Soapbox and Pot Stir.....Bunkers and Pill Boxes

[Dan Caviness]

KK/et al:

I actually enjoy the current system of pillbox/bunker play in the CS series. I think the fact that vehicles can't assault pillboxes, and yet are needed to actually do damage to them due to their hard target status is a nice mix. Then of course with bunkers your looking at an entirely different tactical mix to successfully deal with them. That adds a bit of spice to the game and rewards the player who sets that weapons mix up earlier.

I believe some of your points are well taken in that a given bunker, such as one on Omaha Beach, may not really be able to facilitate a mortar or AA gun lets say when it was designed for a heavy AT gun type of weapon that was probably given a narrow firing slit designed for direct fire down on the beach. However, Umbro's point that the game may be depicting a bunker or pillbox complex/nest that can cover up to 250 meters in a hex allows for some freedom in that regard.

What I do believe is the bunkers and PBs would play better if they were restricted in their LOS and target hexes. I.E., a bunker designed to cover a beach doesn't work very well after the assaulting forces take it over who are going to use it against the original owners in a 180 degree axis from what it would actually see. You can use terrain to simulate this, and I try to incorporate this to help simulate the directionality of many, if not all, bunkers and PBs.

I wholeheartedly agree (and no I'm not rekindling any debates on Extreme Assault here as stated before I play it and enjoy it but I'm also OK with my opponents who choose not to) that with EA....bunkers and PBs are tougher nuts to crack. What I would like to see is if a bunker or PB hex is isolated, and remains so for multiple turns, the resident units inside should suffer losses, disruptions, and make it easier to take them out. If your paying the price to snuggle up on a bunker/PB for more than one turn...your getting hammered by a good opponent and in the context of the game I believe it makes sense to reward that sacrifice.

In the context of the game.

I'm not as driven as some to achieve ultimate reality in this game. I salute those who are, and certainly have no problems with reality, but I do feel the game makes it's own reality.
One I enjoy very much, even if it does occasionally stray from the reality it attempts to depict.

I'm very driven to help make it more playable, and complex, and ultimately satisfying to play. For this reason I think your on the right track...keep up the good work!

Regards,

Dan