Rake

My problem was by the time I was able to get the first into the scrape, the second was tied up in the trees. The second scrape has a tree directly in line with the scrape; the only way in is from the side. Once I split the section, I guess I should try driving the first, while the second just sits so I can drive it along the signed path. Oh well... I'll try again next weekend. Thanks for replying

I'm so frustrated right now, I'm not even sure which forum this should be in... It could fit in scenarios & maps, perhaps help with tactics, or maybe this is the right one. For well over an hour, I've been trying to get a section of 2A5's into prepared positions in the Demo scenario "Prep defense" (Leo 2A5). It doesn't matter whether I give these two tanks a route a drive them myself, it has been impossible to get both into their scrapes before the arrival of the Red armor. On every run, one or the other, and usually both, get hung up on a tree. By the time I get the first sorted, and while trying to position the second, one or both wind up eating a sabot round. The map is extremely bumpy and this may be playing a part in the pathing. In any event, one or more trees need to go away. The slopes are also extremely slippery which doesn't help with trying to back off of whichever tree I'm hung up on. After at least a dozen restarts, I feel exactly like C. Brown trying to kick that damned football

I've been wargaming since the late 60's, and it was wargaming that brought me to SB. I first purchased the game about 3 - 3-1/2 years ago I had looked into SB on occasions previously, but three things kept me away. First, I was not at all interested in anything beyond the scope of WWII. Not understanding that SB is a training simulation used by modern militaries, I held out hope that the models might some day include WWII era tanks. Still, it seemed to be just a simulation... a gaming genre for which I gaveth not the heiney of a small obnoxious rodent. Lastly, the price was waayyyy more than I was prepared to play for a game which was not in my preferred historical era and not my preferred style of play. To this day, I still love top-down, hex games. Realistic? No. Fun? Yes, especially for someone growing up when computers filled rooms the size of my home. I came to SB from a Combat Mission background. I own all of the WWII games, including the original CM 1 series… CMBB still sits on my hard drive. When Shock Force came out, I had no interest, but finally purchased it after most of the kinks were worked out. I played it once or twice. Later, when CM Black Sea was published, I originally had no plans to purchase it, primarily because modern stuff did nothing for me. I knew nothing of current systems and didn’t think I’d have much interest in the game. But, purchase, I did and it completely changed my focus in wargaming… Over the last four or five years, I’ve played very little with equipment from 1940 – 1960, give or take a couple of years. I’m still not nearly as knowledgeable of modern systems as I am (was) with WWII, but I have learned a little. While expanding my search for modern titles, of course I came across SB. As I stated earlier, I purchased the game, with CodeMeter, 3 years ago. I played around with it a bit, enough to learn to drive and shoot the M1, but not nearly enough to understand the depth of it beyond a tank “shooter”. I have always, since the advent of computer gaming, been a solo player. In the mid/late 90’s, I did play CC-ABTF online a bit, but soon tired of the ladders and cheats that went with them. In Steel Beasts, I was overwhelmed by the learning curve, and not being one to reach out to others for help, I just put it back on the shelf. I picked it up again near the end of last winter with a determination to try and understand the game a bit more. It has since consumed nearly all of my gaming time, whether that’s reading through the manual and wiki, watching videos, and playing through the U.S tutorials. My work schedule pretty much limits me to weekends and honey-do’s take up a portion of that, although my wife is probably more understanding of my hobby time than most. At this point, I feel I have an adequate grasp of the gunnery for the M60, A1 & A2. I'm getting better as the TC. I still struggle a little with M2, but am getting more confident. I’ve played a bit with the Leo’s and have tried the T-72 on the tank range. I’ve never jumped into a Marder or any of the Russian PC’s, nor have I tried any of the other NATO kit. I’ve played just enough with the infantry model to get troops loaded/unloaded and from here to there. So, to answer the original questions: 1. Can I “claim with confidence to having mastered more than three different fire control system families?” No… 2. How long did it take you? I’ve been at it less than a year, feel that I have one down pretty well and working on a couple of others. I’ll get there and with winter coming, I should have more time. 3. Do you know the difference between a Retreat route and a Retreat condition? Yes, but only because I’ve read and continue to read the manual. I’ve been working with the logic because I have to understand this to have any reasonable chance of success as a solo gamer. I now see that trying to control anything more than a platoon requires understanding of the game’s logic. 4. Is Steel Beasts a computer game among many for you, or is it a hobby of its own? Wargaming has been a hobby for 50 years. Steel Beasts started as a part of that, but is becoming a hobby of its own. 5. What are the things that you personally are struggling with? At this point, there’s a lot that I struggle with. Working through that is what makes SB fun for me, but it’s not without its frustrations. I do watch a lot of videos, but often, many of the videos are put out by people without an understanding of the game. More than that, some that do understand the game don’t seem very tactically proficient. This latter statement is true for many (most?) games I’ve played. More video, by more knowledgeable players (like Mirzayev) would be a great help… for me at least. SB is complex, but that’s part of the reason I play. I believe it’s as close to the real thing as can be attained behind a keyboard and monitor. It’s a simulation; if I wanted easy, I would play FPS’s or solitaire. SB is also first game I’ve played in many years that I’ve even considered playing online. I haven’t yet for several reasons, time being one. I’m hesitant to commit to something unless I’m certain I can follow through. Secondly, although I’ve read the wiki, downloaded TS and found the SB channel, I haven’t a clue what to do after. I have not played any game at all online, even PBEM, for over twenty years.

I may have just answered my own question.... STOP using thermals. Just scored a hundred using just the daysight. But, I didn't get that frontal aspect

Just wondering if there is some trick with this tank... I've spent an hour on the tank range, run it at least a dozen times and have rage quit before completing one "scenario". I'll sail along reasonably well. Acquisition is a little slower for me than with the M1, but I'll hit every shot until I'm presented with a PC in frontal aspect. I know my lase is good, but the gun will fire shot after shot after shot into the dirt until the PC turns and I get a side lase and shot. This happens with sabot and HEAT. Am I supposed to use KY windage in this aspect? Thanks for any help; I really like this tank, but I'm frustrated as hell. Rake

Was just perusing the Wiki 2A5 and 2A5-DK pages; they were updated eons ago... way back on 5 August 2019. 😎 Seriously, I've been amazed at how well updated this Wiki is compared with other games I play.

Ssnake/Lt. Just saw the replies; much appreciated! It will probably be the weekend again before I can jump back into SB. Just trying to get a head start on the next feature I need to learn. Thanks again

I've been trying to wrap my head around SB's logic. I'm not unfamiliar with Boolean logic as I've used If, then/ and, or statements fairly often in Excel. But something about SB confuses me, particularly using "OR" as the initial statement. I've searched all over the site and downloaded Gary Owen's Embark Conditions scenario from a 2009 post - I haven't tried running it yet which may be fun after installing 4.1. But, one file I've seen mentioned is JayMan's SB Logic Planner. Evidently, it's an Excel spreadsheet but the link to it is dead. Does anyone happen to have a copy? Much appreciated if someone does, even if it happens to be outdated.

Okay... That worked and I was able to run the scenario. Per the ratings, I fit into the low/medium category, but only because one time did the minimum frame rate drop into the twenties; otherwise, it's "Good" to borderline "Great": What really surprised me was the consistency of most of the frames (excepting the smoke) with an average right at 50 FPS. Overall, it runs well enough that I will run well over the default graphics settings. I'll post anything that I find tipping the scales My Specs: Alienware Aurora Win 10 Pro i7-9700K @3.6GHZ 32 GB RAM NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Samsung SSD 860EVO - 2 TB PC400 NVMe SK hynix - 512 GB

I don't have any idea what's going on with running the new (4.1) benchmark scenario. I've had no issues converting other maps, but I cannot get this one to work. Also, I didn't think the 4.0- benchmark was supposed to run in4.1, but it does

Volcano & Ssnake... thanks for the assist. As I said, I haven't had a lot of time to browse the forum. I expect this weekend will be mostly just that along with figuring out which scenarios are working and which need map package updates. What I have been able to poke around in looks spectacular. Thanks again!

I have finally made it through another 60-hour work week (almost, I have a short 4 hour day tomorrow) and had a chance to do a little more that just ascertain that 4.157 opens and I can run Tank Range. I have not had much time to peruse the forums, but have noted that many of the legacy maps need conversion to the map packages. Understood... My problem lies in that I followed the installation instructions which said to delete all previous installs of SB. So, I no longer have any files in the Map folder located in my ProgramData folder. My questions are, do I need to reinstall 4.0 to find the missing .ter & .hgt files and is there anything that I might do while reinstalling which will mess with my 4.157 install?

Thanks to all... yes, I will de downloading 4.157 as soon as I get in from work tomorrow. Testing as suggested will have to wait for the weekend..

I actually bought SB several years ago, but never got far due to the learning curve. That's changed over the last several months as I've made my way through the M1 & M2 tutorials, started the T-72 tutorial, "learned" the M60 via the Wiki and RTFM (mostly). One thing I haven't been able to find much about are fords... Question: How does one go about identifying a passable ford without going in the drink? Thanks in advance

Thanks... just after posting, I found a video that discussed the M1A2 and talked about the auxilliary sight. Might have been nice too say something in the tutorial Thnaks again

Hello all... Wanted to introduce myself as a new SB player after many years of board & computer wargaming. SB is the first (& probably only) sim that has piqued my interest enough to open my wallet. I've started running through the M1A2 tutorials, and got to the one in which the LRF is down. Now my problem... Once I go to the GCDP and enter the range, is there any way to estimate range? I've played through the tutorial several times and taken out the OPFOR vehicles, but there's nothing in the tutorial instructions beyond entering "a range". Thanks in advance... Rake