Dar

One thing I *hate* about Gun hits is that the tank then continues on its merry way as if nothing had happened, continuing to execute its "Hunt" or other orders--and usually that means getting closer and closer to the enemy that just knocked out the gun and is working on knocking the rest of the vehicle out! I'd really prefer to see the vehicle pop smoke and reverse, or take some sort of action since it's basically declawed after this. Continuing to blunder deeper into the enemy's lines isn't the best thing to do at this point. Dar

According to what I've read in the manual and from BTS's comments on the board, it sounds like troops are more likely to engage targets while sneaking than crawling (esp. with the 1.01 patch). I assume that crawling is better if you want to keep hidden while moving into a location that may be in sight of the enemy. However, sneaking is good when you want to "sneak" up on the enemy and paste him when your unit feels it has a good shot. Dar

I gotta chime in: <H1>Don't do it!</H1> The best thing about the recent advancements in technology is that you don't need the big companies in the suits to get things done anymore. We don't have to be hostages of the big book publishers, media organizations, retail companies, etc., because we can get all that online now. Even though it nearly killed me to wait so long for CM, it is a quality product that was worth waiting for. I hate to think of all the games I've bought over the years from the "Big Boys" that were often more expensive than CM and were absolute crap because the Big Boys wanted to get it out the door and get my money--which they unfortunately succeeded in too many times! Stay independent, BTS! Dar [This message has been edited by Dar (edited 06-27-2000).]

I'm an Eastsider (Kirkland) who just got it for my PC (but apparently Mac is on the disk, too?). *sigh* If only the sun would go away like it usually does so I could play it without feeling guilty! 90 degrees today, and 89 tomorrow they say! Dar

I'm in agreement with much of what's being said here. It would be great to have that ability to lock a tank's turret into a certain direction and have it "stick" much like a user-designated target does with the recently revised targetting AI. This would make it possible to do platoon-sized formations, such as wedge, vee, echelon left/right, and column, more realistically, and allow tanks to cover assigned sectors on the move. Perhaps we can manage to get a separate "Turret Rotate" or some such command in CM2 or--fingers crossed--a patch! Dar

Welcome, Brother Dale, to the Church of Combat Mission. Brother Dar

One other thing I really hope to see in subsequent releases that has been mentioned elsewhere: the capability to print out battlefield maps. I'm not requesting anything overly fancy--just a basic contour map following perhaps the odd or even numbered elevations only. A basic square for buildings and a tree for woods and tall pines, and other such symbols for various terrain would be a plus. And black-and-white, not color, would suit me fine. Dar

Wendell: No, I don't think you're "too angry"--really, it's about right! I, too, am very sick of quality losing out to quantity, engineers and developers subservient to marketing trends and sales predictions, etc., that I feel pretty f*)#@&$ close to the way you feel... But I had to give you s#*@, because I could! Dar

Damn! I think you need a Happy Meal, Wendell! Dar

Hey, there are around 300 million of us crazy Americans, so there are bound to be a few that are selfish and rude. Any person that hates an entire nationality/race/religion based on their experience with a few small-minded individuals is pretty #$*(@ small-minded himself. If some Europeans want to hate Americans, please do it on an individual basis. And vice versa! Dar

You play one operation and base your entire judgement on that? Try it again! Maybe this time the AI will try something different, and you won't be so lucky. Or maybe you're just that good. The AI is much better than most games' AI, but it still can't approach the level a good human can play at. Regardless, try it again. Dar

Just a nitpick: The Panther Ausf D was the one that came out first and it was the one that had all the problems at Kursk. The Ausf A and G came later in that respective order. No, I don't know why the "A" came after the "D". But it did. Dar

The *only* time I leave my TCs buttoned up are when they're engaging infantry at close range (< 200m) and all AT threats have been dealt with (to the best of my knowledge!). Otherwise, I always want their eyes and ears open so they can pop anything threatening as soon as it shows its ugly head! Dar

LOL! The same thing happens with my cats! They slink from the room in a hurry whenever I yell at the computer. Come to think of it, they do that a lot when I watch hockey on TV, too... Poor, confused things! Dar

Oh, and one other thing--units and vehicles have their best chance of spotting units to their front, less to the sides, and much less to the rear. If you set up an AT gun to engage units from a flank as they pass through an area, you should definitely be able to get several shots off before being spotted. Dar

What's the matter with posting his pix here? They link to outside URLs, not BTS's BBS, so it's not like he's taking up their disk space. Cool catastrophic explosions! Damn! I hope my copy arrives today finally! Dar

It all depends on how your AT gun is positioned. Is it in cover (woods, scattered trees, brush, etc.)? Are there dozens of enemy units in LOS when it shoots? I have setup (and run into!) ambushes several times using AT guns in good cover that were able to fire several times before spotted--brewing up a good number of vehicles until then!--because they were in cover, and they were positioned in sight of a small kill zone and out of sight of everything else. If you're setting up your AT guns on top of a hill commanding the entire battlefield, the moment they fire *every* enemy unit in sight is going to have an increased chance to spot it, and one of them is bound to spot it. Then a world of hurt comes down on your gun! Keep 'em hidden! Dar

Oh, my God, is that funny! You're right, Phoenix: it looks just like "Combat Mission: South Park"--with a little bit of the Flintstones thrown in! Is that supposed to be "the Siege of Bastogne" or "the Siege of Bedrock City"? Too funny! Dar

Can I join your group of lonely souls? No offense, but I hope I'm no longer eligible for this club tomorrow! Dar

Heinz: I guess it's something to experiment with, but I wonder if they have enough armor to protect them from small arms up to .50 cal? If so, they could be good for knocking down buildings if you do any urban fighting! That's what I hope to get some M7 Priests for, myself. Dar

*whew* Thank you, Charles! Of course, CM1 would tide me over for quite a while, but CM2 is the "Clash of the Titans" release that I'm really looking forward to! Dar

The Americans used a SP 155mm gun in Aachen towards the end of the war for bunker-busting. I don't see why you wouldn't want to use the Wespe or Hummel for the same thing? Sure, it's not as well-armored as the StuH42, but it's got a bite! If you want indirect fire, though, better stick with your FOs. Dar

I don't know how "common" it was, but it was a technique practiced by the Allies to aim for that shot trap. If I can find a link or a quote, I'll paste it, but I remember reading not too long ago a quote from one Canadian tank veteran who used that technique to brew up Panthers on a regular basis. Dar

There you go, King! Now you know how Tigers and Panthers got their reputations! Try circling those Shermans around the Panther and ganging up on it. Frontal attacks with anything less than a 76mm are suicidal. Dar

Rex: I feel your pain. I'm in the Seattle area and ordered months and months ago, just getting the "problem with your credit card" message on Wednesday. No packages today... *sigh* Although the good thing is I saw with my online banking that my debit card was charged on the 16th. Dar