Couple Questions

[actrade1]

First let me say I LOVE this game. The lethality of this era intrigues me and the AI is in general, top notch. I couldn't believe after playing some scenarios twice that the AI would attack my NATO troops from completely different avenues and respond differently. I don't normally play PBEM so a strong AI is a must for me. On to the questions:

1. Helo defense: how does one defend against helos well? I've tried putting my AD sections close to the front, but they often don't even fire against helos and get wiped out by advancing inf/tnk/recon units. I understand the imminent patch will improve this, but I've had to stop playing the Hell On Wheels campaign since I can't defend against helos. I did download the school teacher campaign and oddly enough, the first scenario I just completed I really didn't have too much trouble. I kept my tank/inf units under 80-90% cover in the tree lines and they adequately either dodged and in cases, drove back the helos with their fire. The one AD unit in the game also shot some helos down. I don't think the vulcan/chapparal units in the NATO campaign ever shot a helo down. I assume putting your units in a dug in under good cover also helps.

2. Resupply: I prefer the no-auto resupply function after playing both ways, but am confused as to how resupply works without it. I had a couple of units run out of supply and I gave them the resupply order (it appears they'll also give themselves the order if I don't, correct?). However, contrary to what the manual says, they never broke contact or scooted and continued to fire back until they were completely out of ammo. I then tried to manually move them to cover in order to resupply them, but the AI would override me during the turn resolution and put them back in resupply mode without moving them. Eventually (maybe 2-3 turns later) they did manage to resupply themselves, but I'm curious about how the mechanics work.

3. Artillery Resupply: The manual in section 8.2.3 says that after the conclusion of a resupply period, specialty ammo will be resupplied. I never have been resupplied once I run out of a specialty round like smoke.

4. Retreats: When a unit's readiness or ammo begins to run low or you simply want to withdraw out of LOS, is there anyway to order a retreat that does not leave the unit massively exposed? It seems like I've tried to move deliberate/hasty or assault and much of the time, my units get wiped out once they leave their dug in positions. I've used smoke to cover a retreat to good effect, but like my previous question notes, I run out of smoke and can't resupply.

I've browsed the forums and it seems like the helo issue is something many are dealing with, but I didn't see answers to the other questions. Again, thanks for a great game and keep them coming!

[CapnDarwin]

1). The AD units in 2.02a and earlier are getting hammered by a spotting bug and also an issue with reaction fire. Both have been beaten flat in 2.03 and AD units are dangerous and flying too close or unmasked will lead to aircraft loss.

2). The Game Play Option is "emergency resupply is automatic". If this is on and a units fall below 10% (was 30%) then the unit "digs up" extra ammo from other units or external stores. This is different from Resupply which is an order you can give to help a unit recover readiness, morale, and restock ammo. Units that go critical (shown in red on the UDP) in one of those areas will attempt to pull back from the fight and resupply. You can, as the commander, order units to resupply as well.

3). I need to check on this. I did at one time allow for restocking of special ammo, but now I'm not sure after the 2.02 update. I will ask in tonight's dev call and see what it is currently doing.

4). This is a tough one. Once units get in contact it gets hard to disengage unless you can blind the enemy (with smoke as you noted). We will take a look at this a bit closer in for the 2.04 update when we look at tweaking some AI actions.

Thanks for the questions.

[actrade1]

Thanks for your reply! Looking forward to patch!

[cbelva]

On your #3, I can answer your question. Special ammo is not resupplied for artillery. In testing we found that smoke and mines were a hugh force modifier. NATO with their thermal sights could stop just about any Soviet attack with smoke and mines. In reality, they would not have unlimited special ammo. They would have a limited number and would have to use them judicially. In FPC, when you run out, you run out. So, plan carefully how you use your special ammo. I hope we can eventually add a set number of special ammo allowed in the scenario editor. That way you would know exactly how many rounds you had per scenario.

[actrade1]

Yes, that would be nice to have some idea as to how many salvos you had. Thanks for the clarification.

[jenrick]

#4 this is fairly realistic. Unless you're in a high cover area (urban, thick woods, etc) once you get clear of your prepared positions your are more exposed and as such subject to higher losses. So using smoke to break contact is an excellent and realistic technique to be able to get out of there without taking prohibitive losses.

-Jenrick