Madmatt

The simple truth is the current implementation wasn't what we intended either but there are over 300 different profiles that would have been needed and we could not obtain enough source material to make full profiles like CMBO had. We tried historical pictures but colorizing them and getting permission to use them took much too long and was overly complicated. We tried Re-enactors and initially progress was made but it seems that 99% of WWII reenactors are SS-PanzerGrenadiers. Doesnt do us much good with Finns, Italians, Hungarians Romanians and Russians needing to be included as well ya know? We toyed with in-game screenshots but again time to do this and overall quality made that not work either. In the upcoming v1.01 we have included many more portraits (which are pretty cool looking) but they are still the current 3/4 slant view with the flag in the background. This perspective does allow you to view the rank insignias though, although I never really thought that was important but others seem to like it. This was just another area where we didn't have the time and resources to do with like we wanted but did the very best we could. I am actually surprised its taking so long for this area to get moded. I would have thought it would have been one of the first things moded. Madmatt [ October 30, 2002, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

If you have the save game please send it to me and be sure to recap the issue you are reporting in the email so I can keep track of what it is you are sending me and what it is supposed to be showing me. Madmatt

I have asked Charles to look into this issue. If you have any end game saves which show this please send them to me but be sure to also include which issue you are reporting to me, in full. I often get emails with files attached which just say "Hey Matt, here are those files you asked about!" the problem is I ask for files all the time and there is no way for me to keep track of them all, who is sending me and what they are sending. So please recap the exatc issue you are reporting! Thanks! Madmatt [ October 30, 2002, 06:07 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

I will have Charles look into this. It does appear odd. Cordouroy roads were planned but left out in the end. Madmatt

Okay, apparently you guys missed my earlier post so here it goes again. I WILL have Steve and Charles pop in here when they are able and shed some light on this issue. NO ONE has any right to insult each other on this forum. That includes people insulting beta testers and they insulting back. I want that crap stopped RIGHT NOW!!! I was the Beta Test Coordinator for CMBB and the testers busted their asses to help make CMBB the awesome game experience that it is. Until you have put in 80+ plus hours on a testing out thousands of permutations and in game situations then you have NO RIGHT to criticize the efforts of my beta testers. If you want to take some one to task on what they did the you do so with me, not them, as they were solely my responsibility and they have earned some respect which they aren't getting here. I have been involved in many game tests and dozens of beta teams and the dedication and knowledge that the CMBB beta testers brought to the table was overwhelming. These guys gave of their time and skill to do the impossible and they succeeded. To insult them is to insult Battlefront and we will NOT stand for that. Tempers are running hot here (mine included) so every one needs to settle down some before posting further on this matter. I am going to lock this up for the time being but will open it back up once Steve or Charles can reply for you. I am not saying one way or the other about the original issue brought up, and discussion on game elements is great but I don't have enough info on how these particular issues are handled to comment and that's why its best to wait for the big guns to come on in and comment. One more thing, rudeness is rudeness regardless of someone's native language. I have never accepted that excuse for what someone says. Madmatt

The AI does not CHEAT or get any bonus's over manually targeted units or ones it chooses to engage. From a background in testing CM for almost three years now I can say that any test with less than 100 run throughs is not a good enough sample. Having said that, and since I find STATS insanely boring I will have Charles peak in here and have a look around when he gets some time. Perhaps he can shed some of Brainac knowledge of his to help lift the fog on this matter. Madmatt [ October 30, 2002, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

For some reason the video isn't intializing properly. What usually works in these situations is to first reinstall DirectX and then update or re-install your video drivers. DirectX 8.1b can be donwloaded direct from Microsoft here but since you have XP installed you will need to download the Service Pack 1 which comes with the newest version of DirectX. Once you have done that, or if you already have the latest DirectX, you should then re-install your video drivers. With a Geforce 3 I recommend the Nvidia 30.82 drivers but you can also use the new ones that Microsoft offers via their Update Windows page which are version 30.87. Both work great on my GF3 card. Next, after you have done those steps check in your CMBB folder and see if there is a file called Combat Mission BB Prefs. There probably will not be, but if there is you need to delete it. Now relaunch the game. The *best* way to install video drivers is to always uninstall the current driver FIRST and then install the new ones. This process is usually explained in the text files that come with the new drivers. Madmatt

Okay, first things first. Which game is this? CMBB or CMBO? Next, does it crash on ANY game now, Quick Battle, other saved game, scenario, operation? Can you go into the scenario editor, autocreate a map and preview it? Did ANYTHING else change on your computer recently? New driver extensions, upgrade, software install etc? What OS are you running? Have you tried disabling the backside cache? Madmatt [ October 30, 2002, 01:22 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Actually since you have the CDV version you will need to post this to their tech support site as I don't have the CDV version to check this with. Having said that, you *should* be able to toggle the intro on and off by holding, IIRC, the space bar while the game loads. I wish I could help more but CDV should be able to tell you exatcly how to disable the intro. Madmatt

The only two people that can really comment on this issue with a deep enough understanding of how things are currently calculated in the game are Steve and Charles and neither, unfortunately, have the time to do so at the moment. This thread has been pointed out to them though. Madmatt

Sweet! Madmatt

We are looking into these reports currently. Madmatt

Harold, it is possible that you have a disk with a manufactoring fault as detailed in this post, but that depends on when you received the game: http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002844 One thing to try is to disable autoplay on that drive when you put in the CD. I think you can do that temporarily by holding the ALt key down when you insert the CD but it might be the Control Key. Now browse the CD and look to see if there a single file called CMBB Installer.exe. If there is try and run it, or you may want to copy it to your harddrive first. If that program won't install then you probably just need a replacement CD which we can send you free of charge. Email me (as stated in the post above) with your order number and I will take care of you. Madmatt

That part of the manual was copied from the CMBO version and as such is a little out of date. The forthcoming v1.01 patch includes a full manual errata section in the readme. The drivers we currently recommend are either 30.82 or if you get them from Microsofts Windows Updates 30.87. We can not currently recommend any of the later drivers 40.xx or higher as they are unstable, still in Beta and FSAA appears to be broke. Madmatt

Do you get this error on any scenario which you try and edit parameters or just one specific battle? That address range is usually, although not always, related to DirectX and I would recommend that you reinstall DirectX 8.1b which you can download here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads/drx81.asp Matt

Send them to me at Matt@battlefront.com please. Thanks! Madmatt

I told you guys there were a lot of sounds. I actually created the current system last year. There are actually 47 (maybe 49?) specific catagories for each set of voices. I unfortunately lost all my original (and translated) scripts due to a violent drive crash in July but they are pretty logically laid out and the files are also numbered in order by group. Units sayings are divided into certain classifications which decide WHO will say what. Those are Crewed Units (any unit with a crew like a tank or ATG), Troops (infantry style foot units) and Generic (any unit). It would not make sense for a infantry squad to order its *Gunner* to attack a tank, so they need to be seperate. There are several basic triggers for any voice sample. It is either a REACTION to something (like being fired on) an ENGAGEMENT to something (like shooting at a tank) a MOVEMENT (like a order to run or assault) or an AMBIENT (like normal soldier chatter). Each Classification and Trigger then has the specific event or saying which logically goes together. For example, lets say you have a gun crew that fires on an enemy tank. How does the game choose what to say? Simple. First, since the ATG is a crewed unit it will look at the CREWED classification. It will also look at the Generic classification as well since it could also apply. It then randomly selects one or the other. Next since the unit is REACTING to something it looks down the list of possible reaction catagories. Since it is an enemy tank, it chooses one of several quotes which specifically are about an enemy tank but it could also select to play a sample that refers to a generic enemy target as well. For those formula-heads among you, here is how it would play out. Russian ATG engaging enemy tanks. Play a sample between 0008300-305 because that is the "Crewed Engage- Enemy Tank" catagory. Broken down as: {Crewed} type of unit talking. {Engage} the triggering event, in this case its firing {-Enemy Tank} What it is speficially engaging. If it was a generic unit firing on a generic enemy unit it would play a sample between 0008500-00085010 which is "Generic Unit Engage- Generic Target". Look at the differences in the two catagories. In range 0008300-305 you hear stuff like "Gunner, engage enemy tank, FIRE" quaotes that are VERY specific. But with catagory 0008500-510 its just stuff like "Enemy ahead, fire!" I created this system to provide for the maximum flexibility and also diversity. In CMBO you got maybe 60 different samples per nationality. In CMBB you get HUNDREDS with multiple permutations. In the future I plan on refining this system even more. When I get some time I will explain to you the system I cam up with for the bullet "zip" sounds and bullet impacts. Hopefully I can also find an old copy of the spreadsheet I made which shows how the voices are all catagorized and numbered. Madmatt [ October 26, 2002, 01:24 PM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Well the 20 meter engagement issue I don't see a problem, a target gets that close you have to expect, in tall pines, that you might get spotted so it makes sense to engage. Now, what I am going to have a look at though in my own tests is wheter or not the HQ's are popping cover too soon and opening up when hiding. Last time I did a test of this in full was during the beta and back then I was seeing units literally allowing the enemy to get within 5 meters before unhiding. I was not aware of any tweaks to that but I will certainly have a look. Do you see the hidden HQ's popping up in all sorts of terrain or just tall pines? Does it seem that, all things being equal, HQ's will unhide before squads when faced with an enemy unit at the same range? I know you seem hesitant to use covered arcs, but since you want your troops to only engage at about 20-30 meters you really should use them. If you do set a cover arc at say 20 meters, willthe HQ still unhide too soon? You can't keep saying "well it didnt happen in CMBO" becuase this isnt CMBO, there are a lot more commands now and the HIDE command is different than it used to be. It is *supposed* to be more like a true hide, with faces in the dirt and low situational awareness but if the HQ's are unhiding early, consistently, when no one else can see the enemy units then it will need to be looked into. Don't forget that borg spotting will also have a hand in this. I will have some tests run over the weekend and see what I can find. Madmatt

Bone Vulture, if you have such a problem with the HQ's and hiding why don't you stop sidetracking other threads, do some tests and send me the files and explain to me whats going on? NO ONE else is seeing a problem but you but if its real and you can replicate it and prove your findings with some saved games then I will have a look and see what we can do. Thats how things get done around here. You think its broke, fine, now show me and I will have a look. Madmatt

Its actually the monitor remembering the screen postion settings based on Resolution AND Refresh rate. Apparently when you are in the game you are running a different resolution (or refresh rate than on your desktop. As such your monitor will have different position settings for each. Madmatt

DOH, okay I misread, you wanted a replacement CMBO disc, not the full game. Okay, I will get ya squared away! Madmatt

Guys, this is a STRATEGIC COMMAND forum, not a area for geo-political posturing. If you want to sing and dance about the praises of Stalinism or Communism or Socialism or what ever, hey guess what? DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE!?! What do you think you will accomplish? A change of someone's government because of your rather limited appraisal of history? Gee, he is right, my system of government DOES SUCK cuz some loser on a forum told me so. Discussions like this are tiresome in the extreme and have NO place here on our forums. As to your thoughts that the Soviet Union was successful BECAUSE of Communism I think is laughable. Rather it was successful IN SPITE of it. It was only when Stalin backed off the day to day running of the war that military victories started going their way and the balance of power started to turn in the East. Communism so permeated the way the military was structured that it was only after huge defeats and loses of life that a more flexible, more adaptable internal military infrastructure was implemented and even then it was still functionally far more rigid than other combatant in WWII next to perhaps Imperial Japan. Rigidity like that can be a benefit to a nation besieged but when on the offensive, quick thinking and creative imagination are what often win the day. It was Stalin's "tolerance" to allow a few select people under him to operate without (too much) interference that allowed victories at Stalingrad and Kursk and the planning and commencement of the final offenses into Austria and Germany, not their adherence to communist doctrine. I also take offense to how you, EB, so vehemently attacked the original poster that was just trying to make a modification to the game. Maybe its NOT 100% historical maybe it is, none of us have omnipotent deduction of the past but the fact remains in that HE is trying to support the game as a mod author and you dumping a pile of undeserved and unjustified **** on his plate. And I won't stand for it. Mod authors do what they do for the love of the game and for the enjoyment they get outa of re-shaping things to better fit a image that THEY HAVE. I for one, applaud their efforts and have always and will always defend them when the need arises. I don't care if you think one government is right or better or more adaptable. Such discussions have occurred in public since the early days of the great Greek thinkers but when you start attacking a mod author then you better be prepared to go toe to toe with me little man. Then of course, since I live in a inept society with a inferior system of government I can just as easily pull the plug on your manifesto anytime I want. This little pissing match is OVER though gentleman. No more debates on this will be permitted as they always seem to go widely out of control and I have neither the time nor inclination to baby-sit them any further. I see it crop up again, someone will get banned. Madmatt p.s. Dgaad, do not be detered by your detractors. Keep on modding and making the game better and better! [ October 25, 2002, 10:11 AM: Message edited by: Madmatt ]

Calling one country or the other "crap" is not called for nor are you any authority to make sure a catagorically broad statement. We don't stand for people picking on countries around here and I am going to go have a look at what EB has been saying but for not just drop it and I closing this, and similar threads up as of this second. Madmatt

Not sure what came of this but I searched and no additional charge was ever placed on your credit card for a copy of CMBO so its logical that you would not get one. I have a fair solution for you though, details forthcoming in email. Madmatt

I didn't think BTS was into bondage fetish.</font>