Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maximus: Looks great Gordon. Now get on those Shermans!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Maximus, Yup, the winter Shermans are next on the hit parade. Gordon

Since it's winter here in the Northern Hemisphere and poor Marco's had very little experience with snow, I took it upon myself to start winterizing Marco's mods. Here's a sneak peek at the soon to be released hi res winter camouflaged M5A1/M8 HMC/Stuart Mk V mod. This is based on Marco's "Plainpak" Stuarts, so there's lots of beautiful details and no problem with mis-matched nationalities. Image courtesy of Old Dog. Those German's must have uber-snowplow crews to keep that bridge clean like that. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 01-19-2001).]

I just suffered the reverse problem in a PBEM QB. My Puma decides to trade shots with a Chaffee at over 500m instead of backing up and getting the hell out of dodge. Result? One dead Puma. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Henri: Fifty messages about how good the site is, and not a single one gives the url; have I been missing something? Henri<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yup. And soon we may all be "missing" something great. http://www.gkump.com/cm/index.htm Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DraGoon: Excellent. It wasn't "Volume 2" on back order from Amazon,by any Chance ? DG <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Nope, It was "Volume 2" from Barnes & Noble in 2 1/2 days. Gordon

DraGoon, I've got the information I needed. I just received a copy of "The British Soldier: From D-Day to VE-Day" which has all the unit information I can possibly use. At least for the Brits. Thanks, Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gordon: You'll see the announcement here (well on this MB at least) as soon as they're final. Gordon <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> All of the above mods except the Desert Rats mod have been sent off to Madmatt for posting. I hope y'all enjoy them. Gordon

You can tell me Madmatt. I wouldn't know a clue if walked in, stripped naked, painted itself purple, climbed up on the piano and sang "Mr. Clue is here". So you can tell me, honest. Gordon

Folks, MikeT asked me to post these sneak peeks at his upcoming desert mod. Some of these vehicles will no doubt look familiar but when placed in these new environs they look brand new. A German convoy rolls through the desert. Is that the great "Desert Fox" himself? The "good guys", dressed to the nines. Gordon (on behalf of MikeT)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DraGoon: Hi Gordon I'm home, I'm on it. I'll EMail anything I find to you over the next couple of days. I'll send an EMail asking your permission to send an attachment before sending files. Does this possibly mean Gordon/Marco painted Crocs and AVREs to go with the loverly kangaroos by any chance ? DG<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Dragoon, Thanks for the information, its been helpful. You can just e-mail anything else you find. Crocs and AVREs are in the pipeline, but the pipeline is really full right now, so don't stake out your mailbox anytime soon. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Spii: please post when final versions are ready. Those shermans look Dynamite!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You'll see the announcement here (well on this MB at least) as soon as they're final. Gordon

Does anybody have ORBAT and formation sign/unit serial number information on the British 79th Armoured Division? Why? For mods, of course. Gordon

Actually, I came *THIS* close to doing a "Herbie the Love Bug" mod, but cooler heads prevailed. If anybody else tries it, I won't be held responsible. Gordon

MikeT and 420, The alpha version of the Desert Rats mod is now wending its way through the ether. Let me know if you don't receive it. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MikeT: Oh those desert BMPs will look so good in my desert mod that is around half done. I have a battle just for that Stuart. Twelve Stuarts took on some German tanks in an old ASL scenario. Any chance you could send the BMPs to me some time soon? MikeT<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Let me guess "Blazin' Chariots"? E-mail me and I can send you the alpha package on Monday from work (only a modem connection from home ) Gordon

Regarding availability of a Chaffee mod, you'll have to lobby Marco Bergman. He's in charge of the body and fender shop, I'm just in the paint department. Gordon

Here's a sneak peak at mods coming soon to a server near you. The updated camouflaged variant of Marco Bergman's hi res Sherman IIa/Fireflys mod, now sporting Guards Armored Division markings. The new camouflaged variants of Marco Bergman's hi res Sherman III/V and Stuart V/Stuart Roo (Stuart Roo not shown) mods in Guards Armored Division "colors" (picture courtesy of Old Dog). The "Desert Rats" variants of Marco Bergman's hi res Sherman III and Stuart V intended for all those desert games people are clamoring to play. These are all undergoing the final phases of testing and should be available soon. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Doug Beman: coralsaw, was threat-axis responsibility part of WW2 tank doctrine? I know it is now, but given the less-efficient command/control structure of WW2 (fewer radios of lower quality, etc) was "each tank watches one bearing" SOP? I don't have the necessary references handy. DjB<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No direct evidence handy, but I'd say that given all the above it was even more necessary then than now. I know that in WWII the British used sector responsibility for a squad of infantry moving in column formation, so why not with tanks? Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Forever Babra: Gordon, The Steel Chariots site shows the star recognition symbol used in NW Europe. Their example has it shown on the turret roof, but the text states that the rear deck was also used.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Forever, Actually I wasn't clear enough in my post. The "AFV Recognition" sign is the little red and white flag, not the "Aerial Recognition Sign" which was the Rondel in Sicily/Italy, and the star/circled star in NWE. I'm agreeing with you man, be humble about it. The "AFV Recognition" signs appear not to have been used in NWE, so no little flags on the hull sides. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 12-28-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Marco Bergman: Thanks for the info, Formerly B. I try to get the markings as correct as I can given the references I have to hand, but corrections are helpful. Canadian Shermans certainly used the red/white/red marking in Italy quite often, according to my references. However I could well be wrong about putting it on NW European vehicles. I will soon be releasing a Sherman tweak pack (Older style hulls, like the Firefly; 3 piece nose option; improved nose texture; hull top with tow-cable.) What say I include an optional Canadian hull top with star, and hull side without red/white marking? And can anyone help with Polish markings? I don't have a lot on them. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> According to this web site on the Canadian Armoured Corps: http://www3.sympatico.ca/chrjohnson/ it appears that the AFV recognition sign was not used in NWE. Too bad, it looks cool. Still looking for more info on Polish formations. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bimmer: I defer to your obviously more complete source. I was reading Cooper and happened upon his recollection, which I related above, along with his explanation. Just putting the material out there for those who might be interested.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Bimmer, Actually I just happened to glance at that book in the book store the other day and was tempted to buy it. In general, what do you think of it? Worth to buy? Good tactical descriptions, or more "egghead"? Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bimmer: I hate to nit-pick, but my understanding is that orange recognition panels were only used briefly after D-Day, as they were considered too easy to confuse with the red Nazi flag sometimes draped over the rear deck or turret of German tanks. Later panels were bright green. (See Cooper, _Death Traps_)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Bimmer, According to Wise "D-Day To Berlin: Armour Camouflage and Markings of the United States, British and German Amries, June 1944 to May 1945", aerial recognition panels were adopted following "blue-on-blue" air attacks on Allied forces during Sicily, and consited of panels of three different colors, with each day's color being released with the other codes the preceding evening. It's also unlikely that many German vehicles were driving around with flags draped on their rear decks during the time frame of CMBO. Cavalry units in particular made significant use of the panels as they were often well in advance of other Allied units, and even more likely to come under mistaken attack. Gordon

And also coming soon, my "Mikey Mouse Ears" camouflaged version of Marco's Stuart with Guards Armoured Division markings. Spy photo courtesy of Old Dog: Also to be released shortly, my updated camouflaged version of Marco's Firefly/Sherman IIa mod, and camouflaged versions of Marco's Sherman III/V and Stuart Kangaroo mods, all with Guards Armoured Division markings. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Old Dog: Griff, the color photos are altered by cranking the green way down and adding some red using color balance tools. Then a big brightness adjustment and some blur. Agree giving CM shots that "authentic" is lots of fun! I've only got a 500 with a TNT2 card, and run all the high-res mods I can get my hands on. Only huge scenarios cause a problem. An occasional bit of stutter isn't really a problem in CM anyway since it's not an RTS or shooter - Old Dog <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Old Dog, I gotta agree that I love the job you did on the "vintage" color photos. Very nice touch. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeff Heidman: Who needs a "graphical representation of the explosions shockwave"? For one, I do not think I have ever seen a casualty anywhere near as far as that thing goes, and secondly, it is totally unrealistic. It ruins the effect of the great graphics in this game. It's 6th grade eye cany. we might as well have some "Kerpow!", "Zing!", "Wammy!" text appearing when people shoot. The great thing about this game is its immersiveness. When I am watching a particularly tense movie, seeing this dome appear over falling rubble or an exploding bomb just ruins the entire effect, simply because I *know* that it would never actually happen. The game is good enough that it does not need cheesy additions to get someone attention. This, of course, is simply my opinion. if you like the flashy, goofy floating dome thingie, more power to you. Jeff Heidman <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, I believe that under many atmospheric conditions you CAN see the pressue wave of an explosion. Also the larger the explosion, the more pronounced the effect. There's a similar effect when an aircraft goes supersonic. The pressure wave causes the moisture in the air to condense and the plane appears to poke through a cone of "mist". Now, it's possible that the actual implementation of the pressure wave graphic is too "cartoon-y", but that's a different issue than from whether or not it should exist at all. Gordon Not a physicist, but I play one on TV.