single player - multi-unit support question

[stratsim]

When I played one of the standard maps that come with the basic game, all my APCs moved into advance position while I was personally bringing up a quad tank unit down a different road.

I lost the unit to ground troop attacks.

So with a 2nd quad tank unit, I went to where a cluster of my APCs had ended up, and tried to go into map mode and get them to follow my tanks, but no soap.

So I attached them to the tank unit, and they still would not follow my tanks.

I could sure use the armored APCs with their machine gun turrets to give my tank units support against ground troops.

As a single player, is there a way to do that?

Or do you have to just independently set the APCs up to go to the same goal as where you want to go with your tanks?

[Gibsonm]

Well you can't attach a pre existing APC unit to a Tank unit (i.e. turn two units into one).

You can give the APC unit and the tank unit orders to go to the same place - if that's what you mean?

Certainly controlling lots of units by an individual can be complex.

The two extreme approaches are:

1. Give everything routes, waypoints and tactics in the planning phase based on how you think the mission will go.

or

2. Jump from unit to unit giving them commands as the action unfurls and giving a good impression of a one armed wallpaper hanger.

Most opt for a mix (i.e. start using "1" and then manually modify ("2") as events happen).

[stratsim]

There was a whole group of my APCs that had reached a forward pre-staging area and were no longer moving.

i went into the map and could not get them to move, either by clicking on their map icons, or by jumping to them and giving direct commands.

[Gibsonm]

Is this a mission you have created in the Mission Editor or a pre-existing built in or downloaded scenario?

They may not be "yours" to control.

In the mission are they:

Dark Blue - The unit you are currently "in"

Mid range Blue - Other units you can control

Very pale Blue - Other units you can not control

The scenario designer has the option to make units player controlled or computer controlled.

You can give routes to player controlled units. Computer controlled ones do whatever the scenario designer scripted them to do.

This is often done so you are part of a bigger battle and get the feel of working with flanking units, etc. without the burden of having to actually control those flanking units.

[stratsim]

Oh yes, I see what you mean. Tnx!

Haven't played SB Gold in awhile, so I'm a bit rusty.

I find myself often driving along and wishing I knew which way was North without having to check the map and watch my vehicle in motion on the map grid long enough to determine that.

[MDF]

Oh yes, I see what you mean. Tnx!

Haven't played SB Gold in awhile, so I'm a bit rusty.

I find myself often driving along and wishing I knew which way was North without having to check the map and watch my vehicle in motion on the map grid long enough to determine that.

Just look at the tank "compass" in the lower right corner of the various views (except F5).

Also, you may be doing yourself a disservice by attempting larger missions before you have firmly grasped the interface and smaller-unit ops. Even for expert players (or so I am told ), it's difficult to control anything beyond a platoon by yourself. It would be a shame if you abandoned SB in frustration after trying to walk before you can crawl.

Finally, to add to what Gibsonm said, you can improve your performance by making use of the control logic and other tools (e.g., LOS tool, range fans, mission graphics) available in the Planning Phase. Don't expect to be able to script your battle execution from start to finish, but you can create a variety of routes, battle positions, etc. and coordinated behavior among your units. Weave these into a flexible battle plan and give yourself a "palette" of options which you can quickly employ as the battle unfolds. It also helps considerably if you're attempting to control a large force. Works in multiplayer, too.

[Rotareneg]

It's also possible you might have encountered this bug which can cause PCs to become partially immobilized in some situations.

[stratsim]

^Thank you everyone, your comments are being read faithfully and taken to heart.

GibsonM, I see what you mean now with map icon color coding.

MDF, I'll try to find or figure out that onscreen compass.

Yes, the control logic or AI is amazing.

It's also a very rewarding experience to see my units following the roads so well with auto-steering.

For those hot spots where my tanks kept getting creamed deep in the field, I put in some ground infantry with missiles to alleviate the problem somewhat.

I saw somewhere there was mention of a new hard copy of the book coming out, and may want to wait until it is available before picking one up.

I suppose the book will give pictures to go with the vehicle alpha-numerics so I can make better choices for what to deploy.

Rotareneg tnx for the head's up on the bug. So far, I've positioned a few Bushmasters and set them up in map mode for the infantry to just get out and mix it up.

I've been instinctively keeping my tanks just inside the tree line overlooking an open field of fire; either that, or finding a nice low hilltop or river bank to drop down behind.

[Gibsonm]

MDF, I'll try to find or figure out that onscreen compass.

Well to me at least its pretty simple:

In the Map view, North is the top of the screen and in the 3D world there is:

1. In view mode, a small red turret in the top right corner of the screen with the barrel showing where you are looking (again North is the top of the screen).

2. While playing with a unit, there is a reddish looking vehicle outline in the bottom right hand corner.

The front of the hull of that outline corresponds to your orientation in the real world and the white dot shows you which direction you are looking.

[stratsim]

Well I see a manual is only $15 but I'm running on a trial $10/mo now and already planning on getting the $40/yr plan within 30 days so I may put off the manual for a month yet, then upgrade to the newer edition of the manual when that comes out later.

I never did like 'jumping games' (which is putting it mildly), and am so enamored of SB's nice smooth machine action, awesome clean look, and deep multi-dimensional sound.

Good goal-oriented and well-structured gaming, very multi-optional and versatile, fantastic AI.

Also user-friendly and cpu-friendly.

[Gibsonm]

Well there is a PDF version of the current manual included in the install.

You could just print that off.

[Ssnake]

Printing it will probably cost as much if not more than having it shipped; besides, the new manual will incorporate much of what was previously written in the release notes (and then some). At this point it might actually make sense to wait until about July when, hopefully, the new manual will be ready.

[stratsim]

Yes, thank you for the suggestion and timeline.

I can use the existing .pdf manual and my SB Gold book to tide me over until the new manual comes out in July or sometime thereafter.

Sorry I didn't write down the name of the standard-issue map that comes with the game in single-player mode, in which my tanks keep getting chewed up by infantry with anti-tank missiles.

But I set it up to run an artillery bombardment of the area 10 minutes on, which helped whittle down an intractable sector.

Then I added a couple of extra squads of M1A2s, and some more infantry of my own in the problem sector.