Military Symbols or Picture Symbols

[Golf33]

Who here plays using the 'NATO-style' military symbols, and who plays using the 'picture-style' symbols?

Regards
33

[EricGuitarJames]

Always use the 'picture-style' symbols.

[El Savior]

I use the NATO-symbols. More used to them than pictures and it gives you more feel of being the general behind map.

[TMO]

NATO style always

Regards

Tim

[CriticalMass]

NATO all the way (although the I'm rather found of the German symbols - can't remember a link to them right now, but, the Nafziger books use them I believe - and this issue has been discussed here before [;)])

TANX
Andrew

[Grognard]

NATO because they're universal and much more informative. Is soldier guy infantry or engineer? Big difference.

Also, now that we're on the subject, infantry support artillery (direct fire cannon companies) has a different symbol from (box with dot) indirect fire arty - an infantry symbol with the artillery dot. No? Much easier to discern at a glance instead of having to look for a zero bombardment value or going into the equipment list....

And how come no heavy weapons? Are they non-existent or displayed as AA?

Regards

[JVSFugitive]

ORIGINAL: Grognard
NATO because they're universal and much more informative. Is soldier guy infantry or engineer? Big difference.

Same for me [;)]

[RayWolfe]

Real Men always play NATO!! [;)]
Sorry Markshot. [:'(]
Ray

[HercMighty]

I use the NATO symbols most often, sometimes I use the pictures though if I am unsure of the NATO symbol.

[kev_uk]

NATO, although when I first started playing RDOA I used the picture symbols.

[wodin]

I like the pictures but the nato symbols have more info. If the pics displayed the same info I'd stick with pics.

Just a matter of taste.

[Grouchy]

Eeeuh, oooh did HttR come with 'picture-style' symbols also?

[wodin]

Too much snobbery in wargames sometimes. Dont drop the pics just add more info to the pic counters.

[EricGuitarJames]

ORIGINAL: wodin

Too much snobbery in wargames sometimes. Dont drop the pics just add more info to the pic counters.

I suppose it's whatever you are used to. Those who have been computer/board wargaming for some time would probably make use of the NATO symbols because they recognise them easily, those who are newer to the genre, as I was when I first picked up RDOA, may prefer the pictures for the ease of identification. I would like to see a little more variation in the pictures, especially for distinguishing between light and heavy morter units, and between those infantry-gun units that have no indirect fire capability and standard artillery.

[JeF]

ORIGINAL: Grouchy
Eeeuh, oooh did HttR come with 'picture-style' symbols also?

Is it a real question ? [:'(]

Yes it does. Otherwise I wouldn't play it. I only know the basic military symbols : infantry, cavalry, guns, armour. I cannot tell a MG from a motorized flak platoon, let alone a motorized infantry gun coy.

If the poll is to try to remove the one in favour of the other, please don't. One of the richness of the game is that it can display both. And with it may appeal to grognards as well as to the casual wargamer.

BTW, I'll use this as a reminder for the request to have more pictures symbols into the unit info screen. So that we could tell at a glance the difference between a Pzkw IV and a SPW 222.

JeF.

[Golf33]

There will be no changes to symbols in COTA, although there will be at least two symbols that were present in the HTTR estabs but not used for any units in the game.

It would be nice to have more symbols to play with, but there are two limiting factors: 1) it is surprisingly hard to come up with good symbols because of the really tiny area we have to work with, and 2) adding more symbols is actually quite major surgery because of the way they are organised in the codebase / resources.

There are no units with a Heavy Weapons symbol in HTTR because by that stage of the war - at least in the units involved in OMG - these units were all tactically employed distributed between line formations. If you look at the infantry company estabs, for example, you'll see things like 6-pdr AT guns and Vickers MMGs that were part of heavy-weapons units but were normally employed allocated to the line companies. In COTA there will be some heavy-weapons units since my research seemed to suggest that they were often employed as a unit, early in the war at least.

The poll is just to help me decide whether to take screenshots for the COTA manual using Picture symbols or NATO symbols [:)]. I figured if most people play using one or the other, I'll go with the more popular option - then again I guess folks who are using NATO symbols will generally also be able to read the picture symbols, while the reverse isn't always the case. Back in the RDOA days I did up a graphic that showed how the various NATO-symbol elements are used to build up the unit symbols, but I can't find it any more [:(].

Regards
33

[Golf33]

ORIGINAL: JeF

BTW, I'll use this as a reminder for the request to have more pictures symbols into the unit info screen. So that we could tell at a glance the difference between a Pzkw IV and a SPW 222.

Thanks JeF, already on the wishlist but not going to happen for COTA. The pictures in the Equip Tab use the category of each item - vehicle, weapon, ammo, fuel, and basic supply. While it would be nice to have more symbols, it would (like adding more symbols to the unit counter) be fairly major surgery.

Regards
33

[MarkShot]

Yes, to my everlasting shame, I am using the picture symbols. But if it improves my image any, I am playing Victoria with counters and always play CMBB/CMAK EFOW.

Steve, I'll contact you on the beta forum about the mil sym docs. I make have them.

[El Savior]

It's fifty-fifty right now, just barely favor military symbols. I must say, I'm little surprise that so many uses pictures. Just like many of them here say, symbols give more information. I believe HTTR forum members are even more aware of military than average joes (no fence here, just referring to other players who haven't found this great forum yet). So I would assume that even more people actually use pictures. But let's see how this poll develops.

[SeaMonkey]

I prefer the Nato symbols, but I use the pictures simply because of the immediate feedback they give as to deployment so I don't have to interrupt my screen fixation by looking left to the info area.