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PIATpunk

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  1. Like
    PIATpunk got a reaction from Vacillator in PBEM ++ Guide?   
    For a reason only known to themselves, battlefront insist on supplying the 8 year old game manual with their downloads, which is not the latest version that includes instructions (basic as they are) on how to use PBEM++.  You will need to contact helpdesk to find the updated manual, which is hidden within their labrynthine files system. @BFCElvis
  2. Like
    PIATpunk got a reaction from Probus in The year to come - 2024 (Part 2)   
    I reminded you just the other day not to post here, Mum.
  3. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Mr.X in First fanmade CampaignPack "Summer of Destruction" is released (no charge)   
    Short feedback:
    I'm very pleased that I still receive inquiries every day🙏. I hope that every player has currently received the entire CampaignPack. There was actually only one technical problem with the email in one case. But if anyone else hasn't received the email yet/or can't find it in his mailbox, please just contact me via PM.
    Regards
    Mr.X
  4. Like
    PIATpunk got a reaction from Vacillator in The year to come - 2024 (Part 2)   
    I reminded you just the other day not to post here, Mum.
  5. Like
    PIATpunk got a reaction from Fizou in PBEM ++ Guide?   
    "My Panther!  My beautiful Panther!"
  6. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Mr.X in Preview: First FanMade BattlePack for CM Red Thunder   
    Tonight, I have finished the complete (as it is now called) CampaignPack „Summer of Destruction“.
    During the next hours, I will complete the short intro file and then start to send the content to all the guys who have ordered it. Within the next 2-3 days, everybody should get it 👍🏻
     
    There is a small limitation:
    The announced 20 master maps are not included yet. I simply don‘t have the patience to wait any longer with the release. I will send these maps with a second mail within the next 2-4 weeks.
    Regards 
    Mr.X
  7. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Redwolf in PBEM ++ Guide?   
    If they go down around a weekend they will not be brought online before Monday morning UK time. I don't think that is an acceptable service level for a game server.
     
  8. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Latest Usually Hapless Video (Scotish Corridor 10)   
    I'm not planning to make it easier overall but there were one or two missions (Fair and Square [veteran] comes to mind) where the AI forces need to be toned down a tad. I would like to add a flamethrower tank to the mix in the opener only but otherwise, the plan is simply to update the AI where it is needed. Some of the missions have very small AI forces so 8 groups is already fine but I'm sure some triggers would make the missions a bit more challenging. Where the real work lies is in improving the AI attacks, of which there are quite a few when the SS counterattacks come in. 
  9. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to benpark in DF the wasp's nest - terrible   
    Aye, I am the person responsible for this work. It's one of the very late battles of the war, featuring Kriegsmarine defenders. They put up a fight, as the original poster found out. It's also playable from the German side, with 3 plans per side. Maybe he got the Ultra Tough one.
    To those that struggle through it, and need Cliff Notes:
    Smoke is available, use it if needed. There's plenty of artillery available. There's also 2 flame-throwing Wasps that, if you aren't charging at everything can make short work of anyone in strong points.
    Otherwise: I don't make puzzle scenarios. This area of Northern Germany is largely as flat as Holland. I've been generous, as to the cover in the design. It's flat, and largely treeless save along the water areas. The terrain is made from a period map and images from the actual area - as close as I could get to the real deal.
  10. Thanks
    PIATpunk got a reaction from A Canadian Cat - was IanL in purchased the full setup   
    create a new ticket, it's unlikey anyone has read this thread   https://battlefront.mojohelpdesk.com/
  11. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Ithikial_AU in [PREVIEW] Juju's Blitz UI   
    It's on the list of things to do. Already started. However, CMBN Battlepack has my full attention for the moment.
  12. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Thewood1 in Pre-orders for the CMFB module Download are now open   
    Noticed the manual for Downfall is up on the Matrix site.
    https://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/CombatMissionFinalBlitzkrieg-Downfall/CMFB Downfall Manual.pdf
    Couldn't see one posted yet.
  13. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Falaise in The Road to Montebourg revision for v4.0 is available   
    Hello, I have just noted the different scenarios where the orchards are not “Norman” if some are purely cosmetic, others actually risk modifying the gameplay orchard hill for example.
    -Breaktrough
    -Ecoqueneauville
    -Le grand hameau
    - Hell in hedgerows
    -Labyrinth
    -Licornet
    -Neuville
    -orchards hill
    -stalemate
    as I told you I can modify them, I'm waiting for your greenlight.
    it might take a little time though !!
    in relation to the problem raised by Kohlbie I made a post a while ago about an issue with an old scenario where units were placed in front of hedges at startup; this one didn't generate much interest I reinstalled the game, it stopped but randomly reappeared maybe something changed in the last update
     
  14. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in The Road to Montebourg revision for v4.0 is available   
    I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
    Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
    Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
     
    EDIT to add:
    Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.
  15. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Falaise in The Road to Montebourg revision for v4.0 is available   
    Hello @Paper Tiger, I am delighted to be able to play again this campaign which is a pinnacle in the same way as Scotich Corridor for which I am developing a rain mod.
    I'm a little embarrassed, especially since I wake up after the update work to point out my only complaint with this campaign, the apple trees on the maps. You made orchards with low trees whereas in Normandy especially at that time, it was “tige haute; high trunk” like you make in Scotich Corridor; This makes it possible to put cows in the fields and optimize the production of milk and cider.
    Living in Normandy that hinders my immersion.
    I can modify all the cards if you wish but you will have to re-integrate them into the campaign
    merci  for your merveilleux work
  16. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to SgtHatred in Annual look at the year to come - 2023   
    3 months to fix a corrupted file in an installer. I wouldn't brag about it.
     
    Meanwhile, it looks like Battlefront's plan is to hope that AMD goes back on part of their driver rewrite? It doesn't seem very likely. 16 months and counting there.
  17. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Malaspina in Annual look at the year to come - 2023   
    This is right on the money. BF is in a very mature phase of its creative arc. Their greatest effort was made thirty years ago with the CMx1 engine, and then again fifteen years ago with the CMx2 engine. Is the CMx3 engine still in the works? I'm not holding my breath...
    Rather than "look ahead" threads, WW2 CM fans (including me) should start reminiscing in "a-fond-look-back" threads.  The last WW2 title came out in 2016. There are no indications that any new title will be coming out in the next few years (i.e. next decade). We might get a couple of modules and some battle packs but nothing more.
    After that it's retirement age for all of us thank God, but we will still have four great WW2 titles whose replayability is infinite.
     
  18. Like
    PIATpunk got a reaction from Bulletpoint in Annual look at the year to come - 2023   
    What will happen to licensing when you shut down?
  19. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to CarlXII in Annual look at the year to come - 2023   
    That might very well be the case...The problem though is that you are not responding to ANYONES...
    "pointless wining blather"...are you ?
     
  20. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in The Road to Montebourg revision for v4.0 is available   
    https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
    Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
     
    Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
    All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
    Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
    Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
    A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
    There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
     
    Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
     
    Have a Happy New year.
  21. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Revising The Road to Montebourg campaign   
    And there we are. I finished devising and testing the AI plans for Eroudeville today and it's all working as I'd like it too. I've played through the first 30 minutes of it too and it was tough so I made a few further adjustments that are non-spoiler in nature. The mission is now 1 hour and 50 minutes long with the possibility of 10 minutes of overtime. This extra time has been added at the start so that you have more daylight time.
    I've also added some new toys for the US player to play with. Since the new AI plans alone will make things a bit more challenging for the player, I think some extra help is needed. You get a couple of M8 SPA vehicles at the start to help with the bunkers and at around the 30 minute mark, you'll get an M10 Tank Destroyer, a breach team and a flamethrower unit as well as some more air support. You have a few FOO available to keep your artillery and air support on the go as well.
    Now, is it balanced? I doubt it. I suspect it will be a very difficult mission for the player especially if he has had a bad result in Ecausseville. Or it could be a cakewalk. Luck always plays some part in such a game, a single lucky hit or miss can decide the entire game and there's not much I can do about. I lost two Shermans to lucky hits in my first play through and that was basically game over for me. True, I wasn't playing smart but rather ensuring that a rash player who just throws his forces ant the enemy and hopes to win by brute force gets this posterior handed back to him but the second hit was entirely unexpected and so we have the M10. 
    So, I will spend the rest of the year polishing things up, writing new briefings and making new artwork where necessary and then compile the thing to upload as soon as possible.
  22. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Revising The Road to Montebourg campaign   
    Well, it's funny just how much you can get done if you just focus. I'm just wrapping up work on Farmhouse and will start the final mission later today. I wasn't planning to do very much in the way of revising the chapter 4 missions but the first two are so small that they were begging for an AI rework. There are three AI plans for Ecausseville and you better make sure you win the le Ham chapter as you'll get a much tougher version of this mission if you don't (now ahistorical since the PIR and GIR did the job IRL so I can do what I like with it within reason  )
    Le Ham wasn't nearly as much work to get done as I'd anticipated. It was only necessary to make the AI react more to the player's moves as far as the triggers will allow me so it was an afternoon's work only. Ecausseville has three AI plans and I'm just polishing off the attack in Farmhouse this morning and I'll get at least one variant made up.
     
    There are some pretty substantial changes made to the campaign structure so I'll give you a heads-up now. As before, losing two consecutive missions ejects you from the campaign, That stays for the most part but the old 'losing two consecutive formation missions and you're out' condition  is now gone. This greatly simplifies the campaign structure with no more than one variant possible for chapter's one and three and two for chapter two.
    However, chapter three is where the rules change. This contains one of the most challenging missions of the campaign and I'm sure some of you will find it too hard so instead of being ejected from the campaign for a loss, you will simply skip to chapter 4. But the chapter four opener, Ecausseville, will be much tougher as the failure to capture the le Ham area allows the Germans more time to bolster their positions. So fret not if the new chapter three missions are pigs. Let's just say though that I've given the player added incentive to try and win Hell. The following missions will be much easier if you get the win but the historical missions, especially Stalemate, will be much tougher if you lose. After the initial two missions, any loss results in the player skipping to chapter 4.
    So we're nearly finished with this. I'm hoping to have the last of the real work done by tomorrow allowing me some time to revisit Turnbull and make sure the briefings and tac maps explain what the player is expected to do to win. And then I should have this up some time next week.
  23. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Revising The Road to Montebourg campaign   
    As well as reassuring folks that I'm not taking a break on this project again, posting updates serves to keep me actively working on this. If I didn't post my progress, I'd probably take a break from it and 'forget' for a few weeks. I REALLY want to get this finished preferably by the end of the year but as long as I keep working on it, it will get finished either on time or a bit later. Having said that, there probably will be a short break in updates from tomorrow for a day or two for obvious reasons.
    Predictably, I couldn't leave Neuville alone. I've already made some small but important changes to the German forces that will make them a little bit more effective. The defending force is TINY as well so I can assign each unit to its own AI group with some to spare so it would be foolish not to take advantage of the new tools to make the defence more responsive to the player's moves. That's the point of making this revision after all.
  24. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Revising The Road to Montebourg campaign   
    That's both Licornets and Labrynth completed. I wasn't planning to do a complete overhaul of these missions but I just couldn't leave them alone and so both these missions have entirely new AIs. Licornets has been particularly overhauled to create the illusion of an actual intelligent response but as usual, if you do something that goes off the plan, well, there's not much I can do about that. Triggers are a 'do this now or later' condition and can't branch so I have had to anticipate what the player might do and put the hurt on him if he's careless.
    I was also a bit concerned that these two missions were samey and so I redid the German OB to give Labrynth its own unique flavour. No spoilers but it's different. But that's more than half way through the campaign now and so far, they've all been reworked quite substantially. That's far more work than I had planned to do but hey, that's just how I roll.
    I have no plans to overhaul the chapter 2 finale but we'll see what happens when I test it tomorrow. I might end up re-doing it all as well. But even if I do, it's not going to take much more than a day to do.
    I really won't be changing anything much with the chapter 3 missions except for Le Ham which doesn't have any AI. I'm not planning anything special there beyond having two plans and some AI reaction to player moves. And that means there's only the final three to consider.
    But I really am getting impatient to get this finished asap now as I'm beginning to feel the itch to do something else.
  25. Like
    PIATpunk reacted to Paper Tiger in Revising The Road to Montebourg campaign   
    I've got an attack plan that works reasonably well now. I managed to get a DRAW by cease firing at about T+40 and I hadn't exited any of my forces so that was a comfortable win. I made a few adjustments to the AI victory conditions as a result and so I think that's enough for now. It's quite a short mission with a very low unit count for the player so I'm going to continue to test it and tweak it while work is ongoing on the next missions in this chapter. Victory point adjustments made are basically now instead of having three TOUCH compound locations, I now have three phase lines which extend about 150m on both sides of the road on the south side of the stream which award the Germans points for touching. The further they advance, the more points they earn each line hot so you'll have to work hard to keep their heads down until you think it's time to run.
    I started work on Licornets this afternoon. This is one mission that REALLY needs 16 AI groups and I'm using almost all of them already. Combined with a variety of triggers, I can really make some effective AI counter moves if the player activates them. With each StuG being in its own unique group, I can use them more aggressively in my defensive plans rather than just positioning them at the start of the game. Giving a movement order to an AI group with two vehicles on opposite sides of the road isn't going to end well.
    I'm not going to agonise over this and will just get two working plans and create variants and that's that for this one. I'd really like to have the chapter 2 missions finished before Christmas.
    I have very few plans to change much with the Glider Infantry missions in chapter 3 but I'm probably going to put the nebelwerfers into Hell in the Hedgerows as that also happened to these poor buggers in real life. They really took a pounding and lost that mission but I shied away from it when I made the original. But war is hell so why not? I need the casualties to make their following missions more challenging. So I expect a quick turn over on chapter 3 with perhaps only the Holding Action needing any real attention.
    And that leaves the short chapter 4 missions which I'd really like to have finished before New year. Yes, that'll happen.  That's my plan though. Much as I'd like to do a compete overhaul of each mission, that would take me another 4-6 weeks after the New year and I'm almost certainly going to want to move onto something else in a couple of weeks.
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