Few questions from a WWII noob in games.

[J0Be]

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I had a few questions and was hoping you could answer them, if they have been asked/answered allready, please, except my apologies then and direct me to the correct thread.

Though I love to watch movies like Saving Private Ryan and series as Band of Brothers, Ive never been a fan of WWII games because they simply are .... well to small, with that I mean, to small in amount of units you get to control. I allways feel as if I would play small skirmishes instead of battles. I understand that it simply isn't possible to have like thousands of units on screen and control them in a proper way, but, a few hundred would be nice.

So, to get to my questions:

1) What is actually the maximum amount of units you get to control in CoH and it's to be released add-on?

2) Do you have the opportunity to play Axies and Allies in the original game since there seems to be that possibility in the add-on?

3) Will you be able once the add-on is released to use all four different "factions" in one game?

[BIG RED ONE]

you can mostly have atlest 100 men in this game under your control naby less or more. not shore thow.

[K4G4I]

1) as much as your pop cap allows

2) Yes. in Skirmish and multiplayer, no Axis campaign tho

3) If you have both the original CoH and the "Add On" installed then yes

[J0Be]

Ok, thanks for the reply gentlemen.

[Rimsey]

Its a bit of a daft question to be honest, how could you have thousands of troops on the screen and control them properly? Having very little screen real estate to use (e.g your troops would be so small they would just basically be dots).

Then theres the question of how exactly would you take a group of lets say 1000 troops and make them all do individual jobs that they would be expected to do? e.g some covering with machines guns... some charging bunkers... etc etc You may at this point argue that the units should be able to do these things themselves... but that would be rubbish as then you are basically just building up a force and letting the game AI play against itself.

With games based further back in history warfare tactics were very different e.g The Age Of Empires rts was based on Roman type warfare where large modular groups of soldiers were marched directly at the enemy and basically slugged it out till someone won, in those situations your game could be realised. But with modern warfare tactics then you would never be able to control the diversity of options available.

Don't believe me? Get CoH and play it online, you'll struggle to control the FEW units you get in it properly. It will take you months to get to a stage were you can realistically compete at any level.

If you watch some of the replys (some guys make it look so easy) then try it yourself then you may realise exactly how hard it is to put into practice and make it work.

The replys will also show you that the battles can be quite big, big enough I feel for anyone to get a kick out of. Believe me you won't get a moment to rest whilst playing... if you do you'll lose men/tanks/units and ultimately the game.

regards

[J0Be]

Its a bit of a daft question to be honest, how could you have thousands of troops on the screen and control them properly? Having very little screen real estate to use (e.g your troops would be so small they would just basically be dots).

Hello Rimsey,

First of, as I mentioned in my first post "I understand that it simply isn't possible to have like thousands of units on screen and control them in a proper way..."

Second, I didn't say they all should be displayed in one time on screen, they could be spread out and once your men in the front line are killed, they could be called as back-up.

This way, the battles would last longer aswell.

I understand though what you are saying and I'll certainly will try it out. As Ive said, never was a WWII game fan, but this game and it's add-on surely caught my eye.

[Pyro Paul]

CoH is a Focus on the skirmishes of an area rather than the entire battlefield. you are in control of a company and controlling a little section of battlefield while other companies are attacking positions to your north and south.

Controlling Thousands of troops isn't really too hard, Rome Total War allows you to do this as the game simulates War instead of Battles.

Cossacks is another game which allows you to field hundreds of men against hundreds of other men as well, as it too focuses on simulating Wars instead of Battles.

[J0Be]

Hi Pyro Paul,


I'm quiet familiar with the afore mentioned games, thank you.

I just wish that a similar game would exist in WWII with similar gameplay/graphics as this game. And yes, yes, I know, not possible.....yet. A man can have his dream right.

[Rimsey]

Controlling Thousands of troops isn't really too hard, Rome Total War allows you to do this as the game simulates War instead of Battles.

I agree, but like I said its then a case of the AI fighting... you dont really get much out of it. Rome total war = roman style tactics = boring.

I reply to JObe:
No offense was intended mate, give coh a try... I think you'll be hooked.

[J0Be]

I agree, but like I said its then a case of the AI fighting... you dont really get much out of it. Rome total war = roman style tactics = boring.

Well, that's personal taste Rimsey, and your certainly entitled to yours, hope you don't mind me disagreeing though.

I reply to JObe:
No offense was intended mate, give coh a try... I think you'll be hooked.

No offense taken mate, and I'll certainly will give it a try.

As Ive said, it really looks phenomenal and from what Ive read sofar, has really good AI.

[Gratuk]

the AI is good imo.. but remember, its still an AI

[BlackOmne]

A little clarification here-
Although you are in control of roughly a company size force (~100 men), those men are grouped into units (eg, tanks, infantry squads, weapon teams, etc). The total number of units at the height of the battle is only somewhere between 10-15 (possibly a little more). So, the unit count is relatively low (and needs to be for RTS). But, RTW and MTW1/2 limit you to something 16-24 units (with dozens to hundreds of men each), if I recall correctly. There are games out there for various size conflicts. The categories I recall from playing real wargames is tactical, operational, and strategic. Stragetic games cover continent(s) or the whole globe (eg, Strategy First's "Making History" or hybird games like the Total War series that combine strategic with tactical). Operational level games cover theatres or large scale battles (eg, all of Normandy, Op Market Garden, or the Bulge). Examples of these include Matrix Games' Highway to the Reich and Korsun Pocket series. Tactical games represent everything from squad-level games (where you control each man) up to roughly company/battalion size battles. Examples of these include CoH, X-Com, Silent Storm, Steel Panthers and the new Threatre of War.