It's hard to keep track of everything. Any advice?

[Virus]

I've only beaten the very easy AI on skirmish and I needed an easy AI on my team to help. When I get going I often forget to do things like unpack units and such. I'll have artillery waiting for orders and a lot of the time by the time my reinforcements get to where I tell them to go I've forgotten I sent them there. Also, if I'm not paying attention I dont even realise my troops are getting bombarded by enemy artillery. Does't it get any easier or is it supposed to be chaos?

[seashell]

after you select the unit from the card
press y then click such that the order will be unload at position

also buy some arty on fire at will or counter battery

[MythTrip]

Virus, join the club, many of us have commented on this...game is too big....units demand micro management on a macro battlefield. Sometimes its overwhelming and you just end up sending a bunch of em into battle without strategy....its been commented that this is contributing to the low player count.

IMHO game has the bones of a masterpiece but needs tweaking....especially hot keys and interface/unit selection etc. All you can do is play game on slow, pause a lot, and on your first battles only control one battalion, have the AI control the others. You'll just control 25% of the battlefield.

I'm slowly getting the hang of it, but its been a battle, ha ha. Be prepared for tactical battles to last an hour, maybe more.

[fakemon64]

Just gotta play more. You'll get better!

Plus hotkeys help. Space bar will take you to a unit under fire.

Also, try to que up orders so when you're reinforcements get to where they are going, they automatically disembark

I usually do this by selecting units, holding shift, and pressing U

[Dogmeat]

For Single Player you can pause and set 1/3 speed etc. Almost play it as a turned based game to learn the tactics and tricks. For skirmish can set lower income ,set longer game in game settings and maybe some bot ally or 2 to soak up the enemy fire and they usually provide decent fighter cover.

SD44 was big for me and thats how i got my old brain to get a l'ittle' faster at the micro.

SD2 seems 2x units seems so i understand its a curve but you will get there.

[dt Walter Robinson]

One thing you might want to do while learning is make a deck for the enemy AI to use, tailored to your particular preferences (no arty for instance).

You can then focus on practising your basic fieldcraft like setting up your units and such without the frustration of getting shelled.

There is a lot to get a handle on in this game so take your time!

[CSA Rifles]

Stick with it Virus,,,lots to learn but a very interesting game/tactical ,,good Vids n Guides at page top.. One can pick up a Few good, n helpful game tips when reading threads,,
As others said take ur time, I use pause, as it does get hectic at times,n i feel like control is slipping...lol

[Malk Content]

Yep. I find it to be good practice to figure out where you want a unit to go, during initial deploy phase, and simply tell them to Unload At Position, or just Unload if the spot you want them to unload at is within your deployment area. Quick keys are good for this but to make things easier simply use the Unit Orders buttons which are defaulted in the lower left of the screen.

Select Unit
Click order: "Move Fast," "Hunt," "Quick Hunt," "Unload at Position," or "Unload"
Then click on the destination that you want them to do. You'll see a colored path appear, the color will depend on the order given, from the units location and it's destination.

There is a lot going on so once you get the basics down you'll get used to moving around the screen to look after your units. Artillery can hit anyone on the ground but usually the AI will counter battery your artillery units. You can do this too, look for the tell tale smoke trails and muzzle flashes behind enemy lines. That will tell you where they are firing from so you can attempt a bombing run or artillery strike of your own. Move your artillery around after firing them. They don't have to go too far but just far enough that when the AI counters, it's only hitting the space where they saw the smoke trails coming from. Use trucks that will stay around after they drop off their artillery unit so you can stick them back on the truck and move away faster. The Munition transport truck. Not all artillery units will have this option when you build your deck though.

But yeah as for the rest of it, it's just a matter of remembering where your units are going. try using smaller maps first. Play the game again with an AI helper so it will take some of the heat off you while you practice.

Sorry for the long response. I was in a typing mood today.
Good Luck.

[MythTrip]

Malk, no we need more of this, thank you!! Great suggestions....

[Malk Content]

You're welcome. Glad to help. Let me know if you need any other help.

[Virus]

Thank you for the replies. I wasnt sure if I'd post because I thought it would be mostly telling me I'm dumb or the get better comments. Thank you for all the tips and I'll give it another go.

[WayneBGood]

I find a good trick is to assign keys to platoons, that way you can just use a number to select a platoon and assign commands. Also really helps with artillery when you need support. Select a unit or units, <cntrl> and then a number for assignment to a key.

[Chinggis Khaan]

Set hotkeys for arty by pressing shift (or ctrl?) and any number, this is how i keep track of my arty and make it fire wherever and whenever without having to go back into the rear lines to select it.

[heronlord]

I suggest working on learning maps, and ambush locations, and remember to use hot key assignments for your arty groups for making counter and defensive fire alot easier. (also keep mortars separate, i highly recommend throwing a single mortar in with infantry assaults and putting them on the defensive fire order where you thing enemy is gonna attack from)

Use the hunt keys to move infantry and guns as a rule of thumb, try to make sure you send reinforcements to safe areas to chill out in their trucks before you micro them forward in assaults, aka forests near roads where enemy scouts cant see them easy and arty bombards them as you stock up troops for a major push.

Also Rule of thumb for tanks is at LEAST 3 tanks for any push, and preferable 8ish with good smoke support.

Remember to use flame troops and anti tank rifle troops to lay smoke, its their single most important aspect, you can que up multiple smoke throws in a row, and use them to push forward walls of smoke for your infantry to advance in.

Also learn which units do well as double use, and use efficient shot for ALL AT guns all the time.