Combined frontal attack

[NZLPilot]

Am I missing something as it appears that only one area can move and attack at any one time whereas in real life numerous areas could move and attack instantaneously... Ie a combined frontal assault.
Would also be good to maybe have the option to change the colour of units that cannot move for rest of day.

[s_nkarp]

Thanks for the thoughts, Jon.

Bulge is intended as a game first, and a simulation second. You are certainly right that in real warfare lots of events can happen at the same time. But often there is a to-and-fro, where each side reacts to each other's efforts. That is the approach taken by the designer.

Your point about changing unit color is also valid: units DO become grayed out, but it can be hard to see until you know what you are looking at.

All the best.

[Katleman]

I agree, you can see a slight difference for already activated units, but making it much more noticeable would help greatly.

I shouldn't have t compare it to a nearby unit

[nigeluk]

I'm colour blind and I can't see the difference between an active and inactive unit. I just touch the areas to see what can be activated.

I know it's a bit old school, but rotating the activated units 90 degrees would really help ....

[rddfxx]

Regards the premise about simultaneous combined attacks from different areas, I say BINGO! You've had the first epiphany about BotB. Combinations in space and time are important, but not always executable in a single move. There is a lot of action in a game day, but each unit's role in your plan is limited to a single activation. So you have to hit 'em in combinations, subject to area stacking limits and the sometimes infuriating limits to unit egress (ie bridges!). Yeah, it would be easier (sometimes) to just bully one's way through if simpler optimization were possible. But you'd be surprised what a BotB player can do by properly focusing and sequencing his/her moves.

[NZLPilot]

I think there are two aspects here....
Firstly one can send units from one area to multiple areas to attack but not vice versa so a joint manoeuvre on a single area has to be done in sequence which means that a strong defence can't be over-run by two slightly lower units from differing areas, unless one is fortunate.
Unless I have missed something attack is mandatory if you move into an occupied area so you can't just move and dig in.

The other is a frontal attack where one area attacks another and another area attacks an entirely separate area. I know this is not a simulation game but I do get frustrated seeing the time run down when other attacks could (would) occur simultaneously.

[thedudeabidez]

Yeah, well on the other hand, in real life a defender doesn't necessarily just sit there as all your units launch a frontal attack, which is what would happen with the game solution you propose. All game mechanics are compromises between what is possible/what makes for a good game/what best describes the "real" situation, and I'd say that Bulge has made some very good choices. Anyway, you can consider the 3 pre-dawn German moves in a row as the simulation of their most coordinated "frontal assault". Historically, as units advanced individually, front-wide coordination became less possible, especially given the road/weather conditions in the Ardennes.

[NZLPilot]

Yeah, well on the other hand, in real life a defender doesn't necessarily just sit there as all your units launch a frontal attack, which is what would happen with the game solution you propose. All game mechanics are compromises between what is possible/what makes for a good game/what best describes the "real" situation, and I'd say that Bulge has made some very good choices. Anyway, you can consider the 3 pre-dawn German moves in a row as the simulation of their most coordinated "frontal assault". Historically, as units advanced individually, front-wide coordination became less possible, especially given the road/weather conditions in the Ardennes.

Point taken. I think my main point is that I am still thinking of a smaller scale so felt co-ordinated attacks from differing areas should be possible but if one assumes that distances between area are longer which would negate the effectiveness of a co-ordinated attack, and like you say, that defence forces would also be mobilised then maybe I have to accept the fact.

Just more used to TOAW simulations I suppose.

[rddfxx]

Also consider the variable time expended per turn, which may encompass minutes or hours. In a game scaled at one or two turns per day, simultaneous or coordinated attacks originating in different areas implies something very different than a game with a variable time frame and many turns per day. So there is some built in friction.