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Gromit

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Posts posted by Gromit

    Must SPA have LOS to Ind. Fire? (Arrrrgh!)

    in Combat Mission Archive #4 (2002)

    Posted

    Hey guys:

    Well, I thought it would be cool to have a Hummel (150mm) and 250/7 (81mm Mtr) for support for an armor vs. armor quick battle.

    So, I thought I would be able to call indirect fire on an enemy unit that is in the LOS of another friendly unit(s). The Hummel and 250/7 are out of the fray visually.

    But, no joy. frown.gif Neither of these units has the artillery type commands when you right-click.

    Is this strictly b/c I do not have a LOS with the SPA or SPMortar?

    Can you buy a spotter without buying the attached off-map artillery to accomplish what I want to do ON-map?

    Unless I am missing something, it seems the Hummel cannot fire indirectly w/o having a LOS to the target in question which puts it squarely in harm's way (ouch!).

    I didn't see anything under On map artillery in the rules that mentions SPA.

    Would appreciate a clarification.

    Thanks,

    Paul

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 06-23-2000).]

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    Newbie Question

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Welcome aboard Jon!

    Don't sweat the knowledge part.

    I've "been at this" for a lot of years and I can still learn from all the guys on this board.

    Besides... your in for some of the most fun you will ever have- discovering all the nuances of WWII and units, etc., etc.

    Relax, ask questions and MOST of all, have FUN! smile.gif

    Paul

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    CD Demo V5 5500 4x FSAA WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    To all:

    Just a reminder for anybody putting in a new videocard on a PC with Windows.

    FIRST, replace your existing card driver (before taking it out) with the generic VGA driver (under the top choice of categories on the left column) and reboot.

    You will save yourself MAJOR headaches by doing this as it "Wipes the slate clean" and allows the newer card installation to operate as it was meant to.

    I can back this up with ten years of personal experience and my own headaches over the years.

    Cheers! wink.gif

    Paul

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    Pz IV: Germany's Unsung Hero?

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Great stuff guys!

    You got me thinking about the Tiger and its reliability rating.

    My educated guess is that the fact that Tiger crews were the elite of the Panzer bunch had more than a little to do with their being "up" a high percentage of the time. If you take into account that the Tiger was introduced in 1942 and its survivability, odds are you had some VERY knowledgeable mechanics (as well as other crew members) by 1944-45.

    Michael Wittman is one famous example of a veteran Tiger commander- the prestige associated with being on a Tiger crew was fairly large (from what I have read).

    Of course, the same was true of the Stuka crews in the early war, but Goering pulled them from the Battle of Britain after unacceptable losses to the bloody brits! wink.gif

    Other thoughts?

    Paul

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    Video Problem?

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Greg:

    Those Intel 740's had some problems in their "early life" with glitches, etc.

    If you have never looked around the internet for the latest driver for your manufacturer, that is DEFINITELY the answer. If you already have the latest and greatest driver installed correctly... weeelll then things get into the realm of conjecture rather quickly. wink.gif

    Sorry I can't be of more help, but other than the first tidbit, I have never owned an Intel 740, so beyond that I can't offer anything else.

    I would start with either Intel's site or the manufacturer (if made by other than Intel).

    Paul

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    Choice in video prefs with Viper II & Monster II

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Thanks Charles-

    Actually, I went home for lunch and discovered the answer for people who have both a Direct3D card (e.g., TNT2) and a 3DFX II (Monster II) on their machine.

    CoolColJ was very close to the solution:

    You need to open up your preferences in Windows by right-clicking- in my case, go to the Monster II Tab and then click Advanced.

    Under Direct3D at the top you need to check the box to "Disable 3DFX Direct3d Support".

    What was happening was the 3dFX card was set to 640x480 (for Final Fantasy VII) and because I had never checked this box, CM probably found it as the "default". This never happened with the Beta Demo BTW, but, I'm happy as a clam with hi-res now!

    Thanks,

    Paul

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    Choice in video prefs with Viper II & Monster II

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Hello everyone:

    I first want to say that the Gold demo looks great! I only had a few minutes this morning to download and install before leaving for work.

    My question is (of course I only tried a couple times) if I have a choice in saying "No" to the Monster II video prompt and thereby forcing the game to offer 3D from my preferred Viper II Ultra card. The prompts don't give you much time to ponder what it is asking before moving on to the next question.

    I did manage enough time to figure that if you delete the "prefs" file and restart, it would probably go through the whole process again; however, it did not seem to go through both 800x600 and 640x480 like the first time around.

    Am I going to have to remove the Glide Monster II card to force it to use the Direct3D TNT Ultra?

    Or is there a workaround I just didn't have time to stumble into? HELP!

    Many thanks ahead of time!

    Paul

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 05-10-2000).]

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    Request for Comment: Book

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    If anyone is looking for a good source for comparing and contrasting the armies of europe in WW2, I highly recommend the original ASL Annual 1989. Unfortunately, it is out of print (at least until MMP gets around to a reprint).

    There are two articles in particular I am referring to:

    Pg.5,"A Nation of Workers: Utilization of American Manpower and Material in ASL" by Craig F. Posey. This deals with actual AGCT (Army General Classification Test) data and how levels I-V were distributed among the various arms of the US Army. Unlike the British and Germans, who sorted men based on several grades of physical service and assigned upon expected physical demands, the Americans had only General Service and Limited Service; the later was dropped in July, 1943.

    Pg. 22,"The Evolution of Small Unit Tactics: A Historical Commentary on Squad Leader" by John Hill. This excellent "commentary" nicely weighs the tactical strengths and weaknesses of all the major european powers.

    Hill's discussion of the Americans reveals the true nature that underlies the "symptoms" if you will, of the actions everyone above has talked about.

    Hill says: "As a soldier, the American is an amateur and always will be. He is often an exceptionally talented amateur, but he is not, and has no desire to be, a professional. To the American, the concept of fighting is not that a soldier's profession, but rather a dirty job that has to be gotten on with."

    The article goes on to talk about how "in philosophy and tactics the American soldier is a day laborer. He is a confirmed skeptic, a diehard opportunist, and a dedicated scavenger."

    There are some more good thoughts if anyone is interested and cannot find the '89 Annual.

    I guess my whole point is that if you agree with the opinions and viewpoints of Posey and Hill (which I do for the most part- they ARE generalizations after all) then the arguments over "who was the best" between the Germans and Americans can be reduced IMHO to the basic fact that Germans fielded a professional army for the majority of the war and the US consisted of mostly amateur soldiers "getting on with a dirty job".

    Essentially, I feel that you all are trying to compare "apples to oranges" as the old saying goes.

    Great discussion guys, this is just my opinion on the matter.

    Paul

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 02-26-2000).]

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 02-26-2000).]

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    The speed of Panther's Turrent Tranverse in CM

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Barbara... I mean Babra! wink.gif has the right of it from everything I have ever read, heard, etc.

    My recollection is that the later shermans had the gyro stab equipment, but lack of proficiency training and the gun's (and hence the breech) propensity to move around in a somewhat unpredictable manner lead the crews (for the most part) to disable them.

    I can see it now- "@$!!*&!! That's the third time the breech has left a mark! Shut it off!!" smile.gif)

    Oh well, till Fionn can tell us that his research turned up sufficient evidence that the veteran crews used the gyros, I think we are out of luck.

    Just my 2 cents,

    Cheers,

    Gromit

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    Squad Leader - future competition for CM?

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Seeing that we are (sort of) talking about Talonsoft, I would like to see if anyone on this board can shed some light on the following:

    I own both EF2 and WF- currently I cannot play either because I (silly me!) chose to buy a new game that requires DirectX 7, which gives the Campaign series installer fits. frown.gif

    So here is my question...

    Has anyone out there heard if any sort of fix is forthcoming from TS? The last mention (officially) on the website was the original message from October 27, 1999, warning of the "incompatibility".

    Personally, I think TS is going to wait for someone else (i.e., Microsoft) to fix DirectX.

    Hey, I would love to be able to fire these two games up while waiting for CM, but in light of the recent departures in the wargaming group of TS I'm not holding my breath.

    Any news or rumors for that matter would be appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Gromit

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    SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS

    in Combat Mission Archive #1 (1999)

    Posted

    Rune:

    Ummmm... are you saying that you have actually tried CM on Windows 2000 or the latest Beta?

    From everything I have read to date, Windows 2000 is the latest NT (nee NT5). The update for Windows 98- known as Windows Millenium will not be on the shelves until maybe second or third quarter 2000.

    I would be interested if 2000 supports games better than NT4 does.

    Paul

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    Onboard Field Artillery

    in Combat Mission Archive #2 (2000)

    Posted

    Los:

    Well put (for the second time) wink.gif

    Give it a rest guys... I think you will find that at the scale of CM, BTS's decision makes sense. Remember, we aren't recreating all the things that happened in WWII, that would be near to impossible (not to mention unplayable for the great majority).

    Because this IS a game, BTS had to start drawing lines as to what realistic events or characteristics belong in the game and which (although they really happened) tend to unbalance a GAME.

    Don't get me wrong guys... I grew up on SL, etc. and love all the details as much as the next grog. I just think our own "history" sometimes gets in the way when you try to apply it to a 3D tactical computer game.

    Paul

    0

    What Video Card?

    in Combat Mission Archive #1 (1999)

    Posted

    Eridani:

    My only caution with Athlon right now is that you have to be VERY careful in choosing computer components (MB, PS, MEM, VIDEO, etc.) or it will refuse to run. Of course this is the CURRENT condition and will improve with time.

    There is a must read new article by Loyd Case at Gamespot on building an Athlon computer- I cannot recommend it enough. Loyd has done his homework and we all stand to benefit from it! wink.gif

    Bottom line is: you're NOT going to be able to chuck a Athlon w/MB into your existing machine and get the reliability of an Intel BX machine; they have been around too long. But I am certain the Athlons will catch up soon and glad that there is some REAL competition in the processor world.

    Now if Intel would quit twisting all the motherboard makers arms that make Athlon boards, we'd be sitting pretty.

    Paul

    0

    What Video Card?

    in Combat Mission Archive #1 (1999)

    Posted

    Mikeman:

    Yes, it's true that at some point in a systems life, the processor will no longer be able to push enough polygons to keep a newer video card happy.

    That is the beauty of the new NV10 GPU on the GeForce- it is the first card that offloads the Transforming & Lighting duties that used to be exclusively performed by the CPU.

    If you guys are interested, there are many sites that do excellent columns on video card technology, etc.; Gamespot (Loyd Case in particular) and Maximum PC (the old Boot magazine) provide somewhat layman's terms discussions about many technical subjects.

    I have been building my own machines since '93 and have learned most of what I know through periodicals like those I mentioned above.

    You will find that motherboards themselves are not very expensive, and the whole process of upgrading to, say a Pentium II or III can be affordable IF you have some base items with "life" left in them: a) an ATX style case/pwr supply- a must these days. B) memory that supports preferably 100MHz or at least 66MHz.

    It DOES take a "leap of faith" (or guts if you will) to build your own PC, but the only way you learn is by doing. Unlike nowadays, there were few guides to building a machine back when I started that have the breadth and depth of todays rags.

    GO FOR IT! It can be very frustrating at times, but I for one am not at all sorry I started down the "build your own" path. The best part is KNOWING what is on and in your computer because YOU put it there. And lets face it, unless you buy the upper end of the "Gateway"-type lines- your not going to get the performance demanded by games- period. The old adage "You get what you pay for" has never applied more than for PCs.

    (my .02) wink.gif

    Paul

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 12-19-99).]

    [This message has been edited by Gromit (edited 12-19-99).]

    0

    What Video Card?

    in Combat Mission Archive #1 (1999)

    Posted

    Wesy:

    IMO you should get the GeoForce for two reasons-

    1. It's the card of the future (compared to the TNT2), not that the TNT2 isn't good, mind you

    2. I don't like Diamond products anymore due to the fact they are now owned by S3. Bottom line is that you will not be getting any new driver updates/improvements because the TNT2 is based on an NVIDIA chip- direct competition for S3...

    Food for thought

    Paul

    0

    GOLD DEMO

    in Combat Mission Archive #1 (1999)

    Posted

    Alright everybody!

    This constant sniping has got to stop! If any of you want to get into a pissing match about who is right and wrong - DO IT SOMEWHERE ELSE!

    STEVE! This is getting ridiculous! I come to this board to find out more about CM and inquire and debate questions on my favorite subject, WWII. NOT to have to swim through crap that has NOTHING to do with WWII/CM!!!

    YES, I have preordered and am looking forward to this game. But I do not want this board ruined by people who cannot abide by the board's guidelines and stick to the subject.

    A now thoroughly disgusted Paul frown.gif

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