How did you find out about Combat Mission?

[SD Smack]

I think the first time I saw in reference to CMBO I was on an AMPS (Armor Modeling and Preservation Society) website looking up some reference pics for a model I was doing...anywho there was a window advertiesment at the bottom of the page showing a dark sky and snowy farmland with a road. And on that road was a continuos stream of AFVs and then it would randomly show "Combat Mission". I clicked on it and explored around. But I couldnt figure out where to buy this game. I had always been facinated by table top gaming but never had the space, money, or more importantly players to do anything other than build the models. So now seeing this I was very interested. The other problem was that in 2000 I didnt own my own computer so the interest some what faded.

Fast forward to 2002.....

Im in Monterey California and I walk in to a Game Stop. Just browsing around I walk over into the "used" section. There on the shelf is a copy of CMBB. Honestly I dont remember if I made the correlation to CMBO or not but i picked it up. I can still remember the first battle I played (but not the name!! :-D) it was raining, it was fall, and I was hooked!!!

Funny thing is its the only game that I have ever consistantly played without anythought at all. I have a few other games but they have been played once and put back in the box. CM series is beyond replayable. The graphic may not be up to par but the fun had on each game is more than enough to make up for it!

Thank you BFC for making such an outstanding product!

Loyal Customer

Steve-o

[Wallybob]

I first heard about it online, as a possible computerized version of ASL. Way cool, and glad they are finally going back to WWII. I am still wanting a fall of France mod.

[Other Means]

I was actively looking for a game with more depth. Never been a wargamer but had an interest in tactics* and I wanted to see if there was anything out there. I played Close Combat a bit and enjoyed it but it never really grew. Then reading round I heard about BO.

I came and joined the forums but it was a load of old farts talking about ammo types and face hardening so I never posted much. Tried the Alpha of BO and meh - didn't get what was going on, why you couldn't give orders all the time, where the enemy was etc.

Then a few years later I was going round the same path. Read reviews saying CM was the shizz so went out and bought BB.

I played a game. No...it didn't really grab me. I put it away. But something was nagging me...

I got it out again. Tried another scenario off the CD...nah...well...wait...

So then it's 8am and I need to go to work. Phoned in sick and that was it. Hooked.

I think BN will have the initial "wow" factor that will make casual players pick it up. It's fun to see Tiger guns slew round or an MG lay down covering fire. After they've enjoyed the bling I think they'll get the gameplay.

* not that my opponents would believe me.

[Fredrock1957]

I would have to dig out the issue of WWII Magazine (I believe it was Aug 2002) that had an ad for CMBO in it. I then did some research on-line, purchased CMBO (was immediately hooked) Then got CMBB and haven’t looked back. In fact I still go back and play some CMBO once in a while. I have tried to go back and do some of the old S&T games (I’m especially fond of Combat Command and Sniper) but alas the counters just don't do it anymore, gosh I wish they had CMBO back in 1972.

Bring on CM:BN

[Rambler]

I first heard about the CM series in the late 2000s/early 2001s on various online forums, I think SimHQ mainly, but pretty much dismissed it since it was turnbased and I prefer realtime. When CMSF was announced with realtime play I started following the development of it.

In early 2007 I decided to try the old CM series to see what it was like, so I downloaded the CMAK demo. I thought that the game was ok, but WEGO turned me off since it felt cumbersome and made the scenario last a whole lot longer than it should have, e.g. a 30 minute scenario could take a couple hours.

When the CMSF demo came out, I downloaded that as well, but was bummed to find out my computer at the time couldn't run it at all. In late 2008, I built a new system and promptly downloaded the CMSF demo only to find out performance, for whatever reason, was horrible. Bummed out again. When the NATO version of the demo came out, I decided to give it one more go. It ran flawlessly, and I had an immensely fun time playing it. A couple weeks ago I finally bought the whole CMSF suite along with pre-ordering CMBN. I'm starting to dig into the game and am continually amazed by it. And yes, I tried WEGO again. It has sort of grown on me. It sure makes handling large forces easier, and I like the replay ability. Definitely looking forward to CMBN and future titles.

[Chops]

I was into Avalon Hill board games such as Outdoor Survival, Richthofen's War, Luftwaffe, and Squad Leader as a kid.

Later....I read a review on some website about CM:BO. At this point in time I have no idea which one. However, I downloaded the CM:BO demo, I guess around the time it was first released. After checking that out it totally reminded me of Squad Leader, so I ordered the full game and have been hooked on Combat Mission ever since.

I currently own every CM product that Battlefront has made, with CM:BN on pre-order.

[kmead]

Growing up I inherited my Dad's penchant for toy soldiers and wargaming (1/32nd scale WBritians were my primary choice and later Airfix HO/OO) consumed my pennies through my teens. Computers and early consoles slowly supplanted my Blitzkrieg and Tactics II board games. Full on 3D shooters became playable but were not simulations, just twitch reactions.

In the early days of BTS I found a reference to their site and early imagery of the game (which is scary stuff if you have ever seen it) and a forum of grognards who had been discussing the background of the game for months. Peng hadn't even been born. I started reading the backlog of posts and became well and truly hooked.

The first demo came out and I played it over and over, trying out different strategies for months. The night of the refresh monkeys came with the second demo (still have both those engines on a drive around the house) which lasted me through to the release. I still have my Panther print up on the wall which was a preorder bonus.

I enjoyed CMBO, CMBB and CMAK. It was with real sadness that I put my CDs on the shelf as I changed over to Mac OS X and could no longer run CM and for the many years I could read the forums but no longer participate. (I know if I was really committed I could have bought a PC, but having suffered them at work and watched the suffering of other family members, it wasn't going to happen that way).

After playing CM for so long I couldn't really get into the various sims and twitch consoles my kids had begun to play, so my game playing days were over.

So here we are, CM will soon be back on a Mac and I will be back with CM. Thanks Steve, Charles, Moon, Kwazy, MadMatt (wherever you are) and those brains floating in a jar likely driving a Weasel through the wilds of Maine, I can once again enjoy a pleasure I thought long gone.

Here's to fighting through the hedge groves of Normandy and across France once again. Thanks guys, its been a long time coming.

All the best;

Karl Mead

[Her Klink]

I forgot all about Richthofen's War. I loved that game. I played Squad Leader and Panzer Leader in high school. Got away from gaming in college. After college I sort of switched back and forth between flight sims like Red Baron and European Air War and wargames like Close Combat and Steel Panthers. Not sure how I found CM:BO, but I thought it was great. Also bought CM:BB and CM:AK. Then I got back into flight sims with IL-2 and Rise of Flight. Now I'm back to CM. I spend way too much money on games...

[Grell63]

I currently own every CM product that Battlefront has made, with CM:BN on pre-order.

I own every game as well. I heard of CMBO in a computer gaming magazine and bought it as soon as it came out!

I love CM.

Regards,

Grell

[Paper Tiger]

My 'local' (read 21+ miles) Electronic Boutique had a small display for the newest games and I found CMBO there on its first week of release in the UK. I was a big fan of ASL but lived in the depths of the Suffolk countryside and so wasn't able to find an opponent. When I got this home I fired it up and started work on converting a few ASL missions for it.

TBH, I was a bit disappointed that MGs had very little stopping power in the original game as I used them a LOT when I played ASL. They were always the lynchpin of my defensive set up or supporting my attack. However, I really enjoyed the QBs and spent most of my CMBO time playing Brit v German QBs. I've alway had a real soft spot for the Churchill tank. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in CMBN. The models for the existing tanks already surpass the models I used in my tabletop wargaming days. They are almost photorealistic now. Bring on the Churchills.

[Waycool]

My own introduction to CMBO and the world of Battlefron began many many years ago. Having waited and becoming hooked on the world of Panzer Elite I was part of a multiplayer squad US 4th Armored as well as being part of a modding team who worked on Brit44 pack and was gifted via a fellow net modder of Panzer Elite who bought 6 copies and gave 5 of them to fellow members of PEDG. It got me hooked and was a superb gesture of giving. The net has certainly made the world a much smaller world indeed. CMBO was so different and so much fun especially when I modded it out with all the goodies. CMBN looks so good I cannot wait.

[astano]

Being (apparently) younger than most of you my story is a bit different. The first video game I played was Command & Conquer (I would have been 8 when it was released, must have been 10 when I started playing it). I read WW2 Magazine when I was in my early teens or so and recall seeing ads for games like CMBO and Close Combat but didn't really think anything of it. Went on to play the standard shooters and flight sims.

I started playing Company of Heroes when it came out and though it was a fun game it left me really wanting something that was actually realistic. I did some googling and found the Theater of War demo on BFC's site. I was really disappointed with ToW, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to play the game and its horrible control scheme, but decided to give some game called "Combat Mission: Shock Force" a shot (lame name, but otherwise sounded good). I played the demo and loved it, but it took me about three years and a lot of price cuts to work up the nerve to spend some of my limited time and money on it. Had it for about a year now and have been hooked since.

[DaveDash]

I found out about CMBO probably 6 years ago on the abandonware site "home of the underdogs". It was one if their "top dogs" in the war sim section. They had a link to the demo - downloaded it - loved it. Bought the full game and have been a fan ever since.

[futon river crossing]

There was a Demo of CMBO on a free disk with a Mac magazine - I think this must have been 1999ish - it was a very early version without proper textures and it think only one scenario - Chance Encounter, which I played over and over again! I've bought all the CM products since, except NATO.

[LC-]

I was surfing the net and came across matts page I believe, lead me here right before or after the release of CMBO and played the demo. Chance Encounter to this day is my all time fav map of any game Ive ever played.

[theFightingSeabee]

^ That wouldn't be the Seabee museum at a certain Seabee base north of LA would it ?

That's the one. I'm friends with the director now. Lots of cool stuff in there. There's even a few Normandy artifacts in there. Been meaning to go to the new museum. I worked there before it was rebuilt.

[LC-]

My own introduction to CMBO and the world of Battlefron began many many years ago. Having waited and becoming hooked on the world of Panzer Elite I was part of a multiplayer squad US 4th Armored as well as being part of a modding team who worked on Brit44 pack and was gifted via a fellow net modder of Panzer Elite who bought 6 copies and gave 5 of them to fellow members of PEDG. It got me hooked and was a superb gesture of giving. The net has certainly made the world a much smaller world indeed. CMBO was so different and so much fun especially when I modded it out with all the goodies. CMBN looks so good I cannot wait.

I still miss playing PE online, those were some great guys playing that game online. What was your online name for PE? Anyone else from that community here? Had some amazingly fun and hectic battles w that community.

[rune]

I was one of the original beta testers on Panzer Elite. Matter of fact, I did research on the German tank gun sight and got them a picture taken threw a sight and got a special thank you at the back of the original manual for the Patton Museum and myself.

PE beta testing was a lot of fun, almost as much as Panzer General that Wild Bill Wilder got me into.

I also notice someone else beta tested Close Combat, before or after Microsoft? I got to do both, and remember some sharp arguements during that beta.

Rune

[Bertram]

Been fighting virtual battles a long time. First with airfix soldiers and tanks, made up rules, lots of dice and a ruler (and a lot of arguments - we were about ten, and the rules were made up as we went). Later, (late 1970's) on boardgames when they became available here (more or less - you had to order them from the US, which involved money orders that doubled the price, and you had to wait up to 3 months for them to arrive). Kept playing lots of those during the 80's.

Followed the computer side of games from the moment they started to appear (I was studying Physics and Programming then). I even tried to port some of the board games to the screen. I remember seeing Ambush, playing V for Victory, East Front, TOAW, etc. (and yes, also Panzer Elite)

Saw a banner on a site I followed in 1999 (could be Leadeaters, or Wargamer). Same banner as mentioned above - several pics in a row of an armored column (Compagny is ready - are you? Combat Mission). Wasn't impressed.....(in fact found the add rather cheesy). Read some good reviews a bit later (februari 2000?) and tried the demo. Lost hours running the same turn over and over again, following my soldiers through some woods, looking at an 88 being fired, stuff like that. Ordered the game next day - took a long time to arrive by regular mail....

Have played CMBO and CMBB a LOT, mainly as PBEM. Been reading the forums daily since then. Always had a game running for several years, often I would get up an hour earlier to get a turn done before heading to work. Bought all the modern stuff, but hardly played them. Waiting for Normandy, and hoping to start a few PBEM games.....

[MengJiao]

Bought all the modern stuff, but hardly played them. Waiting for Normandy, and hoping to start a few PBEM games.....

I must have seen something about CMBO on a game review website, because I thought the graphics looked astoundingly bad.

Later I bought CMBB and played that a lot and then got CMBO and eventually CMAK. That must have been several computers ago...but I must have found the CM series between when CMBB came out and when CMAK came out.

[Mies]

All I can say is, thanks Fat Dave for explaining me what the green boards were and taking countless hours of playtime after that!

[SKELLEN]

Back in 2002 I first came across CMBO as a demo version on cd with Mac Format magazine. Those three men representing a squad turning their heads from side to side still has fond memories for me even now, apart from the game itself, which was and probably still is the best tactical WW2 computer game available.

I own the trilogy of the CMX1 based games and the new CMX2 Normandy game will continue to lead the way as the competition is none existent as far as I'm aware. Now I just need to start saving for a new computer to enable be to experience CMX2.

[Huh?]

I read a review for CMBO in a PC Gamer issue sometime late 1999/early 2000 and thought it sounded cool, but lacking a decent computer I soon forgot about it. A couple years later I was chatting online with an old friend, trying to find something to play against each other (he had just trounced me in Civ II and I needed something he wasn't familiar with), when suddenly I remembered that old review and went searching online.

We both downloaded the demo, tried Chance Encounter which resulted in a bloodbath on both sides, and instantly fell in love with it. Both of us immediately bought the CMBO/BB pack. CMSF hasn't grabbed us the same way, though we have tried, numerous times, but the return to Normandy looks like it'll rekindle that old flame, already have it pre-ordered.

[HR Poopenheimer]

I was hanging out in the Chain of Command (an online RTS from the turn of century that I was hooked on) lobby one day and CoolColJ was spamming the lobby with the news of the beta demo release. No one was really taking any notice so out of pity I went to the site, downloaded the demo and fired up Last Defense. I still remember that first game, the Tiger, the Stugs, the Panzer Grenadiers in their little half-tracks and the freaking Hellcats! It was like the first time I was with a woman. I had a rough idea what all the parts were used for (I'd read about it in books and seen a thing or two on dad's VCR tapes) but fumbled over the interface and combined arms tactics. I didn't achieve what I'd set out to do, in fact I wasn't really sure what I'd set out to do. But I knew I liked it. And here I am today, a total CM PIMP. :cool:

[Mikko H.]

It was back in 2002, I think. For the last five years or so I had played all the different versions Steel Panthers, but as the owner of an out-of-date computer I really didn't follow what new games were around. Then I got a new, well-paying job and around the same time this friend started to talk about this Combat Mission eastern front game. So, I bought the CMBB and there was no going back.

In 2007 I had the opportunity to repay the favor to this friend by giving him the CMSF as a present when he had his first child.