Newbie Questions

[Mowgli]

Hello, forum! 

I'm new here. So far, I've mainly played Combat Mission titles and Command Ops. But since I'm losing hope that Command Ops' multiplayer will ever get fixed and since I do like turnbased games and the scale of PzCampaigns appeals to me, I thought I would try it out. 

I've been reading the manual, experimenting ingame and taking notes. Quite a few things differ from what the handbook says, but I really like the mechanics so far. However, some things are still very unclear to me. Maybe a grognard can help me out? :) It would be much appreciated. 

1. How does spotting work? I get it that you can check LOS from a hex by pressing the S hotkey. There is a maximum visibility (determined by the weather/daylight conditions). Elevation further restricts LOS (ridges) and terrain also has an influence (each terrain has a "height" value assigned to it in the parameter window F4). Sometimes, units outside of the LOS (according to the S hotkey overlay) are spotted. I don't think that these are all instances of dust spotting?
   
2. When does spotting occur? If LOS it is updated "live" (everytime a unit moves a hex), then what's the point of "recon spotting"?  
   
3. Are casualties in assaults divided (weighted according to their strength?) amongst all the attacking/defending units?
   
4. Let's say you select 2 units in a hex and let them fire at an enemy unit. Is the result the same as if you'd select each unit individually (in succession) and let it fire?
   
5. Last but not least, I have a more general question: What's the most common way to play the game in PBEM? Do you guys prefer to play in phases (manual defensive fire mode) or do you stick to the traditional, more generous but also more fiddly (how many MPs does that action cost again?) type of turns?
   

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to meeting you on the battlefields!

[Mowgli]

Also, I wondered about other optional rules. Many of them make perfect sense to me. But I'm worried that activating them will mess with the "balance" of the scenarios? Of course wargamers are usually not that competitive (more interested in the "experience"), but still. Maybe playing mirrormatches is the best solution? But then knowing about the enemy's strength and initial dispositions also ruins a game. That's the big problem of any scenario-based (rather than sandbox/custom battle) wargames.

[Mowgli]

Also, which one of the "Panzer Campaigns" titles would you recommend if I'm looking for small (number of units) scenarios, preferably with some space of manoeuvre?

[Fog of War]

Smolensk '41 Gold fits your requirement IMO.

[Mr Grumpy]

Hello, forum! 

I'm new here. So far, I've mainly played Combat Mission titles and Command Ops. But since I'm losing hope that Command Ops' multiplayer will ever get fixed and since I do like turnbased games and the scale of PzCampaigns appeals to me, I thought I would try it out. 

I've been reading the manual, experimenting ingame and taking notes. Quite a few things differ from what the handbook says, but I really like the mechanics so far. However, some things are still very unclear to me. Maybe a grognard can help me out? :) It would be much appreciated. 

1. How does spotting work? I get it that you can check LOS from a hex by pressing the S hotkey. There is a maximum visibility (determined by the weather/daylight conditions). Elevation further restricts LOS (ridges) and terrain also has an influence (each terrain has a "height" value assigned to it in the parameter window F4). Sometimes, units outside of the LOS (according to the S hotkey overlay) are spotted. I don't think that these are all instances of dust spotting?
   
2. When does spotting occur? If LOS it is updated "live" (everytime a unit moves a hex), then what's the point of "recon spotting"?  
   
3. Are casualties in assaults divided (weighted according to their strength?) amongst all the attacking/defending units?
   
4. Let's say you select 2 units in a hex and let them fire at an enemy unit. Is the result the same as if you'd select each unit individually (in succession) and let it fire?
   
5. Last but not least, I have a more general question: What's the most common way to play the game in PBEM? Do you guys prefer to play in phases (manual defensive fire mode) or do you stick to the traditional, more generous but also more fiddly (how many MPs does that action cost again?) type of turns?
   

Thanks in advance! Looking forward to meeting you on the battlefields!

Firstly welcome, I hope you have fun here.   

1) Perhaps the unit that is spotted that is outside of the LOS of your units LOS has been spotted by another one of your units that does have a LOS on that hex, without being able to see the units on a map it is difficult to comment, but someone must be able to see that hex, enemy units spotted by dust spotting are shown with a ? on their counter. 
2) No, LOS is updated at the start of your next move so on your present turn you may bump into hidden units or units appear if they fire ranged weapons from more than one hex away, so using Recon spotting you can attempt to reveal hidden units on your present turn before you bump into them.
3) Good question, understanding assault results can be a bit of a grey area and reading the rules does not really help, the casualties are a result of a whole host of factors including a high and low "dice roll" so you can see quite large variations in casualties and fatigue, but as a rule of thumb the winning side usually (but not always) suffers from fewer casualties.
4) I think the general consensus is that the casualties caused are the same both ways, however if you fire six times rather than three you have more chances of causing a disruption result, however this approach also has the downside of allowing more defensive fire shots back from the defending units.
5) You will find that 95% of the guys here play via the default turn system where all defensive fire is handled by the computer, this system speeds up the game considerably. Multiple phases may work in very small scenarios but would be impossibly unwieldy in the larger ones.

[Mr Grumpy]

Also, I wondered about other optional rules. Many of them make perfect sense to me. But I'm worried that activating them will mess with the "balance" of the scenarios? Of course wargamers are usually not that competitive (more interested in the "experience"), but still. Maybe playing mirrormatches is the best solution? But then knowing about the enemy's strength and initial dispositions also ruins a game. That's the big problem of any scenario-based (rather than sandbox/custom battle) wargames.

I prefer to play with the "default" optional rules as they were selected when the title was tested and selecting additional rules can skew play balance or break a scenario entirely, however if both players agree to additional rules and both players fully understand their effects then there should be no issues.   

Mirror games can be fun and do iron out any balance issues by allowing each player to play what could be the stronger side, but as you say its downside is that it removes some of the FOW that makes these games so much fun.

[Mr Grumpy]

Also, which one of the "Panzer Campaigns" titles would you recommend if I'm looking for small (number of units) scenarios, preferably with some space of manoeuvre?

Smolensk fits the bill or any of the desert titles, most game have a mix of situations so you should find something that fits your criteria. 

Perhaps avoid Bulge, Normandy, Sicily, Salerno and Market Garden, but even those titles are great fun.

[All_American]

It is often neglected but I think Budapest '45 is a really fun title. Good scenarios for both sides, both large and small, and relatively low number of counters to push around. It is probably my favorite PzC title along with Moscow '42.

[Zoetermeer]

Just curious, what do you like about Moscow '42? I was thinking about picking that one up.

[Sgt_Rock]

The desert titles are fun to play. Many small to medium sized scenarios. Lots of maneuvering in those games.