aka_tom_w

Sorry to ask I have been searching for a quote from Steve About how he said the player would have many fog of war choices. It is now hidden deep in all the noise in the "bones" threads and there are lots of bones files. there was only about 2-3 sentences, less then one paragraph about how the player would be able to choose just how much borg and how much "God-Like" influence the player would like to have. but the words Fog of War settings or choice of fog of war settings or selectable by the player never really came up in the post. Does anyone remember where that post was? I am still searching for it. Thanks -tom w [ February 23, 2005, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

I would suggest that from viewing the screenshots it looks like you can be the gunner and yes "you'd have to learn to use the range gradiants like a real sight." but that is JUST my guess It is not impossible in a computer game simulation..... (its been done before 5-7 years ago) Panzer Elite had the SAME feature, I recall I played it for a little while and enjoyed the role of the gunner and aiming the main gun, in the German tanks. -tom w

OK Which of these game features would you say we can live without in CMx2? This is what can be DONE NOW in the T72 tank sim Game engine: THIS is the official feature list Found here: T72 Features. T72 Features: Wide variety of armored vehicles included as well as infantry, artillery, engineering vehicles, helicopters and trucks Command attached units (infantry and armor) up to a full tank platoon Mechanized infantry can be transported inside trucks and APCs and on tank hulls Detailed modeling of each vehicle's fire control systems, main and secondary weapons, ammunition types, engine management and transmissions, starting and driving procedures Realistic night vision combat capabilities – realistically modeled low light level and infrared sights More than 70 types of buildings and installations that can be damaged or destroyed Over 40 types of plants, trees and grass sway in the breeze High-quality modeling of water surfaces and amphibious vehicle capabilities 5000+ polygons per vehicle including detailed bump mapping Scalable realism settings Powerful mission and structure editor available LAN Network and Online multiplayer Advanced Physics and Environmental Game Engine Vast open spaces with draw distances of more than 2 km Topographic height differences on maps of up to 800 m Realistic passage of time transitions (day changes to night) Dynamic weather and environmental effects: smoke, fog, rain, rainbows, dust, wind effects Deformable terrain - shell holes and trenches dug out in real time Destroyable structures, vehicles and vegetation Clouds cast shadows Optical lens flares and sun glare effects Realistic ballistics – wind effects, shell aerodynamics and flight characteristics, barrel wear and droop Shell impact angle calculations Detailed armor penetration results Post-penetration shell path and damage assessments High Explosive fragmentation dispersal calculations Realistic vehicle and structure collision detection and damage Individual internal and external vehicle system damage modeling including track damage, engine overheats, fuel leaks, turret jams, crew casualties, bailouts and more Found here: T72 Features.

OK then! being that it is only for PC users you won't get my sale. BUT I too want the NEW improved WWll tank sim with the latest graphics and the newest game engine AND on a MAC OS X system as well! its NICE to dream (I say that because I am a NICHE market of ONE guy, JUST a guy with a MAC that wants a WWII tank sim....) OH well I can wait for CMx2 at Least I can count on that Mac OS X project NOT turning into vapour ware! thanks -tom w

is there a BFC forum set up to discuss T72? Those preview screen shots look STUNNING! but I am guessing it will only be available for Windoze computers.... -tom w

yea! Me too SAME thing I am pretty sure I was one of the first 999 sign ups but my "good" triple digit number got smoked the same way. tried to post...... ...and poof! I needed a new number too. (but I am happy with 1515 its easy to remember!) -tom w

YES! This is a good Point! if the player is somehow permitted to "spread the squad out" how will the game reflect and or model the presumed advantages the player is really trying to take advantage of by spreading them out???? I think this is a VERY big can of worms. Steve says: (AND I paraphrase here) "Don't worry, trust us, we will figure it out and it will work." ("you at least owe us the benefit of the doubt ", or words to that effect) I am one of the hopeful, and my confidence is high, BUT if there is NO 1:1 LOS and LOF and you have your squads spread out real thin so arty won't get them ALL with one round then what other spotting or firepower advantages will this squad realize when you have them spread out for their own protection? Its hard to believe we still have to wait almost one full YEAR for some of the answers to these questions . -tom w [ February 21, 2005, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

Great handle there Captain Scarlet, you MUST be over 35 yrs of age Sadly this is not SPECTRUM, and BFC is NOT an organization dedicated to battling the ongoing threat of the evil Mysterions... sorry back to our regualary scheduled program Real TIme play with no breaks cannot work here because that down time is needed for the "crunch", that is when the Magic of armour penetration calculations takes time to make the game and the penetration results work historically realistically, it is somewhat understood that with home computers, (even fast ones of next year) these calculations cannot take place on the fly in Real Time. So we will be happy with WEGO and the 1 minute action phase. sorry -tom w

Hi Steve has hinted that they think it is realistic to model voluntary manning and unmanning of crew served weapons and vehicle crews may be allowed to voluntarilly dismount. He did not say that exactly, but it has been hinted at here somewhere. -tom w

I just can't figure out why this thread is not locked as well :confused: Most of the time this forum and most fora here at BFC are for the most part free of this form of juvenile verbage and behaviour that we have witnessed here of late. I think I will try to focus on the "better days" (which are about %99 of time around here) I have seen on this forum and I will hope the right people here will know how to deal with this issue in a mature and respectful manner. -tom w [ February 17, 2005, 02:55 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

No no don't be confused the is issue is 1:1 control of men in a squad, Squads will be controled as a Squad but each man will be represented with his own graphic image, BUT that image of one soldier is NOT to be controlable by the player. YES as far as I can tell Tanks will be individaully controled like CMx1 games we play now. ok? -tom w Are you saying we won't have control over individual tanks in a tank platoon? I for one like the god mode, I'm currently playing War in the Pacific with full human control. I consider CM1x a tactical wargame and I want tactical control in a game of this scale. Is CM2x a tactical wargame, what is the scale? </font>

Is CommonSense the LATEST new member to join the forum? UM let me see... How many other posts has commonsense made? LOOK ZERO!!!! oh that explains it, .... that was his FIRST post.... I wonder who CommonSense was before he got a NEW account just to flame the developer.... :eek: words escape me at this point... -tom w

Where can I get the August Bank Holiday for CMAK?? is it posted somewhere for download? thanks -tom w Mike, Click on my Sig for "Titans". A couple of more tank battle suggestions: Chambois - The Polish 1st Armored division bumps into the German 2nd Panzer division as the latter attempts to escape the Falaise Pocket. Rock in the Flood - Polish 1st Armored defends hill 262 against a huge mix of German units escaping the Falaise pocket BTW, these last two you can also d/l from the B & T website August Bank Holiday - I had done a CMAK conversion of the CMBO original which was designed by Franko. I have since sent it to him, so you'll need to contact him to get it. This one depicts the German counterattack at St. Aginan de Cramsnil during Operation Totalize. It was in this battle that Michael Wittman was killed by a Firefly gunner named Ekins!!! :mad: Taurus over the Odon - Again, another CMAK conversion of a Franko scenario and again you need to contact him, as he now has possesion of it. The first attack on Hill 112 during Operation Epsom. British 11th Armored against 12th SS Panzer. Worthington Force - this one is my personal favorite. IMO, a perfectly balanced scenario atop one of the most realistic looking maps of Eastern Normandy. I have played it well over a dozen times against the Axis AI, and have always been given an excellent fight. H2H would be a hoot. Canadian "Worthingtom Force" gets lost during Operation Totalize, winds up on the wrong hill, and is then surrounded by units of 12th SS Panzer. This last one is a CMAk conversion of a scenario designed by a guy known as "Iron Cross". I have tried to contact him without success. Hopefully someone knows how to, and can ask him if it is alright to release the conversion to the public. </font>

Excellent News! its good to see you are persistent! Thanks for all the news and updates and I would like to suggest I think, most readers here ESPECIALLY approve of your "We are NOT a Door Mat" policy in combination with the stinging and direct responses some folks get receive, moslty because they deserve that kind of direct response I guess. :cool: Keep up the good work! -tom w [ February 17, 2005, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

How sure is BFC that Wartgamer is not some new "instance" of other guys that have been here before him... Lewis? Maximus? and a few others... -tom w

I think Steve has said lately they don't want to add abstract command delays if they can help it. "but I always thought the command-delay was a clear, simple and efficient way to model LOS,FOW and all the rest (and one that doesn't force me to play the whole game at zoom level one - yikes!). " (or something to that effect, "If it takes 1 Minute to do or complete the task in REAL Life then it should take 1 Minute to do in CMx2") -tom w

I think Steve has said lately they don't want to add abstract command delays if they can help it. "but I always thought the command-delay was a clear, simple and efficient way to model LOS,FOW and all the rest (and one that doesn't force me to play the whole game at zoom level one - yikes!). " (or something to that effect, "If it takes 1 Minute to do or complete the task in REAL Life then it should take 1 Minute to do in CMx2") -tom w

Hi Steve Thanks! I would hope most folks here understand the massive amount of man hours it will take to do all the graphics for all the alternative states. Cleary for every bridge there needs to be a "broken" bridge, or a half broken down bridge or a semi- damaged bridge AND maybe a charred burned out bridge, and they ALL take time to design and create. All of us are keen to help, and there is a small army of modders that can add all kinds of graphic enhancements to the game JUST SO LONG as the place holders are available in the game code. This brings us to the question of wheather or not the game graphics will be moddable the way CMx1 was? I think I have followed all these threads very closely and I have no idea if the new proposed game system will offer moddable graphics? If it does, then many of the alternative state graphic images can be enhanced after the game's release. I guess this really does not help much because you still need the graphics files for ALL those alternative states before you ship Thanks -tom w [ February 17, 2005, 09:15 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

the request has been refered to as FULL MOTION REPLAY Hell yeah, Everybody wants it but you will NEVER see it in CMAK or CMBO or CMBB but maybe about a year from now when CMx2 comes out we might get full motion replay... maybe -tom w [ February 17, 2005, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

Thanks Steve As I understand it, Steve is saying.... There are, or will be, TWO seperate 3D modeling systems/tools. This makes sense. the Modeling tool that makes tanks is TOTALLY different than the Modeling tool to create land forms and terrain and maps. TWO totally unrelated aspects of 3D modeling we will get the Terrain Map editor, BUT not the 3D modeler to build tanks and buildings. From that explanation tanks and buildings (I think) are "things" that will be placed on the map. Buildings and such will be available as 'things' to be placed ON the terrain modeled in the terrain editor. This concept is already employed in Sim City and Trainz (as an example of two games I have seen). Maybe Populous has a terrain editor like that too, for FOR sure it has been done lately in recently released games. Sim City 4000 is about 18 months old now I think. I hope they will take a look a Sim City in its latest incarnation, (4000), as it has a GORGEOUS, STUNNING terraforming terrain editor, something like this for CMx2 would be greatly appreciated. OK? Thanks -tom w Ok, though I mostly get that, how about just some good ol' straight shootin'? I'm dim like a 40 watt. What's the difference in the following statements? 1) Map/Terrain editor - manipulates objects already known to CMx2's game system. 2) Model Editor - manipulates the objects themselves. I REALLY REALLY PRETTY PLEASE want to deform and paint terrain more creatively/realistically. Will that be possible? What will replace CMx1's elevation tool? How will trees, etc get added? What will replace the current "tile" system? If it's not a full-on program like Sim City or whatnot I will....get over it. I'm sure whatever editor the thing comes with will be quite satisfactory, and an improvement over CMx1. Thanks for any further hintage. **edit** If Steve you are talking about no 3DMax-type model editor than that's just fine by me. I'm sure there are those that would do great stuff with it but I have no desire (nor talent, nor patience) for that sort of monkey-business. </font>

OK But but but.... "It is doubtful that end users will be able to import terrain models because a model is just that... a model. It isn't a house, a tank, a tree, etc. unless the code understands it to be so. And that would require shipping a model editor along with the game. It isn't something we are planning on doing right away, but who knows about later on." (Says Steve) Steve, are you going ship the terrain editor along with the game? You pretty much have to if you plan to let us design scenario's don't you? (I hope) I am guessing we can live without the "model editor" at first I just don't understand why they are not one and the same? (model editor same as terrain editor, or maybe they are one and the same and we won't get either, so that would suggest NO terraforming or terrain landform editing for scenarios I guess?) sorry to ask I was just curious about the map editor in CMx2 as there was one in CMx1 thanks! -tom w [ February 16, 2005, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

Hey Cull this Works! Where you see a train think column of Shermans on railroad tracks: (VERY NICE) . . . . We have similiar expectations (Sim City Terrain editor Trainz Terrain editor) BUT for "just" a wargame, we may have set our expectations too high. But who knows? The Main Man is promising to deliver a Ferrari with all the bells and whistles so....... you NEVER know with these guys. -tom w

I am SURE some of us are trying a lot HARDER than others of us to imagine the poly-dimensional world of CMx2 Hell! Who amongst us can't grasp the concept as Steve described it: "You can't tweak and 1960 Ford Mustang (CMBO) into a LOADED 2005 Ferrari! (CMx2)" How much more simple does it have to be!?? -tom w [ February 17, 2005, 06:53 AM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

is it on the CD? thanks -tom w