Mark IV

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fox: sunt...if u want the whole thing..<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> We don't, cause you'd have to post the whole of bloody Cassell's before you got to the nouns. You are posting verb forms. "Fora" is a noun. Actually, several of them. Horum fortissimae Pengae sunt.

I don't wish to be a wet blanket, but it would be nice to see fewer posts with "V1.04...Bug" in the header. There are things which occasionally defy immediate comprehension, and possibly even a bug here or there, but the first impression given to a new visitor (and prospective customer) is that there are bugs all over the place. Glitches and bugs should definitely be discussed, but "the first impression is a lasting one" and this is the most bug-free game I own. Maybe these things should be posted on one of the other CM fora?

Keep their HQ unit with them, or move up the CO till he has lines of control to them. This is the BEST you can do because they are really Panicked, Routed, or Broken, and like real troops in those states, less amenable to suggestion. Troops who are Out Of Control are, well, out of control. They want to get the hell out of there. They may never come back (in the 60 minutes or so that comprises a CM battle).

It CAN Happen Here: Why the AI Cheats in Combat Mission (Scene: A Weasel, hull-down in the azaleas outside a suburban home. A 1m dish is telescoped up on a mast, pointed directly toward the house. Cut to interior of Weasel: Steve and Charles, 3-day stubble of beard growth, beer cans and fast-food wrappers everywhere, wearing headphones, focused intently on Mac screens. An MP44 hangs on the wall.) Steve: Wait, I think I've got something. Charles: Yeah, he's booting it up now… Steve: Lookit! Chance Encounter versus the AI! This is gonna be great. Charles: It is SO gonna kick his butt! (Charles types furiously) Charles: OK, I got all his unit locations and I put an extra 250mm of frontal on the Shermans. Steve (evil grin): What about that 90 off the Pershing? (Charles types furiously) (Muffled, overheard from headphones): Boom-CLANG! (Muffled Voice): S**t! Charles (thumbs up): Yes! (Muffled, overheard from headphones): Boom-CLANG! (Muffled Voice): Awwww, CRAP!!! No way! Steve (thumbs up): JA! (Muffled, overheard from headphones): Boom-CLANG! (Muffled Voice): G*****M IT!!! No WAY am I gonna buy this piece of crap! There is NO WAY those units were spotted! I'm gonna tell all my friends not to buy it, either! Steve and Charles, in unison: Ex-cell-ENT! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!! (They high-five, crack fresh beers, and toast one another. Sound of Weasel engine starting. Cut to external shot of Weasel with retracting antenna dish, trailing azaleas, turning onto suburban street). Steve (voice over): Hey, a guy in Missouri just downloaded the Gold Demo! (Weasel rolls up to Stop sign with turn signal on). (Fade).

Skoonj, MS now has DX7a (last I checked), and the "a" seemed to make a difference in the little Voodoo glitches I was having. Now it's flawless. On the other hand, maybe if all seems well you should leave it alone now.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by :USERNAME:: What people dont appreciate is the suppressive effect of multiple explosions around a target<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh, I appreciate it. I like to zoom in on MGs and nasty PIATs and watch the little explosions dance around their toes. Frankly, it was an absurd thing to point at a Churchill, even from the flank, but it's what I had on the scene. Necessity is a mother... As some would say, DAMN me.

I see some libelous comments taking place here behind my back. Some Facts: 1) The 20mm flak (single barrel) is very cool. 2) It was a likely thing to be found around the front, thanks to Allied air supremacy (I do try to keep a historically plausible mix). 3) It is an excellent bargain. I think of it as the German .50 cal., with 1001 uses around the home or office. 4) F. Babra, you got a lot more than that immobile now, buddy. And you won't have any trouble finding them in all that fog, either, as I have provided tikki torches for you all the way through the swamp so your crews can find the way home.

FWIW I have heard very good things about network-ice, which was mentioned above. It seems to me there is a lot of free detail here about exactly what you are using, which I would keep to myself as a matter of FOW. Let any other hackers start from scratch.

I was just trying to run some little QB tests of the targeting tweaks in 1.04, and I had a hard time getting what I wanted to happen because my Shermans kept popping smoke and reversing out of Mr. Panther's LOS (whereas they banged on the MkIV mercilessly). Apparently they did not understand that they were lab rats, and foolishly indulged in self-preservation. Auto-smoke seems to be working fine. These were Unbuttoned Veteran crews; perhaps Regs or Greenies would be more likely to sit there and duke it out. For a second. The test was inconclusive btw, but targeting certainly didn't seem to get any worse. The Panther engaged zig-zagging crews and infantry when there was nothing else to shoot, but dropped them to target AFVs when they appeared. Can't really say how well they're tracking momentarily out-of-sight AFV threats yet.

I'd rather just see the chess-timer function for the human player. The game mechanics stay the same, but the real limits and pressures are simulated nicely. I imagine deciding how much time to allow per turn will depend on scenario size, number of units, or something. Glad I don't have to pick it, 'cause whatever is chosen will be wrong. I wonder if it could be implemented for PBEM as well as TCP/IP and Hotseat?

Try the thread called "v1.04 Tank Targeting Prority" on this page for starters. This has been discussed here a great deal, and has had a couple of "tweaks" since the demo. There is no one absolute right way to do it, but it is improved. Back in June, BTS said: "We have already made the targeting choice "stick" more when stuff goes out of LOS. What happens now is that the unit will look for other targets, but as soon as the old one comes back into LOS, attention is refocused on it. This is the best solution as making it any more strict about keeping LOS would make the game frustrating to say the least. "Target Fixation" is just about the worst possible thing you can ever imagine happening on a regular basis." The Readme file with version 1.04 says in part: "Tanks are less likely to target a new, not-highly-threating unit which, to engage, would require significant turret or hull rotation away from a recent, important threat. * Tanks with no target do not automatically return turrets to face forward unless they are moving or hull-rotating. * Enemy units must be closer before full identification can be obtained." It has been an on-going effort that keeps getting better. A Search for "AI targeting" got me 103 results, with some interesting and lively discussion.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by patboivin: How about CM6: Above and Beyond? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Now THAT was the only TV worth watching... now I'm down to just the X-Files.

My favorite CM quote is "Komme Gekko!", which means "A lizard is coming!". They thought of everything, these guys.

I would just like to add my "THANKS!" to the list. Almost the whole list is in the realm of voluntary improvements, not "fixes". Truly remarkable and unique. All hail: Wargame of the Millenium!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PzKpfw 1: The T-64 was more then a match for the M60's & original M1's 105mm APFSDS ammo that was available to US tanks, in fact recent anylss show the T-64 was immune as were Soviet T-72s & T-80's on the frontal arc to 105mm APFSDS at standard battle ranges...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> John: Where can I find that test? I would be grateful if you could point me toward sources on recent armor version testing, especially of the T60+ series of Soviet armor and guns. Sounds fascinating! [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 08-19-2000).]

In my limited experience, the location of sound contact "crosses" is not always accurate, but they are where your spotting or hearing units imagine them to be. The cross occupies a precise location which represents where your guys think the bad guys are. So you are getting a precise distance to where they imagine the sounds came from. They may be there, or not. So "If these "reports" are to be believed" is the critical question. The marker has to be somewhere and you are getting the distance to somebody's guess, not necessarily the actual enemy unit. Or am I missing something in your scenario?

I had a complaint along these lines, too, but I now believe mine to have been unjustified. My 150 IG was behind a treeline and a Sherman came around the corner (roughly 100m). BANG direct hit on the turret, but with an HE. The turret swung around and you know the rest, bye-bye IG. I squawked that the gun had had 3 © charges and that they should have used them. But, they didn't know a Sherman was going to appear, so they fired what they had in the tube. Better to die trying than be caught in the middle of a load swap-out. No reference to the tungsten debate.

Compare the Kursk and the recent Concorde crash. The difference to me, even though the casualties will probably be about the same, is the lingering helplessness of the Russian sailors' deaths. More horrible. Psychologically, this to me is not offset by the fact that the Russians were military men, nor by the fact that I am a frequent flier. It's that I empathize with those who must reflect on the horror of the inevitable, more than with those who are snuffed in an instant. I would prefer the latter. [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 08-17-2000).]

Axis. I'll play either side, but I like the flexibility of some of the specialized German AFVs. I suppose I have evolved my own "system" of sorts. I do admire the tenacity of soldiers who could cause us so much trouble in what was, for them, a rearguard action, while they dueled Russia to the death. Not a political comment, BTW. So far, I prefer historically plausible vehicle selections, with Mark IVs, StuGs & StuHs figuring prominently, and some ACs or occasional Panthers for seasoning. It's always fun to accept a challenge as Allies and break out the mold, of course.

There are already 5 nuclear subs on the sea bottom (Thresher among them- I remember the concern over Thresher when I was a kid). Lifted without permission from ABC News: April 10, 1963: USS Thresher sinks off the New England coast with all 129 men aboard. It sits at a depth of 8,530 feet. May 22, 1968: USS Scorpion sinks east of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean with 99 men aboard. It sits at a depth of 9,860 feet. April 11, 1970: Soviet November class submarine sinks in the Bay of Biscay outside Spain in the Atlantic Ocean. It sits at a depth of 15,354 feet. Oct. 3, 1986: Soviet submarine catches fire and sinks east of Bermuda, killing three sailors. Nuclear warheads also reportedly broke open, spewing plutonium into the Atlantic. It sits at a depth of 16,404 feet. April 7, 1989: Soviet submarine, the Komsomolets, catches fire and sinks off Norway, killing 42 of the 69 sailors aboard. It sits at a depth of 4,500 feet. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/sub000816.html

I have found this story quite gripping. Better to go all at once than wait for the slow but inevitable. I can only imagine what those guys are going through. I hope they can get them out. There have not been signs of life recently (the crew tapping Morse code on the hull). The seas may just be too rough to hear them. There are large air bubbles rising to the surface, which is not a good sign. 350 feet (just over 100m) is not all that terribly deep, and the sub can be raise with giant inflatable pontoons, but not in time for the crew. They have 48 hours worth of oxygen left, as far as we know. ABC says it was an Oscar II. The Russians have said it was unarmed, but it is designed to carry 24 nuclear cruise missiles, and it's hard to believe it would travel unarmed. One theory is that it hit a WWII mine. The photos reportedly do show damage to the torpedo tube area in the bow.

Precisely... he did the same thing to me and taught the value of the noble StuG, properly empoyed. He is the only person who has beaten (nay, buggered) my Hamstertruppen thus far. I surrendered abjectly, as Allies, in CE beta demo. I learned valuable lessons. He is now eating snow for his misdeeds, but I commend him to all who scorn the StuG. He is not much on taunts, but has mastered certain artless tricks, and is formidable, in a stunted way.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooo! .......Helloooooooooooooo! ...............Helloooooo! (All together): Hello! Mr. F. Babra, meet the Larry, Moe, and Curley of the Three StuGs. Brit tank left- CLANG! (burning) "Nyah-ah-ah-ah...!" Brit tank right- CLANG! "Woowoowoowoowoowoo!" Brit tank up the middle- CLANG! (burning) "Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk!" On a far more serious note, one StuG has perished in a head-to-head showdown at under 100m with a Firefly, as did the aptly named Firefly. You will be relieved to know the StuG crew escaped completely unharmed, and will be used for the balance of the game as LRRP Ninja Assault Specialists. Additionally, there is a small but unsightly blemish in the paint of one of my "suck"ey, but healthy and victorious, STuGs (yes, I am giving some info away, as your flaming hulk probably did not have time to identify it). The battle for the Honor of the falsely maligned StuG is being conducted in Fog, on a map the size of Sudan, of M. Babra's construction (I thought it was CM2 when I opened the file). It is now dragging into Turn 4. Updates will follow. You must have the old 1.03 version- I tried Alt-U in my triple-secret beta v.1.04 release, and it enables "Uebertank" mode. Thanks for the tip.

Originally posted by Joe Shaw: Oh like I started the "hamster" posts! I believe that distinction belongs to Captain Foobar. You're a swine PerminBoy and we all know it. A far less controversial assertion. I'm still thinking about that Rorkes Drift scenario but BTS refuses to put spears into the editor. No problem- give them Stuarts. They haven't the spear's range, nor the resilience of the cowhide shield, but they're fast, and cute in a primitive way. It should even out in the end, though I've never seen a Zulu catch fire like that.

John, I think you will find more Panzerfaust-100s in the later-dated scenarios. I've had them and used them. I remember squawking about Sturmkompanies having flamethrowers, and someone said they didn't (mine did!)... probably the same issue. The time frame selected and perhaps some randomness have a lot to do with the available equipment.