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Which unit does what? and more questions..

 
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Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 5:25:31 PM   
darkhelix


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If any of you can help me with the questions below, I would be grateful for your help.
I really enjoy trying to play games such as CMANO, Combat Mission and Order of Battle and am thinking about purchasing Armored Brigade but I have a few questions first..

1. As someone with no military background or training who loves military strategy games but is not very good at them, how easy is it to play Armored Brigade and to know which unit counters which unit and how formations and tactics work? I have watched a few videos and the people streaming all seem to know exactly what to do, which units to use etc.

2. Without exiting the game, can I see what a unit does? I don't mean it's statistics, I mean it's function or role in battle.

3. Is there an in-game encyclopedia similar to CMANO?

4. The scenarios that I have seen people playing were smaller and seem to be more manageable than, for example, War in the East and Art of War IV. Is that correct? I am looking for easy to pick up scenarios and not huge complicated battles.

5. Are there in-game tutorials?

6. Is the information clearly readable on a higher resolution screen?
Post #: 1
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 6:18:35 PM   
exsonic01

 

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Those are not that easy questions to answer bet let me try as simple as possible.
quote:


1. As someone with no military background or training who loves military strategy games but is not very good at them, how easy is it to play Armored Brigade and to know which unit counters which unit and how formations and tactics work? I have watched a few videos and the people streaming all seem to know exactly what to do, which units to use etc.

I think this game's learning curve is not that steep. If you have any experience in Close Combat, Combat Mission, or Eugen's Wargame, then you will learn really fast, those games have some similarities with AB. You mentioned CMANO, and from my experience, learning AB is easier and faster than learning CMANO (and Harpoon series).

quote:


2. Without exiting the game, can I see what a unit does? I don't mean it's statistics, I mean it's function or role in battle.

This may requires a bit of knowledge about army tactics, and this might be different among different timeframes. I think basically there are 7 categories of units based on its role.
a) Infantry = deployed in woods and towns, form some sort of 'perimeter' or 'line' to defense. With lower chance to being detected, they can ambush enemy nicely.
b) Armor = penetrate through the enemy defense line, or being a mobile hard point against enemy assault. With its tanking capability (frontal armor) and main gun fire power, tanks can perform so many roles. But they need infantry support, especially when push into forest or towns.
c) IFV (APC) = being a taxi of infantry to battlefield, or being a fire support units with autocannon and ATGM.
d) Anti air = provide the AA cover to area.
e) ATGM vehicles and teams = ATGM vehicles can be a great support unit for tanks during offense or defense against enemy armors. ATGM teams can be a great support unit for tanks or infantry during defense.
f) Air = Area-denial / sniping / general support (gunship), Sniping or anti-AA (airstrike), and recon (recon heli)
g) Artillery / mortar = areal fire support and smoke.
h) Recon = early-warning, or artillery / airstrike spotter.

Keep in mind that the role for units can be slightly different time frame by time frame. For example, doctrine for armors of late 1980s and early 1970s were slightly different.

quote:


3. Is there an in-game encyclopedia similar to CMANO?

Nope. But you can check in-game unit specs.

quote:


4. The scenarios that I have seen people playing were smaller and seem to be more manageable than, for example, War in the East and Art of War IV. Is that correct? I am looking for easy to pick up scenarios and not huge complicated battles.

This game describes the tactical theater of the war, can depict from platoon scale to brigade scale battle. You can try some pre-made scenarios like 'twin-valleys' or 'cavalry vs tank regiment'. Or you can make a very small size battle (1000~3000pt game) in 2km x 2km map or smaller sized map.

quote:


5. Are there in-game tutorials?

There is no 'tutorial mission' in this game, but if you turn on 'tutorial mode', then in-game explanation window will be opened during gameplay.

quote:


6. Is the information clearly readable on a higher resolution screen?

Yes, at least to me. I had no problems with resolution issues so far.

< Message edited by exsonic01 -- 12/17/2018 6:21:38 PM >

(in reply to darkhelix)
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RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 7:46:16 PM   
darkhelix


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Thank you @exsonic01, especially for your reply to point 2.
I think that without a proper tutorial or at least more YouTube tutorials, I will bounce of this game within a couple of weeks as I won't know how to play correctly.. I will keep my eyes peeled for more help for beginners.. Thanks

(in reply to exsonic01)
Post #: 3
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 7:52:06 PM   
CCIP-subsim


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That about covers the basics, well said

Just to add to that broadly -

In terms of resolutions, yup, you should have no problem - the game scales nicely, and has several different interface size settings, meaning that if you find the icons too small (or too large) you can change the interface scale via the game start menu.

The CMANO parallel is not unfair with AB, although yeah, it's also still a game that is a bit different in scope and game flow. It's actually a bit simpler and more intuitive, especially if you're used to real-time or semi-real-time strategies - what you see is what you get, and there's much less to manage in terms of menus and doctrine settings, and more just paying attention to what's going on with the map and reacting to it.

It is definitely nothing like games such as War in the East or TOAW IV, in the sense that those are operational (and maybe even partly strategic) level games, and this one is 100% tactics (much like CMANO). You can definitely set yourself up for scenarios that are unwieldy - but that'd be purely by your own choice!

Otherwise, one thing you'll notice in terms of unit roles and performance is the sharp technological advancement in the game's 25-year timeline - again, not unlike CMANO, you'll probably see a pretty major change between the 1960s and 1980s in terms of deadliness of combat. Most of the pieces (i.e. unit types) remain the same, but their effectiveness changes pretty sharply. Early in the game timeline, tanks with their main guns are the dominant unit on the battlefield. Late in the game they're still the dominant unit, but the picture shifts somewhat, mainly thanks to the rapid advancements in guided and portable anti-tank weapons. Many light units will carry missiles by then that can kill tanks in one shot; infantry will also usually be armed with plenty of very effective man-portable weapons that will kill any tank that foolishly gets close enough. Tanks do, however, also continue to develop and become tougher, and in particular you'll see their engagement ranges and accuracy grow, with one-shot kills possible from even extreme distance. This is helped even more by the fact that many tanks will also carry guided missiles themselves.

Another thing that's useful to pay attention to is the development of mechanized infantry and their vehicles. From early in the game's timeline, you'll mostly see mechanized infantry mounted in APCs (like the US M-113 or the Soviet BTR series), which are basically just there to get your infantry to and from the battlefield - they can provide some very limited support against other infantry and might carry a heavy machinegun or something of the sort, but have no place fighting anything heavier and are best off hiding after unloading their infantry. However, very quickly along the timeline you see the development of IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles), spurred mostly by the Soviet BMP series. They are not much better protected than the typical APCs, but pack a much more substantial punch, including a cannon for 'soft' targets and even anti-tank missiles. It would be a mistake to use them like tanks (because they're still not tanks), but knowing the differences and capabilities of your mech infantry vehicles - and using them properly - is a very key skill.

The one thing that you might find to be a bit of a learning curve if you've never really dealt with it before is artillery - this game has a very good system for calling in artillery missions, but you definitely have to understand how it works and what goes into a successful artillery strike in order to use it effectively. One of the things that's crucial is having "eyes" on your targets, something that on a Cold-War-gone-hot battlefield is almost necessarily a role for infantry (because it is very unlikely that a vehicle on a battlefield full of enemy tanks will stay unseen for long). Artillery is not instant, it always comes with a delay, and it's very easy to waste it if you're not careful - but it's devastating and can make or break battles if used properly. However that also works both ways - and the AI in Armored Brigade seems to have a knack for pulverizing anything it can observe for long enough using very accurate artillery strikes. There's basically nothing you can do to stop or prevent artillery strikes - which means you have to be prepared for them. That often means keeping your units moving (or ready to move immediately), and keeping them spread out - keeping your eggs in one basket rarely works, and trying to "camp" in what seem like good positions can really cost you. The other crucial thing is having 'eyes' out front, preferably in the form of infantry, that can detect the enemy before he can detect you and hit you, whether with artillery or other units.

Otherwise, I think the roles of various units are pretty intuitive. One thing I'd encourage you not to get too hung up on is "what is good against what" - there are many ways to fight the same threats. Keep in mind that Cold War-era land combat doctrines were designed specifically to avoid setpiece head-to-head battles like those of ancient times, trench warfare of World War I, and big urban battles like some of those in World War II. Armored (or mechanized) brigades are designed to be fast and fluid, flexible enough to deal with lots of threats in lots of situations, but mainly to hit hard, engage and disengage quickly, bypass enemy units that they don't want to fight, and remain unobserved by the enemy as best as possible while they're at it. It's less a game of unit vs. counter-unit, and more a game of observation and movement. The average force in Armored Brigade has enough weapons to kill every single unit in the enemy force many times over, and a brute force approach will rarely bring anything better than a pyrrhic victory. The real trick is to put yourself in the best position to use as many of your weapons on the enemy as you can, while denying him the chance to do the same to you. It's a style of warfare that isn't as spectacular as it might seem - most actual engagements are over in seconds, or a few shots, usually with very deadly results. The fun part is when you do everything right and those few shots end up being all yours.

And yeah, there's no tutorial - but there's some good info here already, and to be honest, I find the game super intuitive in terms of actual play. Just start small and easy, and you'll be enjoying it in no time.

(in reply to exsonic01)
Post #: 4
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 9:54:41 PM   
darkhelix


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One more quick question. Is it possible to play with graphical icon counters instead of NATO counters?
So instead of a box with an x, you see a tank icon for example?

< Message edited by darkhelix -- 12/17/2018 9:55:17 PM >

(in reply to CCIP-subsim)
Post #: 5
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/17/2018 11:07:04 PM   
darkhelix


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@CCIP-subsim, thank you too for your post. Very helpful.

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Post #: 6
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/18/2018 2:47:56 PM   
Veitikka


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quote:

ORIGINAL: darkhelix

One more quick question. Is it possible to play with graphical icon counters instead of NATO counters?
So instead of a box with an x, you see a tank icon for example?


Yes, you can toggle off the NATO icons and scale up the vehicle and infantry sprites in the options menu, so you'll see them all the time.


_____________________________

Know thyself!

(in reply to darkhelix)
Post #: 7
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/18/2018 7:36:59 PM   
darkhelix


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quote:


Yes, you can toggle off the NATO icons and scale up the vehicle and infantry sprites in the options menu, so you'll see them all the time.



@Veitikka So you can enlarge the sprites of the units but you cannot show graphical icons for units instead of NATO icons?

(in reply to Veitikka)
Post #: 8
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/18/2018 7:49:03 PM   
CCIP-subsim


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What would be the difference? It's essentially the same effect - you can change the size of unit sprites, and turn the NATO icons on or off. How you use that is up to you, and you can for example just have large unit sprites and turn off the NATO icon unit bases if you want. Personally, I prefer playing with default (actual size, meaning pretty small) unit sprites and NATO icons on.

(in reply to darkhelix)
Post #: 9
RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/18/2018 7:56:08 PM   
darkhelix


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You're right CCIP. I hadn't thought it through and obviously the NATO icon would just be replaced with a larger game sprite and would switch to a smaller unit sprite when you zoom in.

I really wish I could test this game for an hour or so just to see if I can play it or not. Would hate to waste money on something that looks this good that I would never be able to play correctly.

(in reply to CCIP-subsim)
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RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/19/2018 2:44:41 PM   
kevinkins


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If you play CMANO and Combat Mission, you will have no problem coming up to speed on the concepts needed to enjoy AB. Just to add to the excellent points already made, you can't target enemy units with direct fire like you can in those two games. The AI takes care of that for you. Through the SOP dialog, you can tell your formations what (soft vs hard targets) to fire on and at what range. You do move your forces around the map using detailed waypoints either as individual units or formations containing those units.

Kevin

_____________________________

“The study of history lies at the foundation of all sound military conclusions and practice.”
― Alfred Thayer Mahan


(in reply to darkhelix)
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RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/20/2018 9:03:29 PM   
TheCabal


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Hi darkhelix,

ever considered Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm incl. DLC: Germany Reforged? Both it and AB are damn fine titles in the right era!

Greetings,
Cabal

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RE: Which unit does what? and more questions.. - 12/21/2018 11:19:21 PM   
darkhelix


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@TheCabal - I couldn't get into Flashpoint. On the surface it looked like just what I would enjoy but it was too large scale and too slow for me.

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