Fred

anyone remember Ambush! by Victory Games? Still the greatest solitaire boardgame system around. You campaign a US squad through france 1944 up to Westwall. Each soldier is individually rated for weapon skill, initiative, driving skill, etc. It has night paradrops, river assaults, attacks on secret V2 sites, tanks, etc. If you are into WW2 man-to-man games, this is the one to have! I still play it from time to time, even if its nearly 20 years old. Fred

Yes, luck plays an important role in CM, like it did on the real battlefield. But you can "channel" the luck factor by skillfull playing. Take Riesberg at an example. In one game, both 88s were taken out in 2 minutes by the US AI. Bad luck and a tough fight. Next game, both survived till the end and the US had a hard time. Here is my rundown of games vs. the AI (only counting the VERY FIRST TRY of a scenario, always playing the german side, no adjustments): Riesberg: major defeat for me Last defence: draw CE: tactical victory for me VoT: tactical victory for me Needless to say that in other wargames I usually beat the "AI" with decisive victories. The end result is, that an average wargamer like me is really challenged by CMs AI. Fred

Scott, right on target! This is the problem (or misunderstanding) some people have. The majority of wargames are NOT simulations of "being a CO in WW2". If you really want to be a CO, join the army! Wargames are, as the name implies, games to challenge the mind. They have their roots in chess (turn based) and even more in "Little Wars" by H.G. Wells (turn based) and Avalon Hills masterpieces. Because the battlefield is an abstraction of the real thing, you need time to decide about your moves. Real time is just that; a crippled vehicle to put you into a COs shoes. But, as long as the AI is not as good as real NCOs, real time is a failure for serious studies of war as a game. I've played them all for some 20 years now, be it boardgames like SL, 3rd Reich, Ambush, Sniper or computer games like SSIs Computer Ambush, Battle for Normandy, SP I, II and III or Soldiers at War, Warcraft, Commandoes etc. End result: 0 for real time games, 1 for turn based or "simultaneous action phase" games like CM. All IMHO, other opinions should differ. Fred [This message has been edited by Fred (edited 06-02-2000).]

hmm, maybe another of your squads spotted the FO and radioed it? But I agree, it seems as if spotting infantry is to easy, not only for tanks. I remember my basic army training; spotting a well camouflaged infantry squad was not this easy. Hell, I nearly stumbled upon them, and I had no idea that 6 barrels were aimed at me! IMHO, the spotting chances should be tweaked down for non-moving (and even slow moving) infantry. Fred

Hasbro once again cannibalizes on a brand. This time it's SL, one of the most famous board consims around! SaW from Random had potential, but the LOS computation was this bad, that I gave it up. I hope one day a AMBUSH! (still my fav solo wargame around) or SNIPER game (where were you SPI, when we needed you most?) will hit my hard disk, i.e. single soldiers vs. single soldiers. 101 in Normandy is the closest, but it has it's faults. Thanks BTS for not going mainstream! Fred

MikeO, guess Carpiquet is quite the prototype for an operation in CM. It took the Canadian 3. Infantry Division three days to capture the airstrip from "Hitlerjugend" (12.SS PzDiv) and it was the prerequisite for the assault on Caen. This could be a great operation in CM! Fred

Steve explained some of it. If you have LOS to a tank, you simply SEE that it is buttoned (hatch closed) or thrown a tread. And if the tank moves forward, back, forward again...guess it's bogged... Kinda abstraction, but works well for me. Fred

folks, this is the COMBAT MISSION forum... Try to stay on topic. But if you HAVE to attack, attack opinions, not people... Fred

Me, at least I'm quite curious. Germany accounts for the "second largest market" for wargames after the US market. So, anyone from germany here? I'm from the city of Hamburg, northern part. Fred

well, regarding #2, reason is that COs and MG crews usually did not have fausts. The MG crews already have enough stuff to carry around, and their main task is to operate the MG Fred

Steve, another "troll alert" ? Fred

37, single, war- and role playing gamer for 20 years now...guess that's what keeps me young... former nco in the german army (armored artillery) Fred [This message has been edited by Fred (edited 05-24-2000).]

Hey, move over to shrapnelgames.com All American: The 82nd Airborne at Normandy Publisher: Shrapnel Games Developer: Shrapnel Games Expected Release Date: 06/00 BUT,.. BTS is really the wrong place to ask Fred

Maastrician, you wrote: "For me, part of the enjoyment of playing the game is to put myself in the place of the CO. As such I maintain a mental map of where everybody is. Its an important skill for a real life commander and a skill I pride myself on. Does this mean its wrong to cycle through your units every turn? Certainly not! But I would probably rather play a timed sort of TCP/IP game such as was being discussed on another thread. I think that sort of "fast and loose" play is more enjoyable." So, you enjoy to impersonate a CO. Thats ok, because you like it. Now, there is another gamer, named Fred. And I like to play wargames. I like to get a nice, organized table about my units. Realistic? Maybe not, but user friendly! So, there is your voice, and there is my voice... And I still have the opinion, that a game is a game, not a Westpoint CO training device! And, once again, CM is no role plaing game for CO wannabees! It's a wargame to challenge your mind; an evolution of chess and H.G.Wells "Little Wars"...not more and not less. And to artificially make the UI cumbersome is NOT the way to make people like me happy. The long term success of CM will be decided by the way BTS balances both views. And a "punishment" for the players who do NOT want to impersonate a CO, but want to play a decent wargame, will certainly have a direct impact on sales figures. Believe me. And high sales figures is what we all want for CM! Fred

Maastrictian, I have another view on this topic. CM is not a role playing game about impersonating a CO in WWII, but it is a wargame and the player is just this; a player in front of a computer screen. So the point that a "real CO couldn't do it" is not a valid one IMO, cause I'm no CO. "Punishing" players to repeatedly hitting a key to see all the units in order to keep the "realism über alles" people happy, is possibly not the right way to do in a wargame that should appeal to all kinds of wargamers. If I want this experience, I rejoin the army or play a role playing game like "Behind the enemy lines" (great rpg about small unit actions in WWII) All aspects (realism, gameplay, UI) must be balanced; a difficult task, indeed. Don't get me wrong; I've pre-ordered long before the beta demo and I think that this games is Game of the Year (read some of my reviews), but everything can be enhanced. Fred

done! with some comments to Mr. Grogboy... Fred

I remember the lone survivor of a Schreck team in CE. I ordered him to the little rise on the left of the church (from a german POV). A Sherman was positioned behind the church and supported an infantry assault on the wooded hill on my right. The Obergefreite crawls exactly into a position with his head and arms above the rise, so that he could target the Sherman. But he was alone and frightened...reloading seemed to never end and suddenly the Sherman got aware of him... Slowly the turret turns to the unsupported soldier, who really got nervous with the reloading action. Then the first HE shell was fired; 3-4 meters directly over his head! But he did not hit the ground...he "knews" that he will be dead meat if he does nothing...it's he or me...and he shoots his Schreck (last round). One second later the Sherman was history...side hull penetration and knocked out! BTW, the Obergefreite survived this battle against the AI (draw)...and qualified himself for EK1! Fred [This message has been edited by Fred (edited 05-23-2000).]

Steve, I know, sales figures are a trade secret but can you rate the order figure like: a) less than we expected as expected c) more than we expected d) when do they ship my two new Ferraris Fred

Great! Thank you Charles! Back to the good 'ole "ride to glory" view Fred

Madmatt, you really rule! Thank you! Fred

Thank you Madmatt! I would appreciate it! But..Odball is right..at least 3 threads and no official answer... Fred

Madmatt, try it yourself...load the old beta demo and lock on a tank..there is no zoom factor in it! It has changed, and I really want to know why from Steve or Charles... Fred

100% ack, Oddball! Steve, Charles..where is this view? No workaround like zoom in and shift-a! I would like a comment from the designers! Fred

Juju, I see your point, but I have enough free space on my hard disk for both games, CM and SPW@W You can't compare them If I want the long campaign (unrealistic but fun!) I play SP, if in the mood for some after D-D action, I play CM. Fred

Chris. I see your point, but CM is not a role playing game simulation about a CO, its a wargame. And information deficit is (maybe) realistic, but realism has to be balanced with gameplay. Fred