Wolfe

Gammon bombs and demo charges are awesome. It's like dropping a 105mm shell into the enemy's foxhole. - Chris

On occasion, I've wanted to move my AT guns away from an area, but have found that as soon as the gun begins the next turn, it automatically opens up on whatever enemy units it has LOS to until its command delay is over, and *then* it begins to move. Is there no way to move a hidden gun away from visible enemy units without the gun opening fire? You can do it with infantry by using the sneak command, but guns don't have a sneak command. Also, is there a specific reason why guns can't be pulled backwards? Thanks. - Chris

[deleted] [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-26-2000).]

Well, ignoring overclocking, whether you can run PC100 mem in a board while using a 133MHz FSB depends on the chipset. Intel chipsets: * 440BX: mem only runs at FSB * 440EX: mem only runs at FSB * 440ZX: mem only runs at FSB * 810: memory always runs at 100MHz * 820: SDRAM support was removed because of instability, but mem always ran at 100MHz * 840: same as 820 * 815: PC100 can run at 100MHz with a 66, 100, or 133MHz FSB. PC133 can run at 133MHz only with a 133MHz FSB. VIA chipsets: * Apollo Pro+ (693): Mem runs at FSB or AGP (66MHz) speed * Apollo Pro133 (693A): Mem can be run at almost any speed in any combination of 66/100/133MHz FSB. Though this may vary from board to board depending on its implementation by different manufacturers. * Apollo Pro133A (694X): same as Pro133 * PM601 (integrated Trident AGP): same as Pro133 * PM133 (integrated Savage AGP): same as Pro133 * KX133: mem runs at 100 or 133MHz with a 100MHz FSB * KT133: same as KX133 * KT133A: Dunno yet. Supports 133MHz FSB, and probably allows you to run at PC100 while using a 133MHz FSB. AMD chipsets: * 750: mem runs at FSB speed * 760: DDR mem runs at FSB speed. - Chris [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-26-2000).]

Continued from the previous message: Ok, trying not to repeat too much of what's already been said: Heavier buildings which are nearly indestructible within CM's time scale. Different tree bases for woods/pines. Currently you can't tell them apart. The ability to edit the amount of MG ammo in vehicles. Although if it's already maxed out for the vehicles, then ignore that one. Editable (text-based) prefs file. Sometimes I want to change the screen res, and don't want to have to reset all the other options too. Of course, you'll need to have a Default prefs file for when we end-users inevitably screw it up. Toggleable bodies. Helps remove the clutter. More unit slots. I know CM wasn't designed to fight huge battles, but 500 or 1000 units per side would satiate the sadist in all of us who occasionally want an enormous slug-fest. More reinforcement slots. As has been stated previously, the ability to import/export maps into/out of scenarios and ops. As well as the ability to import/export scenarios themselves into/out of ops. Different length battles within one operation. As Rommel22 said on the 1st page, more debriefings for operations. Having text screens explaining the next battle in an operation is critical to having a sense of flow and purpose throughout the operation. More control over weather in ops, but keep the randomness of the current system too. Ability to rotate map 90 degrees in the editor (change N/S/E/W sides). I've made this mistake a couple of times. And ability to flip a map too. Ability to create foxholes in the editor. And to pre-dig-in infantry units in editor. Ability to place terrain features like bocage, walls, etc rather than having specific full tiles. Ok, that's one's likely hard to do, but maybe for CM-II The Engine? Different objectives. Some objectives which *must* be achieved or you lose regardless of the score. Brutal, but realistic. And the ability to score points for holding objective 'X' for a number of turns. Pre-destroyed units (tanks in particular) for battlefield aesthetics. Non-editor stuff: Saved games should never be able to over-write a scenario. Thankfully I haven't suffered from this one but a few folks have destroyed hours worth of work with this simple mistake. Oh, and the roll-over highlighting 'Go' button is a cool idea to help prevent inadvertently ending your turn earlier than you wanted. How about the ability to right-click on a scenario and see the first 6 or so lines of the briefing to get a better idea of what it's about. Although the scenario database is a huge step in that direction already. See the Boots'n'Tracks page on WBR. A "calculation mode" where the game minimizes everything within the game that would drain CPU cycles away from doing its turn resolution (maybe even displaying nothing more than a black screen with only the blue calculation bar shown). I don't know how much having lots of polys displayed on the screen (or the smoke/fire animations) affects the calculation between turns, but anything that can speed up calculations would be much appreciated. The ability to toggle on/off the ever-present fire and engines sounds. This gets real old after a while in large tank scenarios. FWIW. - Chris

I originally wrote: "trying to post" Hmmm. Ok. I'll try breaking it into multiple messages. Ok, that worked. While BTS doesn't usually respond to these types of threads (too many issues to discuss at one time), I'll put in my $0.02 anyway. frag wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I know that it was discussed, but the real number of man (not 3 men to represent 12)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I doubt this will ever happen; too taxing on the CPU (I have a 900MHz Athlon, and find the larger battles already too slow). And the extra figures would mostly just add clutter anyway. Holdit wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The ability to import CMBO units into CM2 so we can get all the new features on the Western Front.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I think BTS has already said they would (or atleast try to) retrofit CM1 with new features from CM2 or allow you to play CM1 battles in CM2. Hopefully they can. Luckystrike wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>A 'Follow' command or something similar<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> IIRC, BTS has already said this is very difficult and it likely won't make it even into CM2, unfortunately. ajsl wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Visible planes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Naaah. The unseen enemy is more frightening. We already have it's shadow. Although a large explosion off the side of the map (into the map boundaries, not on the map itself) indicating a downed aircraft and/or a parachute floating down would be a cool touch. ajsl wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Browsable unit database with pictures.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> See: ASL for CM under add-ons. Or the one on my site: http://users.erols.com/chare/cm/ No purty pictures in mine, though. Nabla wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>a map with some approximate topological information<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Would be neat, but probably too hard to do. A toggleable grid would be helpful, though. BTW, there are gridded tiles over at CMHQ. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Multiple Slots for Vehicle Graphics<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes!, but don't kill poor Dan by forcing him to create all the variants. The game should ship with a more basic (low res, but still good looking ) texture set so it doesn't clog older systems, but allow for lots of variability. If not individual tanks, atleast separate the different tank models (i.e. G, H, J PzIV's all default to the basic set, but if other mods exist, then use those - like the Winter mods currently work). CMplayer wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Building tiles similar to the blockhouse tiles, but which, when placed adjacent to each other, are considered to be part of the same building, i.e. permeable for movement inside. (both low and high). Partial collapse for such large buildings.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, definitely, but also keep the individual buildings which can't be move through except by 'mouse-holing'. Also, if a corner of a building is destroyed, LOS into the interior of the building should change (you should be able to see further in, especially into the upper floors; though LOS may still be severely limited looking into the lower floor because of the building rubble). - Chris ** continued in next post. ** [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-26-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by aaronb: One word: hetzer. At any range, his 76's will richochet to the moon while you put round after round through his front armour.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, not if they're using Tungsten! And is he buying Sherman 76s or Sherman Jumbo 76s? A Panther is going to have a bit of a hard time with the Jumbo's armor. You may want to think about buying a King Tiger or three. - Chris

As far back as 1.01, the Ami and Brit carry 6 shots by default (9 max). The German FT carries 9 (13 max). - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Blitzkrieg: I did that...belive be...i've tried almost everything at this point...thanx though <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The icon on your desktop is likely pointing to the old executable. Change its properties so it points to the new EXE file. - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Madmatt: I disagree Wolf. I say take the earliest shot you can. I trust that 88mm tube extending out from my turret more than accuracy of the enemy.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hmmm. That's a good point. And I *had* taken away the 76's tungsten, so getting a shot off as quickly as possible would be a better choice than turning the armor since tungsten isn't going to be too much affected by a Tiger's frontal armor as opposed to its sides. Still it's a bit harrowing sitting there with your big ole side armor facing the enemy screaming hit me! hit me! I assume that once a tank fires and then rotates its hull, this messes up the aim for the next shot? So it's essentially like firing the first time at a target? - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Colin: Your second firing position picture is showing a different tank then the first. Why? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Because I looked at it with a variety of tanks. Sorry should have kept all the pics the same. But all the Tigers (from Elite down to Regular; I didn't try Green or Conscript) stop at the same place for their first shot. How much further they get rotated around before stopping to shoot again depends on their experience level (reloading speed). Here's an Elite Tiger: Elite first shooting position as compared to the Reg Tiger: Regular first shooting position BTW, as much as I would like to see the tank *not* rotate its hull when it's in an advantageous (obliqued) position, CM also stops rotating the tank's hull even when it may be to the detriment of the tank. This Tiger is oriented away from its target, and so it begins rotating its hull along with the turret to try to draw a bead. Unfortunately, when it finally acquires the Sherman in its sights, this Tiger now stops when its side armor is almost perpendicular to its target, aims, and fires. It may be better off to keep the Tiger's hull turning in this case. Once it's laid the gun, the ~5 seconds it takes for the Tiger to elevate the barrel, fire its round, and then begin turning again seems like an eternity (atleast if you're the German player). http://users.erols.com/chare/cm/6_tiger_2.cmb You may need to right-click to save to your hard drive. This file goes in the Saved Games directory. - Chris

Hmmm. Now have a problem with the pulldown menus. When I go into the editor and select a pulldown menu try to change to a different infantry type (any pulldown menu will do actually), the mouse cursor now flashes wildly and if I move the mouse off the menu itself (before making a selection), it stutters horribly, and disappears and reappears while stuttering across the screen. It only does this when using FSAA with the Voodoo5. If I select Single chip (i.e. no FSAA), it works normally; no flashing when hovering over the menu; and no stuttering when moving the mouse off the menu. Changing mouse pointers around between Standard, None, and Animated hourglass in Windoze makes no difference. Beta 16 doesn't do this (with or without FSAA turned on), and I don't recall seeing it in Beta 22. Though I didn't really play with the editor in Beta22, and no longer have that version. I'm using Win98 (original, not SE) running a Voodoo5 with an Athlon. Now for the cool stuff: Tanks *do* seem to oblique a bit better (or atleast they square themselves up a bit less often). And rotating the hull definitely does get the turret on target quicker. Though I do wish the Tiger, in particular, would stop once it's acquired its target (so long as the side hull isn't grossly exposed, of course). It seems to depend on how much of an obliqued angle the tank is relative to what it's shooting at. The tanks in CM seem to prefer a small obliqued angle (10 degrees) to a large one (15~20 degrees). Setting up a Tiger against a hulldown (dug-in) Sherm 76+ in the default setting (800x800m map), the Tiger will rotate its hull until just before the turret lays the gun: Starting position First firing position It will then fire one round, and immediately begin rotating its hull again in order to create a much smaller oblique to the Sherman: Second firing position If it reloads in time, it will stop the hull rotation, fire, and then begin rotating again. But if it doesn't reload very quickly, it will continue rotating the hull until the next round is loaded or until the tank is square on, even though this continued hull rotation doesn't seem to have a particular benefit to the Tiger. It doesn't always go fully square with its target, but sometimes it does. Any chance this extra hull rotation could be toned down? Thanks. Incidentally, if I originally start the Tiger off obliqued by only ~10 degrees or so, it will then generally only turn the turret; the hull rarely moves. Which I like to see very much. Thanks again for the great support! - Chris [Edit: Fixing URLs] [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-20-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Lets say you are the attacker and your tanks have longer range guns that the AT weapons.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't think that AT guns necessarily have less range than tank guns. The only one I can think of off hand is the Puppchen. Which isn't really a gun. Even the recoilless rifles can fire out to 2000m+. Although being far away from the gun itself will certainly induce a lot of misses. So if you're playing -say- Germans on the attack, you might consider putting a StuH42 in a reverse-slope hulldown overwatch position near the back of your setup zone (assuming the terrain allows it). These puppies are hard to hit, and can withstand hits from 6pdr AT shells (though not tungsten); particularly if they're obliqued WRT the gun. This may induce the 6pdr to open up; hopefully long enough for your infantry to spot the gun. The StuH is cheap and is a real threat if you start pounding suspected tree lines with the 105mm gun just 'feeling' around for enemy infantry near important objectives. That StuH could turn itself into a real pest. BTW, don't sharpshooters have better spotting abilities than other units? If so, then they would make good lookouts. Use the StuH as bait with an overwatching sharpshooter spotting the offending AT guns. It might work. But then again, you might just end up sacrificing a perfectly good tank. Incidentally, I've used AT guns in meeting engagement successfully before. They're not just good for defense. The only thing I don't like about them is you can't move them backwards. If you're going to pull back from a position, they have to turn around and move. - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ciks: OK, if AT gun destroys tank with first or second shot, tank doesn't have a time to look for it. But in my case it was 6 or 7 frontal armor hits, btw. there were no enemy unit in LOS to distract Churchils attention. After all, there is a bang, fire and smoke when AT gun fires, isn't it?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is what makes the 6pdr so good. It has great killing power (particularly with tungsten), but a small blast. If you have a 6pdr hidden in woods on reverse slope, and back a bit into the woods so the LOS line extending out of it is dark blue rather than light blue; and if the gun is a good distance away from its targets; and (perhaps most importantly) if it's under control of an HQ unit who has good stealth abilities (a question mark with a box around it), then that gun will never be found. Perhaps you can tell I like AT guns, particularly the 6pdr? The only comparable gun may be the PAW600. The 50mm PaK38 has trouble penetrating Sherman frontal armor. And the PaK40 and PaK43 make a bit too much noise when firing (tending to draw unwanted attention). While the US 57mm, sadly, doesn't have tungsten. As for defeating them? I dunno. I just hope I don't lose too many vehicles before I spot the SOB. Then I shell him into oblivion. - Chris

Two squads can't occupy the same space (or foxhole), and one will move away from the other if its path ends on top of (or very near to) the other squad. Turn on their bases to get a better idea of how close you can move them together. You only need to get them close anyway and they'll rejoin between turns. It's always been this way, AFAIK. - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I could see the sniper and target him (indicated crew) but the AI would not fire. I move right on top of him and still no combat.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> In order to try to stay hidden and not draw enemy fire, snipers won't shoot at enemy units that are close to them. Keep them ~100m away from enemy units. But also be aware that they can only shoot up to 600m. - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I'm convinced it is definitely better to be hull down even when your turret armor is weaker than your hull armor. I saw lots of hull penetrations in the second test.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If the hulls of the fully exposed tanks are obliqued, you won't get the same number of hull penetrations. Of course, CM 'fixes' this after only a shot or two by forcing the tank to turn it's hull flush with its target. I really wish it wouldn't do this. Obliqued armor is really cool. I had a Tiger bounce a shot off the frontal armor of an obliqued M4A2 (French) Sherman not too long ago. A shocking development! Do you have just the number of turret penetrations of hulldown vs. not? I'd be interested to see if this percentage went up when the tank was hulldown. I did a brief test, and it seemed to. I do agree that's it's almost always best to be hulldown, but if you're at short distances (high chance of a hit), pitting a PzIV against a Sherman, you might be better off being exposed, but obliqued rather than hulldown. It's a gamble, but I think in some cases, it may be justified. Though with other tanks like Panthers and Churchills, you'll definitely want to hide the weaker lower hull armor. BTW, if a tank which is obliqued rotates its hull after firing one shot at the enemy, I assume this upsets its aim? - Chris P.S. I'm still constantantly amazed at the level of detail in this game. And it comes in such a small package too. [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-15-2000).]

Try: ftp://ftp.zdnet.com/gs/strategy/combmiss/ The link to BTS' Beta demo page won't help anyway as the file is no longer on their server. If the above doesn't work, try doing a search on some search sites (Altavista, Lycos, etc.) for 'cmbd.exe'. Be warned; it's a BIG leap from the Beta demo to the present game. Your eyes may take a few minutes to adjust to it. - Chris [Edit:] P.S. That link is for the PC version of the Beta Demo; I don't know where to find the Mac version if that's what you need. [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-10-2000).]

If you're looking for a site to discuss CM outside the board, try: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical There's some CM discussion, though not as much as is on this board, and Henri's AARs are always enjoyable to read. - Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I killed a Panzer IV at 163m (1st shot) and a HT at 158m (2nd shot, different team) in the same game with green zooks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Bah! Amateur. See my post in: Long range zook kills I really do like the way Zooks/Schrecks/PIATs work in CM. Using a LATW can be either terminally frustrating or heroically rewarding. And sometimes both within the same minute. - Chris [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-09-2000).]

http://w1.312.telia.com/~u31213280/index.htm Look under Add-ons. http://users.erols.com/chare/cm/ - Chris [This message has been edited by Wolfe (edited 12-09-2000).]

Oddly, the AVRE refuses to fire at the side of a pillbox, giving the odds of kill as 'None' (the same as other vehicles in the game). You can try manually targeting the pillbox, but at the beginning of the turn, the AI simply cancels the order. Also, it even tries to flee from the side of the pillbox (even though it's in no danger) by popping smoke and moving. If this vehicle is forced to attack a pillbox from the front to even take a shot at it, it likely won't be able to get within 250m (it's max range) unless it's going up against a pillbox MG. Or drives around the back. - Chris

P.S. Don't forget to install some of the mods, especially Marco Bergman's hi-res mods. http://combathq.thegamers.net/mods/vehicles.asp - Chris

Haven't played with the Challenger much, but it now has a faster turret speed than the Firefly (the 1.1 patch reduced the turret speed to medium on the Firefly), so that's another point in favor of the Challenger. Though the Challenger carries a lot less ammo. I doubt that the Challenger's armor is really going to make much difference over that of the Firefly facing any German tank armed with a 75mm or better gun. Don't forget the "77mm" armed Comet TD, which has a bit better penetrating power than the US76 gun, though it's not as good as the 17pdr. BTW, the IIA carries the 76gun (same as US 76mm), not the 17pdr. - Chris

Hmmm. Never noticed this before. Guess I don't use smoke as much as I should. The German 120mm mortars, 170mm, 210mm, 210mm rocket, 240mm, and 300mm rocket don't have smoke. The rest (including the 150mm rocket) do. The American 4.2in mortar, 4.5in, 8in How, 8in Gun, 240mm, and 14in Naval don't have smoke. And the Brit 4.5in, 5.5in, 5.5in VT, 7.2in, and 14in Naval don't have smoke. In the editor, you can't select how many smoke shells an FO has because they're not a separate ammo for an FO (atleast not according to CM - there was discussion about this a ways back, but I don't remember how it went; you'd have to search). You can call for smoke any time you want, but your number of HE shells decreases as you use it for smoke instead. - Chris