Would like comprehensive manual

[fyrebird68]

As a veteran SSI board gamer from the 60s (Squad Leader and others) I really appreciate deep documentation on how a game works. I have read the on-line manuals and wikis for BA, but they strike me as "quick-start" type of documentation. (A Squad leader manual was 100 pages long!) I realize the with the advent of AI it's not necessary to understand the 'whys' as much as before, but I have played (and lost) a lot of scenarios just because I didn't know the rules. As an example, I discovered last night that a squad can assault an AFV through a hedgerow. This would have made a difference in my game play for many games if I had known that from the get-go. There are many more examples of things that I learned by accident.

Don't get me wrong - I am really enjoying Battle Academy and would never go back to the board. (All that nasty counting for movement and stretching strings for LOS - yichh.) I'm just one of those guys who really want to know all the rules. It makes for a better experience for me. What do you think?

[pipfromslitherine]

Being able to assault through a hedgerow is (I think) a bug - I will have to check it out.

Building a comprehensive manual of all the various rules and actions would be a massive task - not least because we are constantly tweaking and polishing the various rules based on feedback. On the other hand I can definitely see that there is a % of the playerbase who would love to be able to dig down into the guts of the ruleset.

Cheers

Pip

[fyrebird68]

I've never contributed to a wiki, but I would like to try. As I discover things about certain "counters" (AFV, squad, weapon, etc.) I could add to a body of knowledge. Maybe you could grow a manual in that manner.

[pipfromslitherine]

That was the plan originally, but leaving the wiki open led to it being hijacked by ads for skin cream (amongst other things!) so it is currently locked down. I've not gotten around to hooking it up to the forum system yet.

Perhaps you could check out the Manual Additions Thread (viewtopic.php?f=87&t=19482) and add any tips to there. Then at least it is linked to the wiki.

Cheers

Pip

[ERommel]

Thank you for looking into fixing the Assaulting Through Hedgerows bug. Very much appreciated!
Hope you can fix it soon.

It is also possible for A/T units to fire through hedgerows as well as Infantry are able to shoot at other infantry.

Would really be awesome for all the bugs associated with Hedgerows to be fixed.

Thank you

[butterforce]

Just to add my two cents. I am also seeing some strange behavior.....that a comprehensive manual could help clarify for players.

After playing over twenty futile attempts at mission 'Take One With You' in the Sealion Campaign (using full tactical rules and no statistical advantages, with enhanced AI) - I am noticing some definite oddities. Aside from AI being able to shoot at me with any type of unit through hedge rows, yet I am powerless to return fire via sticky bombers, infantry, vehicles, etc. whether from an adjacent square or otherwise. (My best attempt has been to hold the town square and even kill Sturmpanzer, but only net 33 enemy kills, thus failing).

I am highly perplexed as to why I see a (non-promoted) German Infantry unit has an AP of 40 - after they've traveled 5 squares to approach my frontline positions in the fortified village. Yet in the Bulge campaign for example, an identical German infantry unit has an standard AP of 16 (with same settings as above). I am also seeing German troop carriers with an AP of 68, (in bulge, the same vehicle has an AP of 28 or something close prior to any movement) Also, when looked at closely during the AI turn, I am seeing units with AP's over 100(!) cycling through.

I am not claiming to be good at this game, but I am definitely not bad at it, and I've never seen such unstoppability in the AI in any other mission in any other campaign (I have them all and played them all obsessively). Is there something specific to the Sealion campaign or mission I am overlooking?

In the context of a detailed manual - where each side's unit types AP defaults/thresholds are detailed (along with HE and AP ranges and damages), it would surely aid in assessing potential enemy strength and knowing where to anticipate activity and to plan for forward movement from the enemy. But how can it be that a regular Germany infantry unit has double the AP range of movement that the Guy Armored Car (or even a Bren carrier) has?

Would be a dream to have detail on all unit types on all sides, like how all resources in Panzer Corps are clearly defined in each statistical category.

I hereby volunteer to contribute to this detailed minutiae in any way possible, as it without a doubt has import into grand strategy and mission planning and resource allocation/deployment.

[pipfromslitherine]

That sounds like a bug, albeit one we've never heard of before. Hedgerows were supposed to work differently, but have ended up being basically just barriers to movement. Units should be able to fire to and fro without issue (although you can only shoot through a hedge at a unit you can see, you cannot suppress through one IIRC).

Cheers

Pip