Rex

<high, squeeky voice on> I'm not whiiiining. I just wanna plaaaay! Gimme the game so I can plaaaay! I wanna play nooow! You promised me that I could play! <high, squeeky voice off> Alright, it never worked with my father, either.

rexp@proaxis.com

I can see it now… Lt. Dilbert and his squad of engineers stumble onto an advancing German column, Dilbert: Hold still, men. They're still 300 meters away. 1st Private: Meters? What's a meter? 2nd Private: A little over a yard, I think Dilbert: Dammit man, it's 1.033 yards! Get it right next time or I'll personally see that you never handle a pocket protector again! Now hand me that slide rule… let's see, I'd say that they're advancing at just over 1.4 meters per second… course that hill will slow them down a bit… someone get me an equation for the slope of that little rise. OK, integrating their velocity will give me their position, or do I differentiate their position… 1st Private: Sir, we're beginning to take fire. They must have spotted us. Dilbert: Naturally, those German binoculars are incredible! Have you seen the lens design? It works on the principle that… 1st Private: Sir, we'd best take some cover… Dilbert: Fire at will, men. Remember, the curvature of the Earth over this distance is nearly negligible. But with the sun directly overhead, its gravitational field will shift your bullets nearly 0.06 millimeters upwards. Be sure to compensate… 1st Private: What's a millimeter…

Hey PeterNZ (or anyone else from 'Down Under'), I've been wondering for some time now... When the Olympics are held in Sydney, will they be called Summer or Winter Olympics? I mean, they'll be doing all the summertime activities, right (track and field, cycling, etc.), and to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it'll be summer. But to the hometown folks it'll be the dead of winter. Not that it matters to me, I'll still be playing CM, but I've been curious for awhile now... Rex

Tom, Portland one of my favorite towns, too. Lots to do there and some great scenery (the mountains I mean, not the girls). I finished up at OSU several years ago, you were probably still in diapers, but I returned a few years ago to do some post-graduate work. It's a great school, and they might even have a winning football season this year! Makes the rain a little more bearable...

Ssnake, A grognard is someone who likes to play wargames. Most of the people on this board fall into that catagory... Rex

Zackary, Rant all you want. I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong. I was so worried about being left off the names list, that I replied before I had read the entire thread. So, you're absolutely justified and I consider myself properly chastised. But I think that the really important thing here is to remember that it takes a big man to admit when he's wrong... Rex

Fionn, Sorry for the late reply, I was incommunicado there for awhile. Appearently my name was also lost. Could you still add 'Pinard' to either the US or French. Thanks a million...

Pixman, Can I get an 'Amen'! A very interesting post, I very much enjoyed reading it. That episode of 'Star Trek' happens to be one of my favorites. I was probably ten years old when I first saw it, and it contributed significantly to my views of war. The main point of the episode being that war is Hell, and it should be that way. War should never be easy or frivolus. It's quite easy to sit in our comfortable houses now and say how wrong it was to execute those men from the 17th PzGren, or committ any of the numerous other atrocities of war. However, I believe that war should only be fought for one reason, to win. Coming in 2nd place, or 'fighting the good fight' really don't work when it comes to events like WWII. If a country committs itself to war, an event which will doubtlessly kill many of its citizens, it better be fighting to win. Possibly (maybe probably), the combatants will committ many acts which seem cruel by peacetime standards. Too bad. If that cost seems too high, don't start a war. I think this was what Roddenbery was trying to get across: that war needs to be horrible, that way, people will do their best to avoid it. [This message has been edited by Rex (edited 10-05-99).]

How about: 'This is no boating accident!' or 'Surfing's no sport, it's a way of life. It's no hobby, it's a way of lookin' at that wave and saying 'Hey Bud, let's party' or 'My father was a relentless self-improving belengerie salesman from Belgium, with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen-year-old french prostitute named Cloey with webbed feet. My father would drink, he would womanize, he would make outragious claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaize that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons... When I was insolent I was placed in burlap and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really'. and finally (not a movie, but one of my favorite songs), 'I had a third world girl in Buzios, with a pistol in each hand. She always kept me covered as we moved from land to land. I had a damn good run on Wall Street with my high-fashion model wife. Woke up dry beneath the African sky, just me and my swiss-army knife' [This message has been edited by Rex (edited 10-01-99).]

Pixman, The Beavs are 3-0 so far this year. Dennis Erickson, former coach of the Seahawks, is the new head coach. Everyone in town is hoping for a winning season. The first since 1970, I believe. By the way, you're right about this years 'Girls of the Pac-10'. I remember pictorials like this being 20-30 pages when I was younger...

Marko, Good to see a fellow OSU alum here. What years were you a pris...er, student? By the way, if you happen on a copy of this months issue of Playboy, the centerfold girl is from Corvallis. Some shots of campus in there. Might bring back some memories. And for the rest of you, all the girls in Corvallis look like the one in the magazine.

Corvallis, Oregon, Home of rain, more rain, and Oregon State University, (Any school with a beaver for its mascot can't be all bad).

Played Stratego, Risk, and chess as a kid. Began serious gaming in junior high with a game called 'Battle for Germany' (I think it was called), Tobruk, and a host of other Avalon Hill and SSI games. We'd ride our bikes down to campus every week and pick up a new game, play it like Hell for a week, and then move on to something new. By the time we graduated high school, we probably had 30 or forty different games. Anyone remember Sorceror, Acquire, or Outreach? Not great games, but definitely some great memories for me. Of course, Squad Leader was my favorite, and I can honestly say I've been waiting for something like CM for the better part of two decades.

I have a car and a motorcycle, and probably spend 80% of my driving time on the bike. Even in the northwest, (we have two types of weather, 'raining' and 'going to rain'), the enjoyment factor for motorcycles is significantly higher. However, if SUV's scare you in a car, they're even more intimidating on a bike. While driving an SUV makes you feel invulnerable, it also seems to make drivers less aware of their surroundings (including other vehicles). Perhaps the two go hand in hand. Motorcycles are inevitably the losers in any car-bike collisions. Most riders accept this as a fact of life, and behave accordingly. 'Ride as though you were invisible' is the litany of most responsible bikers. People in SUV's have the exact opposite mentality. They're safe, so why worry about traffic? It's this false sense of security that makes them unsafe to others. Some rather broad generalizations, I know. I'm sure many SUV owners feel that they are exceptional drivers (and a few probably are). Just my $.02 worth.

Bobb, Well, in the words of Pink Floyd "Money is the root of all evil today, but don't be surprised if they're not giving any away..." I'm just hoping that CM makes enough money to allow BTS to hire play-testers in order to met the demand for CM2, CM3, etc. My resume can be found at HireMe.com...

I believe the technical term is 'stipple'. Spending several hours each day in meetings (endless, mind-boggling, brain-numbing meetings), I've become quite good at it...

Thanks for the replies, I think I understand what you were trying to get across. Appearently, I hadn't not yet had my coffee when I wrote my last post... While I'm here, I like to thank BTS, and everyone else who has written in over the last year, for the excellent history lesson. I can honestly say that I've learned more regarding WW2 (and history in general) here than in 16+ years of public education (not sure if I should be ashamed of myself or disgusted at the school system...) [This message has been edited by Rex (edited 08-19-99).]

Also, I just added code that gives HMGs a firepower bonus at longer ranges, provided they're on the defensive and have not moved. The increase begins around 400m and grows as distance increases. Are you saying that a HMG has more firepower at 500m than at 400m?

I never saw 'Red Dawn', but I do remember reading a book called 'Red Storm Rising', by Tom Clancy (I think). The main thrust of the novel was a desperate attempt by the Soviet Union to capture the world once and for all. I don't know how accurate it was, but it was definitely good reading, and had me pondering just how far off a 'Red Dawn' scenario was...

What! No co-op play?!? Next thing you'll tell is that there isn't any PTO action in CM

I can't seem to view the new videos. I've got quicktime 3.0 loaded, but whenever I try to show the movies, I get a "unable to find appropriate decompressor" error. Then the audio comes through, but no video. What am I doing wrong?

Hey BTS, It's nearly the end of the week and I'm still anxiously awaiting those "big, meaty bones" you promised. I've already spoken to my lawyer (not to mention my doctor) regarding the heightened stress level you folks are causing me. My lawyer thinks I should sue for several million, but I'd settle out of court for an advance copy of CM...

I always thought the last step in any model kit should be "...and then destroy the completed model in any way you see fit, preferrably using firecrackers, flame, rocks, etc."

And let's not forget, BTS doesn't see a dime until CM gets released. Rex PS Any chance of a 'Pinard' showing up in the game?