CMx2 tactical notes and observations

[PoorOldSpike]

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Reminder:- as I mentioned earlier, graphics and gameplay might differ slightly from what you see in these screenshots as Battlefront bring out various updates and patches and modules and stuff
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ONE SHOT, TWO KILLS
The M10 in background fires at my Marder nearest to it-




and its shot goes straight through both Marders, killing them both before impacting in the field in foreground!
I've seen shots go through tanks before and slam into buildings behind them, but this is the first time I've seen a shot go through two tanks, it's realistic so i'm not complaining-




Here's another example of a shot carrying on flying after going through a vehicle- my PzIV (foreground) drills an M10, blowing it up, and the shot exits the other side (circled) at about waist height, horizontally flying off the map without hitting anything else-




Another view of the shot going through, it gives real meaning to the word 'drilled'-


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WAYPOINTS
Unlike CM1, vehs in CMBN don't like sharp turns, so place strings of waypoints to guide the vehs like slots in a model race car track, it's not as big a chore as you'd think because you do it quickly and instinctively without having to think too much-




Here's the tactic in action, I send an M8 HMC on a smooth fast path to take that Stug in the side, and for good measure send another HMC to shoot him through the bocage-




Neat job, the Stug is toast-


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MIXING WAYPOINT TYPES
You can mix different types of waypoints into a path.
For example my Panther (foreground) has already fired at that M10 (circled), so this turn I've given it a short 'Slow' w/p (purple) so that it'll keep shooting at the M10 while moving (slow gives best spotting and accuracy); followed by a blue 'Move' waypoint which is a little faster, then finally a string of yellow 'Fast' w/ps to get it into the objective area as quickly as possible to help its mates there.
(Note- you can either set the w/p's normally from scratch, or click on their triangle/circle marker to change their movement type)-


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ARC TEST
The problem with arcs is that the unit will usually only shoot at anything that enters it. For example I slapped this very small arc on the Sherman, and it just sat watching without firing as that Stug came waddling out from behind a building and blew the Sher away-




Next test I removed the arc from the Sherman and it fired and drilled the Stug as soon as it appeared-

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COMMAND AND CONTROL
Test:
This is a US Armored Infantry platoon, consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd squads (yellow circles) under the command of an HQ team (Lt West and his assistant) (orange circle)-




I click one of the squads and see they're in command because the button in their data panel at lower left is green. The eye and mouth icons indicate they can see and hear the HQ team.
I checked the other two squads and they're in command too, just as we'd expect because the HQ team is near to them too. The manual says 'about 50 yards' in open ground will put a squad in command, but in dense terrain the HQ must be much nearer to the squads so they can see and/or hear him.-




Now I run the HQ team behind a house and check the command status of each squad. They're all out of command (I checked each squad) because they can't see or hear the HQ, note the button has turned red and the eye and mouth icons have vanished.
Squads that are out of command perform badly on the battlefield, like in CM1-




Next, I run the HQ to peer round the house. The 1st squad can now see him (dotted line) and is in command (green button), and the eye icon tells us it's a visual link, ie they can see Wests hand signals but can't hear him.
The other two squads can neither see nor hear him (I checked) and remain out of command-




Finally I move the HQ to the rear. Only the 2nd squad (centre) can see the HQ (dotted line) and is therefore in command (green button), and note there's a new icon which means the squad has a 'far figure' visual contact with the HQ.
The other squads are out of command (I checked) because there's a house and a bocage blocking their LOS to the HQ, and they're too far away to hear shouted orders-


SUMMARY- Unlike CM1's clear red and black lines to show command links, we get that small red or green button in CMBN.
The eye, mouth and far figure icons inform us what type of command link it is.
Some units in CMBN have radios (especially tanks) and are therefore virtually never out of command.
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WHO BELONGS TO WHO?
QB's usually start like this, a hopeless jumble of units that take ages to sort out especially in big scenarios-




So one method of speeding things up is to click on each HQ flag one by one.
For example clicking this one highlights all the units under his command (3 infantry squads and an attached scout-type), and all the other units turn dull grey.
You can now place the HQ and his 4 units anywhere in the setup area for the time being, away from the rest.
Do the same for every other HQ flag and his units to separate your whole force into groups so you can inspect them, then deploy them and start the game-




Note you can click any non-HQ unit to make his HQ and mates light up like this.
Also, hitting the '=' key while a HQ flag is selected will cycle through the units in his formation if you want to skip through them quickly to see what they are-


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