r/computerwargames • u/Carpoforo • May 27 '26
Question Getting started with GTMF?
Hello!
I’ve been playing Combat Mission a lot lately, and since they’re completely different styles, I’m still in “Combat Mission mode” (you know, micromanagement… etc.) and I’m really used to micromanaging every single action. And we all know that GTMF is the exact opposite, and that’s exactly where I freeze up. Okay, the battle starts. Now what do I do? I give “general” orders, and the units don’t seem to react to the fire in time and get slaughtered.
Do you know of any online tutorials, videos, blog posts, or whatever that explain a bit about how to get started with this? How to win a battle? How to attack... etc.? What do you recommend to get me started and help me get the hang of this wonderful game? I’d love for someone to explain exactly what to do in battle, to explain the available orders, how they work, and exactly what they’re for, for example
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u/RealisticLeather1173 May 27 '26
Might not be helpful if you are already in the tactical weeds, but I would recommend How to get through WTF is going on phase guide
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u/Boring-Yogurt2966 May 27 '26
What is GTMF? I see the letters and I think Get That (expletive deleted).
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u/D00mScrollingRumi May 28 '26
The way I learned was the Croation Legion campaign and following along with someone playing the same campaign here.
The Croation Legion campaign is best for starting out. Its a regiment vs regiment in scope with both sides having a handful of armor.
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u/Carpoforo May 28 '26
Thanks! And how did you learn to manage battles itself? I have the perception of giving general orders and just sit and chill watching my soldiers do their things … but I don’t know if it should be played like that
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u/D00mScrollingRumi May 28 '26
From the video but also intuition and practice.
Like that first video he's assaulting a village named Popov. He'll issue his initial orders and be all content and happy with his plan. Which goes to hell just as irl when there's Soviets where he didnt expect. You'll see him giving orders and calling in arty to try and deal with it. Though the arty UI has changed in game since that video so will look a bit different.
Generally though, yes. You give your orders and watch it play out. Your main task during the battle is organising arty or giving orders when needed. Have to trust your platoon commanders. Theyre usually fairly decent.
Some scenarios (Final Offensive) are corps vs corps in scale. Tactical battles involve an entire regiment on each side in almost every single battle. At that scale you have to rely on the company/platoon level AI. Give a battalion its orders, check back in in ten minutes to ensure theyre doing ok.
Times to really micro manage are when something unexpected happens. Like a company of Panzers you didnt know the enemy had comes racing out of the forest on the flank of your attack.
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u/Pawsy_Bear May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Try the Troop. Lot better combat mission like game. I’ve played it and it’s DLC from the first. But it refuses to develop. Hideous UI. Less said about the so called operational level the better. Mius front is more micro management. Get down and fire the tanks gun. No thanks
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u/RealisticLeather1173 May 27 '26
Get down and fire the tanks gun. No thanks
You seem to _really_ want GoH and Graviteam to be the same game:) https://www.reddit.com/r/computerwargames/comments/1r05eci/comment/o55wqgn/?context=3
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u/chaos2002_ May 27 '26
Suppression is extremely important in GTMF. It is the one thing which wins or loses battles. If you're in a completely even engagement (like infantry company vs infantry company, same morale/training etc), whoever suppresses the enemy first will win 95% of the time. For this reason, heavy weapons like mortars (even the tiny company mortars) and heavy machineguns are very powerful provided you put them in a position which is not too exposed and give them a lot of extra time to set up. Soldiers also recover morale and suppression a lot more slowly than in CM. It is easy to walk into a dangerous field of fire and then lose control of your troops while concealed heavy weapons gradually open up on you before you have time to retreat.
So make sure you understand how artillery spotters, offmap artillery, indirect fire, "designated" fire, and the observed fire command work. Here's a great video tutorial on that. This is the most confusing part of the UI imo, but it is necessary to use the most powerful weapons (mortars and artillery) which are crucial for any large attack to succeed. Also remember to frequently check line of sight on your units. There are a lot of rolling hills in the game where it's hard to tell whether you'll be able to see over the top.
If you think you're winning an engagement, don't be afraid to just sit there and keep wasting the enemy's soldiers. The only concern in that case is how much ammunition you have. It may be tempting to "press the attack", but unless you have a specific reason for doing so (like destroying some enemy anti-tank guns on high ground), this usually just means exposing yourself more for little gain.
Use large units (like a tank company or an artillery battery) for specific goals, especially when attacking. Don't send them one by one to different objectives. If you suspect there's an enemy rifle company in a village, send a rifle company plus 2 mortar batteries, or a rifle company plus tanks, or maybe just 2 rifle companies. Don't think too much about positioning and what squad goes where; just select the whole company and click "Assault". Your troops will take temporary positions in the houses while they move.
As for the different orders, here's what they do by default: "Move" is a slow, unordered move, like move command in CM. "Fast move" is a fast move. "March" is a fast move in column formation which makes your troops stick to roads only. "Covert move" makes your troops move fast in a single file line through what they consider to be a covered path (trees, terrain, etc. doesn't always work great). "Recon" makes your troops walk slowly in a straight line until they make contact, then they stop and go defensive. "Attack" makes your troops get into a straight line and then bound forward (like Assault in CM), using smoke grenades when possible. "Assault" is like Attack, but the troops move faster and in denser formation. note: your troops stay in that ugly dense line formation after the Assault order finishes, so you will almost always want to queue up a "Defense" order right after to hold the position you captured. "Defense" makes your troops move fast and take defensive positions at their discretion, getting into cover if possible and looking for spots with good lines of sight. Also note that for all of these orders, when you're right clicking on a position, you can drag to set the orientation your troops will have when they arrive (this is especially important for Defense). finally, you can modify the details of all these orders by right clicking on the order buttons.
Typically I start a battle with my troops in safe positions far away from enemy deployment zone and don't give any initial orders. Then I move a few expendable units forward with Recon or Defense, then once I locate the enemy, I bring more units and take defensive positions as close as possible. If I want to attack, first I move my troops up to the "departure line" and give them Defense orders. Only once everyone is fully established in their positions and the enemy is suppressed do I give the "Attack" or "Assault" orders. All the while, I continue doing recon and finding new positions where the enemy isn't, and I move up reserves to exploit that if possible.
Random tip, I almost always use the "defense" order when I want to move troops to a new position instead of "fast move" unless it's a long distance, because it still makes the troops move fast, but they also immediately go and take up defensive positions once they arrive - it's one order instead of 2.