combat mission (computer game) series

'''Combat Mission"' Series Combat Mission is the name of a computer games series simulating tactical battles in the Second World War (WWII). The games are a cross between turn-based strategy games with an simultan real-time execution phase. All games include a 3D-Graphic engine and an editor. Three titles have been released by producer www.battlefront.com :

Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord (CMBO) 2000
Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin (CMBB) 2002 (1941-1945)
Combat Mission: Afrika Korps (CMAK) 2004

Common Technical details

turn-based/simultaneous execution

All three games share the same concept: game turns are divided into a planning and an executing phase. While the planning phase can last (in single player mode) as long as the player needs to give orders to all his units, the executing phase always last 60 seconds of real-time. During this phase, all units try to execute the orders, but the player can not influence the result and is limited to watch, replay and move the camera while all the action unfolds in real-time. All games offer to play individual battles (ranging from 15 to 60 turns) or campaigns, linking a series of battles.

Editor

All games offer an easy to use Editor to create your own maps and battles. All games have attracted a community of fans, creating mods.

Multiplayer

All games offer to play single player against a customizable AI or to play against an human opponent by hot-seat, email or LAN (internet).

Scale

Depending on the scenario, the player can command a forces ranging from platoon up to a reinforced battalion.

Game concept details

Morale

Unlike in much so called "RTS"-Games, the CM-Series has a far greater focus on realisms. You command humans, not robots. While every unit will try to follow your commands, units under fire or under pressure from several oppositions will most likely hide in cover or even break and panic. By clicking on a unit (in the execution phase) the game engine displays a red line (showing where the clicked unit is aiming) and several yellow lines (showing from who the clicked unit is threatened). Units with direct line of communication to a Headquarter Unit (displayed as lines) will react faster to your commands.

Hits and Losses

A hit on an enemy unit means not always destruction: infantry units will slowly decrease the men available for combat. Anti - Tank Guns whose crew is reduced will still operate, but slower and less effective. Many shells will just ricochet from enemy tanks (experienced players try to take out tanks from the side or from behind) and sometimes the tank will be immobilized by an hit into the tracks but still continue to operate as a (now static) firebase. Also damaging the gun of a tank is possible, reducing him to a mobile Machine Gun platform.

Victory Points

Victory is not archived by wiping out the last enemy (impossible in most scenarios) but instead a sum of victory points for each side is displayed after the last combat round. (Some scenarios end not exactly after x turns but instead after x turns and some y turns until the computer decides that no more progress can be made. You always can ask for a cease fire; if both sides agree the battle is over and victory points are calculated). You get victory points for destroyed or captured enemy troops / vehicles. You loose victory points for loosing troops and vehicles. Most important, you gain victory points for holding at the end of the battle areas with a victory flag. The color of the flag will change to your side if only your units are controlling the area around the flag. In some scenarios special victory conditions exist like evacuating troops to a special zone.

Spotting and Fog of War

As a commander, you can zoom out and watch the battlefield from a bird's eye perspective as well as zoom in and attach the camera around a single unit. You will however only see what your units can see. Each unit has its own line of sight that is blocked by obstacles like hills, houses, trees etc. Night, Dust, Weather, Smoke or Sandstorms all reduce the Line of Sight. Sometimes your units can hear the enemy without seeing it. That will be represented with a grey symbol featuring a red question mark and the text "sound". Sound contact information tends to be less precise than visual information.

Line of Sight

Every unit under the players control can be clicked and forced to display a graphical line of sight represintation (a blue line from the unit to the mouse cursor). Unfortunatly, you can't display a line of sight between to points on the map, you must first send a unit to at least one point. The line of sight is the sometimes the only way to decide if a unit can see a specific spot or not.

Weather, Terrain

Wheater is selectable by the scenario designer and can reduce line of sight (snow, rain, night) as well as Sound contact (Mist). Terrain is handled in squares (see below at Realism).

Sound and Music

There is no background music except for the title screen. The in game sound is very atmospheric. Different vehicles have different engine sounds, and the troops let hear many pre-recorded speech samples in different languages. Of course, different weapon systems all have different sound effects.

Physic engine

A realistic physic model is the point where the CM games really shine. You will see Trucks sliding backwards downhill while trying to climb a steep slope. Tanks can seek a "hull - down" position behind obstacles. Vehicles, being hit while moving at full speed, will sometimes continue the movement for some meters before coming to a halt. Tanks will push other vehicles like Trucks out of the way.

Units commands & tactics

Depending on the typ of units, each unit has a set of commands aviable (by right-clicking). It is possible to give each unit several "move"-waypoints wich it will try to follow. At least, until the unit comes under fire or run into a mine-field. Tanks have the ability to "hunt" for other tanks, seeking a "hull down" position behind obstacles or having set a "fire" and a "retreat" position ("scoot & shoot") Infantry units can all hide, sneak and move. Most units can run for a while, and many units like rifle squads can "advance" or "assault". Soviet units also can "mass attack". It is possible to fire at spotted enemys (the Unit-AI will most likely decide onwich enemy to fire) but also to fire at an area (like a wall behind wich enemys are hiding or to destroy a house).

Realism

The game engine handles various aspects of the battlefield differently, ranging from very detailed (like tank armor) to very abstract (like infantry movement). From worse to best:

Infantry is handled a bit simplified: A squad of 12 men is displayed as 3 soldiers and a numeric value displaying 12 in the

status bar if you click on the unit. A 2-man bazooka crew is displayed as a single soldier and a value displaying 2 in the status bar. However large a squad in manpower is, it will always face and move as a single unit. (You can split large infantry groups into smaller, less effective units).

Terrain is handled in squares. While you see a group of trees in the battle graphic, you can turn the (visualisation of the) trees completely off and

see a dark-green area of ground instead. This area has a value for providing cover, providing camouflage and hindering movement. The value always acts for the complete square, not for a single tree. Elevation is handled very correct, making it possible to seek cover behind slopes or dominate a battlefield by controlling high ground.

Airplanes can not be controlled nor seen at all. Depending on the scenario description, Airplanes will participate in the

combat. All you will see is the fast moving shadow of the plane on the ground. Air-planes can be destroyed however (you will see tracers of machine gun and AA-Fire streaming upwards) and in return shoot very accurately with their guns and bombs.

Indirect firing heavy Artillery is mostly stationed off-screen and represented by a single Artillery Observer. If he has line

of sight to a target, he can order very accurate shelling of the target area.

Mortars and direct firing Guns are presented very detailed
Tanks and all kinds of vehicles are modeled in great detail, with accurate researched values for speed, number of weapons,

cannon range & angles, turret speed, and armor penetration angles / armor plates quality protecting different parts of a vehicle. Different ammunition types with different armor penetration values are present.

Historical data like uniforms and aviablity of troop types and quality is very detailed and seem to be well researched.

Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord

Covers the "West Front" after the invasion of Normandy. The first incarnation of the Combat Mission games is the graphical most dated of the three games, but has a very interesting scenario: You play battles as the German, British, Free French, Americans or Polish forces after the invasion of Normandy 1944. If you like the TV-Series Band of Brothers you will find yourself quick at home with the scenario. The graphics are by now the most dated of the series. Explosions and firing guns are displayed with white ellipses, and every shell is a good visible yellow blob.

Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

Covers the "East Front" of Second World War. CMBB shows various improvements over its predecessor in the fields of graphics and user interface. Infantry Units have new commands available (Soviet Mass Attack) and Explosions are now bitmaps, no more ellipses. Interface is more sophisticated; commands like "crawl" and "sneak" from CMBO are now transformed into a single "sneak" command. The old "ambush marker" is replaced with a more elegant solution: "fire arches" and "tank fire arches". By clicking this command you can define a field of fire so that by good placement of units a trap or ambush can be planed. The artillery is modeled more sophisticated (allowing precise fire plans) and infantry sprites look a bit better.

Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

Covers Battles in North Africa, Southern Italy and Crete. The youngest incarnation of the CM series, CMAK features the shiniest graphic effects like dust clouds.