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Author Topic: Lead, "Follow", or get out of the way!  (Read 3075 times)

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Offline choppinlt

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Lead, "Follow", or get out of the way!
« on: September 06, 2016, 06:43:34 PM »
While I have mentioned it before, i would like to discuss the "Follow" unit command in a littler more detail. Those who play Combat Mission should be able to appreciate this particular discussion. We plan to have a Follow command so you can easily create a marching order of units. “Following” units will adopt the exact same movement path as the unit they are following. Here is an example from the scenario. The 116 Infantry Regiment is ready to step off. 3/116 is in the lead, but we want to lead with our primary assault battalion 2/116. Select 2/116 and choose the movement rate (Approach) and place waypoints like normal. The player then selects the unit it wants to fall in behind, and in this case we will choose 3/116. So 3/116 will now have the exact same movement path as the lead unit 2/116. When using the Follow command players will have to make a selection regarding distance (in 100m increments) between units OR time lag (in minutes) before following behind. For instance, if you want the following unit immediately behind its leader you can choose “0” for distance (or time for that matter), or if you want some space you could put in 1000m (or whatever you choose). You are now done with inputting movement orders for this unit if you want to be! Then you can continue to create your order of procession for a whole column of units as you can see with the 116th Regiment. I understand the visuals are somewhat messy due to how units are arranged, but hopefully you get the point. 2/116 will move through 3/116, then 3/116 will start moving immediately behind 2/116, then 116 HQ, and finally 1/116.



What we really want to accomplish is to have each waypoint fully editable for the “following” units. So you can have a unit follow the lead on a long circuitous path, but still edit the last waypoint to get the unit exactly where you want it. Or you could have a following unit break off at any point that you want.

Each unit will move at its prescribed movement rate. So if you have a foot unit in the lead, the whole column of units will move at that rate. Conversely if you have a motorized unit in front a following foot unit will do its best to keep up, but will quickly get left behind during a road march. Furthermore, it is important to understand that units have a head, a tail, and require space. For example, a US tank battalion has around 167 vehicles and requires about 12km of road space when marching. During a road march the head of the tank battalion will arrive about 30 minutes before the tail of the unit arrives. You can quickly see how time and distance can really start to add up when trying to move a lot of units.

Feel free to ask questions!
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