sometimes, its just sooo unfair ! :(

[kilen2015]

hi,

probably my 1st (or 2nd, approx) best game ever done since i started SD 15days ago...
and finaly, after this great battle, f*cked by 45min chrono end !
(and by ennemy pts earned in earlier stage of battle also ; wich was INTENTIONAL from my part ! )

...the new battlegroup i made here was built on 9. Pz Div and thought to op only in 3rd phase, and waiting on a strong defensive line till there, etc... it worked perfectly, control of terrain was very equilibred, but chrono got me and game unfairly evaluated that as a major defeat coz of domination i let to ennemy during A & B phases, wich is absurd considering losses he got & plans well applied from my part, etc.
i know, its game's rules of conquest mode... but, come on, thats AARGGHHH ! lol

overwhelming stats my units got and +30%(!!!) of units destroyed compared with those i lost (first time i succeed to do that: +9000pts earned vs 6700pts lost, thats really cool ; and compared with my ally too, its rare i do better scores than AI allies actually, etc)

still a good training ofc, and glad i start to be able to apply my plans & tactics in practice,
but still, i feel so sad, it was unfair !

and never more later, i let less of 60min chrono (was 45 in this case) in skirmish options i guess,
its so arbitrary to loose like that, i only earned ~60xp profile pts where i could -FAIRLY- get easally double here...

i already lost for just tiny few things and felt that there as short bad luck,
but never i felt AI stole my victory as he did here ! lol

here are some pictures from this battle, mostly concerning troops performances and stats.
one of my Flak88mm did an incredible score ! lots of Sherman-Firefly + many more tanks killed, including Churchill heavy tanks, etc... i love them ! thats pretty realist in game about 88mm Flak canon, they are so usefull (and u can reduce needs of antitank cards when u have 88mm flak dispo, exactly like it was irl !) (y)

the single picture in 3D, during this battle here down, is my first counter-attack in phase B with my Pz IV H(s) (i won 1500m at that time with, in one single march !)
finaly retreat on trees around middle map, small roads between trees exhausted and neutralized advantage i had with my panzers... (but it was expected at that time ! i mostly had hopes concerning my C cards of Tiger & pz IV tanks, with 500kg CAS missions by Fw190G1, and also Hummels, etc)

and about that, my Hummels did awesome work too !
during compo of my customized Battlegroup (i called it "51.SS-Panzerbrigade Luxemburg" - fictive unit),
i chose to sacrifice all mortars for infantry (in A & B) to get Hummels, and i trully dont regret my choice !
plus 2 Pz IV observer for 173mm heavy artillery, 4 Hummels give a great support for tanks in C...
(but i need to hold until there, of course, wich is the real weakness/challenge with this operationnal choice, i saw that here, i didnt get the time to confirm the victory i deserved moraly & tacticly, just coz delay was short in 45min)

note: if u are intrested by my 51.Luxemburg,
i added compo of his battlegroup (based on 9.PzDiv) here down, next of stats...

well, i am sure this battlegroup will pay up later, lets take this as an other good training for further MP & campaigns.

...sometimes i still regret we dont have time to profit of the situation and evaluate minutiously all events during battles themselves,
of sure, we can by watch all battle again next, with replay, but thats not the same and we know there what happened next... (immersion & tention are gone already, etc)

i regret that feeling of analysis (& observation in details).
its true the pressure and feeling of tention (& real stress too, sometimes, when things go bad !) is real and well made by devs, and this game is challenging and addictive bcoz of that ;
...but i regret planifications & micromanagements we have time to do in deployment stage (for -following- A phase), although decreasing fast next coz of action, where it should be necessary to escape waste of units, too often exposed in game without micromanagement there, etc... :/
(and specialy where it should be particulary needed: for counter-attacks we do in B or C phases ! its there we should limit losses to confirm advantage taken after reppelled ennemy advance initialy, and with strong forces there to hope some decisive gains, etc)

sometimes i would like slow speed become normal speed (& also a true pause mode dispo) in game.
it could be usefull in hard & very hard campaigns to defeat AI,
and may even not really about efficency first (in MP it should be impossible without break the rythm of gameplay or favorize host anyway)... but mostly for the pleasure of "theorizing" and analysing the situation "during action".

its a part of reality we loose actually in SD gameplay imo... and somewhere, i regret that
(from mid command-structure's perspective, i mean: Bri-Gen, Col, Lt-Col or even Captain ; ruling forces closest of a full regiment ready, or a brigade size, wich is what we have here approx, in practice... and who have lots of tactic, observation, intel & analyses to do instead, irl !).

its a lack of realism (and i miss that feeling) but i still enjoy the game, ofc !
its challenging and fun, its just sad we must let down that perspective,
but game still fun beside (and, after 2weeks of gaming with SD, thats finaly the more important i assume...?) ^^
++

 

[Gettingtiredofthis]

Total whirlwind of emotions, this post.

 

[kilen2015]

Total whirlwind of emotions, this post.

lol, true... it was just "following action" !
but i still believe it now (wich is probably the more important with emotional responce)

++

 

[Thdot44]

I don't know what you're on man, but can I get some?

 

[kilen2015]

I don't know what you're on man, but can I get some?

nope, no drugs or boost, no need...
first, i love strategy since i am young child (must have +100books written by experts, specificly about strategy, geopol/geostrat & tactics, plus hundreds of documentaries, etc. its trully a passion, not just for entertaining games... games are just basic tools to practice it somewhere), thats first "trick" i think.

and 2nd, that counts too,
english isnt my first language (wich limits ways to express what i trully want to usually... sometimes i try to find help in ponctuation & smileys, etc)

but no booster, sorry

well, this particular game was intense, mostly, SD isnt so easy + a bit too fast (like for exemple, stressfull is permanent, its also flagrant when u check videos on utube... players clicking 10 times on same positions with one unit, or changing 3 times the order to the same unit during these 10clics, etc... i dont feel alone to be stressed by SD, some clues show thats pretty regular on videos)

and thats the real intrest of this thread imo (dont foccus on 3 first sentences, stress decrease lines after lines in first comment lol).
conclusions i feel after these 15 first days of gaming with SD are a good resume of what to wait from.
- its pretty intense and challenging.
- but there is a true lack of analyses/theorization/tactic/micromanagement/etc soon as we speak about B or C phases (there, players command their units, except some rare worthy cases, like: "do here, do there, and do your best, i am hurry to send 10next units in the proper direction for next 4seconds, no time to tell u more about your mission, etc").

and that disturbs me a bit concerning a game "supposed to be" realist historically and immersive/intresting tacticaly, u see ? :/
thats a bit sad and frustrating imo...

 

[roirraw]

Learn the ranges of every unit in the game, learn each battlegroup's equipment lineup, learn how much each unit costs(and availability) in each phase and you will know how to build your battlegroups - in theory.

 

[Adolith]

In single player modes you can switch to bullet time with the P key (customizable), which is basically a pause - if you need more time to give orders. You can also adjust the game speed via the buttons below the mini map.

 

[kilen2015]

Learn the ranges of every unit in the game, learn each battlegroup's equipment lineup, learn how much each unit costs(and availability) in each phase and you will know how to build your battlegroups - in theory.

yep, agreed in these principles (i already use view of ranges in mission & try to stay coherent about units too)
... until here, the issue isnt theory to form a battlegroup & balanced units (or cost in proper moment & how spend it with best units to send & when, etc, thats ok).
the issue is to optimize occupation of terrain with, wich is much harder with such faster speed in mission...

and generaly, managing in A phase is okay. (y)
as we can micromanage during deployment, its easy to control & master events there (if we dont ask too far optimistic advance in reco phase, or moving fast in easy trapping position early etc, usually phase A is fully managed).

but usually with this battlegroup, i try to reach best defensive line i can hope (or well positioned village, or ultimate further tree line, etc).
then i stare frontline and try to exhauste ennemy firepower by reppelling waves until have full power with Tigers & Pz4s in phase C, and there i strike back.

but the real issue is in late phase C vs AI (or if things turn bad, in end phase B, already on a part of my fronts):
in end phase B or all phase C, its trully hard to give all orders we would like to our troops.

and more there, even if things slowly evolve to my advantage, the game doesnt let me time to reverse ennemy control of initiative (they owned it from phase A to earlier phase C approx).
thats so frustrating...
i am sure with 15mins more, i could completly break ennemy's will to fight, and push them back until their borders of the map.
unfortunatly, i never have the time for that (thats what happened here ! lol)

the fact is, imo, terrain have such impact on efficency of units about visibility and positioning, then we waste a considerable part of our offensive potential in phase C (or soon as things become hurry and are turning bad) just coz we dont have delays to regroup/organize and place our forces...

alone vs AI in medium difficulty and 2vs2, i am beaten with max score reached by AI (even when all my assets are still there and only starting to push them off) or by timeout like here.
and thats so frustrating... (specialy when i feel my plans are & was working well or when i know, like here, my real asset is just coming in now... etc)

i guess i will continue to train with this battlegroup, it seems me a sensed plan to prevail.
but only with setting options on 60mins timeout and with 5000/7000pts score to reach to win, not less.
if i choose lower limits, i am f***** always ( and unfairly, only by statistics or "gamey limits").

so, may obtain an extended delay in phase C (i will by extend settings) to manoeuver and progress could change everything with this battlegroup...
if the best way to win is just a basic attrition game, where pushing forward without nuances/plans or use of terrain in earlier phases is the best way to do,
then, we probably miss a part of intrest & realism, i think...?
but the first issue for me is "wasted potential" bcoz fewer delays to precisly control everyone on map and coordinate all units.
in these xps (even if i am just a rookie player too, 15days since i bought the game, still few... hope my skill will increase a bit more with time, it could help also),
when things become serious in late game, we rarely have the occasion to try to flank the ennemy (with a group of optimized units, able to work for the best together, etc)
or organize a stop-line on our own weakened flanks (wich are both, the base in tactics at these scale of battleground, usually).
and that, just coz timing is too restrictive.
...and force player to reduce attention on each combats just to have the time to manage all there are around (usually between 2 & 4or5 max), etc.

i am convinced this plan of battlegroup is pretty sensed, but i need marge in mid to end phase C to really be able to profit of assets these choices give me...
i will retry with more foccus on settings, lets hope my tactics will be confirmed as efficient there.

 

[kilen2015]

In single player modes you can switch to bullet time with the P key (customizable), which is basically a pause - if you need more time to give orders. You can also adjust the game speed via the buttons below the mini map.

but if i understood well, bullet time is the same of very slow speed, no ?
things still working on, even very slowly...
(i understood that like this)

but i will try it again in solo just to check, there its cool and helpfull about micromanagement (in solo only, could be trapping for MP next to get use of pausing game, etc... issue stay the same soon as we play against others players i assume...?)

 

[kilen2015]

but if i understood well, bullet time is the same of very slow speed, no ?
things still working on, even very slowly...
(i understood that like this)

but i will try it again in solo just to check, there its cool and helpfull about micromanagement (in solo only, could be trapping for MP next to get use of pausing game, etc... issue stay the same soon as we play against others players i assume...?)

update:
oh okay, after've checked, i was wrong.... its a full pause mode (not a keyboard hotkey to send u back in very slow speed fastly as i thought it first)
thx for info Adolith, i will do some skirmishes using micromanage on pause then.

in solo german & UK campaigns, mostly, it can helps a lot to prevail...

 

[bkn]

i have to admit that i didnt realy understand how we can help you... And since i actually like to help out you should a bit more specific if you have questions to be answered

 

[Adolith]

You should also play on normal income if you dont want to get overwhelmed with controlling units.

 

[kilen2015]

i have to admit that i didnt realy understand how we can help you... And since i actually like to help out you should a bit more specific if you have questions to be answered

thats friendly man (and thx all for your tips about that)
u cant in fact,
practicaly, it helps already much i know the pause mode trully exist (even if it doesnt 100% pause the game, sounds more like a real pause mode compared to very slow speed),
i did a campaign mission right now (US 3rd mission to hold 2 bridges + reppel germans until Merdere woods, its 3rd time i try it, failed both first times for really just few things)
and so, easally prevailled now with pause mode & micromanagement (i still had 9min15 on 30max at start to take the forest, when before, i was only entering these Merdere woods when chrono was ending... lol it changed everything ! glad to know we can fully micromanage against AI, its already that, giving a chance i didnt had till now).

but globaly, i dont know anymore how that could be solved.
or if devs would do, that means remake all "the rythmic" of the game.
i suppose devs will not agree to simply decrease all rythm (vehicules speed & sizemap for exemple), timescales, and speed of the game to let more time to play in moments of pressure and to favorize micromanagement...
i'll need to do with, unfortunatly (in MP mostly ! solo can be saved by micromanagement in bullet time, but about MP, we will need to play fast and with few management on details)

but its okay, its fine like that (y)
++

 

[Hidden Gunman]

Practice in single player, learn what various things do, and how they interact, and how to use them. It won't prepare you for mp stress, but you will learn the basics and workable tactics. Re the 'realism' thing, the game is a 'meeting engagement' in a multiplayer environment, meaning that pure realism re ranges, firepower, national doctrines, etc, are not reflected accurately, to give everyone an even playing field. Ironically, those are the very things that decided most of the engagements in Normandy.