Michael Dorosh
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Posts posted by Michael Dorosh
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What I would like to see is a wav with a whistle blowing, to replace the "let's go" type .wavs.
The Germans and the British both had very distinctive sounding whistles - the British "bobby" type whistle was much softer. Anyone have the ability to do either one?
Feeling masochistic, I set up a WW I type scenario with trenches and wire. I can see where the CM game engine could be very easily adapted to WW I tactical battles - though interest in that would definitely be low. Too bad, since by 1917, both sides were actually making a bit of tactical headway - ie using small parties of attacking troops, etc. Would be neat to see duplicated - a Brit/Canadian platoon of divided into squads of bombers, bayonetmen, Lewis gunners, etc.
But I knew as soon as the men went over the top that the element that was missing was whistles! They were still used in WW II (heck, I've seen officers today using them, even) by platoon commanders to signal tactical moves.
One other element that would be neat, but not influentical on game play, would be coloured signal flares. Once my 5.5s opened up on the German lines, I realized that the SOS flares were missing, too. Again, they were used in World War Two quite commonly, even at the platoon level, to signal objectives reached, call for defensive fire, etc. That too is out of the scope of the game and is simply factored into the game play.
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That's why God invented PIATs, Panzerfausts and rifle grenades.
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How long does the poll run? I'll have to vote from my work server, too. Somebody remember to bump this on Monday morning!
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Originally posted by Firefly:
Er.. given that it's been shown live on UK television for the last 20 years, I think he was being ironic, but what is this 'soccer' of which you speak?
Congratulations - the only team sport more boring than American football. You mean these guys in shorts run around for an hour and a half and all the are capable of doing is scoring a single goal?
I thought it was a rule that the final score always had to be two to one. Then again, I know how impressive you guys think the word "nil" is ...
Honestly, you guys, don't you ever watch HOCKEY? The world's fastest team sport?
My Flames got clobbered AGAIN by Vancouver last night - sniff, sniff - that's ok, fellas, I'll get over it...
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Shadow, I tol' ya to get rid of that recognition strip! heehee
Confuses too many people.
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Originally posted by David Aitken:
This would be purely eye candy and serve no practical purpose. It would be misleading for the texture on the vehicle models to degrade or show damage, because it would bear no relation to the actual damage inflicted. I doubt BTS are going to spend any time programming something without a purpose.
We can expect to see this kind of thing in the distant future when the graphics engine is WYSIWYG. Then when a shell is fired, you see the precise path and exactly where it strikes and what damage it inflicts. At the moment what you see is simply a secondary representation, so there is no basis for greater detail with the current engine.
David
There have been a couple of threads about damage to terrain and vehicles. The game already does this with shellholes and craters, I'll point out. I agree, David, that vehicle damage would serve no purpose and be hard to incorporate - but I also agree with you that down the road, it can and probably will be done (farrrrr down the road).
I would love to see the gouges in the front of a King Tiger or Panther from the puny 75mm shells that bounce off of it. But of course it would serve no real purpose...and is a long ways off!
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Originally posted by Gremlin:
Bruno, here are just a few games from the past few years that I feel demonstrate substantial quality in some regard or other (off the top of my head, no particular order, not including free mods):
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator II
I disagree - I bought this on sale for 20 dollars and still did not like it. The voice acting was good but it just seemed like the soul was sucked right out of it. You fast forward past any flying (meaning you don't have to navigate, or even land the plane, if you don't want to) to get to the action, but then if you are shot up and trying to get away, you are stuck flying forever until the game engine decides the rest of the fight is finished behind you.
I had other concerns but since I got CM I haven't touched this one. I humbly submit that it is another case of a game being sold on graphics - I saw little difference between this and the original Red Baron in terms of game play, save for the increased number of planes in the sky. And the original Red Baron (I know, I know different era) had paper maps and let you navigate if you wanted.
I think simplistic "gamey" looking graphics, to be quite honest, give a game character. Flight Simulator had such sharp graphics that you expected to see people in the yards, and a completely dynamic and changing environment - in the end it was simply highly rendered tiles as far as I could tell. At least with lower end tiles, you don't expect much more. You use your imagination because you know you have to. With the high end res graphics, there is no room for imagination - so the repeated tiles look that much more dull than on the low-tech terain like in the old Red Baron or M1 Tank Platoon. I think I stated that crappily, but that's how I feel.
I downloaded the demo for Steel Beasts last night, and didn't find the graphics that spectacular. Won't comment on the game play - it seems like a steep learning curve, which is ok, too.
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Originally posted by crepitis:
In almost 20 years of playing games of all types on home computers(from my C64 onwards)I would have to say that CMBO is the nearest I have got to perfection.If BTS were in it just for the money they would have sold out to a major Publisher/distributor who would now be forcing them to produce an unfinished,untested CMBO 2 to shift some units and make some money,"B17-The Mighty Eighth"anyone?(and yes,I do own that sad "what-could-have-been" of a game)
There is an online petition about B-17 II, but unfortunately someone who signed it said that Hasbro is no longer responsible for computer gaming and they sold their interests in that to someone else. Pity - I signed it because of Squad Leader.
I had the first B-17 and wasn't all that impressed - one hit on an enemy fighter and he went down like a dog. I was racking up more kills as a tail gunner than most fighter pilots did. And I don't think I ever once landed the stupid thing without crashing it. The navigation was fun to do, though.
What problems did B-17 II have? I've read a bit about it but all I get are horror stories and no real inside dope. Would you mind expanding?
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Our regimental museum here recently did a Second World War mortar platoon display - indeed, the 3-inch mortar platoon was fully equipped with carriers.
http://highlanders.freehosting.net/mortars.htm
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Go and watch the football game!
SHEESH!
ps - "jeep" was used as a generic term. Did you know that in many units, for the entire Second World War, what we call a "jeep" was actually called a "peep"? It's true. The 1/2 ton command car was called Jeep, with the 3/4 ton called "beep" - for "Big Jeep".
"Peep" was a term used early on for the 1/4 ton truck the game calls a jeep. Willy's Overland ran a pretty good ad campaign ensuring that the Jeep monicker got applied to their vehicle, and in the end, the name stuck.
it's like calling a HUMV a "hummer" - it's totally a civilian thing, but eventually, it sticks.
I am sure GIs called Kubelwagens "jeeps" all the time, just like the MP 40 was always a "schmeisser" and an MG42 a "spandau" - or, when it was shooting at them, more likely it became a "****in' machinegun" (pardon the French).
- and the Brits and Canadians called the 1/4 ton truck a "blitzbuggy" -
[This message has been edited by Michael Dorosh (edited 01-28-2001).]
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Originally posted by aka PanzerLeader:
The Pakistani team will ultimately be the champion after dropping a nuke on the Stadium.
Not likely - I FedExed a set of Patriot III missiles to the Indian Anti-Defamation League last week. Not only do they destroy the missiles but they also neutralize the warheads in midair.
Well - so THEY think, anyway.
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None of this is at all strange - three entire minutes? That's a long time when both sides are terrified of making the first move. Not unusual at all.
There were cases in Stalingrad, Ortona, et al where squads occupied different rooms of the same house for hours, sometimes entire days, because they were terrified of making the first move.
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Originally posted by Sherman:
Thats a good looking site there Shadow.
Nice to see you made use of the stuff from my site, Shadow. Glad it's making the rounds. I'd appreciate a photo credit for the cap badge, plus credit for the mod visible in the photo. Thanks!
edit - also, let me know when you put up a links page and we can trade links.
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http://wargames.freehosting.net/cmbits.htm
[This message has been edited by Michael Dorosh (edited 01-28-2001).]
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Let's see - I predict the commercials will be better than the game, but of course, Canadian TV will block out the good commericals anyway so I'll never know.
Have you guys ever tried watching Canadian football? Bigger field, more men on the field, deeper endzone, lots more scoring. I have a hard time getting up for this overhyped yawnfest in which at best perhaps three touchdowns will be scored by both sides.
But I guess the parties are what it is really all about anyway, so enjoy yourselves!
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I don't know if this site supports what I'm about to talk about, but there is a big problem now with souvenir hunters digging up battlefields, finding dogtags of deceased soldiers, and then selling the dogtags for a profit, leaving the remains of soldiers (who are still listed as missing, by the way) unmarked (once the helmets and other goodies have been scavenged). I understand the problem is widespread through Europe.
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Oh lord, I read the interview with one of the Squad Leader designers. The guy is a freakin moron. He says that the British soldiers speak "The Queen's English."
Well, there is no such thing as "The Queen's English." Even if England had a Queen in 1944 (which it didn't (not really - the monarch was the King, his wife was "Queen" by default)), the correct phrase "King's English" refers to King's University, not the reigning monarch.
Steve would have known that!
[This message has been edited by Michael Dorosh (edited 01-28-2001).]
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Originally posted by CMplayer:
...wounded in a house
which catches fire might have a much
higher chance of being KIA'd than
someone nicked by MG fire at 1000 meters
in an open field who remains behind
while the action shifts forward.
regards,
--Rett
Explain why. A bullet can kill you just as dead as fire can. I would think bullets are actually more lethal than a burning building.
You've made the point already that some situations are seemingly more lethal. But you haven't given a convincing reason why this should be tracked in the game. What possible difference would it have to the game play or outcome of a scenario?
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Originally posted by Vanir:
CM does not calculate KIA vs wounded until the battle is over. All casualties are the same until the battle ends and then the game just randomly assigns a percentage of the casualties as KIA and the rest as wounded. I don't see a problem with this as there is no real practical difference between the two for game purposes.
As far as ambulances and aid stations and the Red Cross, you will probably see those about the same time BTS puts cows into the game as they would both add about the same amount of realism IMO.
Hey, Muzzle Velocity had cows! They also had trains and civilian cars you could shoot up and civvie girls you could run over. Not exactly the most realistic thing you ever saw...
...what was my point again?
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Freakin paras!
Naw, you weren't too loud - it was the French that got to me. I actually slept pretty good.
Do you play Combat Mission? I was going to lobby BTS to include pipers in the next patch but I don't think they would take too kindly to it. But aren't you glad they have guys with sexy red berets?
I heard Rob Malcolm singing the praises of Combat Mission on the old NWHA forum - tell him to drag his butt over here and help educate the masses!
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Watching from Canada, Bush seemed much more presidential than Gore - though it was embarrassing to see the fallout from the recount on both sides. I thought Bush came out of that with a little more dignity, but I wasn't really paying careful attention. I get the impression Bush is a little more law-and-order - we certainly hear about the executions in Texas, which I think I am in agreement with.
I am sure Gore is an intelligent man (just as I am sure he didn't invent the internet) but then again I liked Dan Quayle too, and thought he got picked on unnecessarily.
I got the impression that no matter how big a liar Clinton was (and he was disgustingly dishonest) he was always sincerely concerned about people and issues. Maybe it was part of his act, but I have always been far too easy to fool.
What will Mister Gore do now, any ideas? For that matter, what has Quayle been doing?
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Watching from Canada, Bush seemed much more presidential than Gore - though it was embarrassing to see the fallout from the recount on both sides. I thought Bush came out of that with a little more dignity, but I wasn't really paying careful attention. I get the impression Bush is a little more law-and-order - we certainly hear about the executions in Texas, which I think I am in agreement with.
I am sure Gore is an intelligent man (just as I am sure he didn't invent the internet) but then again I liked Dan Quayle too, and thought he got picked on unnecessarily.
I got the impression that no matter how big a liar Clinton was (and he was disgustingly dishonest) he was always sincerely concerned about people and issues. Maybe it was part of his act, but I have always been far too easy to fool.
What will Mister Gore do now, any ideas? For that matter, what has Quayle been doing?
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M24 Chaffee - disguised by British Commandos to look like a King Tiger.
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Originally posted by Goofy:
Didn't Canadian have unit specific patches like the Brits? And now that I think about it the US patches ARE available at Tom's Combat Mission Page at http://home.germany.net/101-77027/CM/International.html I don't recall at the moment who's mod it is but I've stopped using them for now as the texture of the sleeve doesn't match DD's nice US uniform mod texture.
Canadian regimental insignia is available at the link below. Divisional insignia consisted of coloured rectangle 2 x 3 inches; a holdover from the Great War - First Division red, 2nd blue, 3rd French Grey, 4th Green, 5th Maroon. Regimental insignia was very colourful (and difficult for a collector to acquire a complete set!)
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Originally posted by Nathman:
Just a heads up that there is a poll going on at Strategy Gaming Online regarding the most innovative game of 2000. It's The Sims vs Shogun: Total War vs Combat Mission. It's nearly a dead heat between the three of them. Consider this a call to arms!
[This message has been edited by Nathman (edited 01-28-2001).]
heehee - I read their interview with Charles - they also had a couple of links to some early graphics. I still say its like looking at your grandmother in her underwear, but they really have come a long way.
More to the point - I voted and it really is a dead heat over there - CM is a close second.
[This message has been edited by Michael Dorosh (edited 01-28-2001).]
Hey wavmeisters....
in Combat Mission Archive #3 (2001)
Posted
Oh, if anybody thinks recording the whistle from the Super Bowl game will do it - you're close! The shrill whistle sounds close to what a German signal whistle sounded like (probably an American one, too), but I have a list somewhere of German Army whistle signals. It wasn't simply random blasts - there were certain calls you could do with the whistle, almost like a bugle call, for different situations. The refs, on the other hand, just blow them to make noise.