Thomm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I would like to see a web page with "The List" posted on it where folks here could vote on what they think are the priorities of the items on the list.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>As much as I would like that myself I think it was already declined! Why? I guess it would mean more or less to give other companies a how-to-do-it list for related games. And if you spent time and energy on design decisions you do not want other to simply grab them from a web page. Also, just think that features on "The List" would be discussed, maybe negatively, even before they are implemented. Or questions may arise like "Hey, it is on The List, why was it not implemented in Combat Mission 1?. I think it is much more important than [insert feature here]". A pity, though, because an official list of suggestions with pros and cons would be very interesting. Of course nobody could stop you to make an INOFFICIAL one, if only for reference ...

Could be combined with empty pillboxes to add to the confusion ...

Guess that was answered already: Will the content and price be declared on the box? If not there is a chance to avoid custom fees (I live in Austria). I am really new to this online ordering so any information is appreciated! Regards, Thomm

Preliminary test with Matrox G200 revealed: HiQuality smoke: white, rotating polygons. No transparent building walls, either. Also, the in-game sound is missing. The title music is played, though. Have to check on drivers, DirectX ...

Ahhh, those VoT stories! My virgin game on that one was more successful! The infantry gun caused a lot of trouble and essentially paralyzed my whole "right" (American) flank ... until my artillery observer got a glimpse of him! The Panther, however, was *very* unlucky. As it appeared, if faced non less than four Shermans I had lined up on the ridge to support my advance on the left flank (by the way I really like to blow up helpless bunkers with the demolition Sherman). The following exchange was an example of how well the gunnery model works: Four Sherman shots ricochetted from the Panthers frontal armour and it was the fifth shot that penetrated the exposed underbelly of that tank. Made perfect sense. In the end I exchanged one Sherman for one Panther ... I took the town undamaged! Should get bonus points for that! When there was only the last (hill) VL left, I decided to play it American style: 4 batteries of howitzers and mortars blew the whole hill into pieces. My assaulting engineers did not find anybody left to fight against up there ... This game sure had it's moments ...

May I put forward a question: how did you manage your woods to look so dense? Did you put more than one tree on the textures?

Why not call it MG42(15/34)?

Dear Ol' Blood & Guts! It worked like this: 1) CoolColJ asked for opinions. 2) I voiced mine. 3) He responded, proofing that I got my point across. 4) Case closed. So now I try to benefit from your post, but I just cannot figure out, how.

Dear CoolColJ! Please do not get me wrong, your mod takes away my breath every time I visit your picture page, but I have to make a remark on your sky texture: It is wrong from a perspective point of view, i.e. you can see the bottom surface of clouds at the horizon at an angle which is too steep! You have to take into account that these clouds are 40, 50 kms away and therefore should be seen from the side (very flat angle), or obscured totally by the mist. As they are now they are shown both at a wrong angle plus with too much contrast! The hills in the background are great, though! Regards, Thomm

Question (3): Do inactive units have colorful bases like active ones? I think a different color would be appropriate!

Double post! How embarassing! [This message has been edited by Thomm (edited 05-04-2000).]

Dear Peterk! No doubt the present solution is very straightforward. Like you I now think that LOS and FOW issues actually exclude any other solution! I would be surprised if the multiple body issue was adressed some time in the near future. It seems to be an all-or-nothing design decision. I would be still interested in an answer to question (2), though! Regards, Thomm

Two (related) technical questions regarding "inactive" unit markers: (1) Is there a specific reason why you did not let all three soldiers become body markers in succession, thus tracing the path of the unit? Interface problems? (2) If an enemy body is spotted, and LOS is broken afterwards, will the body remain a body, become a marker (German cross or US star), or vanish? Thanks, Thomm

Two questions: (1) Is there a specific reason why you did not let all three soldiers become body markers in succession, thus tracing the path of the unit? Interface problems? (2) If an enemy body is spotted, and LOS is broken afterwards, will the body remain a body, become a marker (German cross or US star), or vanish? Thanks, Thomm

Mike D., what do you refer to as "messy" ? I really admired the clean cut slices ... there is something about inertia, I tell you!

It would also be nice to have a feedback when a vehicle runs out of ammo. That could safe one from sending "empty" vehicles into harms way ... as it is you can still target even if you do not have any ammunition left, if I recall correctly. Actually I would like to see more text lines like the damage report ... they feel like a battle report springing to life ... For example a "Unit Eliminated" text would work fine with me if it was displayed for a few seconds like the Damage text whenever a unit is eliminated. The way they simply vanish I do not like. Same with buildings ... "Building hit ... minor structural damage" All optional, of course ... Regards, Thomm

Dear KwazyDog! Totally unrelated question: could you tell me how many levels of polygon detail the individual tank models have? Three? Four? I'm just curious ... Thomm

It was the wall line to the "right" (facing the Germans) in front of the victory location house. The foxholes were even on a reverse slope behind the wall. I really looked fool-proof, and the LOS even intersected terrain polygons.

Actually I have to agree with you, Black Sabot. Of course a building collapsing all at once is unrealistic, too, but these are the limitations. So maybe I will count hits next time to avoid this nasty surprise. As a side note: I think it would give a nice effect to let the building "sink" into rubble when collapsing. At the same time the base could be clouded with the nice new fog. For the poly house this would mean a simple translation downwards until the roof has vanished ... pretty cheap programwise ... those who know Syndicate Wars will know what I mean. But I am sure that the collapsing building animation is one of the surprises in the Gold Demo . Regards, Thomm

Related question ... had an infantry platoon dug in (foxholes) behind a stone wall. They were spotted by the enemy although it was pretty clear to me that the wall obstructed LOS plus they were supposed to be lower than ground level because of the foxholes. It did not feel right. Can you clarify if a guy standing in a foxhole is actually standing on ground level as depicted or he is standing (kneeling), say, 1 meter beneath groud level ... Thanks, Thomm

Regarding 60mm mortars: Played "Last Defence" as Allies yesterday. I was able to kill three Halftracks with my 60mm mortars, direct LOS. I have noticed that all the kill occured on stationary half-tracks. As a human player I would have realized that the half-tracks are under mortar fired and moved them. The AI HTs, however, stood still until they were hit. Has this been adressed? Also ... a building damage indicator would be nice. Lost a whole heavy weapons platoon in a collapsing building. Could have been avoided had I known the state of the building I think ...

You cannot beat the real thing ... More at http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/index.html [This message has been edited by Thomm (edited 04-26-2000).]

Sorry to bother you, Lewis! My post is a result of my ignorance, not meant as nitpicking. For some reason I have a problem with gas travelling at supersonic speeds. I guess I have the wrong equation in mind (conservation of momentum between gas state in front and behind a shockwave). Not really my field, obviously ...

Dear Lewis! As the shockwave travels with the speed of sound, how can it be overtaken by shrapnel? Maybe you mean the hot gas, but this is not the shockwave ...

Madmatt! I thought you want people to READ your stuff! Black letters on black ground ... welcome to the Kindergarten!