I then moved my infantry through the buildings on the western and eastern edges of the square. There seemed to be a lot of fire coming from Pavlov's house so I moved my tanks closer to get a better position to cover the building with MG fire. Big mistake. Within minutes both tanks were taken out by 14.5mm Anti-tank rifle fire from the adjacent buildings. Not only that, I was now unable to provide enfilade fire on the troops guarding the approaches to the building in the rubble. So on the eastern side of the square, the battle became a stalemate.

On the western side of the square, things went more my way. I was carefully advancing my troops from house to house, from cover to cover. The one point at which we were pinned down was due to fire from a Maxim HMG in one of the buildings on the north side of the square. Once my platoon of pioneers got into position, I was able to pin the MG with fire from a building across the street and then assault the MG with the pioneers from the other side of the building. From there, I was able to get the rest of the platoon to the NW corner of the square and began to press my attack along the northern edge.

This is where my lack of tanks proved costly. The Russians were able to move their troops across the square with impunity since I had very few forces covering the square. This allowed them time to get additional troops into the buildings along the northern edge of the map. Since I was pressed for time at this point, I was unable to get through to the third objective (I was not going to take Pavlov's House at this point and had written it off).

Still, I was amazed that I had played a game that had beaten me at normal difficulty after I played my first game. Plus, I was impressed with how similar the game is in feel to one of my favorite boardgames, ASL.

Needless to say, I am pumped and can't wait til my wife hits the sack tonight!

[WSUCougar]

Sweet!

As cool as the pre-set scenarios are, I think I enjoy the random "quick battles" even more. You'll find the Russian infantry almost never ends.

[Warhammer]

I tried the Izium Diet scenario last night, and that was loads of fun. I was a bit pissed since it ended as a draw, but I should have had the win. That said, had the scenario gone on another 5 turns I would have lost.

Damn, those T-34s and KV-1s are tough to go against when the best gun on the majority of your tanks are the 75mm short and 50mms. I was able to take most of the objectives, and even had the one on the Russian map edge until a STuG B fubared a manuver and the Ruskies saw them and sent their tanks after the thing. I lost the objective and when the Russians reclaimed it, the battle became a draw.

The funny thing (I was able to play "early" because my expense check came in so my wife said it was ok to get it, good thing she doesn't understand download times), my son was watching me play, and after he went to bed, he kept coming out to the computer with some made up reason for not sleeping so he could watch the battles.

[WSUCougar]

Yeah, the T-34s and KV-1s are indeed a bitch. Nothing like popping away at them and watching shot after shot richochet off or burst without penetrating. The AI is also particularly good at hiding them hull down on a ridgeline. Have you tried the "shoot and scoot" command? You can always try a Tiger or two to even the odds. :D

That's funny about your son. How old is he?

[Warhammer]

:eek: Yeah, the T-34s and KV-1s are indeed a bitch. Nothing like popping away at them and watching shot after shot richochet off or burst without penetrating. The AI is also particularly good at hiding them hull down on a ridgeline. Have you tried the "shoot and scoot" command? You can always try a Tiger or two to even the odds. :D

That's funny about your son. How old is he?

My son is 4. His favorite games are Formula De and Carcassonne. The game he wants to play the most with daddy is "the tank game," we know it better as ASL! :D

What is great is he has won the last two games of Carcassonne against quality competition. What was bad was I was one of the people he beat! :eek:

Getting back to CM, that was exactly what was happening. I started the mission with 3 STuG Bs and 4 Pz IIIJs. The Pz IIIJs took the N bridge and advanced to the crossroads cautiously. One was ignited before I could do anything by a KV-I. I realized what was happening and moved the rest of the tanks towards cover, while using one of them to outflank the Russian position. Unfortunately, this green tank commander decided that he knew better than the orders I gave him. He wound up brewing up 20 ticks later due to moving INTO the LOS of the KV-I, rather than using the ridge as cover...

One of the other tanks was knocked out by a T-34 that had a position on a ridge line. My last Pz III made it to cover, but was taken out trying to manuver to get into a better position by the house. His back end peaked out of the cover and the Ruskies made him pay.

By this time, my Pz IVGs and STuG Fs reinforced the crossroads, but I was forced to sit in the hiding spot because I was so badly outgunned. When I tried to manuver to force the Russian position, they had so many eyes on it that the tanks were knocked out before they could accomplish anything. Then the Russians sent up their AT teams, and knocked out one or two of the tanks. We wound up in a bit of a stalemate as I could defeat the Russians if they came to me, but they would take out my tanks if I tried to advance on them.

By the end of the battle, all I had left was an immobile Pz IVG, and I think he had a T-26 with no gun, and 2 T-34s. I had a ton more infantry than he did, but they were not in a position to threaten the tanks. Still, it was loads of fun!

[WSUCougar]

Cool AAR.

Try to cloak your tank advance by dropping smoke on the enemy tank positions if you've got any. Mortar teams and/or tanks usually have a few rounds, and it can make a difference. Also, as you're probably learning the same (hard) way I did, you must be patient with your AFVs. Check the LOS fields whenever possible before you leave cover.

[Warhammer]

Cool AAR.

Try to cloak your tank advance by dropping smoke on the enemy tank positions if you've got any. Mortar teams and/or tanks usually have a few rounds, and it can make a difference. Also, as you're probably learning the same (hard) way I did, you must be patient with your AFVs. Check the LOS fields whenever possible before you leave cover.

Yeah, I'm learning this the same way I did ASL. Lose and then say, oh, that's what X does! I should have used it!

[WSUCougar]

Another FYI regarding the AI...it loves to stash AT guns in the far corners of the map. Nothing like thinking you're flanking the enemy position and in turn getting flanked by a 76mm AT round. DOH!

[gstelmack]

Battlefront is running a sale to help all those on the fence. From a marketing e-mail I just got:


Battlefront launches Digital Delivery Platform! 30% Discounts on all Downloads for 30 days!
Oh boy, this took long! After numerous delays to test, test and test again, it's finally here - our new digital delivery platform for bringing games directly to your computer via digital download! Now you can order, download and play Battlefront games literally within minutes. No shipping delays, no shipping cost.
If you prefer the traditional delivery method by mail, or if you like to have a fully printed manual**, those options will remain available, too. In fact, each game is now available with three delivery options to choose from:
- Digital Delivery only.
- Mail Delivery only.
- Both Digital and Mail Delivery.
So if all you want is to download the newest release and immediately play, you can choose Digital Delivery only and save on the shipping cost. If you would like to play immediately, but still do not want to miss out on the fully printed manual and a backup CD, you can order the Digital & Mail Delivery option, and will be able to download and play right away… and will get the game CD plus the Manual in the mail a few days later.
To celebrate the launch, Battlefront is offering a unique “30 days / 30% off” sale on all downloads*.
For the next 30 days, starting today, all games ordered with the Digital Delivery only option, receive a special 30% discount off the regular retail price. If you ever wanted to own and play a Battlefront game but hesitated, now is THE opportunity to get it at a great price AND play within minutes.
You can now order the all-time classic Combat Mission Beyond Overlord for as little as $14 (regular price $20), secure a copy of Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin (required for the upcoming Combat Mission Campaigns game) for only $24.50 (instead of $35), or check out what TacOps 4, the official Army tactical training tool, is all about - for only $17.50 (instead of $25). Check out www.battlefront.com (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/www.battlefront.com) for all available games and pricing options. This offer is valid for only 30 days starting today!

[aran]

Holy crap. This game sounds awesome! Too bad I don't currently have money to burn on it.

It appears that Campaigns has stalled. Damn. I was really excited about it as I read through the overview page.