I Have No Idea What to Buy

[guachi]

I own CM: Battle for Normandy. I purchased the SteelCase thingy when it was first released and have a real, live disc of the game. I don't think I've purchased anything since then.

I own all the original WWII CM games and even played the Beta version of CM way back when.

However, I'm not really certain what I might wish to purchase now. And, while "everything" might be a valid answer, if I had to start somewhere what should I purchase and what order do you suggest I buy stuff? Although really it means, "what do you suggest I put on my Christmas list to my wife and in what order should I put it?"

[CHEqTRO]

As you alredy have CMBN, I will recommend you to get first the modules/DLC for that game and the 3.0 upgrade if you dont have it. They add a lot of new stuff and feature some new countries and a lot of very good made scenarios. If you prefer something new I personally prefer Fortress Italy, because while all the other games are set in 1944, this one is set in 1943 and it really gives a different feeling from the other games. Nevertheless this is my personal view. They all are very great games and all of them (WWII ones) are or can be upgraded to version 3.0, so I will recommend you to choose the one with the setting that fits you the most . Hope this has been of help

[Baneman]

I agree with CHEqTRO above - if you already have CMBN, "building it up" will probably net you the most additional play.

On a personal note, I believe that as the titles have come out over the years, so the scenario makers and map designers have evolved their art and the maps in the most recent release, CMFB, are truly excellent work.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Baneman

[Cobetco]

I will second that Fortress Italy recommendation, particularly with with the Gustav line module, the commonwealth really adds a lot of crunchy flavor.

[Warts 'n' all]

Personally I think you just ask your wife which one she would prefer to play.

[Sublime]

Of WW2 i recmmend RT least and ost front is my fav. it just wasnt as fun aa the others to me and has the least content.

I heavily recommend FI *ONLY* IF  you buy GL with it. GL made FI not the other way around ya dig?

BN is the most fleshed out ans I love it and FB is really great too..

Id say cont. with BN or get BS. or FB.

[Erwin]

My sense is that all the CM2 WW2 Eurocentric games feel and play very similarly.  If you love CMBN then you should get all its modules and updates. 

If you are "so so" about CMBN then you may feel the same way about the other WW2 titles.  In that case why not try the modern CMBS, or for a real bargain get the entire CMSF series. 

My recommendation is CMSF as it so completely different fighting in the desert.  Fully patched up to 1.32 it's a superb game.  And as our weather gets more miserable with the approach of winter, wouldn't you rather be swanning around in the heat and sun of the desert?

(And am hoping that a designer will do a Mosul scenario.)

[sburke]

I never quite understand why folks ask this question. What are you hoping for in an answer?  There is more content in the additional modules and packs for CMBN, but you know that already. It really comes down to which period/theater interests you. Are you at all interested in modern, do you prefer east front over west front, would you be interested in 1943 period gear? Narrow down what tweaks your interest and you'll likely answer this yourself. Note they will all get the same engine upgrades so you needn't factor that in. 

One conclusion I might draw just on what little info you gave is that you don't actually have much time. That is purely based on the time since your past purchase. Based on that I'd say fill out the CMBN game, more bang for your buck and you aren't bouncing around in which title to play given limited gaming time. There is plenty of diversity of units in the full CMBN game lots of material, plenty of mods, great maps etc 

[guachi]

What am I hoping for?

Well, the question is basically open ended aside from not recommending I buy a game I already have. Recommend whatever you would do and, hopefully, why. Perhaps the newest game was just so awesome that you might recommend I just skip everything and jump right to Blitzkrieg (and Final Blitzkrieg has some positive recommendations in this thread).  But it's also nice to see that all of BN looks worth getting and is probably a good place to start.

[guachi]

It's a moot point, anyway. I just tried to buy something and got an error message so it's off to customer support I go.

[Wodin]

Build up the CMBN game you own first:). CMBN with it's modules and FB are my favourite out of all of them except Italy as I don't own it. I'm an Eats front nut aswell..yets I sill go to CMBN with module sor FB first.

[Peregrine]

I have the following and they are all good but they are definitely different types of good. These are my personal opinions and the general community may views things differently. I only play solo nowadays and don't play QBs.

CMBN + Commonwealth Forces + Market Garden + Upgrade to 3.0 (did not get battle pack or vehicle pack) - Expanding your original purchase with these will 'complete' this period of the war for you and also provide you with access to in my opinion the best campaigns.

CMBS - Each different game definitely has its own feel but this is by far the most different out of all of them. Main battle tanks that move quick and target well, javelins, air support that actually supports you (rather than random destruction a la WWII), drones and precision airstrikes. The campaigns are all good but each one (there are 3) has at least one battle that is either very large or you have an odd assortment of units to accomplish your task which makes me downgrade them slightly compared to CMBN + CF + MG. The scenarios are OK but as it is a fictional war it doesn't quite have the atmosphere of the other titles simply cause when I start a battle I have little idea how it fits in the overall scheme.  The campaigns don't have this problem as there is a storyline that provides atmosphere.

CMRT - If you like the Eastern Front then basically this is your choice. The battles are good and so are the campaigns*. * The Russian campaign has masses of units so this could be a problem.

CMFB - I haven't played the campaigns yet but the scenarios are very good. Tendency to have more slightly higher armour to infantry ratio in the battles than CMBN. The tools for battle creation have evolved and the designers have too so expect this to have the most polished scenarios.

CMSF - I listed this because it was mentioned above but I don't see this in the class of any of the above but if you want to see modernish (but not near future as CMBS) forces in the desert then this is OK.

 

After purchasing CMBN if I could only get one of the above it would be CMBS but basically you can't go wrong unless you specifically have no interest in a theatre or timeframe.

 

 

 

[JoMac]

On 11/4/2016 at 6:47 PM, guachi said:

I own CM: Battle for Normandy. I purchased the SteelCase thingy when it was first released and have a real, live disc of the game. I don't think I've purchased anything since then.

I own all the original WWII CM games and even played the Beta version of CM way back when.

However, I'm not really certain what I might wish to purchase now. And, while "everything" might be a valid answer, if I had to start somewhere what should I purchase and what order do you suggest I buy stuff? Although really it means, "what do you suggest I put on my Christmas list to my wife and in what order should I put it?"

Go ahead and update your base CMBN Game by purchasing CW + MG, and 3.0 Upgrade Engine, then update to latest patch...After all that's said and done, then you can go ahead and purchase any of the other WWII Titles in the near future :-)

Joe

[MG TOW]

Black Sea has a very different feel to it than the WW2 titles (I suppose it goes without saying). So if you like CM but want something quite different at the same time its worth looking into.

If you are stuck in WW2 and want more, then CM:FB or CM:FI with Gustav module (a must) will give everything you like, but with more variety. But hey ask tomorrow and I'll probably change that answer.

[sttp]

As someone else mentioned, the quality of the maps and battles keeps increasing with each new CMx2 release. For that reason, you may want to consider putting CMFB at the top of your list.

Additionally, with a new Fortress Italy module on the way, CMFI may deserve to be up there as well. Just depends.... Fortress Italy doesn't get the attention the others do (I suppose mostly because of the less celebrated theatre?), but the environments there have a really unique look and feel. And the Gustav Line module has, in my opinion, a few of the best scenarios of all the WW2 titles.

[Artemis258]

I'd add my voice to the CM:FI + GL option... ASs others have said, the 1943 marks it out a bit (tigers can be very scary! ) and the maps  are VERY different to Europe - east or west. Mountains, the seas of yellows and oranges.... it's a very pretty game. Honestly, I'd say it's the prettiest ww2 game AFTER FB, the latest, which is stellar. RT is... well, drab. swampy. As it should be I like the warmer colour pallette though!

Otherwise, go with what YOU want to play? got any particular battle or campaign that really grabs your attention? Something you always read about? Go after that!  
 

[ncc1701e]

On 06/11/2016 at 10:21 AM, Peregrine said:

CMFB - I haven't played the campaigns yet but the scenarios are very good. Tendency to have more slightly higher armour to infantry ratio in the battles than CMBN. The tools for battle creation have evolved and the designers have too so expect this to have the most polished scenarios.
 

 

Are they any differences regarding editor between the CMBN / CMFB games? Or, do you mean that the tools were enhanced between now and the release date of CMBN allowing to make better scenarios today?

Thanks

[MikeyD]

CMBN scenarios were made pre-triggers, before the last game engine leap forward. CMFB came out with AI triggers which are being used in scenarios and QB maps. BFC endeavors to keep all of its active titles up to date engine-wise. If there's still a difference in the editor between CMBN and CMFB (I'm losing track of what has what currently) just wait a bit and they'll no doubt get  updated to be on par. I see the discussion board is aware that there's a game engine 4.0 on the near horizon. So there's no need to worry which title is most up to date.

[Bulletpoint]

1 hour ago, MikeyD said:

So there's no need to worry which title is most up to date.

As far as I know, some broken features of CMBN were never fixed. Such as the auto force selection for quick battles giving bizarre and useless results, and even crashing if you select "mixed" forces.

I only have CMBN, but people tell me this stuff has been fixed in the newer games. It seems despite many patches these fixes never made it back to the Normandy game 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

CMA is cheaper and better balanced than CMSF IMHO.....It also has better options for scenario editing.  If the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan interests you even slightly this one is well worth a look.  The downside is that there are not very many scenarios for the game and it doesn't seem to have all that much support hereabouts.

[Peregrine]

12 hours ago, MikeyD said:

CMBN scenarios were made pre-triggers, before the last game engine leap forward. CMFB came out with AI triggers which are being used in scenarios and QB maps. BFC endeavors to keep all of its active titles up to date engine-wise. If there's still a difference in the editor between CMBN and CMFB (I'm losing track of what has what currently) just wait a bit and they'll no doubt get  updated to be on par. I see the discussion board is aware that there's a game engine 4.0 on the near horizon. So there's no need to worry which title is most up to date.

What he said is correct as far as I know. CMFB (plus CMRT and CMBS I think) had scenarios designed after AI triggers were built into the scenario editor. These were retrofitted into earlier titles as I understand but the originally shipped scenarios/campaigns with the earlier titles were made with slightly less sophisticated tools. AI triggers don't necessarily make a better campaign.

[Erwin]

17 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

"CMA is cheaper and better balanced than CMSF IMHO.....It also has better options for scenario editing.  If the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan interests you even slightly this one is well worth a look.  The downside is that there are not very many scenarios for the game and it doesn't seem to have all that much support hereabouts."

 

Yes there are few really good scenarios and campaigns for CMA.

I still recommend CMSF as there was enormous support during the 5 or so years that it as the only CM2 title.  CMSF scenarios and campaigns became outstanding as very motivated players did enormous work improving the mods as well as learning scenario design.  When I play CMSF I rarely notice the lack of the extra features that CM2 now offers.  NOTE: It is vital that one updates to the most recent version of CMSF: v1.32 IIRC.  The earlier version had problems.

One can get the CMSF base game and all the modules at a bargain price. And there are hundreds of xnt scenarios and campaigns available for d/l.

Edited November 12, 2016 by Erwin

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I miss the exit zones.....

[ncc1701e]

I am really puzzled.

My situation is the following. I like modern combat. I own CMSF and all modules. Now, trying the demo of both CMBN and CMBS, I am impressed by the CMx2 3.0 engine and would like to give it a go without waiting few years another CMSFv2 but waiting 4.0 engine upgrade instead.

But, I do not know which one to choose: CMBN or CMBS. CMBN is now a complete game having plenty of scenarios. CMBS is expecting its first module but its content is still unclear.

I am not a military but I like reading and learning about tactics.

Thus, to decide my two questions will be the following:
1. What is your rough estimate of the percentage of WW2 tactics that I can reuse on nowadays battlefield?
2. Is it as easy to find an opponent on CMBS than on CMBN?

Thanks for your feedback

 

[Cobetco]

while i can't say much about finding opponents, i can say that the tactics involved are splendidly different between BN and BS. infantry has a much greater importance in BN, in BN each side (Germany, US and Commonwealth) all have their own tactics and tricks that need to be employed to use their forces effectively,  the Germans revolve around their machine guns at longer ranges, the Brits have their light mortars and the spiffy bren that is pretty much good in all circumstances, while the US has semiautomatic rifles but a lackluster LMG. in BS the difference between the sides is less pronounced, its more of a sliding scale of tech advantage with the US being at the top and the Ukrainians at the bottom, but each side more or less plays the same. i would personally recommend BN over BS at the moment, but that might change when the first module hits, bringing with it the VDV.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Cobetco