Stack Movement?
 

Is there anyway to move units in stacks? I can only move units one at a time. Makes the game a choir to play, as it takes a few hours to play one turn and a few weeks to play each game, not to mention aching wrists. I know the game has a move all button, but that moves all the units in a general direction, regardless if you want each unit to move or not, breaking up the stacks in the process.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

There is no stack movement, and it would need a complete rewrite of the code from the ground up to implement.

All opfire is based on individual movement - which unit of the stack should an opfiring enemy unit fire at?. Would be one such question for example. Or all of them? And if so, how to implement that mechanism.

What movement penalty applies to a stack of say foot and including a tank? Would slower units fall out of the stack?

Basically, you are asking for a total rewrite of a game that did not even originally allow you to stack units (other than when a vehicle dropped its passengers).

Re: Stack Movement?
 

It may seem simple but moving more than one at a time bumps into a host of basic game bedrock coding........ The game was designed from the beginning to deal with "one unit at a time".... that's why only one aircraft can enter, make an attack run and has to leave the map before the next one can make it's run-in.

Move a stack of units and it's opfired on would require a significant code adjustment with an unknown number of knock - off "gotchas".

After tweaking other peoples code for almost a quarter century the desire to re-invent the wheel is not as strong as it once was :smirk:

Re: Stack Movement?
 

Yep - our code triggers opfire for every unit that unloads from a vehicle.

The original SP code only opfired at one of the units if several debussed, cannot recollect if it was the first one out or the last one.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

I find that if you really want the feel of a battalion or brigade leader you should move all your sub-units by 'Move All' commands. This rewards staying within command radius and forces shorter movement clicks to keep units together. Infantry no longer seems to be running at full speed everywhere. Units get 'lost' and slow down the whole formation. You need to lengthen any scenario by about 10 turns but it is a much more realistic 'battalion commander' feel IMO. For a better brigade commander feel try setting sub-units to AI control with movement objectives. It gives more of a "Here's my plan" "What the heck happened?" approach to your command level.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

It breaks up the stacks because there is a move penalty to enter a hex containing a unit so open ground with infantry for example they all string out in a few turns.
Not to mention its not great if they get fired on generally avoiding stacked units is a good idea.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

Can you elaborate what exactly you mean with "Move all" commands?

I'm aware that I can assign waypoints to sub units in the HQ screen and that they execute these orders if I activate AI for them. However I don't know of any other command to order more than one unit.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

From the Game Guide just above Artillery Bombardment Screens, including Air Unit Handling


They don't actually move "simultaneously" but once you select that and click on the hex you want to move to they will all move towards that hex in sequence and there is no stopping or changing (undo) after they have moved there so you need to know where your units are and be careful with it.

It can be really handy for moving units down a road that is not in the enemy's LOS and it can be handy if find you have units from a formation spread too far away from each other and you can use "A" to select a point they can move towards to get the unit back together.

Build a simple test scenario first and observe how it works and experiment If you are far behind the lines you can get away with picking a distant hex to get them moving in that direction but if you do use it nearer the front only click on one hex in front of the lead unit. It can be a bit unpredicable and that is why short moves are best generally

Re: Stack Movement?
 

Thanks!
Tried it and seems a bit quirky...but it is at least useful for setting targetting range,... wasn't aware of the 'A' key at all...my bad.

For a more delegated experience I think will stick with giving waypoints and let the AI do the walking.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

It's "quirky" until you understand how it works.

The last unit in the formation is always what moves first and the X0 is always what moves last so if you click on the X0 first with "A" set and order the entire formation to move to a point the last unit in the formation roster will move first and the X0 will be the last unit that moves and therefore the entire sequence will seem "quirky" if you just pick one at random unless you happen to pick the last unit in the formation

It's set up that way so the command unit isn't the first one charging in

Re: Stack Movement?
 

I guess I am just an old fashioned squad leader and control nut. I move every squad, tank, gun, truck my self. Tedious as it may be, I started at company level then battalion and up to brigade size, but I don’t mind slowly moving every piece into each hex and for me staying in formation or what I define as formation. I always move the last unit in a formation first working up to the 0 leader. Generally only one or two hexes at a time all the way through the command and then recycle back and move one or two hexes again. The exceptions are at the start of a campaign scenario prior to contact but you develop a sixth sense when it’s time to shift to the 1-2 hex moves and when it’s time to shuffle platoons closer or further apart.

Re: Stack Movement?
 

I like the option and have no issues concerning its use or how it works, but this this thread is making me feel like a "dinosaur".

I guess too many SPI/Avalon Hill/SSI and the "grandaddy" of them all Chess games over the years.

But the "father(s)" of my board game life, was the "rarity" to have played the original TACTICS (1958 which I played ~20yrs later. also, they released a 25th Ann. Ed. in 1983.) and it's younger and newer brother TACTICS 11 (1973) .

I blame my youth and my "sometimes" :rolleyes: micro-managing to the tried and true one unit at a time approach to get to, hold and advance to/from my objectives.

It slows the game down, however, for me and my Chess background if you can't look several moves ahead and do the same from your opponent's point of view more often than not, at best a draw, or worse a loss. If you're lucky you might pull one out but rarely against a competent or better player.

Besides at my current "young" age :D the exercise is good for the brain. :cool:

And wouldn't it be a "witch" if your waypoint fell upon an opponent's advance units or an ambush? Just a consideration of "how far down the road" do you go using that method of movement?

Regards,
Pat
:capt: