Speed in Meeting Engagements #2

[Copper]

I've posted this thread as one that is free from crap posts and pedantic agendas. Anyone wanting to beat his chest can go post over there. Let's continue the "game" discussion here.

Perhaps we can keep it that way?

I wan't to respond to the "gaminess" issue posted in the last thread, and that truck racing to the flags is "gamey".

Ok. First off, CM is a game. No matter how hard you try, you cannot overlook this point at any time.

Thus everything we do, whether tactically sound or not, is "gamey".

Racing a truck to the flag with a FT and panzershreck is a game tactic. That's because CM is a game. More so, CM ME's are the truest form of game because you are allowed to pick forces and play on maps that are not historically relevant.

2nd off, I do not think more than a handfull of players that I have ever met played this game as if it were NOT a game. What I mean is, treating the electronic forces you command like they were real... I think there is no fine line between grognards and gamers, but more of a large blurring somewhere in the middle while on the peripheries exist opposing outliers of ideology.

3rd we are posting tactics on how to win GAMES.

The truck speed issue is a good one. Some people may use it on a good day successfully. But no matter what tactic you use, there is ALWAYS another tactic to defeat it. Therein lies the rub. The transcendental element of the game where you must learn to identify your opponents tactics, and modify your own.

If anything, this is the true essence of winning at this game. Therefore, if we discuss truck speed, the tactic becomes salient to a lot of players and then more easily identified and countered. Not all will learn this, and there are game specific elements, as well as the introduction of probability and game mechanics that enter into the equation to defeat even the best laid plans.


Face it boys, QB ME's are an advanced form of ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, with probability and terrain thrown into the mix. I won't extrapolate on the skill or "who's best" at it because that is only evaluated subjectively and on a long term basis.

For me, my momma always told me, "son, you are only as good as your last game". And that has a modicum of truth to it. I've in the middle of playing an experimental game with infantry heavy Italians in 1943 against unresticted allied forces in a ME and am getting tarred after making too many sloppy plays and bad judgements than I can attest to. Unfortunately I've chosen to post this humiliation on a rolling AAR that everyone can see as it unfolds, in hopes that the actual in game elements can be assessed by other players for posterity.

Thus, I think that we need to continue to keep posting these kind of threads HERE as well as point out others on other boards.

One final tactical point that is relevant to CM ME QB's:

1) purchasing one truck can be extremely beneficial to you, given the circumstances of the map allow for it. it is a gamble, like any other kit purchase. The only unit that it is beneficial to truck up to the flag is a FT in my opinion, as it cannot be easily moved into attack or set up in defend positions where you may need to cross enemy LOS. If you are buying FT's, make sure that you either use them in a defensive manner, or use a kubelwagon, truck or tank to get them to the choke point of an enemy lane to a flag you wish to keep.
2) make sure you have some kind of infantry suppression unit, like an MG or INF squad with the FT, in order to suppress return fire, or your FT will be toasted without much trouble in a firefight. You need to support it for it to be successful.
3) Therefore, there is an argument to be made for buying 4-5 trucks and creating a very good defensive ring around your flags that uses both FT, AT and INF units to do so. Just remember that this tactic can be identifyied and countered very readily by skilled opponents.


Cheers!

Leto