Do the improvements in this game work in Normandy game?

[japinard]

I was specifically looking at the camera angles and the hit decals that would really make the Normandy game a lot more fun for me.  It's been a long time since I've played a Combat MIssion game - specifically because fighting the camera and interface was not fun years after the original CMBB games.

 

Hope to hear from someone so maybe I will get back into Combat Mission games!  Been so long I'm not sure where to start  (for reference I have Normandy, and the expansion Commonwealth and Market Garden).

Edited July 14, 2016 by japinard
more info

[A Canadian Cat]

Yes, new features have been released to the older games as they are added.  So getting the v3 upgrade for CMBN will give you the up to date engine with features such as hit decals (but lots more too).  The one major exception is CMBN did not get tank riding added in that upgrade due to the amount of work it would take.  Steve did not rule out adding it in the future but he also did not commit to doing it either.  We'll just have to wait and see.

The way they have been working is as new modules or games are released fixes made during the development of the new game or module get patched for free back into the other games.  If a new game or module adds engine features the the older games get an upgrade that costs $ to add those engine features to that game.  Right now all the newer games are at the same engine level (v3) but the latest patches from CMFB have not yet made their way into the others.  Mind you I don't think there is anything earth shattering.  The quality level is very high for all the games.

[japinard]

So based one what you have, what do you think I should purchase?  In the old days the most fun I had was the CMBB.  I just loved the massive variety of tanks, artillery, and parity between German and Russian forces.  It was amazing for its time.

 

Thanks for the help IanL!

[Bud Backer]

You're just pennies away from being up to date with CMBN - you need to upgrade to 3.0 ($10.) and then patch to 3.12 (free) and you'll have pretty much the most up to date game aside from a fully patched CMFB. 

Seems to me that's a great place to start - plus CMBN has the most add-ons, which you own aside from the Vehicle Pack and Battle Pack, and there are hundreds of maps and scenarios from the community; possibly more than all the other games combined. 

 

[A Canadian Cat]

If variety is what you want then CMBN with all the modules has the most stuff.  The way the CM2x titles have been developed has been to start with a core game and add modules to it over time.  So to see something close to CMBB you would need to look at a game and all of its modules.  Even that will be different because the stated plan for the eastern front is to do four games and one or two modules pergame.  So there will not be one title in CM2x that covers the same time frame as CMBB did.  That's the down side.  The upside is that the detail and variety in the 2x games is quite a bit greater.  I do not recall seeing a comparison between CMBN and CMBB but Steve did do one between CMBN and CMBO and CMBN (with all its modules and packs) now has more variety of gear and orders of battle than CMBO did and CMBN does not even cover the entire time frame that CMBO did.  So with the Cm2x titles it will cost more and take more time to get all the variety they stuffed into the CM1x versions but once you have it you will have even more.

The usual advice it to pick the theatre or time frame that interests you the most.   If variety is what you crave then CMBN takes the cake with CMFI coming in second.  However getting that variety will cost you a few $ since you would have to buy the upgrade @Bud Backer mentioned plus two modules and two packs to get all of CMBN and a new game and a module to get everything from CMFI. It is going to cost more than the CM1x days that is for sure.

[Abbasid111]

If it is the Ost Front you are really interested in then Red Thunder is the way to go. Bear in mind that as stated before BFC has said they will never do a game on the scope of CNBB again.

For my own reasons I love Fortress Italy and the Gustav Line module. For one it starts in '43 so you have access to mid-war formations and equipment. The second is terrain. The base game really feels like sun-brenched Sicily. 

Try the RT and FI demos out there and see what you like. Keep in mind the demos don't get updated so they don't have all the latest bells and whistles. And check out the demo for Final Blitzkrieg.

[japinard]

Which game has the best tank on tank battles, the best kinds of tanks, and the most best and weirdest vichiles?  Also artillery... I LOVE artillery.  In CMBB I used to set up whole battles of just a few infantry groups with tons of artillery vs. a  huge army on enemy soldiers.   Rocket artillery is a plus.  Especially the German Nebelwarfers and Russian Katyusha

[womble]

Define "best". CMBN with the Vehicle Pack, or CMFI, have the "weirdest" vehicles. All the titles have more arty than you could ever reasonably use in one place. But only BN and FI have naval guns.

[Michael Emrys]

1 hour ago, womble said:

Define "best".

Yeah, that's such a subjective quality as to be meaningless until you put it on the map. What I like you might find totally boring and vice versa.

Michael

[womble]

Indeed. Some might like tense "asymmetric" fights with Shermans trying to get a flank on Panthers at point-blank ranges, others might prefer iron behemoths lining up and trying to punch holes in handspan-thick glacis plates at a mile. Both have their attractions

[japinard]

Artillery and air bombings that create the most devastating visual impact.  So whatever creates the largest craters, does the most expansive damage.  

For or tank on tank battles I like the ones where the tanks can take a beating due to heavy armor, but also the self propelled artillery pieces as well.  I love the German "tanks" with no turrets.  And of course flame-throwing tanks.

[Michael Emrys]

1 hour ago, japinard said:

For or tank on tank battles I like the ones where the tanks can take a beating due to heavy armor, but also the self propelled artillery pieces as well.  I love the German "tanks" with no turrets.  And of course flame-throwing tanks.

Sounds like the Ostfront is where you would feel most at home, at least to begin with.

Michael

[womble]

23 hours ago, japinard said:

Artillery and air bombings that create the most devastating visual impact.  So whatever creates the largest craters, does the most expansive damage.  

Then you're after FI or BN, for naval support as well as large air to ground rockets and bombs. The OstFront probably has rockets and bombs, but it doesn't have naval fires.

[Bulletpoint]

On 7/17/2016 at 8:15 PM, japinard said:

Artillery and air bombings that create the most devastating visual impact.  So whatever creates the largest craters, does the most expansive damage.  

Well the problem is that many things are indestructible in this game, which looks weird, especially with the larger bombs. You get stuff like this in CMBN: