How do you play HTTR?

[mashkis]

What I mean is what is your style of play. This is this fist game of this type that I have gotten. I have been playing a few of the missions and I tend to go back to RTS style. I am running it a full speed since it tends to go a bit slow and I playing with full settings.

I start a game with a general strategy and assign tasks to each group but then I wait and see what happens. Usually, my troops will discover some resistance before they got to their objective and they tend to stay until I issue new objectives.

My question is how much planning do you do? How do you select your groups? How fast do you run the game?

[Isacco]

I like very much HTTR because it's the game I wait for many times: give orders and wait ....[&o]
When in solitaire I play with normal velocity. I like to create good plan but I have a great enemy: impatience. I read many AAR and I envy the capacity of many players to plan carefully their moves ....[:@]
I think this is my great fault when I play in multiplayer. But I like very much to play against human players so I lose many games but I prefer in this way ....[:D]

Regards,

Isacco

[EricGuitarJames]

Mashkis, there are many ways of playing this game, all of which are valid. When I first came to Airborne Assault from RTS I played it much the same as you describe. However, with experience I adjusted my style to fit the game. Presently, I follow the following principles although you should bear in mind that even now I'm still learning the game[:D]

Game speed - usually medium, with bouts of 'fast' in quiet periods or an end of game 'slogging match'. However, these will be interspersed with pauses when I need to consider options for orders.

Orders - apart from artillery/heavy morter units I rarely issue orders below battalion level. With XXX Corps, I usually issue orders at brigade level although this varies according to required tasks. I don't often attach units to HQs other than their 'organic superior' but when playing as the US paras I find it's useful to do this with their AT and MG units.

Artillery - I always detach these the moment they arrive on the map and position them as safely as possible within their range limitations of course. Once done I leave their firing pattterns to the AI unless I really feel the need to do otherwise .... which isn't often.

Finally, the key word to getting the most out of this game is Patience. Once you're familiar with the game concepts the ideal way to play is to formulate a plan, issue orders and then watch it unfold. You'll make mistakes a-plenty, the AI will give you a good kicking but you'll learn and eventually come to master the game (well, somewhat[:D]). The way I did it was to play the Arnhem Historical Campaign as the Germans and follow their actual strategy as much as possible. I found the game result plausible and I was able to see where things could have been done better historically.

Anyway, that's my way of thinking about the game. Check Markshot's 'tips' thread for more thoughts - it goes into more detail than I ever would wish to [&o] but it may assist you. Above all, have fun[:)]

[MarkShot]

The simple answer to your question is that I play HTTR with my mouse!

--- seriously ---

Check my stickied AAR for a co-pilot's seat view of how I play RDOA/HTTR/COTA. Also, the tips thread will have some insights too.

In summation, I do some initial analysis and planning. I then see the game as a realtime battle in which I need to spot key junctures in which the plan requires modification and new orders need to be issued. At which point, I pause, issue orders, and time once again advances.

In essence, much unlike flight sims which require continuous input and corrections, an HTTR game is a flowing movie of conflict punctuated by a few key moments of command decisions.

Sounds easy and simple, but the challenges are:

(1) Formulating a feasible and successful plan?
(2) Determining what is actually going on now and will happen in the next 2-6 hours?
(3) Determining what is the right moment to intervene?
(4) Determining what is the correct intervention?

* Because after all, HTTR is a real STRATEGY game.

[mashkis]

Thanks for your input.

I started reading some of the strategy links and that has helped in changing how I view this game.

One question. When you place a company or battalion to defend a position lets say facing North, but the enemy attacks them from the South does you company or battalion realize the situation and change their facing direction?

Would it be better to have the direction on auto and just choose the formation?

Thanks.

[MarkShot]

(1) A company is an atomic unit. Thus, applying a formation to a company with the exception of "in-situ" has no impact. The formations only apply to groups of units and not the footprint of a single unit. (in-situ was caused any unit or group to simply stay in place)

(2) Individual units given a facing command as a group, or a single unit given a specific facing will still reorient themselves towards the enemy. However, at the group level, the formation would not reorient itself towards the enemy if given a specific facing to follow. Thus, you could be in a line formation running East-West and the enemy could attack from the West. The individual units would rotate to face the enemy, but the formation itself would be rolled up from the flank.

(3) When you know where to expect the enemy or you are building a layered multi-faceted defense, then it is probably best to specify facing. Also, I typically specify frontage/depth and use lines.

If you do not know where the enemy might approach from, then it may be best to leave facing to the AI. The AI will reorient itself towards the perceived threat in more timely fashion than you could with order delays. However, placing a single force to defend an objective in such a fashion may make it vulnerable to a feint (probe) and main attack from another direction.

Also, remember that the other thing that happens when the AI modifies its defensive plan is that prepared positions may be forfeited. (Of course, the process of digging in is accelerated if prior positions are already found.)

I hope that helps.

[Grognard]

(1) A company is an atomic unit. Thus, applying a formation to a company with the exception of "in-situ" has no impact. The formations only apply to groups of units and not the footprint of a single unit. (in-situ was caused any unit or group to simply stay in place)

?????

The footprints of Coy's change according to the formations assigned. Many times, when assets are meager, I have assigned single Coy's to guard/garrison important points and always have assigned a formation to accomodate terrain/threat axis. Formations directly affect unit (i.e. Coy) directional firepower. Otherwise I have been wasting a lot of time and sweat.

Regards

[MarkShot]

I'll let Dave or Steve step in to clarify the issue of single unit formations/fire power.

[MarkShot]

Dave/Steve? (see question above) Thanks.

[Golf33]

Formation and Facing affect both individual units and forces (groups of units under a single command). The effects of Formation on an individual unit are often hard to detect because the footprint doesn't change too much, but the firepower, cohesion and vulnerability effects are certainly applied.

Once you order a Formation and/or Facing, your units will obey your orders. This is true even if they are attacked from an unexpected direction. This is because we assume that you have issued your orders for a reason and will be more annoyed by disobedient units than almost anything else; at any rate, this was the feedback from testing during the development of RDOA and so far we've not received any solid data to suggest otherwise [:)].

If you leave Formation and Facing to Auto, your units will reorient themselves to face the direction they assess as the most threatening. It can take them some time to reassess the situation when attacked so don't expect to see them responding instantly. The unit and commander values also have some effect on this and I believe (not dead certain of this one) that units and forces will balance the advantage of reorienting to face the threat against the disadvantage of having to give up dug-in or entrenched positions.

Setting Frontage and Depth has a limited effect on orders to individual units since there is a maximum and minimum distance-per-man and individual units will keep within this range. Setting Frontage and Depth for a force will cause the units of that force to be spaced out to achieve the ordered footprint.

Hope this helps
33