TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Achtung Panzer:Operation Star is an Eastern Front wargame with solid graphics and sprawling battlefields that really emphasize the scope of WWII tank combat. The gameplay is a remarkably realistic turn-based and real-time operational/tactical hybrid wargame that continues the series begun by the acclaimed Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943.
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TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

Here are a few of the most useful commands to get started:

1. Make sure the game is paused.
2. Make sure the binoculars at bottom left of the screen are not selected.
3. Select a platoon and then one of the sub-units at the top right of the screen. You should now see one sub-unit highlighted green.
4. Right-click on that green unit icon and the map will scroll to a position above it, although it may still be hard to see.
5. Press the 'Q' key and your view will lock to the unit. The Q key is your best friend. The Map view (globe icon at top left) is your second best friend.
6. Use the middle mouse button to scroll in or out.
7. Use the arrow keys (-> or <-) to rotate the view left and right.
8. Press 'Q' again to unlock the view, or select a new unit and press Q twice (once to unlock from the previous unit and a second time to lock on to the new unit).
9. Press the space bar with a unit selected for orders shortcuts, although I rarely use this method.
10. Right click on the ground (or on the map in map view) with any SINGLE UNIT selected to order that unit to move to that location.
11. Right click on the ground with any PLATOON selected to order that platoon to move to that location.
12. Right click and drag while still holding down the right mouse button to set the facing of any unit at the end of its move.

You can get the keyboard shortcut for all commands by hovering the pointer over the relevant button for a few seconds. Also, don't forget the pressing the Space Bar brings up a shortcut menu for most of the main commands.

Units will turn to face and will fire on the enemy without instructions from you and they do this quite effectively. Focus on issuing movement commands while you learn the game.

Two other useful commands:

1. 'E' tells all dismounted infantry to embark.
2. 'L' tells them to disembark.

Infantry will disembark automatically once under fire, so you may want to give them the 'E' command before continuing your advance.

It's a fantastic game, best of breed IMHO. Don't let the poor UI stop you from enjoying it.

My main gripes are:

1. The extremely challenging campaign and scenario building mechanism which will limit the game's long-term appeal. I really want to build some campaigns but I just can't figure the thing out. It needs an editor modeled on the CM1 editor.
2. The infantry combat model - AI infantry should go to ground much sooner and use short rushes/fire and movement rather than just running towards the enemy. Also, why do all infantry in almost every SIM made need to keep standing up and kneeling down again every few seconds? What's that about?
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by bairdlander2 »

They will also "pepper-pot" while making stealth move
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

I am finding a number of differences between the manual and the game itself. I'll think about collating those when I get time, but until then please be wary about the keys I name here as the ones working in your version of the game may well be different.

I have not edited my control settings in-game since I downloaded it.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Shadrach »

Good guide, you might also want to add that you can get the keyboard shortcut for all commands by hovering the pointer over the button for a few seconds, really useful for those you can't always memorize between plays.
ORIGINAL: redmarkus4
Also, why do all infantry in almost every SIM made need to keep standing up and kneeling down again every few seconds? What's that about?

Yeah... [:D] it looks really silly. I asked one of the devs about it, apparently since what is visible is actually calculated from the soldiers' eye level, which is pretty cool actually, they need to do it to take a look around apparently.



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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

ORIGINAL: stian

Good guide, you might also want to add that you can get the keyboard shortcut for all commands by hovering the pointer over the button for a few seconds, really useful for those you can't always memorize between plays.
ORIGINAL: redmarkus4
Also, why do all infantry in almost every SIM made need to keep standing up and kneeling down again every few seconds? What's that about?

Yeah... [:D] it looks really silly. I asked one of the devs about it, apparently since what is visible is actually calculated from the soldiers' eye level, which is pretty cool actually, they need to do it to take a look around apparently.




Thanks - good point.

Regarding the standing up and down, we need to let that dev know that if real life soldiers stand up repeatedly they eventually get shot in the head :) Real life soldiers in broken ground or heavy undergrowth can see little more than what an ant can see, unless they occupy higher ground, which is why a lot of WW2 infantry combat still occurred at ranges of only a few meters, even with relatively modern weaponry.

Maybe they could code it so that only officers and NCOs take look around and only once every few minutes?
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by GBS »

Also, instead of <- & ->, you can hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse right and left to rotate the camera around the selected (Q) unit.

Also, hold thew Z key and move mouse to really move the Camera fast.

Also, hold C key and move the mouse to rotate the camera in place.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

On my machine using the right mouse button when the view is locked onto a unit is really laggy. C or the arrow keys works fine though.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by GBS »

ORIGINAL: redmarkus4

On my machine using the right mouse button when the view is locked onto a unit is really laggy. C or the arrow keys works fine though.

Mine was laggy too until the last patch which fixed it. Works great now. I purchased from Gamersgate before Matrix offered it so I have all my downloads from that site.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

What's the date of that patch? I thought I was up to date but maybe...?
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

Ignore that - found the patch. Damn! I missed that one :(
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

Wow - it looks even better after the latest patch!

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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by budd »

I've been waiting for the English may patch [Russian already out] before i dive in. There is supposed to be some UI changes in this patch. I believe i've read and they used the word redesign in regards to the UI, hopefully some kind of better documentation comes with it.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

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ORIGINAL: **budd**

I've been waiting for the English may patch [Russian already out] before i dive in. There is supposed to be some UI changes in this patch. I believe i've read and they used the word redesign in regards to the UI, hopefully some kind of better documentation comes with it.

Improvements are always welcome but, honestly, the existing interface isn't that bad once you understand 3-4 basic things. Locking onto units (Q) and rotating the view are probably the two functions that most new players miss and without knowing them, the game seems unplayable.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by DerGrenadier »

I just found out that you could group single sections within a platoon by holding STRG and selecting the units you like to group. Then you press STRG and a number e.g. STRG 1. This creats a individual group and now you can select the individual group by pressing 1. I find this very usefull when you need to make fast decisions.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

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ORIGINAL: DerGrenadier

I just found out that you could group single sections within a platoon by holding STRG and selecting the units you like to group. Then you press STRG and a number e.g. STRG 1. This creats a individual group and now you can select the individual group by pressing 1. I find this very usefull when you need to make fast decisions.

Yes. 'STRG' = CTRL (Control) on English keyboards. Very useful feature.

The main thing to bear in mind, for those who hate RTS click-fests, is that you can pause the action at any time by pressing 'ENTER' and then look around for as long as you like, make decisions and issue commands. Press ENTER again to resume the action.

ALSO, by setting up the message options in Settings, you can make the game auto-pause for most key events. When the event message appears, go to map view (F10), click on the message and you will see a flashing circle to show where the event happened. You can then go back to 3D view to take a closer look or visit nearby friendly units and check their posture.

In these ways, the game is even better than a standard turn-based game because you can make each 'turn' as long or as short as you wish and you can issue new orders or cancel old ones at anytime.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Shadrach »

Hey Red, is that from the May patch and if so, is it out on GG in English?

I'm still waiting for this one, really looking forward to the sleeker UI.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by Redmarkus5 »

ORIGINAL: stian

Hey Red, is that from the May patch and if so, is it out on GG in English?

I'm still waiting for this one, really looking forward to the sleeker UI.

Hi,

No, its' the February patch. I only downloaded the December 2011 patch in Feb, so the that's that date I had on the file. When I looked in my DL folder recently I assumed I had the latest, but I didn't! Always check the patch number, not the file date!!!

I don't think the May patch is out yet for the English version.
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RE: TOP FEW KEYBOARD COMMANDS

Post by budd »

So i started playing the game. I cant seem to find anyway to rotate mt units during battle. I can do it just fine in deployment mode, but not once the battle starts. the key you use in deployment does something else once out of deployment mode. I looked in the control menu and nothing is listed as doing this action under tactical orders or any other section of orders. i have the gg version, can anyone confirm that this indeed works in battle.
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