East Front - Frequently Asked Questions (EF-FAQ) Due to the questions arising from the manual we have compiled this list of questions and will continue to add to it as new questions arise. If you have a question not listed and feel it should please, e-mail us at talon@talonsoft.com. 1) How does supply and ammo work and effect my units? A Low-on-Supply combat unit that attacks using Direct Fire will only attack a number of times equal to its Strength Points divided by 2, fractions rounded up (keep in mind that such a unit normally is allowed a number of attacks equal to the number of Strength Points it has). A Low-on-Supply artillery (indirect fire) unit cannot attack (this actually represents that battery not receiving proper fire orders, or a breakdown in communications or it being used to support other units in a nearby battle). A Low-on-Supply HQ is unable to provide supply to other units under its command (HQ or normal combat units). Note that normal, "ground pounder" units are never out of supply; such a unit that is low on supply can still attack, albeit at reduced effectiveness (exception: indirect fire units). 2) How do Headquarters (HQ's) provide supply? At the start of each friendly turn, a supply check is made for each friendly unit that fired in the preceding turn. This is a "percentile" roll against that sides "Ammo" level (turn on the Unit List to display this number; hot key "U"). A "percentile" dr equal to or less than the friendly Ammo level means that the unit does not run low on supply for that turn. A "percentile" dr greater than the friendly Ammo level and the combat unit can then check to see if it can be resupplied by its HQ. The closer the unit is to its "parent" HQ, the greater the chance that this second supply check will be successful - from 100% if the unit is stacked with its HQ, to 50% at the "range" listed for that HQ in the Parameter data. Beyond the 50% range the chance of resupply continues drops off. However, if the unit's parent HQ itself is found to be "low on supply" it cannot provide supply to any of its combat units on that turn. Note that a HQ is always "low on supply" on any turn after it has moved (representing it being out of communications for a period). Otherwise, each HQ also does a supply check at the start of its turn. 3) I have a message at the start of my turn stating that I have a certain number of air strikes available. Is this number the total amount I have, or the number for just this turn? The number given here is the total number available for the entire scenario.Use them wisely! 4) How can I have units move boats to the water? Place the carrying unit and the boat in the same hex. Use the Load/Unload button to have them "carry" the boat. (Currently it will appear as if they are sitting in the boat.) Move the unit (in)to the water. 5) The campaign seems to take forever to load a scenario. Is this normal? Some scenarios, especially the larger ones, may take a long time to create the information needed. This is due to the fact that the campaign scenarios are generated randomly. If it seems that the system has locked up completely, press Cntl-Alt-Del. It should say East Front (not responding). If this message is there, reboot your computer. You should be able to restart and access the scenario without any problem or long loading times. If it does not say "not responding" it is still creating the scenario. Leave it alone. 6) What are the effects of fatigued units and how do they recover fatigue? Fatigued units are caused by moving in double time. For this reason, fatigued units can not use double time. Currently, there are no other effects against fatigued units. A unit automatically recovers fatigue on their next turn. 7) Can Morale be recovered? At the start of each turn each non-disrupted unit with a morale level lower than its "at start" (nominal) morale will make a Morale Check. If it passes this check, it recovers morale. Hint: Placing a leader that commands a unit in the same hex as that unit will boost its morale, hence making it more likely to pass its morale check.A unit with a morale being "boosted" by a "same-organization" leader has its morale value displayed in red. 8) I see two sets of odds when performing an assault. What do they mean? The first set is the odds of the attacker against the defender. The second set is the counter-attack of the defender attacking the attacker. 9) What are the assault implications for Morale and Improved Positions? None. 10) If I use the "Save AP's for Opportunity Fire" button do I receive a benefit? No. Whether you use this button (during your unit's move to ensure you save enough AP to allow it to fire) or whether you save APs without using the button makes no difference. Having this "on" for a unit as it move simply ensures that the moving unit will still have enough AP remaining at the end of its move to fire once - whether in your "friendly" turn or in the enemy's turn as automatic opportunity fire. 11) Will I have a better chance at a shot or a first shot if I save double the Action Points for Opportunity Fire? Your odds will be the same, however, you unit may get to fire twice. 12) Do engineers improve firing odds? No, however, engineers do have a higher-than-normal assault value (representing their close-range flamethowers, demolition charges and plethora of automatic weapons), thus increasing your chances in an assault in which an engineer participates. 13) How do engineers clear minefields? Move the engineer unit into the minefield hex during its turn. Each turn an engineer unit begins its turn undisrupted and in a minefield hex, it will automatically lower the strength of the minefield by one. 14) Sometimes, during an Assault I see a message, "Units Captured". Is there a victory point bonus for capturing a unit instead of killing it? There is no benefit for captured units. 15) Can Indirect Fire Units fire directly at units in their line of sight? Currently, Indirect Fire Units can only use Indirect Fire at all times. 16) Can you specifically target passengers on a carrier? For example, the riders on the tanks. No they can not be specifically targeted. However, passengers will take damage if the carrier units is damaged. 17) My campaign game begins with no units on the board. Where are all my units? In some campaign scenarios all of your units are scheduled to arrive as reinforcements. Bring up the Arrived dialog, by pressing "A" on your keyboard, and place the units on the map by double clicking on the units listed. 18) What exactly do strength points represent? Each strength point (SP) for an infantry platoon represents a half squad (thus, the 6 SP in a platoon represent 3 squads). Each SP for a Machine Gun platoon represents one MG "team" (and, thus, one MG); each SP of a gun (i.e., gun, mortar, or howitzer) battery represents one gun and its attendant crew; each SP of a vehicular platoon (regardless of type) represents one vehicle and its crew. 19) How can I tell the terrain type of a hex? Hitting the "U" button on the keyboard will bring up the Unit List, which will display the terrain type and other game information such as the Ammo (supply) number, number of Air Strikes, and total number of Smoke Missions available. 20) Are there facing effects? By default there are no facing effects in the game. In the Optional Rules you can select Armor Facing Effects if you desire, in which case armored units (only) have to worry about "facing". To find out more information on the various Optional Rules, press the "Help" button in the dialog box where you select the Optional Rules. 21) How do I load and unload units? You can select the unit and the carrier and then use the Load/Unload units on the ToolBar. You must have enough Action Points to perform this action. 22) How do I choose both the units? When I select one the other becomes unselected. If they are the only units in the hex you can double click on the hex and it will select all the units in the hex. If there are other units in the hex, you can bring up the Unit List by pressing "U" and select the units individually from the list on the right hand side of the screen. 23) I still can not load my units? Why? If the carrying unit has fewer strength points than the passenger it will be unable to load the unit. In short, you need enough trucks to carry the men.