The following is a quick listing of some of the major new features of CMBB, mainly meant for players familiar with CMBO. It is a quick overview of the hundreds of edits and changes incorporated in CMBB for those not wanting to read through the whole manual before starting up their first game. The latter is strongly recommended, however, but since people never listen… Of course, more details about these features can be found in the according sections of the game manual. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list nor is meant to be. There are so many new things in CMBB that we can’t condense them all into a list and we still like to leave some surprises.

We have tried to organize them into logical catagories but you may want to scan the whole list.

• Artillery
• Optics
• TacAI
• Ammo Codes
• Planes
• Quick Battles
• Weather / Terrain
• Buildings
• Vehicles
• Armor Penetration
• Orders
• Unit Info
• Fatigue
• Defense
• Battles and Operations
• Other Cool Stuff

ARTILLERY CHANGES

Artillery Barrages planned on turn one (Prep Barrage) cannot be adjusted or canceled later. They continue to fall even if the FO was eliminated in the meantime.

If the FO can’t see the target, two minutes are added to the strike delay (unlike previously where the time ticked down at half speed). This does not apply to pre-planned strikes on game turn one.

Artillery targets are shifted randomly if a spotting round is not used, which occurs when the FO is incapacitated or cannot see the target, rockets are being used, or the strike was planned on turn one (i.e. it’s a ‘preplanned strike’). Note also that spotting rounds are not used when firing on a TRP, but in this case the target is not randomly shifted nor is it shifted for Prep Barrages.

Artillery adjusting - If you have an artillery strike that’s coming in off-target (NOTE! If a spotting round is used, which is typical, the strike will come in ON target, so this is important only for strikes out of LOS and rockets, which don’t use spotting rounds) and you want to correct its aim, you should adjust fire onto the originally desired target. Further aiming error will often be reduced, but this is not guaranteed.

Artillery fire may only be ‘walked’ if the FO can see the new strike target location.

Artillery strikes will continue beyond the incapacitation of the FO if:

1. The strike was planned on turn one (i.e. a "preplanned strike"), or

2. The strike had begun firing spotting rounds (or, if it’s not the type to fire spotting rounds, then was within the time period where spotting rounds would otherwise be fired).

Artillery time-on-target to a TRP is never greater than 60 seconds, even for high-level Soviet artillery.

"Reset Target" order is new and replaces the ‘R’ key during target selection for FOs.

Forward observers now show time to the next volley regarding reloading (as well as aiming) rather than simply saying "Firing" once the first volley lands.

Artillery spotters cannot intentionally hide and have a target at the same time.

"Planned" artillery strikes (the kind you set on turn 1 which can arrive immediately) are not allowed in meeting engagements.

Forward Observers (except those using radios) may not be passengers on vehicles.

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OPTICS

There are seven types. Note that nations other than Germany exclusively use "standard" optics. All six other types are German-only.

Standard: Mediocre quality and magnification, normal field of view. Not listed in the data window.

Good: Typical good-quality general-purpose German optics, mostly used by tanks. Crew must be green or better to use without penalties.

Binocular: Same as "Good" but allows use of two eyes for better depth perception. Used by early Tigers and Panthers. Crew must be green or better to use without penalties.

Long-range: High-magnification German optics, with limited field of view, used by assault guns and tank destroyers. Crew must be regular or better to use without penalties.

Very long-range: Extreme magnification power. Used only by late-model Jagdpanther. Crew must be veteran or better to use without penalties.

Dual-Magnification: Can switch between two different magnification levels, to optimize both spotting and tracking. Used by late-model Panthers. Crew must be veteran or better to use without penalties.

Narrow: Cheaper (by German standards) optics of generally good quality but limited field of view. Often used by lightly-armored self-propelled guns. Crew must be regular or better to use without penalties.

Good magnification allows for better spotting and gunfire accuracy at long range, except in low-light conditions where the greater need for light of high-magnification optics becomes a hindrance, reducing their effectiveness relative to lower-power lens.

Wider field of view allows for quicker target acquisition and tracking, which allows the gun to be aimed (and fired) faster. Limited field of view can cause difficulty tracking moving targets at close range.

Hot temperature reduces optical performance, especially for German equipment. The reduction is lesser for more experienced crews.

Extremely cold temperature reduces performance of ‘standard’ optics, especially for inexperienced crews.

Extremely cold temperature increases performance of German optics, especially for experienced crews.

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TACAI IMPROVEMENTS

Vehicles won’t move "out of the way" of another vehicle passing through if the other vehicle is substantially smaller or if the stationary vehicle has a covered arc.

The TacAI won’t change an infantry unit’s area target when that unit is set to use its demo charges. It’s "sticky" now (note: this can be dangerous if enemy units are immediately nearby).

TacAI won’t fire smoke with a unit which has been given a direct target unit by the player, except possibly if other ammo types are not appropriate (e.g. out of range, none left, etc.).

Sneaking and hiding units are more likely only to target directly-threatening enemies.

Sneaking units can shoot (at reduced effectiveness and ROF, and only out to 100m).

Units using the "Move" command are less likely to attempt to complete their movement when under fire, opting instead to head for cover (and halt there) or if no cover is available, then halting where they are.

Pillboxes will bail out due to morale effects only when they reach Broken (as opposed to Panic).

Pinned units now STOP moving (except when in the open and their next waypoint is quite nearby and in cover), and units pin down much sooner than before.

Soviets are equal to Germans in order delay efficiency (for an equal experience level) starting in January 1944. Before that, Soviets order delays are one experience level lower than for a German unit of the same experience (ie. Soviet Regulars have similar delays as German Greens)

Light AA guns will "rapid fire" at close-range enemies just like MGs do.

Tweak to TacAI so it won’t use tungsten shells simply because you’re running low on AP.

Units won’t fire small arms at an area target they’re set to use demo charges against.

Units will fire rifle grenades and panzerfausts at human-chosen targets without holding back out of concerns that the weapon will not damage especially tough targets.

Infantry units under air attack are likely to scurry for cover if necessary.

Ski troops. They begin the game with skis but will lose them (permanently) if they attempt any move other than: Move, Move to Contact, or Run.

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AMMO CODE CHANGES

Changes to ammo "code letters". The full set is:

• HE - High Explosive
• AP - Armor Piercing
• HC - Hollow Charge (HEAT)
• T - Tungsten
• C - Canister (anti-personel)
• S - Smoke
• F - Flame

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CLOSE AIR SUPPORT

Plane data reworked with individual data for weapons, speed, damage resistance, etc. Also, airplanes can now be purchased by the computer and no longer have a 10% random chance of scrubbing a mission.

Sighting an enemy airplane will cancel Move to Contact orders only if the airplane is attacking a location within 100m of the moving unit.

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QUICK BATTLES and EDITOR ENHANCEMENTS

In Quick Battles, the parameters used to set up the game are saved in the scenario briefing, which you can access with Alt-B.

New Quick Battle parameter: ammunition level.

Maps can be imported into Quick Battles from scenario files.

Map generator makes use of the ‘gentle’ slope (1.25m per level) when appropriate.

In editor unit purchase screen, the ‘popup’ info shows which artillery FOs can fire smoke.

"Force Types" are much more detailed (e.g. "Romanian Mechanized") and affect which TO&Es may be purchased. In Quick Battles, mechanized forces will be given more points to spend on vehicles than infantry-only forces (even for the same type of battle, e.g. "Armor").

The code can apply different rarity values for units depending on geographic region or Force Type. Example: the King Tiger is "extremely rare" in Finland

QBs have an "unrestricted" troop quality option.

QBs have "huge" map size option.

QB Assault Defenders must spend a certain portion of their points on fortifications.

Quick Battles have "casualty" setting that depletes your forces before the battle begins.

In QBs the month can be random as well as the year, and when month is random, the temperature is set automatically (with some randomization).

Battle maps may be up to 9 square kilometers (4km max in either dimension). Operation maps can be up to 24 square kilometres (6km max in either dimension)

In QBs, 10% of your troops will show up at one experience level lower than you expected, and 10% at one level higher. The random experience level variations in quick battles are now (roughly) "balanced" so you get roughly even amounts of raisings as lowerings, largely defeating any purpose to cheating.

QBs apply the experience setting (low/medium/high) appropriately to the various forces available. For example, "high quality" Russian troops in 1941 will only be Regular.

In main editor, all unit experience levels are allowed for all force types (not the case in quick battles).

Craters can be placed in map editor by Alt-1 through 5 key combination (1 – small crater, 5- huge crater).

In QBs when you have less than full ammunition, Forward Observers’ ammo load won’t have the slight randomness that other units do, to prevent people re-purchasing FOs to get maximum ammo loads.

Maps imported into Quick Battles can now include troops. This can also be used to import the final autosave in a previous battle to "continue" the battle. Troops are only imported if the FINAL autosave of a battle is used. (NOTE: The feature provides no hand-holding or safety features, so you should not overload a small map with zillions of new troops on the next battle, you should make sure you have adequate setup zones, etc.)

When loading a map into a QB, importing its troops is optional.

Variable-end scenarios are capped at a maximum of an extra 10 turns or 25% of the original length of the scenario, whichever is less.

When global morale falls below 25% it’s the equivalent of making a standing cease fire offer (privately).

In the editor, if you place two sibling half-squads near one another they automatically rejoin to form the original squad.

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WEATHER and TERRAIN

Wind direction and strength can be set.

Blizzard (i.e. heavy snowfall, limited visibility).

Weather graphics have an ‘extreme’ setting.

Soft ground does not remain snowless if the snow is medium or deep (i.e. only when snow is "light").

You can have frozen rivers on a snowless map, and snowy maps with unfrozen rivers.

Editor and QB screen allow you to enter the Region and Temperature

Fires often start "small" and have no effect on gameplay. But they can grow (and spread) to large fires which cause all units to exit.

Trees are taller now, especially pine trees. This may mean that you will want to use SHIFT-T to drop your tree coverage setting in order to maintain a good frame rate.

Rural maps in central and southern regions, when tree level is set to ‘open’ will generate steppe.

Open ground tiles change in hue (to more yellowed) if there is more than a trivial amount of steppe terrain on the map. This better matches the real-world coloring of the Russian steppes.

Units move through pine trees faster than heavy woods (due to less underbrush) and LOS is a little bit clearer through pine trees too.

Some terrain has visual "doodads" for "height", e.g. grass, brush, rubble. These have no implications on the game engine but are for visual depth only (i.e. the terrain modifiers do not change by presence of doodads)

New terrain types: Steppe, Rocky, Cemetery, Wood Fence, Peasant Shack, Factory Building, Soft Ground (doubles as "snow free" area during light snow scenarios).

Night when the weather is other than "clear" is considered "extra dark", and the maximum visible range is 75m or even less depending on weather.

Fog and Rain weather can be combined.

When a line of sight passes through a good bit of concealing terrain, infantry units are harder to spot than previously.

Minefields can be reduced or eliminated by shellfire (though this will not be explicitly shown - you just have to judge roughly by how many craters you see, and hope).

Warm temperature reduces fatigue-recovery rate by 15%. Hot temperature by 40%.

Base chance for MG to jam is reduced somewhat overall, but is then increased at the following temperatures:

Hot: +200%

Warm: +50%

Freezing: +25%

Extreme Cold: +100%

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BUILDINGS

Destroyed buildings kick up smoke that lasts for a few minutes.

Buildings show damage graphically when they reach the "lightly damaged" state. This is when building is approx. 40% (or more) damaged.

Buildings have textured floors, stone and wood.

When the camera is inside, building sides are transparent so you can "see out".

Large stone and factory buildings are harder to destroy.

Small-caliber guns are less likely to cause significant damage to buildings.

Added "flat rubble" tile (without knocked down building walls)

For internal LOS calculations, rubble is considered taller than before.

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VEHICLES

Wheeled and half-tracked vehicles display "Off-Road Ability" of Good, Fair or Poor.

Tanks destroyed by close assault are immediately known to be destroyed.

Standard grenade attacks versus tanks are reduced in effectiveness.

Buttoned vehicles have a blind spot for infantry (who’s not targeting the vehicle) within 15m provided the infantry is not in the front 60-degree arc centered on the turret facing.

Nearby artillery strikes cause vehicle morale effects.

Crews bail out of soft-skin vehicles much faster.

If vehicles reach "Broken" morale state, they may retreat off the map if that provides a nearby escape from a threat (similar to what infantry does).

Unbuttoned crew are more likely to be hit by small arms fire.

Halted vehicles rotate their hulls more slowly.

Vehicles in a poor morale state are less likely to unbutton on their own.

Vehicles with crew casualties can suffer 1- or 2-man turret penalties.

Vehicle hunt and move-to-contact speeds have been slowed down by 33%.

Tanks will button up when they receive gun hits.

Vehicle platoon sizes vary, depending on type and date.

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ARMOR PENETRATION SYSTEM

Lethality to vehicle crew of armor penetration has new, more sophisticated system which newly takes into account the mass of armor sent into the interior, the likelihood of the armor to fragment, and the size of the bursting charge of AP ammo, if any (and the chance it might not function properly on penetrations which don’t make it cleanly through). You’ll find that AP "shot" (which has no explosive capacity) tends to to a better job penetrating armor, but less damage once inside compared to AP "shells" which have an explosive charge. With small guns it now often takes multiple hits to knock out tanks, and often this will be from injuring or killing the crew rather than significant physical damage to the tank itself.

In unit data window, the muzzle velocity is printed in the penetration data per ammo type rather than just once in the ‘main weapon’ line. Also, the subtype of AP is indicated.

Armor penetration success rates vary randomly to a greater extent.

Russians will use uncapped AP ammo until April 1944 and ballistic-capped APBC therafter (exceptions: 122mm switches over inAugust and 100mm never switches to APBC). The APBC is generally more powerful partly because AP ammo was poorly manufactured, especially in 1941, and also because Russian APBC has a blunt nose shape which ‘grips’ on contact and does reasonably well against highly-sloped armor. NOTE: Russian 45mm AP ammo in 1941 is especially poorly made.

When you draw a target or LOS line to an armored target, the "Kill" display has more gradations: Excellent, Very Good, Good, OK, Fair, Low, Very Low, Rare, None.

Tanks receive gun damage considerably less often.

German hollow-charge shell armor penetration performance increases through the war. (Internally, the Hl.39/A is used in 1941-2, the ‘B’ type in 1943-9/1944, and ‘C’ type thereafter. These dates are rough due to scant information on when each type was actually used).

Small shells that penetrate armor are now less likely to result in a knock-out. Small guns will often have to achieve several penetrating hits to secure a knock-out (though if the target has low-quality hard/brittle armor, as the Soviets often do, then even small penetrations are more deadly due to armor splinters hitting the crew).

Armor penetrations that penetrate less than 15% "beyond" the armor resistance will be displayed as "partial penetration" and often are less dangerous to the crew of the tank which was hit. (Note: the reduced lethality is not a hard cutoff at 15%, that’s just the cutoff to show the ‘partial’ message).

Armor penetration for bullets (i.e. 12.7mm and under) reduced slightly.

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ORDERS

Backspace/Delete will delete a selected mid-waypoint provided it’s one that was planned in the current orders phase (i.e. colored white).

Human-wavers start running when within 80m of the destination, but not until they’ve moved at least 10m first. Human-waving units may not adjust waypoint positions.

Sewer movement: Allowed by scenario parameter. Movement takes place between large heavy buildings only and is slow. Any sewer move has a 10% risk of "death in the sewers". Units must be Veteran+ or in-command Regular. Heavy weapons not allowed in sewer.

Covered Arc and Cover Armor commands added. Holding CONTROL while setting a covered arc sets it to 180 degrees.

Hiding units with covered arcs will UNHIDE as soon as they know a spotted enemy enters their covered arc. This is a handy way to trigger an ambush. HOWEVER, note that covered arcs do not FORCE your units to fire on any and all enemies inside the arc. Your units will not waste ammo on lousy shots.

Clicking on a movement path will select that unit.

Withdraw order - beware, it’s about 50% likely to panic your troops, depending on their experience!

Added a Vehicle "Shoot & Scoot" order.

Orders Delay depends on amount of waypoints for a unit: more delay is allocated "up front" for the first move, and less for each additional waypoint. Also, orders delays will never exceed 3 minutes.

Follow Vehicle order added. Infantry units (without heavy weapons) can "follow" enemy vehicles with the intent to close assault them even if the vehicles are moving. The interface is very similar to embarking on a friendly vehicle. Just choose a movement order for your infantry unit, then place the cursor on the enemy vehicle and click. The vehicle must be within 50m. If at any point the enemy vehicle moves beyond 50m, the follow vehicle order will be canceled. The follow vehicle status will be KEPT otherwise (unless you change the movement orders yourself), even after your men have reached the vehicle, so if the enemy vehicle survives, but several turns later tries to move away, your men will continue to follow it.

If a Move-to-contact unit had "hide" planned as the last part of its move, it will hide when it makes enemy contact.

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UNIT INFO

Graphically, infantrymen in squads no longer have a "fixed" position relative to one another. They move and rotate in a more "individual", natural-looking manner.

Movement and rotation speeds for ordnance drop in proportion to casualties taken.

Vehicles and infantry ordnance units, which have neither moved nor fired, and are located in trees, are harder to spot (camouflaging efforts are assumed here).

Weapons teams have a "self defense" small arms capability. They will often fire a few shots at enemy infantry that gets within 100m. It’s intentionally not that effective - just a minimum of self-defense ability so they’re not totally helpless.

Germans sometimes carry captured Russian smallarms..

Units with binoculars are indicated as such in data window.

Units are (partly) sorted when you go to the map.Fortifications are cheaper than in CMBO

Daisy-chain mines slightly larger now (12m x 12m)

New close-range anti-armor weapons: Rifle grenade, Molotov cocktail, Panzerwurfmine, and Soviet RPG (available June ’43).

2-man "Tank Hunter" teams added.

Squad types have different ammo loads depending on their weapons. Generally the more SMGs the lower the ammo load.

New fortification "unit": Trench.

Infantry reinforcements will arrive riding tanks when possible.

Units default to NOT being able to exit for points.

Volkssturm and Partisans may never have vehicles in a QB unless you set it to Unrestricted troop type (they will be treated as though Infantry troop type was selected).

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UNIT FATIGUE MODEL

Fatigue system has changed.

Exhausted units cannot assault or advance.

Fatigue for running is increased.

Name changes: "Tired" is now called "Tiring", "Weary" is now called "Tired".

Fatigue reduces ROF for infantry somewhat.

Recovery rate from fatigue is reduced by lower global morale. So when forces are beaten up, you’ll find that your ability to conduct mobile operations is curtailed. Defensive capability won’t be harmed much, but attacking gets progressively harder to do. This helps lead to a "natural end" for a battle.

Exhausted units crawl especially slowly.

Units rally more slowly when fatigued, especially when exhausted.

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DEFENSE

Defender Dug In Status (set in editor parameters) can be of four types:

1. None - defenders do NOT automatically dig foxholes.

2. Normal - the original way, where defenders dig a foxhole in their location

3. Normal + Fallback Positions - see below

4. Normal + Fallback Positions + Vehicles May Dig In - see below

"Fallback Positions" may now be created in the setup phase by the owning player. Press ALT-F to enter fallback foxhole placement mode. Click the map to place the foxholes you like, and click a foxhole to remove it again if you make a mistake. The total number of foxholes allowed is limited by the number of non-heavy-ordnance infantry units you have. Note that these fallback foxholes are IN ADDITION to the "automatic" foxhole each infantry unit normally gets. In Quick Battles, Meeting Engagements and Probes get "None", Attacks get "Normal" and Assaults get "Normal + Fallback Positions".

During setup (unless defenders are not allowed to dig in) defending infantry units will be shown with their initial foxholes. As you move the units, the foxholes move along with them. If you wish the unit NOT to dig a foxhole, use the "Dig In" command, which toggles the intent to dig a foxhole on and off.

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BATTLES AND OPERATIONS

All battles, even those in the editor (i.e. not just QBs) are set as Assault / Attack / Probe / Meeting Engagement. This allows for the Force Readiness feature (see below).

Force Readiness. At a certain point, when your troops run very low on ammunition, it has the same effect as you offering a cease fire. This represents troops not necessarily wanting to fire off their very last bullet because even if they eliminate the current enemy, in real life another one might come along very soon (beyond the scope of the game, but important to simulate in some way nonetheless). The level to which troops will expend their ammo depends on the battle type. Defenders generally will risk using up more than attackers, except in Assaults where both sides are willing to use almost everything. In Probes, the Attacker is more cautious and will trigger this feature earlier, meaning battles will typically end sooner. Attacks and Meeting Engagements are inbetween. Note that if only one side has triggered this due to low ammo, the game will not end unless the other side also triggers, or voluntarily offers cease fire. This feature is NOT active during Operations.

Battles and operations can have up to 30 reinforcement groups.

Operation Types

1. Advance

- Battle map is portion of operational map, and "slides forward" between battles.

- Attacker wins by reaching the end of the operational map (this may take several battles).

- Units in "no mans land" are shifted between battles, back to their own front lines.

2. Assault

- Battle map is portion of operational map, and "slides forward" between battles.

- Attacker wins by reaching the end of the operational map (this may take several battles).

- Units in "no mans land" are NOT shifted between battles. Some may be cut off and will be ‘padlocked’ during the next battle’s setup phase, and will not be resupplied.

3. Static

- Battle map covers the entire operational map.

- Victory is judged by causing casualties to the enemy and holding victory FLAGS.

- Units in "no mans land" are NOT shifted between battles. Some may be cut off and will be ‘padlocked’ during the next battle’s setup phase, and will not be resupplied.

Operation battles may last up to 60 turns, and can have variable end times like regular battles now have.

Operations maps can be up to 4 km "wide" or 6 km "long"

Fortifications are allowed as reinforcements (scenario authors are urged to use discretion!)

When calculating the "new front line" (N/A to Static Operations) infantry units are weighted less if panicked or brittle, and not at all if broken or routed.

Units which remain in "no man’s land" between battles end up in a limited setup zone so their setup options for the next battle are limited (I’ll explain this in more detail later). "No man’s land" can be up to 800m across. NOTE: In CMBO people complained about no-man’s land and wanted to reduce it to zero. This is allowed but NOT RECOMMENDED. No man’s land is a COOL feature and ought not to be avoided, especially now that 2 of 3 operation types do not shift units between battles.

Guns of transport class 9 or higher (these are marked "no embark during battle" in the data window) may not reposition during the setup phase beginning each operational battle, except the very first battle. However, they may embark on a transport vehicle of sufficient towing capacity, and immediately debark into any other area of the same setup zone (i.e. this means you need to have a transport vehicle on map or else such a gun cannot move after setting up in the very first battle).

Operation reinforcements can be "scheduled" or "reserve" as in CMBO, or a new type: "Linked to Map". This new type puts a reinforcement marker on the (editor) map for the author to place as he wishes. Then during the game, if and when the "battle window map" slides to enclose this reinforcement marker (imagine as the attacker is progressing forward from battle to battle) the reinforcements attached to that marker will be "triggered" and appear on the map. Note: their placement will be "normal", not directly on top of the marker itself. The marker is just the "trigger". Reinforcements can only be "Linked to Map" for advance and assault type operations.

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MISCELANEOUS COOL STUFF

New Camera Shake option (SHIFT-K) that adds "bounce" when you’re camera-locked to a moving unit.

You can have a unit padlocked but still rotate the camera around it, even while it moves.

x16 camera zoom level added. NOTE: You can not select units at this zoom level.

SHIFT-Q hides play-aid graphics – great for taking screenshots!

Axis base color is blue, Allied is red (after setup phase is finished).

When you drag a targeting/LOS line to an enemy near enough (20m) to a TRP that your unit qualifies for a boresight bonus, you’ll see "boresighted" indicated. Note that your unit cannot have moved in order qualify for this bonus.

It is possible to save the game from the AAR screen.

(Windows version) Press Alt-shift-; (i.e. Alt-:) and this will reactivate the ESC key ability to switch to the desktop (in case you prefer ESC to alt-tab for this purpose).

More slots (20 total) for faces.

‘Tracers’ have textures instead of solid color. 1 for Axis and 1 for Allies

Soldier heads and torsos have better models.

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