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I saw the topic, but when click on the link or any link, I got a logon screen for some "citrix" file service? How are we supposed to get our patches these days? Thanks.

I saw the topic, but when click on the link or any link, I got a logon screen for some "citrix" file service? How are we supposed to get our patches these days? Thanks.

I have George's stuff. Superb. The CM engine is inspired, but it takes a historian, map maker, and scenario designer to truly paint a master piece with it. I apologize if the red text was offensive, but CM would only be half of what it without the community. Perhaps, here it is only players who are so affected. But at Matrix, it is team members who have been attacked (myself and 2 others I know of). I am more an alumni, but the other 2 were critical betas that very much define the feature set. John: * I hope you act as a bouncer and move this stuff to the street. (In other words as admin don't ban {very extreme}, but yank social/political posts and put them into a thread where the parties can fight it out, but cleanly.) * Also, I would like to see a general forum for gaming and gaming tech. Of course, this might well be non-CM games. On one hand there are so many hours/day, and maybe this is not promoting CM. But the other hand, I don't think anyone comes here who doesn't own CM titles. (Myself, I am off to play WITW, but I have bought every title/expansion that the team here has personally developed.) John, this type of stuff can get out of hand ... at Matrix it actual lost valuable content producers of studios. Thank you.

Elvis and all, This is why I rarely post here. I post about CM, games, and/or PC tech. Invariably a social issue appears in the thread that results in me asking it to be locked or minimally make me feel unwelcome. --- Can we agree this is game site for the CM community. CM is a game. You can play any side, any way you want ... this is not a blemish on you and your character or lack of thereof. There are so many venues to assail others. Why here? Because of health conditions and age, I am still isolating from COVID. But this type of community makes me feel more isolated than ethanol, bleach, and gas masks!

I am on WIN10 Pro 64, but this will be the end of the line. Windows has gone from a tool/facilitator to doing what I want to a captive data collection/marketing platform. Anyone gaming on LINUX? (probably UBUNTU) Thoughts? Thanks!

Thanks, Ian! Well, at least, senescence, is pushed back a few years. Vacillator is right. Most of these guys are so deep in their PBEM's, if you say "were out of fuel, they respond, "But my tanks!", not realizing there will be no heat Winter 22/23. (Well, assuming they have laptops, they may experience the Ostfront in all its frostbiting glory.) Usually, games come with epilepsy warnings, is BFC planning a frostbite warning?).

So, on a given calendar date, the changes will simply be unlocked?

Maybe English has changed since my birth in NYC. Battle Pack 1 is available for pre-order. Which I just purchased. Now, I get an activation code back saying "There is no download for this product. Use the Activate New Products utility and enter the license key to activate the Pack". The activation says: * Base Game * Engine v4 * Fire & Rubble (but it was successful; that sounded promising) I have v4 p2.11. I launch the game. I cannot find anything that wasn't there before my purchase. How exactly is this going to arrive on my PC? Thanks. Sorry. If I am failing basic English Comprehension. (you will get old one day too) Thank you!

@Landser, I was into subs from AOD/DOS to Dangerous Waters with LWAMI and RA mods. Did you know that BFC was the original publisher for DW? AOD/DOS is still one of the best ever done, but I am considering UBoat. The WWII sims are a very unique genre that combines the stealth of the hunt and then the harrowing disengagement with your lives. I don't know any other such games. My problem with subs is that I am old, and don't have the patience for patrolling for 2 RL weeks, and coming up empty. But then, I did not like SHCE's environment where patrol zones were teaming with Japanese merchants and war ships. There was no difference between campaign and instant action. Anyone try Uboat? How does it compare to AOD (atmosphere; suspense) and SH3/GWX? --- @Rocketman, Do you think the latest beta 41 has achieved balance particularly with the CPP scaling which seemed to create too much friction to make a break through possible? Thanks. I am waiting until 2by3 settle on the long term game mechanics before jumping all in.

Thanks for your thoughts. I didn't want to invest substantial time to feel "been there; done that".

What was your impression of replay value on the campaigns in SP? Thank you.

Logically, splitting has the potential to improve spotting, and takes bounding to finer resolution. Contact often begins with casualties. So, one should be able to minimize casualties. In the past I only split for scouts out, but I think I will now split in the hot zone; and only use full squads when moving reserves and reinforcements up.

Well, interesting. So, what are the up to date mods which work with all titles/expansions, and not simply grass tiles? (if you would be so kind) I was very attached to some of VIN's mods like soldier actions, but any patch broke it. I am not sure why BFC went with 8 stand alone duplicated engines versus just a large collection of DLCs. The duplicate engines I feel complicate the mod scene. Perception and marketing of milking the customer base? This doesn't worry me. Only a short exposure to PDS and CA will teach you how "greed", "shoddy work", "cut&paste programming" truly manifests itself in terms of business strategy. I am okay with BFC's integrity as a game developer. Their customers are smart enough to know the difference between "actual value" versus "perceived value". By the way, there were other possible implementation which might have satisfied the player need and game performance. Target/Movement is essentially aware of the AS'. A LOS and/or path with option to show the elevation as each AS it crosses with a number. Since it can be done for pauses, I think the performance hit would not have been huge. Or a color codes path with blue being delta up and red delta down from start AS.

Rather than trying to mod 8 titles + expansions on the same engine with the mods that I think all should have; I gave up. You may not have noticed, but the CMBO/CMBB/CMAK community was larger and more prolific. It is too hard to find something essential like a grid for all. Like trees and smoke, it should have just been a player aid in the UI. I am a retired software engineer and understand limited resources. But I think this should have been an engine feature, and not a mod. The action square and lack of a topo map view; make a grid an essential feature. Can you play without? No choice really. I've purchased everything they have self developed here. I feel entitled to express an opinion by virtue of my investment, and continued investment. CM is excellent with no directly rival. But that does not mean it couldn't be better.

Embarrassingly, I created a similar topic here about a year ago when I bought WITE-2 (which was killed by an unsolicited argument on racism that I did instigate or involve with). Actually, senescence is painless until you run across your own old thread. Like most complex games, it will grow upon as you get deeper into mechanics. I am working my way from smaller to larger in WITW, and will pickup WITE-2 gain after the next major patch comes out with the first DLC. The huge 4 year conflict and 3,000 mile map of WITE-2 is mind boggling (and this is not considering that you can enable player theater box control). I wanted something broad in scope. HOI4 might as well have been sci-fi. The main programming considerations in PDS game development was reduce production costs and maximize hype and fan based milking. GG's WITx may not be your cup of Tea or Joe, but it is clear a serious attempt was made at modeling and mechanics. And the games are broad in scope; space and time. Also, I find GG gives a well considered view of logistics that is more critical than the tip of the spear. This is refreshing, since wargamers glorify the spear. I think WITP-AE may be the broadest of the series. But it is perhaps too broad for me. Conceptually, it is quite different from the other titles. Also, logistics is even further elevated and being naval based, it is far more a mental exercise where the battle space is a network than fronts. Perhaps, if I was 20 years younger, I might give it a try.

Thank, guys. I was just curious. I have mainly been splitting to get the scout team, but I think I will try it more. In mixed terrain, I often find I am not pleased with the squad foot print. As it is one team per AS, this may allow me to achieve more sensible positioning.

Must be Quantum Entanglement.

For years as a pseudo member of Pather's develop team, I wouldn't touch TBS games ... I felt it was simply chess with hexes. But I have to say I find these GG titles quite interesting. I was looking for something large in scope. Although I should have known better, HOI4 was hugely disappointing. Anyone else playing these?

(Two questions in one day! I have my CM hat on.) There are tree options, smoke options ... Wouldn't it have been simple for BFC to provide an engine based terrain grid? Of all the possible mods, I think gridded has the greatest game play utility. But as it must be done for each tile type, and games updates and expansions break it ... it is not really feasible to have gridded for all my games ... so I gave up. But still, I don't understand why such wasn't an engine option? Thanks.

I was just curious. I see their utility, but also see the mushrooming micro-management. Thanks. PS: I play SP|WEGO (engine v4)

Is there is an official engine 5 thread from BFC or is this a player wish item? If official, then please throw in the link here. I know what you mean about content. I don't buy new titles anymore. I have more quality games I own than time, and I am 10 years your junior. So, I don't really seek learning curves, but mastery and play. Thanks.

Chuck, Have you checked out Panther Games (an Australian Company)? The first title in the series RDOA (Red Devils Over Arnhem) began here, BTS. I joined as a beta/team member. We then moved to Matrix (before the sale to Slitherine), and did HTTR, COTA, and BFTB. HTTR - Highway to the Reich COTA - Conquest of the Agean BFTB - Battles from the Bulge These titles are no longer available. Maybe on Ebay. I believe old CD/DVDs installers should work as we did not use Window drivers, but simply serial number. But you would need an optical drive (less common today) ... also I am not sure where you can get patches. I probably have the official Matrix patches if you ask. After the demise of Matrix; former owner David Heath began LnL Publishing. Lock and load publishing and we moved there. The current offering is CO2 (Command Ops 2) available on Steam. The basic engine and a few scenarios are free. The above and more are available as DLC scenario packs. It is not 3D, but counters and pseudo topographical and terrain texture map. Not unlike GG's WITW/WITE-2 but without the hexes. Continuous movement and continuous (pausable; and you can give orders) time. It is the most scalable war game in existence. Both CM and MIUS have a natural scale. Go outside of that and play becomes awkward. For Panther, command and map is represented like an OOB. Really three OOBs. You have organic, dynamic, and transitional. You are the senior commander on map. You generally command those would would logically be your subordinates; although you can micromanage specific units. So, you strike your balance between broad strokes and micro. All AI HQs behave as intelligent agents. That is why it scales so well. Further, the game is very much based on the OODA loop. No games implements time and delays better. Battle is continuous: * Normally an attack will reach the objective, exploit, and secure. But if the enemy is on the run, you may want to issue new orders to not permit them the time to withdraw and dig in at the next blocking position. So, much of the game is to discern when, it is time to change the plan. To change orders in the middle of an attack can be the biggest disaster you will ever make as advance begins to fall apart as some get the command and others don't leaving flanks exposed. * Suppose ... You have 3 battalions. Do you order each into independent uncoordinated attacks? Faster. Or do you order the brigade or division, coordinated but taking much longer to kick off. So, you can have action in 4 hours or better action in 10 hours. What do you do? * Night/day considerations are very important. Grab the enemy by the shirt at sunrise if you are facing heavy arty. * The famous OODA loop is at the very core level of the game model. Except for the lack of 3D, I think this game might be very suited to you. With each title we added features ... better tools, mixed mode movement, supply lines ... But I think even RDOA holds up well today. Now, with regards to the latest offering: * The big change has been pre-CO2 all games was fixed screen layout of child windows. CO2 introduce floating non-child windows. If you only have a single display, you may find the earlier titles cleaner. But if you have 2 or more displays, CO2 gives you better SA. In fact, if you have 4 displays, you have the War Room. * Unlike BFC we didn't do engine upgrades for earlier titles, but as the business model changed and the engine is free ... all the DLC representing former content is upgraded to the latest features. I do believe to some extent the scenarios have been reworked. So, if you loved HTTR, but supply was way too simplistic. Well, now it is is not anymore. Scenarios range by two orders of magnitude in unit count with no great curve in player complexity, because AI agents. Time ranges from 1-30 days. Roughly. Game performance is relative to unit count. Don't assume unit count increases per title ... I once did an analysis of this. Also, all titles offer variable size scenarios. The engine offers difficulty parameters in the form of: order delays from instant action to realistic chain of command delay, historical reserves to non-historic, historic weather or better or worse, and supply historic or better or worse. Victory is based on point based flag system with VLs scoring for time and/or at end, and they may only be active for part of the scenario. Some scenarios too much give you a plan by sequencing VLs, and others are more wide open letting you decide how to get the job done. Chuck, I hope that helps ... if you or willing to forgo 3D.

Wow. I was surprised. To logon and find out after a year Chuck has quoted me. (Kind of like waking up from a coma.) I've been off doing some City Builder stuff (simulated war just seemed too close to reality; writing now from Taipei); otherwise I have been playing and learning the GG classics of WITP-AE, EDBTR, WITW, and WITE-2. But I think I am ready to return to ground combat. Of course WITW/WITE-2 are ground combat, but I mean 3D and small unit action. Some thoughts ... * I would never have created this thread if I saw Graviteam as a direct competitor to CMx2v4. I have been here for more than 20 years; don't ask me what the forum rules say. But it would be unethical to use this board to promote a direct competitor; also I have too much respect for BFC to do such a thing. * But MIUS is not a direct competitor, the feature set and style of play are different enough that they attract a different mindset of the WWII hardcore gamers. Of course, like me, you can enjoy both. * I am returning to ground combat. I like GG's games, but Gary has managed to produce games where the full campaign ends up on gamers "bucket list". Setting up for the USA in WITP-AE for the grand campaign takes 2 weeks before you play Turn #1. EDBTR the allied air campaign is daily and unlike WITW/WITE-2 you are creating AIR DIRECTIVES for missions to be carried out by the AI. EDBTR ... you are creating daily missions themselves ... we are talking hundreds of days of air war. WITW and WITWE-2 we are talking 500 and 700 turns respectively ... would be like CMx2 where you could mark out the footstep of each trooper. I suppose some gamers get their general physical and a clean bill of health, and launch a grand campaign. I might if I was younger in good health. * I want 3D and smaller action than the GG titles. I've decided to return to CM. Again personal consideration; not product superiority. It was the WEGO and replay. I want no time pressures. I want to just deal with the immediate considerations and not the larger operational context. CM fits me at this moment for what I want. If I had wanted operations and a larger scope and higher level command, I would chose MIUS. --- IT IS NOT ABOUT THE GAMES THAT I AM DECIDING. IT IS ABOUT ME. FOR THE EXPERIENCE I WANT CMx2 IS THE ONLY SERIES OF QUALITY ON THE MARKET.

E:\Games\CMFI Data\Fortress Italy\Game Files\Master Maps I am little confused. My directory contains maps with a "1944" suffix, but your download has no year. Am I supposed to rename and replace? Am I supposed to merge? Am I supposed to delete originals and copy? Thank you.

Nathan, I created a lot of tutorial materials for games back in the day. I don't think there is much of a chance in selling training videos. Why? * Niche market * Outdated game * People still regard knowledge via the Internet as free unless it has been produced by a real production company with qualified instructors * CM never was mass market or held the global and historical stature of chess * Bad economy Chess is about the only game people will spend lots of money on learning, and even those who create and sell courses must be highly ranked and known. So ... * I would just focus on the pleasure of promoting your favorite game or * If it is money you want, then pick a mass market game like a few of the Paradox titles or TW titles. Then, you should spend time learning about marketing and promotion via social media. Also, how you can make money? YouTube affiliate, sponsors, selling merchandise, being and influencer. --- Back to CMx1. I think there are 2 distinct learning curves. Ground combat concepts and game UI and mechanics. I think it might be best to do 30 minute episodes and split them at the 15 minute mark; so people could focus and what they want. The first 15 minutes should cover what combat tactics or strategy is to be illustrated in todays episode. Then, you break at the 15 minute mark (or you could do 10&20 minutes) and the remainder you illustrate via the game teaching the UI and control. Lastly, I think your pitch regarding the fictional Miller and the real Winters misses the mark. Both characters are memorable for who they were, and only in part due to their expertise. I have forgotten Band of Brothers, but Miller has a nutty mission, is overqualified, and loses half of his men. Both might be good characters for an RPG, but their personas are totally irrelevant with regards to CM proficiency or most war games. And after making the pitch, you don't really plan to teach the psychology of team management and command. Your pitch should align with your product or content. --- No offense regarding my comments, but I thought you wanted critical feedback. I don't regret not charging for any of my game materials I circulated. I became a better player for it. Teaching always forces your skills to improve; and that is worth your time especially if you MP, because you will have more fun. First, you must break it down, and then put it back together so that it can be analyzed and improved. So, I gained by giving away freely, and I had fun interacting with those who were interested. Money and having fun are two different things. There are plenty of cases of YouTuber's who enjoyed something like a game, but became a slave to it, and stopped enjoying it or worse went into a panic as the community moved on to the next hot title and new content producers. Some really crashed and burned, others just felt burned out. Read up on the case of Arumba, CK2 and EU4 and his history with Paradox. Whenever, you listen career YouTubers, they live in constant anxiety about THE ALGORITHM and being demonitized. Make the wrong observation about COVID or Ukraine, and you too will be history. Good luck.