kipanderson

JaguarUSF, Thanks…you answered all I needed to know. Sounds great….it will be fun to be able to string battles together to form my own campaigns . Longer battles too. All the best, Kip.

Hi, My guess is that battle length will be way too short for my eccentric tastes in the shipped campaigns . To give a feel for my eccentricity if the average shipped battle in CMBB was 35 turns, I would edit them to 90 minutes. Why?... because I think the game lengths unrealistically short in the shipped games. Battles, even for small villages between company and battalion sized units would historically normally/often take a couple hours, not thirty minutes. Anyway… my question is can battle length be edited in campaigns? I know there is no formal editing of campaigns in the first outing of CMX2… but is it possible to go into the text files and manuals edit the battle lengths? In fact is it possible generally to edit campaigns by going into the text files and changing things? I know there is no formal campaigns editor. All good fun, hugely looking forward to CMSF, all the best, Kip.

Hi, Like many I am get myself CMSF ready …. as such I think I may need to upgrade my graphics card. My current card is a NVIDIA 6800 with PCI Express x16 bus. As long as I get another card that uses a PCI Express x16 bus type is it likely to be compatible with my machine? What do I need to lookout for? As the only PC games I play are CM it is some years since I last did any “upgrading” and so have forgotten the basics . I have Dell Dimension 9150 with Windows XP service pack 2. Hoping someone will take mercy on my…. . All the best, Kip.

Rune, hi, Thanks for the info… sounds great . Even on first outing it will be in the same ballpark as CMX1 given the onward march of computer power. I hugely look forward to playing some very small, very detailed infantry battles in real time taking full advantage of everything CMX2 offers. But now and again I will want to try my hand at some of my old style huge, multi-battalion games. This may or may not be quite possible on first outing but I am now confident it will be later in CMX2 as the hardware catches up with the new generation game. Looking forward to CMSF, All the best, Kip.

Hi, I know this has been asked many times before, by me for a start , but as CMSF nears completion Steve and his chums will have a better idea of what the limits are to be. By now they should know . So… are there any hard coded limits on battle size? What interests me most is the number of forces on both sides but it will also be interesting to see what the final map size limit is to be. I confess that I like big battles. I understand that the detail available with CMSF is greater so many will enjoy smaller, more detailed battles, I include myself in this. The infantry modelling is more detailed. But even with all reservations I would still be very interested to know the maximum force size and some idea of what one of the developers has seen run on a given machine. Smaller battles, in fact some very small battles, played real time, then some larger battles played in traditional CM simultaneous resolution will be fun. Looking forward to 12th June . All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Hi, All sounds great and looking forward to a return to CM play… Won’t be long now . Keep up the good work. All good fun, All the best, Kip

Hi, Thanks to Steve and all for getting back to me… I thought I had read the new website quite carefully but obviously not . Anyway… 4km x 4km is good, very good, big enough for a real battle . I am very relieved that such big maps are in as although PCs are not advancing at the rate they did in the ‘90s in a couple of years time PCs will no doubt be able to handle way bigger maps/battles than currently. In fact by the time an Eastern Front version is released in a couple of years time, and I keep my fingers crossed that there will be an Eastern Front version; battles on the scale of CMBB should nearly be possible. A very good thing indeed . Thanks, All the best, Kip.

Hi, I know this has been asked many times before, and will no doubt be asked again, but what is the latest on maximum battle size and map size? I ask again because as beta testing rushes on it will be become clearer what these limits will be in the first version of CMX2. Just a friendly request for the latest, best guess . (With Real Time I look forward to playing some very fast, tense smaller games but using WEGO will still enjoy some games that are as big as my system and CMX2 can cope with ) All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Hi, Congratulations… great to see the site up. I have had a long break from CM, way too long , I look forward to getting stuck in to some mass slaughter again . All the best, Kip.

Hi, “even games coded before the advent of dual core CPUs run much faster under the newest dual core CPUs than under the fastest single core CPUs.” Thanks… you will see why I was getting a little worried. I used to follow these things far more closely but since the core speeds stopped advancing as the once did I seem to have lost track. All the best, Kip.

Hi, as CMSF will be being tested on an ever growing number of machines, as it makes its way through beta, I thought I would ask how things are looking with regard to CMX2 and the current Intel Duo Core laptop processors. If anyone knows yet . My concern is that since CMSF went into development the core speed of laptop processors has been sacrificed in favour of dual core development. Even on so called “gaming” laptops the core speed is often just over 2 GHz. Of course I recognise that 2GHz with the mobile processors has a real, useable speed way faster than 2GHz with desktop machines . However, if CMSF is not optimised for dual core does this mean that it will not run on even gaming laptops? Due to an immanent house move I may have to return to laptops even for CM, hence my concern. All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Hi, First my usual disclaimer… I am one of those most enthusiastic about a contemporary setting… But just imagine what a depiction of a winter environment on the Eastern Front with mechanised troops working there way through village Russia would look like given this level of modelling. There may be a heaven after all . Great stuff, All the best, Kip.

Hi, Although I am a great fan of the Eastern Front, I am also a great fan of the more focused/modular concept. Having games optimised in all ways for a particular operation will add to the immersion. I remember that.. what now seems like years ago … at the height of the CMBB vehicle modding frenzy there were some great graphics out there for AFVs. However, what was always lacking was a full set of vehicles with the same look and quality to the graphics for all sides in a given operation. One would have to mix styles and types within a given game. Having the graphics done to a far higher standard, but the “same” standard for all vehicles and terrain in a given game will be huge plus. For example if there is a winter setting for a game having all the vehicles, on both sides, weathered up to quality of the best 1/35 scale models and weathered in the same style will add a lot to the atmosphere and enjoyment of the game. The above is only possible if games cover less ground with a smaller range of vehicles to weather. Looking forward to the first outing of CMX2, All the best, Kip.

Hi, Not for the first time I tend to go along similar lines to Jons…and some others here. Even if WWII were taken in isolation, there were so many thousands of company commanders that many hundreds will have been “as good as it gets” if we knew their deeds in detail. But no harm in playing the game restricted to the few who’s histories we do know. Winters may well have been in the category of “as good as it gets” but he clearly has a huge exposure advantage. Of course, there will also have been many a German, sadly including many an SS officer, in the “as good as it gets” category to. I always use the SS in WWII as proof that “bad guys” can also be very good at what they do. So if you want to win at anything you must be competent, simply having right on your side will do you no good. At the company level many commanders on all sides will have been very good at what they did given the cards they were dealt. All the best, Kip.

Steve, hi, My first reaction is to be somewhat shocked to hear you say that the Eastern Front is not as big a seller as any other wargame setting. However…. once I have collected myself and what little brain I have kicks in I do realise that to most CM purchasers CM is probably no more than a great computer game. Thus they want to see the US winning WWII… and why not . I long ago realised that even by the standards of CM fans I am a bit odd in that I play no there PC/consol games of any sort. If CM were not so good that it is a form of military history I would not be interested… I buy lots of wargames, but the others only get a couple of plays then get binned. (BTW another small company…who’s name I forget , produced an ACW series called Take Command that did the ACW outstandingly… only other wargame company that has so far come even close to CM…) Anyway… when I stop and think about it I do get the point. Happily… when it comes to the Eastern Front I can see that your heart is in the right place . Given what I have seen of you and your chums over the years…if you like a subject it will happen… I remain optimistic… mind you I was optimistic about NATO and the Central Front happening too… I am beginning to worry myself now . All good fun, All the best, Kip. PS.Just a quick follow up… the small company that produces the great ACW game are called MadMinute Games. The environment is not nearly as challenging as the subjects covered by CM but they do what they do outstandingly . http://takecommand.wargamer.com/ [ January 14, 2007, 10:06 AM: Message edited by: kipanderson ]

Jon, Happy New Year… hope things go well…also hope sometime to have a re-run on the lines of CMMC with your involvement… . Michael… niche is in the eye of the beholder… As I know you saw I lobbied for many years for a very niche setting, NATO Central Front, without any success. The reason I am no fan of early war Eastern Front is that the Soviets were too like a militia. The difference in quality too great. (This is also my major reservation when is comes to CMSF, a lack of balance.) During the first period of the war, up to late November ’42, the causality ratio Soviet to German was close to 6:1. By ‘44/’45 it was down to 1.7:1. My favoured period for wargames is the Battle for the Ukraine, August’43 to end of April ’44. The Korsun operation February ‘44 getting my top marks as the one to go for. By this time both sides were good at what they did at all levels. The Soviets had the operational edge, the Germans the tactical edge but both were good enough to compete at any level. The equipment difference was not overpowering either, in terms of quality. The great majority of panzers were the MarkIV, Soviet tanks T34/76. In defence against armour the StugIII was dominant, but so were Soviet AT brigades when attacked by panzer units. I will not bore you with more ranting… but all in all everything is beautifully set up for good gaming… in my prejudice view . Anyway, I remain optimistic that we will get a mainstream setting, for want of a better term, in the first outing of the Eastern Front. Also optimistic that Battlefront will crack out an Eastern Front CMX2 game soon. All the best, Kip.

Hi, Ok…this is more straight lobbying…. I am hoping that the third game in the series will be a return to the Eastern Front. I am glad the team have taken a break by doing modern, contemporary warfare. I like the idea of having a different set of toys to play with and more importantly the guys at Battlefront were temporarily bored with WWII. Needed a break. Of course I would have gone for Cold War Central Front…. but life is not perfect . For me though the Eastern front is the true “war to end all wars”. Many share this view for the obvious reasons of the scale, in numbers and geographical area, but also because the operational art was taken to its ultimate heights. Anyway… all have heard it before. If the third game were to be the Eastern Front it will have been seven or more years since the last Eastern Front outing for CM and us fans of the setting are suffering withdrawal symptoms . Hoping Battlefront will crack out the two most popular setting for wargames in their second and third outings with the new engine and then return to more niche market settings that may be their own favourites. And by the way…. please, if we do get an Eastern Front setting… nothing too niche… no… not the Finns or early war . It is time for some mainstream WWII settings…. in my very prejudice view. With later modules you can do the niche Eastern Front settings. All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Knac, I am not sure it is modding that I am after. Modding would be good, but the need is to be able to edit a saved game in the normal editor in the same way one could any other game that has not yet been played with. I am happy to use whatever setting the game or module shipped with. But for operational games one needs to be able to change the forces, move the map east or west…. that sort of thing, half way through games. One of the players saves the game, sends it to the umpire who then edits it to take into account orders issued from above, actions of the opponent and so on… then sends it back to the players. All the best, Kip.

KNac, “Something tells me that this won't be possible, due to the nature of CMX1 (and probably CMX2)” I agree…sadly . Commonsense, always a bad measure of these things , tells me that one would need a separate map, forces and scenario files…. not the way CM has been done in the past. However, lobbying is what forums such as these are all about so I never give up. It would make a huge difference. It has always seemed a shame to me that it is so difficult to use CM to its full potential. Steve certainly, and probably Charles and Martin and the others too… tend to underestimate what their own game is capable of. Over the years I have many times discussed the uses that CMX1 can be put to with Steve and he greatly under values his won game. Steve holds the view that CMX1 is only fit for short, 10-30 minutes shoot outs… it can do way more than that. Imperfectly, but life is not prefect. CMX1 was/still is so far ahead of the competition in its modeling of platoon/company and even battalion and regiment level engagements that it is the tool of choice for all wishing to resolve operational games through playing out the contact battles. CMX2 will be even better. One day it will happen, but I hope it is soon… All the best, Kip.

Hi, It is worth remembering just how good, or close to the Israelis, the Egyptians have been for many years now. In ’73 they would have won the war on their flank if it were not for interference from the politicians ordering the Egyptians to launch what their military knew only too well would be suicide attack after attack out of the Canal Zone into the Sinai desert. This was done to keep the Syrians happy. Anyway… the point is that when used within their limits, the Egyptian military high command being well aware what these limits are, they are likely to put up a fine performance. Remember many generations of Egyptian officers, the brightest and best anyway, have been educated at Sandhurst and UK Staff College, no doubt US military collages too. A lot of them know that they are about. Good ideas… I will have ago building some such scenarios myself. All very good fun , All the best, Kip.

Hi, Nothing changes… I lobbied hard for this with CMX1 and it remains my hope that one day the editing of saved games will be possible with CMX2. Why is it so important? Many of you, Steve/Moon for sure, will remember the CMMC operational games that used CM to resolve the contact battles within a larger operational game. Done well, nothing, but nothing one can do with wargames or computers comes close to both the challenges and the fun of such games. In my very prejudiced view . However… there is one huge problem in running such games. The truly massive, indeed overwhelming hours required from the umpires/game masters. The time required is so great that it often kills the game. Given real world commitments they are near undoable. The one feature that Battlefront could include in their games that would make such operational games doable, where now they are undoable, is to enable the editing of saved games. I will not bore people too much about the detail of why this matters so much, but suffice to say that the ability to edit all features within a saved game, maps, forces and such… would be the “tipping point” in terms of saving the umpires enough time to make such operational games as CMMC a doable reality. To make such games doable much else has to be got right too, but the ability to edit saved games is the really big one. It is not a sufficient condition to make CMMC style games possible but it is a necessary condition. It is also the one factor in the control of Battlefront. Hoping the powers that be will take mercy on fans of setting CM within a greater operational context and include the editing of saved games in CMX2 . Greatly looking forward to the first outing of CMX2, All the best, Kip. [ January 13, 2007, 06:27 AM: Message edited by: kipanderson ]

Hi, The Ardennes is certainly my favourite NWE setting. I have been fortunate to visit the Ardennes four times over the last ten years, each time between the 16th December and 20th December. The atmosphere is remarkable, as you stand in the pine forests with fog in the air and an inch or so of snow on the ground you can almost hear the panzers squeaking and crunching their way over the half frozen ground and down the small tracks. The half-light of northern Europe at that time of year also adds ot the effect. The combat power of the German army peaked in the summer of ’44 and it is true that by December’44 it was in decline. But even so the winter melancholy of the setting, with Silent Night drifting through the trees….. makes The Bulge top of my wish list. All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Hi, All sounds very good. I look forward to being able to use both WEGO and RealTime. I expect to use WEGO most of the time but can imagine the fun of using RealTime in smaller battles. In platoon sized games RealTime will be fun now and then. My only concern with the underlying engine going RealTime was always the restriction on battles size that may result. I enjoy very small battles where every man counts…RealTime will be perfect for that. However I also enjoy the near operational size battles that CMBB could handle . Sadly for the first few years of the CMX2 I doubt they will be possible… until computers are more powerful…. due to the RealTime engine. Happily by the time an Eastern Front version of CMX2 is released computers will have advanced somewhat . All good fun, All the best, Kip.

Hi, Andres posted, “Originally posted by Vanir Ausf B: As usual I agree with everything kip says. He's a very wise man. You obviously don't know him. He is actually quite seriously deranged.” I am shocked… deeply shocked… All the best, Kip.

Hi, Well, no one lobbied harder…that simply means more persistently … than I did for a Cold War setting for CMX2. For about three-four years I kept the ball in the air but sadly to no effect . It remains my view that Cold War/NATO Central Front sometime between ’75 and ’85 would have made a far more engaging, and no less realistic, game than any Syrian-US clash. More evenly balanced, the environment more fun…and so on…anyway… not to be. However, this thread is proof that the final setting for the first outing of CMX2 will be far more fun than may have been the case. CMSF will in many ways, certainly once the modules are out, be an OPFORs game. That means a clash of the latest toys from a number from the different counties, not just the Third World v First World of the original concept. Having said all of the above I would have been as eager as any to get my hands on CMSF even if the original setting were still scheduled. Seeing the changes to CM and playing something different would still have been fun. But Third World v First World just does not have the legs…the replay value…. that a more balanced setting, such as the one coming our way has. In my very prejudiced view. All good fun, All the best, Kip.