1. when a hq unit is selected you'll see an orange circle around it, that's the hq radius
2. hold shift when a unit is selected to see the firing range of the longest ranged weapon the unit has. usually for tanks that's 2km* default. on map artillery range is usually around 14km, that's enough for 80-90% map coverage from the deployment zone for most maps. mortars are much shorter ranged, 5km max i think. off map arty range is anywhere on the map

note that for most non-recon units the firing range exceeds the unit's own sight range, so they benefit from recon units spotting targets for them as spotted units are shared

3. no idea what a "red" unit is.

*but tanks can shoot more than 2km? let's just say it's 2km "effective" fire range and leave it at that ;) or tweak the settings to your liking, range is adjustable at start in the advanced settings...

3. no idea what a "red" unit is.

You're the green team and the AI is the red team.

post a screenshot of your red unit

Will do if it shows up.

is this from one of the operations with defecting east german forces by any chance...?

Ok here is a screen cap of the unit in red. I refer to the BRDM-2.

https://i.imgur.com/jetj0Ik.png

Looks like I turned it from green to red by issuing a movement order to it.

I have never noticed this happening before.

Why is this seemingly the only unit that changes color?

I think you meant *East* German unit. Pretty sure all units on the Warsaw Pact are red like this.

Launch a game where you pick a Soviet regiment for example, and I'm 99% sure they'll be red too.

Originally posted by MERRY COKEMAS:

Pretty sure all units on the Warsaw Pact are red like this.

Basically this. same goes for the nodes. Colors depend on factions, not on the player. IIRC

NATO player: Blue
NATO allies: Green
Warsaw Pact player: Red
Warsaw Pact allies: Yellow-Orange

Well, I'll be danged. I learn something new every day. I thought I was playing West Germany in the Hold Bruce Lowdermilk East & West operation, when I was actually playing the Warsaw Pact. TBH I'm still confused but will pay closer attention to these details from now on.

30 years of the Internet has really destroyed my ability to focus my concentration.


~

This brings me to a new question. Can we not pick a side (ie, NATO vs Warsaw Pact) by selecting a specific unit to play? I'm new to this game and was under the impression that I had somehow set myself up to always be a NATO member (ie, American or Canuckistani).

Or does the game force you to play a certain side based on operation/warpath?

For skirmish and warpath you pick the unit and side you want at the initial setup

For operations it depends on the individual operation. In plot order they tend to alternate between NATO and pact, with each operation highlighting a specific regiment.

I should add that you can "skip" an operation by clicking the skip button if you really don't want to play pact, but you'll miss out on the story elements in the briefings/interludes and such.

At some point, you will need to learn the names and symbols of the vehicles in your units. This will happen as you play, so no worries. But some units are definitely PACT while others are definitely NATO. The game uses only NATO symbols, though, no matter the side. PACT symbols end up varying depending on who uses them. That might clarify East vs West Germany for you, since the game is something of a civil war that blows up bigtime.