Madmatt

The best thing to do is to test any prospective game using its available demo. By and large, if a demo works, so too will the original game. Most video cards released over the past few years have had 256 megs of VRAM or more and most of them work fine with CMBB and CMAK but some of the newest DX 10 type video cards have been having trouble. Normally that trouble crops up when Vista is the OS, but we are getting reports of similar issues now with these brand new cards and XP as well. Please understand that CMBM, CMAK and CMBO are FINSIHED products, no updates or new patches for them will ever be made, so please always check with a demo before you purchase one of these older games with an OS or video card that came out since they were released (3-5 years ago now!). Madmatt

This is a known issue that appears with some combinations of Nvidia cards and drivers. The workaround, for the time being is to run without shadows. It is hoped that a future release of drivers from Nvidia will address this problem. Madmatt

No, such a patch (incremental) will not be coming out. Madmatt

Actually, what happens is that the patch looks to see if you have a hotkeys.txt file installed already and if you don't or if you already renamed the old one then it copies the new one over, but if you DO have one (which we assumed would be one that you already made some changes to and was therefore newer) it doesn't overwrite it. I guess I didn't expect people the reinstall fresh from v1.0 so I guess I can code up some more precise logic for the next patch. I will add something to the online troubleshooting guide as well with either how to workaround this or even simplier, a link to the new hotkeys.txt file for them to download and overwrite the old one. Sorry people, that was my bad, I tried to overthink a simple issue. Luckily, this will only affect someone installing from CD without any of the earlier patches already installed. Madmatt [ February 04, 2008, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Try and reinstall .Net Framework 2.0 and see if that does the trick. You can either download it again from Microsoft directly or use the installer thats in your TOW game directory under the .Net Framework folder. Madmatt

I have pasted the doc in here for you. Multiplayer Configuration Readme 1. Table of Contents Multiplayer Configuration Readme. 1 1. Table of Contents. 1 2. Basic concepts. 2 3. Configuring your networking hardware. 3 3.1. Setting up your router 3 4. Configuring the firewall / antiviral software. 6 5. Configuring towsetup. 7 5.1. Host IP address. 7 5.2. Server ports. 7 5.2.1 Public port 7 5.2.2 Private port 7 5.3. Client port 7 5.4. Connection speed. 7 5.4.1 “Speed” option (server and client) 8 5.4.2 “Smooth Movement” option. 8 5.4.3 Server frame rate. 8 5.5. Proxy support 8 6. F.A.Q. 10 6.1. How can I find out my IP address?. 10 6.2. How can I join a game hosted on the internet?. 10 6.3. Can I host a game so that it is NOT listed in the Internet Game Browser window?. 10 6.4. Can LAN and Internet clients play the same game?. 10 6.5. What is Smooth Movement server option for?. 10 6.6. I connect to server normally, but game never loads MP mission, what do I do?. 10 6.7. Can I change my multiplayer settings in “towsetup” while the game is currently running?. 10 6.8. Does ToW support proxy?. 11 2. Basic concepts “Theater Of War” supports LAN and online multiplayer games across the internet. There can be a total of up to 8 players. The multiplayer game uses the client/server principle. One of the players makes a game server. The other players are referred to as clients. They can connect to the game server after it is created. The UDP protocol is used for the connection and in the game. Direct Internet access is required to host a game server over the internet – ie, your computer must have an external IP address and be reachable from the Internet. Client computers can be behind a proxy (see Proxy info below). Network connection settings for both the server and client are listed in the file “users\mp.ini”. The file can be edited manually (for instance, in Notepad). Also, the file “users\mp.ini” can be adjusted with the help of the “Theater of War” setup utility, “towsetup”. All multiplayer settings are located in its “Multiplayer” tab. This document will detail the various multiplayer settings affected with the towsetup.exe configuration program. 3. Configuring your networking hardware This section is primarily targeted for the users that have additional networking hardware at home such as routers and firewalls and want to host a Theatre of War game. 3.1. Setting up your router If you want to play as a client you can omit this section completely. Your ToW game server must be accessible from outside of your router (be online) for other clients to connect. However, usually your router or firewall protects your home computer(s), blocking all ports except some “standard” ones – HTTP, FTP, and a handful of others. Thus, you have to open some ports on your router for ToW and “bind” them to your ToW game server. To do this, you have to enable “port forwarding” on your router for the necessary UDP ports that the game uses. You will need to access your router control panel to make these changes (check your router documentation to find out how to do that for you specific equipment/software). Below is an example of the Port Forwarding/Virtual Server panel for a Belkin Router. Your specific settings may be different than what is listed above, but you should see settings like “IP Address”, “Private Port”, ”Public Port”, “Protocol Type” or similar. To add a new entry for Theatre of War (using the default Multiplayer Settings), you would do the following: - Create or Add a new entry, and name it something like “ToW” or “Theatre of War” - For ports (may be listed as TCP Ports, UDP Ports or Inbound Ports) add the range “22345-23344” to the list (in the above pic, that range is 2348-2351, but you should use 22345-23344) - Select “UDP” as the Protocol “Type” - For the IP Address, it should be the IP address for the computer that ToW is running on. - Make sure the new entry you just added is “enabled” For other questions, refer to your router / firewall documentation. 4. Configuring the firewall / antiviral software If you don’t have any firewall and antiviral software you can skip this section. Usually the firewall / antiviral software is configured in such a way as to block everything incoming to your computer except for some allowed applications. Therefore if you are behind a firewall or use antiviral software, you have to open it for the ToW application. You may have to open just a client port to play as client, or several ports to play as server. For a firewall you will need to “allow” both incoming and outgoing access to these same ports. Refer to your firewall / antiviral software documentation on how to open an application and ports. 5. Configuring towsetup 5.1. Host IP address Both server and client use this field. It indicates the IP of this computer. For the most cases, it is sufficient to set the value of IP to “localhost”. However, there are some cases when you may need to specify the IP address explicitly: - You experience problems creating game server or client. - Clients cannot connect to your server. - The list of IP addresses shows more than one IP address. In any case, you should pick the right IP address from the IP list in towsetup. Otherwise the game server or client won’t start at all. Also, you may have to check all your available IP addresses. 5.2. Server ports ToW game server uses 2 ports, public and private. Both must be accessible from the Internet when hosting an online game. Configure server ports in the “Server” section of the towsetup Multiplayer tab. 5.2.1 Public port All clients trying to connect to the ToW game server over Internet must know this port. Default is 22345 and should not be changed unless necessary. 5.2.2 Private port It must be different than the public port. The Server Host for the game uses this port. In the towsetup, you have 2 choices: directly specify this private port, or set a range of ports to pick up a private port from (default). When using the port range, make sure the public port does not belong within the same range. By default this is set to be a range of ports from 22400-22500 and should not be changed unless necessary. 5.3. Client port ToW game client uses one port. This port must be accessible from the Internet when playing an online game. Configure client port in the “Server” section of the towsetup Multiplayer tab. By default this is set to be 23344 and should not be changed unless necessary. 5.4. Connection speed This section covers the recommendations for connection speed. For the multiplayer game to run smoothly, it is very important that the server has the good connection with big upload capability and good frame rate. These requirements are much more important for the server than for the clients. It is not recommended to play ToW over the regular phone line modem. 5.4.1 “Speed” option (server and client) The table below gives the approximate match between the speed of your available Internet connection and the option “Speed” in towsetup. Connection speed, kbit/sec ToW Server Speed ToW Client Speed Comments 10.000 2.000.000 (LAN) 2.000.000 (LAN) Best setting for optimal LAN connections. 1.000 1.000.000 (LAN) – 100.000 (Cable) 1.000.000 (LAN) – 100.000 (Cable) Best settings for high speed Cable Modems and LAN connections. 1.000 25.000 (Cable) 25.000 (Cable) Best setting for Phone and ADSL connections. Note: You can enter your own values into the “Speed” fields manually. 5.4.2 “Smooth Movement” option The server option Smooth Movement is greatly affected by the available connection channel speed. When it is on, it requires big and stable upload channel capability for the server AND the same for all the clients (though that requirement is less strict for the clients). When off, players with lower connection speeds are still able to play, but the lags may be bigger. So, use the following rule-of-thumb when tweaking this option: - If the server and all the clients have extremely fast network connections, the server can turn the “Smooth Movement” option on. - If the server or any clients in the game have bad or insufficient connection speeds, this option is better when turned off. - If the clients experience lag and bad response times (exceeding several seconds per unit selection), turn this option off. Still, you can always try it on your own. Note: We really suggest you only enable this option if you are playing on a LAN. For most internet games, even those where the host and client all have high speed cable modems (or better), your connection speed may still not be sufficient to get the most out of this setting. 5.4.3 Server frame rate It is recommended that the ToW server maintain a good frame rate while playing. Otherwise, clients will experience occasional lag and/or may even get disconnected. To achieve this, you can lower your graphics settings on the server. 5.5. Proxy support The ToW client can be configured to play behind the proxy server. ToW uses SOCKS5 protocol. Proxy server must support this protocol in order for the ToW to connect and play. The section “Proxy server (SOCKS5)” in towsetup configures the proxy connection. If your internet/LAN connection goes through the proxy, indicate this proxy’s IP and port and, optionally, specify login name and password. After that, start the ToW in a regular way and join the game you want. While it is possible to setup the ToW server behind a proxy, this usually requires the special access permission to the proxy server to configure it, something that regular internet/LAN users don’t have. Configuring the proxy server goes outside the scope of this document. Refer to your proxy server documentation and/or ask your Internet provider how to configure your proxy. 6. F.A.Q. 6.1. How can I find out my IP address? There is a number of websites, which will show you your external IP address by simply going to them with your web browser. Here is a small selection of sites to try. http://whatsmyipaddress.com/ http://myipaddress.com http://www.findmyipaddress.com/ 6.2. How can I join a game hosted on the internet? There are now two ways to join an internet hosted game, by directly typing in the hosted games IP address and port (you would need to get the IP address and port number from the host ahead of time, either by email, IM, phone or some other form of communication) or by using the new Internet Game Browser function added with the latest game version (1.10.0.81). This in-game tool will show all public Theatre of War games currently being hosted across the internet. To join a public internet hosted game, click on the MULTIPLAYER button from the main game menu. Then select the button called INTERNET. After a moment all of the currently hosted internet games will be listed and you can select the one you wish to join by clicking it one time to highlight it, and then click on the JOIN button. If for some reason the Internet Game Browser does not list the hosted game, if the list server is down or if the Host created the game using the DIRECT-IP option (a private game, see next entry for details), you can still manually type in the IP address and port number to join a hosted game. To manually enter an IP address, select the MULTIPLAYER button from the main game menu and then select the DIRECT-IP button. In the connection window, type the IP address and port number like this: 262.34.0.54:22345 6.3. Can I host a game so that it is NOT listed in the Internet Game Browser window? Yes, you can. To host a game privately and have it NOT appear on the list of currently hosted games simply select the MULTIPLAYER button from the main game menu and then select the DIRECT-IP button. From here click the CREATE GAME button. Now, although people can connect to the hosted game if they know the IP address and port, the game will not be listed along with other publicly hosted games from within the Internet Game Browser window. 6.4. Can LAN and Internet clients play the same game? Yes, they can. Both the local clients (those your LAN) and remote clients (those connecting over Internet) can connect to the ToW game server and play together. However, those client categories should connect differently as follows: - Local clients connect to the INTERNAL server’s IP address and INTERNAL port, or go through LAN games list. - Remote clients connect to the EXTERNAL server’s IP address and EXTERNAL port 6.5. What is Smooth Movement server option for? This option toggles different types of unit movement on the client computers but is only recommended for LAN games. 6.6. I connect to server normally, but game never loads MP mission, what do I do? If the MP mission doesn’t finish loading within 10 minutes, make sure that both the server and client have parameter CurrentPacketSize in section Host in Users\mp.ini file set to 512. Larger packet sizes may cause problems, because in networks of some ISPs this may result in high packet loss percentage (and loading will stop). 6.1. Can I change my multiplayer settings in “towsetup” while the game is currently running? Yes, you can. In fact, we recommend you to do so, because that saves you the subsequent mission loading times, both for the server and for the client, especially if you play the same mission over and over. Do it as follows: - Leave the current mission you’re playing. If you are the Host, this will disconnect all connected clients. - Go to the front end game menu. It is the menu with the “Multiplayer” button in it. - Launch towsetup.exe configuration program (located in the game directory, or via the Start Menu under Program Files>Battlefront>Theatre of War>Configure Theatre of War). You will have to Alt-tab (task switch) back to the desktop in order to launch this program while the game is running. - Change any values you want in the multiplayer tab. - Press “OK” to save settings. You can exit towsetup.exe as well. - Switch back to Theatre of War. - Host or Join a new game – all of multiplayer settings you just adjusted are now saved. - 6.2. Does ToW support proxy? Yes, it does. There are some limitations however: - proxy server must support SOCKS5 protocol. - proxy support is intended primarily for clients. - to create a game server behind the proxy, you must own that proxy, or ask your Internet provider to assist you.

That may be true, but the only really IMPORTANT part of Battlefront is a Bengals fan! Who Dey! Madmatt

Combat Mission: Shock Force v1.06 Game Patch (All Inclusive} Download Link: http://www.battlefront.com/products/cmsf/downloads.html PREVIOUS SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY NOTE: Save games created with earlier versions of the game are NOT compatible with v1.06. Please finish your in-progress games before applying this patch. CUSTOM HOTKEYS.TXT NOTE If you had assigned custom hotkeys in the past (available in v1.02, v1.03 and v1.04) then you will want to backup your Data\hotkeys.txt file before installing this patch. Once the patch is installed, simply paste your copy of hotkeys.txt file back into the Data folder and you will still have all of your old hotkey assignments. MANUAL ADDENDUM: The manuals reference to the eLicense licensing and game activation system (pages 12-15 and 194) is ONLY applicable to the Battlefront.com version of the game. The Gamersgate and Paradox Interactive versions of the game each use their own licensing/activation/protection systems and you should contact those companies directly if you have problems licensing or activating those versions of the game. TROUBLESHOOTING INFO: Included with this patch is the most up to date troubleshooting guide. It is located in the game folder (filename Troubleshooting Guide.html) as well as in the Battlefront\Combat Mission Shock Force Program Group located under the Start Menu). ONSCREEN UNIT COMMAND MENU: New to this version of Combat Mission: Shock Force is a selectable Command Menu. In order to view this new onscreen list of clickable commands, select a unit and press the SPACE BAR and a popup menu of available commands will appear. It's similar to the old CM1 command interface. The menu can be dismissed with another press of the space bar or a mouse click anywhere outside the menu. HOYKEYS CUSTOMIZATION HELP: Combat Mission has two distinctly different approaches for using unit Commands via the keyboard; Relative and Direct. The Relative system involves a set of 9 keys centered around three rows of three consecutive keys each. These 9 keys match the 9 Command Buttons in the user interface's Command Panel. Each hotkey controls the commands RELATIVE to the position on the screen. For example, by default the U key activates the Top Row Left-Most key which would be FAST, TARGET, and SPLIT depending on which Command Group is visible (Movement, Combat, and Special respectively). The Direct system, on the other hand, assigns a unique hotkey for DIRECT access to each Command. No attention is paid to the graphical representation on the screen. For example, if so assigned, F would issue the FAST command. T would issue the TARGET command, H would control the HIDE command etc... no matter which Command Group is visible on the screen. There are pros and cons to each system. The Relative system allows the player to keep one hand stationary on the keyboard and does not require any "hunting and pecking" to find the right hotkey. The downside is that when you wish to use two Commands in a row that are in different Command Groups you have to first switch the proper Command Group (now done using the F5-F8 keys). The Direct system allows you to string Commands together without concern for which Command Group they are in, but does have the drawback of requiring the hand to move and locate a specific key, which may or may not be easily memorized. Which is "better" comes down to personal player preference, therefore both are provided. Whenever possible, the order buttons under the various Command Panels will display the assigned "direct" key in highlighted green text. Note, we recommend that you decide which system you prefer and then assign the keys as you wish by editing the hotkeys.txt file. The default key assignments have all 9 Relative keys assigned (UIOJKLM,.) as well as a selection of the most commonly used commands mapped to new Direct keys (Move Fast, Move Normal, Reverse, Target, Target Light, Face, Deploy, Pause, Hide, Dismount, Vehicle Open Up and Pop Smoke) to give you an idea of how the two systems work. We have found that using one or the other systems exclusively seems to have the best results and do not recommend mixing the two systems together. While it's possible to do, it could mean getting the worst of both systems and not really getting the benefits. Therefore, if you wish to use the Direct system we advise that you edit the hotkeys.txt file to unassign the 9 Relative hotkeys. Also, be aware to not double assign any keys to multiple functions. In order to change the hotkey assignments, please see the hotkeys.txt file located in the game DATA folder. CHANGING GAME RESOLUTION: By default, the first time the game is launched, the games internal resolution and refresh rate are set to whatever your desktop display is currently set to. We have added two ways to make adjustments to this settings. From inside the game, go to the Main Menu, then select the Options panel. From there you can select the game to run at the following resolutions: Desktop = (the game will run at whatever resolution your desktop is set to) 1024x768 1152x864 1280x960 If you want to run the game in a resolution and refresh rate not listed, you can manually configure these settings by editing the "display size.txt" file located in your game directory. Simply change the numbers that you see there with the width (in pioxels) and height (in pixels) and refresh rate (in Hertz) you wish to run the game. Example: For 1440x900 at 75Hz refresh rate, you would delete the numbers in that file and replace with "1440 900 75" (without quotes). If you put in all zeroes example: 0 0 0, the game will revert to using your desktop resolution and refresh rate. Exercise caution and only use a resolution and refresh rate supported by your monitor as damage to your monitor or display adaptor could occur, especially if you use too high a setting. MULTIPLAYER INFO: Combat Mission: Shock Force uses the UDP and TCP port 7023 for all multiplayer games. If you are trying to HOST a TCP-IP game make sure and open port 7023 for both UDP and TCP traffic. GAME LANGUAGE INFO: You can change between the available languages from within the Options panel however we have only included scenarios and campaigns for English, German, Spanish and French. If you select Italian or Polish languages you may (depending on what version of the game you own) have to copy the scenarios and folders files from inside the Game Files\Scenarios and Game Files\Campaigns folders and place them into the appropriately named folders for your selected language. If you make a change to the language setting, be sure and immediately exit the game and then reload in order for the game to properly prepare the language setting and files. BATTLEFRONT.COM INTERNET BROWSER COMMUNITY TOOLBAR: This new game patch includes the optional install of a new, and we think, exciting tool. This tool seamlessly attaches to your internet browser (currently Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox supported) and gives you instant access to Battlefront.com game news, patches, demos, chat channel as well as other popular browser toolbar *gadgets* such as realtime weather reports (unique to your hometown!), a spell checker and pop-up blocker. Fully user configurable and expandable, your new Battlefront.com Community toolbar unlocks the full potential of your internet browser to keep you connected with the ever-growing world of Battlefront.com games and resources! You can find more details on this new free utility here: http://www.battlefront-store.com:8080//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=388&Itemid=212 CMSF v1.06 FEATURES LINE OF SIGHT (LOS) & SPOTTING • Enhanced LOS system takes into account the dynamically changing heights of soldiers in different stances, and vehicles of varying heights and the height of their crew positions and attached weapons. • When a squad/team of soldiers is placing a target command, the line to the target is light blue if the LOS is clear, part dark blue and part magenta if it's blocked, and gray if it's mostly clear but not for every soldier in the squad/team. • Trees block LOS more strongly. • Moving vehicles are easier to spot than previously, especially when kicking up large dust clouds. • Moving units are less likely to move quickly past an enemy and not notice him. • It's no longer as easy to spot enemy soldiers just because they are standing up (all else being equal). • Not all the soldiers in an enemy squad/team will necessarily be spotted when some are spotted, even when there is a clear LOS. • Spotting in extreme-dark moonless night conditions is handled correctly. INTERFACE • Command Menu: select a unit and press the SPACE BAR and a popup menu of available commands appears. It's similar to the old CM1 command interface. The menu can be dismissed with another press of the space bar or a mouse click anywhere outside the menu. • Artillery and air support missions may be targeted without LOS in the setup phase. • Heavy team weapons display their minimum and maximum ranges in the panel with the name, caliber, etc. • When an enemy unit is selected, the icons of friendly units that do not currently spot that enemy are darkened. This way it's easy to tell which of your units spots a given enemy. • Autocannon on the Bradley and BMP-2 are used in "Target Light" commands. This is useful if you want to be certain the vehicle will not use missiles. • You can give a Hide command to a moving unit without first having to click its final waypoint (the hiding begins when the unit reaches the final waypoint). • RPG rockets with high-explosive warheads have a new "equipment icon" to differentiate them from the anti-tank types. • "?" Spot Contact Markers are shown above buildings, not inside them. • Control-click to "jump" the camera also works in Air/Artillery Support mode. • Vehicle ammo counts update properly in turn-based playback. • When placing waypoints for a vehicle and you point the mouse too close to another vehicle, the correct "prohibited" cursor is displayed. • Artillery/air spotters do not show target lines for completed missions. • Group select works correctly when floating icons are switched off. GRAPHICS • Roofs and upper floors of occupied buildings are transparent. • Buildings become transparent when occupied by spotted enemy soldiers too. • Soldier and vehicle movement animation in turn-based playback is smoother. • Moon and stars are hidden on nights with thick haze. • Stryker IR-blocking smoke is colored brown (it was this way in the game originally). • The 40mm grenade launcher shows a tiny puff of smoke when firing. • RPG rocket fins don't visually protrude through the launch tube. • Dead soldiers don't float above craters blown out below them. VEHICLE BEHAVIOR • Vehicles have new defensive AI that automatically pops smoke, rotates to face threats, and retreats away from threats. • "Direct & Exact" vehicle pathfinding when no obstacles are nearby. • Vehicle movement paths that involve switching to or from reverse movement are smoother . • TacAI estimates armor penetration probabilities better, improving its selection of ammunition type. • Vehicle gunners who are also the loaders, are smarter about when to break off a long reloading action (e.g. reloading a missile tube) to take a shot at an enemy unit if another loaded weapon is available (like on the BRDM-2 ATGM vehicle). • Tanks are more willing to use main guns versus infantry, especially when given target orders by the player, and also at walls (not just use their MGs). • The "crew" of vehicles that do not have dedicated crews can acquire any onboard ammunition intended for passengers. • Vehicles are more likely to fire on the move. SOLDIER BEHAVIOR • Marksmen/snipers have significantly improved accuracy but much lower ROF (except at very close range where they behave more like standard riflemen). They also engage at longer ranges. • Hiding soldiers are more likely to open fire at appropriately serious targets on their own. • Soldiers are quicker to follow facing orders, if any, at their final waypoint. • Soldiers are better at shifting positions (very short distances only) to get a clear LOF to a target, or to make better use of cover after a Facing command. • Soldiers attempt to hug ridgelines for cover. • Soldiers do a better job positioning themselves behind trees for cover. • Squad/Team members are less likely to become or remain separated after movement. • A unit that is moving, and has no explicit combat orders, and has a "hide" order at its destination, is less likely to open fire at intermediate waypoints. • When splitting off an antitank team from a squad, the antitank specialist is more likely to join it, even if he's not currently armed with an antitank weapon. • Marksman specialists are less likely to join assault or antitank teams. • In a squad, teams B and C will not "spread out" into buildings. • Soldiers are not reluctant to fire into trenches at short range. • Once a soldier goes prone for any reason, he's more likely to stay prone for at least a little while even if no one is shooting at him. • Infantry "evade" does not attempt to move to locations that are nearby but blocked by obstacles like high walls. • Soldiers acting as "medics" will stop and take cover if there is significant incoming fire. • Soldiers won't exit vehicles onto unsuitable terrain. SIMULATION • Small arms accuracy and volume of fire are slightly reduced at medium and long ranges. • Slightly increased concealment for foxholes, craters, ditches, trenches, trees. • Slightly increased cover/protection provided by buildings. • Effect radius of shrapnel from explosions is increased - you'll notice this especially with grenades. Exception: shaped-charge weapons (e.g. RPGs) have a reduced shrapnel effect radius. • IEDs time their explosions better so the target is closer and more likely to be damaged. • Smoke deployed by Abrams tanks and Bradley IFVs deploys "instantly" (like the Stryker smoke already does). • Explosions near, but not touching, buildings do slightly less damage to the buildings. • Airburst artillery explodes correctly above buildings. • Improved calculations for the impact location and direction of projectile ricochets off buildings. DATA • Bradley, Abrams, and Stryker are less likely to explode when hit internally. • T-72 TURMS has upgraded commander's optical/night-vision equipment. • BMP-1 and BMP-2 are better able to spot enemies. • AT-3 missile minimum range is 500m. • Syrian armored personnel carriers carry extra small arms ammunition for their infantry squads. • Stryker armor reduced - the main difference you'll notice is that 30mm rounds from the BMP-2 will usually penetrate. MISC FEATURES • Hold down the 'V' key at game startup and the intro video will no longer play when the game loads. This setting will be saved in the preferences file. On subsequent startups you can press 'V' again to bring the video back. • The "display size.txt" file in the CMSF directory now uses a third number to state the desired monitor refresh rate. Optionally use this file if you wish to manually select a resolution and refresh rate for CMSF. Exercise caution and only use a resolution and refresh rate supported by your monitor as damage to your monitor or display adapater could occur, especially if you use too high a setting. The format for this file is Horizontal Resolution (in pixels), Vertical Resolution (in pixels) and Refresh Rate (in Hertz). (For example, if you wanted to run the game in 1440x900 @ 75Hz, your "display size.txt" file would look like this: 1440 900 75) Use all 0's to allow the game to use the current desktop resolution and refresh rate. (example: 0 0 0) MISC BUG FIXES • Fixed several "stuck" squad and soldier issues. • Fixed the "heavy weapon left behind" bug. • Corrected a camera TAB-lock directional problem in playback mode. • Corrected a problem that caused some flavor objects to disappear in saved games. • Quick Battle troops are correctly placed in their setup zones. • Computer player does a better job setting up vehicles so they're not in unsuitable terrain. • Fixed a bug that allowed shots to be fired at targets that had disappeared from view a moment earlier. • Corrected some problems caused by balconies being placed directly over separate buildings. • Corrected some pathfinding and LOS problems related to "internal" doors and "open" walls between connected buildings. • No message is displayed when an objective is "touched" by enemy forces. • IEDs may not use the target command if all friendly soldiers are casualties. • Corrected a bug where an MG crewman could "fall off the roof" when the MG changes position or facing. • Fixed a bug that allowed two vehicles to have the same movement destination and "merge together" upon arrival. * Plus all the fixes and changes from the previous patches.... Madmatt update: Due to a bug we discovered with the Paradox version, that patch has been pulled until we can get a fixed made up and sent out. [ February 05, 2008, 12:48 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Combat Mission: Shock Force v1.06 Game Patch (All Inclusive} Download Link: http://www.battlefront.com/products/cmsf/downloads.html PREVIOUS SAVE GAME COMPATIBILITY NOTE: Save games created with earlier versions of the game are NOT compatible with v1.06. Please finish your in-progress games before applying this patch. CUSTOM HOTKEYS.TXT NOTE If you had assigned custom hotkeys in the past (available in v1.02, v1.03 and v1.04) then you will want to backup your Data\hotkeys.txt file before installing this patch. Once the patch is installed, simply paste your copy of hotkeys.txt file back into the Data folder and you will still have all of your old hotkey assignments. MANUAL ADDENDUM: The manuals reference to the eLicense licensing and game activation system (pages 12-15 and 194) is ONLY applicable to the Battlefront.com version of the game. The Gamersgate and Paradox Interactive versions of the game each use their own licensing/activation/protection systems and you should contact those companies directly if you have problems licensing or activating those versions of the game. TROUBLESHOOTING INFO: Included with this patch is the most up to date troubleshooting guide. It is located in the game folder (filename Troubleshooting Guide.html) as well as in the Battlefront\Combat Mission Shock Force Program Group located under the Start Menu). ONSCREEN UNIT COMMAND MENU: New to this version of Combat Mission: Shock Force is a selectable Command Menu. In order to view this new onscreen list of clickable commands, select a unit and press the SPACE BAR and a popup menu of available commands will appear. It's similar to the old CM1 command interface. The menu can be dismissed with another press of the space bar or a mouse click anywhere outside the menu. HOYKEYS CUSTOMIZATION HELP: Combat Mission has two distinctly different approaches for using unit Commands via the keyboard; Relative and Direct. The Relative system involves a set of 9 keys centered around three rows of three consecutive keys each. These 9 keys match the 9 Command Buttons in the user interface's Command Panel. Each hotkey controls the commands RELATIVE to the position on the screen. For example, by default the U key activates the Top Row Left-Most key which would be FAST, TARGET, and SPLIT depending on which Command Group is visible (Movement, Combat, and Special respectively). The Direct system, on the other hand, assigns a unique hotkey for DIRECT access to each Command. No attention is paid to the graphical representation on the screen. For example, if so assigned, F would issue the FAST command. T would issue the TARGET command, H would control the HIDE command etc... no matter which Command Group is visible on the screen. There are pros and cons to each system. The Relative system allows the player to keep one hand stationary on the keyboard and does not require any "hunting and pecking" to find the right hotkey. The downside is that when you wish to use two Commands in a row that are in different Command Groups you have to first switch the proper Command Group (now done using the F5-F8 keys). The Direct system allows you to string Commands together without concern for which Command Group they are in, but does have the drawback of requiring the hand to move and locate a specific key, which may or may not be easily memorized. Which is "better" comes down to personal player preference, therefore both are provided. Whenever possible, the order buttons under the various Command Panels will display the assigned "direct" key in highlighted green text. Note, we recommend that you decide which system you prefer and then assign the keys as you wish by editing the hotkeys.txt file. The default key assignments have all 9 Relative keys assigned (UIOJKLM,.) as well as a selection of the most commonly used commands mapped to new Direct keys (Move Fast, Move Normal, Reverse, Target, Target Light, Face, Deploy, Pause, Hide, Dismount, Vehicle Open Up and Pop Smoke) to give you an idea of how the two systems work. We have found that using one or the other systems exclusively seems to have the best results and do not recommend mixing the two systems together. While it's possible to do, it could mean getting the worst of both systems and not really getting the benefits. Therefore, if you wish to use the Direct system we advise that you edit the hotkeys.txt file to unassign the 9 Relative hotkeys. Also, be aware to not double assign any keys to multiple functions. In order to change the hotkey assignments, please see the hotkeys.txt file located in the game DATA folder. CHANGING GAME RESOLUTION: By default, the first time the game is launched, the games internal resolution and refresh rate are set to whatever your desktop display is currently set to. We have added two ways to make adjustments to this settings. From inside the game, go to the Main Menu, then select the Options panel. From there you can select the game to run at the following resolutions: Desktop = (the game will run at whatever resolution your desktop is set to) 1024x768 1152x864 1280x960 If you want to run the game in a resolution and refresh rate not listed, you can manually configure these settings by editing the "display size.txt" file located in your game directory. Simply change the numbers that you see there with the width (in pioxels) and height (in pixels) and refresh rate (in Hertz) you wish to run the game. Example: For 1440x900 at 75Hz refresh rate, you would delete the numbers in that file and replace with "1440 900 75" (without quotes). If you put in all zeroes example: 0 0 0, the game will revert to using your desktop resolution and refresh rate. Exercise caution and only use a resolution and refresh rate supported by your monitor as damage to your monitor or display adaptor could occur, especially if you use too high a setting. MULTIPLAYER INFO: Combat Mission: Shock Force uses the UDP and TCP port 7023 for all multiplayer games. If you are trying to HOST a TCP-IP game make sure and open port 7023 for both UDP and TCP traffic. GAME LANGUAGE INFO: You can change between the available languages from within the Options panel however we have only included scenarios and campaigns for English, German, Spanish and French. If you select Italian or Polish languages you may (depending on what version of the game you own) have to copy the scenarios and folders files from inside the Game Files\Scenarios and Game Files\Campaigns folders and place them into the appropriately named folders for your selected language. If you make a change to the language setting, be sure and immediately exit the game and then reload in order for the game to properly prepare the language setting and files. BATTLEFRONT.COM INTERNET BROWSER COMMUNITY TOOLBAR: This new game patch includes the optional install of a new, and we think, exciting tool. This tool seamlessly attaches to your internet browser (currently Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox supported) and gives you instant access to Battlefront.com game news, patches, demos, chat channel as well as other popular browser toolbar *gadgets* such as realtime weather reports (unique to your hometown!), a spell checker and pop-up blocker. Fully user configurable and expandable, your new Battlefront.com Community toolbar unlocks the full potential of your internet browser to keep you connected with the ever-growing world of Battlefront.com games and resources! You can find more details on this new free utility here: http://www.battlefront-store.com:8080//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=388&Itemid=212 CMSF v1.06 FEATURES LINE OF SIGHT (LOS) & SPOTTING • Enhanced LOS system takes into account the dynamically changing heights of soldiers in different stances, and vehicles of varying heights and the height of their crew positions and attached weapons. • When a squad/team of soldiers is placing a target command, the line to the target is light blue if the LOS is clear, part dark blue and part magenta if it's blocked, and gray if it's mostly clear but not for every soldier in the squad/team. • Trees block LOS more strongly. • Moving vehicles are easier to spot than previously, especially when kicking up large dust clouds. • Moving units are less likely to move quickly past an enemy and not notice him. • It's no longer as easy to spot enemy soldiers just because they are standing up (all else being equal). • Not all the soldiers in an enemy squad/team will necessarily be spotted when some are spotted, even when there is a clear LOS. • Spotting in extreme-dark moonless night conditions is handled correctly. INTERFACE • Command Menu: select a unit and press the SPACE BAR and a popup menu of available commands appears. It's similar to the old CM1 command interface. The menu can be dismissed with another press of the space bar or a mouse click anywhere outside the menu. • Artillery and air support missions may be targeted without LOS in the setup phase. • Heavy team weapons display their minimum and maximum ranges in the panel with the name, caliber, etc. • When an enemy unit is selected, the icons of friendly units that do not currently spot that enemy are darkened. This way it's easy to tell which of your units spots a given enemy. • Autocannon on the Bradley and BMP-2 are used in "Target Light" commands. This is useful if you want to be certain the vehicle will not use missiles. • You can give a Hide command to a moving unit without first having to click its final waypoint (the hiding begins when the unit reaches the final waypoint). • RPG rockets with high-explosive warheads have a new "equipment icon" to differentiate them from the anti-tank types. • "?" Spot Contact Markers are shown above buildings, not inside them. • Control-click to "jump" the camera also works in Air/Artillery Support mode. • Vehicle ammo counts update properly in turn-based playback. • When placing waypoints for a vehicle and you point the mouse too close to another vehicle, the correct "prohibited" cursor is displayed. • Artillery/air spotters do not show target lines for completed missions. • Group select works correctly when floating icons are switched off. GRAPHICS • Roofs and upper floors of occupied buildings are transparent. • Buildings become transparent when occupied by spotted enemy soldiers too. • Soldier and vehicle movement animation in turn-based playback is smoother. • Moon and stars are hidden on nights with thick haze. • Stryker IR-blocking smoke is colored brown (it was this way in the game originally). • The 40mm grenade launcher shows a tiny puff of smoke when firing. • RPG rocket fins don't visually protrude through the launch tube. • Dead soldiers don't float above craters blown out below them. VEHICLE BEHAVIOR • Vehicles have new defensive AI that automatically pops smoke, rotates to face threats, and retreats away from threats. • "Direct & Exact" vehicle pathfinding when no obstacles are nearby. • Vehicle movement paths that involve switching to or from reverse movement are smoother . • TacAI estimates armor penetration probabilities better, improving its selection of ammunition type. • Vehicle gunners who are also the loaders, are smarter about when to break off a long reloading action (e.g. reloading a missile tube) to take a shot at an enemy unit if another loaded weapon is available (like on the BRDM-2 ATGM vehicle). • Tanks are more willing to use main guns versus infantry, especially when given target orders by the player, and also at walls (not just use their MGs). • The "crew" of vehicles that do not have dedicated crews can acquire any onboard ammunition intended for passengers. • Vehicles are more likely to fire on the move. SOLDIER BEHAVIOR • Marksmen/snipers have significantly improved accuracy but much lower ROF (except at very close range where they behave more like standard riflemen). They also engage at longer ranges. • Hiding soldiers are more likely to open fire at appropriately serious targets on their own. • Soldiers are quicker to follow facing orders, if any, at their final waypoint. • Soldiers are better at shifting positions (very short distances only) to get a clear LOF to a target, or to make better use of cover after a Facing command. • Soldiers attempt to hug ridgelines for cover. • Soldiers do a better job positioning themselves behind trees for cover. • Squad/Team members are less likely to become or remain separated after movement. • A unit that is moving, and has no explicit combat orders, and has a "hide" order at its destination, is less likely to open fire at intermediate waypoints. • When splitting off an antitank team from a squad, the antitank specialist is more likely to join it, even if he's not currently armed with an antitank weapon. • Marksman specialists are less likely to join assault or antitank teams. • In a squad, teams B and C will not "spread out" into buildings. • Soldiers are not reluctant to fire into trenches at short range. • Once a soldier goes prone for any reason, he's more likely to stay prone for at least a little while even if no one is shooting at him. • Infantry "evade" does not attempt to move to locations that are nearby but blocked by obstacles like high walls. • Soldiers acting as "medics" will stop and take cover if there is significant incoming fire. • Soldiers won't exit vehicles onto unsuitable terrain. SIMULATION • Small arms accuracy and volume of fire are slightly reduced at medium and long ranges. • Slightly increased concealment for foxholes, craters, ditches, trenches, trees. • Slightly increased cover/protection provided by buildings. • Effect radius of shrapnel from explosions is increased - you'll notice this especially with grenades. Exception: shaped-charge weapons (e.g. RPGs) have a reduced shrapnel effect radius. • IEDs time their explosions better so the target is closer and more likely to be damaged. • Smoke deployed by Abrams tanks and Bradley IFVs deploys "instantly" (like the Stryker smoke already does). • Explosions near, but not touching, buildings do slightly less damage to the buildings. • Airburst artillery explodes correctly above buildings. • Improved calculations for the impact location and direction of projectile ricochets off buildings. DATA • Bradley, Abrams, and Stryker are less likely to explode when hit internally. • T-72 TURMS has upgraded commander's optical/night-vision equipment. • BMP-1 and BMP-2 are better able to spot enemies. • AT-3 missile minimum range is 500m. • Syrian armored personnel carriers carry extra small arms ammunition for their infantry squads. • Stryker armor reduced - the main difference you'll notice is that 30mm rounds from the BMP-2 will usually penetrate. MISC FEATURES • Hold down the 'V' key at game startup and the intro video will no longer play when the game loads. This setting will be saved in the preferences file. On subsequent startups you can press 'V' again to bring the video back. • The "display size.txt" file in the CMSF directory now uses a third number to state the desired monitor refresh rate. Optionally use this file if you wish to manually select a resolution and refresh rate for CMSF. Exercise caution and only use a resolution and refresh rate supported by your monitor as damage to your monitor or display adapater could occur, especially if you use too high a setting. The format for this file is Horizontal Resolution (in pixels), Vertical Resolution (in pixels) and Refresh Rate (in Hertz). (For example, if you wanted to run the game in 1440x900 @ 75Hz, your "display size.txt" file would look like this: 1440 900 75) Use all 0's to allow the game to use the current desktop resolution and refresh rate. (example: 0 0 0) MISC BUG FIXES • Fixed several "stuck" squad and soldier issues. • Fixed the "heavy weapon left behind" bug. • Corrected a camera TAB-lock directional problem in playback mode. • Corrected a problem that caused some flavor objects to disappear in saved games. • Quick Battle troops are correctly placed in their setup zones. • Computer player does a better job setting up vehicles so they're not in unsuitable terrain. • Fixed a bug that allowed shots to be fired at targets that had disappeared from view a moment earlier. • Corrected some problems caused by balconies being placed directly over separate buildings. • Corrected some pathfinding and LOS problems related to "internal" doors and "open" walls between connected buildings. • No message is displayed when an objective is "touched" by enemy forces. • IEDs may not use the target command if all friendly soldiers are casualties. • Corrected a bug where an MG crewman could "fall off the roof" when the MG changes position or facing. • Fixed a bug that allowed two vehicles to have the same movement destination and "merge together" upon arrival. * Plus all the fixes and changes from the previous patches.... Madmatt UPDATE: A fixed Paradox v1.06 Patch is currently being worked on and will be released ASAP. [ February 07, 2008, 02:28 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Do you have Winzip installed? The file is a zip and should open just fine but no one else has reported any issues with it. Madmatt

M.R.Maiornikov , you never said what OS you have, but the Editors won't work under Vista 64. If you have Vista 32 or XP, try and reinstall Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 again and see if that helps. Madmatt

Make sure and run the game "As Administator", (right click on shortcut, select that option) otherwise Vista may not let you modify the game files. Madmatt

Go into your users folder and delete the mp.ini file. Now try. Madmatt

Pushkary we got your email already, did you get our reply with your code? Madmatt

I am not sure what version that is exactly, but its not the Battlefront one so the latest Uber patch will not work with it. We are working with several other publishers currently so that they can release the uber patch for their versions so hopefullythat will be ready for your game soon although I have to admit I have never heard of that company. Then again, I dont really deal with the 3rd party distribution much, Martin does. Madmatt

Do me a favor and paste the contents of your bldwin.ini file here. Do you recall if you used to have your Map editor set to run in a Window? I think I might know the problem and how to fix but I want to have a look at that file first. Thanks! Madmatt p.s. As to your previous saves, yes in the readme it says that they will no longer show up after you patch.

Right click on the SETUP.exe and select Run as Admin and see if that works. Due to the size of the files, it could take up to 10-20 minutes for the DVD to actually process the files and begin. It SHOULDN'T take that long, but its possible it could. As Sneaksie said, odds are it could just be a dirty disk. You can clean the DVD with a Q-tip and some diluted alcohol solution and let it airdry. Madmatt

While with ToW it seems your problem is with your video card you also mentioned CMSF not running and my guess with that is that the game isn't running because the elicense system is not properly launching. Thats a common problem on some computers but can be easily fixed with the following steps. See if this helps: http://www.battlefront.com/elicense_faq.html#nothingappears Madmatt

You have installed the Uber Patch to a Battlefront.com version of the game? Do any of the other editors launch? What about the game itself? Please list your full hardware (video card make and model, CPU etc..) and OS specs. Madmatt

The shipping and Handling fee to Western European customers (which includes the UK) is $20. The high rate is due to the low value of the dollar against the Euro and English Pound at the moment. Madmatt

M.R. so with the exact same hardware, the game USED to work, but now gives you an error after you have installed the Uber Patch? Whats the exact error? What about trying to run the various editors, do they launch? Madmatt

Adg, I wanted to be sure that your problem was not something larger that slipped though my QA process so I dug up my original ToW DVD and installed the game on my backup PC. The game worked fine (just like you saw) and then I installed the Uber patch and again the game worked fine, so as suggested above, you probably just got a corrupt patch download. Go ahead and download from one of the different sites and you should be fine. Let us know if you still have any problems though! Madmatt

Adg, yes, you can download again if you need to. The link originally sent to you in email will still work now. If you need that info again, email us at elicense@battlefront.com and we can send it to you. Madmatt

86smopium, Have you tried deleting/renaming the intro video? It could be as simple as that. By the way, your seeing the config panel when you try running the ToW_Helper.exe because you have already successfully licensed the game, so at least we know that is working okay. Madmatt

RobboG, I run ToW with a new 8800Gt card and it runs great so I think the problem might be your dual monitor display. Try and disable that as a test and see if your framerates don't jump up as they should. Madmatt