Overview
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy is the second Battlefront.com developed title in the Combat Mission franchise using the CMx2 engine. Differences between the old engine and new are vast, but the most significant difference is the focus on 1:1 depiction of units. In the CMx1 engine, an infantry squad was represented by a three man unit, giving a rough estimate of full, two thirds, and one third strength. Now, each soldier in each squad is modeled, along with the specific weapon he is carrying. Because of this, combat in the new engine gains a greater sense of realism, as each and every bullet trajectory is tracked. Instead of having an overall firepower of a squad and abstracted ammo, everything is tracked and modeled. When an individual soldier in a squad fires off a shot, ammo is depleted and the bullet is tracked until it hits something, even allowing for ricochets. Terrain then plays a greater part, as each object on the map provides cover as something the bullet may intersect before hitting a soldier, instead of providing an abstracted chance to miss.Armor is also granted greater detail. Now the various tanks and vehicles are detailed enough that individual systems and equipment may become damaged. Round after round may bounce off a Tiger, but its optics may become damaged, so while everything else is in working order, if it can't see, it can't shoot. Clipping the camera through a tank will show that even the inside has been modeled.
Returning to WW2, this release focuses on the fighting between the US Army and the German Army during the months of June through August. Instead of the broad theatre approach, focusing on one slice allows everything in each release to be produced at a much greater level of detail. Expansions will then fill out the rest of the western front, including Operation Market Garden, up to, but not including, the Battle of the Bulge.
Gameplay
In Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy, players can choose between real-time or turn-based combat. Real-time plays very much like a RTS, and also allows for pausing to issue orders in single player. Turn-based, on the other hand, plays very different to most turn-based games. Using the WEGO system, both players issue orders, and then sixty seconds play out with no player interaction. Orders that players may issue range from movement commands with varying speeds, to target orders, targeting arcs wherein you want a unit to hold fire until an enemy enters its arc, and other orders like popping smoke and hiding. Certain units will also need to be ordered to deploy their weapons before they are able to be used, like machine guns and mortars.
In addition, players must also be mindful of maintaining C2 (Command and Control) between their units. This means keeping squads within ordering range of their commanding officers, and keeping mortars near an attached headquarters unit, so they can receive fire missions. Calling in artillery has also been revamped. In the old engine, a dedicated forward observer was needed to call in artillery. Now, almost any headquarters unit with a radio can call it in. The only thing off-limits to them, which would require a forward observer, is calling in an air strike.
Controlling terrain, and using proper tactics, are also important to winning and keeping casualties low. Using bocage, buildings, trenches, foxholes, trees, and other such cover to your benefit will help maintain your forces, while rushing across open ground in sight of the enemy will result in mass losses. Popping smoke will help with concealment, as will burning vehicles.
Campaigns
Included in the base game are five campaigns:
Devon - Basic Training: This campaign acts as a tutorial, allowing players to get used to various aspects of the game and the orders they can give.
Task Force Raff - Combat Training: This campaign allows players to use what they learned in the tutorial campaign against smaller German forces.
Courage and Fortitude: Follows the beach landings and US Infantry seek to expand the beachhead.
Panzer Marsch: Panzer Lehr advances to split the US beachhead.
The Road to Montebourg: This massive 16 mission campaign follows US infantry, airborne, and glider troops as they fight their way to the Montebourg - le Ham defensive line.
As with all prior Combat Mission releases, more campaigns will no doubt be made by the community.
Scenarios
Included in the base game are twenty one scenarios, with many more to come from the community. Some examples of the scenarios in the initial release:
Barkmann's Corner: A lone Panther with supporting infantry takes on many American tanks.
Bois de Baugin: This scenario was shown off in the time leading up to release as an ongoing match between two beta testers.
Last Defense: An updated map of an old classic from the Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord demo.
Silence the Guns - Brecourt Manor: Elements of Easy Company assault a dug in German artillery position.
Quick Battles
Quick Battles are another feature which received an overhaul from Beyond Overlord to Shock Force to Battle for Normandy. In Beyond Overlord, players were allowed to cherry pick units, but were restricted by a rarity system that often left the match uneven. Shock Force sought to fix this problem by not allowing unit purchasing at all, but the results were usually mixed to bad. In addition to that, Beyond Overlord had a random map generator, but with the move to the new engine and the more complex terrain, Shock Force had to ditch that in favor of user created maps that would be chosen at random depending on what parameters the player chose. In Battle for Normandy, user created maps are still used, but now the player can either choose a map or let the computer choose one. Also, unit purchasing returns, with a rarity system that now lives alongside the purchase price, so the forces will always be somewhat comparable. To help inform a players purchase, the map is now viewable before selecting a single unit. The initial release launched with 317 quick battle maps.
Units and Vehicles
Units and Formations included:
German Major Formations
- Panzer Grenadier (Heavy Infantry) Battalion (Mechanized or Motorized)
- Panzer Aufklärungs (Armor Recce) Battalion
- Panzer Pionier (Armored Engineer) Battalion
- Pionier (Engineer) Battalion (Dismounted or Motorized)
- Grenadier (Infantry) Battalion
- Füsilier (Light Infantry) Battalion
- Panzer (Armor) Battalion (Medium or Heavy)
- Panzerjäger (Tank Destroyer) Battalion (Armor or Mechanized)
- Sturmgeschütz (Assault Gun) Battalion/Brigade
United States Major Formations
- Armored Infantry Battalion
- Armored Engineer Battalion
- Infantry Battalion
- Engineer Battalion
- Antitank Battalion (Self-propelled or Towed)
- Armored Battalion (Light or Medium)
- Airborne Parachute Battalion
- Airborne Glider Battalion
- Cavalry Squadron (Armored or Mechanized)
- Cavalry Troop (Infantry)
Vehicles and Equipment included:
German Tanks
Tiger I- PzKfw VI - Tiger (Late and Mid)
- PzKfw V - Panther A (Early, Mid, and Late)
- PzKfw V - Panther D (Late)
- PzKfw V - Panther G (Early)
- PzKfw IV - G (Early, Late, Latest)
- PzKfw IV - H (Early and Late)
- PzKfw IV - J (Early and Late)
- JPz IV - (Early, Mid, and Late)
- Marder III - M
- StuG III - G (Early, Mid, and Late)
- StuH 42 - (Early, Mid, and Late)
German Vehicles
German Halftracks
American Tanks
- M4 105 Sherman (Early, Early+Rhino, Mid)
- M4 Sherman (Mid, Late, Late+Rhino)
- M4A1 76W Sherman (Early, Mid)
- M4A1 Sherman (Mid, Late, Late+Rhino)
- M4A3 Sherman (Regular, Rhino)
- M4A3 105 Sherman (Early, Early+Rhino, Mid)
- M4A3 75W Sherman (Early, Early+Rhino, Mid)
- M4A3 76W Sherman (Early, Mid)
- M5a1 Stuart (Late, Late+Rhino)
- M10 GMC (Regular, Late, Rhino)
American Halftracks
- M2A1 Halftrack
- M3 Halftrack (1x M1919)
- M3 Halftrack (2x M1919)
- M3 Halftrack (1x M2HB)
- M3A1 Halftrack (M2HB and M1919)
- M3A1 Halftrack (M2HB)
- M4A1 Halftrack
- M21 Halftrack
American Vehicles
- M7B1 HMC Priest
- M8 AC (Early, Mid)
- M8 HMC
- M20 AC
- Jeep
- Jeep MMG
- 2.5 Ton Truck
German Large Guns/Mortars (on map)
American Large Guns/Mortars (on map)
- 60mm M2 Mortar
- 81mm M1 Mortar
- 57mm M1 AT
- 76mm M5 AT
Air Support
Artillery Support
- German
- 81mm sGrw 34 Mortar
- 120mm sGrw 42 Mortar
- 75mm leIG 18 Infantry Gun
- 150mm sIG 33 Infantry Gun
- 75mm FK 38 Field Gun
- 170mm K 18 Cannon
- 105mm leFH 18 Howitzer
- 150mm sFH 18 Howitzer
- 210mm Mrs 18 Howitzer
- 88mm Flak 36 Flack (as indirect artillery support)
- 150mm Nebelwerfer 41 Rocket
- 280mm Nebelwerfer 41 Rocket
- 210mm Nebelwerfer 42 Rocket
- 300mm Nebelwerfer 42 Rocket
- American
- 60mm M2 Mortar
- 81mm M1 Mortar
- 4.2in M2 Mortar
- 155mm M1A1 Field Gun
- 4.5in M1 Field Gun
- 75mm M1A1 Pack Howitzer
- 105mm M2A1 Howitzer
- 105mm M3 Howitzer
- 155mm M1 Howitzer
- 8in M1 Howitzer
- 240mm M1 Howitzer
- 4.5in T-27E2 Rocket
- 4.5in T-34 Rocket
- US Navy Destroyer (various calibers)
- US Navy Light Cruiser (various calibers)
- US Navy Heavy Cruiser (various calibers)
- 12in US Navy Battleship
- 14in US Navy Battleship
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/Win7
CPU: Pentium IV 1.8 GHz or equivalent speed AMD processor
GFX: GeForce 5200 or Radeon 9200 (32 Megabyte VRAM or better and must support 1024x768 or higher resolution) in OpenGL
Audio: DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card
RAM: 256MB
HDD: 3.5GB Hard Disk Space
Recommended System Requirements:
OS: Windows XP/Vista/Win7
CPU: Pentium IV 2.8 GHz or equivalent speed AMD processor or better
GFX: GeForce 6800 or Radeon x850 (256 Megabyte VRAM or better and must support 1024x768 or higher resolution) in OpenGL
Audio: DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card
RAM: 1GB
HDD: 4GB Hard Disk Space
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