Mark IV

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Steve Clark: Geez, how come others can get by saying 'Do a search'? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Do a Search. Sometimes, one feels like typing. Sometimes, someone else does. Other times, nobody does. Then you should do a Search.

Gamey is also interpreted as ahistorical and unrealistic use of units (in addition to taking advantage of "bugs"). Two of the more frequently cited examples of gamey behavior are: 1) Scouting with bazooka teams, displaced crews, or "empty" arty spotters (many of us just withdraw crews and empty spotters from the map when they have nothing "realistic" to contribute), 2) Edge-hugging (advancing along the map edge, to reduce exposure from enemy fire on the "blank" side). Obviously, there are some gray areas. Sometimes the map edge is just the most conducive to a successful advance. Some guys do it all the time. Play people you respect, and you won't have this problem; a PBEM or two will clue you in to the personalities. Less groggy, anything-goes types can play each other without restraint. It isn't really "cheating". Different players are after different types of CM experience. But then, "gaminess" isn't really an issue for them.

This "isn't really adding anything to the realism of the simulation, but only to the outward appearance of the simulation." Bingo. We're talking about a feature that drills my already-modeled squads to march in those complex hexagonal formations, a la SP. Anyway, given the havoc that multiple versions and PBEM directories is already wreaking on my PBEM life, I hope BTS doesn't fix much more for a while ('cept TCP/IP, and maybe a "choose PBEM save folder"). A file manager is what I really need, so I can save each victim's turns in his own little sarcophagus. Game works great!

Yes. It as close to perfect as war games of this scale have gotten. It also takes over your life. Buy it at once.

Seeking only to add closure to this provocative thread, for the benefit of future CM-ologists, I announce the vindication of the honorable StuG on the Field of Honor. The evil Babra and his foul minions have lost, convincingly, which thereby proves that StuGs do NOT suck. For a more elaborate taunt and exciting details, you may visit p. 42 of the endless Peng-Challenge thread, if you've the stomach for that sort of thing. StuGs rule!!!

Perhaps a shaded region, showing the mission objective(s)? Then no single exact point becomes magic. AI could still use flags underneath to assess points if necessary.

I had exactly the same thought, but since the General owes me a long-overdue setup, I thought, let sleeping kielbasi lie. Sosh?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by DrD: They conquered much more territory than the Romans..<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh, dear. I'd really like to not be part of this thread, but... I'm not sure occupying an area for a year or two really counts as "conquering". The German occupation of large areas of the USSR was more like a temporary configuration of a large and fluid front. Considered over the course of the war, it was very temporary. North Africa? Interesting adventure, but not really a conquest. The Romans administered and ruled vast areas, including all known (to them) centers of civilization, for hundreds of years, and disseminated their language, law, and culture throughout them. This empire included England, France, parts of modern Germany and Eastern Europe, Greece, the Middle East, North Africa, etc. Even without semantical distinctions, I think the area Rome ruled compared quite well to that of the Third Reich.

Memorable, that. One of Mr. Shaw's early comeuppances. Ichiu was often quite lucid and readable before his abduction. Note the monosyllabic nature of "his" recent posts, reflecting the underlying dementia of his captors. Sad.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fox: I don't quite understand why other games come out of the gate so poorly sometimes<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Because they are rushed to market to meet an artificial deadline (usually, the pre-Christmas shopping crush, when the majority of games are purchased). This follows from: 1) The decision-makers of the larger companies have responsibilities to stock-holders and ownership that outweigh any love they may have for their games. 2) Programmers routinely under-estimate the amounts of time and resources required to complete a given task. 3) Project managers induce "feature-creep" and the final specification is a moving target, often requiring 2 steps backward to go an additional step forward. People are human and business is business, though the consumer often attributes the above to evil greed, which is more readily understood. In fact, it is often the consumer who is stamping his feet saying "Where is my game?? It's late!!!" who drives this rush, only to find that he has received a buggy, ill-tested product for his pains. It is rare to have major products which are truly "labors of love". We are most fortunate.

Already covered: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/004470.html It didn't end happily (neither the Band, nor the thread). Flame bait, unfortunately. Check Herodotus for further info.

The Readme for v. 1.05 was my Christmas list... didn't have much time to try it this AM, but the best just keeps on getting better. Thanks especially for the Area Fire tweak. I'll just tear up my letter to Santa and wish, instead, for more setups in my email. Thank you also, for not announcing 1.05 ahead of time, sparking endless threads about how "late" it is, what it "must" address, and the notion that it is somehow "owed" to somebody. I think this was a very good precedent to have set. This demonstrated, rather than advertised, commitment to excellence is spoiling wargamers so much, that I pity other game developers. The standard is so much higher than it used to be! I still say that the beta demo alone was worth my entry price, and the rest has been pure gravy. Thanks again.

My handle glorifies one of the less-glorifiable Wehrmacht battle-taxis. I contributed to the march-music thread. I hang my head and wonder to which detention area I should report. My dad fought the Germans in WWII and I was a tanker in 3AD, and I hope this is taken into account at my sentencing. I have played both sides in this GAME, and continued to do so until my apprehension. I preferred Axis for a variety of non-political reasons. My dad taught me all the Ami marching songs, so I went looking for the others (sob). He told me, when I was very young, that most German soldiers were just doing their jobs, too, and were scared but competent and brave. He hated them when he was there and knew Hitler had to go, but he got over the mass-hate with time. But he didn't know s**t about programming. In my defense I can only say that the GAME would be rather one-sided if all right-thinking people chose the Allies, because, as the estimable Doctor has pointed out, the AI is so incredibly poor, and he knows WAY more about fuzzy programming than anyone at BTS. Besides, this war could break right back out any any moment, and wouldn't contributors to Certain threads with Certain handles make a convenient FIFTH COLUMN? I definitely occupy the moral low ground and I am helpless before the hull-down positions of the righteous. PS: My neighbors were in on it, too, especially the Quigsleys downstairs. We can deal if you want the goods on them. And people object to hamster threads?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by maxm2: I'm looking for a German marching song which starts out with the lines (spelling probably wrong): Wenn die Soldaten<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Try http://www.acronet.net/~robokopp/Lieder/wenndies.html for this and all your marching needs.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Just thought it was sort of weird for men to move past danger at such close and potentially deadly ranges. I'll use sneak next time.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Be careful- Sneak has been changed somewhat over time. In the demo, I had units "sneak" directly over the top of a firing MG42, and continue, while the MG turned around and began shooting them in the back. It is vastly improved, now. http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/001760.html

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeff Heidman: Why are crews in the game? I could defintely see some use if there was a chance that they would re-crew their vehicle or gun, but since they do not, there is no use for them that would not be gamey.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I believe they can be used in the next phase of Operations to recrew recovered vehicles.

Hear you, bro'. Search "Area Fire" for lengthy discussions of same. Minor, but something to look at. Said it all before, won't say it no more.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Von Brizee: When someone asks "IS THERE A CM2?" or something liek that, just give him a generic response.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes (to CM2). The alleged abuse of newbies has not been much of a problem here, but provides endless fuel for those seeking responses. When I was a newbie, I made stupid suggestions that any ignoramus could see would have been made 1000 times before. Now I try to make really new stupid suggestions, which is harder than it looks (sure, I make it look easy). Mostly I just play the game, anymore. Representing idiots since 1999 (Idiot-California).

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by deanco: Why I like (ok, love) CM: 1 The ungodly, magnificent AI that takes care of my troops. I am in awe, really. 2 The wego system. 3 The advanced fog of war (compared to other games). 4 The 3D graphics. 5 The complex ruleset. If you put all that in another game, (and hopefully improve on it a little bit, especially the graphics, hint hint)I will buy it, period. I don't care if the tanks are colored bright red and blue and have names like Crusher and Annihilator, and it takes place in the 23rd century, I will buy it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Can we post this to the FAQ as our standard cut-and-paste review? It's perfect. Aggressive, yet delicate, a startling yet pleasing finish, and nut-like overtones. Concise, but memorable. Easily grasped, accessible, fraught with subtle complexities. I like it.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Wesreidau: Go get `em guys...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Politely, please! I have just registered for that forum and read your response to the ill-tempered lout, which I think was very measured and tasteful. He certainly seems to have some bone to pick. But the guy has some 800+ posts there, and might be their Fionn or Madmatt, for all I know. I would just note that that is "their" forum, like this one is "ours", and we wouldn't want some impassioned and belligerent missionaries from there storming in here "with attitude". Been here, done that. I will go home and have some scotch, in order to summon the Muse. Some tactful supporting posts might sway the undecided. That particular guy sounds like a goner as far as CM goes, though.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Claymore: I have fired the German 20mm FLACK cannon (from the back of a pickup!) and with the iron site had no problem hitting a 2 foot bullseye from 200-300m.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And just where might one get the opportunity to do that? I would be highly interested (have hearing protection, and some money). I see you're in Pasadena... I go through there every couple weeks. Drop me an email, please!

Not the dative, sir! Romani ite domum! Romani ite domum! Romani ite... Latin is VERY cool. Unfortunately I've forgotten most of it (Catholic school, which also led to my abhorrence of PENGuins). Caesar was excellent, and I liked Livy and Tacitus, which should show about how far I got. I would love to find the complete works of Polybios (in English) somewhere, incidentally, because he was about as close to an eyewitness account of the First Punic War as we have. I loved Great Battles of Hannibal (yeah, I know he was in the 2nd, but some first war battles were included in the game)... would be nice in 3D, wouldn't it?

That's what I've been missing! And to think I'd started avoiding structures for the most part... I'll just buy Das Fireextinguisher for my next adventure. Those damned 'fausts have lit up more light structures (with the backblast) than I care to recall.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MrPeng: Dammit man, what is the answer we seek?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Peng (you oaf): What part of "several of them" did you fail to understand? A plural is a number >1. Forum is a 2nd declension (neuter) noun, and its Latin plural is fora. Since we're an American board (we'll come into your town, we'll help you party down...), the American Heritage shows either forums or fora as acceptable, a sure sign of the decline of the West. But that's what Rome gets for losing the war. Poor Fox was conjugating when he should have been declining. Sad, to have one's conjugal failures paraded before the forum. [Edit] Impressive, Mr. Carey. Why a Latin major, may I ask? [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 08-22-2000).]

Often you can fire from the center of a building (the little ones, anyway) but with a reduced field of view. You are much less likely to be spotted until you fire. The major problems with hiding in buildings are more related to flames and gravity. As you will learn.... [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 08-22-2000).]