aka_tom_w

Perhaps those flame tanks and the flames they spew out are SO valuable we should consider keeping them buttoned up ALL the time. That seems like the only obvious solution. -tom w

WOW Holy Crap! I will never find time to play all these scenarios. (But I will try!) Thanks to ALL Thanks Rune, I do hope to find time to try your big scenario. Thanks Also to Henry K and Freak for the e-mail of the Scenario conversion from "That Other WWII Squad Level Combat Board Game" I still have not indulged in a GOOD Battle of the Bulge scenario in CM and now that v1.12 is final I plan to sit down and savour one good historical bulge Scenario as the Americans. Thanks again to ALL! -tom w

Bump Look at that great screen shot from DFDR! Still hoping BTS will help us out in CM2 with cover and concealment data for some desert terrain tiles. -tom w

In the Winter where the Allies are defending and the Germans are on the offensive. I would like to play a scenario where I can play the Allies on the defense against the AI attacking in the snow as the Germans. Can anyone recomend a few good historical scenario's? ANy new custom designed historical scenario's out there I may have missed? And who is that has the motherload of those converted ASL™ scenario conversions that can no longer be downloaded that I could request they could e-mail me ? Thanks! -tom w

E sorry no good running count at this point to update so I'm too lazy to do the whole thread. E for sure!

Ya, BUT........ I played a guy last night that was happy I wanted the Allies and then Requested (specifically requested) Nov 44. At the time I had NO clue why, now I have a clue thanks. So when your opponent gives you the choice of sides and then is THRILLED that you picked Allies, and then they pick Nov 44 I would say be prepared to face VG SMG squads. No Doubt about that. As Allied Players we are not paranoid, Just SLOW (Duh!) because up until this thread I had NO idea there "might" be an advantage to the Axis forces in Nov '44 except that the Allied Tungsten rounds were not really widely available at that time. So when you face a KT and have no Tungsten in a 1000 point QB scenario, you have a Real problem IMHO. This is not a paranoid conspiracy theory is it just a simple investigation into why as Allied players we have others requesting Nov 44 when they get to pick the use of the Axis forces and then buy whatever they want, last night we played "unrestricted". This ALL reinforces my complete disdain for the inherent gaminess when some players prefer to "buy" units. I have accomondated requests in TCP/IP play to allow for Players to "buy" units, in the past but I REALLY prefer play tested canned scenario's or the QB where the computer AI chooses the forces for both sides. Just a few comments..... not a witch hunt or a conspiracy theory -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-05-2001).]

YES! that helps in my case as I played the person last night that likes to buy the King Tiger and 4 PzIV's and rest of the points were spend on those Volksgrenadiere with SMG squads! Now that makes sense why it is good to request Nov 44 as the German player. Thanks -tom w

Vanir says: "IP: Logged Vanir It is because of tungsten availability. The change happens when the date goes from Dec '44 to Jan '45. Every Allied vehicle that has a chance of having tungsten goes up in price." But that is Jan 45 not Dec 44 so there is more tungsten availability after Dec 44 so some Allied TD's that might get Tungsten cost more. But that does not exactly explain why some German players might still prefer Nov 44 date? But Nov 44 is still a month before more widespread availability of Allied Tungsten rounds in the game. -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-05-2001).]

from a previous thread: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/016714.html aka_tom_w Member posted 02-25-2001 10:14 PM Is this news or am I just a Dolt? (Ok I can be a Dolt I can deal with that ) I just determined that a Veteran Allied M18 Hellcat is worth different points at different months of availability. hence: nov 1944 vet m18 hellecat cost 135 points may 1945 vet m18 hellcat cost 141 points So My guess (in the absence of any real evidence to the contrary) is the that late May 1945 M18 is worth 6 more points than the earlier nov 1944 m18 due to increased availability of Tungsten ammunintion. any other ideas? Is the M18 in Nov '44 the SAME tank as the M18 in May '45? I think it is but I have not taken the time to confirm the exact stats? Anyone notice this descrepency with any other tanks? Allied are Axis? Just curious? Thanks -tom w IP: Logged Shadow 1st Hussars Member posted 02-25-2001 10:28 PM This probably does have something to do with the availiblity of tungsten ammuntion at different stages of the war. That's the only reason I can think of. Check the firefly. It probably costs more later in the war, because it had no HE ammo in the beginning. Not sure about it though. ------------------ If the words "f**k" and "frontal" were removed from the vocabulary, the Canadian Army would be left both speechless, and unable to attack... -Michael Dorosh shadow@jagdtiger.de Canada For CM I AM CANADIAN! [This message has been edited by Shadow 1st Hussars (edited 02-25-2001).] IP: Logged Forever Babra Member posted 02-25-2001 10:29 PM Never noticed, but your theory is good. ------------------ Stereotypes IP: Logged hal9000 Junior Member posted 02-25-2001 10:29 PM I think so, though I don't have any figures to prove it right now. I just started a 6/44 game and Shermans are much more expensive than I remember them to be regularly. IP: Logged Dittohead Member posted 02-25-2001 10:37 PM Maybe cause they stopped producing hellcats in October 44. IP: Logged jasoncawley@ameritech.net Member posted 02-25-2001 11:01 PM Dittohead, I wonder if you might have an answer to a question of mine, since you knew when Hellcat production stopped. How many of the beasties were made, start to finish? I have figures for M-10s and M-36s, but not for the M-18s. IP: Logged Crank_GS Member posted 02-25-2001 11:02 PM That is a possibility, Ditto, but haven't they already said that point values have nothing to do with availability/scarcity? Just wondering... ------------------ Capt. Byron Crank, US Army IP: Logged North Star Junior Member posted 02-25-2001 11:10 PM I've seen this too. I thought that it may relate to having more tungsten ammo available at later dates, which makes the allied tanks more valuable. Don't think I have seen the same thing with the German tanks. IP: Logged Vanir Member posted 02-26-2001 01:37 AM It is because of tungsten availability. The change happens when the date goes from Dec '44 to Jan '45. Every Allied vehicle that has a chance of having tungsten goes up in price.

Ya but.. Maybe I'm mistaken but isn't there more widespread tungsten availability after on and after Dec 44? At some point and I thought it was dec 44 the cost of Allied TDs that might have tungsten in them goes up because there is a great chance that those tanks will have more than one or two rounds of the tungsten available? I could be ALL wrong on the Dec 44 date but it seems to be prefered by German players for some reason. I know for sure that there is a date in the game after which Hellcats get more expensive because there is greater tungsten availability. -tom w

again does this issue have anything to do with Tungsten availability in Allied TD's? -tom w

I just got my butt kicked last night by a German Player that requested Nov 44 Strange thing.. I bought M18's and a jumbo 76 and I got ONLY two rounds of tungsten between all 3 tanks And guess what? my opponent bought a KT and it was unstoppable, we agreed to play no holds barred totally gamey "do anything you want" so I deserved what I got.It was a 1000 pt Me and I thought I was prepared with two M18 Hellcats and jumbo 76. But I think keen German players have determined that there was a tungsten shortage before Dec 44 and like to play to that lack of tungsten in Nov 44? What Cool new hardware is available to the Germans in Nov 44? I know the KT is for SURE! Yes I will be wary of requests to play Nov44 when it requested by those that prefer the germans. A good point for discussion here for sure. I look forward to any other comments by players who favour the German side. Thanks for bringing it up I wondered the SAME thing last night when I saw only 2 tungsten rounds show up in 3 tanks in Nov 44. -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-05-2001).]

OK Sure they are in business... But I mentioned this so that The Desert campaign, (if the necesary data regarding movement and concealment, was coded into some desert sand tile) could be a build your own effort by our own community here, so that BTS could MAKE even more money by moving on to CM II the complete rewrite of the game engine sooner. I completely appreciate that these are LARGE high end strategic business descions, but I base my suggestion on the work already being done on the Desert Campaign now except for a some early war vehicles and cover and concelament and movement data values for some terrain tiles in that threater of the war, the people doing the modifcations to the textures for this era have done a REMARKABLE job! So I was just thinking, that there would already be early war vehicles in CM2 and some "desert like" terrain in Russia, so it might be easier to do more with the Desert Campaign when CM2 comes out. So Why not give us the tools we need to let the communnity at large here loose on the Desert Campaign so the BTS can work on other Era's or releases or move on more quickly to CM II. I suggest this because if development on CM II starts in 18 - 24 months and if takes some period time (6-12 months??) to complete, we should be able to look forward to COOL new features and graphics to take advantage of new technology and hardware that I would say will likly be TWO whole generations of technology ahead of where we are now. (e.i. two 18 month technology advancement cycles). This is suggesting that the minimum hardware specs they target for CM II should be those hardware specs that are expected to be the mid range of the consumer level computer 3 years from now, which is clearly three years more advanced than the average consumer computer now. So here is the motivation. To suggest to BTS to consider the possibility starting development on CM II within 18-24 months so that we can see the release of a NEW generation of wargame that would include the HUGE advance of relative spotting within 36 months. I say this because it would not surprise me to learn that some completing developer will attempt to "one up" BTS and the Combat Mission series with the inclusion of GREAT new features like relative spotting within three years. So why not leave the desert campaign OUT of the development cycle and just give away a few extra vehicles and data for terrain tiles in CM2 and then move on to the Early War years in France and then the NEXT big thing, move on to CM II develpoment. (Now they can all laugh at me and tell me to sit down and shut up! ) Its just a suggestion, motivated by a strong desire to SEE relative spotting and CM II developed as soon as possible. Thanks for all your replies, I'm glad some here see this as a welcome (though clearly unlikly) idea. We now return you to your regularily scheduled Peng ™ Thread reading time... -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-03-2001).]

I have personal experience with #1 and and am still laughing about #2! Buy the Damn game, if you liked wargames and liked Squad Leader this is your Dream come true. The Game is now Finished, Complete tested, retested, queried and vetted by BTS and all the Hundreds, (1000's ?) of players on this board. If you buy this game you will get addicted to it and then you WILL save money by not wanting waste spending money on ANY other games, over the period of a few months you will be surprised how much money this will save you! Welcome aboard Have Fun !! -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-03-2001).]

OK Here's an idea. As a old wargamer who Played Avalon Hill's Tobruk (still have the box and the rules) in my teens, I am keenly interested in the Desert Campaign version of this GREAT game. (I am thrilled with CMBO the way it is as well of course) I admire the efforts put into the Desert Fox mods being worked on currently. BUT how about this, would it be possible for BTS to code into CM2 some of the data needed for desert and sand terrain? THINK about it.... Many of the vehicles units and weapons from the period of the Eastern Front "could" be the same units vehicles and weapons found in the Desert. SO how about this.... BTS just give us some data for the terrain features we need for Africa (sand, Desert, beach, what else?) and the diligent moders here will have the Desert campaign complete with historically accurate units (except the early war British AVF's I guess) in NO time! But what about those lend lease Lee's with the 75 in the side turret Sponson? For the Russians? PERFECT for the British Grant in the Desert NO? There are plenty other eras for BTS to work on, but if they could just "give away" and code some desert like terrain features into CM2's terrain tiles, I'm sure we could all modify the rest of the game to recreate the battles in the Desert campaign MUCH more accurately from data and units likly to be in CM2. (Please ) Any other thoughts? -tom w

I know This might sound sort of capitalistic BUT.... Why don't you sell it? Are you "permitted" to sell it? I would like to have a copy as well and would be thrilled to get it for free, but I would be happy to pay for it or a the very least for shipping, or is a really just a digital spread sheet or .pdf file? Thanks -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-01-2001).] [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-01-2001).]

Tanks are Worth ALOT Never forget that The actual points they cost are weighed in the final victory points count. While a major VL is worth only 300 points if you loose two cheap tanks or one expensive tank to take that VL you have really ONLY broke even. Loss of ONE tank worth three hundred points is equal to the control of one major VL at the end of the game. To win I have found it is VERY important to kill more enemy points than they kill of mine. It means winning the infantry battle and winning the armour battle. The Loss of even ONE more tank than your opponent has a significant impact on the victory points. I agree with those here that say it is far better to play the game with the intention of destroying enemy units than it is to just try to hold the VL's. A shrewd player may "give up" the VL's for an opporunity to "punish" you heavily for trying to hold them, meaning that if you place all your units on the VL's too early your opponent can use arty or stand off with tanks and and mortars and destroy those units occupying the VLs' without ever risking his own units. I would suggest that you should be very wary of this tactic and focus your efforts on locating and elimating as many enemy units as possible, THEN take the VLs if it is not too costly to do so. -tom w

With the new slope modifiers in the tungsten penetration code (this make penetration MORE difficult now) as a player who usually prefers the Allies, I FEAR the Panther the most. I think it has VERY good long range accuracy GREAT penetration and is very hard to kill frontally. Just one Panther under the command of skilled German player can really be a large thorn in your side (ok ok, a REAL Pain in the a** ) if the German player, plays to the strengths of that Panther and stands off with it, making it impossible for the Allied units to break through his line and get a good flank shot at the thing. In more than one game (one was a bad luck of the draw QB where the computer picked forces) a lone Panther, that proved impossible to KO, was easily the difference victory and defeat. I have been defeated a few times in scenario's where one Panther was used VERY effectively to KO all my next to useless Sherm 75's. If the Allies have no GOOD (like 76's) Tank killers and if denied any opportunity for a flank shot at that Panther, those damn tanks can cut through the rest of your armoured units like a hot knife through butter. So as the German player, buy one Panther and a few Stugs or Hezters and plenty of infantry with some SMG's and you are Set! Then get the Panther into a GOOD hull down location and DON'T Move and don't allow ANYTHING to get a flank shot at your Panther and you win be on you way to GLORIUS Victory! -tom w

Mac 3 PC 0

Yes and you are totally correct as a last resort if thats all you have left, your plan is a good one. Except I wonder about the split squads and the morale hit they take. Again I would only want to split squads as a last resort,but technically your suggestion and advice sounds clearly appropriate to this situation. -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 02-27-2001).]

I know this may to too obvious to state, but since it seems to be over looked here... Lets not ask if there is ANOTHER way to soften up that opposite treeline BEFORE the planned infantry assault. If you can use smoke, can you not also use mortars and artillary if available to prepare (soften) the area suspected of harbouring the enemy? Do you have any AFV's with some spare HE, handy to stand off and pound the treeline for a minute or two? Can you use ANY from of diversionary tactic? Can you have your HMG conduct recon by fire into thbe suspected area to see if anything moves as a result of the fire so you can focus on targeting at least one known enemy unit before you begin your assualt. This may have been implied in the original post but I think, IMHO, that "fresh platoon which just finished deploying in the treeline on one side of an open area." SHOULD use a moving or running assault across an open area suspected to be covered by multiple intersecting arcs of fire of opfor units ONLY as a last resort. The LAST thing I would ever do is risk the lives of that "fresh platoon" (safe and in cover) without exhausting all other options of laying some "hurt" on those opfor units suspected of hiding in that opposing treeline. AND the idea of the smoke and getting around behind them in the woods is a keen an shrewd idea as well. Virtually ANY plan of attack is better than running across an open area with fresh infantry without knowing what is waiting in that treeline over there. Exercise extreme caution in these situations whenever possible. Now, I understand all of that might just be "common sense" on the battle field but I wasn't making any assumptions. Anyone else? Comments? -tom w

I'm with ya! And while this is not necesarily in the spirit of the military profession, I would like to add that if you are not a part of the solution here on the forum then maybe you are actually part of the problem! -tom w

its up now check it out: http://www.afv-uk.net/cmoutpost/ -tom w I only observed that it is up now, I HAD nothing to do with the fact that is was down or came back up this morning.... This is just a friendly PSA! (Public Service Announcement)

its up now -tom w

Is this news or am I just a Dolt? (Ok I can be a Dolt I can deal with that ) I just determined that a Veteran Allied M18 Hellcat is worth different points at different months of availability. hence: nov 1944 vet m18 hellecat cost 135 points may 1945 vet m18 hellcat cost 141 points So My guess (in the absence of any real evidence to the contrary) is the that late May 1945 M18 is worth 6 more points than the earlier nov 1944 m18 due to increased availability of Tungsten ammunintion. any other ideas? Is the M18 in Nov '44 the SAME tank as the M18 in May '45? I think it is but I have not taken the time to confirm the exact stats? Anyone notice this descrepency with any other tanks? Allied are Axis? Just curious? Thanks -tom w