Gromit

So then to sum up- you guys are arguing about having unfettered control during a combat situation. I mean, isn't that what all this back and forth really boils down to at the bottom of the CM pot? If you are insisting that replay is a must have, what you are essentially saying is: 'I am uncomfortable not having control of knowing what happened to my men. This game won't let me see what I want to see in order to feel in control.' In defense of replay, I always thought it was a cool gimmick of CMBO that allowed me to witness a local combat event from a first-person viewpoint or wherever as many times as I liked. It was truly a lot of fun. However, I never felt that it was very fair or realistic if you are honest about things. Yes, yes, I know... who cares about honest?! I'm here to have fun! MY WAY!! Right? Well, yeah, so are all of us at some level. Personally I found that I could be comfortable with the role that I think Battlefront intended for all of us to assume- that of the overall commander for a given action. It seems that many here are much more interested in total control of as much as possible that goes on during a battle, no matter how big or small. People are funny about stuff like this, you know? Well, so I suppose now when CM:BN comes out, I have to find a spot to hang out to watch what happens in an area. The larger the battle, the less you know about what the majority of your troops are doing. To me it seems this is a fair and realistic trade-off for the role I am to play, whether realtime or wego. Maybe I am the wacko here for saying this, but that puts me in the boots of a Battalion or Company commander far more convincingly than if I know every event, all the results, who spotted what when and where, etc. Of course, to each his own. While I won't tell you guys how you should play, I will say that it comes off as being rather childish. Of course that has never stopped anybody in the forums before! (GSX anyone?) Sort of like my (short) visits to dailytech.com- no matter what the subject, the posting deteriorates into a big "my dad can beat up your dad" shouting match, or oooh!- even better, the tried and true "well I'll just take my toys and go home!" ploy. Quite the classic! Relax and just repeat to yourself, "It's only a game... it's only a game..."

Like with most of these topics, it's the old "possible" vs "probable" argument. I am sure it was possible that those things happened, just not probable enough that one can conclude a statistically-relevant number of American soldiers walked around with a PF "just in case". Hence, in terms of CM, it's not even worth bothering thinking about its inclusion. Still... that doesn't mean it isn't fun to shoot the breeze about them.

Yeah, it might take a while for "word" to get around, but I have no doubt that the irresistable draw of a 2nd interpretation of CMBO will bring longtime and longlost players alike back into the fold...

Well yeah Mikey, come on! What else is there to do when you're a brain in a jar?!

I figured they probably are still working on a lot of things, but as I didn't note anyone mention it yet better safe than sorry.

The RMB members are always on standby my good man, always. Besides, it keeps Steve on his toes!

Thanks for all the pics and details guys- I feel really good about the forthcoming game. Lots of improvements and I am very psyched about the new Quickbattle format. There is only one item that seemed a sore thumb in the midst of all the huzzah-ness. In looking at the infantry pics, it appears to me at least that both US and German soldiers are wearing overalls (for lack of a better description). Let me explain. The black artwork lines that makeup all the details on the uniform textures are too faded and dim. There is no contrast. Very little of the pockets, belt, seams, etc. stand out enough to give the uniforms any depth at all. So it looks like a one-piece jumpsuit instead of the tunic and trousers it should be. Just one opinion, but it looks funky to me. Is this something that can be tweaked Steve?

[Oz Wicked Witch voice ON] "All in good time dearie- all in good time...." [Oz Wicked Witch voice OFF]

There are a few steps along the way you guys have kinda glossed over imo... a major one is the debut of the "Official" website page and forum separate from CMSF. I figure once they are confident the game is to the point that the site can be populated with the relevant content (why open it before that point?) then I don't think it will be all that long until release- maybe a month or two to hammer out production, squash last minute lingering bugs, etc before shipment. It might be fun to guess just when that will be, but I'll leave it to you crap shooters out there.

Let's see here... close to 19 hours since Steve first posted at 7'ish last night. At 4120 views since then that makes almost 217 views per hour in the first overnight period. Looks like the "tridents" are starting to surface after a lonely patrol under the artic ice... or somefink.

Any chance of seeing some flames and/or smoke in the coming days? I'd like to see how the battlefield looks after the action has been underway for awhile.

That's awesome Elvis! I was hoping that the bocage would be more than just a poor-man's wall. I guess now we know why all this took so long, huh?

Right Mike, but there were plenty of all the other types of uniforms, grades of fabric, etc. still in existance, albeit in lower numbers as the war went on. It's hard to be "wrong" in any case, as there is enough evidence of early war uniforms surviving in the later years. That's all I mean. But you are right in that a greater percentage would tend towards the more greenish shade.

Kudos to the whole crew Steve- you guys deserve it! I am looking forward to the pre-order page mit demo download... ja? The terrain looks like it will be awesome with a higher-quality videocard and not too shabby even without one. As far as the German uniform colors; if anything they should be a mishmash of shades by June 1944 anyway, not that it will happen in-game mind you. In short, as long as it's not too far off basic feldgrau, I imagine it will do. As others said already, the modders will make short work of any perceived "holes" in the wardrobe department. Thanks for the effort to post and follow up with the Q&A Steve! I know we're a demanding lot of pathetic refresh monkeys, but hey, you still love us right?

Oh- I don't know about that... you can always ring up Otto Carius at his Tiger Apotheke in Herschweiler-Pettersheim if he has a spare moment or two from filling prescriptions! Or maybe a polite letter by post? Rumor has it he still has a very sharp mind for detail. p.s. note the historical section

A reasonable estimate of what might be first of all capable of being accomplished by Battlefront and also useful to the community would start with something along the command teams concept I would think. Two to four people per side would be pretty cool and might just fit in those parameters Steve-o mentioned above. Lots of nice toys for everyone to play with and then BLOW UP!!! :eek:

"Pin-pong!" You win the Christmas Turkey ...

In many ways I think this to-do goody bag is one of the neat side effects of your new methodology Steve. It gives us all some cool features and capabilities down the road that will have that neat-o feeling long after the game is out. Might seem a bit strange to some,but for me it has that certain "surprise" element missing from many other releases. Hopefully it has the same motivating effect on you guys!

Yep- all it takes is some unforseen conflict that gets unearthed during the late testing phases and "WHAMMO"... there goes your ship date out the window. We'd all like some definitive answers on this, but unfortunately programming doesn't work that way. History shows that Steve and Charles (and any other developers) sticking their necks on the line with a promise rarely rewards anyone with anything other than heartburn! (Not to mention waaaaaay too many forum threads to put out said heartburn.) Read a good book.

Ah... that's awesome! Glad to hear you were able to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime experience man. G.

Yeesh! Tough crowd...

Hey Winecape- How are things in the refereeing world? I have been meaning to ask you for some stories related to the World Cup and if you attended any games.

If I was betting on it, late November to December would seem a reasonable timeframe for release. Maybe this game is going to be different, but the "debug and polish" phase usually ends up taking a couple of months time at the bare minimum. We shall see, eh? You guys talking about Wargaming and all got me thinking about something that happened to me just recently. It's been many years since I did any miniatures gaming, but I stopped by my local gaming store- yeah, I know, my first mistake!- and found myself enthralled with the game Flames of War, a 15mm WW2 miniatures ruleset and line of figs that is now in its second edition. If you haven't seen it, FoW is pretty neat. Developed by a couple New Zealanders (what's in the water down there anyway? I gotta get some) and well supported, it seems to push almost all of those wargaming buttons I have. You know the ones; most harken back to when I was a boy and there is an everlasting link it seems. Ever tried to explain to someone outside our little "community" why you take so much pleasure in the pursuit of wargaming? Not very easy is it? I can't say that my explanations are any better than the next wargamer, and I am empathetic enough to realize that no matter how I relate said interest, it is lost on these outsiders. *shrug* Maybe I am just not very good at explaining it. Does getting a warm, fuzzy feeling from painting, modelling, organizing and pushing miniatures (or pixeltruppen for that matter) around on a imaginary battlefield make me some kind of nut? I have never worried too much on it, but figure it is some deep buried hunter/warrior gene we guys carry around with us that once unlocked as an adolescent is never quite satisfied, regardless the size of our brain and intellect. I have a number of hobbies and interests other than wargaming, but none of them have been around as long. All I know for sure is that I am a (war)gamer and will likely remain so until I can no longer see the miniatures or screen in front of me. Bring on TWMNBN!

Yeah, and if memory serves, the comment referred to by the OP here is one from a beta tester, and not Steve, Charles, Moon or Kwazy. Still, secondhand information is much better than no information at all, eh? It's sort of like what I deal with everyday as a railroad dispatcher. Local trains or maintenance-of-way out on the mainline? Take their estimate of how long it's gonna be till they can clear up and double it- triple if they are part of your "notorious" category. That's life for ya.

I am not a owner of CMSF but I do play CoH and use pause to issue orders. I like the game and try not to over-micromanage the pixeltruppen. I guess what I liked about WEGO in the CM1 series was that it put you more in the role of local commander. Make your decisions and give orders that may or may not be carried out in the timeframe you wanted- then hope for the best. The replay feature was really neat and let you assume (albeit w/o any control) the role of being "on the line" and under fire. Looking forward to trying both RT and WEGO in the upcoming CM2 Normandy title, and imagine I will like both for various reasons. The only thing about CoH (and other RTS games) that I don't care for is how ranges are totally fudged for the immersion and simplicity of coding. It's no great surprise that BFG is the sole company doing real trajectory physics and all that it implies. Tough nut to crack even if you have been doing it quite awhile. Also hoping for some details late this weekend, but not holding my (gaming) breath, that tends to be fatal where BF is concerned!