homepage Forums Land & Armor Combat Tactical Simulations - General Call to Arms Gates of Hell: Ostfront

The avatar may have given it away as well

Try the local skirmishes, pick a map with 2x2 or smaller forces and have a bash. Once you can reliably emerge victorious from these, then you are ready for the campaign I reckon.

Ok did not know you could change map sizes, good to know. Yep looks like the Eagle from GPL maybe at Spa.

Close. It's the Eagle at Nordschleife, catching air at Flugplatz

The 2x2 refers to the number of teams on both sides in the skirmish. Smaller maps allow fewer teams. Skirmishes are similar to Combat Mission's QMB, and if set to local means it's just you against the AI.

Sometimes it helps to go to a 3x3 or 4x4 when learning because you can rely on your teammates more while you mess around with controls and learning the different units.

That was a wonderful 24 hours. We talked about the game and I will remember this time fondly. Fleeting though it was.

I hadn't played Ostfront since January but fired it up over the weekend for a bash. There are three main ways to play this game -- skirmish, conquest and campaign. The campaign missions are what I like best. Most players seem to play conquest exclusively, and it's fun, but has a few holes in it for me. The scripted campaign stuff is more up my alley I think.

Early war (1939) coming in the next DLC. They're featuring the Poles. Looks really decent too.

I like the sound of that. Playing Combat Mission for years showed me that the best gameplay comes from the least-lethal weapons. Early war just plays better as a result. 37mm doorknockers instead of 88mm paks, ya know? Light armor like 38t and Panzer II instead of Sturmtigers and Panthers. I think this period will suit Ostfront perfectly.

The community seems to have come unglued over the choice of Poland. But like I said I think this is a good add. As I pointed out at the Steam forum in a sea of rage, 1939 means lighter weapons, and lighter weapons mean better tactical game play in my view. No one agrees.

Many want North Africa, and I get it. But desert fighting kind of sucks, doesn't it?

I'm all on board the Poland train

I think the Polish expac will be a lot of fun. I like the idea of lighter, faster, less punchy vehicles, like the Pz I's and II's, the Czech built German re-engineered Pz 38's. It will be interesting to see if the devs allow for a full doctrinal early form of Blitzkreig to develop as that would be darn interesting, especially in trying to come up with ways to counter it-- given the heavy weight of western tank doctrine (not Liddell-Hart's) on what machinery most western countries operated, eg., the early infantry support tanks. I love the fact the devs have included the much maligned (and wrongfully so, imho) Polish Cavalry which were used as screens, recce, and fought normally as dragoons. They've said the cavalry in their scenarios will be shown doing what cavalry do, not the propagandized false image of sabres drawn, lances levelled, charging headlong into German tanks. As a simple point, lances had been removed from cavalry service in the mid-1930's, and only practice lances (for show, not combat) were used for ceremony practice. Also, contrary to popular belief, The Uhlans and Polish horse had several successful tactical 'charges' against German infantry and hastily built defensive positions in attempts to delay and harass the enemy advance. They were armed with modern weapons of the time, and some probably also still carried their sabres Heroic yes, stupid no.