Matrix Games Forums

Yello, I'm new to this game and I find myself with a few questions. I have version 8.4.
Firstly, I've found that the percentage hit chance bears little relation to the actual chance of hitting. In my last game both me and the AI hit the vast majority of under 10% chances and failed most around the 60-70% area. I'd assume from this that it was inverse, but above 80% it seems to be correct.
Surely this can't be true but I don't know what else to think. In a series of four shots I failed three 62% chances in a row, which isnt too bad I admit, but then followed that with hitting a 2%.

Secondly, I've been reading a few tactics guides and whatnot, but a lot of what they mention seems to just not be possible. When I encounter enemies then all I seem to be able to do find the closest cover spot and shoot back repeatedly. If I try to move to achieve something then they get shot to buggery; if I try to move any other groups in they get shot to buggery; if I try to flank with other units, they take so long to get in position that it's too late. The only way I seem to be able to get an advantage is if I either outnumber and outgun the enemy or by pure coincidence it appears in the perfect place to be destroyed by my guys. Using supressing fire to aid other squads retreat or advance doesnt work in the slightest either. The pinned and supressed enemy units can still fire with a good enough efficiency to mean if I move, I'll lose too many men to OpFires for it to be worth it. Perhaps I'm just not willing enough to sacrifice men for the greater good.

Thirdly, the manual states that smoke is just a hinderance, not a shield, yet nobody can fire through smoke. The line of sight ends there so I can't target a hex beyond it and fire blindly even if just to rank up the supression.

The game also seems to crash when pressing certain keys. At least I think it crashed. It goes to a black screen, theres a bit of drive access then nothing. Have to ctrl+alt+del it. First time was pressing F1, second time with Y. Did this to me right as I was getting the upper hand and I hadn't saved. After testing F1 hasn't crashed it since, but Y crashes everytime.

I expect to find most of these issues entirely my fault but it just doesn't make any sense to me. No other newbies seem to have these problems. The fact that I had similar problems with the Close Combat games also leads me to believe it's just me. In that even if I followed exactly what tutorials said my infantry just dove on the floor and got killed. They wouldn't shoot back or run away or anything, at my command or of their own volition.

Any suggestions?

Hi, and welcome to the game. I hope you will enjoy it the way many of us already bitten do. You may find the learning curve a bit steep in the beginning, but I assure you it's well worth it. For me it's the only game I play and I keep getting back to it after testing a few others.

The hit chance has seemed relative correct to me in the long run. It is a probability and as such there are variances. It is very frustrating to miss a couple of shots with high hit-probability just to be blown to pieces by the first shot when the enemy shoots back but it's part of the game the same way there is always a small chance that this 2%-shot actually hits (and penetrates). The best you can do is to be prepared to the risk of missing your target and never put yourself in a situation where it's crucial to wipe out your enemy completely with the available shots.

To your second question about tactics I would like to cite an earlier thread on this forum (unfortunately I don't remember who wrote it): "Never EVER put your tanks in front of your infantry". One of the keys to success in this game is to understand spotting and the influence of movement. In short:

1. Any unit thats moving has much less chance of detecting enemy presence than a unit thats not moving during the turn.

2. Tanks and vehicles has much less chance of detecting enemy presence than infantry units.

3. Scouts are much better at detecting enemies than any other infantry units.

4. Any unit that has moved during the turn has much less chance of hitting it's target than a unit that has been stationary.

The conclusion of this is to take any advances really slow, with your scouts leading, moving one or two hexes per turn. When they have detected your enemies you can move infantry and tanks ahead to take the fight. Make sure though that the final move, when you gets in the line-of-sight to your enemy, be a slow one (one hex only) since any op-fire upon it is more effective the faster the units move.

Regarding smoke-screens I'm not a good tutor since I use it too seldom myself, so I hope that someone else explains it better. The way I use it is to drop a smoke-cannister in front of a unit I want to withdraw to hinder the enemy of shooting at it. No unit can direct-fire at any other unit behind a smoked hex, but be prepared that indirect fire from artillery is not hindered at all... I have understood that many players use smokescreens from artillery to hide and protect advances through open areas, but I've never got it to work effectively myself, but there are allways areas to improve in this game...

The crash-problem may have many reasons. I've never had any problem myself so I can't be of any help there, but I think there are a couple of threads in this forum about troubleshooting. The only problems I've had is that on one of my computers the screen goes black now and then, but when I move the mouse the pixels under the mouse cursor reappeares, so I have to "wash the window" to see the entire screen again. It hasn't been a problem big enough to make me look for a solution sofar, so I just mention it because there may be graphic card compatibility problem you are experiencing, but again, there most certanly are better answers on this forum.

Again, very welcome to the forum, and don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have.

Kind regards

/Stefan

P.S. When you feel you got accustomed to the game I really recommend playing PBEM (play by e-mail) since it takes the game to an even higher level. D.S.