SCG_Neun

JG1 is a first class unit hosting a really neat concept that might be a pivotal moment for Tank Crew in general. So, for all the guys wanting a combined arms server with fair play and mission objective driven, this is it.

You should take a look at some of the tutorials out there. I used Vapor8bit to get myself up and running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=18&v=GpjPn7r_0qg&feature=emb_logo Go to airfields, and select fakevehiclefield, and place it on the map. Under it's properties create an identity, for instance, United States. Go to Add vehicles and add em.....

It's tough to try and recreate the Eastern Front without being able to simulate entrenched positions, and a map that doesn't model into the ground so to say. Those big bomb craters that just blew into the earth, they are smooth as butter to run over, and gun placement has to rely on bunker positions. Enclosed artillery encasements which seem really neat, do not let the artillery piece inside the bunker actually fire out the firing slit, or at least for me it doesn't work. So there are some things you have to just make the most out of. Tank traps...well some of the heavy wire emplacements can hurt a tank as well, so that can be used to channel the attackers into kill zones, etc.

Oh, you mean the clear acrylic bridging system that was utilized by the Germans in early 1943.

When I define balance.....I mean trying to simulate the game historically as possible....not on even footing. Let's face it, for those that say the Tiger is just to tough......the Germans lost...right? Unlike air combat missions, balanced ground combat missions cannot be auto generated, nor crafted without careful use of the limited ground terrain features currently available within Tank Crew. Facing off against 8 Tiger tanks in an open steppe with say 2800 meters of visual view is never going to be balanced. Well, I shouldn't say never..because place a few IL2's in the air loaded for bear and well.....it's a bad time for the Tiger. Throw in a katyusha rocket attack and even that Tiger is going to be very vulnerable. You have to select a map with some ground features that will allow some hidden alternatives to an abundant supply of Soviet AT positions. Some farm houses to break up the landscape perhaps, or a small town here and there, and use the ability to trigger your AT guns suddenly coming into position as the enemy approaches, say 300 meters. This simulates at least to some extent the Soviet camouflage and concealment skills that many Germans documented on the Eastern Front. Also, time of day for the mission is important, because even though historically many of these offensives began very early in the morning the lighting within this game just shines a spotlight on combat equipment that should in reality be hidden somewhat. So I usually start my missions at 8AM or so. For the Battle of Kursk it is well known that the Soviets let the Germans advance offensively into their well fortified positions and just chewed them up with artillery, AT, ground attack and tanks. Gain some ground at the cost of losing tanks, men and other equipment they couldn't afford to lose. Missions should also have a bounty of Soviet tanks and equipment. What the Soviets could not achieve one on one, they could overcome in sheer numbers of equipment they could sacrifice on the battlefield. So even though the Tiger is so darn tough, it can easily be knocked out in this game by one well placed shot from a sis-2 if it is not so lucky. That, and the AI, AT very rarely misses it's target. I guess what I'm saying is that balance can be achieved but it takes a lot of other elements other than just tanks. You can't look at this game as just tanks against tanks, because that's not what it is at all. The air component, the AT, artillery..rockets all come into play to shape the historic Eastern Front. I include this little video of my death....from a combination of rocket attack and a sis-2 well positioned. It is most certainly a knockout Tiger with all crew dead, instantly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YWdXtNJdeI

Thank you Butzzell! We appreciate your kind remarks and we had a blast as well. 3 hours went bye so fast and we still didn't make our final objective. We will try again from the crossroads we did capture. Can't leave our Luftwaffe out of this.....after all it is combined arms.

Well perhaps I should share my demise early on in the mission. Repeated rocket attacks roughed my crew up pretty bad, but I kept firing on enemy armor to our left flank and paid little attention to our right, as we had exposed ourselves on the knoll earlier and seemed to be okay. But as luck would have it a Russian AT position was down in the valley and with disciplined gunners, waited for the perfect time to deliver a shot on my exposed side armor. I show it from the gunners position, and then you can see it from my tanks position....just a split second muzzle flash and it's all over for me and my entire crew. I wouldn't want anyone to think we were without casualties. We did fare fairly well, but lost two Tigers on this first mission.....

Just sharing some video.....Started our first day of Kursk with a bombardment of the Russian fortifications along with our Luftwaffe that hammered the positions as well. Out of the rubble they managed to emerge with several AT weapons which were quickly silenced as we moved past their lines. They of course called in a few rocket attacks on us in addition to sending the 5th Tank Guards to hit our left flank. The Tiger 88 reached out very effectively and silenced this opposition as we continued our move deeper into their entrenched positions......

Prefer humans as well, but player base is pretty poor and not many people have the time to sign up for a set time schedule commitment. You've never played against one of our AI only missions on the ground, and I can tell you, it's nothing like the other servers. When we play "Dead is Dead" within those missions its a blast. Now if we had any interest at all from other players last week, I'd have kept the AI limited, but we just didn't have it. I'm still open to other players joining us for our missions, but I have to plan for SCG first and that will most likely mean back to our AI missions and "Dead is Dead". You can't have an on or off switch for the AI because the AI, AT/artillery, ground attack aircraft, tanks, etc....is what makes the battle realistic, and if one of my genius like Terref, could select certain ai to turn off here and some there, that would be great, but way too complicated. The problem with other servers....is not enough AI, in my opinion. AT in fortified advanced positions, and multiple AI tanks to deal with , in addition to bombardments.... is what makes the battlefield. In servers where there are 6 or so player enemy tanks facing you, its certainly fun, but very predictable that AI will more than likely be confronted near bases, or for a 24/7 server that most of the AI has already been taken out and very possibly when the server was unbalanced. Now that we actually have a good dedicated server we can add more immersion to the missions, and that means more AI, not less. For the first time last week we did not experience any ghosting, which in the past was server related it would seem. Anyway, hope to see you again one way or the other....

Well that mission was designed to be all American and AI only Germans, that's why the AI was on the German side, but....someone didn't want to play American....:), and someone else couldn't stand for that someone to be alone.....so.....you see, it was hard for Americans for sure. But we had fun trying, and we will be German next time...I like their tanks better. 😀

Well I was one of those tanks and had a damaged/injured gunner and I couldn't see clearly with his messed up vision through my site. I shot at your tank which was behind a tree and the tree absorbed the rounds. I couldn't snake a round past it to kill you...if that was you. I hate the Sherman site...next mission...German only. Thanks for taking the time to join our missions Lofte.

Thanks Sketch, that's what I was talking about. I really appreciate the help!

Is there a way to implement a specific combat area within the mission editor to help keep my tank battle confined to a certain area? I know we get those messages sometimes and was wondering how to implement within the editor.