COTA is impressive

[Stalintc]

Hi all,

Got hold of a copy of COTA after some time watching it.

I havent seen anything negative posted about it and it covers an area of WWII that I dont really know much about or just havent shown interest in.

Im very happy with the purchase, this is an example of HOW an operational level wargame should be, the way it is made allows the player to broaden the possibilities for their strategy and tactics to a much higher level than a turn based hex game where every unit is mashed together along a long front, it also allows the AI some room to breath and change its plans. To which I must say im very impressed with the AI and the replayability of the scenarios.

I had to load the saves for the tutorials because the AI behaved nothing like what was expected which was great to see. Especially tutorial #2 where it says it will be all quiet between 02:00 and 05:00 I was under attack by the lead armor elements at komma by 03:30 lol, now it takes a well built AI to do stuff like that, congrats to the developers!

Well I had better ask a Q since im here.. If indirect fires were to start landing on a bridge crossing, would this eventually destroy it?

I look forward to seeing any other games that come from this engine, im now looking at grabbing a copy of HTTR too!!

Cheers

[Arjuna]

Stalintc,
 
Welcome. I'm glad you like COTA.
 
re artry fire on bridges. No they won't of themselves destroy the bridge, though they will damage any unit on the bridge. To demolish a bridge, you need to prime it and assign a nearby unit a Deny Crossing order. Then when the enemy approach they will make a demolition attempt. Provided they are not surpressed and there are no enemy engineers trying to remove the demolitions, they stand a very good chance of blowing it up. CHeck out the manual for full details.

[JudgeDredd]

Welcome to the best operational AI out there....and a new view to wargaming, removing the the bounderies of hexes and truly opening up the battlefield.

Bridges can only be destroyed by Engineer units...and before they can destory it, they have to "prime" it. If you have engineers trying to prime or unprime a bridge, make sure they have sufficient support, because if they come under attack,  they willbe too suppressed to fulfil the task.

Battles For The Bulge was due out quite soon, but the main developer, Arjuna, has been lured away from his self employed hobby by a fat salary and the devils that go with capitalism (in other words, he needs to make a living!), so BFTB is delayed...but he is hoping to get it out asap.

My money is on mid 2008 [:(]

[Stalintc]

Brilliant! well that clears that up for me, I dont want to go thinking that I can make a last ditch attempt at knocking down and bridge when I cant

I learnt quite a bit so far on bridge priming and unpriming from the tutorials which was very good practice, since there are plenty of bridges lol! On the note of bridges I love the way I can give my HQ of the battalion the order to attack across the bridge, and it is organised perfectly with units supporting the attack on the bank of the water firing over at the enemy while one company at a time assaults across in a well timed and organised fashion! Thats the sort of stuff which takes one thousand million clicks in other realtime games to setup and execute perfectly, and even then the result is crap lol!

And yes the oppourtunity for manuver warfare is immense here, the first operational level wargame where I actually have a chance to push round the flanks or into the rear, and have the AI react strongly and with the right units also. And also the first set of tutorials I have come across that actually show you in depth how the warfare works, not just this button does that this button does this etc

I look forward to the next release, I myself am very interested in the battle of the bulge scenarios. COTA is going to keep me cracking for sometime to come especially since its such a new theatre for me to explore with a wargame.

Cheers

[captskillet]

You need to get HTTR also..............some very nice user developed scenarios (inc. one coverng the 101st @ Bastonge) at this website.... http://elsavior.albaani.org/airbornedep ... loads.html

Welcome to the 'club'!!

[Stalintc]

wow... SOLD!! HTTR bought and downloading now lol

[Jonesy]

Hi Stalin!
My copy of COTA is currently on its way from NWS and should be with me back end of this week I reckon (I didnt buy through Matrix as I was ordering a couple of other, non-Matrix games as well).
I noticed the same as you when browsing this forum that nobody was posting anything negative about it which really brought the game to my attention more than anything else.
Pleased to read that you are happy with the purchase and I am sure I will feel the same way soon. One game at a time for me though, HTTR will have to wait until I have become familiar with this type of wargame and hopefully I will win one or two scenarios in the process [:D]

[06 Maestro]

[font="times new roman"]CotA is simply the most realistic operational game on the market-by far.  You made a good choice in picking up this game.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]In a year of playing this game I’ve had no technical problems at all.  There were a few minor bugs/oddities at release which were promptly taken care of.[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]This game engine is good enough to be used as a training aid for modern military professionals.  It would make a good excuse for not performing field training exercises (for the “brass” anyway).[/font]
[font="times new roman"] [/font]
[font="times new roman"]Enjoy.[/font]

[flintlock]

COTA is indeed a good game. I've been enjoying it since I purchased it back in September of last year.

[Stalintc]

Hi again,

I have to agree with you gents this is a real corker of a game.. im early into day 2 of the tutorial #2 (I dont use time compression) and I must say its the most engaging and informative tutorial of any game ive ever played, everything is explaining clearly and is very to the point, with some nice explainations of the strategy that is being employed through the tutorial. I get a funny feeling I may be beating the tutorial however, the axis got a real stuffing on their bridge attacks

I didnt think I would be keen on the whole time delay factor... but you know what... I actually love it, it makes a battle so much more interesting and gripping. And goes to show, just because you dont think you wont like something doesnt mean to say that you wont

Oh and Jonesy you really are going to enjoy this title! just make sure you dive right into those tutorials, they really are the most informative ever and make it easy to pick this up in a fun way too!

Cheers

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Stalintc


I didnt think I would be keen on the whole time delay factor... but you know what... I actually love it, it makes a battle so much more interesting and gripping. And goes to show, just because you dont think you wont like something doesnt mean to say that you wont


Cheers

I felt exactly the same way. I was initially turned off by the idea, but now I wouldn't even think of playing without painfully realistic orders delays.

I have come to think of this product as a command simulator rather than a game.

[Banquet]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter

I have come to think of this product as a command simulator rather than a game.

I agree. I think the talents that make you 'good' at COTA are similar to what would make a good real life commander - much more so than other wargames where becoming 'good' is more about knowing the rules and learning how to beat the game.

[Stalintc]

Finally the first real battle I have played so far

Its the scenario "First Clean Break" playing as Allies, damn thats a difficult one to think about defensivley....

However it is now day2 14:30

After the initial fight over the northern bridges in day1 which resulted in massive casulties for the axis as they pursued the highway route presenting the perfect artillery target in the same zone that I had covered by an MG unit and several tank companies, the flank guards (infantry and one tank company each side) I had setup did not encounter much fire and if anything filtered the enemy back through to the central highway.

By nightfall the Axis had come to a rest having not crossed the northern bridges after suffering a terrible mauling from well positioned tanks and machine guns. Whilst my allied troops pulled back to a new defensive line which would once again force the axis to be channeled through wooded terrain and blindspots along the highway.

Yet again a tank company an infantry company positioned on either flank to watch for attackers, with a tank battalion in reserve to help where its needed the most at the front, ATG company forward in the wooded area to watch the road and bog down the lead elements of the, axis advance.

The axis came hard down the main highway at first light only to run into the well positioned ATG unit which unleashed its 9 2lbr guns at close range engaging both a panzer company and armoured car forward group. knocking out 4 panzers and 6 armoured cars, after repostioning the guns they also severly disrupted a motorcycle company and another axis panzer unit, before moving around the flank and back behind allied lines to safety.

All the while the axis are getting held up by this disruption in the constricted terrain and wooded area of the highway they decided to use for their main advance, so I unleashed my 2 repositioned companies of 25pdr artillery guns and slammed the entire column with 1600 HE shells, the axis now appears to be trying to re-organise I have several comapnies of tanks waiting in ambush which can quickly fallback behind ATG and MG positions with close support from motorised infantry.

Wonder where it will go from here, exit time starts at day3 0600 and ends at 2300, it seems so far away!!!! 12.6 out of 80 destroy the enemy points so far :/ I know have to figure out my plan for fallback at nightfall, which will allow good defensive positions while being close enough to reach the exit point quickly! (Thats if I can hold off the advance for just a few more hours)

Really having fun with this game... It really is awesome!

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Stalintc

Finally the first real battle I have played so far

Its the scenario "First Clean Break" playing as Allies, damn thats a difficult one to think about defensivley....

However it is now day2 14:30

After the initial fight over the northern bridges in day1 which resulted in massive casulties for the axis as they pursued the highway route presenting the perfect artillery target in the same zone that I had covered by an MG unit and several tank companies, the flank guards (infantry and one tank company each side) I had setup did not encounter much fire and if anything filtered the enemy back through to the central highway.

By nightfall the Axis had come to a rest having not crossed the northern bridges after suffering a terrible mauling from well positioned tanks and machine guns. Whilst my allied troops pulled back to a new defensive line which would once again force the axis to be channeled through wooded terrain and blindspots along the highway.

Yet again a tank company an infantry company positioned on either flank to watch for attackers, with a tank battalion in reserve to help where its needed the most at the front, ATG company forward in the wooded area to watch the road and bog down the lead elements of the, axis advance.

The axis came hard down the main highway at first light only to run into the well positioned ATG unit which unleashed its 9 2lbr guns at close range engaging both a panzer company and armoured car forward group. knocking out 4 panzers and 6 armoured cars, after repostioning the guns they also severly disrupted a motorcycle company and another axis panzer unit, before moving around the flank and back behind allied lines to safety.

All the while the axis are getting held up by this disruption in the constricted terrain and wooded area of the highway they decided to use for their main advance, so I unleashed my 2 repositioned companies of 25pdr artillery guns and slammed the entire column with 1600 HE shells, the axis now appears to be trying to re-organise I have several comapnies of tanks waiting in ambush which can quickly fallback behind ATG and MG positions with close support from motorised infantry.

Wonder where it will go from here, exit time starts at day3 0600 and ends at 2300, it seems so far away!!!! 12.6 out of 80 destroy the enemy points so far :/ I know have to figure out my plan for fallback at nightfall, which will allow good defesive positions while being close enough to reach the exit point quickly! (Thats if I can hold off the advance for just a few more hours)

Really having fun with this game... It really is awesome!

It's amazing how it just pulls you right in. Instead of think about counters and combat factors you quickly find yourself thinking more about numbers of men, guns, tanks, frontages of deployment , manuever timing and fatigue.

[Stalintc]

Yes you are right Hans, its easy to forget the counters etc and get very involved with the battle at hand, it's also strange in the way that I kind of feel for the troops that are facing this massive axis onslaught and I really want to keep them as safe as possible while inflicting the harshest blows possible to the attackers.

For example the ATG gun unit that I mentioned ambushing those panzers and armoured cars, I was really willing them on and biting my nails as I ordered them to withdraw and watched them rushing out of harms way, knowing there is nothing I can do other than to hope I timed it right and made the correct decision on their retreating route, the rest is up to the unit, since the orders delay forces forces this, which I think is just brilliant!

I actually feel sorry for the infantry battaliion which I have been unable to keep up with my withdrawal and are now stuck behind enemy lines, I am continuing to bring them to the exit point, but also using them as a very advanced flank guard, and actually managed to use them to sandwich an enemy motorised batallion between them at the rear and a tank company in front over an important bridge on the right flank, which made the axis retreat back into the centre again. They will not make it to the exit point in time which is a shame.

There are so many factors to consider that affects the battle its true, ammunition, fatigue the lot has a large role to play in the decision making process and dictates how the battle will be fought and how I the commander can employ these forces in the coming encounters.

[Stalintc]

Here is the progress thus far

[Stalintc]

And here we have it endgame I enjoyed that!

[Arjuna]

STalintc,
 
Must be time you ratcheted the realism level up to "painfully realistic"! [:)]

[JeF]

Stalintc,

Nice victory. Very well done.
I find the Axis AI pushes sufficiently well in this scenario and I don't always win (decisively that is [;)]). But it is not too difficult (on both sides) and is a good "first scenario".

I just played the same scenario last night, but from the German side. I used "no orders delay", favoured Allies and played at full speed, nearly C&C style. [;)] From the flexibility in the gameplay COTA is impressive as well.

I tried to crush the British units and win by destroying all his units. Alas I couldn't chase and destroy them fast enough, and I had to exit the reminder of my troops to get a chance for victory. I totaled roughly 140 points, rounded to 100 (the maximum), while I let the AI destroy and exit 61 points worth. Marginal victory only, but I had a blast !!



Take care,

JeF.

[GoodGuy]

ORIGINAL: Stalintc

[]..... the way it is made allows the player to broaden the possibilities for their strategy and tactics to a much higher level than a turn based hex game where every unit is mashed together along a long front........[]

Heck, a convert ! Let's cuff him so he can't run away.... wait, that's rude... let's take him by the hand and embrace his soul, so that he won't turn back to the dark side (*GG singing a flowerpower hippie song*)! [;)]

Heck, another one:

ORIGINAL: Jonesy

Hi Stalin!
My copy of COTA is currently on its way from NWS

Cuff 'em, cuff 'em ! [;)]

ORIGINAL: Stalintc

If indirect fires were to start landing on a bridge crossing, would this eventually destroy it?

Oh a perfect item for the wishlist [:D].