OK. Just bought it. Need some advice..

[PzKpfw III]

OK. Just got the game. Should have it tomorrow or the next day at the latest. I am somewhat familiar with wargames but not this one. What would you recommend for starters?

For graphics (i.e. the graphics package-what does it do to the appearance?)

Mods?

Tactics (learning the game)

Other?

[JeF]

ORIGINAL: PzKpfw III
OK. Just got the game.

Congratulations.

What would you recommend for starters?

Following the tutorials in the manual.

Then, small scenarios (1 or 2 days at most).
Start with the Nijmegen campaign as your first campaign as the Allies.

Tactics (learning the game)

Reading the manual.
See tips and tricks forum thread.

Other?

The Drop Zone [;)]

See you in Loenen !

JeF.

[Custer1961]

I tried 6 times to get to Loenen and never did get there.

[PzKpfw III]

Thanks JeF!

[elmo3]

Get the Strategy Guide too. Well worth it.

[Kevinugly]

Still more advice[:)]

Read the AAR's, particularly the EricGuitarJames vs. Yakstock one. You'll get plenty of ideas of what (and what not[;)]) to do from there. If you have the time, trawl through the threads in this section of the forum, there are plenty of interesting ideas squirreled away if you care to look - not all of them useful I'll admit but there are gems in there too. Don't worry about mods, add-ons and the like for now, just make sure that your version of the game is patched to 2.2.86. Finally, if you are familier with the Arnhem battle, try playing the historical campaign as the Germans using historical tactics. Make mental notes of how your forces perform and where things deviated from history. Theoretically you should be able to attain at least a marginal victory this way (if not, don't worry, I was a veteran of RDOA and when I played the HTTR tutorial I was decisively defeated[X(][:D]). Above all, have fun!

[TMO]

I'm sure this has been posted before, but playing Advance on Loenen Scenario I have experimented with issuing orders to the Regimental HQ only (not much fun I know!). The result is that Mortar Pls spearhead the advance - surely a glitch.

Regards

Tim

[Kevinugly]

ORIGINAL: TMO

I'm sure this has been posted before, but playing Advance on Loenen Scenario I have experimented with issuing orders to the Regimental HQ only (not much fun I know!). The result is that Mortar Pls spearhead the advance - surely a glitch.

Regards

Tim

Tim, you are patched to 2.2.86 aren't you? I was under the impression that with both patches applied, this glitch had been eliminated.

[PzKpfw III]

Thanks for the advice guys. Bought the guide and am reading it. Went through the first tutorial - wish they could all be that easy. Tried the first scenario- never made it to Loenen. Downloaded the map graphics - tried the brown. Very nice. Can you load the green too or will that override the brown?

Lots of fun. Tons to learn.

[Rooster]

Welcome to the game!

You can only load one terrain graphic at a time - whatever you load will replace your existing terrain color.

Loenen IS a tough scenario. Got my best results by telling the paras to defend on Loenen and let them figure it out. They snuck up the side of the map through the woods and took the city by surprise. All I did was watch with envy... my plans never quite worked as well.

[TMO]

Hi Kev

Yes, I'm all patched up.

Tim

[Kevinugly]

ORIGINAL: TMO

Hi Kev

Yes, I'm all patched up.

Tim

I haven't played 'Loenen' since just after I acquired the game so I might have a look at that. From playing it in RDOA it's a very tough scenario and certainly not one I'd recommend for beginners (although I've noticed a lot of them have tried it[&:]).

[Kevinugly]

Okay, played 'Loenen' and couldn't reproduce TMO's problem. Mind you, I did play in a very sneaky manner (still not sure why one of my battalions tried to move through a known enemy position despite being ordered to move with minimum aggro and by a 'covered' route[&:] - I'll try 'safest') and achieved a 'marginal'. Must try harder[:D]

[TMO]

Kevin

Just tried it again (several times) - I think it's something to do with the aggro level setting. Click on 504th Para Rgt HQ then issue an 'Attack' order on Loenen. Using the default settings (don't change anything) I can't reproduce it either (tried about 10 times). When I change aggro from 'high' to 'max' (as I do with all attacks) I see mortar Pls getting way too far out in front and getting beaten up.

Regards

Tim

[Kevinugly]

I did find some very strange behaviour from 3rd Bn HQ. I ordered the bn to move to a position slightly north-west of Loenen by a circuitous route with a route choice of 'safest' and aggro set to minimum. The hq moved but the rest of the bn stayed where it was. When I changed the route to 'covered' the whole battalion moved as ordered. Very strange[&:]

Okay, tried as suggested (ran it at max speed so it didn't take too long). The morter platoons do get very detached from the rest of the regiment and do get beaten up but I suspect this is due to the AI routines pushing them into a position to support the final attack. It's not as if they're moving in front of the battalions, they're not going where the rest of the infantry are. Incidentally I achieved a 'marginal' by only issuing the one order.

[Arjuna]

I suspect you are right Kevin in that the mortars are probably deploying to their attack firebase independent of the rest of the force. Normally, where attacks are launched over a few ( 2 to three ) kms this is not a problem. But where the distance between the current location and the objective is great, then the independent move by the mortars is going to have an increased liklihood of running into trouble. What is probably needed in such cases is a separate Move to and Assembly Area behind the FUP and then deploy the mortars from there. This will require a fair amount of programming and testing. I'll see what can be done for COTA.