aka_tom_w
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Posts posted by aka_tom_w
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Google "ATI" + FOG + Problems + drivers (add video games or Mac or PC or windows to make you happy.
There are 1000's of hits that come up ALL about Fog and ATI and how it JUST DOES NOT WORK.
BFC's on going support of this nightmare is detailed on this page:
BFC Page for tech support of ATI Radeon card problems in the past.
If you can live without fog or smoke the game will likely run fine I am guessing.
BUT don't get me started on Mac OS X issues, it would appear the only card that comes in new intel Mac Laptops (and I am guessing you will need an intel based Mac if you want to play CM:SF on your non-PC laptop, ONLY ships with those darn ATI video cards in them!!! grrr).
May I ask that someone somewhere please beta test CM:SF on an Mac Powerbook Pro Intel chip Laptop? Please. While the Mac users are only about %10 of the computer market in general there are (I would guess) more then %10 of us Mac (and MAC OS X ONLY!) supporters on these forums.
Thanks
-tom w
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Hell Yeah!
Chance Encounter was a Classic!!
I do hope that at least one of the demo scenarios is NOT a/the predictable "large conventional US Stryker force tries to take small town held by lots of well hidden Militia with many RPG's and IED's and booby traps everywhere". (Now sure we are expecting one of those, and I am even looking forward to playing the underdog Syrians, but we are just asking you "mix it up" a little, maybe for instance the US as the defender? that kind of thing.) ....maybe....
A "Chance Encounter Like" scenario would be fun and exciting and in keeping with the "fun" spirit of the Gold Demo CMBO days. (many years ago).
Right on Capt Foobar!
-tom w
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from this thread:Battlefront.comAdministrator
Member # 42
posted December 06, 2006 11:18 AM
Tom's right. I'm playing on a 2GHz system with a crappy ATI card. It works pretty darned well, though I certainly wouldn't mind something faster.
What EVERYBODY should do is stay away from ATI cards. We're doing our best, but trying to work around their flakey shadow technique and a few other things is impossible. We can only do so much
I hate bad mouthing hardware, but if someone has a purchase decision to make, going with ATI is a bad idea.
Steve
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well
I should not answer for the developers but it is looking MORE and more likely that if you want to play CM:SF as soon as it is released you will need an intel Mac and you will need to boot into Windoze.
NO one has said that officially yet... but it looks like there has been no official commitment to release an OS X version of the game at the same time as the Windoze version either. I understand they are developing for windoze on windoze now BUT I could be wrong and I hope I am wrong.
I regrest saying this but if you have a 1.6 gHz iMac that does not have an intel chip in it you are in "no man's land", it won't boot into OS 9 so CMAK and CMBO are a right off and it won't boot into windows (forget emulation it won't work with video games) then if CM:SF is not released to run on OS X you will need a new computer (Mac or PC ) that can boot into windows.
As far as I know, all Apple computers that are currently offered for sale at this time have intel chips in them.
sorry to break the news...
I hope I am wrong.
-tom w
[ December 26, 2006, 07:13 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]
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Hi Steve
Thanks great answer thanks for the explanation, I get it now.
Hi StellarRat....
ahhh the old issue of the "imperfect" command delay.
good question...
-tom w
[ December 21, 2006, 02:40 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]
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I am still not sure I "get" action spots?
Is it not just simply like the dot in the center of every hex on a PanzerBlitz board game.
Meaning that for every CM:SF game tile there is a "center dot" (action spot) and the game determines what other action spots this one has LOS to?
Steve says:
"Action Spots are 8m x 8m squares that are dynamically assigned to each map based on terrain based on LOS. They tell CM what spots are important to be in, why, and how they relate to other spots. It is akin to what earlier wargames called "LOS Maps".
Sorry... I am still trying to visualize Action Spots.
I guess I am reading too much or thinking too much:
this part has me a little puzzled:
Question:
It might be easier to follow what I am visualizing by recalling how LOS worked in games like ASL. LOS was established by connecting a straightedge from the dot in the middle of one hex to the dot in the middle of another hex. Though I gather than Action Spots are going to be more dynamic than a fixed hexagonal grid (are they going to overlap, for example?), I could only think that LOS was going to be checked by essentially this same center point to center point technique.
Steve says:
I think they are more dynamically laid out than a straight grid, but I'm not sure about the inner workings of this part of the system that much. It's mostly geeky programmer stuff!
Thanks
-tom w
[ December 21, 2006, 08:05 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]
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That is sort of interestingOriginally posted by RSColonel_131st:You guys have been bombing arabian speaking countrys for 5 years now. It's kinda hard to fathom that no one managed to recruit or train more people fluent in arabic during that timespan...
Maybe when you look at it the decision was made (from the top down somewhere) that it is easier to bomb them then talk to them?
Think about it...
-tom w
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This should be OLD news?
Why didn't someone think of this about 5 years ago?
This should not be that hard ?........
Intelligence agencies and the military are turning to technology developed for call centers, sporting events and television shopping channels to compensate for an ongoing shortage of qualified translators, interviews and public documents show.In Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Defense Department's research arm is testing portable translation devices that allow English-speaking soldiers to hold conversations with Iraqis.
MORE: Military tests portable translators
Government-backed researchers are working to convert broadcasts and website postings from Arabic and Mandarin Chinese into English and to build search engines that can extract complex information from the translated texts.
These efforts are part of a government plan to bolster the thin ranks of skilled translators, say researchers and experts, so human translators can focus on more demanding projects.
"Human language specialists are precious assets," says John Hall, a former Navy SEAL who is president of VoxTec International. The Annapolis, Md., company makes a handheld translation device being tested in Iraq. "You're never going to have enough of them," Hall says. "But if a machine can do some basic tasks, that frees up (a translator) for other work."
In-Q-Tel, a venture-capital company funded by the CIA, has invested in a company that produces software that helps private companies glean information from recorded customer-service calls.
The technology could help intelligence analysts decipher subtleties, such as differences in accents and pronunciations, that can change the meanings of spoken words, its makers say.
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Operation Northwoods?
Operation Northwoods was the code name for a set of proposals by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1962 intended to create a pretext for a war on Cuba. The operation called for a series of false-flag terrorist attacks by the Pentagon against US ships and aircraft, and Cuban refugees.Operation Northwoods was developed in secret and remained secret for thirty-five years, being declassified in late 1997. Following that, its contents were publicized in increments.
November 18, 1997: The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board declassified about 1500 pages of previously secret military records, including the Northwoods documents. 1
November 6, 1998: The National Security Archive published "Appendix to Enclosure A" and "Annex to Appendix to Enclosure A" of the Northwoods documents online.
November 29, 1998: CNN airs "Episode 10: Cuba" as part of its televised Cold War documentary series. 2
Late April, 2001: James Bamford's book "Body of Secrets" is published. Billed as an expose on the NSA, the book functioned primarily to highlight Operation Northwoods.
April 30, 2001: The National Security Archive published the Northwoods documents online in a form that included the memoranda.
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If they can code up a Realistic Iron Man FOW option it will be almost shear terror to play the game in RealTime.
so are you asking yourself "Why would anyone want to play Iron Man in Real Time??"
simple for the challenge and the adrenalin rush I guess...
I might only do it once, but it would sure be fun against the computer AI because then no one else would see how embarrasingly poorly I play. (I say that "embarrasing" part because I have no clue how to either attack with US forces or defend with Syrian forces using all the new modern day high tech equipment in CM:SF "But I am willing to learn".)
-tom w
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Glad to be of service. Humour is important in life.
Just wondered if anyone was paying attention
-tom w
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:eek:Originally posted by Battlefront.com:These situations will be extremely uncommon. If a tank in Action Spot 32,45 can see an enemy tank in Action Spot 56,94 then it probably has LOF as well. The only reason he wouldn't is if something, like a truck, happens to move into the LOF just before he fires. If the truck moves though the LOF after the shot is fired, it won't matter because the shot is already on its way.
The truck had better hope it doesn't get hit too, since all rounds are real time tracked from shooter to target. Meaning, if that truck moves into the LOF at the same eaxct moment that the shell is passing through, and the shell is at a height that is less than that of the truck, then the truck is going to be hit.
Steve
WOW!
Sounds great
any AAR anecdotes from your play test experience with LOS or LOF issues and "that truck in the LOF" getting nailed (like and friendly fire as a Stryker passes through the LOF of a shot from a tank for instance?
I really disliked that aspect of CMx1 where you could fire directly through friendly vehicles. I am assuming you cannot fire through any vehicle in CMx2 without damaging it. Yes?
-tom w
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Again WOW!!!Originally posted by Battlefront.com:Yes, LOF is tracked based on where the actual soldier is. I suspect it is a lot finer than 1m x 1m. LOF is calculated on the fly this time, so things like guys hiding behind a moving tank can be simulated this time around (it wasn't possible with CMx1).
Individual soldiers act individually. This means 2 guys might keep poking their heads up while the others stay down. The decision is based on the unit's Commands and situation, just like CMx1. Unlike CMx1 it is not abstracted graphically.
Steve
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I predict that as soon as the demo appears there will be a thread discussing the appropriate way (in step by step military detail) to clear a building.
Steve has listed two possibilities in this thread alone:
i) "using the Assault Command instead of Move"
ii) use "the Cautious Command which will send one of the Squad's Fire Teams in first, followed by the second one IF the first one completes its movement successfully"
(Hint: don't MOVE into possible danger in unknown buildings)
[ December 19, 2006, 08:53 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]
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Hi stikkypixie
I think that pretty much covers itThe TacAI will not stop a Team dead in its tracks if one of its number is shot at and/or becomes a casualty. Think about how unlikely it would be for you to move at all under those conditions! It's impossible for us to code up the TacAI to be smart enough to know the difference between various subtle situations where it would be better/worse to stop/forge ahead.if you tell them to move into an ambush the game and the tac AI will let them all "move" into the ambush until they are all dead.
NOW Steve did not mention the case of if you are playing RealTime, in that case (maybe) you should be able to micro manage that squad (if you are looking in that direction in the heat of battle) and that "move" into that ambush. In WeGo you would have to wait the full 60 secs to pull out or issue new orders.
I think Steve just said " It's impossible for us to code up the TacAI to be smart enough to know the difference"
That does NOT sound unreasonable to me.
-tom w
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That's the real question....
"But what does the squad do when they MOVE into a house and the first guy gets hit?"
My first thought is "Lemmings" video came, they are all in a line, the lead lemming falls into the pit of peril and dies and the whole line of lemmings behind him does the same thing one after another, plop...plop...plop!
Are we playing Lemmings?
-tom w
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good question
lets follow up and watch this thread for details?
-tom
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free streaming video of that segment here:
web page ABC news stryker ride footage
no actual footage there..
this page:
web page pay per view @ABC news
has a link that may be the segment John is refering to but it is not free
youtube has footage of a Stryker in Iraq that catches some air going full speed over a jump:
its ONLY 13 secs
More jumping:
one more
Dirty Deed Done Dirt Cheap video
this one is a well done series of stills edited into a video, music for a more mature crowd. (over 40
)nicely done LOTS of pics of strykers in action
[ December 13, 2006, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]
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He was educated in the US, as I understand it, from reading his posts he talked about attending a US college but he returned to Syria after schooling (I think)...
something like that
-tom w
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sounds good to me
my first thought was Somolia a la Black Hawk Down about 1993 I think.
I think Imperial Grunt is offering one very plausible explanation, thanks for sharing.
-tom w
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um LoneSyrian was recently banned...
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LoneSyrian might be reading this and so I would suggest your comments are not really all that funny.Originally posted by Homo ferricus:its like that feeling when your girlfriend just broke up with you, even though you never really liked her, so you'd think that you wouldn't really care, but now that shes gone, you just want her back.
so you can once again provoke her into getting herself banned
I am a little surprised Steve did not comment on your activity here as well. IMHO
I enjoyed reading LoneSyrian's comments..... (and non-Western perspective) and he could write and compose his thoughts and opinions very well in english which was refreshing.
oh well ... maybe he will be back in mid January or he will have moved on to other things by then.
-tom w
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LoneSyrian
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
For one, this Canadian is always a happy to be labeled a Pacifist Canadian or have Canada refered to as "Pacifist Canada".
Your english spelling and grammar are excellent and your perspective and opinon from the "other side" is unique on this board. (Very unique and valued by the curious and open minded I am sure.)
I hope you will choose not to use the forum as a surrogate battle ground. Most folks here (the vast majority) are just interested in sharing information and learning new things about geopolitical conflict and military hardware and politics and other non-western policitical opinions and values.
The fact that you can communicate the views and values of the "other side" so well in english and seem to have some kind of understanding of the "American values" side, make your contributions here invaluable in my mind.
Much of what you have posted this "Pacifist Canadian" does not really dissagree with all the much. (Maybe a little hyperbole here and there, sure) But mostly your posts, (when they are not flaming rants written in the heat of anger and passion) are very informative and sometimes entertaining.
Just let Steve (he is very fair) be your guide and keep posting.
Good Luck
And thanks for all your insight and comments so far.
-tom w
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Hey Gpig!Originally posted by Gpig:Very cool. The road wheels/suspension looks great. There should be a little hula-girl dashboard bobble on the front of that turret . . .
Gpig
since you did not put you e-mail in your profile
I posted mine.
Drop me a line and let me know where you landed.
We should stay in touch.
tom w
System requirements?
in Combat Mission Shock Force 1
Posted
Old news on the "Mac OS X" issue"
date unknownAny more up to date news on Mac OS X?
Not all Mac users have Intel Macs yet, and even worse Apple intel Macs mosly ship with ATI video cards.
So right now it looks like an owner of an intel macbook Pro (with the intel CPU) will be very interested in loading and booting in Windows to play the PC version of the game (first to be released) on their intel Mac.
oh well
-tom w