New Player PzC Questions

[Ubercat]

Hi everyone. I recently bought my first PzC game, Smolensk '41, and I'm really excited by this system!

I had a misconception about John Tillers games for years. I thought that they were just simplistic ports of a generic board game system that didn't really utilize the strengths of computers very well. I read a post on a forum some time back that gave me that impression, and as a consequence I never looked too closely at them.

Recently I've been craving a more traditional type WW2 game, so I started researching and discovered my error. I'm glad that my misconception was finally dispelled, but sorry I missed all these years that I could have been playing PzC. :(

I have a few questions for the veteran players. First, I should point out that I have Vista 64 and haven't been able to access in-game help, even though I DL'd and installed the Microsoft WGAplugininstall file to make .hlp files work.

I'm a little lost as far as getting a handle on particular scenarios in the game. I could just play specific ones over and over and learn them by trial and error, but I'd rather save some time by reading slightly more detailed descriptions than the 1-2 paragraph blurbs that you see when you pick a scenario.

Is there a good source for synopsis of specific scenarios? I'm especially interested in the VolcanoMan Alt scenarios, as I want to play MP after I get better with the mechanics in solo play. I see that there's an in-game option for Campaign Notes under help. Are these more detailed descriptions of scenarios? If so, is there a simple text version of these files available some where since I can't use .hlp files?

How do people tend to use their motorcycle battalions on the eastern front? Some have recon abilities, and some don't. I have a good idea how to use the recon ones, as the optional recon spotting rule looks to be VERY useful. What about non-recon motorcycles?

How do I go about breaking battalions down into companies? I haven't been able to make this work, yet. Is the ability strictly set by scenario?

That's all for now. There will certainly be more questions later! I'm looking forward to applying to join the appropriate ladder for this game and having the challenge of a human opponent.