Newcomer to BiN...and a question !

[Tzar007]

Hello guys,

I am new on this board. I am a long-time HTTR player, and thought I had turn my back on turn-based, hex-grid based wargames after having tasted the wonderful wargaming engine of HTTR.

Still, a true wargamer always want to try all kinds of things, so I decided a couple of days ago to give KP and BiN a try so I bought both of them and started playing.

So far so good ! As far as turn-based / hex-grid wargames go, KP and BiN are very well done, probably the best I have ever played in fact. There is a nice and clear interface, detailed and thoughtful rules, well-done game mechanics (except perhaps for the handling of air power which is awkwardly done at the battle-level while this game is mostly operational, but that's very minor and does not detract from the whole experience).

The manuals are good too, but some nitty-gritty details are missing.

So I have got a question that does not seem to be covered in the manuals and a search in the forums wasn't any more conclusive.

When you launch a combat, you have in the top section various information and when you right-click on the "Overrun" icon you get a popup with the following info:

CRT: City [1-2]
Strength: Attack 23 Defense 13 (+3 for next) [1.5-1]
Tactical Shifts: -3

(...etc...)

My question is: can anybody explains what the (+3 for next) means ?

Also, when I add the attack values of my units and after taking into account various factors such as river hexsides (which halves values) and divisional integrity bonus, I come short of the 23 value showed...must be something I am missing. The defense value is right though.

[JSS]

+3 for next shows that if you add 3 attack points (23 +3 = 26), you will increase combat odds by 1 (i.e. 26/13 = 2... so you go up to the next odds level).

Rule for attacking across river is that base attack value is reduced by 50%, but division integrity attack bonus is not reduced. This is what you're seeing.

[Tzar007]

Ah ! Simple enough.

Thanks JSS.

[JSS]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the games[:D]

Be sure to check out the free scenarios from the Run5 section of the SSG website. If you're looking for AI play, check the readme/scenario notes before trying with the user made battles... its hit or miss if the battles are AI enabled. Believe all the variant scenarios of the main SSG battles do have quality AI play included [:)]

[Tzar007]

I have checked these scenarios and will certainly try them out. For now, I have played the small Cherbourg scenario as Allies and failed miserably - I managed to capture Cherbourg only on the very last turn and had only 4 other objectives taken so... I am now trying out Carentan as Germans. The situation is quite bleak at the beginning with huge gaps in the German lines.

Playing Cherbourg made me realize I am not looking and planning enough to get the most overrun opportunities, which are certainly key when you need to break through enemy lines in a hurry because you are pressed for time. Also need to understand better how supply burst is done and watch out my supply lines better: I could have captured Cherbourg much sooner but there was a wide gap between my spearhead forces (which was far ahead into enemy territory) and the rest of my units which were following in the rear, so the AI got a couple of its units in-between and stopped my spearhead dead in its tracks by cutting supply lines. Lost almost 2 turns restoring them, which is a disaster for a 8-turn scenario [:)]

Speaking of AI, it is overall quite good and offers a solid challenge tactically. It's quick to exploit any apparent weakness [:D]