Newbie question: Units retreating

[kevarms]

Thoroughly enjoying getting back into Steel Panthers. Well, there is actually one thing that's bugging me.

When my units retreat - which happens quite often[:D] - they move *towards* the enemy in a way I find hard to believe is supposed to be in the game model. For instance, in the Tractor Works scenario I had a German unit in a stone building. Across the street in another stone building was a Soviet unit. When my units retreated after coming under fire, logically they should have fallen back further into the building (it was multi-hex). Instead, the morons ran out into the street where they were decimated.

I wouldn't mind if this was a one-off, but this kind of thing happens in almost 50% of my retreats. Is is a bug ?

Thanks in advance.

[Kokoda]

Unit will rereat towards a defined retreat hex, usually on your side of the board. You should be able to see a flag identifying the retreat hex. It is usually in a sensible place, but often if you have changed player 1 and 2 around in a custom battle the retreat hexes stay in the same place, and your troops retreat the 'wrong' way.

This can also be a problem if you are conducting a flanking attack or an envelopment. Troops retreat the 'quickest' way home. Sometimes this is the quickest way to heaven.

I'm surprised to hear that this would happen in a scenario, particularly one that 40,000 people have already played. They are usually well tested. Perhaps this is a version bug?

[Resisti]

It could be that designer has misplaced the retreat flags.
I'll check this scenario, and if this is the reason, I'll fix it, and add it to the rest of scenarios fixes which will go out with next patch.

[kevarms]

Ah, thanks for enlightening me guys.

In the Tractor Works scenario the German retreat flag is on the left side of the map, my unit was on the right side and in between ... a mass of Soviet infantry holed up in the factory. That's why they got slaughtered.

I guess in this particular scenario retreat flag placement will be a little tricky ... maybe on the bottom edge of the map ??

[Kokoda]

No worries.

A pleasure to be able to help - few people know less than I do!

[Frank W.]

old bug of the SP engine...not much we can do about it....[:(]

the same with the AI in generated battles charging blindly for
the vic hexes then to next cluster, and so on.....

[Warrior2]

An unusual placement of retreat flags can add whole dimensions to a game. As a designer, I like messing with them and watching the results.

[robot]

This happens a lot in long campaign too. They retreat towards the enemy and not towards the rear of my lines. I put up with it and figure they were so crazed with fear, they didnt know what they were doing. But i have one consolation. The enemy does it as much as my men do. This happens alot with my partisens too. And that is because they try to retreat towards our lines. All troops that get into the back field of the enemy and retreat, Just have to be lucky trying to get thru the enemy instead of going to ground.