I have a good understanding of the camera controls in the game, but not sure how best to use it to follow the action. I often find during replays (turn based, of course) I am watching one part of the battle, and at the end I notice that a tank in the other quarter has been killed.
What are the best ways/camera options to keep situational awareness? I would rather not have to do multiple replays of the action just to keep a general awareness of what is going on during the turn.
Any advice?
Prefered camera settings/approaches?
Make sure you don't have an individual units selected when viewing the turn as a whole otherwise you can miss key info that the selected unit is not privy too.
As far as viewing, one way is to use top down view which I think is the R key. You can also sit the camera in a corner and use the C key to widen the camera view to take in the whole battle (if it is a big one). The latter is my preferred view. If you are watching separate parts of the action, sometimes I click on the > button which advances the time by 5 seconds. This speeds up the time it takes to review the turn. Or any combinations of the above.
As the turn plays I will often have a look at certain actions by hitting the < to go back and then move/zoom in closer to the action to see what happened. Then I continue playing the turn as normal.
@hardradi
Sound tips.
I started off feeling like hitting the replay button was a kind of cheating... Only to find out I was missing confusingly great chunks of what had just happened.
Then for a while I tried replaying multiple times from many different persectives, but it was taking me days to complete a game!
I've yet to find a happy medium
You're not cheating if you watch the re play of the turn more than once.... So get that out of your mindset.... You can watch the turn play out as often as you like and from as many angles as you like. I even take notes if there is a lot going on... My advice is to watch 100% of the map the first time with no icons or forces picked and you will see where the action is and then follow up with thee individual unit actions. I even check move orders for units without contact too see if they are tired or have difficulty traversing the route I choose. Sometimes I make move orders I've made mistakes with and fix them or when the ai decides to do it a way I know longer want them to continue with... This game is a massive micromanagement affair... 1 turn watching doesn't give you all the info you need to play it correctly aside from maybe custom range tests...
The more info you acquire and process each turn the more options you have to make a decent return file....
Best!
Keeping in contact with your opponent is a nice touch when playing pbem matches... I've never been pissed off if an opponent wants to take their time with turns...
@gurakn As you gain experience the amount of angles will reduce because you will know what vantage points you need to look at... And yes the vantage from the enemy's perspective is something to look at other than just your view from your forces and units...
Not that I'm a terrain expert by any means... You think your taking to long lol I've spent over a week and 30 plus hours to plan and purchase units for some matches...
Best
As the above mentions, I usually start off my watching as much of the visible battlefield with as wide view as possible to include all friendly units and enemy units. Also worth including views of possible enemy routes of advance. Do this with out selecting any units to get a big picture idea of what is happening where. Then replay the areas of interest more close up. It is not cheating and in my opinion, one of the joys of the wego system. I find RTS frustrating because I can miss parts crucial of the battle and I can't replay to see what happens. With wego, I can rewatch all the action over large battlefields and relish a well planned ambush on the enemy or anguish when I get surprised by an unexpected event.
I see myself a team or squad leader trying to make the best decision for my squad or the tank commander seeking the best position for my tank as well as the overall company or battalion commander forming up a overall battle plan. Yes, it is more micromanaging but that is what I like about the game. Sometimes with huge battles, it takes me over an hour per turn. I nearly only play PBEM with friends, so my turn rate is not rapid. 1-3 turns a day on days off or otherwise a turn every 1-2 days on workdays. Suits my pace too.
@dontpanic
I like this approach.
I've started using the Camera1 (lowest) a lot when I am plotting tank movement, so I can find positions with good sight lines.
It makes a huge difference, as I find I can't get a decent impression of the terrain from the higher angles.
I don't suppose anyone has a nice clear but subtle gridded terrain mod?
I remember using a nice one with CMBB, and found it really helped to notice undulations in terrain.
I do have one, but it features pretty thick black lines which are a bit immersion breaking.
May eventually do one myself, but the many and different ground textures make it a non-trivial task
@gurakn Yes, I use level 1 to check LOS too. For tanks, I click to level one and the two scrolls up to get Tank Commander PoV. Use the zoom in as binocular effect to check if you can see the enemy unit. Useful to have as many enemy units spotted as possible (stresses the importance of good recon)
@gurakn There is a terrain mod out there I just don't have it in my mod folders... Someone here on the forum has it.. I'm sure they will offer it to you via drop box once they see your post...
Purely for entertainment & immersion purposes, i use "unit lock" (un-choosing the unit once locked) and the x and z keys during review to enjoy action filled moments for different units.