Stef

Liège, Belgium. 40Km from La Gleize and his King Tiger Stephane

On the History.net the very detailed story of La Fière battle for all battle designer. http://www.thehistorynet.com/WorldWarII/articles/2000/07002_cover.htm Stephane

Ok thanks a bunch !! I've asked this 'caus I think I have seen some on a Mac CM site. I can fight in peace now gonna try to spread CM in the WWII History department of the University of Liège now(BELGIUM)...the Crusade goes on. Stephane PS: I've offered CM to 2 friends of mine...never saw them so glad !!(their wife not so glad though) thanks BTS !

Just received CM in my flooded letter box (thanks to BTS for the plastic package Just one question (sorry if it was already discussed but I've found nothing on the forum) : where are the Tiger II Porsche turret graphics ? (the Krupp turret graphics are used instead). cheers and thanks 100000000X for CM, Stephane

Make an ambush with your engineers against the Panther or while you're making a diversion to the Panther with other troops bring the engineers close to it (on his flank or in his back...the front is deadly . Target the tank and they'll probably use their satchel charges and knock out the Panther.(though I've missed once the Panther 'caus he has moved and the charge exploded in the open). Good luck, Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 06-09-2000).]

Sherlock Holmes Indeed I'm from Europe: east Belgium (near the town of Liège and 40km from the battlefield of the Bulge héhé)and my name Stephan is spelled an hybrid Hungarian/German/French way...normally it's Stéphane(french) Stefan(german)"ph" for "f" is typical french...and the worst it's my second name my 1st name is in reality Istvàn (Etienne, Stephane) but nobody can pronounce it...so... !! You perhaps have french-german-hungarian ancestors too Stephan

Thanks a bunch jgdpzr. So I have to wait for the final game to see them in action.

Thanks a lot Fionn !! (Feel less alone now on this forum). Ok now I know tanks can't open path for following infantry through minefields. What about this Gammon bomb ?? it isn't used in the Gold demo, is it ? Thanks again and soon on the front, Stephan

I'm playing blind PBEM as the germans everyday and I'm astonished by the AI in the individual unit decisions. Ok not perfect AI, makes some terrible actions with some terrible consequences...but as human intelligence would do in reality in the middle of a battle...in 3 word: "a realistic AI !" 2 examples: 1) I've knocked out one of my opponent Sherman 105 with a schreck during an ambush.But the schreck died in the next second due to the US infantry. My opponent complained against the AI which made the other Sherman 105 (who was following the killed sherman) reverse in a slope instead of sticking to the orders "FAST" to take position near the dead schreck in order to support the ambushed US troops (as the schreck was dead , so no danger anymore). I understand his anger 'caus the alive 105 would have avoided him a lot of casualities in his troops if it had sticked to the "FAST" order...but it's the vision from somebody who knows all the game, all the action unfolding there,...in reality the alive 105 chief who sees the tank in his front being killed without seeing the schreck (he probably even doesn't know it's a schreck who has fired ), who doesn't know what's happening uphill, who doesn't know if there's not an other AT weapon there and who cares for his own life would have done the same action: "REVERSE". A very realistic action from the tank AI who don't have a global vision of all the battle and who didn't know the schreck was dead (unless he has some extra lucid skills) . On the other hand if the sherman would have gone on with the "FAST" order it could have been realistic too from a mad/careless tank chief... It's really what nice in CM AI, the both reactions of the AI are very human even if one of them doesn't stick to the player decisions ! A good mix of all wise and bad decision as a human being would have! 2)On the road uphill the US side some Shermans stuck in the woods and in each other.'caus of this I've killed one of them with my 75mm pillbox. Anger again from my opponent about the pathfinding system. But again very realistic situation. He thought the tanks could go through that path but they stucked in the woods. Realistic again . How much time hasn't it occured in real war that tankist thought they could drive through this place and were wrong, hence stucking themself and the following tanks and bringging on them the enemy fire ?? Very realistic ! People anger to much about CM AI instead of looking at their own unwise decisions. To well understand the CM AI realism, people who have a global view of the game, should take the place of one troop/tank/vehicle to really understand why they react "this and that way" and that they take decisions first for their own security before thinking about supporting the other troops or fanatically sticking to the orders. Long live to CM AI and BTS, Stephan PS: sorry for my bad english. [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 05-17-2000).]

Is there somebody in this forum ?? Feel very alone Have I told something wrong that no one want to give me a clue about the questions above ?? Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 05-17-2000).]

Hi there, Sorry if it was already discussed (though I've found nothing on the forum yet.) 1) What happens when a tank runs into an antipersonal minefield? Can he destroy them ? Can the troops around be wounded by these exploding mines ?? 2) what's this white line drawn from a tank and going to the edge of the map ?? ( I see it on enemy tanks ) 3)what's the bmp 1079 ?? a (bouncing) mine ? hollow magnetic charge ? a special grenade ?? Thanx a bunch to BTS for this wonderful game I 'm waiting for 2 years now Stephan

David, I've used a P200MMX with a Matrox Mystic 4Mo + Voodoo2 8Mo and it was running very fine. (I have a Celeron500 + GeForce PRO now...better of course). Just look for an old Voodoo2 for a fair price to join with your actual card and CM will run fine. good luck, Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 05-12-2000).]

Preordered 3 copies ( 1 for me and 2 for friends of mine birthday) But gonna spread the gold demo where I can for the CM Crusade !! "Death for all CM hackers " Stephan

Fionn, I agree with CoolcolJ and Mattias for the Geforce, Apollo motherboard and SB Live! (I've got the 3). But buying your new hardware depends also of when you expect to upgrade again (1-2-3 years ??) and what you expect from it... Here's what I've bought 2 months ago with advantages/drawbacks (IMO and according to site such as http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/98q4/981109/index.html )with the obligation for me to keep this hardware for a minimum of 3 years (perhaps a bit too powerful now but normaly should be still ok in 3 years for the usage I have from it despite the evolution of the softwares).I use these softs without any problem: Office 2000, Photoshop 5, Baldur's Gate and of course CM (very smooth) and never play "high end 3D Galactic Destroyer " games. - Motherboard ASUS P3V4X Apollo 133 PRO SLOT1 AGP 4X( multi processor Celeron (new/old), PIII (new/old)...SLOT 1 in order to use Piii or Celeron with adaptator (Intel gonna come back to the socket370 (Celeron) for a while in the future). Easy to overclock. 133 bus for Piii. fair price. (drawbacks ??) -Celeron 500: fast enough for the softwares I'm using although the 128 cache memory.fair price. -Creative Labs Annihilator PRO (DDR RAM !!) ( perfect card but no TV/video plug ... better take a other card with same features plus a TV plug for the same price) more expensive than TNT2 but probably still ok in 3 years for CM 3 and Baldur's Gate III as I can't change my hardware 'till then...just perhaps convert to Piii in 1 1/2 years for a low price) - SB Live! perfect. - 128 RAM - (DVD Pionneer 114T UDMA) good luck Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 04-11-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bigggie: I remember reading about a town in westen France that was the sight of a WWII massacre. As the Germans were withdrawing, they murdered every single resident of the town. The town itself has been left exactly as it was discovered by the allies. Not a thing has been changed, and (if I remember correctly) people can visit the town and explore on their own. I ask this because I will be in France this summer, and I think it would be interesting to see what a 1944 French villiage looks like. Unfortunately, I can not remember the name of this town. Does anyone know about this? Thanks. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If you want to see typical old villages (39-45)+ WWII stuffs other than the one from France and drink good beers ( and not afraid by geting a big belly due to beers and meat have a trip to Belgium's Ardenne(Battle of the Bulge). There's a bunch of very good WWII museum such in La Gleize ( last resort of Peipers's kampfgruppe before they withdrew), Mardasson museum in Bastogne, Tigers II in la Gleize, HT in Stavelot,... I can provide/advise you with maps, adresses, beer to taste, meat to eat,...In france you also have the great tank museum of Saumure. Stephan

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ron: While being fully aware that every gamer's perception is subjective, I wanted to comment that I found the exact opposite of the above to be true. The CM beta demo brought me back to wargaming in a big way largely because it is so easy to get into and play. I find the methods used to play well, ie scouting a good LOS position, moving unseen etc., felt more natural and made more sense than those employed in other wargames I have tried. For me they weren't tedious or time consuming or obtrusive at all. Perhaps because I don't have the background/conditioning from other wargames it was an easier adjustment but from this 'newbies' perspective CM is intuitive and the 'suprise' was wholly pleasant. Ron<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Ron, I'm 100% ok with you. I immediatly felt the "natural" side of CM too. I was an SP fan before but after some games against friends of mine the way you had to play was to much based on technical tricks (scouting first and surrounding the enemy adjacent hexagones after, killing his T-34 with 6 Tiger and so on...) and not on a "feeling" of the battle. It was a lot of fun but it wasn't real enough for me. With CM you don't have to think in hexagone terms or in move/attack point...you just have to think as in real life. Even if I was used to play with a traditional "hex wargame" style I had quiet no problems to play CM the first time...it was so natural...and it'll be the same for sure for all CM newbies who are looking for realism in wargaming. Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 04-07-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>"IMHO, Combat Mission is nothing like Steel Panthers. If I had to compare it to a game, I would have to say it's most like Myth 2 or WarZone 2100, but with poorer graphics and an intentionally dumb tactical A/I. I personally didn't like it. I like to have an overall picture on the screen of what's going on so that I can take a break and come back in a week and not lose much. I can't ususally allocate the contiguous block of time that it takes to play a game of Combat Mission."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think this guy has not played more than 30 sec with CM or is not interested in realistic wargames. I'm astonished by such a reflection. Every wargamer - who's natural aim ,IMHO, is to simulate war as realisticaly as possible - who's interested in platoon/squad squale tactical wargames has always dreamed about a CM like game: 3D(reality) and improved AI. ( a new kind of AI as it has to manage a realistic world (3D)). Even if the demo has AI drawbacks it's the best AI I've ever played against! ( This guy has just to wait some years for the bioprocessors built with DNA and human neurone...then he gonna get a quiet perfect AI...and anger then as the PC gonna kick his ass all the time) I've shown CM to a 40 year old WWII fan/collector who has no PC and he was totaly amazed by the game and its realism...he gonna buy a PC/Mac soon. CM Crusade goes on... Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 04-05-2000).]

After the so great news about the release date of CM here's an other great news about the progress of the textures from our CM European architecture specialist CoolColj... A picture is better than a long speech... http://www.geocities.com/coolcolj/soon1.jpg Soon new "Then...Now...Soon" pics. Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 03-29-2000).]

Indeed SPR is one of the best WWII movie. But a funny stuff I've noticed (perhaps already told on this board...but I'm to lazzy to check the archives this morning) is during the scene when they strike the mortar shells to throw them on the Germans. If you look carefuly or pause this sequence you'll notice Cpt Miller has 2 hand grenades on his belt left...why hasn't he used them ?? (can be realistic though...combat situation stress can obviously disturb all logical behaviours) Have all a nice weekend ! Stephan

The pic from http://www.geocities.com/coolcolj/CCJ_River2.jpg is the best IMHO. The house with pink/red coat on the walls is very german like. The river is more realistic too. Keep on the good job, Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 02-27-2000).]

With your new church I feel myself in France now ( the church is exactly the same I've seen last year in Vendée area (France) where I was last year and looks the same I've seen one months ago here un Belgium near La Gleize...) Really great job !!! But pleaaaase make the new textures available for download on your site !! Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 02-23-2000).]

Hi Walt, I have the same system as you at home and the quality of the display is not so far away from the one I have at work (PIII, TNT2 64). But the colors and "lines" shows better on the TNT2 and it's more faster of course. I must precise that my main card at home is a Matrox Mystic 4Mo and it's perhaps that which makes the difference even if you have a Voodoo2. If you can't afford a new graphic card you perhaps can find an old one such my Matrox (must be very cheap) which works fine or try the tricks advised by Schrullenhaft . Soon on the front , Stephan [This message has been edited by Stef (edited 02-23-2000).]

Woowww !!! great job !! Indeed I've seen such church in Germany (I live in Belgium near the german border) When will it be possible to download it ?? Stephan

Thanks to both for the answers ! ...and Pham, thank for having revealed this so secret plot of PR2 ! I was ROFL !! ) Indeed it's very tragic !! ) Sure if they make such a parody I'll run to see it !!) Cheers ! Stephan

Hi there, Yesterday Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were in Bastogne (The Bulge - Belgium )having a look around !!!! A new film is on the way for 2000-2001 !! Does anyone know more about this ?? cheers, Stephan