Pioneer Skill

[Analpirat]

Well I'd be really annoyed if someone who is almost sleeping or unable to micro his units still beats me because the computer does all the tasks for him. Maybe we have a different philosophy but as far as I'm concerned success comes mainly through effort. And therefore I'm opposed to make the game easier for people who don't want to make an effort to win. If you play when you're sleepy or intoxicated or distracted then your opponent should have an advantage because of that if he isn't.

[IJoe]

This thread gradually turns into a wit and sagacity contest, though reading it through loled me a lot. 

[GodlikeDennis]

More to the point it doesn't help you. But let me ask you this: if you intend for the AI to do the capping and repairing, what do you want to do? Just the fighting part? Maybe it should also build the base buildings and the units, or mop up some pioneers or bikes that you consider a nuisance. CoH however is about micromanaging your units and employing them to their full effect. Capping is a big part of CoH because it helps you get an advantage and deprives the enemy of resources. I realize in the heat of battle you might forget to repair your vehicle or capture an important point, but thats the difference between a good player and a bad player. A good player can do this things simultaneously and therefore wins, that's how it should be. If you automize(is that a word?) certain parts of the game you water down the difference between a good player and a bad player.

Automate 

I completely agree. Being a good player comes from "feeling the game" (knowing when and where to attack), macromanagement (build order strategies, countering enemy units) and micromanagement (battle tactics and small tasks like capping and repairing). You're essentially trying to get the computer to do tasks for you so that it's easier for you to manage, marginalising the good player's (the one who can do this without help) skill. It's like someone turning up to olympic shotput with their catapult because it's easier than learning the right technique.

[Mr. Someguy]

If you're going to make Pioneers auto-repair, it's only fair to make all repair units auto-repair. And even then, it's still not a very good idea in this kind of game... What if your units are busy fighting the enemy, and a nearby friendly vehicle takes damage? They will move to repair it, stopping them from attacking, and making themselves more vulnerable to fire...

That would only be a problem with Panzer Elite's Panzergrenadiers, being the only "engineers" in the game to double as Combat Units (or rather, the other way around).

Oh come on, what's the use of that? You want your infantry to just run blindly into the fray and be annihilated trying to cap the point? You can already do that by shift+clicking by the way. But I'm sorry, if it is too much of a hassle to repair your vehicles and recapture points then maybe this game isn't for you and you should rather have go at Civ IV (which I consider to be excellent).

I think what he meant was if you have a unit within capping distance of a point, they'll cap it.

I'll admit I don't like when I have a unit defend a point, or attack it, or fire at an OP, only to get caught up in something more important and forget to check back. Perhaps that's my problem, but it'd be pretty useful regardless.

[pariah]

No, no, you're all missing my point. As i stated in my first post in this topic (quoted above), i don't like too much automation. Sure, it makes sense with some things, like your units automatically attacking, but if the game is going to play itself, you might as well just watch a film! That's why we like videogames, isn't it? The interactivity?

[Mr. Someguy]

No, no, you're all missing my point. As i stated in my first post in this topic (quoted above), i don't like too much automation. Sure, it makes sense with some things, like your units automatically attacking, but if the game is going to play itself, you might as well just watch a film! That's why we like videogames, isn't it? The interactivity?

Oh I understood your point perfectly, I was just playing devils advocate. Engineers are not Combat Units, so arguing that repairing tanks will pull them away from Combat is silly.

My other point, about the autocap, is that it's annoying having to babysit a squad until the enemy leaves the point, and you cannot shift+click to capture the point while the enemy is there either.

[pariah]

How long have you been playing Company Of Heroes? Engineers and Pioneers are actually capable of attacking...

[Mr. Someguy]

How long have you been playing Company Of Heroes? Engineers and Pioneers are actually capable of attacking...

You misunderstand me, they are capable of attacking, but they are not good for Combat as any dedicated Combat unit will destroy them.

The only exception being US Engineers vs PE Panzergrenadiers, where Engineers apparently have a massive bonus against Panzergrenadiers (but only enough to take on raw PG's in close combat).

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[pariah]

Well, if you upgrade them with Flamethrowers they're actually pretty decent. And if they pick up heavy weapons they're pretty good, too. And the Demolitions can come in pretty handy, especially if you place them on a bridge...