Gibsonm Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 4 hours ago, CalAB said: Engineer Ops would also be a welcome inclusion in video format. Gibsonm has written docs on a whole host of subjects but if these were somehow translated into video they would be worth their weight in weapons grade plutonium. Well there's actually a couple of demo scenarios that come with the product too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleader Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) I'm reading this with interest as I just got the game last week (1 year sub) even though I've been lurking since 2006...and owned the original Steel Beasts, but had a bug that was never addressed, so I shelved it. I have a bug right now where my mouse cursor is disappearing in the GUI and there seems to be no fix for it, even in 2020 (yes, I've posted in the support forum as Ssnake will attest). It's off-putting. I don't have to deal with these issues in other games. If it's a known issue, fix it. One of my all-time favourite games is M1 Tank Platoon 2, but the complexity of this one and OLD documentation and tutorial videos were/are a bit frustrating in this one, although I do appreciate the complexity. I have several complex modules in DCS World (A10C, Harrier, F18. all the helicopters) and use youtube almost exclusively for training, reading the manual when needed. Modern aircraft systems are far more complex than MBT's. If you want to watch excellent, step-by-step instructional videos, have a look at those by Overkill and RedKite. As one poster (thewood) has suggested is that the 'starter pack' for this is old and seems to only talk about multiplayer, which I have no time/interest in right now, and frankly wouldn't even want to go on and embarrass myself. The Wiki however seems very useful. The missions for download all seem very old and I'm not sure if they'll work in 4.163 as most don't indicate that. I'm not sure how to play this game. I've played through a few of the training missions and tutorials and have read the entire manual, except for the mission editor portion. I just skimmed that as it makes up more than half the manual. I watched the getting started video that's posted in one of these forums, but didn't find it very helpful. I have a fairly good grasp on most concepts and switching positions, etc, but I still don't know how to do a few things that I can't seem to find anywhere. How do I switch to another friendly tank in the F8 (external) view or is there no way? Can I give my individual tanks in a platoon separate waypoints (ala M1TP2)? When I give my platoon an echelon right command (or whatever), why do they ignore it? I played an included scenario yesterday with the Leopard and I couldnt' figure out a way to know how many tanke were actually in my platoon. I was just guessing which ones in the town would follow me. Also helpful would be a joystick tutorial, setting curves and such, or maybe there is a good video that I just can't find. I'd prefer to use my HOTAS instead of keyboard if at all possible. I love the game so far and get the whole it's niche, blah, blah. Anyways, a good 'this is what you should do and this is how we play this game' tutorial would be a good starter, and don't focus just on multiplayer as most people don't want the hassle. My 2 cents. Edited April 5, 2020 by aleader 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonm Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) 39 minutes ago, aleader said: I have a fairly good grasp on most concepts and switching positions, etc, but I still don't know how to do a few things that I can't seem to find anywhere. How do I switch to another friendly tank in the F8 (external) view or is there no way? Assuming the scenario designer hasn't locked it down, just double click on the other unit icon. 39 minutes ago, aleader said: Can I give my individual tanks in a platoon separate waypoints (ala M1TP2)? Yes, just right click on the unit and select "Divide unit". This will split a 4 vehicle unit into two units of 2. Repeat the process to further split the two unit icon into two individual unit icons. Be careful of what you wish for though as you'll need to continue to give those vehicles individual routes, etc. until you recombine. There is a way to give multiple individual icons a "group move" and that is in the manual. 39 minutes ago, aleader said: When I give my platoon an echelon right command (or whatever), why do they ignore it? What routes were you using? Things like "march" default to column until you change it back. 39 minutes ago, aleader said: I played an included scenario yesterday with the Leopard and I couldnt' figure out a way to know how many tanke were actually in my platoon. If you click on the icon on the bottom of the screen it will say the quantity. Alternatively if its still grouped as a Platoon, you go to the 3D world in the lower right corner there will be a number of vehicle outlines corresponding to the number of vehicles. 39 minutes ago, aleader said: Also helpful would be a joystick tutorial, setting curves and such, or maybe there is a good video that I just can't find. I suspect that might be hard given the multitude of joystick options, their software and personal preferences. Edited April 5, 2020 by Gibsonm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bond_Villian Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 1 hour ago, aleader said: How do I switch to another friendly tank in the F8 (external) view or is there no way? Can I give my individual tanks in a platoon separate waypoints (ala M1TP2)? When I give my platoon an echelon right command (or whatever), why do they ignore it? I played an included scenario yesterday with the Leopard and I couldnt' figure out a way to know how many tanke were actually in my platoon. I was just guessing which ones in the town would follow me. Go into the key bindings and look at all the shortcuts. There are keyboard shortcuts for "next unit" , "next engaged unit" etc listed there. Ideally you should eventually be able to go through the entire bindings list and recognise/understand the function of every binding listed there. You can access and modify the bindings during a scenario with "ctrl+c" (if i remember correctly, im not at my computer right now). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonm Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 You might want to also print off the default keyboard assignments - there's a PDF in the "Docs" folder. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleader Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Excellent, thanks for the responses. The controls are more intuitive than I suspected. I seem to have totally missed Ch. 8 in the manual on routes and logic. I'd second the need for an updated video (slow and methodical like Overkill's vids) tutorial for routes, it would be very helpful. The manual is well written, it's just always a lot easier to understand watching someone do it in a video. About the scenarios for download here, can I assume they will all work with 4.163 if I sort by recent, or is there some loading/editing/saving I will need to do first? I always liked the ease of calling air support in M1TP2...just give them an area and they automatically search for targets. I know you can micromanage them in SB, but can I also assume that same level of support (hands-off) is possible here? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleader Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 2 hours ago, Gibsonm said: You might want to also print off the default keyboard assignments - there's a PDF in the "Docs" folder. Yes, I forgot about that keyboard chart...will do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleader Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 4 hours ago, Gibsonm said: What routes were you using? Things like "march" default to column until you change it back. It was along a tree line on the left (open to the right) and I wanted them to get over to the right. I just used an 'engage' route, but we were in contact with tanks. I'm assuming now that they probably ignored that command because of this and I would need to give them an 'assault' command to overcome this? Can I also assume that they will reload ammo automatically (move it from the racks) without me having to instruct them to do it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonm Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 1 hour ago, aleader said: About the scenarios for download here, can I assume they will all work with 4.163 if I sort by recent, or is there some loading/editing/saving I will need to do first? No. Recently uploaded scenarios should ideally include the version number. Ones without may require the legacy map installer, available here: https://www.esimgames.com/?page_id=1607 1 hour ago, aleader said: I know you can micromanage them in SB, but can I also assume that same level of support (hands-off) is possible here? No. You are the JTAC - you specify the grid and that's where the mission strikes. There is no "search these 20 grid squares and shoot something" option. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibsonm Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) 20 hours ago, aleader said: It was along a tree line on the left (open to the right) and I wanted them to get over to the right. I just used an 'engage' route, but we were in contact with tanks. I'm assuming now that they probably ignored that command because of this and I would need to give them an 'assault' command to overcome this? I'm afraid without a picture I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve. 20 hours ago, aleader said: Can I also assume that they will reload ammo automatically (move it from the racks) without me having to instruct them to do it? No you can't assume. If you are letting the AI move the vehicles and in F8 then "yes". If you are a Gunner or Commander, then "no" as part of your responsibilities / decisions are to determine when to reload. I'm afraid this is rapidly turning into 20 Questions so perhaps it might be better to have dedicated session where I can save my fingers from incessant typing and work through these issues? Edited April 7, 2020 by Gibsonm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleader Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 18 hours ago, Gibsonm said: I'm afraid without a picture I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve. No you can't assume. If you are letting the AI move the vehicles and in F8 then "yes". If you are a Gunner or Commander, then "no" as part of your responsibilities / decisions are to determine when to reload. I'm afraid this is rapidly turning into 20 Questions so perhaps it might be better to have dedicated session where I can save my fingers from incessant typing and work through these issues? Thanks for the answers and the offer. I'm going to play it a lot more in the next few days and try to figure everything out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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