aka_tom_w

extolling the virtues of the Apple products ALL HAIL Steve Jobs And reading and posting to this forum And Reading Hell Has No Heroes (The BEST WWII tank story I have ever read, written from the perspective of a US DD Sherman TC on D-Day on Omaha beach by Wayne Robinson, yes it is out of print and VERY hard to find) And I just got Death Traps by Cooper for my birthday so I'm reading that too.... (sort of) -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by SuperTed: Your wish is granted. Go here to find the treasure you seek.<hr></blockquote> That is one VERY nice site!! GREAT work nice interactive buttons. very cool -tom w

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<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Rex_Bellator: Heh - can of worms on standby... Okay, if it is a black and white thing (which I agree it probably is) how can AFV's with the gun in the hull still fire from hull down? I'm talking about all those tank destroyers & assault guns without a superstructure rating BTW, and they are the majority. *Throws can and ducks for cover*<hr></blockquote> IT is black and white Hull down is either 1 or 0, on or off. Basically in the game hull down status means that a tank should not take a hit to the lower hull aspect of the armour. This means the tank has better survivability because it is harder to hit, with only its "top half" exposed. This means a tank, if hit, will take a hit to the turret or upper hull. I hope that helps. -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Big Time Software: Talking sense to US based publishers is on our To Do List, but unfortunately thus far we have not been impressed Steve<hr></blockquote> Well Keep up the good work Somebody on this side of the ocean (North America) must be interested in giving you a fair shake and a deal similiar to the CDV folks in europe. Good Luck Retail sales would be nice I was happy to order mine via your web page and the internet because I was assimilated by the CM borg early on, but my friends, who are quite resistant, but who also enjoy war games, want to see it in a BOX with a flashy cover with nice pictures and stuff they can read, (Things like HISTORICALLY Accurate armour Penetration model and REALISM and historical detail modeled to the highest degree, who know, STUFF like that on the box) on a store shelf like all the rest of the computer war games so they can pick it up and read it before they buy it.... Oh Well Good luck! Hope all is going smoothly for CMBB That Model building contest was REALLY a stroke of brilliance... honestly....who's idea was it? What an ingenius way to get textures for 3D models in CMBB, I applaud your ingenuity!! -tom w [ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ] [ 01-07-2002: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

I post this for all the NEW folks here that might be new to the game so they can see how far CMBO has come since it was released. (Just think what they can do for us in CMBB!! ) These are all the things they fixed in v 1.12 (from the v1.12 readme) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.12 2/6/2001 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tanks use better hull-rotation logic. * Gun accuracy is somewhat higher at long range. * Firing ordnance while moving is less accurate than before. * Quick Battles have a new "unrestricted" force type. * Pillboxes have slightly better 'reaction time' and are slightly less easier to spot at long range. It is also somewhat harder to hit their firing slits from longer ranges. * Smoke usage logic tweaked. * 20mm gun in Lynx cannot fire on aircraft. * If both sides have global morale below 25%, a battle will end immediately with an enforced cease-fire. * Fixed a bug (introduced in v1.1) where simultaneous cease-fire requests by both players in play by email could lead to a crash. * Fixed a bug so that the computer will never place antitank mines in woods. * Fixed a bug that made hotseat mutual cease-fires activate one turn later than they should. * Fixed a bug that could cause a game previously (partly) played as PBEM, but subsequently reloaded as TCP/IP to "lose" minefields and barbed wire. * Fixed a bug that made the TacAI hesitant to give targeting orders to the rearward-firing Archer. * Fixed a bug that occasionally showed FOs having a "label" showing JAM. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.11 1/12/2001 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fixed a bug that allowed tungsten rounds to be overly effective against highly-sloped armor. * Data changes: - Sherman Jumbo speed, turret rotation, and some armor values lowered. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.1 12/23/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TCP/IP play has been implemented (i.e. "live" Internet play). The game can also run as a "spawn", meaning that you do not need the CD-ROM in the drive, but you will be restricted to joining TCP/IP games only. SEE THE "INTERNET PLAY READ ME" file for more detailed instructions. * If both sides have global morale below 15%, a battle will end immediately with an enforced cease-fire. * Quick Battles: - Ratio of attacker to defender points has been reduced slightly for Attack and Assault scenarios. - Fortifications are cheaper to purchase. - Automatic unit purchaser does a better job of using up (nearly) all available points. - Force proportion limits modified slightly (main change is that attackers have a higher limit on support points than before). * Armored vehicles are smarter about rotating their hulls to bring their main weapons to bear faster, however vehicles rotate 'in place' more slowly now. * Vehicles in hunt mode are more likely to stop moving in order to engage "lesser" enemy vehicles than before. * Allied tanks and guns are more likely to fire tungsten rounds when available. * Infantry TacAI is less likely to seek cover when it would require moving closer to the enemy to reach that cover. Also, infantry (sometimes) retreats from buildings being blasted by heavy weapons that are in danger of collapse. * Fixed a bug that incorrectly counted the number of knocked out vehicles and crewmember casualties during Operations. * A bug that incorrectly identified (or failed to identify) vehicles as hull-down when the mouse was pointing at them has been fixed. * Forward Observers no longer cancel a bombardment on a building that is blasted to rubble (though any other unit using area fire still does). * Enemy units targeting an ambush marker are no longer displayed as doing so. * Vehicle top speed over open ground reduced somewhat, especially for jeeps. And all wheeled vehicles are slightly more likely to bog down in bad terrain. * Vehicles, especially those with only a few crewmen, have greater difficulty spotting enemies when moving. The difficulty is proportional to speed and ruggedness of terrain. * Vehicles can more readily spot other vehicles at greater ranges (3000+ m) in clear weather with clear line of sight. * Vehicle sound contacts are not shown rotating their turrets. * When faced with a threat, unarmored vehicles will sometimes seek shelter at a new destination chosen by the TacAI even when ordered to move fast or in reverse. * Fixed a bug that caused tanks to 'fear' pillboxes even when they were out of its firing arc. * Hull down display when drawing LOS line also indicates "bow MG blocked" when appropriate. * Mortars gain target acquisition a bit more slowly now, and their point values have been lowered slightly. They are also somewhat less effective at hitting vehicles. * Gunnery accuracy equations modified slightly to permit greater accuracy at point-blank ranges. * Fixed a bug that prevented Churchill AVREs from killing a pillbox form the side. * Vehicles which are targeting ambush markers, and are directly hit by anything other than small-arms fire, will cancel their ambush orders and react to the attack normally. * Crews that bail from a knocked out vehicle have "low" ammo and are often panicked or worse. * Fixed a bug that caused events happening past the normal 60 seconds of action sometimes to be "undone" by rewinding and fast-forwarding past them. * Fixed a bug that caused the battle number not to advance when both players in an operation agreed to a cease fire. * Fixed a bug that often caused airplanes not to show up in Operations. * Rough terrain tiles now abut so that they block vehicular traffic along shared edges. * A letter 'c' after the armor slope display indicates that a vehicle has a curved gun mantlet, so the actual slope can vary depending on where the shell strikes. (Example: Panther tank). * Fixed a bug that allowed game saves to be done before the battle was even underway. * Passengers no longer immediately jump off a vehicle that bogs down unless the vehicle becomes permanently immobilized. * You can no longer trace line of sight (LOS) from a Target Reference Point (TRP) during setup. * Vehicles which use up their last round of ammunition are quicker to cancel targeting. * TacAI does a better job weighing the importance of hull-down status when choosing targets. * Fixed a TacAI bug in the logic that causes vehicles use the coaxial MG instead of the main gun (to conserve ammo when the MG is nearly as effective anyway). The bug sometimes made the vehicle switch to the coaxial MG when it should not have. * Forward Observers' targets are never shown to the enemy, even in action playback. * Bug fix for group-moves of mixed tanks and infantry, to ensure that FAST/RUN and MOVE orders are carried out appropriately. * Pillboxes: - Acquire targets a bit faster than other guns (it's assumed that they've pre-ranged to landmarks). - Carry a little more 'weight' when calculating the new position of the front lines in operations. * Bug fix that makes the 'setup' between campaign battles work out the same no matter how many times you reload the play-by-email file. * Bug fix so operations don't have empty white (Allied) or black (Axis) setup zones. * Bug fix: passengers disembarking out of sight of the enemy are no longer 'seen' as doing so by the enemy. A spot marker does not appear for the disembarked unit. * Fixed a bug that made vehicles moving in reverse immune to bogging down or striking minefields. * When placing cursor over an unidentified enemy infantry unit, your tank will be shown as "hull down" (if it is hull down) just in *case* the enemy unit is an antitank unit. * AI is less likely to fire off-map artillery smoke missions when overall visibility is poor. * M3A1 Halftrack, M3A1 Scout Car, and M5A1 Halftrack are not forced to remain buttoned up after suffering only one crew casualty. * Split squads rejoin when within 10m of one another, not 15m as before. * Fixed bug so you cannot get TRP bonus when adjusting fire, unless you are within 20m of TRP (was 100m due to bug). * Vehicles can only do a 'hide' order if they do not currently have movement orders. * Popup menus are not obscured by text-input fields. * Fixed a bug that sometimes slightly overloaded tank ammo between battles in operations. * Texture fix on Stuart V. * Fixed it so sound contacts right on the edge of listening range don't flutter in and out of contact, which made them 'bounce around'. * If the user enters illegal characters in the name of a saved game, they are converted to spaces, avoiding an error in Windows or MacOS. * Fixed a bug that sometimes made target selection "jump" very quickly between different targets. * Fixed a bug that caused the TacAI sometimes not to regard foxholes as "sufficient" cover. * Fixed a bug that sometimes caused vehicles to stop on the map edge instead of exiting. * Data changes: - MG Jeep cannot carry passengers. - PzIV silhouette reduced. - Firefly's turret rotation speed is medium. Point value is reduced before September 1944 to reflect that no High Explosive (HE) ammo is carried. - 17pdr gun no longer has shatter-prone armor-piercing ammo (so penetration is increased). - Marder III armor changed. - Sherman Jumbo's speed and some armor values lowered. - Muzzle velocity slightly lowered on some German vehicle-mounted 75mm guns. - HEAT/Shaped-charge penetration values changed for some German weapons: 75mm howitzer, 75mm recoilless, 75mm L/24, 105mm howitzer, 105mm recoilless, 150mm gun, 150mm infantry gun - More AT guns, PIATs, and carriers added to British infantry battalion TO&E. - Vehicle point values adjusted slightly. - British M5 Halftrack added. - Puppchen is available on all dates. - British Carriers now have smoke mortars. - British rifle battalion may have MG platoon attached or not. - Polish may use the Cromwell, but not the Stuart, Sherman II/IIA/IIC, or Sherman III tanks. - Canadians may not use Sherman II/IIA/IIC or Churchill (exc. Crocodile) tanks. - M3A1 Scout Car and Humber Scout Cars are able to cross hedges. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.05 8/24/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Units will NOT switch away from an ambush marker target just because they have been spotted by the enemy. * Units area-targeting a building which collapses and has no visible surviving enemy troops in the resulting rubble will cancel their area target. * Buildings and bridges are labeled with "damage" or "heavy damage" when they've taken over 50% damage and the "Warning Labels" option is on. Additionally, they're listed with a '*' attached, like "light building*", or a '**' for heavy damage. * JPz IV and JPz IV/70 now have a bow MG, but it's somewhat less effective at short (under 100m) range than a 'standard' bow MG due to its simplified and somewhat underprotected mounting. * T8 Recon vehicle now first available in December 1944 (same time as arrival of M24 Chaffee). * Fixed a bug introduced in v1.04 that made some units with normally large ammo loads, in scenarios created with v1.03 or earlier, have ammo loads above 65000. * Roads are never considered "slopes", in order to make mapbuilding easier and avoid the problem of vehicles not being able to traverse *roads* on steep grades. * When a unit's last movement order is "rotate", and it tries to move through impassable terrain, the TacAI is no longer confused about the intended endpoint of the movement path if a new movement path must be calculated (bug fix). * Victory flags in a meeting engagement quick battle are more centered (to avoid giving one player too much of an advantage). * In previous versions, the TacAI was less likely to fire vehicle heavy weapons at bailed crews, but it wasn't as inhibited about wanting to fire the coax MG at them, which still caused the turret-swiveling-away-from-real-threats problem. So the coax MG has been "toned down" vs. crews like the main weapon (bug fix). * TacAI code for a tank swiveling its turret back to a forward position when it has no target is smarter. It will do so as default behavior except for a 2-3 minute period after the tank has targeted an enemy which had anti-armor capability and the tank is not moving or rotating (i.e. moving or rotating the tank will cause the turret to swivel back to forward even if the last target was an anti-armor threat). * Large guns like the 88mm AT are allowed to use the rotation order (this was a bug). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.04 8/17/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Play-by-email format has changed. Both players must use v1.04 to be compatible. IMPORTANT: Upgrading to v1.04 part way through a scenario or play-by-email is NOT recommended, due to a change in the way artillery ammunition is tracked (see below). * Scenarios created by v1.04 cannot be loaded by PREVIOUS versions of Combat Mission. * Artillery Forward Observers (FOs) track their ammunition by individual shells rather than by fire missions. So this will make it look at first like they now have 4 times as much ammo, but they really don't. Spotting rounds now count against ammo usage. Older scenarios are dynamically updated when loaded to account for this change. * Tanks are less likely to target a new, not-highly-threating unit which, to engage, would require significant turret or hull rotation away from a recent, important threat. * Tanks with no target do not automatically return turrets to face forward unless they are moving or hull-rotating. * Enemy units must be closer before full identification can be obtained. * Mortars now have a more difficult time tracking moving targets. * TacAI is quicker to move open-top vehicles away from mortar attack, and to recognize .50cal MGs as threats to light armor. * Armor penetration capability for high-explosive (HE) rounds fired from high-velocity cannon has been toned down. * Tiger tank now models the varying thickness of its mantlet armor (up to 200mm in places). * Armor penetrations by MG bullets and small AP shells are somewhat less likely to knock out the target (no change for 75mm and up). And crews of struck vehicles are less likely to bail out when no serious damage has been suffered. * MG fire against vehicles is now less effective (i.e. less accurate) if the firer or target is moving. * Reinforcements are placed better around entrance locations. * Small-caliber shells that enter a pillbox's firing slit are less likely to knock out the whole pillbox. * Vehicles with rear-facing guns (not including mortars) may not 'hunt'. * Bailed-out crews are never eligible for exit points. * Units are a little smarter about finding the "right" cover to move to when they come under fire or panic. * British 2-inch mortar is now able to run for short distances (like Panzerschreck), but ammo load reduced from 22 to 20. * Vehicles in hunt mode, whose guns are damaged, will stop movement and consider evasive action. * Very small changes made to vehicle unit point cost based on top armor thickness. * When one side surrenders, any prisoners it still has on the map are automatically uncaptured. * Slight modifications made to the firepower ratings for MP44, MP40, Thompson SMG, and Sten SMG. * Captured units cannot set off mines. And the code that checks for captured units escaping has been extended to allow units to escape (sometimes) even when enemy guards are nearby, provided that nearby friendly forces have a significant local superiority. * Bug fix makes passengers free to disembark and re-embark on assault boats without problems during battle setup phase and scenario editing. * Bug fix: there is no longer a problem with quick battles when the starting player chooses "human chosen" units and the other player has "auto pick", with the first player's setup phase being skipped. * Bocage blocks LOS less severely, provided the spotter or target is adjacent to the bocage (bug fix). * Sometimes very small reinforcement groups (e.g. one or two units) under computer control had a tendency to sit still and not get involved in the battle. This is fixed. * The No-Man's-Land Size setting for Operations no longer changes from 0 to 400 when saving/loading the file (bug fix). * Area fire target lines disappear automatically when a unit is out of ammo. * Movement paths created by the TacAI don't "hug" road edges so much. * AI bug fixed so it does a better job 'defending' against an enemy exit edge, even if the AI is the attacking force. * Vehicles with limited AP ammo were sometimes overly cautious about using it (e.g. SPW 250/9). This has been remedied. * Canadians have use of 40mm Bofors AA gun. * M3A1 scout car has 3 crewmen (driver and 2 gunners). * M3A1 halftrack, M5 halftrack, and M3A1 scout car can still fire one MG after suffering one crew casualty. * Two-man vehicles that suffer a crew casualty will only display only one crewman now (bug fix). * Recoilless rifles are placed better (graphically) upon transporting vehicles (bug fix). * When a vehicle towing a gun is knocked out, the gun is not visually 'trapped under' the vehicle (bug fix). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.03 7/26/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Play-by-email format has changed. Both players must use v1.03 to be compatible. * Infantry moving in the open is more vulnerable to casualties than before. * Small-arms units, especially MGs, fire more rapidly at units that are moving in the open. * Top-mount MG range increased for: Stuart, T8, PSW 234/3 * Vickers MG is available to British and Polish paratroops. * Running units spot enemies more poorly. * Mortar shell top armor penetration capability reduced slightly. * The 'front line' in Operations does not tend to shift quite as much in the attacker's favor as it did before. * v1.01 made pillboxes just a little bit too resistant to artillery. This resistance has been toned down slightly. * Fog of War 'preference' is remembered properly. * Unit point values have been tweaked, especially small recoilless weapons. Vehicles with veteran or better experience also cost more. * Quick Battles - Max length is now 60 turns. - Troop quality, weather, and time of day can be set to "random". - The automatic force chooser can now pick Conscript (on Low quality setting), and Crack and Elite troops (on High quality setting). - Allow a slightly greater portion of points to be spent on artillery. - In a 2-player Quick Battle, a reminder window appears to both players if there is a handicap in force size. - Attacker-to-defender ratio in points is slightly reduced. * TacAI (esp. for tanks) is less 'distracted' by targets of lesser importance. * Vehicle reinforcements are more likely to be placed on a road, if one is (very) nearby. * Operations have always been able to end when one side is "pushed off" their own map edge, but the algorithm which determines when this has occurred is more forgiving now, and allows the force to be "squeezed" up closer against that map edge before force-ending the operation. * FOs are no longer automatically fully resupplied between battles in an operation. * Foxholes dug in Tall Pines terrain were treated (in part) as if they were dug in the open. This is now fixed. * Vehicles that button up or turn away are less likely to lose visual contact with their *current* target. * One can no longer change a rotation waypoint to a movement waypoint, therefore circumventing command delay. * Computer player is smarter about exiting units for points (when allowed by scenario). * Grenade and demo charge attacks against armored vehicles can no longer cause collateral damage to friendly units. * Random map generator no longer creates "spiky" hills. * Silhouette rating for M24 Chaffee reduced. * Bailed crews now have poor visual spotting ability. * When a sound contact to an enemy vehicle is lost, the sound effect of its engine stops too. * Units out of ammo will never be shown as 'reloading'. * Pillbox MG ammo no longer 'wraps around' back up to 254 or 255 shots. * Reinforcements in an operation are no longer sometimes placed in impassable terrain. * Turret penetrations are likely to cause more crew casualties than before. * Time penalty for adjusted artillery missions is slightly reduced. * Captured troops don't stay panicked for unreasonable lengths of time. * A bug which sometimes caused a unit which had just suffered a casualty, but had not fired, to say "reloading", has been fixed. * Split squads kept split at the end of a battle during an operation no longer have problems remembering the number of casualties suffered. * Sometimes in the scenario editor, squads split into teams would be given different squad I.D. numbers. This has been fixed. * Deleting a split-squad team in the editor simultaneously deletes the other team as well. Also, the point values for split-squad teams are corrected, and correct data is shown for them in the cursor-hotspot info window. * Sneaking is now more sensitive to incoming fire when it decides to stop (i.e. "advance to contact") * Occasionally during an Operation, a vehicle knocked out in a previous battle, when hit again, could produce a 'new' crew bailing out. This is fixed. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.02 6/21/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Quick Battles can have larger forces. * Unarmored vehicles and those with rear-facing guns are smarter about when to rotate the whole vehicle (TacAI). * Woods terrain doesn't "break" over elevation changes. * UNSPOTTED infantry won't ever fire panzerfausts at enemy infantry. * Heavy buildings are slightly less likely to catch fire. And firing bazookas and panzerschrecks from inside any type of building is slightly less likely to cause a fire than previously (from backblast). * Previously, if you canceled out of the password screen and started up a new 1-player game, CM would crash. This is fixed. * A sharpshooter's data screen lists main weapon as "sniper rifle" (was previously blank). * Several small bugs fixed in how aerial rockets damage armored vehicles. * U.S. Paratrooper battalion has 9 bazookas in its HQ Company, not 8. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * v1.01 6/14/2000 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Play-by-email (PBEM) fixes: - Both players MUST upgrade to v1.01. v1.01 cannot play PBEM with the original v1.0. This is due to bug and security fixes which changed the format of PBEM files. - Barbed wire does not lose its ability to slow down infantry. - Doing a normal save-game no longer causes the occasional skipping of one player's orders phase. - Units no longer occasionally target smoke toward the map corner. - There is no longer the occasional problem of being unable to give orders to a vehicle, seemingly for no reason. - Reinforcements don't arrive differently upon subsequent reloads of a PBEM file. - Vehicles no longer sometimes switch from 'destroyed' to 'abandoned'. - Captured vehicle crew are counted properly when one side surrenders. * TacAI fixes: - Less fickle with targeting changes, i.e. targeting 'stickiness' increased slightly. - Buttoned-up tanks are less likely to target low-visibility targets (like hiding infantry) at longer ranges, even when the target *is* spotted by another friendly unit. - Less likely to fire smoke at less-important targets, especially ones that are already pinned down or panicked. - Paths made by TacAI no longer occasionally have visually 'floating' waypoints. - Judges 'cover' behind stone walls and bocage properly, not prematurely forcing units to abandon these positions as if they're too exposed. * New explosion graphics (when using "high quality smoke" option) * Camera can rotate on a 'point' rather than around a circle (SHIFT-J option). * Units can hide during setup. * Handicapper unit choice is more logical. Can also go to +200%. * Player can give the AI an "experience bonus" that raises all AI units from 1 to 3 experience levels. * Infantry "close combat" versus armored vehicles has been reworked: - Demo charges and grenades thrown at armored vehicles now have a visible blast wave. - Tossed demo charges vs. armored vehicles are more accurate. - Various bug fixes * Some computer-player tweaks, including no longer moving gun-damaged tanks into the map corner. * Nonmoving infantry is slightly harder to spot (i.e. max range decreased a bit). * Pillboxes are slightly harder to spot (if in cover), and can 'hide' (which helps save ammo). Also, they are now far more resistant to artillery. * In hotseat play, uncontacted enemy vehicles' engine sounds are not audible. * Flamethrowers stop firing once their AREA target is burning. * Map elevation algorithm is improved, making roads run more smoothly up/down hill faces, not stair-stepped. * Gun crews won't abandon their (functioning) guns until they're fully ROUTED (rather than BROKEN) provided they have less than 50% casualties. * Sneaking units, when fired upon in cover, are more likely to stop and return fire rather than keep moving. * In the action phase the rewind button would sometimes cause a building-destruction animation to play at the incorrect time. This has been fixed. * Fanatic units are subject to panic (like normal units) when attacked by flamethrower. * Captured (or escaped) infantry is allowed to move at run speed, regardless of initial weapon type. However, this can only happen as a result of running for cover when under attack; no captured unit may be given orders to "run". * Smoke shells leave a small impact crater. * When a unit kills an enemy armored vehicle, it now (usually) plays the appropriate voice sound effect. * "Detailed armor hit text" is not shown to the enemy when a vehicle is hit by a mine or artillery outside of enemy observation. * When repositioning a unit during setup, the colored line always turns red to indicate that a position is not allowed. * Sound contacts are no longer indicated (to the enemy) as knocked out or destroyed even if they actually are. And if destroyed, they are not shown on the map at all. And they are never shown as being located off the map edge. * Armored vehicles are slightly less likely to be immobilized or receive gun damage from nearby blasts (e.g. artillery). * You can give movement orders to bogged vehicles, which they'll execute if they're able to un-bog. * Split-squads' casualties are tallied correctly in the after-action report. * 'Target Next' order works for vehicles with machineguns but no main gun. * 0 vs. 0 final score is reported as a 'draw' not an Axis victory. * Units 'notice' more quickly that an enemy unit has surrendered, and don't shoot at them just seconds after surrendering. * Bailed vehicle crews who are less than 'fully' spotted are drawn with generic infantry uniforms. * Infantry moves more slowly on slopes. * Automatic force picker for Quick Battles picks fewer defensive fortifications. * Captured guns and mortars are tallied correctly in the after action report. * Interior graphic problem with the SPW 251/1 halftrack fixed. * If a tank became immobilized while rotating its turret, sometimes the turret would keep spinning. This has been fixed. * If you move a vehicle carrying passengers during setup, its passengers' command and control links are updated immediately and correctly. * No 'reinforcements have arrived' message is shown if all of them are airplanes. * Vehicles in 'hunt' mode are a little more likely to stop before shooting. * Sometimes the 'hide roofs' and 'transparent buildings' options would interfere with one another. This has been fixed. * When loading or saving a file in the editor, the dialog 'default' directory is the Saved Games directory. * Slight problem of diagonal bocage and walls not quite matching 3D placement on map is fixed. * No prisoner will ever be shown as "reloading". * Some open-top armored vehicles were suffering crew casualties from nearby explosions, even when buttoned-up. This has been fixed. * Unit editor allows U.S. Paratroops to carry up to 3 rifle grenades (was 2). * Bazookas, panzerschrecks, and PIATs display caliber and muzzle velocity in data window. * Sometimes reloading a 1-player game would have the wrong fog of war setting (it wasn't being reloaded properly). This is fixed. * Sometimes shells were passing through buildings when firing at the top story. Fixed.

They all share intel like the "Hive Mentality" of the Borg. OR Every unit has a magical radio that NEVER fails and every friendly unit tells every other friendly unit every thing they know about the enemy and they update each other every minute without fail. This is also called "Absolute Spotting" hope that helps -tom w

WOW I mean WOW :eek: :eek: !!!! two things First off this looks like this will help out with the production of CMBB, BUT the contest Closes Feb 28 so I could easily be a month or two or three after that before we see the actual game. Thats just my personal conjecture..... BUT look at this list of all the models they are looking for...... from this page: http://www.battlefront.com/Model_Contest/Model_contest.html Vehicle models eligible for submission Please note that NOT ALL of the models below will end up in the game. Some vehicles were upgraded throughout there production cycle while retaining the same model name. Those vehicle revisions are noted in parenthesis. RUSSIA (USSR) =================== T-34 Model 1940 Tank T-34 Model 1941 Tank T-34 Model 1941 Tank (with cast turret) T-34 Model 1942 Tank (early model) T-34 Model 1942 Tank T-34 Model 1943 Tank T-34 Model 1943 Tank (late model) OT-34 Model 1942 Flamethrower Tank OT-34 Model 1943 Flamethrower Tank T-34/57 Model 1941 Tank T-34/57 Model 1943 Tank T-34/85 Model 1943 Tank T-34/85 Model 1944 Tank T-34/85 Model 1944 Tank (late model) OT-34/85 Flamethrower Tank T-44 Tank KV-1 Model 1939 Heavy Tank KV-1 Model 1940 Heavy Tank KV-1 Model 1941 Heavy Tank KV-1E Heavy Tank KV-1S Heavy Tank KV-2 Heavy Assault Tank KV-8 Heavy Flamethrower Tank KV-8S Heavy Flamethrower Tank KV-85 Heavy Tank IS-1 Heavy Tank IS-2 Model 1943 Heavy Tank IS-2 Model 1944 Heavy Tank (early model) IS-2 Model 1944 Heavy Tank IS-3 Heavy Tank SU-76 Self-Propelled Gun SU-76M Self-Propelled Gun SU-76i Self-Propelled Gun SU-76P Self-Propelled Gun SU-85 Tank Destroyer SU-85M Tank Destroyer SU-100 Tank Destroyer SU-122 Assault Gun SU-152 Assault Gun ISU-122 Assault Gun ISU-122S Assault Gun ISU-152 Assault Gun T-26 Model 1931 Tank T-26 Model 1933 Tank T-26 Model 1935 Tank T-26S Model 1937 Tank T-26S Model 1939 Tank T-26A T-26E OT-26 OT-130 Flamethrower Tank OT-133 Flamethrower Tank OT-134 Flamethrower Tank OT-134E Flamethrower Tank BT-5 Fast Tank BT-5A Fast Tank BT-7 Fast Tank BT-7A Fast Tank BT-8 Fast Tank T-27 Tankette T-37 Tankette T-38 Tankette T-38M2 Tankette T-40 Tankette T-60 Model 1941 Light Tank T-60 Model 1942 Light Tank T-70 Model 1942 Light Tank T-70 Model 1943 Light Tank T-80 T-18 BA-6 Armored Car BA-6M Armored Car BA-10 Armored Car BA-11 Armored Car BA-20 Armored Car BA-64 Light Armored Car BA-64B Light Armored Car SU-12 SU-57 ZIS-30 GAZ-4M ZIS-42 Komsomolyets T-20 GAZ 64 GAZ 67 GAZ 67B ZIS 5 truck ZIS 6 truck M4A2 Sherman M4A2(76) Sherman M3A1 Stuart Valentine III Valentine IV Valentine IX Valentine XI Churchill III Matilda II M3A1 Scout Car M17 Halftrack M5 Halftrack U.S. Truck U.S. Jeep MG/Universal Carrier GERMANY =================== H-39 Hotchkiss PzKw R35 PzKw 35S Pz IB Pz IC Pz IF SIG IB Panzerjäger I Panzer IIC Panzer IIF Panzer IIJ Lynx (Pz IIL) Flammpanzer II Wespe Marder II (early model) Marder II Marder III (early model) Marder III Marder III (late model) Panzer 35(t) Panzer 38(t)A Panzer 38(t)E Panzer 38(t)G Grille (sIG 33 auf Pz38t) Grille (sIG 33/1 auf Pz38t) Flakpanzer 38(t) Aufklärer 38(t) Hetzer (JgPz 38t) Flammpanzer 38(t) Hetzer sIG 33/2 auf JPz 38(t) Panzer IIIF Panzer IIIG Panzer IIIH Panzer IIIJ (short barrel) Panzer IIIJ (short barrel, late model) Panzer IIIJ Panzer IIIJ (late model) Panzer IIIL Panzer IIIM Panzer IIIM (late model) Panzer IIIN Panzer IIIN (late model) Flammpanzer III Sturmgeschütz IIIB Sturmgeschütz IIIE Sturmgeschütz IIIF Sturmgeschütz IIIF (late model) Sturmgeschütz IIIF/8 Sturmgeschütz IIIG (early model) Sturmgeschütz IIIG (early mid model) Sturmgeschütz IIIG (middle model) Sturmgeschütz IIIG (late mid model) Sturmgeschütz IIIG (late model) Sturmgeschütz IV Sturmgeschütz IV (late model) StuH42 Assault Howitzer (early model) StuH42 Assault Howitzer (middle model) StuH42 Assault Howitzer (late model) Sturminfanteriegeschütz 33B Panzer IVC Panzer IVD Panzer IVE Panzer IVF Panzer IVF2 Panzer IVG (early model) Panzer IVG Panzer IVG (late model) Panzer IVH Panzer IVJ Jagdpanzer IV (early model) Jagdpanzer IV Panzer IV/70(A) Panzer IV/70(V) Brummbär (Sturmpanzer IV, early model) Brummbär (Sturmpanzer IV, middle model) Brummbär (Sturmpanzer IV, late model) Nashorn Hummel Möbelwagen Ostwind Wirbelwind Panther (Pz VD) Panther (Pz VD late model) Panther (Pz VA early model) Panther (Pz VA) Panther (Pz VG) Panther (Pz VG late model) Panther F Jagdpanther (JPz V, early model) Jagdpanther (JPz V, early model) Tiger (Pz VIE early model) Tiger (Pz VIE) Tiger (Pz VIE late model) Sturmtiger King Tiger (Pz VIB) Jagdtiger (JPz VI) Ferdinand (PzJg Tiger) Elefant (PzJg Tiger) Pz M15/42 738i PSW 221 Light Armored Car PSW 221 Light Armored Car (late model) PSW 222 Light Armored Car PSW 222 Light Armored Car (late model) PSW 223 Light Radio Car PSW 223 Light Radio Car (late model) PSW 231 8-Rad Armored Car PSW 232 8-Rad Armored Car PSW 233 Heavy Armored Car PSW 234/1 Armored Car Puma (PSW 234/2 Armored Car) PSW 234/3 Heavy Armored Car PSW 234/4 Heavy Armored Car Sd Kfz 135/1 Self-Prop. Howitz. 4.7cm PaK auf PzKw 35R(f) Raupenschlepper Ost SPW 250/1 Halftrack SPW 250/7 Halftrack SPW 250/8 Halftrack SPW 250/9 Halftrack SPW 250/10 Halftrack SPW 250/11 Halftrack SPW 251/1 Halftrack SPW 251/2 Halftrack SPW 251/9 Stummel Halftrack SPW 251/10 Halftrack SPW 251/16 Halftrack SPW 251/17 Halftrack SPW 251/21 Halftrack SPW 251/22 Halftrack Sd Kfz 7 Gun Tractor Sd Kfz 6/2 Flak Vehicle Sd Kfz 7/1 Flak Vehicle (early model) Sd Kfz 7/1 Flak Vehicle Sd Kfz 7/2 Flak Vehicle (early model) Sd Kfz 7/2 Flak Vehicle Sd Kfz 10/4 Flak Vehicle (early model) Sd Kfz 10/4 Flak Vehicle Kübelwagen Truck HUNGARY =================== Turan I Turan I (w/armor skirt) Turan II Turan II (w/armor skirt) Zrinyi Zrinyi (w/armor skirt) Toldi I Toldi II Toldi III Nimrod Csaba armored car CV35 tankette ROMANIA =================== R-1 Tankette Renault R-35 Vanatorul de care R-35 TACAM R-2 TACAM T-60 Malaxa Carrier FINLAND =================== BT-42 ITALY =================== L6/40 Semovente L40 da 47/32 [ 01-02-2002: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

just a bump I must update that poor attempt at a CMBO 360 panorama. maybe tomorrow..... -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Moon: Irregardless if such a command would make it in or not, assaulting a vehicle will NEVER be an automatic success and will ALWAYS be a very dangerous thing to do. It's what they got medals for durin WWII. Any tank, if just barely supported by another pair of eyes and a gun watching over it can be a deadly trap to an assaulting squad or team. Having said that, unsupported vehicles will be much easier to knock out due to the new vehicle morale. Such vehicles might try to get the heck out of there (if they can), or maybe even surrender? Ever seen a big ol' Tiger running like a little pussy from a bunch of conscript Russians? <hr></blockquote> um..... Just my personal pet peeve, sorry I know that we have generally agreed that there is unspoken protocol here not to mention spelling errors anf grammar and since I have the greatest respect for Mr. Moon (General Moon ) I post this comment with the greatest of reluctance. however.... I feel compelled to point out the "word" irregardless is not a word that can be found in any english dictionary. I might suggest the use of the word irrespective or simply regardless instead. (The positive form of the word is "regard" if you would like to imply lack of regard (in the case above) then regardless is the correct use of the word. For those that like the sound of a word the begins with "irr" I would suggest you use "irrespective") Again my sincere apologies for the grammar lesson. Please continue the debate regarding the close assault of vehicles. Aside from the comment on the use of the word irregardless I agree completely with Moon's point and post. -tom w [ 01-02-2002: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

just a suggestion... Perhaps you should review pages 81 and 82 of the manual. There are already 4 differnet levels of spotting in full fog of war level 0 No contact units are there and you cannot see any of them because they are hiding level 1 sound contact (the enemy unit is shown at a location which maybe somewhat incorrect) level 2 first contact (muzzle flash) level 3 contact (misidenified tanks are common) level 4 contact Identified full identification perhaps you might want to read pages 81 and 82 and then revisit your latest post -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by vice108: I have the identical machine. The bottem line is that CMBO runs using rave instead of open GL for graphics. Although classic runs 99% of programs very well - there are some limitations - and CMBO is one of them. I'm happy to report ,however, that the game runs beautifully in Os 9.2.2, and that the GeForce 2 MX is powerful enough for me to run all the mods I want without any slowdowns. Although I use Os X exclusively now, I still restart in 9.2.2 to play CMBO - not that big of a deal. As for the classic rave extension, and having the Os' on different partitions ----- don't worry about it. Leave the extensions alone - it plays great the way it is in 9.2.2. As for the seperate partitions for different operating systems - this is a big debate on apple-centric message boards. I run both on one partition and everything works great ---- dont forget, this is the way apple sells them afterall - with both OS' on one partition. I hope this helps.<hr></blockquote> YES 9.2.2 works fine I ran CMBO on a brand new white iBook (500 megahurtz) and it ran GREAT fully loaded with mods right out of the box. Just boot into 9.2.2 and you will be FINE the OSX RAVE open GL (known) issue is a big problem and the only known solution at this time is to boot into 9.2.2 for rave based games like CMBO. -tom w

STUNNING! NICE work When and where are they available for download? Thanks for the GREAT mod! -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gyrene: QTVR Panoramas are pretty cool, and hat one you made came out very nicely, especially if you zoom in a little so the up/down works. You use the same buildings mod as I do, so for second I thought I was looking at my own CM. Gyrene<hr></blockquote> Thanks Gyrene I plan to show off all the vehicle mods I use when I have time (about 2-4 hours) to set up another panorama shoot so I can post a nice one with a nice dawn sunrise and lots of tanks scattered all round. I'm not that happy with my first attempt but I have not had time to work up another one. -tom w P.S. oops I think the server is down? I can't get the page with the CM pano on it to load I think the server will have to be restarted but that won't happen until this Thurs Oh Well... [ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

this is QTVR from the OTHER aspect only my first effort If I can find more time I will make a MUCH beter one with a nice dawn and vechicles in it this one is still sort of rough can anyone else see this: http://142.55.231.199/demo/cm.mov it was mostly just a test -tom w [ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ] [ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

I'm on a MAC and this is the BEST game of ANY computer game I have ever played. I am sincerely greatful that it is TOTALLY cross platform and that I can play SEAMLESSLY against PC users both in e-mail and via TCP/IP Thanks to Steve and Charles for the choice to offer both versions on ONE disk and to make it so seamlessly cross platform!! -tom w [ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gyrene: Tom, I got his video to play on my Mac, click on this link to get the Divx Codec you'll need to see Valve's video. You'll need to drag the codec to your extensions folder and reboot. Kurtz: Which capture job do you mean? Mine or Valve's? Gyrene<hr></blockquote> Great Thanks GOT IT! They are both nice. More of this kind of battle field Combat Mission "in-game" capture footage ( ok, digital footage) should be used for promotional purposes. Nice work guys. Can't wait to see the CMBB promo battlefield footage! -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Capt Canuck: Qustion...Where do you download DVIX???? Movie sonds great though... Thanks, Dave<hr></blockquote> I can see the one Gryrene posted but I'm on a Mac using IE (or netscape it does not matter), and I cannot see the one valve28 posted. His site ONLY works in IE on the mac and I still cannot see his video as it does not open in Quicktime. what plugin does his streaming video require ?? any other mac users out there that can see his video? Let me know I am curious thanks -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Joseph Porta: Hey, anyone got some pictures to back up their claims ? Particularly of that NZ beauty... [ 12-23-2001: Message edited by: Joseph Porta ]<hr></blockquote> does anyone have a name or military designation for that whacky NZ tank so we can try to look it up on the web?? -tom w

There was another thread some time ago that listed all the german tanks that could and could not. It has also been called nuetral steer Look up neutral steer in the search and I'm sure you will find at least a few threads where this issue has been discused. As already stated most Allied tanks did not have the nuetral steer functionality. Some German tanks did, I think the Tiger I was one of the first but I could be mistaken. -tom w

PE looks interesting but sadly it is not available for the MAC. Oh well, Back to CMBO for me -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Julio Bailey: I would not pre-order, because I have no clue on when CMBB is being released. Could somebody just let me know the estimated date of release.<hr></blockquote> Q1 2002 maybe Jan? ( not likely) Maybe feb 2002? Maybe March 2002? My guess is late March and I predict they might sell out their first run by May 2002 -tom w

Many of you may have seen this before: "Can I do a pre-order? "Because we won't be taking preorders as such The main reason is that our new online ordering system, which will be in place fairly soon, processes credit cards online in realtime. Therefore, when you place your order you are charged right there and then. Because of that we won't be able to take orders until about a week or so before we think the game will ship." -Steve" its in the CMBB FAQ I guess that sounds like a big improvement over the way it was handled the first time around. I hope it works out better when CMBB is released and the 10,000 or so refresh monkeys hit that server with their credit card numbers to order CMBB. Anyone who remembers the evening of the "refresh Monkeys" when the Gold Demo (I think :confused: ) was about to be released, knows what damage thousands of RABID Combat Mission fans can do "en masse" to a poor defenceless server, I hope those folks you contracted with are prepared for the revenge of the refresh monkeys when CMBB goes on sale -tom w [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>

Hey PL Nice complilation of images! Good Work! Bump to the TOP! -tom w

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by KEEF888: I've noticed that AFVs which normally should stand up to certain weapons' fire, end up buying the farm way too often, i.e. Shermans with 75/76 guns, constantly taking out Panthers with front shots. In reality, this was a very rare occurrence. Now, I understand that the game takes in account such things as weak points, lucky shots, etc. But this seems to be a CONSTANT and CONSISTENT situation, which leads to problems in how to attack/defend a position. The US War Department even admitted that when dealing with a situation of Shermans versus Panthers, the ratio was 5:1! Shermans would try for a side/rear shot if possible, but barring that, much of the time their best tactic was to run like hell and get in a better position. Seems like in CM, a Sherman can go toe-to-toe with a Panther any day - which drives me nuts! Is anyone else experiencing this problem, or do I just suck? :confused: <hr></blockquote> "I've noticed that AFVs which normally should stand up to certain weapons' fire, end up buying the farm way too often" First off What is "normally" based on? Based on reality of WWII tank combat AAR's or "normally" based on your exposure to inaccurate wargames that have been notorius in the past for exagerating the armour protection of certian well know "ubertanks"? The HVAP 76mm round fired by the 76 mm equipped Sherm and Hellcat had a tungsten core and was in limited supply but it was also known to penetrate most axis armour from the frontal aspect. IF you are still curious perhaps you should purchase Rexford's GREAT book on Armour Penetration in WW II. -tom w [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]</p>