Buildings and Units

[t2k]

hi there i desperatly wait for the 251s ;-),

if you implement the r2v-buildings hmgbunker/mansion ... in the ostfront mod (usable) i hope you could manage to change the allside entry function of the pak/aa-Bunker and perhaps add camouflaged entrenchment/dzots - at least the dzots should be "unmovable" units - it makes no sense to know where these light defense points are before you really face them

two features i really miss from ss are the open tank
feature /more sight and vulnerability) and the non-fire
/total camouflage order - any idea how 2 realize this ?
a limited mine-laying ability (3 at /6 ap) for specialized
crews (pioniers) - ss2 too - raise a more realistic balance between infantry and tanks - even on quick tactical german retreats

according to my experiences there´s a great performance difference between the early russian and german armoured vehicles and tanks (ratio 3:1) and there´s no real equivalent force against the Pz III C-J and IV Ds - according to this and the historical line the sight and fire ranges between paks and tanks ought to be 40/45:30 / 80/90:60... - thought paks as a officer equipped unit for viewing advantages

perhaps an overall nation rotation speed ratio of 1:2:6
(ussr/gb:germans:US) for tanks and 1:1,25:1,5
(russian:us:gb/german) could reflect the historical weapon use ability

greetings

[Adrian Taylor]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your input.

Hmm, some meaty things there to chew on ;D

So far I have only used the HMG Bunker from the RTV mod pak. However, I will be releasing a patch for the general community to use which will address various issues such as entry points etc....

Unfortunately as the DZOT and other bunker are buildings they are not capable of having a camouflage rating as per vehicles. However, saying that I have got round this issue by scripting the bunkers as reinforcements. This means they only appear on board once player units move within a certain disstance. This effectively represents hidden MG Bunkers and prevents players pounding them to bits before advancing.

Open tank/more visibility more vulnerable. I gather you mean button up/open hatches? - Unfortunately, nice idea but no way to represent in Bk. I don't think this will be available in BK 2 either

Non-Fire/Total camouflage. Most units now have a camouflage rating. Couple this with the decreased Sight Power of vehicles it is now harder to spot units until they fire.

Unfortunately to minelay/clear you need a vehicle in tow. Again nice idea but not possible to implement without giving alot of vehicles mine laying ability. And it can't be limited.

You will find in Ostfront that the early Russian tanks effectiveness is not favourable compared to the Germans. Basically, I have dropped HP value of the early Russian light tanks (these were equal to the German medium tanks). Also due to the Russian practise of only having 2 or 1 gun crew in a tank their ROF is alot less than the Germans. Coupled with less accurate weapons means the Germans have quite an advantage.

I have altered some rotation speeds, particularly the KV 2. Also alot of the vehicle turn radii have been changed.

Again thanks for your comments. I have tried to make Ostfront as realistic as possible within the constraints on the game engine.


Adrian

[t2k]

Hmm, some meaty things there to chew on ;D

So far I have only used the HMG Bunker from the RTV mod pak. However, I will be releasing a patch for the general community to use which will address various issues such as entry points etc....

-- unfortunatly I do not understand from the xml why you cant enter the rtv buildings – you can place units in them but if the building is destroyed you get a b2w – only from the small bunker units leave near destruction – perhaps I will understand it by looking at your patch

Unfortunately as the DZOT and other bunker are buildings they are not capable of having a camouflage rating as per vehicles. However, saying that I have got round this issue by scripting the bunkers as reinforcements. This means they only appear on board once player units move within a certain disstance. This effectively represents hidden MG Bunkers and prevents players pounding them to bits before advancing.

-- used the same reinforcement trick – hoped there could be a entrenchment turnaround 4 dzots – as I read the russians were extra trained to fight deep inside woods – the european miltary education draw the defence line at forest outskirts – the germans learned this via bloody losses but after the allied invasion they got their own pupils – and the russians had a special system of “dzots” positioning they were “overrun” planned – according to the terrain and probable direction of enemy advance they got their shooting direction with and not as usual against the enemy direction – means be overrun by enemies and then shoot in the back – I hoped to implement this feature that was a really tactical progress/lesson for the well trained wehrmacht in blitzkrieg (makes real sense for penetrating the weak back/side armor of early and medium german tanks)

Open tank/more visibility more vulnerable. I gather you mean button up/open hatches? - Unfortunately, nice idea but no way to represent in Bk. I don't think this will be available in BK 2 either

- f… worked fantastic in sudden strike 2 and would be realistic – one of the wehrmachts blitzkriegs success secrets was the coordinating and guiding influence of the officers acting in the real battle line (+radio eq) this means the speed of tanks combined with the use of tactical situations by an officer – hoped there could be a possibility to use the spyglasses function for tanks or a sight increase if an officer was transported by a tank (second option would solve the vulbnerability function)

Non-Fire/Total camouflage. Most units now have a camouflage rating. Couple this with the decreased Sight Power of vehicles it is now harder to spot units until they fire.

- unfortunatly they fire at possible not the worth aims – even a russian partisan tactic to let pass the armoured vehicels and attack the infantry – was too still solved in sudden strike years ago – wished the nivals played it (too cdv)

Unfortunately to minelay/clear you need a vehicle in tow. Again nice idea but not possible to implement without giving alot of vehicles mine laying ability. And it can't be limited.

You will find in Ostfront that the early Russian tanks effectiveness is not favourable compared to the Germans. Basically, I have dropped HP value of the early Russian light tanks (these were equal to the German medium tanks). Also due to the Russian practise of only having 2 or 1 gun crew in a tank their ROF is alot less than the Germans. Coupled with less accurate weapons means the Germans have quite an advantage.

- makes it more realistic - till end of 1942 the afv loss ratio at the ostfront was 1:5 – 1:8 and the tank parameters in blitzkrieg do not lead near to this – to use the ostfront mod in mp means much work to find balanced forces if the kill ratio nears reality and since first bk everyone prefers the germans

I have altered some rotation speeds, particularly the KV 2. Also alot of the vehicle turn radii have been changed.

Again thanks for your comments. I have tried to make Ostfront as realistic as possible within the constraints on the game engine.

Adrian[/quote]

My great expectations for the final ostfront were evoked by a short view on your mod description page – a sdkfz 25x – whats wrong :-) not another mod focussed on the late Tank monsters – the german tanks before the panther/tiger were never technical superior to their enemies – it was the modern tank strategy of even singely weaker units and the armoured troop vehicels were essential part of the mid time tank successes – the allies copied it not without reason –
by this simple and short look at an auxiliary vehicle I thought to have found a mod that not only gives real but realistic warfare
according to my historical based ww2 gaming point of view a battle t28-maus is entertaining but not the essential of a world war II simulation

greetings and thanks so far

[Adrian Taylor]

Thanks for your comments

Ostfront is aimed at the serious wargamer more than the RTS fanatic (although I think the gameply will also appeal to them). Its really as close as I can get it to a Real time version of Combat Mission or an isometric view version of Close Combat.

I read a review recently in PC ZONE for Burning Horizons. It stated that Burning Horizons much like Blitzkrieg is a matter of solving puzzles. There is no tactical realism. Once you have solved the puzzle it doesn't change.

As with alot of games of this ilk once you had solved it, it would never change (unlike Diablo, but then that became ppedictable after a while). Thus one of my main goals was to make each mission re-playable and unpredictable as real war is.

Many a time in BK & BH you only need your sniper and some artillery to win the game. You can actually go away have a toilet break, get a coffee and the AI won't have budged an inch!

You will find that real tactics pays off and you will be occupied every single minute you are playing.

For MP yes, there will need to be some careful balancing. Actually I would opt for the Russkies. As an experienced player can put their tanks and a/t defences to good use ;D

Adrian

[Panzerfaust54]

Hello All;
All things said, I am looking forward to this, for the simple reason that was stated above. Need to refine tactics, and stop just hammering away from a distance and win. I have seen this happen too many times, and what I end up doing is chasing the incoming arty with my faster scout cars and armored cars, may not have been tacticaly sound, but in BK it seems to work even with the gameplay set at highest.

Cant wait to see the finished product. Almost like Christmas again.

Max