Iguana

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>So again, what game out there already released worth bying? Until CM get ready.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> SPY_EYE, Here are a few (of course, this is just my opinion): (1) 101st, the Airborne Invasion of Normandy. Excellent squad level combat game. You control individual soldiers. Turn based. Plays somewhat like the combat in X-Com. (2) Panzer General 2. The grognards will say it's a beer and pretzels game, but darn it, it's fun. Excellent gameplay. May not be the final word in realism, but hard to quit playing once you start. (3) East Front. Just got started on this one. Seems like an excellent tactical WW2 game. Initially got bad reviews, but many of the problems were (supposedly) fixed by patches, so be sure to get the latest patch. Other games in the series include West Front and East Front 2. I haven't bought these yet. (4) Close Combat 1 and 2. Hey, I like 'em...but not half as much as I like Combat Mission. All the above mentioned games are still available for sale new. -Doug

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>How is the interest about the eastern front among americans? I got the feeling that only the grognards has an interest in the eastern campaign, I could be wrong tho.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think that the average American under 40 years of age basically only knows that WW2 happened before they were born. They don't know anything about the eastern front, western front, or any other front. I bet most couldn't even name three countries involved in WW2. The movie "Saving Private Ryan" may have changed that some, but probably not much. Our education system has been so dumbed down that many people graduate high school with only a very minimal command of the English language. Everything is now geared to make us "feel good" and be "politically correct". Sigh, -Doug

I apologise that this post is not directly related to Combat Mission, but it is directly related to wargaming and I know there are many grognards reading this forum. If your interests also run to operational level wargames, hop on over to www.eden-soft.com and take a look at their upcoming WW2 east front game Red Thunder. After that, check out their disucssion forum (similar to this one...mature discussions, but not nearly as many messages). I would especially like you to visit their Technical Support forum and check out the "Distribution Method Concerns" thread. Please add your thoughts to this topic. Thanks, -Doug http://www.eden-soft.com

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I would love the game to have real time fighting like close combat<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh, for the love of all that is good, NO! BTS, please, never make CM real-time. -Doug [This message has been edited by Iguana (edited 11-26-99).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The M1 Garand was a superb weapon... the M1 carbine wasn't (the general opinion of Marines in WWII was that it might make a good replacement for the pistol). The Thompson was a SMG, and as such had the limitations of a SMG... range. The Thompson had one other problem... you either had to be really strong or really well trained to hold it on target.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yep, I know the difference between the Garand and the carbine. In fact, I own a Garand. It is a heck of a lot of fun to shoot, but I can see why the GIs didn't fool with half-full magazines. The reason I didn't mention the Garand before was because it is really too big and heavy to call an assault rifle, IMO. The carbine seems to be more of an assault rifle to me, although maybe not a very effective one. Sure, the Thompson had limited range, but it was a heck of a trench sweeper or room clearer. As I said before, I'm having trouble envisioning a situation where the WW2 GI squad would need an assault rifle instead of the weapons which were avaliable to them (Garand, Carbine, Thompson, Colt .45, etc.). -Doug

Speaking of Computer Gaming World, let's all hope that Terry Coleman does their review of Combat Mission and not that guy who did their review of 101st, The Airborne Invasion of Normandy. I wrote them a nasty letter about that one... -Doug

howardb, Wow! Now that's what I call a good web site! Many thanks for the link. That one is a definite bookmark, in fact I'll probably print the whole site out on paper. Berlichtingen, I'm not very familiar with the British WW2 weapons, but I'll concede the point that the U.S. didn't have a good LMG. Don't overlook the BAR, however. As for assault rifles, between the Thompson SMG and the M1 Carbine, I don't really see that the U.S. needed one. -Doug

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Doug, Yes, I'm a tester. I have umm build 29 while the beta demo was based on build 12 or 13. My version is a LOT more advanced than what you have.. Are you new here not to know I'm a tester?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> No, I did not know you were a tester. I guess you could say I'm new as I didn't start reading the forum much until after the beta demo came out. To be honest, I thought you were just a guy with a good knowledge of WW2 who posted a lot. Can anyone recommend any sources for me to read more about panzerfausts? Was much training required to use them? I wonder why the Allied armies had no equivalent? On a related note, what is the current squad carried antitank weapon of the U.S. military? When I went through basic, it was the LAW rocket. I heard the LAW has been phased out... -Doug

Fionn said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Fausts are rarely used in the beta demo unfortunately. It's an error and one that has been fixed since. They use them now as my nemesis the Sherman keeps finding out LOL<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Does this mean that you are playing a more recent version of the game than the beta demo? Just how effective were Panzerfausts in reality? -Doug

I have seen several posts in this thread refer to Close Combat "mods". Can anyone tell me where to find these mods and which ones are worth having? -Doug

While we are on the subject of small, dedicated, developers making good wargames, I urge everyone to check out Edensoft. They are almost ready to release an operational level east front game called Red Thunder. It looks like it may be a winner. http://www.eden-soft.com/index.htm Let's all support these small developers who are making the games we love. If anyone knows any others, please share the information. -Doug

Ah, yes. The mighty Sherman makes it's awesome presence felt once again. I had one shrug off four shots from an '88 in Reisburg. I don't understand why people complain so about how wimpy the Sherman is. Long live the Sherman! -Doug

Fionn, Hey, no problem. I happen to agree with you on this issue. You just seemed to come down pretty hard on FEBA. Remember, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar . I haven't posted much on this forum, but I read most of what gets posted here. It has truly been a learning experience for me. Many of you know far more about the subject matter than I do. I am especially grateful that, for the most part (and unlike newsgroups), the discussions stay civilized. -Doug

Fionn, Just out of curiosity, and my apologies if this has previously been answered, but just what is your association with Big Time Software and Combat Mission? Also, are you a moderator of this forum? -Doug

Well, this by itself doesn't mean much, except that I seem to have good luck with Shermans. I am now playing (for the 1st time) the Chance Encounter scenario. I have played through six turns so far. On the fourth turn, two of my Shermans took out two Stugs. Two shots, two kills. On the fifth turn, after about 45 seconds, a third Stug showed itself. One of my Sherman's fired and got a hit, but no visible effect. At the beginning of the sixth turn, my Sherman shot again and killed the Stug, crew and all. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I'd rather be lucky than good. Long live the Sherman. [This message has been edited by Iguana (edited 11-23-99).]