Mark IV

SS: Thanks. I use Paint Shop Pro 6 and can sample color same way. The roof is pitched more steeply on some buildings than others, it seems (compare church tower to the huts near the intersection in CE). Maybe that's just a function of how far apart the walls are? So far, I was able to turn the church into something like a gas station with a triceratops on the roof . Encouraged by that, I plan to keep at it.

SS: I just started fiddling with the church myself. I'm curious about a couple of things: How did you make transparency? How do the darn roofs work? The church tower seems to be comprised of the same 4 .bmps, but on the two sides the roof apparently lays over the upper story. How do it know? What sets the pitch of the roof and puts it there in the first place? Also, in views 3 and below pixels from the original .bmp seem to be smudged- they are blended into a lower resolution and averaged colors. Is this a function of my pathetic video accelerator (laptop) or do you get the same thing? It means choosing individual pixell colors very carefully, not WYSIWYG.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>As one a casual afficianado who has perceived the Germans to be automatons, I have to say there's nothing in this excelelnt article which changes my perception<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Quod erat demonstrandum. This is the perception to which I was referring. It is, of course, false. Others are dealing with the facts of the matter, but Prussian martinets and Nazi robots are stock characters in historical, movie, and literary myth. One would think this document and others like it would help dispel the myth. The idea that I was <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>in one breath reminding all that the common myths are false and then buying into one in the next sentence<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> is obviously mistaken. Those who think of the German army as automatons are less likely to differentiate between Wehrmacht, Waffen SS, and ideological Nazis. TO THESE INDIVIDUALS the whole German army was composed of little Hitlers, Goerings, Goebbels', and hypnotized followers. To ME, even a casual study of historical fact proves the opposite. I lived among the Germans, and spoke and drank with many who served on both fronts during the era. I have been reading, collecting, and playing the Wehrmacht for over 30 years. I will try to be more explicit in the future when characterizing popular views that I do not share.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>the perceived character of the Wehrmacht<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Get it? "Perceived", as by those same "casual aficionados"? [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 01-23-2000).]

It isn't cheating if you decided to do it as a sensible strategy, without foreknowledge that on a certain turn, 3 Hellcats would appear on the road. In Peterk's dilemma it is cheating by his own admission. He is using his foreknowledge to adopt a tactic artificially. In Riesberg it is theoretically possible that the US would call for shelling the hill on the left at the beginning "in case" any nasties were there. However, if previous experience with the same scenario taught you that there is a very high probability the AI will have a gun there and you use the knowledge to call for a barrage there (before the gun is spotted), it is cheating. As an experiment with the AI it's OK and doesn't make you a bad person. But it's still a big fat gamey cheat.

I just found the same thing scurlock mentioned- clicking on "THIS" for Steve's update just gets an error message. Of all the links to mess up... Mattski, ya gotta get more sleep!!!! !!!!

Berli: Allied propaganda often worked the theme that German soldiers were mindless automatons, molded in the Prussian tradition. One hears this echoed in the present by casual aficionados of war movies. Items 1 and 2 dispel this. The directive that attached units are not servants, but "guests" sounds pretty touchy-feely for a Nazi army. Good advice (like the rest) but somewhat out of the perceived character of the Wehrmacht. And item 29, admonitions against personal glory-hunting with emphasis on loyalty of the soldier to responsible leadership. Again, the stereotype of martinets and fanatical robots suffers.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I'm going to smoke up the entire Yank hilltop <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If you know how to do that, then you already know how to win legitimately. Fire the smoke where a German commander would order it, instead of using foreknowledge to cheat, and you'll be well on your way. The cool thing about CM is that no attack is going to "work like a charm" thanks to the flexibility of the AI. There have been numerous threads on LD and strategies for it from both sides. Try Search. Also, the current thread called "Panzer Tactics (Very Interesting)" is well, very interesting.

Wow, thanks, that's one of the most readable and useful posts I've ever seen. Kind of dispels some caricatures of German military doctrine, as well.

That really was a good link- thanks. I like the Shakespeare quote (hopefully apocryphal)on the homepage, "He's not bad, but he put too many quotes in his books". The site is, in a word, poignant.

The scenario briefing states it is April 29th, 1945, Western Germany, Central Front. For fictitious, that's pretty zeroed-in.

Found out in September (I think) on comp.sys.ibm.game.war-historical, as soon as the beta demo was released. The raves and the word "Free" caught my eye... I had burnt out on SP and SPII, went through some other eras, and was basically looking, when this went up. I was ready to Delete but couldn't tear myself away. Ordered as soon as Chance Encounter was released.

(Group) Hi, BJ. This is your brain . This is your brain on CM .

Colin: (I don't like where this is going) In the business world, we use PCs. We write, develop, calculate, design, and draw on PCs. At some point all this needs to be prettied up and printed. Then we enter the Other Side of graphics, layout, and printers. Even though we have created the product and documentation in PC, and we are the cash-paying customer, we hit the Wall. All the "creatives" and printers use Macs (this is like pulling your car into the gas station and finding out they only sell diesel). Mac must have a great thing going in the graphics-layout department and I can't dispute that. However, even the files they send us for approval can't be opened, unless they are hateful .pdf's. The graphic/artiste mentality seems to prefer the counter-culture look of earrings-and-pony-tail. This helps them to show us that they despise the cash-paying customers and will never compromise their designs for ugly dollars, unless we're in a hurry, in which case we must pay extra. The only other place you will find Macs is in the school system, so that kids who know more about computers than we do will have to relearn everything in order to function in the real world, which buys us older folks some time. Once they learn, we must pay extra.

Pirate-dude: You're right, it will be on all scumdrives (SDs) quickly. Folks beyond reach of the law and any sense of decency will have a riot. These are the same people who would trade your sister for a pair of Levis, or is it the other way around? Send photos... of Levis. We'll pay for it, they'll rip it, and the lowlifes (lowlives?) who download it will delete it a day later because it's too slow. I can't imagine enjoying CM without understanding the work that went into it, or the community of knowledgeable folks that has sprung up around it. You should want to reward that effort (not to mention tendering what is rightfully due). Everyone knows about offshore piracy and cracks. People who love the Game know that a few CDs in the hands of puerile Quakester dewds changes nothing. This is a chance to vote for Xtreme quality, or to cheat yourself out of it. Dewd.

MadMatt: you're after all (was there any real doubt?)!!! Paint Shop Pro 6 is the CM of PC graphics apps, IMHO. I could go through a Matt-sized belt of exclamation points about Jasc (started with PSP5). Still ain't no Mac, but then I can communicate with 97% of the world <ducks>. I'd actually like an Apple but I just can't do the earring-and-ponytail thing. I tried my first CM mods with interesting, but ludicrous, results in PSP recently. You have been warned. Now, how the heck are you supposed to post a graphic if you don't have a site to link to? You mean I have to start my own web page just to send in a little JPEG?

A6M Zero design was spec'ed in 1937, accepted in late '39; first production deliveries were in mid-1940. There were versions and updates but the basic platform continued in production through '45, as far as I know.

Eridani has (with surprising candor for a public forum) stated my situation accurately. I believe I converted one bootleg request to an order (time will tell!). Most of us probably have a few $50 games, and how many of them were as worth it as the CM beta demo?

Zamo: Good comeback. The Army instructors at Ft. Knox DID make us watch when the Marines marched, in hopes we would learn something. Never developed the taste for rocks, though....

Herr Maus: You prompt two further (probably inflammatory) observations: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Ethics are not universal between cultures<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The Japanese cruelty to POWs is partly explained, NOT excused, by a culture that had no real concept of "surrender" and thus considers those who do as sort of "undead". I hope no one chooses to interpret this as excusing Japanese cruelty, though they certainly had no monopoly on it. MacArthur's successes partially erase his erratic performance in the Philippines, but his performance there is not covered with glory as far as I'm concerned. His men performed better than he did. I don't have the materials at hand right now, but I think he could be found wanting in several ethical areas.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The initial attack would have gone in against emplaced Kompanies which would all have been pinpointed over the years <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> One of our standing jokes at the time. Our division Forward TOC was usually on one of 3 hills near Gelnhausen, central Hesse, one in particular. The German kids would be there first, waiting for us to arrive. Think those hills were pre-registered in Russki plans? The SMLMs (Soviet Military Liaision Mission) would follow us out in Mercedes, or sometimes just meet us there. Another piece of Soviet "doctrine" we were handed as gospel, which I've always wondered about, was that their 3-tank platoon always targeted a single enemy tank as a unit. In other words, their platoon commander picked the target and all 3 tanks engaged it at once. If this was true it may reflect an awareness of their inferiority in fire control. It doesn't sound very workable in combat. Driving the M-60 series was a piece of cake and a real pleasure (except buttoned). The automatic transmission and T-handle power steering were simple and effective. You could show an idiot how to drive it, for street purposes anyway, in 3 minutes. This may explain its popularity with USMC...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Mark IV's choice of Paulus as an highly ethical German commander <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Not a very accurate representation of my post, I'm afraid . I asked "what, then, would you say about..." I asked because the issue is complex. It's very difficult to judge ethical matters out of historical context. I certainly didn't intend to carry a pro-Paulus banner(you're right about the "von"). He didn't particularly shine. You did state (by extension) that "very few" German commanders would rate very highly in "Ethical Leadership (doing the "right" thing for either the men under him, for his country, or "greater society")". I wonder how you determined this? Without parsing the sentence, I think most tried to do well for the men under them and for their country (of course, how one does the right thing for the Greater German Reich would be open to individual interpretation- it could mean "ethnic cleansing"). I don't understand the role of military commanders in "greater society" and I don't know how you rate it (sign along road: "This section of highway kept litter-free by SS Das Reich") . Back to Paulus: commanders are men, not gods. Under a military dictatorship with an absolute despot, sent deep into Russia with a questionable objective by a mad leader, surrounded by the Red Army and forbidden to surrender (with a case of dysentery to boot), with no relevant experience, limited ability, but a strong personal devotion to the honor, spirit, and tradition of the German Army, you would be in a bit of an ethical pickle. Paulus had never had a wartime command, and his largest peacetime command was at battalion level. He was not a great choice for 6th Army commander. On the other hand, he did not exactly campaign for the appointment, but there he was. The situation evolved over a year and I don't think printed words are adequate to empathize with his position. That is why I comment on the "nice warm living room" perpective, and you needn't take it personally. I don't know what I would have done in his position. He tried to do his best and paid dearly for it.

What, then, would you say about von Paulus, who surrendered against orders at Stalingrad? He probably saved 200,000 lives, temporarily, and the rest was out of his control at that point. Perhaps you underrate the "ethics" of German commanders in hopeless situations, with a mad leader, and no court of appeal. Ethics is an easy business in a nice warm living room in the year 2000.

Perception is everything. These were the operational assumptions of the time, and you're exactly right about T-72. No one knew then it was a loser-doggie. All we heard was "125mm smoothbore fin-stabilized 5600 fps" and the idea that T-"72" minus M-"60" meant it was 12 years newer than ours. This, when our military was at one of its cyclical lows and the Red Army was on the muscle. There wasn't a man in 3AD, even the stoners, who didn't still believe his tank/unit could whip any Soviet counterpart. The general notion, however, was that they'd keep on comin' and that we'd be overwhelmed before long by weight of numbers. Sound familiar? So, if you think the T-72 is really T-Rex, and the horizon's suddenly full of them (and they all must be 72's, like all German guns were 88s), that's where your company-level officers have the chance to earn their keep, 'cause the troops aren't gonna like it. It's not as though the Soviets faxed us specs and performance data. This was when we still had diplomats with cameras in their hats photographing parades in Red Square for our latest "G2" on weapons developments (and the pix in my FM look it). Tamiya knew more about Russki armor than we did. As for body styling, I like the M60 look. They were chick magnets in the Bundesrepublik, beaucoup ponies under the hood, and an individualistic style statement. The commander's cupola was the armored equivalent of a moon roof and ceiling console, with the yummy .50 for grins. So what if it had the functionality of a molded spoiler on a Dodge Ram family van. [This message has been edited by Mark IV (edited 01-19-2000).]

Long ago a neighbor of mine had a Willie and Joe paperback. Starved for WWII, I read it all in a sitting. The two I remember vividly (at least one has probably been reinforced since) are: The soldier with the tear in his eye, head turned away, as he aims the .45 at the hood of his DX'ed jeep (that one coulda been me). Willie and Joe laying in the mud with tracers zapping overhead, captioned "I CAN'T get no lower, my buttons are in the way." Or something like that. Come to think of it, there was another priceless one where they were in ambush and a German soldier is passing with a bottle of Cognac, captioned "Don't startle him, Joe..." (prox).