What is the role of infantry?

[raventhefuhrer]

Is there a Flashpoint Campaigns set in World War 2 being planned then?

[wodin]

Put them in Cities or fortified hexes. If they have their anti tank sub unit they can be very useful. I would like to see them alittle bit hardier and stronger esp close up though. I also like the idea of say City\Town hex VP have to be occupied by Infantry would be a cool new objective. As I'd imagine an area in real life an area esp a built up area wouldn't be considered occupied until actual foot units where on ground rather than AFV's??

[cbelva]

ORIGINAL: raventhefuhrer

Is there a Flashpoint Campaigns set in World War 2 being planned then?

Only time will tell. It is something we have talked about and we would like to do it. If this engine stays viable with the players and our health holds up, there is no telling where we might take it to. The only thing we know for certain is that we are heading towards the Southern Storm as Capn D has already explained.

Looking at my last message, I should have said "If" and not "When". Nothing is set in stone or on the foreseeable future.

[wodin]

Well if there are more possible projects than is possible to create why not give out the engine for someone else to create a game using it like they do with BA and PC? Even Combat Mission and Command Ops have gone or are going that way. Maybe have a two or three teams going. That way players are happy and you have more game releases over a quicker time period than doing one at a time with one team.

[CapnDarwin]

A few quick points about mechanized infantry:

1). Infantry units, once unloaded, derive their protection from the cover and orders they have. This is independent of the AFVs.
2). Attacks directed at mechanized units are resolved differently for the infantry squads and the AFVs. This is a function of 1).
3). Infantry in towns gets advantages versus AFVs. Flank shots at 1 hex and Top/Flank mix in hex. This makes infantry very dangerous to tangle with in towns if you are tanks. Assuming the infantry is AT equipped.

Hope that answers some questions.

[CapnDarwin]

Next up is dismounts and transports:

1). Making on unit become two sounds trivial, many things do, but making sure things split and join correctly takes some doing. Now if unit A dismounts from carrier A and always goes back to A. That isn't too bad. Problem is those odd times people want to swap out carriers, maybe for loss reasons. Now tracking and ID of the dismounts starts getting convoluted.
2). Hot on the heels of 1) is the want to split off and join subunits. Now tracking who is who or from where is more daunting, but not impossible.
3). Both 1) and 2) are moderately easy for a human player, but wide open to gamey or nonstandard doctrine. On the flip side getting the AI to effectively and correctly use these two functions becomes a very labor intensive action. Again, not impossible, but taking time from other features and functions.

With all that said we will need to revisit the need for these functions or other mechanics to provide a better control over mechanized infantry use. Nothing we are likely to solve tomorrow, but it is on our radar.

[pzgndr]

ORIGINAL: Capn Darwin
With all that said we will need to revisit the need for these functions or other mechanics to provide a better control over mechanized infantry use. Nothing we are likely to solve tomorrow, but it is on our radar.

All well and good for now Capn! As I said earlier, the game works pretty well for 1980s Germany. The whole premise of the scenarios and campaigns is a more spontaneous and hasty war, so the infantry model in towns works ok. It's not FUBAR. It's just that if players want to get into more deliberate operations where dismounted infantry has a more significant role, then we'll need other game mechanics to handle that.

[governato]

ORIGINAL: cbelva

ORIGINAL: raventhefuhrer

Is there a Flashpoint Campaigns set in World War 2 being planned then?

Only time will tell. It is something we have talked about and we would like to do it.
[....]

I would like that! Wonder if Africa or the Caucasus 'd be better suited for an engine adapted to WWII. Those are less cramped areas than Western Europe (that has been covered already by Command Ops). Just thinking out loud!

[Hexagon]

Maybe in urban terrain mech infantry units defending can have a bonus for AFV to... i refer that infantry can use buildings to flank enemy vehicles (as you say improve AT value VS attacker vehicles) and separate enemy infantry from their vehicles... them defender AFVs can destroy enemy vehicles easier because know where is enemy, know terrain and where move to have advantage over enemy and they can cover or moving back or moving forward because they can use better terrain than attacker.

I dont know if is possible my idea of add as parameter a survive rate value for infantry, vehicles and air units... a way to reduce kills in general or in certain unit class.

PD: WWII is interesting but maybe i prefer before a WWII serie middle east wars covered they could be a good first touch for non ultramodern wars (if you dont touch in DLCs 50-60s).

[CapnDarwin]

Hexagon,

Flanking fire in urban areas already happens in the code do to the type of terrain and ranges of engagement. There is already a bonus in cities to effective protection of AFVs and Grunts. In urban environments the APCs would be very close to the infantry in order to support and cover, both ways in fact.

Survival rate is already built in based on the effective protection(class), order state, readiness, training, etc of the unit. There is no need for an extra value. Steel Panthers, from which you are referencing, used that value to determine if a crew survived its AFV getting hit. We don't track to that level.

[SwampYankee68]

I have no valuable input, but I was in the guard in the 80's - a straight leg infantry battalion. Someone used the term "speed bump" earlier. As I understood it at my lowly Spec4 rank, that's exactly what we were supposed to be. If there was time for REFORGER to actually take place before the balloon went up, we were to go to some West German town or city, dig in, and make the WP use up ammunition and time killing us! [:D] If we took out a tank or two with our Dragons or Tows, all the better...