attack odds misleading

[TheVen]

I've been playing KP for awhile and have read the manual a couple times. I still have a problem with the attack odds. I routinely find that the computer shows hexes as having a 10-1+ possible but I can't find a way to get those odds. I'll even have all my combat units moved for the turn to where I can't possibly have them maneuver anymore and still I get misleading odds. Are the odds something like HTTR where the intel is suspect so you can't necessarily trust it? Or am I missing something obvious? It doesn't have to be 10-1+ odds either, it can be 5-1 or whatever, it just happens quite a bit. I try to attack from multiple hexes and get all the other modifiers but still I have the problem. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
TheVen

[pterrok]

It's usually the OTHER way--the Combat Advisor will report 5-1 odds, say, but if you look at it you might be able to up that to 6-1 or 7-1!

Are you moving different units than the CA picked? If so, make sure that you include an Elite unit. Sometimes you'll only have a crippled Elite nearby that effectively adds 1 shift to the odds; I remember substituting a unit with a BETTER attack factor and NOT getting the desired odds, because the stack had a lot of factors in it and the extra attack could not make up for the lost shift.

Also make sure you look around for arty units that may be far away but which can move before firing!

The biggest cause for concern is making sure you have enough steps in a hex to turn an orange arrow green. (And this is where you can sometimes up the odds that the CA reports--move another unit into a hex by extended movement and those steps count towards your combat and this can sometimes get you a green arrow!)

Finally, if this happens to you a lot, try this: move a unit the CA wants and then when you're done, press 'o' twice to refresh the odds and see if you've moved it OK. If not, the odds may go down a column or it may pick different units. (In BiN it shows you where each unit has to go!) As long as you didn't uncover a unit you can 'undo' and he'll move back to where he came from! Then move him again...

[Rainbow7]

And just to add to what pterrok wrote. It's often not enough to just get the CA-identified units adjacent to the unit you're attacking. They have to be in hexes where their combat shifts can be used. Depending on several factors, like the terrain you're attacking from (or across, as in a river), no shift will ever be used for combat. Rather the unit should have been moved to another adjacent hex.

[Fred98]

Say the Combat Advisor, gives you odds of 10-1

Click on that hex and the units required in the combat are highlighted.

Right click on each highlighted stack. You will see some units ought to be included and some excluded from the battle.

Sometimes one of the units will be an arty unit – and he is currently quite some distance away so you don’t notice him immediately. Search the map for highlighted units till you find him.

When you move the units adjacent to the battle hex, sometimes, unknown to you, you will move it to the wrong hex! This means that other units designated to be included in the battle, can no longer reach the battle as they don’t have enough movement points. When you double check the Combat Advisor, the odds are now less. Or it could mean you can no longer achieve that required shift.

In BIN, it TELLS you exactly where to move each unit – so that irritation cannot occur.

[Gregor_SSG]

ORIGINAL: TheVen

I've been playing KP for awhile and have read the manual a couple times. I still have a problem with the attack odds. I routinely find that the computer shows hexes as having a 10-1+ possible but I can't find a way to get those odds. I'll even have all my combat units moved for the turn to where I can't possibly have them maneuver anymore and still I get misleading odds. Are the odds something like HTTR where the intel is suspect so you can't necessarily trust it? Or am I missing something obvious? It doesn't have to be 10-1+ odds either, it can be 5-1 or whatever, it just happens quite a bit. I try to attack from multiple hexes and get all the other modifiers but still I have the problem. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
TheVen

As far as I know, there are no bugs in the Combat Advisor routines, though sometimes it can be hard to tell exactly what you have to do to get the nominated odds. That's why, in Battles in Normandy, you now get to see exactly where the Combat Advisor wants each unit to go.

As the previous posters have outlined, it is sometimes possible to improve upon the CA odds, but you have to be careful. Quite a few times I've thought that I could do better than the CA, and ended up doing worse!

Gregor

[JSS]

The units needed are highlighted.

Look for the artillery units that must be moved into range! These can have a large affect on the odds.

[TheVen]

Thanks for the responses. I'll look closer at the highlighted units. This is something I was not aware of. That is why these forums are helpful!

[freeboy]

As far as I know, there are no bugs in the Combat Advisor routines, though sometimes it can be hard to tell exactly what you have to do to get the nominated odds. That's why, in Battles in Normandy, you now get to see exactly where the Combat Advisor wants each unit to go.

As the previous posters have outlined, it is sometimes possible to improve upon the CA odds, but you have to be careful. Quite a few times I've thought that I could do better than the CA, and ended up doing worse

Ithink if you bring troops asshore the sa does not include them, many time I have bested the odds, its not the odds I worry about but the correct attacks