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Force Management - 3/25/2004 11:59:09 PM   
Warmonger

 

Posts: 48
Joined: 3/6/2004
From: Kansas
Status: offline 		Any advice on managing HUGE forces?
I am playing the stalingrad campaign, and in the 3rd scenario, the huge number of auxiliary units bring my total force to 60 formations!

I'll say that again...

60 FORMATIONS!!

I love huge battles, actually....I just need some advice from experienced players on good ways to manage this enormous force. For instance:

What are the best ways to:

- Figure out what I have and how to implement it all
- Decide on tasks for each formation
- Keep track of everything once the chaos begins

Any advice on planning, fighting, and maintaining your force (large or small) and keeping track of your formations during the fight will be most appreciated.
Post #: 1
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 3:46:36 AM   
BruceAZ


Posts: 608
Joined: 10/9/2000
From: California
Status: offline 		Hi Warmonger:

Use your assignment button on the right to reassign units to a new formation. For example, I recently played a campaign and I had purchased German forces. When I bought my FJ (para) company it had one CO, three squads, one ATR team of 3 units and some 81mm mortars - or 6 formations. I reassigned the mortars to the CO and one ATR to each squad and now reduce the formations to four instead of six.

I follow this approach through out all assigned units to create "super formations" (or larger) based on a specific mission such as tank, infanrty assault, etc. I always assign independent flak units to each new formation. I may start with 60 formations but the time I get reassigning everything, I usually end up with about half of what I started - and this IS managble!

BTW, welcome to the SPWAW community!

Recon
Semper Fi

_____________________________


(in reply to Warmonger)
Post #: 2
Figure out what you have / keep track of everything - 3/26/2004 4:01:21 AM   
minefield


Posts: 289
Joined: 3/25/2004
From: North Carolina, USA
Status: offline 		When confronted with a large force with AUX units, I usually start by cutting live delay to 0 and hovering my mouse over each aux unit. I can also just go to the unit list and look and see what the makeup of the AUX unit forces is by looking at the end of the list. I don't know if you can reassign AUX units as you can do regular units. They are pretty unchangeable (can't load, etc.) at the beginning.

I have an overall pattern when I play of first looking to see where the enemy is, what suppression / damage I took, moving my units (the largest and most complex), assigning artillery, then ending the round.

As far as moving forces is concerned, I have used two approaches. One is to move alphabetically through your list. Starting with the HQ and pressing next, I am sure that every unit has been given attention and I don't forget to do something. This usually isn't the best order to move units though, so to keep from overlooking units I might check the unit list to see if some unit that normally moves has all its movement points left. Neither method is ideal but they can help.
A second approach to processing your units is spatially. I have at times started from the northern most area and move down until I have swept the whole line of battle. I can check the rear when I go to call in artillery.
As far as more detailed instructions for moving units, there are a lot of minor points that I won't mention, such as moving recon/ infantry first (or some cheap truck) to check for mines and find the enemy, then moving armor if need be. You're goal is to minimize casualties while maximizing kill potential. The sticky post about direct fire can help you with this.

While this post may or may not be helpful, it gives a starting place to develop your own methodology for dealing with these sometimes huge battlefields. When it comes down to it though, until you are comfortable with the game, these battles are going to overwhelm you. Take frequent breaks and don't play another round if you are tired and are likely to start making mistakes (like moving that halftrack too far).

< Message edited by minefield -- 3/25/2004 9:05:23 PM >

(in reply to BruceAZ)
Post #: 3
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 6:34:00 AM   
Warmonger

 

Posts: 48
Joined: 3/6/2004
From: Kansas
Status: offline 		Oops

< Message edited by Warmonger -- 3/26/2004 4:42:31 AM >

(in reply to BruceAZ)
Post #: 4
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 6:40:08 AM   
Warmonger

 

Posts: 48
Joined: 3/6/2004
From: Kansas
Status: offline 		Thanks minefield...

I do use both the sequential and spatial methods. I also keep some notes to keep track of certain important tasks. (Now what did I move those motorcycles over THERE for?). Reassigning units cannot be done with AUX formations, that's true. That's not my concern anyway. I was just wondering how other players keep their forces straight...I guess the same way I do! Thanks!

(in reply to Warmonger)
Post #: 5
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 3:05:13 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		I have been playing spwaw since the first steel panthers came out. I still get overwhelmed with the amount of units too move. I usually try to move from a section to anothere section . Mostly i go to my on board artty find any targets to fire at. Then i look at all my tanks to see if they have any targets then i move my scouts. After this i move and shoot any infantry that have aquirred any targets. Every so often i go in turn starting with the AO on down. This helps me find any units that i have lost. Such as morters, MMG and atr that seem to get lost for me.


The best way to move is to take your time. Dont get in a hurry and move too fast. There is no time limit or how many turns you have to take in a day. Even now i make movement mistakes. Like clicking on a hex too far forward of my unit. I am getting better at moving one hex at a time. I still lose units with bad moves but am getting better. In other words i dont move too fast but still get impationent and make some mistakes with movement.

_____________________________

Robots wear armor for skin.Grunts wear skin for armor.

(in reply to Warmonger)
Post #: 6
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 3:30:16 PM   
minefield


Posts: 289
Joined: 3/25/2004
From: North Carolina, USA
Status: offline 		Just to reinforce what you said, I goof up as well. Just now I intended to click off of the bombardment menu but somehow managed to move my FO way away from his post. I'm sure that's going to help HQ contact.

(in reply to robot)
Post #: 7
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 4:07:40 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		Another thing i have found about moving units. When the vis is down low say 1 to 3 hexes. You are going to find the enemy units are hard to locate. Say you move your southern infantry unit and he bumps into an enemy. Dont move your next closest unit to him. He will get op fire too. I move maybe a unit in my next platoon either north or south of him. This gives me the chance maybe to get a shot at the unit he bumped into. It really works better if the line of sight is higher say above 7 hexes. I hate when it is below 3 hexes this is the hardest battles i have.

_____________________________

Robots wear armor for skin.Grunts wear skin for armor.

(in reply to minefield)
Post #: 8
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 4:14:13 PM   
minefield


Posts: 289
Joined: 3/25/2004
From: North Carolina, USA
Status: offline 		1 to 3 vis is crazy. That's flame thrower range (well 1 hex for infantry and 2 for the tank). I did try the desert raiders campaign (stopped because of incorrect unit graphics, etc.) and noticed with the low vis (5 hexes) that locating units in your los was more troublesome than locating units at the same distance if the vis were greater.
Good luck developing tactics for that range. I'm sure it will help you when you have to fight it out in the forests or other such low vis terrain.

(in reply to robot)
Post #: 9
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 4:23:31 PM   
BruceAZ


Posts: 608
Joined: 10/9/2000
From: California
Status: offline 		Good point and the suggestions here by others are excellent. Remember you cannot reassign AUX units but you can with core units in campaigns and custom battles against the AI. I did not make that point clear in my earlier post. You will find a real mix as some gamers like "big battles" of 200+ units while others prefer small squad or platoon size engagements. Many scen or campaign designers try and give the gamer a little of both.

Good luck!

Recon
Semper Fi

_____________________________


(in reply to Warmonger)
Post #: 10
RE: Force Management - 3/26/2004 5:03:52 PM   
Poopyhead

 

Posts: 612
Joined: 3/17/2004
Status: offline 		Like most folks, I have a screen of leg recon types in front of the main force to spot the bad guys. The first thing I do is left click each one in turn and see what's out there. You can then right click their facing or inch them forward and get a bigger picture. I then go through each unit and rally where needed. If a routed or suppressed unit is out of contact, I try to shift some leaders around before I try rallying. Now that I know where the enemy is and I have access to all of my toys I can start I try to divide my force into combined arms teams keyed on each one of the VH objectives. That way the big mission is broken down into smaller tasks and I can keep track of which group is after what. When you reassign units, it is best to keep each platoon pure, i.e., armor with armor, infantry with infantry. I have read that units get a bonus if they and their platoon leader make a skill check, so this happens more often if they both say, have a high artillery skill score.

(in reply to BruceAZ)
Post #: 11
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