Gromit

Cool- that's a start. I figured it was fall before any got into the mix of battles on the Western Front. I am also itching to try some of the British stuff on for size in the first module- should be loads of unfamiliar fun. Bring on the PIATs and Bren Guns (with or without tripods!)

I believe Moon said that no, the disk is NOT required once you have an install of the game.

Calling all Jagdpanzer 38(t) "Hetzer" experts and aficionados! The mighty mite is my favorite Jagdpanzer and I always loved the camo mod that was made for CM:BO- remember the one complete with tree branches? Anyhoo... need some help here. I am looking for definitive info on when the little guys started showing up on the Western Front. I know the first ones were released in mid-44, but I don't have a book with tank destroyer allocations and unit designations. Anybody? Rangoon... come in Rangoon!!

Sweet link there Vark- thanks. I already have a coffee table sized book on Normandy homes and land, mostly color pics.

I think the only thing that was really established was that this is one encounter and entirely too small a sample of tank-to-tank faceoffs to be drawing any kind of conclusions from guys. No offense, but many of you are too quick to extrapolate any perceived flaw or advantage into some kind of trend here. I say give it some more time and if things prove to be "off", then Charles will make some adjustments- it's just that simple.

IMO if your life hangs in the balance you are more inclined to ensure getting the first shot off while stopped, not pussy-footing the tank around to achieve some optimal angle of the hul... BANG!! (uh, you're dead) There's no do-overs or mulligans in real life. So I say BS to all this fidgity fine-tuning stuff.

Hiram, you just gonna take that? This bunch of wankers are very good at dishing it out- it's the Peng restaurant equivalent to the "blue plate special"... although in most circles it would be known as a steaming plate of feces.

Redwolf the only reason something wouldn't be simulated correctly from a ballistic point-of-view would be if Dan or Charles input an erroneous piece of data (transposition, whatever) for a given tank or other vehicle (kind of like the Tiger TC facing the wrong way except on a ballistic level instead of spotting) or incorrect data on a tank to begin with. I would surmise they work with blueprints or the like as do Dragon Models and all the other scale model people these days (less errors on their end with 3D too btw). Essentially, the CMx2 engine recreates an exact 3D replica of the tank in question, that shoots ballistically correct rounds under earth physics conditions. All the plates of armor are modeled on the 3D wireframe exactly where they were placed on the real tank. All the internal systems are modeled with a location and can therefore be hit by rounds and taken out. So, as Steve said, the beauty of the "engineered solution" is that once you have done your homework and figured out how your going to calculate penetration factors and create all the algorithms necessary to support them for each and every kind of round, along with entering all the data for each model, the results should be (barring errors in data) portrayed in the game correctly, with some other outside factors of wind, etc. in there as well. It's waaaaay better of a system and not really apples-to-apples comparable with CMx1's engine in my estimation. I think that's where we just need to wait and see despite our first inclination to compare it to what came before (which is just human nature, we do it all day long without even realizing it).

Nah ZPB, they would just say you were another "crazy Finn" and let it go at that...

Did I just invent a new term there? "What's the big guy's problem Jack?" "Oh, don't mind him, he's just OGH..." "Oh, right! Hmmm...

Well, I would say that appearances can be deceiving. That and I am pretty sure Charles & Co. did their homework on this one- knowing all of us collectively as they do... What the hey, maybe we are witnessing the first chapter in the re-education of the Common Wargamer, aka "Obsessivus Grognardium Historicus". Stranger things have happened - after all, Frank Chadwick, Don Greenwood and James Dunnigan got all their information from the same sources as the rest of the world. Come ON! It'll be FUN!!

Yeah, I remember the infamous "night of the refresh monkeys" when the demo was released better. I think we ended up crashing the server with all the F5 requests. Steve wasn't a happy camper.

I'm trying to remember Michael, was it late 1999 or early 2000 when the original was shipped to our doors? That seems like an eon ago... besides, my soon-to-be 47 year old memory has its dim areas.

Comes in handy to spot those pesky pink elephant trunks that would otherwise be invisible! You guys are amazing Moon! or somefink. Looking forward to Bil and Warren cutting loose. Are you able to see contours ok when checking out the map guys? It's hard to tell from the pic.

They tried to get my old man to sign up with the Seabees in 1941... lucky for me he was smart enough to avoid falling for the pitch.

[Ooop, ninja'd by Steve] Yep, Sergei is right. They keep track of two separate scales to keep the problems with rarity influencing the game like it did with CMx1. Provided you are playing with rarity "ON", you can pick and choose how to use it as you put together your fighting force. Once you have used up these points the rest of your force must be "standard" or zero rarity cost. Otherwise you would need to go back and rethink like Steve did and divvy up the rarity in another manner. Extremely flexible yet it gets the job done without being "gamey".

Technically you are correct, Sir! However, point two- being out-of-doors without your cover (so sorry, forgot that one!) would bring down upon you great shame and sweat. No one goes anywhere without their cover- at least not those who choose to stay out of the CO's office.

The only area that comes to mind immediately where the branches have opposing views on very basic stuff is salutes. If you are in the US Navy, you never saluted indoors under normal circumstances. Outdoors is a different matter. Hell, it's a wonder more guys in the Army don't have their arms in a sling with all the saluting they are required to do. You could start a whole thread on the military lingo that is used in the various branches for things. To wit: Snacks, goodies = Gedunk (Navy), Pogey Bait (Army/Marines) Floor = Deck Ceiling = Overhead Toilet = Head Wall = Bulkhead Stairs = Ladderwells Hamburger = Slider Koolaid = Bug Juice These are from my days in the Navy, some are cross-service terms.

Maybe the next pudknocker will get the spelling right... or somefink.

So Mark, I have to ask... is there any chance you and other Beta testers that have made maps, both scenario/campaign and quick battle, would be willing to distill your knowledge into something all of us CM:BN virgins can learn from? I for one would be eternally grateful to keep from: a) reinventing the map wheel embarrassing myself with poor contributions thru ignorance c) repeating mistakes others here have learned Thanks!

I think the confusion comes from the two distinct phases one goes through in the US Military, boot camp and post boot camp. You are a nobody, low-life, scum-sucking newbie maggot until you graduate, therefore everyone you encounter other than your squadmates is addressed as Sir. After you graduate and become a proper soldier or sailor, only Officers are addressed as Sir, others are called by their rank as was mentioned previously ("Gunny", "Chief", "Sergeant") or by last name.

Great Michael- it's a bit different to read due to the unusual structure granted, but there is a lot of distilled wisdom in there from all the lessons learned by the Germans. Some of it is fairly mundane supply issue stuff to be sure, but at the paperback price it is a steal.

"Hodor!!"

Yee Gads... those had to be some truly terrible things to choke down. No offense to the Brits here, but I can't imagine much worse, particularly during wartime. Of course some of our Marines on Guadalcanal had to make due with rations from the first world war. :eek:

Here are a couple Steam-related responses from Steve back in the Fall that are germane to the discussion. I find it very telling that there exists a mirror image company to Battlefront over in Germany, Out of the Park Productions. The group is just as small with Markus Heinsohn the lone programmer. They do business in the same way, direct internet sales with online support via forums. What I find so telling about it is this- although the subject is completely different (Baseball) much of the discussion over on their board centers around the same core topics as over here. Mostly I see a lack of empathy and patience that I feel comes from our society's decades-long push for convenience and gratification combined with the anonymity the internet. Can't we just take at face value what Battlefront (or OOTP) is telling us? What it so hard about that? :confused: