COTA (mini-guide): Tutorial, AAR, and tips!

[MarkShot]

This represents a vast improvement (and change) over HTTR that has been made with COTA. In HTTR, despite all the para drop scenarios which it offered, this simply could have never happened. In HTTR, every unit received their full allotment of supply at 03:00 everyday of the scenario regardless of their location or situation on the map. But not in COTA. In COTA, you have to protect your bases and keep your supply lines open. Or in the worst case (cutoff), as I had failed to do here, enforce ammo conservation and pull back assuming a defensive posture.

[MarkShot]

In this next screenshot, we will look at the graphic representation of supply line status which is in the game. First, be advised that this graphic representation may or may not appear in the final game as you see it here (and have seen in other screenshots presented by Dave). There has been some discussion about the presentation and utility of these features.

What you see here are two features which I have turned on. One is the supply line connector feature. It shows where units are drawing or trying to draw their supplies from. The other is the unit info box showing supply status. For both features RED = bad (out of supply) and GREEN = good (in supply).

However, this is what I want to point out to you of how this feature works (and why I don't make too much use of it myself). Unlike all the other information displayed in the game, this information (meaning the colors) is not updated in realtime. The color is relative to the last time supply connectivity was checked. Additionally, the computation for each unit's supply connectivity is computed at different points in time.

So, if you display this stuff, then take it as a sketchy summation. I think in the larger scenarios, the supply line connector display may be useful for you to check where various units are drawing their supplies. I personally don't have much experience with that yet.

Here is what I have been doing to follow supply (everything below is complete real-time information):

(1) It is pretty intuitive. The supplies go by trucks. Thus, if you can look at the map and trace an unthreatened motorized route from the base to the unit, then the supplies probably can get through. If not, then you got problems.

(2) There are a number of ways to check on supply status.

(2a) You can display the equipment tab for the unit and check the exact stocks. Line items that are dim and at zero are bad news.

(2b) You can display the unit log and see if it shows being resupplied. Units actively in combat will show roughly 4 resupplies/day.

(2c) Depending on what message filtering options you have display for top of the screen display and/or the global message tab in the left side panel, you will get supply related messages. These will tell you when supplies are getting delivered, not getting delivered, and when loss among the transport column occur.

(2d) F7 gives you at a glance in the unit info box supply status by cycling through multiple presses. You get: ammo (not arty), arty ammo, basic supply, and fuel. Working from that, you can easily drill down deeper to find out if a unit or force is in trouble and out of supply.

[MarkShot]

Now, besides avoiding the situation where your units or a force gets cutoff from supply, you also want to avoid the dreaded base under threat situation. Yes, a base can dig-in and protect themselves, but you really want to avoid that. Since it means that everyone grabs a rifle and stops loading up trucks.

Here is what the warning looks like.

[MarkShot]

Here is what Dave had to say about protecting your bases on the Beta Testing Forum.

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

If the enemy has firepower influence over the base's occupied area. There doesn't have to be actual fire. You need to secure the perimeter around the base such that the enemy cannot project fire onto them - as a rough rule of thumb allow 2500m, less if blocking terrain between the base and enemy. In the above picture you have enemy within 1500 - 2000m with a demonstrable LOS.

[MarkShot]

My final insight and warning to those of you who will venture into the world of COTA MP.

Currently, the AI is not programmed to go after supply lines or explicitly protect them. For SP, in practice, I have not noticed this being a big issue. As it turns out, the messy nature of battle if you are not careful (and the aggressive amoeboid nature of the AI) can easily result in your units/forces being out of supply. Additionally, many attacking or defending or withdrawing scenarios have objectives situated at key road junctions or have objectives laid out in a linear fashion along a line of advance. Thus, the AI simply being driven by the scenario designer will implicitly protect its supply lines and/or go after yours.

With all that said, if I was playing MP, I would not be complacent. I would be very careful to make sure that my supply lines are protected in a lengthy scenario and maintain a fast reaction security force in case your opponent should manage to threaten them. Be warned, "Yakstock" one of my fellow beta testers is just waiting for Dave to release COTA. He has been cutting circles through the water for months waiting for fresh meat thrashing about in the surf.

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Okay, that's it for me. I have to get back to those stacks of paperwork.

[MarkShot]

Even though questions may arise in the HTTR forum if I deem them worthy of a COTA tip, I will add them here.

[MarkShot]

ORIGINAL: Tzar007

2) Let's say you detach some arty units and put them under your own command to move them in a safe and strategic spot. After they're finished moving and are setup, you are satisfied with their position, want to reduce your unit load on your HQ and so you reattach them back to their parent unit. But in doing so, the parent unit decides it does not like their positions and have them move somewhere else, and that screws up the coverage you wanted to have with these arty units. Is there anyway to prevent that, or once a unit is reattached, tough luck, it's the parent unit that decides what's happening with these units ?

ORIGINAL: MarkShot

(2) You have to move all your gun units individually to create your firebase. However, once they have all arrived at the firebase, then you could group them together as a force and give them an in-situ defend order. This should reduce command load while leaving the force still under your command and in place. Myself, I don't do that since I like the fine control that keeping them separate gives.

[MarkShot]

From the Beta Forum tonight:

ORIGINAL: MarkShot

I have just knocked back the enemy's attack. I want to counter-attack and push to the next objective. I can:

(A) Order a regular attack with a single waypoint (hopefully FUP in place) and then attack.

or

(B) Order a move with a line a formation and shortest path (infantry).

Option-A will carry more punch, but take longer. Option-B will have less punch, but perhaps better exploit the enemy's retreat after his failed attack.

So, which would you do and why?

Thanks.

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

The two predominant facotrs here are the depth and state of the enemy forces ( are there enemy force dug in behind the attacking ones that are now falling back and are all enemy routing ). If the enemy is routing and there's not much behind them I would do a Move in Line with Aggro set to Max. Otherwise I would mount an attack with the FUP in-situ ( ie first waypoint where the Subject is ).

Another factor to consider is the moveType of your forces. Mot forces have reduced orders delay and hence can launch an attack quicker. but they can also start a Move quicker as well. Foot will take more time and this may mean that the enemy will have time to regroup before you get to him.

[MarkShot]

Some more supply thoughts ...

Unlike HTTR where your axis of advance could mainly be chosen based on your force, the opposing force, and terrain ... in COTA, one should always consider making their axis of advance coincide with their supply line.

This can constrain what you do quite a bit.

Of course, if you are fully stocked and you are sure that you can take the objective in a single day, then you might risk going out of supply. But if your attack should bog down even if you are winning, you may not be able to see it through to a successful conclusion.

In any case, unlike HTTR, you must be careful to cover the rear and its flanks. Although you may not be vulnerable to a weak probe in a contest of arms, the weak probe could well deny you your supply and have a much greater impact then its strength would suggest. (Consider this similar to how a small enemy unit holding the high ground with a lot of arty on-call can lay down a lot of fire power.) Well, a small enemy unit to the rear can effectively deny you a lot of fire power if you are not careful.

Another way to know if a unit is out of supply even if its stocks seem fine, if you go to the unit log and do not see "resupply requested", "resupply on the way", and "resupply arrived" messages over a 6-12 hour period, then you are probably out of supply. You should have supply even when no combat takes place, since the troops need basics (food and water).

[MarkShot]

--- Public service announcement ---

See first post of this thread in green text.

[Banquet]

Wow, looks good [:)]

130 pages.. me like! [&o]

[Txema]

I have been able to download the "HTTR Mini-Guide", but I can´t get a valid COTA guide... I always get a corrupted zip file... Can you check it, please?

Thanks for your help !!!


Txema

[MarkShot]

I just downloaded and checked. I got a completed FTP session, valid zip, and readable PDF. Maybe try it again later. If that doesn't work, I'll arrange another location just for you.

Keep me posted. (I'll be out for the rest of the day.)

[Arjuna]

I downloaded it and it worked fine. Sounds like your connection. Best to cycle your router/reboot and try again.

[Txema]

You are right !!!

It was a problem with my connection. Today I have been able to download it properly.

Thanks for your help !!!


Txema

[MarkShot]

ORIGINAL: barbarossa2

...
P.S. Mark Shot, how do you overcome the "launch time" coordination problem I posted in the "CotA New Features" section. Is there a way to plan sufficiently to get around this problem so every one attacks at the same time??? I want to start a thread on this problem out here, on the "home page" where it belongs.
...

I just reread your comments about coordinating separate attacks.

{First, I think the supply system adds a lot more to the game than you realize. It changes planning and tactics considerably.}

I had also made the same request for coordinating attacks quite a while ago.

As of now, the only way to achieve truly coordinated separate attacks is to perform a complex attack with no FUP. To be precise, this means:

(1) Only setting a single task marker, the attack marker, and no waypoints.

(2) Ordering it at the brigade level or higher. (Complex attack means that there is more than one level of HQs involved.)

The AI will then select one or more FUPs and axis of attack as it deems appropriate. This will give you the simultaneous launch you are looking for.

In the absence of doing that, here is how I see it:

(1) I don't really think of the battle planning day in 24 hours. I tend to think of it in 5 divisions: Morning, afternoon, evening, post-sunset, and pre-dawn. Each division has its particular use. Some examples:

Morning: good for an attack where you have such things as CAS, arty, and armor. All of these things depend on visibility.

Post-Sunset: good for an attack where the enemy has CAS, arty, and armor. Negate the affect of his long range and stand off fire.

Pre-Sunrise: you will benefit from visibility, but you want to close to contact while minimizing casualties and disruption.

You get the picture.

So, these divisions represent 5hr+ windows. Much less precise than a 24hr clock, but good enough for practical planning.

(2) Now, given that you will have an accurate force delay (only if orders have propagated fully at least one time) value to work with and familiarity with how long things take, you should be able to hit a particular window in timing your attack.

(3) In practice, it doesn't seem that the difference of a couple of hours is going to make a huge difference. Over any reasonable distance for the assault, even starting at exactly the same time, variable movement rates and terrain along with the amount of resistance encountered will probably throw off the close coordination of attacks.

(4) In COTA, multi-axis attacks are going to be more challenging than HTTR, since roads will play a much bigger role and also making sure that your forces remain in supply.

I hope that provided you with some assistance.

[MarkShot]

ORIGINAL: CarpeNoctem

Maybe this should be attn. to MarkShot but I'd like anyone to chime in with hints and tips concerning forms, notes, guides and other helpers.

Let me define: I am looking for existing forms that can be useful in analyzing a scenario or planning an operation. For example: In the SG (strategy guide) it contains a very good portion on planning. In it, it seems these ideas can be form filled to an extent. I.e. Each deduction may be the result of listing the objectives, and objective details. Also, something to encompass the forces involved, and terrain.

Maybe I am grasping at straws here, but I was wondering if someone uses something like these 'forms' to assist them in the planning, option selection and execution.

Thanks,

CN

I thought about the question here. I came to the following conclusions:

(1) Producing a procedure for battle planning at the high level may lead to something which is fairly obvious to many players.

(2) Producing a procedure for battle planning at the low level would rapidly degenerate into a complex exercise of branching choices, prioritization, and iteration. Such a procedure might well be good for development of a computer program, but probably not be practical for player adoption.

(3) Aside from the high level analysis mentioned in Item #1, the process of battle planning is largely a matter of pattern recognition. Meaning that the current problem is compared to categories of previous problems faced, categorized, and then a routine solution is chosen and tailored. This process improves and evolves as a result of the volume and variety of the player's experience; meaning more cases from which to derive and refine patterns. Examples of patterns are: delaying/falling back scenario with an non-motorized infantry heavy force, prepared defense scenario in wooded terrain against a mechanized/motorized enemy, assault over open ground critically dependent upon bridges, ...

(4) Similar to the analysis in Item #3, the implementation of the solution is a matter of construction done from a set of fairly elemental and familiar components. Examples of components are: a road block, recon, a picket/screen line, passage of lines on withdrawing, assemblying an arty fire base, reverse slope dug-in defense, deploying support weapons, ...

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Having said the above, I think it might be an interesting and productive exercise to try to develop a planning procedure checklist. So, I will come back to this when I get a chance.

Beyond that, the next interesting question would be "How to determine when and how to revise a plan once the battle has begun?" This may be an even more challenging problem to address.

[MarkShot]

Looking at Items #3 and #4, I have also realized that the practice of playing HTTR/COTA in some ways has become highly reflexive ... quite similar in fashion to how I used play air combat flight sims online. I am actually quite suprised by this, since HTTR/COTA in SP doesn't really have the time critical pressures that flying online imposes.

That is not to say that there isn't much methodology behind plan construction, battle monitoring, and plan revision. Rather it is all done smoothly with little introspection. The introspection mainly comes about by having to add to these mini-guide threads and stuff.

Hmm ...

[MarkShot]

I decided to do this as a MS Word file (maybe later converted to a PDF). If this comes out good, then maybe make this available as a download as opposed to being buried at Page 10 of this thread. Of course, if Dave likes it, there is always the possibility of inclusion in the manual. (I am going to have a small section in the COTA manual for top tips for those players who would rather not read the combined 300+ pages in the HTTR/COTA Mini-Guide threads.)

Below (next post) is a sample of where I am going with the checklist (may not reformat well into HTML). I have completed the detailed expansion up to Item #4. I'll probably get it done over the next week.

[MarkShot]

(contents deleted as the completed document was posted in a later message)