Holman

I'd love to see a patch bring CMBN into line with the Documents file-scheme of the other titles.

Are you remembering to write the $90,000 check to Lockheed-Martin for every Javelin?

1) Since detecting mines often requires several turns (i.e. it's not automatic), a series of waypoints will probably miss them. 2) "Mark Mines" only becomes active when a unit capable of marking mines is on or adjacent to a detected mine square. 3) Right under the vehicle description it says "Note: The specialized engineering capabilities of this vehicle are not currently simulated." Currently, only foot engineer types can mark mines. 4) There is no reliable way to eliminate a minefield in the game. Marking them makes it somewhat safer to pass through (do it slowly), but they can still go off. Even the trick of artillery bombardment on a minefield might leave some active.

They try, but under battlefield conditions (and over the course of a few minutes rather than an hour) it's probably easy to miss some threats. I feel sure that I once did a test where I ran vehicles over marked and unmarked AT mines. Vehicles with a "slow" move order did notably better through marked AT mines, although it's still possible to lose them. I also seem to recall that mines can have an effect on adjacent tiles, so clearing a one-tile lane isn't good enough if there is a line of mined tiles.

Just something I noticed: I have been happily playing the first mission of the Task Force Thunder campaign, restarting a couple of times to try different openings, and yesterday I noticed something weird. I had started a new campaign, then (I forget why) quit out to main menu and started again (turn-based, Iron mode like always). This time, however, I noticed right from the beginning that all of the trenches were in the wrong place. If you're an old CM hand, you know exactly how the trenches in that first mission are laid out, but this time I could see that they were all at a weird diagonal from the usual setup, a series of parallel diagonal lines (like "/////") across the map rather than the usual pattern. At first I wondered whether this was some new variable setup added by engine upgrades, but it quickly became clear that it was just a messy glitch. Units also seemed to be out of place. I exited out of the game (to desktop, not to main menu) and started the campaign again. This time all was as expected, and I have been playing with no further issues. Anyone else ever notice anything like this? I report it just because it might be a new issue.

And the Mark Mines move order is only available when the engineers have actually detected mines. That is, the move menu is not a magic mine detector in itself. Sometimes engineers have to sit in place for three or more minutes before adjacent mines are even detected (and thus available to be marked).

More accurately, we've been told that the Engine 4 patch will follow the release of CMSF2. Since CMSF2's demo already includes the Engine 4 patch fixes, I don't think it will be a long wait.

This is where those .50 cals and grenade launchers on your APCs are so helpful. Pouring 30 seconds of such fire into a building can heavily suppress everyone looking your way, even better if you can target different floors.

Often a simple Hunt will give the enemy the opportunity to gun down your troops as they enter the doorway. The rest will hug the ground outside and be easy prey. I haven't downloaded the new demo, but in my view the best CMx2 way to enter a building known or suspected of containing enemies is to Fast/Quick move to the outside wall. At that waypoint, give a 10 or 20 second pause along with a Area Target order aimed inside the building. Then set a Quick waypoint into the building itself, applying a new Facing order (which will serve as a cease fire, although units will of course fire on their own if they spot more enemies). This will have the effect of rushing the building exterior and then pouring fire (and, crucially, hand grenades) inside through windows and doors before entering. It's even better if you can time it so that another squad or team provides suppressing fire up to about 5 or 10 seconds before your entry team arrives at the outside wall. Obviously this method is expensive in terms of ammo and grenades, but it's the safest way to get inside. You have decide whether the expense is worth it.

Thanks for this news! Very good to hear.

When I look in the list of my Battlefront orders, I see everything listed from the CMSF Marines module forward, but my original copy of CMSF (which I did order from Battlefront) is not in my list. I still have the original physical copy and the license key. Should I be worried that my key won't work if it's not in my orders list?

Thanks for the update, Steve! I never doubted it, but it's good to hear that progress is being made.

Thanks! Yes, I saw Steve say "I'm going to make a separate announcement about that very shortly." I was wondering if he or anyone else had done so.

Among the very welcome updates today, has there been any news about the patch? I looked around but couldn't see any.

Such great news! $35 armed and loaded. Quick idle question: I own all the original CMSF content as DVD-ROMs from Battlefront. Will the upgrade be like a patch to those installations, or will it (as I'm guessing) be a Big Bundle download in the style of the recent Engine 4.0 CM releases?

It's worth remembering that the biggest danger to a hiding tank is an enemy armored vehicle. No one in the crew of that vehicle is going to hear your engine over the sound of their own.

I've made the point several times, but for me the 4.0 issue is experienced troops leaving cover and running when (in previous engines) they would instead briefly cower, simulating just keeping their heads down. I've had fresh elite and crack British paras run out of heavy buildings when they came under rifle or very distant MG fire for less than a minute. Something has definitely changed.

Remind me never to serve in your scout platoon!

The enhanced brightness doesn't increase detection distance or anything else. It's purely cosmetic. It merely helps the player better see what your troops have already seen.

Look into the hotkeys. Alt-B toggles between dark and artificially bright night lighting.

I've had more of these from CM than from any other game.

I loved the original Panzer Elite, and I'd love to see a sim that really captures the limitations and details of managing a WW2 tank crew. I've always wondered why the Steel Beasts team didn't license their engine to someone wanting to do this.

I'll admit that I've put CM down temporarily, although I trust BTS to deliver a fix.

I had the the first version, circa 1981 or so.

I've watched the first 8 episodes with my kids, and they're riveted (both the 13-y.o. who loves history and the 10-y.o. who doesn't). One terrific structural element is jumping forward to late 60's details that reflect themes developing earlier. For example, discussion of French colonial dismissal of Indochina's culture will shift to an American veteran of 1967 talking about how little he understood and how much he hated the rural Vietnamese with whom he had no way to communicate. It breaks historical continuity, but it's thematically very powerful. The interviews are very strong. I'm sure this is the first time I've seen ARVN, VC, and NVA veterans talking about their experience in ways that feel personal rather than just "military-historical." And of course the American interviews are very powerfully affecting.