MikeyD

The in-game difference between early and late T34-85 is BIG. From slow hand-cranked turret to a turret motor so blazingly fast that Beta testers initially thought the numbers must be off. The late war T34-85 seems to be a perfectly capable combat tank. Gamer's often make the error of thinking of tanks as knights of the battlefield engaging in individual combat. Especially on the Eastern front it was less a duel than a gang rumble. It wasn't so much T34 vs Panther as T34 battalion vs Panther company.

The in-game difference between early and late T34-85 is BIG. From slow hand-cranked turret to a turret motor so blazingly fast that Beta testers initially thought the numbers must be off. The late war T34-85 seems to be a perfectly capable combat tank. Gamer's often make the error of thinking of tanks as knights of the battlefield engaging in individual combat. Especially on the Eastern front it was less a duel than a gang rumble. It wasn't so much T34 vs Panther as T34 battalion vs Panther company.

Isn't Steam kind'a a parasitic organization? They do none of the work and take a piece of the profits.

Bugle is BIG. It required an entirely rejiggered German TO&E (in Steve's eyes the most important part), different seasons, different weather, new art, new terrain features, new region selections, new vehicles, etc etc.
CMBN was always scheduled to end on Sept 30, 1944. And (working title) Bulge game was always meant to start October 1. Its not so much a sales strategy as simple logistics. Why do a 'module' that you'd have to overwrite all of the basegame to implement? Plus if you do it as a module people interested in just the Bulge theater would be compelled to first buy the CMBN title.

Bugle is BIG. It required an entirely rejiggered German TO&E (in Steve's eyes the most important part), different seasons, different weather, new art, new terrain features, new region selections, new vehicles, etc etc.
CMBN was always scheduled to end on Sept 30, 1944. And (working title) Bulge game was always meant to start October 1. Its not so much a sales strategy as simple logistics. Why do a 'module' that you'd have to overwrite all of the basegame to implement? Plus if you do it as a module people interested in just the Bulge theater would be compelled to first buy the CMBN title.

Steam = "giving away the profits to a parasite company".

Here's a pict of a Bradley turret, you can just make out the thickness of the bolt-on armor covering the rooftop. That's a good inch of 'something', probably not steel. You haven't seen a 'naked' Bradley without a hefty layer of applique ceramic armor since the mid-80s.

I had joked elsewhere that I've been waiting for five freaking years for the arrival of 'late war'! 

Sometimes discussions just go off on a tangent and its like how many times can the same battle get fought over and over and over? Okay, you don't like playing games where the fighters aren't all speaking English (or whatever the complaint). Its been stated. Time to move on.
 
If the topic is current events in Ukraine - well, that's Steve's baby. That's an entirely different thing than unruly forum behavior. I know of no one this side of the State Department that has been following that story so closely for so long. There's an internal topic thread on that going back a year and a half wth more than 5,000 postings, last updated just a couple hours ago. Mis(dis)information on that particular topic drives Steve to distraction. Touch the third rail at your peril.

Sometimes discussions just go off on a tangent and its like how many times can the same battle get fought over and over and over? Okay, you don't like playing games where the fighters aren't all speaking English (or whatever the complaint). Its been stated. Time to move on.
 
If the topic is current events in Ukraine - well, that's Steve's baby. That's an entirely different thing than unruly forum behavior. I know of no one this side of the State Department that has been following that story so closely for so long. There's an internal topic thread on that going back a year and a half wth more than 5,000 postings, last updated just a couple hours ago. Mis(dis)information on that particular topic drives Steve to distraction. Touch the third rail at your peril.

Steam = "giving away the profits to a parasite company".

Steam = "giving away the profits to a parasite company".

If you're talking about writing an entirely new game engine from the ground-up be careful what you wish for. The real money is in doing iphone games based on anime erotica for the Japanese market. They'll never get rich doing wargames for you and me.

Modding CMFI to Bulge is like painting a racing strip on a panel van and calling it a Ferrari. Sure, they both have four rubber tires and travel at the posted speed limit, but beyond the grossest generalizations the two products diverge radically. Steve spends months meticulously researching the TO&E for the relevant units, the scenario designers are creating 3-D maps of actual Bulge battle locations with amazing fidelity. The campaigns read like a college thesis on modern European history. The equipment list is far more than the mere approximation that you can scrounge off an early '44 Italian title.
 
And on other the other topic. Did someone just post that creaky old CMx1 is the superior wargame? Hey, I'm as big on 'nostalgia' as the next guy. I suppose Pong would be the ultimate in gameplay in that case.

Modding CMFI to Bulge is like painting a racing strip on a panel van and calling it a Ferrari. Sure, they both have four rubber tires and travel at the posted speed limit, but beyond the grossest generalizations the two products diverge radically. Steve spends months meticulously researching the TO&E for the relevant units, the scenario designers are creating 3-D maps of actual Bulge battle locations with amazing fidelity. The campaigns read like a college thesis on modern European history. The equipment list is far more than the mere approximation that you can scrounge off an early '44 Italian title.
 
And on other the other topic. Did someone just post that creaky old CMx1 is the superior wargame? Hey, I'm as big on 'nostalgia' as the next guy. I suppose Pong would be the ultimate in gameplay in that case.

Modding CMFI to Bulge is like painting a racing strip on a panel van and calling it a Ferrari. Sure, they both have four rubber tires and travel at the posted speed limit, but beyond the grossest generalizations the two products diverge radically. Steve spends months meticulously researching the TO&E for the relevant units, the scenario designers are creating 3-D maps of actual Bulge battle locations with amazing fidelity. The campaigns read like a college thesis on modern European history. The equipment list is far more than the mere approximation that you can scrounge off an early '44 Italian title.
 
And on other the other topic. Did someone just post that creaky old CMx1 is the superior wargame? Hey, I'm as big on 'nostalgia' as the next guy. I suppose Pong would be the ultimate in gameplay in that case.

For the most part in most situations 'what you see is what you get' - or WYSIWYG. The tall yellow grass is tall yellow grass The plowed field is a plowed field. The sand is sand and the mud is the mud. You can spot distant no-go areas by dragging a movement icon over it and watch the color change.The biggest factor in vehicle movement isn't terrain type so much as climate conditions. Green grass behaved very differently depending on whether its very dry or muddy ground conditions. If you don't know the ground condition give a quick check down in the Menu panel in the lower right. If you find you're operating across wet terrain plan accordingly.

To anyone asking "What the hell kind'a camou scheme is that!?" here's the original reference pict. 
 

 
 

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Patton. It looks as though he has just given the poor Sherman crew a thorough dressing down, perhaps over dirt or stowage. Nobody in that photo looks particularly happy. 
 

 

Nestled deep in the bowels of the CMBN chat group is a Bulge title bone from the end of March(!), though the posters went a little crazy and got the topic locked. I think we're a bit past due for a new bone, myself and I've been dropping hints in that regard. Heck, somewhere in the schedule a whole new product site and discussion board should be popping up!

Remember you are not playing the part of all-knowing Godalmighty in the game, you're playing the part of - usually - the company commander. Sometimes the company commander discovers to his horror that his western outpost has been over-run while his attention was turned elsewhere and he's being encircled. War is hell that way.

Please note the top announcement was posted roughly 11pm on a Friday night (west coast time). Three cheers for ChrisND's unstinting dedication to the cause!  

Remember you are not playing the part of all-knowing Godalmighty in the game, you're playing the part of - usually - the company commander. Sometimes the company commander discovers to his horror that his western outpost has been over-run while his attention was turned elsewhere and he's being encircled. War is hell that way.

Remember you are not playing the part of all-knowing Godalmighty in the game, you're playing the part of - usually - the company commander. Sometimes the company commander discovers to his horror that his western outpost has been over-run while his attention was turned elsewhere and he's being encircled. War is hell that way.

Remember you are not playing the part of all-knowing Godalmighty in the game, you're playing the part of - usually - the company commander. Sometimes the company commander discovers to his horror that his western outpost has been over-run while his attention was turned elsewhere and he's being encircled. War is hell that way.