Wolfe

Apparently this, atleast, is possible! Countries :cool: - Chris [ June 19, 2002, 08:03 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Ygg, did you try opening a file, selecting 'All', and then either choosing a font or changing the color? That seems to work for many folks. If that doesn't help, then you could always download and install the free Excel viewer. Strangely enough, it works just fine. Go figure! Though you will have to change the layout to landscape and adjust a few columns to get it to print properly. - Chris

I've now added vehicles for Canada and the minor Allied and Axis countries and finalized all the touch-up I wanted to do. Enjoy! Unit Sprites mod 1.0 - Chris

Thanks! Glad you like it. Otto, what I released was a beta version. I've done some touch-ups on the ones that I had completed and have started doing the Axis minor ones. Don't know if I'll have enough vehicles to do the Allied minors (I might just copy the American ones), and the Canadians are a bit short on vehicles right now, too. So I don't know when I'll have things done, and would rather not have them hosted elsewhere quite yet. I'll let you know, though! Thanks. - Chris

Well, it looks like Camicie's is going to be more comprehensive than mine, but I've redone most of the tank icons. It even includes a 'dot' version indicating the tank research level. You can get it here: SC Unit Sprites beta version See what you've started Sgt. Eagle? - Chris

IIRC, the use of tungsten in CMBO comes down to how many tungsten shells you have vs. how many AP are left. If you've got very little tungsten or lots of AP or both, the liklihood of getting a tungsten round is reduced. Unfortunately even after the tweaking that was done, it's still a prob with the game. I hope it's been tweaked further for CMBB. I personally like Jeff Heidman's suggestion: if the enemy tank is IDed (even mistakenly) as a Tiger/Panther or heavier, always use the special rounds regardless of their scarcity. This would simulate a crew screaming the dreaded word "Tiger!" and doing their best to kill the menace before they themselves die. When facing a tough heavy tank a crew isn't going to worry about whether an AP shell *might* do the job; they're more likely than not going to grab the biggest, baddest ammo they have to try to kill the beast. Or, in CM terms, if the chance is 'OK' or worse and the special round takes the chance up one level (e.g. from OK to Good), then use the special round. If not, stick with AP or withdraw (or both). This may induce units to waste special rounds, but I'd rather see them wasted than not used. I think it'll be interesting to see how the new tank morale in CMBB plays into this equation. I also hope to see less of infantry support tanks dueling with heavy tanks (e.g. Churchill vs. Panthers or Sherman-105 vs. PzIV) as well as light recon vs. thin-skinned TDs (Greyhound/Stuart vs Marder/Nashorn). Though that kind of SOP may have to wait for the engine re-write. - Chris [ June 13, 2002, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Thanks! Glad you like 'em. Wasn't aware that anyone bothered to play them. No, I haven't worked on any since last year. Kinda got tired of them. I have a dozen or so half-completed ones, but they didn't turn out the way I had hoped, and were never close to being finished. The only one that was close was an oddity with a symmetrical map. I've never tested it, but you can play with it if you like. It's a biggie and a bit unusual. Berm Defense - Chris [ June 11, 2002, 08:00 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Hey! Just found this thread. Armor penetration is in there. Purchase points is a boring PITA to do. Jason (Guachi) did it once for CM 1.03, but it's not been updated since. And purchase values for some units change over time (mostly because of tungsten rounds). I've updated my charts: adding how long it takes for turretless vehicles to turn around on open ground and how long it takes to deploy/setup support weapons once they've moved. - Chris

Well, it also happens in North Africa. Landing a unit on Italian soil, he has 0 supply even though there is a friendly base with a port nearby. I assume this is meant to 'encourage' the use of HQs, but it seems a bit much to me. North Africa no supply Actually it was a good observation; you *can* bleed the enemy white, slowing his attack to a crawl if the initial push doesn't go as well as planned. Even playing with exactly the same saved game that went very well, if I can't completely kill off a number of units early on, the AI can bring them back up to level 10, grinding my blitzkrieg to a halt. It doesn't take much to change the course of a campaign in this game. Yeah, I think this is by far the most important research technology to develop. Having tried advanced strategic bombers, better tanks, and jet fighters, these things are *expensive* to reinforce. Getting not just initial costs down, but also the upkeep is a huge plus. It even lessens the cost of transporting units, making the Operate function even more useful. - Chris

Thanks! I'm not sure, but this particular scenario may not really be representative of how the game always plays. When the AI plays as the Germans, it's content to take the Low Countries and France and then sit on its hands. And as Allies, it generally won't re-invade Europe. I had good luck with this invasion (have done it twice) in that the AI will sometimes choose to leave some cities to their fate rather than subbornly defend if I even remotely threaten Moscow (it will Operate multiple units surrounding other cities back to Moscow in order to defend against my probe). This helped a lot in accelerating my advance. Though most of my units behind Moscow are currently out of supply. So my position is a bit tenuous. Speaking of supply, I have to wonder exactly how this works. My tanks and units far out eastward are at 0 or 2 supply levels. But even my HQs are at either 5 or 8! I assume it's because I'm so far from Berlin, but this does seem a bit extreme, particularly since my units aren't cut-off. Is there a way to mitigate this? Does stringing HQs out along the route of advance help? Rommel HQ supply And it really hurts to go into North Africa without an HQ. And of course, no supply means no reinforcements. It'll be interesting to see how SuperTed does now that the Bolsheviks have declared war on him. - Chris [ June 02, 2002, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Yeah, I just did the same thing against the AI. I didn't wait for Hungary or Bulgaria, and just plowed in with: 8 Army Groups 4 Corps 4 Tank Groups 5 Air Fleet I ended with 7 more Corps and 4 more Tank Groups in-country. That doesn't include the 4 Finns who mostly got punished by two Soviet Army Groups or the Hungarians/Bulgarians/Romanians, who joined late never left fired shot or left their own territory. I got all the way to the Urals and completely cut off Moscow from its supplies. I hadn't taken even half of his cities, but by the last turn the Soviets only collected 190 MPP. Germany got 365 and Italy 133. Here are the end pics right before I ended my last turn (250K): World Map Moscow Surrounded After hitting Done, all the cities and mines outside my grey/brown "land blockade" halve their production values. This is against the AI, of course; he doesn't seem particularly interested in charging across the channel into my lightly defended rear. I did my best to cut off and kill individual units. If some cities were defended by a number of units, I just went around and let him attack me, then hit him with Air the next turn and finished off his cut-off units with my Inf and tanks. If I wasn't certain I could kill an enemy unit on that turn, I would choose another target or reinforce and wait 'til next turn to do the deed. Seemed to work well. But I began to find out how bad supply hurts in this one. Some of my more adventurous tanks and corps (way out front) found themselves without supply at all, with virtually no attack prowess, and limited movement. I just wish the game had a way of showing you this on each unit without having to click on it. Something like TOAW's health button which changes color for supply and readiness levels would be a Godsend. - Chris [ June 01, 2002, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Yep. It works fine. Though the world map itself isn't there; I think it's embedded within the game. - Chris

Oh, wait, did I just give back my prize?!? Damn! Even more linkies! May 30, 2002 - Model Contest - New In-game Models StuG III side StuG III top T-26 side T-26 rear Looks like somebody up there likes us. CMBB Gallery: with thumbnails even! - Chris [ May 30, 2002, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Yeah, I would like to see that too. Hmmm. Didn't even think about that one! - Chris

Thanks, Ted. BTW, I said above a French unit sitting on Paris was constantly reinforcing up to 10 even though it was completely surrounded. Actually I was wrong; there was one enemy unit next to the city, which explains things. - Chris

Thought of a few more things. When loading a saved game, the menu only scrolls by clicking repeated the up and down arrows. The bar inbetween doesn't do anything. Any way of adding a PgUp/PgDn option? Confirming the deletion of every file you intend to delete: highly annoying. It may be a nice safeguard, but how about a toggle option for this one? Overall stats? I'd love to have a running count how many Army Groups/Corps I've lost/destroyed on my way to victory. Especially if its broken down by country. Pretty please? Is there any chance a demo saved game might be compatible with the full game? I've got a pretty good invasion of the USSR going, and would love to continue it to see what happens. After running over the Low countries, Sweden, France, and Yugo and having made new friends in Hungary, Romania, and even Bulgaria, I've destroyed 6 Soviet Army Groups, 1 Tank, and have driven back his air cover. I'm almost to Minsk, but I get the feeling the Brits may have something nasty in store for my weakly defended western wall. If I turn on FOW and Last Turn Report, these options don't stick when I restart the game. How do I tell which units have been upgraded? I've researched anti-tank, but I don't know which units have this new tech? Do all of them get upgraded or just the newly constructed ones? Is this info displayed anywhere other than the purchase screen? Hide units also hides the menu buttons on my screen. Not really a horrendous thing, but odd to see nonetheless. Thanks for a great game! Now I may have to try it as the Allies! - Chris [ May 21, 2002, 11:11 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

Barley, in case you weren't aware, I made some tables which list all of the units and their stats. Check the link in my sig for where to download them. And if you use the full version of Excel, be sure to follow the instructions or you won't see much. - Chris

The units for most countries are different, and so can be customized, but the cities all share the same BMP. Though I did take the capital BMP and flipped it horizontally so it's easier to distinguish from regular cities. Heh. My first mod. - Chris

Just started playing the demo last night, but I think I can answer a few of these. Yep, just one at a time. Yeah, they don't seem particularly effective (except at absorbing British Strategic bombing runs). I think you would need to research more to get more pop from your rockets as well as longer distances. I believe you need to have a unit sitting on it to protect it, but they do seem to fix themselves, if left alone. Now a few questions of my own. I guess not, but is there any chance of gettings higher resolutions? Any chance of getting some small map labels (particularly for capitals)? Shouldn't clutter up the screen, and would make a nice touch, IMO. When a unit is surrounded but sitting on its capital city, it tends to reinforce up to the max (10). I had surrounded Paris, but had a devil of a time taking the city since the AI kept using its MPPs to fully reinforce the garrison. This seems a bit excessive considering they were surrounded. Calling up *some* local reserves and even the general population for defense of your homeland is fine, but being able to fully reinforce (albeit with a loss of experience) seems unrealistic. Could we have a bit more feedback? I'm thinking about the reports at the beginning of each turn. Unless I completely lost a unit, the game says I suffered no casualties. It would be nice to get a report that says how many units suffered casualties as well as how many units were destroyed. e.g.: 2 Army Groups suffered casualties 1 Rocket Attachment was destroyed Would add some flavor. Also, I'd like to see what reserach is currently on-going. Not just when something is completed. When I first started doing research, I wasn't sure I had done it correctly since the game said there was no research to report for the previous turn. FOW is off by default? That's kinda strange, no? How about a briefing at the start of a Campaign to let you klnow who is against you, who leans which way, and what significant events may triggers responses (e.g. invading Poland would likely bring the Brits into the war, etc.) Some units seem rather small for this scale. Could the sub units be re-named 'wolfpacks'? Their effectiveness wouldn't change, just their name. Wolfpack seems more impressive than just one sub. The same for cruisers/battleships. I think calling them a 'Scharnhorst Cruiser Group' (to indicate it has some support ships) would sound better. Just a few suggestions. Thanks! - Chris

Very true, but my biggest fear about the road is getting bottled-up and Arty'd and be unable to bring my firepower to bear effectively. The road would take longer to get through, limiting the time available to strike at the VLs, and would allow the defender more time to shift any (and eventually all) forces over. But apparently it does work. A bit of infantry would have to be left behind (along with Schrecks instead of HMGs) to do spotting, and pairing off the Tigers and HTs on overwatch should provide a nice level of protection for both, IMO. Definitely cheaper, but the Tiger can actually get out more firepower per turn than the RR's can. It comes down to how much ammo either unit can unload before they die or the game ends. Well, yes, but two of them never got to fire a shot, and the other two had a whole lot of HE remaining when the game ended. Putting a lot of points into a few baskets can certainly burn you, but I think more often than not AFVs will deliver the fire where and when you need it. Also I'm not particularly fond of infantry support units, but maybe I played VoT a bit too much and became disenchanted with direct-fire infantry weapons. Yeah, I hate that. I hope to see some SOPs atleast in CM3, if not CMBB, where units will opt for overkill rather than the "it's close enough" in weapon selection. And the smoke thing is annoying, but the game *is* trying to protect its own units with the smoke. It's infuriating, but atleast it was well-intentioned. :eek: Hey! Whadda ya think this is, the Eastern Front?!? The question would be which would run out quicker: the Defender's bullets and arty or the attacker's infantry! - Chris

I *think* this is all of the pictures now available. April 24, 2001 - SimHQ Small Wooden Houses Wooden House Tucked in Woods IS-2 3D Model IS-2 3D Model June 15, 2001 - Gamespot UK ISU-152 Concept Drawing of a Soldier Concept Drawing of a Soldier June 20, 2001 - Computer Games Online Soviet Rifle41 Squad in Snow T-34s and Infantry Advance HT, StuG, PzIV, Elefant 3D Models AA Truck, BA-9, BT-7, KV-1 3D Models June 20, 2001 - I got your peng penny and now I am going away!!! Elefant, PzIVD, StuG IIIB, PzIIIJ 3D Models SU-76, T-34, Truck w/ 76mm M1927, KV-1 3D Models StuG Looking out over Wheat Field Wooded Road at Sunset September 19, 2001 - Bone Thrown..Now Come and Get It Ya Thankless Gits! SU-85s among Explosions during Winter T34s and Infantry Advance in the Snow Looking over the Shoulder of an IS-2B in Fog T-34s Moveout at Dusk December 19, 2001 - What exactly will a 9km square map look like at dawn in CMBB? 9km Map at Sunset (View 5) December 19, 2002 - So hey, what's all this I hear about Doodads? Graveyard Rubble Squad in Tall Wheat December 19, 2001 - What Will Wind do in CMBB? Smoke Being Blown by Wind January 8, 2002 - Official CMBB Modelling Thread KV-1S in Front of a Building sIG33 Bison I Implementation February 1, 2002 - Will CMBB properly model thrown bones? Extreme Snow at Night February 11, 2002 - Gamespy Daily KV-1 Destroys Kubel on Winter Tree-lined Street February 28, 2002 - Mac Gamer KV-1 Looks Down Street in Winter Squads Move through Wheatfield Explosions in a Wooded Area Squads Assault a Village in the Snow at Sunset T-34 Platoon Advances through a Wheatfield March 1, 2002 - So what was that I recall about someone wanting a CMBB BONE Thrown??? Winter Damaged Buildings with a T34 ISU in front of Damaged Buildings Squad Walking among Damaged Buildings Infantry Running towards Rubble in Town March 10, 2002 - Ok this bone is a few days early! I feel so damaged .. Really I do! Destroyed Buildings Destroyed, Burning Buildings in Fog Destroyed Buildings at Sunset Destroyed, Burning Buildings with Rubble Madmatt Writes his Name Using Shell Holes April 26, 2002 - Operation Bone Throw - Main Attack sIG33B in Town Weathered T-26 at Sunset T-26 and Infantry Advance between Bombed-out Houses T-26 Immolation T-26s Burning April 26, 2002 - Operation Bone Throw - Flank Attack Map of Pillar's Soviet Defense AAR May 13, 2002 - Winterized Doodads Snowy Cemetery May 30, 2002 - Model Contest - New In-game Models StuG III side StuG III top T-26 side T-26 rear Previews and Interviews SimHQ - April 24, 2001 Gamespot UK - June 15, 2001 Computer Games Online - July 9, 2001 Homelan - December 19, 2001 Gamespy Daily - February 11, 2002 Mac Gamer - February 28, 2002 Military Gamer Online - May 8, 2002 - Chris [ May 30, 2002, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]

I think the plan was a good one, but you were handicapped by your choice of weapons. Instead of the Panthers, RRs, tractors, and Arty, you needed a lot more direct-fire HE, IMO. Something like 4 Vet Tigers, 4 Reg 251/9, 1 Crk PzIV/70 (in case you ran into any Churchills), 1 120mm and 2 81mm mortars along with 2 extra platoons of Vet Rifle squads would have done you better for a town assault. The arty would still be there for smoke when crossing the Fords. I think you wasted a lot of points on the arty that could have been put to better use in a direct fire role. Panthers are certainly better when going up against 6 pdrs than Tigers, but that damn Tungsten can still drill holes in the Panther's turret, even at 800m. But if you do prefer the Panthers over the Tigers, you could have had 4 Reg Panthers and a Reg Inf Plt instead of the Vet Tigers. BTW, one trick that works well for town assaults is to set up your HE belchers on a ridge where they can *just* see the 2nd story of the buildings. If you can position them accurately (it's tough to do reliably), you can shell the town without fear of receiving return fire from enemy AT assets on the ground level. He would have had to driven up the sides of the hills behind the town to target your AFVs. A very good idea, but I think you may have sacrificed one platoon too many for this. But it's tough to judge how much is enough to convince your opponent to hold his troops on that side of the map. That road over there is essentially a no-go area (a death trap waiting to be sprung), and there's only so much feignting you can do to try to convince your opponent you may make a run at it. This is still a tough assault for the attacker, not only because of how far he has to go, but also because he can be watched almost the entire way in, so the element of surprise is nearly eliminated. You honestly did better than I expected (though Buckeye did neglect to hold one flag). I figured you'd be stopped cold at the fords. - Chris

I'd have to disagree with the inclusion of the 75mm-armed German HTs in the Recon section. Historical or not, this inclusion gives the German player highly mobile HE belchers which the Allied player has no answer for. I don't think that their being vulnerable to various light guns makes up for the fact that they give the German player a highly useful and deadly unit that is not available to the Allied side. Particularly since the M8 HMC and M24 Chaffee are both excluded from purchase. I realize this isn't Warcraft where all units always have an exact counterpart, but still ... Very nice work, otherwise! Thanks for the effort you put into it. Hopefully with CMBB's large number of varied units, force balance will become much less of a concern. - Chris

Is there a differentiation between large and small capitals? If not, shouldn't there be an extra difficulty in taking a larger city over a smaller one? Paris is, according to Lonely Planet 105 sq km while Moscow is 1035 sq km (present day stats). Obviously there will be a much more substantial army protecting Moscow which will make it inherently more difficult to seize the Soviet capital in the first place, but shouldn't Moscow and London and other very large cities get an extra bonus simply because of its size and the effort required to take the whole city? Just a thought. Looking forward to playing the demo! - Chris

It's there, but it only pops up very intermittently. Click on any page and either: keep hitting Refresh for that page; or click on another page and flip back and forth between the two (this method is faster; only the ads need to reload). Hopefully it'll come up within a reasonable amount of time; it seems rather random which ad is chosen, however, so it may take quite a bit of refreshes. The ad links to Battlefront's main page. And considering the demo isn't yet available, Shep may be right. It may have been premature. BTW, the ad says: STRATEGIC COMMAND ONLY FROM BATTLEFRONT.COM! CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF WW2! DOWNLOAD THE DEMO NOW! That's a suspicious amount of exclamation points for one ad. I suspect it may be the nefarious work of a bald, Mad bouncer! - Chris [ May 16, 2002, 06:48 PM: Message edited by: Wolfe ]