Bil Hardenberger

Actually John, it's on the CD Bil

IMO, if you are looking for balance, then it has to be a DYO meeting engagement. Let the computer choose your forces, it is te ultimate test of skill. If you are looking for a set scenario, try Kommerscheidt by Moon. Fionn and I fought to a draw in this scenario... very even. Bil

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>BTW, a good scenario to practice advancing in this type of scenario is 'Fire and Maneuver'. An excellent scenario!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> As the author of Fire & Maneuver, I thank you Wolfe. That was it's intent. Fionn was the first person to play that scenario (besides me) and even he learned a few lessons from it. I too look forward to Fionn and Chris' AAR, I am sure it will be riveting. Bil

Okay time for me to wade in with my opinion. CM is an outstanding attempt at creating a realistic recreation of a WW2 battlefield. The biggest problem I had when I first got my Beta copy was that I could not "see" the lay of the land. As a former MI guy, terrain analysis is our bread and butter. If you can't analyze the terrain properly you are missing some important information. So, being an artist I tweaked the colors of the terrain tiles until we ended up with what you see in CM today. This dramatically improved the look of CM and improved the ability to "see" the ground. Yet I still had problems seeing all the subtle elevation changes. Until CM has real time shadows and shading, this will always be so. The grid, for me, works wonders. You have to remember that you are not a Platoon Sgt on the ground where you can see every dip and rise. You are a Company or Battalion Commander trying to lead your force. To do this effectively in real life, the Army gives you an aid (called a map) that has every dip and rise outlined beautifully for you. Now, we do not have this in CM, so what is wrong with having a grid to help out? I, for one, do not like getting down to view 1 for every unit on the map, especially for a large battle. This is just my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to those of you who differ with it, to each his own. I also do not believe that the grid is some "wonder" weapon that will suddenly make every player play like Fionn. It may help them "see", but they will still play like they always have, and will still be beaten if they play poorly, grid or not. Bil

But there is a campaign for CM! It is called the CMMC and you can read about on Madmatt's CMHQ site. Bil

And just what is wrong with the version you have now? Damn, you guys are impatient. Believe me, the wait will be worth it. Bil

Jarmo, That is an EXCELLENT suggestion. I think I will pass that along on the Beta Testers forum. Good job. That would fix my major gripe with Operations, and perhaps convince me to play them again (I haven't played an Op since December). It would open up all kinds of possibilities, like cut off troops, etc. I would amend it to say that units outside the front line, CAN NOT be pulled back, they would have to be relieved... and thus, would NOT be resupplied. Cheers, Bil [This message has been edited by Bil Hardenberger (edited 07-20-2000).]

First of all I want to say that it was Kwazydog (Dan Olding) who did the Stug, he also did the JagdTiger, and the JagdPanther from MDMP 1. Matt, though a talented guy, (eventhough there is more than a passing resemblance to a bald Roseanne Barr ) and the MAIN man in the MADDog Mods, is not the artist of the family... I don't think he will mind me giving credit where it is due... Dan has a way with textures. Secondly, you cannot have more than one texture per like vehicle in CM... I think if you look closely you will see that there is a difference between those Panthers. Bil

I loaded it via the game, it is the exact same version you have... as far as I know there is not even an option to set the FOW in the editor. Perhaps you should check your settings evertime you start a scenario, sounds like something that is inherent to your machine. Bil

As the designer of the Sunken Lane scenario, I can assure you FOW was NOT set to off as the scenario default... in fact I JUST checked it, and it is indeed set to FULL FOW. Bil

Mike, I am glad you were pleased to see it. I really enjoyed putting it together and have no problem whatsoever with you expanding on it... use any of my ideas you wish. Have you played it yet? If not, try it as the Brits and play as true to history as possible... I would be interested in hearing the results. Bil

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>And Bil, I guess I will need to publically humilate you in a PBEM game now!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Why? Because I disagreed with you? I am afraid the only person who would be publicly humiliated, would be you... don't make me wield Fionnsbane on your ass! If you insist however, set it up.. I prefer a DYO Meeting Engagement, 1000-2000 points, I will be the Germans. E-mail me you scum! Bil

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The design is sound, only your assessment of it is flawed...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> In all due respect Matt... I disagree with you and agree with M Hofbauer (Marcus I believe)... These sorts of problems should not arise, unless planned for (i.e. a garrison unit coming in in the middle of an occupied village... representing a unit jumping out of their bunks and into the fray).. if I am not mistaken, I believe this issue has been raised at least once on the Scenario forum and Wild Bill may have already provided a fix for it. Even the great one's can err... Bil

Also make sure you don't save it as a tournement game... that will not allow single player either. Bil

This is just a guess, but was it a light house? If so, then with the AT gun firing AP ammo and the tank firing HE, it would make sense that the dense metal of the Armor Piercing shot would just go right through the house, while the HE from the tank would not. Bil

Capt Miller, If you really want to get the Mad one's attention, you must use your exclamation points in multples of 6, or they must divisible by 3... this is common sense. Sheesh. Bil

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Bil, can I have some of that 'Bane of Fionn' stuff too? He wants to slap me with a frozen trout...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Is he still using that tactic? Shame on you Fionn! That was against the Geneva Convention... As for the Advanced Camo (Python Hole) and the 16 ton FOO; these were all shot down in conception as being outside the scope of CM... everyone knows that the Python Hole and the 16ton FOO were strategic assets. While everyone agreed that the looks of the English squads, while being stiff, actually are very realistic as they come with that "stick in the Butt" look that we have have all grown to know and love (no offense intended to any English out there with this particular trait). As for getting some of that bane of Fionn, I am afraid that I must keep it all to myself.. Bil [This message has been edited by Bil Hardenberger (edited 07-13-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Just who was in charge of the Birdsong Testing Committee? I demand his resignation!!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> As chairman of the Beta Testers Wildlife Sound Committee for Combat Mission(hereafter known as BeTWiSCoCoM) I take offense to the above listed charge that the bird sounds were in fact from an "American Robin" and not from the European variety. BeTWisCoCom searched far and wide for just the right bird sounds. In fact the bird sound you hear in CM is not the familier "chirp" sound that is often attributed to the American variety of Robin, but rather it is the "schirp" more common to the French and English variety Wobin, more commonly known in England as the English Robin. This particular bird's ancestry can be traced back to the 10th Century when a famous Knight of English tradition took the name of this most fierce of small bug eaters. Sir Robin was known far and wide as a bird lover, and he had a traveling troupe that would sing his tales of conquest wherever he went... but I digress. As you can see, there was not one segment of Combat Mission that was not researched to the highest degree and carefully double checked by every member of the Beta Team. In particular I think we can take immense pride in the successful inclusion of the European variety of the Wobin. I am deeply offended. I just hope Steve doesn't hear about this, as the bird sounds were his little pet project and held the games release for 6 months until this particular sound could be nailed to the perch... so to speak. Good day gentlemen. Bil Hardenberger Chairman BeTWiSCoCoM Beta Tester MDMP Artist Bane of Fionn [This message has been edited by Bil Hardenberger (edited 07-13-2000).]

I remember it from the mid seventies... I believe it was written by the then, Canadian Prime Minister. Bil

You can extend a map in any direction... I believe you have to use shift when extending it.. Bil

What you did Uedel is saved your scenario as a tournament game. This only allows you to start from one side... and you should not be able to edit it either. When creating these types of games it is best to save as a normal scenario first, so you can go back in and edit it. Bil

I am glad to hear that someone has played this one... it is my favorite scenario also, and I believe a challenge for any skill level. Bil

Count Sessine said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I too loaded up the scenario as one of the first, but I was quite disappointed with it. I know only of the Villiers-Bocage incident from various historical sources, and from what I have gained through these, the scenario map seems to be totally unhistorical. Its a bit difficult to go into, but the terrain around V-Bocage is NOT flat, and the village was smaller than is depicted here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I believe what everyone is talking about is the Operation Count, not the scenario. I agree that the map in the scenario is not as faithful to the area around Villers-Bocage as it could be. I have also done a scenario of the first battle... with a more realistic map (although as Los pointed out to me, it is too short). If you are interested in it send me an e-mail and I will send it along. It plays very historically. I have also been working on a SUPER realistic version of the map and scenario... but other commitments are keeping me from completing it. (DAMN YOU MADMATT!) Bil

I sure hope you played it diffently than I did in the AAR... however, you were playing an inferior opponent The Fireflies were part of the British tank Platoon... I was not willing to seperate them just because they wouldn't be as effective as the Shermans against soft targets for this scenario. In reality they probably would have kept them back out of harms way until the enemy armor showed itself. What you do with them in this scenario is up to you. Glad you enjoyed it. Now try Fire and Maneuver play as the Germans Bil

Yep. That one is Wild Bills. He has many quality scenarios on the CD. I, only have two... Sunken Lane and Fire&Maneuver. Quality, rather than quantity eh? Bil