Pig Dog

Yes, I've heard of FRAPS, but I was hoping to stay inside the game engine, ala cmmovie so that I can roam about at will, examining different parts of the battlefield. By going to AVI/MPEG, I'm locked in to a single camera angle. I could see how FRAPS could be useful for creating an MPEG tutorial or video showing how certain tactics are best used (hint hint Battlefront.com - I see a great market in DVD battle tactics tutorials) , but I was looking for something a bit less locked down. *sighs* This is one of only two real criticisms I have of the CM series - No ability to see the entire battle replayed, and as 'unrealistic' as it is, no ability (in game anyway) to run a company or battalion through an entire campaign of battles/operations. Other than that I think this is probably one of the best game series I've ever played either on or off the computer.

Yep, I know, its been asked before. I did a search on the forum and didn't see anything very promising, but was wondering if anyone had managed to get cmmovie to work at all with CMBB? I saw someone mentioned PBEM Helper, but the last two times I tried downloading it, I got CRC errors. Does it work in the same manner as cmmovie did?

Actually, on the Dragon Models tanks, no. However, Marui (the AirSoft people) makes modern 1/24th scale tanks that *do* fire 6mm AirSoft plastic pellets, however they are quite a bit more pricey than Dragon's tanks. The tank also has a remotely operated turret rotation/elevation as well. Viper/Vipor, makes a Chinese knockoff of Marui's tanks that also fire 6mm pellets, for considerably less money.

Hmm, mine works perfectly, but it sounds like one of the left pinion gear isn't seated well if the track is stuttering. I'd say you've got 2 options: 1. Call the store you bought it from, tell them it was damaged when you bought it, and ask to return it for replacement. If you attempt to resolve the issue in good faith and they don't do it, you can contact your credit card company about disputing the charge (that is, if you used a credit card). Many card companies have a 50 mile distance clause that may work in your favor. 2. If you can't get the retailer to replace the item, and the credit card company won't refund the transaction (or you didn't use the cc), there is a US phone number listed in the manuals for warranty repair/replacement of your unit (90 day warranty I believe). Shame your tank didn't work, hopefully you can get it dealt with and up in running order, they're loads of fun when they're working.

A bit off topic perhaps, but for those of you who haven't seen it yet, Dragon Models has come out with a line of very nicely detailed, pre-painted 1/72 scale radio controlled tanks. These are much better quality than many of the Radio Shack/toy store type tanks I've seen on the shelves. You can probably see it in action at your local hobby shop, but Dragon has some info on their website (a bit slow though). So far they've released two early versions of the Tiger I, with several more variants to come (and hopefully eventually some Russian and allied armor), but for the moment means you can't quite stage a good tank battle with your buddies (well, that and the fact that there's only two frequencies available, reducing the size and scope of your battles by a large margin). Radio range and run times are decent (10 minutes approx so far) considering the transmitter uses a single 9 volt battery, with about 15-20 minute recharge times for the Tiger on the included display pedestal (4 AA's in pedestal to recharge). Forward speed seems relatively scale, though the thing can neutral steer like nobody's business. The only 'weakness' I've seen so far is that the tank occasionally throws one of its rubber tracks (instruction manual recommends removing the tracks when not in use, presumably so they don't get over-stretched). Granted, these aren't quite cool as Tamiya's 1/16th scale tanks with their infra-red battle systems, but then again, the Dragon Models Tiger I fits in the palm of your hand, and runs 50-80 bucks, as opposed to nearly 700(!!!) for the Tamiya setup. The Tigers should be available at your local retail hobby shop (or one of the online shops like VoyagerToys) now, with more models to come. I suppose theoretically, one could build nearly any 1/72 scale plastic tank and probably adapt it to use Dragon's transmitter and receiver, but then, that would probably mean destroying the rather nice Tiger model that it came installed in. Anyway, its fun to chase pets around the house with, and otherwise entertain yourself while waiting for the latest patch to download.

Ack. My Hitchhiker's books are in storage atm so I can't provide a page number, but the full reference is as follows:

"I demand that I may, or may not be Vroomfondel." -If you don't know the reference, shame on you

Well.... was possible, yes, and I know I've heard of it happening from time to time. However its not like someone said, 'Forget your 88's boys, lets save our ammo today and just run over the enemy.' It sounds very much like the sort of tactic someone would employ in Command and Conquer in order to get rid of a pesky soldier dogging their tank/harvester. No sane tank commander would risk the possibility of having his tank close assaulted by infantry in order to squash one or two men, the risk is just too great. Infantry may look generally harmless on the surface as compared to say, a Tiger or Panther, but they tend to have some nasty surprises when confronting tanks in close quarters. There's also the issue that even the very dumbest and highly suppressed grunts are generally at least smart enough in open ground to try and get the heck out of the way when a tank is threatening to roll over their heads. I have no actual reference material that covers this particular topic, but I'd imagine that this sort of thing happened when the tank was so close when they noticed the enemy position that they decided to just drive right over, perhaps squashing one or two men (a squad of 10-13 men isn't going to lie in one spot and let a tank run over them, they'll scatter in all directions most likely). I suppose if the fireteam/squad were entrenched in loose or wet earth that you could collapse the trench on more than one, but I really don't think you can count on this sort of thing as a battle winning tactic. Incidentally, I believe there was a report of this sort of thing in Desert Storm by the Iraqis when massive formations of M1 Abrams mbt's plowed over the sandy trenches dug by the Iraqis filled with troops. Iraq claimed as many as 10,000 soldiers might have been buried in this way, but that seems a highly inflated number. I'd be surprised if it were even 1/10th that. I would seriously question the sanity/ability to lead of any of my subordinate tankers that *actively* tried to seek out infantry to try and run over, rather than stand off a bit and hammer them with guns. I would most likely send him off somewhere nice and quiet for a bit of R&R and perhaps a psych evaluation. Anyway, in short, I wouldn't count on this as particularly useful tactic, especially if you're facing infantry with satchel charges and/or panzershrecks/fausts.