Rick

Fionn, I forgot one question. I seem to find it impossible to get a StuG down while climbing a steep slope, is this my imagination or due to the max declination of the gun? I can get them hull-down when climbing a shallower slope. Once the steep slope also got me bogged, that turned into a disaster.

Fionn, I can't wait, those are all my favorite vehicles you mentioned at the end. Everyone, My experience is that StuGs are either totally awesome, first time I played chance encouter my last living StuG took out the 4 remaining Shermans without taking a single hit, or they completely suck. This seems to depend on whether or not they can get a hull down position where they can fight one enemy at a time. Whenever, I get them where they're not hull down, or are facing more than one enemy at a time, they quickly become toast. If the American's use certain formations for their Shermans, the facing one at a time thing is extremely difficult.

I have seen the symbols disappear under what appeared to be those exact circumstances. I can't say for sure though, because one of the other squads may have been the same one, but I'm pretty sure that they were other squads. It gets pretty chaotic to know these things for sure, as I'm sure you know.

I think Ron has hit the nail on the head as far as the problems with real time. Just having to deal with the computer rather than yelling at the people in your platoon, slows down the process a great deal. IMO, this necessitates a system exactly like CM currently has for an enjoyable game. Is this the best system for recreating the real situation of a commander in battle? No, but then again I don't think that kind of game would be that much fun.

Symbols are not permanent they fade away over time. Further, they react to new spotting of the units. I can't believe it, a question that I played the game enough to learn the answer.

I agree with Dar on the difficulty to communicate in this medium. Sarcasm etc., can so easily be misunderstood.

If it wasn't for the message all I would've known was that there seemed to be a pause in the firing of the Tiger and it backed further into the trees and I lost LOS to it. I do feel for the most part that is all I should've known. However, Moon brought up some interesting points regarding ways that it might be obvious that the main gun is damaged. Anyhow, the point is more than likely I had too much info. Fionn, It's kind of interesting that some of what I did to your Tiger was hidden from me, ie. the crew casualty, but I knew about the gun. I found out about the casualty by checking all your units in the view map thing, after the game was over. I like that feature, kind of neat to remove FOW after it's all over.

I agree with John. The only way to make an RTS truly playable with realistic tactics, would be to limit us to only what an actual Battalion Commander could do. I for one don't think that would be too much fun. However, I do agree that it would probably be the most realistic way to do it. I buy games primarily for fun though, even if I do want them to be as realistic as possible without sacrificing the fun. I've always found RTS frustrating. Either it turns into a click fest because things happen to fast to control like you do in a turn-based game, or it's no more involving than watching a movie because you're restricted to the command perspective.

Fionn, Is that me you're talking about, knowing of the main gun damage to your tank? I agree that I shouldn't know for sure, although I would've suspected it due to the long time without the Tiger firing.

This is the other side of the PBEM game. We were having a little trouble when we renamed the files before sending them, about the attachments disappearing. Since we started not renaming that problem has stopped, but we have this new one.

rick@moosephoto.com Should be around most of the 4 day weekend.

You guys are almost too cool to be businessmen.

Personally, I want to see a modern CM. WWII is more important to me though. It is a more interesting war. The right mix of the modern and the old fashioned.

Quite shocked. I figured there was no way you guys would give into demand on this one. Thanks though, I hope you guys aren't too nice to us for your own good.

I vote no also. For reason 2 that Fionn gave. Reason 1 might be true also, but I wouldn't have the foggiest about that.

I had this zook thing happen to me twice. The second time there was an HQ unit in the house also, and they both freaked out and got out of the house. They got shot as soon as they left the building. Last time I did that.

I have seen where we will be able to have pre-made maps in the randomly generate "design your own scenarios". Will we be able to take these maps from canned scenarios? I always wanted that capability before.

It sucks, I'm going to be at work then. They got me blocked off the Internet at work.

Steve, By saying that the victory ratio is wrong you just took away my last minor victory in Riesburg, where I only won by nine points. That destroys my perfect record in that scenario. As far as surprising us, once while playing Riesburg I had an the yellow zone guys near the main road targeting an ambush marker. Also one 88 is down the road targeting the marker. Then they all see one Sherman coming straight down the road and catch glimpses of the other two zig-zagging across the road (I couldn't figure out what was going on.) What they didn't see was infantry moving up the ditch. When the tanks hit the marker the most violent firefight I've seen in the game erupted. I ended up knocking out all the tanks but all my ambush units were wiped out in less than two minutes 15 seconds. BTW, my record in Last Defense is far from perfect.

I never considered myself to be that much of a Grog, but the FOW thing is the best part of this game. Last night I played Riesberg against the AI, I was the Germans. Everytime I tried to flank the Americans my flanking platoon would run into what must've been two platoons and quite a few heavy weapons. Something like this couldn't happen without FOW. BTW, the Shermans also won the duel with the 88s. I thought I was going to have to take back my claim of always winning this scenario, that I made earlier in another thread. However, I held on to the victory, but by the narrowest margin I've ever seen CM be decided by - 9 points.

They should be able to nail it with a panzerfaust. Hellcats are lightly armored so it should be a very likely kill, if you can make the hit.

I've won Riesburg against the AI, every time, on both sides. Last Defense, I would say my average is about 25%. Great ambushes and flanking moves will win the Riesburg defense. Despite all this ask Fionn? I'm not that great.

I think those guys are so scared they wouldn't know the difference right now.

Yes, BTS you have done a wonderful thing with CM. I think maybe the highest compliment I can give is that in addition to improving upon the industry in general, you've improved upon yourselves. Your earlier games, I'm mainly thinking OTR here, were excellent. However, Combat Mission is even light years ahead of that. I told Fionn, in a personal e-mail, that if CM got the attention it deserved Charles and Steve would be on the Tonight Show a few weeks after the release.

Oops I decided that writing what I thought about would tell you to much at this point.