I started my Combat Mission journey with CMSF2 and have recently obtained Black Sea as it was half price on a Steam special. I am really enjoying the CM experience and would like to thankyou (Usually Hapless) for your tutorials that helped me get underway. I really appreciate your work man!
A key tidbit for new players @1:25 You will get zero notice as to enemy air activity VISUALLY until they strike. Make sure you have the sound turned up and pay attention. Those chopper blade sounds you hear on turn one are NOT just background noise... ;) ...hell, I never noticed the difference in Red Thunder...I don't think I have used air support in that game in the decade(s) I have owned it. LOL!!!
@@run2u520 true, however, if you see your SAM's firing, ie... the smoke trails heading to heaven you know something is in the air. Those Preds can be shot down, and the ZSU-23/4 is great etc.
me too,any content would be nice. new to this game and like so many others,looking to learn/needing to learn alot . For example a small detail i learned tonight in a QB VS AI,if i put my squad against the wall of a house,two pixel truppen will cling to left and right sides of the wall( with preference for an RPG unit,and LMG unit) in order to watch a direction/peek cover...the Truppen are given a hidden "cover value" here,as even though they "look" out of cover,the game is simulating them actually peeking cover and remaining more safe than out in the open... little details like this are cool and you could talk about stuff you find/know about. Kep these vids coming plz i got the game based on them and as a 20 year RTS player,iv finally found my cup of tea,big thanks
in my personal experience friendly Air units will, without fail, strike your own forces no matter how far away from the target zone or how well positioned the AFAC is.
I have not had this experience but I usually keep my assets a good 400m plus away from the 'Blue zones of death". Or I call in airstrikes in areas my assets are not close to but I will eventually get to, so looking for a Recon in Force per say. But you have to keep looking at what they attack so they don't keep attacking a dead target... sometimes.
Honestly, the only thing that is really hard to figure out for me in these games is urban warfare. Big losses every time with enemies just killing your soldiers without any way for them to fight back. I comfort myself by thinking that every officer IRL who faced urban warfare had same thoughts as me.
@@keith5524 Now see, that's obviously easy once you just say it like that. But then: Suppressing becomes an issue where you have no idea where the enemy might be. Same deal with smoke and artillery. Finding out where the enemy is without killing your own troops in the process is almost impossible, especially with WEGO. Artillery and other heavy weaponry is also limited by collateral damage.
@@Someone-lr6gu Make sure you're leading with 2 man scout teams, they're harder for the enemy to spot, hit, and if they do die it's better to lose 2 men than a whole squad. Use breach teams and explosives judiciously if you have access to them as well. CM's modeling of urban combat is it's greatest weakness IMHO and it always turns into more of a meat grinder than field battles but you can limit your losses a lot with smart play.
Irl you bombard the lines youre assaulting first. Its called SHAPING. For example you arty the couple row of houses before going in. Or you can do recon fire by doing manual fire with scouting force from at least 500m away so that they dont get killed by return fire esp rpg. ai would fire back then you can destroy the building with fire support vehicles. Going into a city would be dangerous so go around it or arty the hell out of it. Assaulting should be the last choice
Thanks, as always, UH for another interesting, well structured and informative video. I never knew that CMRT differed from the rest. Strange that Battlefront haven't brought it in line to give the player more control. Especially when you factor in how important and common CAS was on the Eastern Front
I think it has more to do with russian officers and artillery spotters had a lack of radios actually during the conflict also i believe all the air support commands came from a different source entirely. thats the only ww2 game i dont have so if the germans have the same system then it becomes a little more complicated
whats the SF2 video, where hapless says why suppress with rifle when you can shoot it with autocannon, why use autocannon when you have tanks main guns, why use main guns when you have artillery, and why use artillery when you have a 500lb bomb. that's not verbatim but I've been looking for it all morning and it was just a video of army troops reducing a building to rubble lol
I am having an issue where my Apache will not shoot when on light attack mode. It comes in and immediately "Egressing from target" is called and it leaves. Why?
Have you done any videos that explain how to best read topography. When playing turn based I always lose units that expose themselves when moving up to the top of a slope. I can never successfully send an AFV to use optics to peek over the top of a slope, they always end up blown up by AT missiles.
If AA systems have ammo. I have found that even 1 manpad is good enough to deter 1 aircraft but sometimes you get unlucky. Tip always bring at least 1 more AA piece than the enemy has aircraft.
Broadly speaking, either hiding or moving. CAS engagement areas in CM are pretty small and CAS takes a while to call in, so keeping moving is a good bet if you've got the space.
It took me half an hour (29 minutes) to call for air support when I played the syrian reserves clearing insurgents. I couldn't finnd any JTACs there and Idk why it's that long. I guess I did something wrong (Not sure if I had any FOs in the platoon and it was one platoon and a wpns squad and not more) or maybe the reserves are just that bad. I guess that bc of the dotrine it takes longer, but this is insane. Does anyone know the answer? Also my reserve platoon had: Leadership: -2 Skill: Conscript Motivation: Low/Very low
Purchased CM:SF2 a couple of days ago thanks to your videos and it's one of the most fun (and at times infuriating) games I've played; Mission 3 of the Rolling Thunder campaign, I'm looking at you. How does Black Sea / Cold war compare as I've heard they're much harder compared to the beginner friendly SF2.
I have difficulties using CAS effectively in some settings. Maybe someone here can help me out. If targets are mooving but I have a 5-10 min call in time it is nearly impossible to hit enemies. Prime example is CMSF2 German Campaign (Kunst des Krieges) mission "Syrien Gambit". I cannot stop 50 syrian vehicles using Choppers and have to resort to Marder Rockets, which violates the objective to hide them.
Generally, you want to use point target on structures and enemy units for fast jets carrying bombs. For slower aircraft such as the A-10, choppers and even F-16s armed with ATGMs, you should give them a target area so they can search and destroy targets on their own.
Not having stuff like air support payloads explained in the army purchase screen is peak CM. "Lol, just read the manual! I swear, the gamers these days. What's next, asking for mouse-over popups explaining what buttons and symbols on the interface mean?"
And make aircraft an actual unit, not just combat but also transport (unite and supplies like ammo). So imagine the Soviets using Mi-8s and Mi-24s or whatever
"How to petition the sky gods and their minions for help"
Incredible
I really hope Steve has at least sent you a CM t shirt for all the work you've done to benefit the series.
I have a Usually Hapless T-shirt.
I'm jealous
@@usuallyhapless9481 where buy merch
I started my Combat Mission journey with CMSF2 and have recently obtained Black Sea as it was half price on a Steam special.
I am really enjoying the CM experience and would like to thankyou (Usually Hapless) for your tutorials that helped me get underway. I really appreciate your work man!
Ditto.
I second that.
Have you ever thought about streaming? I’d love to watch you play and get to hear your thoughts and tactics in real time.
Maybe not a PBEM game since such games could take days if not weeks to complete.
A key tidbit for new players @1:25 You will get zero notice as to enemy air activity VISUALLY until they strike. Make sure you have the sound turned up and pay attention. Those chopper blade sounds you hear on turn one are NOT just background noise... ;) ...hell, I never noticed the difference in Red Thunder...I don't think I have used air support in that game in the decade(s) I have owned it. LOL!!!
Except for armed drones, which I don't think make any sounds until they blow up your expensive tank with a Hellfire missile.
@@run2u520 true, however, if you see your SAM's firing, ie... the smoke trails heading to heaven you know something is in the air. Those Preds can be shot down, and the ZSU-23/4 is great etc.
me too,any content would be nice. new to this game and like so many others,looking to learn/needing to learn alot . For example a small detail i learned tonight in a QB VS AI,if i put my squad against the wall of a house,two pixel truppen will cling to left and right sides of the wall( with preference for an RPG unit,and LMG unit) in order to watch a direction/peek cover...the Truppen are given a hidden "cover value" here,as even though they "look" out of cover,the game is simulating them actually peeking cover and remaining more safe than out in the open...
little details like this are cool and you could talk about stuff you find/know about. Kep these vids coming plz i got the game based on them and as a 20 year RTS player,iv finally found my cup of tea,big thanks
in my personal experience friendly Air units will, without fail, strike your own forces no matter how far away from the target zone or how well positioned the AFAC is.
I have not had this experience but I usually keep my assets a good 400m plus away from the 'Blue zones of death". Or I call in airstrikes in areas my assets are not close to but I will eventually get to, so looking for a Recon in Force per say. But you have to keep looking at what they attack so they don't keep attacking a dead target... sometimes.
Honestly, the only thing that is really hard to figure out for me in these games is urban warfare. Big losses every time with enemies just killing your soldiers without any way for them to fight back. I comfort myself by thinking that every officer IRL who faced urban warfare had same thoughts as me.
Suppression, smoke, and artillery. Level entire towns and cities if need be and if authorized.
@@keith5524 Now see, that's obviously easy once you just say it like that. But then:
Suppressing becomes an issue where you have no idea where the enemy might be. Same deal with smoke and artillery. Finding out where the enemy is without killing your own troops in the process is almost impossible, especially with WEGO.
Artillery and other heavy weaponry is also limited by collateral damage.
@@Someone-lr6gu Make sure you're leading with 2 man scout teams, they're harder for the enemy to spot, hit, and if they do die it's better to lose 2 men than a whole squad. Use breach teams and explosives judiciously if you have access to them as well. CM's modeling of urban combat is it's greatest weakness IMHO and it always turns into more of a meat grinder than field battles but you can limit your losses a lot with smart play.
@@Coddykin About the 2 team suggestions, I will look into that, that seems to be a good idea, thanks.
Irl you bombard the lines youre assaulting first. Its called SHAPING. For example you arty the couple row of houses before going in. Or you can do recon fire by doing manual fire with scouting force from at least 500m away so that they dont get killed by return fire esp rpg. ai would fire back then you can destroy the building with fire support vehicles. Going into a city would be dangerous so go around it or arty the hell out of it. Assaulting should be the last choice
Apparently Red Thunder has Kreigsmarine ground troops, I'd love to see these in either gameplay or a video showcase
They're not tremendously interesting. Just German infantry in slightly different uniforms
@@usuallyhapless9481 No ‘lil sailor caps at a jaunty angle on the Pixeltroopen? :(
Thanks, as always, UH for another interesting, well structured and informative video. I never knew that CMRT differed from the rest. Strange that Battlefront haven't brought it in line to give the player more control. Especially when you factor in how important and common CAS was on the Eastern Front
I think it has more to do with russian officers and artillery spotters had a lack of radios actually during the conflict also i believe all the air support commands came from a different source entirely. thats the only ww2 game i dont have so if the germans have the same system then it becomes a little more complicated
More knowledge! Finally I can use my cluster bombs with maximum efficiency!
whats the SF2 video, where hapless says why suppress with rifle when you can shoot it with autocannon, why use autocannon when you have tanks main guns, why use main guns when you have artillery, and why use artillery when you have a 500lb bomb. that's not verbatim but I've been looking for it all morning and it was just a video of army troops reducing a building to rubble lol
I am having an issue where my Apache will not shoot when on light attack mode. It comes in and immediately "Egressing from target" is called and it leaves. Why?
As a guess, it can't find any targets to engage. Either that or it doesn't have any ammo for it's 'light' weapons left
Don't forget to add this to your Combat Missions Basics Playlist :)
Good spot! Fixed.
@@usuallyhapless9481 You know I got your back mate. That's what the italian army does for each other. Oggi, siamo tutti Italiani.
Great as always
Is there a discord or site that someone new to the game could find some opponents for PvP? The AI is good enough but it can get stale after a while.
discord.gg/Ck7dP3ZpSu
'Where we haven't blown anything up for a while.' - Well, you have been playing a lot of PvP lately...
Have you done any videos that explain how to best read topography. When playing turn based I always lose units that expose themselves when moving up to the top of a slope. I can never successfully send an AFV to use optics to peek over the top of a slope, they always end up blown up by AT missiles.
Excellent work!
What determines the likelihood of CAS being knocked out?
If AA systems have ammo. I have found that even 1 manpad is good enough to deter 1 aircraft but sometimes you get unlucky. Tip always bring at least 1 more AA piece than the enemy has aircraft.
How to prepare against them? The sound warning is nice, but what's the countermove when antiair fails to do anything?
Broadly speaking, either hiding or moving. CAS engagement areas in CM are pretty small and CAS takes a while to call in, so keeping moving is a good bet if you've got the space.
It took me half an hour (29 minutes) to call for air support when I played the syrian reserves clearing insurgents. I couldn't finnd any JTACs there and Idk why it's that long. I guess I did something wrong (Not sure if I had any FOs in the platoon and it was one platoon and a wpns squad and not more) or maybe the reserves are just that bad. I guess that bc of the dotrine it takes longer, but this is insane. Does anyone know the answer?
Also my reserve platoon had:
Leadership: -2
Skill: Conscript
Motivation: Low/Very low
El edgar be like: si quema cuh?
thank you sir
Purchased CM:SF2 a couple of days ago thanks to your videos and it's one of the most fun (and at times infuriating) games I've played; Mission 3 of the Rolling Thunder campaign, I'm looking at you.
How does Black Sea / Cold war compare as I've heard they're much harder compared to the beginner friendly SF2.
I have difficulties using CAS effectively in some settings. Maybe someone here can help me out.
If targets are mooving but I have a 5-10 min call in time it is nearly impossible to hit enemies.
Prime example is CMSF2 German Campaign (Kunst des Krieges) mission "Syrien Gambit". I cannot stop 50 syrian vehicles using Choppers and have to resort to Marder Rockets, which violates the objective to hide them.
Can anyone tell me how you setup TRP's? Ive never been able to accomplish this
In game they're represented by a unit (looks like an orange target sign). You either have them at the start of the battle, or you don't.
Do you know why some fast jets in CMSF2 will fly over and do nothing but the games shows they drop ordinance?
Could be weapon malfunctions, sometimes they completely miss the map too.
Generally, you want to use point target on structures and enemy units for fast jets carrying bombs. For slower aircraft such as the A-10, choppers and even F-16s armed with ATGMs, you should give them a target area so they can search and destroy targets on their own.
I dont get how AA guns/manpad can destroy a high flying fast mover dropping gps guided munitions
spotter and radar will told to do that.
Next Tutotorial: Air defense supression.
Thx :)
Are drones available for attack and surveillance in the Combat Mission games? Thank you
Yes, though not to everyone and IIRC only the Americans have one which is armed.
@@usuallyhapless9481 In which games, Combat Mission Black Sea? Thank you love your videos
@@WysteriaGuitar Black Sea and Shock Force 2, though there are more options in Black Sea IIRC
@@usuallyhapless9481 Thanks!
Not having stuff like air support payloads explained in the army purchase screen is peak CM.
"Lol, just read the manual! I swear, the gamers these days. What's next, asking for mouse-over popups explaining what buttons and symbols on the interface mean?"
i feel like they should model the aircraft considering the price they are charging for these 15 year old games
And make aircraft an actual unit, not just combat but also transport (unite and supplies like ammo). So imagine the Soviets using Mi-8s and Mi-24s or whatever
Classic Battlefront forgetting to update the air support in the other world war 2 games lol
Time for some more CMBS or even better CM:PRO in light of events in Ukraine?
CAS is the most disappointing implementation in the CM series IMO, especially the modern versions.