Madmatt

Over the weekend I plan to release an article that will cover much of what you ask. Basically its a game overview and discussion comparing, contrasting it to our beloved CM. Madmatt

In the unit list I do see French Partisans listed but I couldn't in good conscience voluntarily play the French Campaign until I played the others first so I am not sure if they are featured in any of the battles or not. Madmatt

hehee, i was hoping for this questions. Units seem VERY intelligent about pathfinding and if the water is shallow enough, they will ford across. Not sure if they can get stuck or not, but I did see a Pz III (i think it was) have trouble going up the reverse slope after he crossed a shallow stream... Then again it could have been because I flanked him with my KV-1 and was pumping rounds into his hull.... By the way, the sounds of vehicle engines in this sim are amazing. You can actually hear engines sputter and stall, rev up and down and work hard as they move their metal masters around the battlefield. I am really going to want some *alone time* with their sound engineer so i can incorporate the same into CMSF! The eagle eyed among you might have noticed a speedometer as part of the vehicle interface. With that you can actually see as the vehicles shift gears as they drive around. Very cool. Madmatt

And we agree with you Kip which is why we have said that a Mission Editor of some type is something we are working on providing, but if it can be ready in time for the initial release is still up in the air. I have already been able to mimic all the actions of a mission editor on my own by direct manipulation of the mission files, but its a little time consuiming and I would love to have a tool that would do all the jiggery-pookery for me and we are going to try and provide such a tool for you, one way or the other. Madmatt

The UK-US campaign was a recent addition and currently there are 7 US missions and 3 UK ones. I haven't played through it completely yet but the way they are organized it looks like your UK troops carry forward to the UK battles and the US ones carry forward to the US battles. I guess we could try to make the UK campaign seperate if need be, but since this campaign is really based on time (post D-Day) they were simple put together. Madmatt

Doesnt matter as ships were removed some time ago it seems. Madmatt

Yes, I have seen tanks and AT guns engage beyond 500 meters. The little penetration table (which is just a graphic) that is shown to the player only goes up to 500 meters though and is meant simply as a user tool, just like the chart in CM was. It does not mean that the game prohibits long range battles. Madmatt

(1) In some of the screenshots you will see the troop purchase window. Yes, it is similar to CM in that you are alloted a set amount of points and can purchase units from a set list. That list is specific to each scenario so while in one battle you might have access to much different units than in another. Also, each catagory of unit (Infantry, Tanks, SPG's, Artillery, Fortifications, Armored Cars, Vehicles) is given a maximum unit count. That might mean that you can only have a certain amount of tanks in your initial force compesistion. So you might have a selection of 10 different tanks to choose from, you can only purchase 4 of them. Also, remember, that vehicles and crews are fully modeled and ID'd with their unit designation so you might have one particular tank and crew that you will want to purchase over and over when available throughout the campaign. 2. A map generator is not part of the initial release. The ingame maps are based on real world maps and are VERY detailed. The addition of a map generator is something that we will pursue however. 3. Not sure about a map creator (even IL-2 never released that tool to the public) but we do hope to release a mission editor at some point. I have found already that with a little work, the included scenarios can be altered a great deal but I agree it would be nice to have a tool to do a lot of the manual work for me. Madmatt

Good question and I honestly don't know yet. I have been stealthily going through the game myself to find out just what can be moded and what can't but haven't messed with buildings yet. It does appear that some static objects (for example a dead vehicle) can be placed manually (by editing the scenario files) but I will have to dig deeper and see what I can find. By the way, don't take my Ninja-like efforts as a reflection of hesistency on the developers to support modding. Not at all (they realize like we do how big modding support can be for a game), I just don't want to waste their time answering my dumb questions when I figure with enough time I can figure out a lot of this stuff myself... Besides, sometimes reading their English answers to my technical questions hurts my head. Madmatt

That could be a couple of things, but right off the bat I would update your DiVX codecs and see the part in the troubleshooting guide about removing/disabling the mmswitch codec (on page 15 of the manual). Madmatt

Just to clarify, *some* of the buildings have modeled interiors where you can see the inside of the walls etc. Obviously, some of the smaller ones do not (like doghouses, yes there are doghouse and you can crush them too). This looks really cool too when a HE round blows a huge hole in the side of a building and you can see debris piled up inside the room. The developers have said already that building occupation is possible with the engine but for playability and presentation issues, they choose not to include it at this time. And lets be honest here, while the CMx1 engine does allow you to occupy buildings, we were really never totally pleased with how it works and was one thing we are working hard to improve in the CMx2 game engine. Now, while occupying buildings isnt modeled, there are a great many defensive positions that are allowed. There are different types and sizes of trench works, pillboxes, sandbagged firing positions, camoflagoued netting and more. I think you will find that finding good defensive positions is not a problem. Just like CM forced people to change how they play a wargame, I think you will find ToW requires the same. Right now everyone is in CM-MindMode (I should trademark that), and understandably will be comparing ToW to CM, and we can't blame you since thats your background. But ToW isn't CM, and it handles things in a different way. Until a demo is out though, all we can do is try and answer questions as best we can, and show you screenshots and videos to help illustrate these points. Madmatt [ July 28, 2006, 11:55 AM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

No, you dont need to be connected to the net to run the game. You don't even need a net connection on the computer with the game installed to activate (but its easier if you do). You should really read over the eLicense FAQ guide located here: http://www.battlefront.com/elicense_faq.html Madmatt

Let me try and answer these quickly before I go to bed. (1) Well, they will walk around them... Buildings are dynamic in nature and can be partially destroyed, collapased and even create nice big piles of 3D debris. At the moment though, they are not enterable. I know, I know...apparently CM, even in its age, has been one of the only sims to ever convincingly pull that little trick off... (2) Penetration marks are left at the exaxt point of a..umm..well a penetration.. There are all sorts of cool damage effects. Look closely at the screenshots. I tend to only photograph vehicles that are banged up a bit.. Like this poor fellow... Notice the multiple impact marks all over his hull and turret (and gun barrel). http://www.battlefront.com/products/tow/screenshots/pages/ww2%202006-07-25%2003-41-06-06.html 3. What can I say, I like tanks! Thats more my doing than the average scenario makeup. I will try and get more infantry heavy shots in my next batch of piccies. Madmatt

The UK and US campaign is shared. In one battle you will control US units, in the next it might be UK. I will get the exact breakdown for you tomorrow. Madmatt

And I would suggest a powerful one at that. While ToW is scalable, its also power hungry and demands a pretty beefy system. As we get closer to release and final code we will have a better handle on system specs/requirements but if you have less than a gig of memory and slower than a 2.8 ghz processor and a really good video card (x800 or better), you might be out of luck... Luckily, this game is worth upgrading your PC for... Madmatt [ July 28, 2006, 01:23 AM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

New version is up, and link on the Gallery page updated. Hopefully this one will work better... Madmatt

NEVER EVER EVER EVER-EVER while blood flows in my veins will I put my name on a game that uses StarForce...Yes, I feel that strongly about (and against) that particular product. Of course...I can be bought... and I could always change my name... No worries though, ToW will use eLicense which has proven to not only be pretty dang stable but pretty flexible and of course we are always here to help if you need it. Madmatt

There is already a 1st person view of sorts. You can "bind" the camera to any friendly unit (if there is time I want to be able to add this functionality to planes and enemy units as well). Once the camera is bound (basically a padlock) your view is just about at eye level or slightly above the main gun heigth for vehicles. Its the view I used in my Infantry Assault video from the Squad Leaders point of view actually and gives a very cool view of the action around you. Madmatt

If there is time, and it can be done, I want ToW to ship with some classic CMBO scenarios like Chance Encounter. ToW obviously has a much quicker pace so some play balancing and whatnot would be required, but with over 40 historical game maps available to use, I am sure I could come up with something close enough to match the map of the original (one of my all time favorites). No promises, but if its humanly possible to do it, then I will. Madmatt

Indeed, I have all sorts of fun to date sticking my nose where it doesn't belong already! I am sure I make the developers cring with some of the stuff I have managed to do so far and I will am documenting all of my forays so I can share my secrets with you guys. Hey, we're Battlefront, we basically invited the modable wargame, and you can trust us that we will not only allow, but encourage and promote a healthy modding community with Theatre of War! Madmatt

Check out the screenshots for an idea of how big some of these battles can get (each icon is a controlable unit, soldier, team, or vehicle). They can get pretty big at times. A typical enagement with you on defense might have you with a platoon of infantry setup in a trench system (defense in depth) reinforced with AT guns, some MG's and maybe some armor elements with reinforcements coming in throughout the battle. Madmatt

Come again? Its listed as 'In Development'... Thats actually the first page I updated tonight. Madmatt

I am uploading a new version of the movie that should be playable for more people. Its no longer a rar file either. New version will be ready (and the link will be updated) in about 15 minutes. Madmatt

I am uploading a new version that shouldn't require FRAPS anymore. Sorry about that. Madmatt

You can pause at will and issue orders but the key thing to know right up front is just how compentent, nay GOOD, the AI really is. At CMVention, hardcore tourney winning CM vets got their butts handed to them playing through the various campaign missions. I know that RTS's don't appeal to everyone because they, up until now have demanded pre-adolescent like relexes, but the control and orders system in ToW is so refined and so perfectly balanced that you will often find yourself sitting back and watching the AI handle the little details while you keep your head about you and come in at what I call "key moments" to help direct the action. Thats not to say your input isn't needed, obviously it is, it's just that the AI does a very good job of taking care of itself. I conducted a interview recently where I went over some specifics of how the game is controlled, once that is released I will of course link to it. In the meantime, I will have an article that I am working on this weekend which will compare and contrast ToW style of play with CM. I think that will help a lot of people get a feel for how all of this plays out. As to the PBEM question, since its Real Time, no PBEM would be possible. I havent had an oppertunity to play multiplayer myself as yet (I'm more of a solo gamer anyway) but I am working on getting some AAR's and other material ready for you guys from others that have been playing with the recent beta. Madmatt Madmatt