Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky

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Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Panzer Command: Ostfront >> Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky

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Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/4/2011 2:12:25 AM

JayTac

Posts: 26
Joined: 7/8/2009
Status: offline

I've been playing the demo for a few days and I'm thoroughly enjoying the overall simulation and tactical realism that's on display. The scenarios seem great, the AI is impressive, and overall the battles have a great feel to them.

The only downfall is the way in which the movement orders work. Which I've found to be clunky and extremely frustrating. For instance I can have my infantry positioned in the woods and may only want to move one fireteam up just slightly to improve his LOF. Unfortunately, that can't be done without moving the entire section and potentially ruining the position of the other fireteam(s).

I know the Defend - move order is an option, but that's often too restricted to make even minor movement orders that you may desire.

The other aspect to that is formations being remiss in general. You have to use a regroup order first, which prohibits any firing. It would seem to be more realistic if we could set formation and advance simultaneously. That would increase the tactical depth, while also giving the user the ability to position his units exactly as he sees fits. Because the other problem I'm running into are fireteams moving past a set waypoint, out of cover and possibly into harms way.

It seems that formations can often be altered due to different variables. That's fine. But, the AI should form up accordingly at the set WP, and not allow any fireteam past it, as it currently does. This just adds to the frustration and again makes it harder to get everyone in the right position.

With that said, the rest of the game is extremely solid, so I'd hate to pass on this because of one setback. Is this anything that's been improved upon in the final release? Is it possible that I'm not going about something correctly here?

Thanks.

< Message edited by JayTac -- 7/4/2011 2:15:17 AM >

Post #: 1

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/4/2011 2:54:33 AM

Mobius

Posts: 10339
Joined: 6/30/2006
From: California
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JayTac
The only downfall is the way in which the movement orders work. Which I've found to be clunky and extremely frustrating. For instance I can have my infantry positioned in the woods and may only want to move one fireteam up just slightly to improve his LOF. Unfortunately, that can't be done without moving the entire section and potentially ruining the position of the other fireteam(s).

Give the platoon an Engage Order and only move the one that is out of position. The stationary squads will defend and the moving unit will move. It won't fire until it halts next phase though.

_____________________________

All your Tanks are Belong to us!
panzer

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 2

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/4/2011 4:47:12 AM

rickier65

Posts: 14231
Joined: 4/20/2000
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JayTac

I've been playing the demo for a few days and I'm thoroughly enjoying the overall simulation and tactical realism that's on display. The scenarios seem great, the AI is impressive, and overall the battles have a great feel to them.

The only downfall is the way in which the movement orders work. Which I've found to be clunky and extremely frustrating. For instance I can have my infantry positioned in the woods and may only want to move one fireteam up just slightly to improve his LOF. Unfortunately, that can't be done without moving the entire section and potentially ruining the position of the other fireteam(s).

I know the Defend - move order is an option, but that's often too restricted to make even minor movement orders that you may desire.

Glad to hear you enjoy the Demo scenarios.

As Mobius points out, you might want to use the Engage --> Hold order for the squads you want to have hold their position (or even Engage --> Target if you have specific enemy targets you want to suppress. Then you can issue an Engage --> Move order to the one squad you want to move.

One of the things we want to do for the next game in the series is to make a more flexible command system.

Thanks
Rick

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 3

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/4/2011 9:09:37 AM

JMass

Posts: 2364
Joined: 6/3/2006
From: Italy
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JayTac
Because the other problem I'm running into are fireteams moving past a set waypoint, out of cover and possibly into harms way.

To use better the cover during the movement you can set the Path to "Cover" (instead of "Direct" or "Fastest").

_____________________________

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!"Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm Guderian

My boardgames collection: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/JMass?own=1&subtype=boardgame&ff=1

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 4

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/5/2011 1:03:34 AM

JayTac

Posts: 26
Joined: 7/8/2009
Status: offline

Thanks for the feedback everyone. First, let me apologize for the rude thread title. Turns out it wasn't even an accurate assessment anyway. Being new to the series, I suppose I just had to adjust to the setup a bit, and with more time in I'm really starting to like it. Making minor adjustments without moving the command is still a little troublesome, but it's definitely not as severe as I initially thought. Basically, I have no complaints there anymore.

Unfortunately though the game does tend to crash on me. Seems to randomly happen when I initiate the battle phase. Thankfully, the autosave feature helps to lessen the blow, so this game is still a must buy for me. But, if there's a way to troubleshoot this, even better.

My specs:
Windows 7
GTX 470
Q6600
4GB Ram

< Message edited by JayTac -- 7/5/2011 1:04:50 AM >

(in reply to JMass)

Post #: 5

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/5/2011 2:26:20 AM

Richie61

Posts: 584
Joined: 3/2/2009
From: Massachusetts
Status: offline

The main problem with the controls or how or what a control does is lack of time playing the PC series. I am a former CM player and PCK was my first of the series game. I still have a very
hard time picking or choosing the right or correct command. The older followers have learned over time what the PC controls do.

Plus the CPU/ GPU bottleneck really slows to flow of the game down for me. I can turn down the "eye candy", but with the machines now a days, we should be able to run it all.
I hope that the "team" is going to address this issue before long....

But, it's still a GREAT game

_____________________________

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Sun Tzu

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 6

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/5/2011 2:47:40 AM

rickier65

Posts: 14231
Joined: 4/20/2000
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JayTac

Thanks for the feedback everyone. First, let me apologize for the rude thread title. Turns out it wasn't even an accurate assessment anyway. Being new to the series, I suppose I just had to adjust to the setup a bit, and with more time in I'm really starting to like it. Making minor adjustments without moving the command is still a little troublesome, but it's definitely not as severe as I initially thought. Basically, I have no complaints there anymore.

Unfortunately though the game does tend to crash on me. Seems to randomly happen when I initiate the battle phase. Thankfully, the autosave feature helps to lessen the blow, so this game is still a must buy for me. But, if there's a way to troubleshoot this, even better.

My specs:
Windows 7
GTX 470
Q6600
4GB Ram

It's important to know what it's crashing on. a saved game will help along with the scenario and any other details. Is this the Demo that's crashing? I don't recall seeing any previous reports of a Demo CTD, so a saved game might help to see if we can duplicate.

Thanks
Rick

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 7

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/11/2011 7:41:55 AM

JayTac

Posts: 26
Joined: 7/8/2009
Status: offline

Yes, this on the demo. I don't have the save game file where it crashed anymore. What happens is it will crash once, usually early in the game. This would be the larger scenario, attacking the German town that I'm referring to. But, anyway from there I can load the last turn and play it out without any problems. So, not a huge deal. If it happens on the full game I'll be sure to post the save file.

(in reply to rickier65)

Post #: 8

RE: Great Game but, movement commands are too clunky - 7/11/2011 6:12:08 PM

rickier65

Posts: 14231
Joined: 4/20/2000
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: JayTac

Yes, this on the demo. I don't have the save game file where it crashed anymore. What happens is it will crash once, usually early in the game. This would be the larger scenario, attacking the German town that I'm referring to. But, anyway from there I can load the last turn and play it out without any problems. So, not a huge deal. If it happens on the full game I'll be sure to post the save file.

Thanks Jay, hope you continue to enjoy. The autosave does help a lot for recovering from some of those crashes. When you get the full game, keep us posted. We do want to get rid of as many of those crashes as we can.

Thanks
rick

(in reply to JayTac)

Post #: 9