squads

[gunny]

Is there some limitedsquad control rendered to the individual soldier. I know it is abstract to the squad as a whole. But to avoid making it seem as though the infantry squad is just another "special" tank on the battlefield, except this tank has 9 rifles and 1 machine gun and no armor.
So if you follow that then you will understand my question. For example sighting of squads, concealment of squads very close to enemy armour, and positioning of squads in buildings. At what point does the squad weapon not get used or do all nine rifles and Lmg and 10 grenades start fllying at once.
Can some of the 10 soldiers be suppressed while others return full accurate fire. I'm sure this can all be handled abstractly. I'd like to know. In panzer command the player's infantry played little in the supporting and security role. Has the role of infantry been expanded any in this future rendition.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: gunny
In panzer command the player's infantry played little in the supporting and security role. Has the role of infantry been expanded any in this future rendition.

Yes - in Winter Storm infantry was in a decidedly secondary role. In Kharkov we've expanded on that considerably and in fact the core force for the Soviet campaign is infantry-based.

Infantry squads now have several casualty steps:
No Casualties
Light Casualties
Heavy Casualties
Destroyed

Light and Heavy Casualties affect squad firepower and morale.

There are also suppression steps:
Unsuppressed
Suppressed
Pinned

The degrees of suppression affect accuracy and firepower as well as reducing (or eliminating) movement capability. Squads that are suppressed or pinned are also going to be less effective at a close assault.

In addition, some infantry squads have smoke grenades to help with tactical concealment and getting out of tight spots and we've modeled a few addiitonal weapons such as rifle grenades and panzerfausts where appropriate.

In addition to this, we overhauled the behind the scenes rules on line of sight, terrain cover and concealment and movement, meaning that infantry are now much harder to spot, get cover from a variety of terrain as long as they're moving slowly or stationary and can go places that wheeled vehicles (for example) can't.

Also, moving infantry are assumed to not be firing their squad MG, this only contributes firepower when the squad is stationary. Additional special weapons (like the Panzerfaust) are targeted separately from the normal squad weapons.

The net effect, from my point of view, is that infantry is much better modeled in Kharkov than in Winter Storm. Even though Winter Storm is not particularly infantry-heavy, replaying it with the Kharkov engine does feel like a new experience in terms of the gameplay thanks to the infantry improvements (as well as many improvements in other areas too).

Regards,

- Erik

[freeboy]

stop teasing me[:-]

[ravinhood]

yeah stop teasing us all release the dam game already.. Why do US DOWNLOADERS have to WAIT?!! hahahahah lmao

[gunny]

thanks for the additional info, and pretty much covered in the features list too.
 
Kharkov wak a sector battle but also the city proper changed hands several times. I haven't seen much in the way of the city. Are there some maps in the campaign that feature the built up areas or city centers? 

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: gunny
Kharkov wak a sector battle but also the city proper changed hands several times. I haven't seen much in the way of the city. Are there some maps in the campaign that feature the built up areas or city centers? 

Important note - this is the battle of Kharkov in May of 1942 (second battle of Kharkov), not the one in February of 1943 (third battle of Kharkov). The two historical campaigns cover two formations, the 169th Rifle Division for the Soviets, which fought in the northern arm of the initial Soviet assault, and the 14th Panzer Division on the German side which was one of the lead units in the counter-attack that cut off the entire southern arm of the Soviet assault.

Here's a brief summary of the battle I just googled, I can't vouch for its total accuracy but it seems pretty close at a quick glance. We also include a full historical background in the manual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Kharkiv



Regards,

- Erik

[gunny]

Thanks Erik, i saw Kursk and thought possibly the campaigns were linked including the 2 and 3rd kharkov battles.  Anyways good choice, very evenly matched army's and the Russians were making tactical mistakes up to where tide turned on the Germans. Look Forward to it. 

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: gunny
Thanks Erik, i saw Kursk and thought possibly the campaigns were linked including the 2 and 3rd kharkov battles.  Anyways good choice, very evenly matched army's and the Russians were making tactical mistakes up to where tide turned on the Germans. Look Forward to it. 

Interesting idea for the future though - I'll have to see if there were any formations that participated in 2nd Kharkov, 3rd Kharkov AND Kursk.

Regards,

- Erik

[Mobius]

ORIGINAL: gunny
So if you follow that then you will understand my question. For example sighting of squads, concealment of squads very close to enemy armour, and positioning of squads in buildings. At what point does the squad weapon not get used or do all nine rifles and Lmg and 10 grenades start fllying at once.

Infantry in trenches and foxholes are difficult to see. Especially when they aren't firing and the sighting unit is a buttoned up tank. Infantry can make close attacks on tanks within 25m of the center of the squad. This is an abstraction as the men are spreadout from the center and maybe one or two would be in position to place or throw bombs or explosives at the tank.

The real short sighting range of hidden infantry means that tank movement through enemy positions should be done in short distance moves so they don't run over hidden infantry and get close assaulted.

Some infantry squads may also contain an AT rifle grenade launcher with a range around 100m, but they are rare and aren't particularly potent during this time period. But could give armored cars and halftracks a scare.