Zamo

Bolo's and Ogre's aside, I don't think the final days of the tank are near. The benefits of an armored vehicle capable of smashing through a defensive work and blasting the **** out of everything are just to conveniant to disregard. Nothing scares grunts worse than the rumble of tanks, no matter how well trained and well equipped they are. Laminant and reactive armors have shown, just in the last ten years that counter-measures CAN be devised to counter ATGW threats. Of course the same can be said in the other direction. It still remains cheaper to build a bigger rocket... Despite that, I think the elements of fire and maneuver that the tank brings to the battlefield will ensure it's place for some time. It's been stated in other posts time and again, that the proper employement of tanks must be with supporting infantry, and, ideally air cover. Combined arms is the only method of acheiving victory these days. Zamo

Thanks all for the rapid (and rabid) responses. 77 replies in about 5 hours. Not bad. I just tabulated the results through Havermeyer's post and it seems that the average age of CM player has dropped a tad and is now, if these posts represent a thorough cross section, 35.269231 years old. Nobody younger than 18 posted, and nobody older than 58 posted, though I know there are members in both those categories. However 78 pieces of data should be enough to give us a rough idea of the mean. Thanks again for your replies, and thanks alot for transforming me from "Under the average" (original poll) to "Older than average" (now)...Great...Just great...

I beleive the new tank will be called the BOLO Mk. VII, and will be armed with a 20cm railgun, several 75mm gateling infinite repeater secondary batteries and a vertical launch system designed to give it the capability of a "Continental Siege Unit". It is expected to weigh about 348 tons and still have sprint overland speeds in excess of 80 Km/H. Advances in cybernetics may very well see further development of this line of vehicles into fully automated war machines which may not at some future point in time even require a human crew. Ablative armor is being developed which should sheild the vehicle against everything up to and including a tactical nuclear explosion. The main gun, dubbed a "Hellbore" will be a direct fire weapon cabable of engaging any sub-orbital target in LOS. It should actually prove to be a bit more than a match for the next generation of Threat vehicles. I really, really wish I had one for my next PBEM... Zamo PS, Anybody else out there heard of this particular line of weapons systems?

Back around January we had a thread going which culminated in the assesement that the average CM players age was 38 years old...I think it was 38.6, to be precise. I got to wondering (at 3:00am in the morning, CM has totally ruined my life...) if that statistic was as true a fact now as it was then, or if the "new blood" which has wafted in here with the full commercial release, has raised or lowered that average. So If you all don't mind, I thought it might be interesting to conduct this little demographic study again. For the record, I am 36. Zamo

I made a big scenario with low, rolling hills, little tree cover and took eight tigers against a bunch of yank tank destroyers and 76mm shermans and, while I lost three tigers through the corse of the game, it was really a slaughter. The Ami tanks were all brewing up left and right. Not as often as I would have liked though, there was a lot of 3% to 11% shots all over. However, there were an awful lot of "sprongs" as rounds bounced off the Tigers. The key to a tigers survival is range. Up close they're coffins, at a good range, they maintain a nice edge. Zamo

Yes, I enjoyed the first WorldWar book, and muddled through the second and lost inteest before buying any of the several other sequals. It was kind of a fun "what if" combining two great genres, sci-fi Alien-invasion and WWII. As long as a Modern MBT had ammo and fuel it would survive an assault by dozens of its WWII bretheren. The ability to accuratly index targets at longer range, with more firepower, while on the move at speeds unobtainable by WWII tanks would in itself win the day, now add the fact that I doubt the 88/L71 gun could penetrate Chobham armor even at anything but point blank range and the scenario is rather futile. The best the WWIIer's might hope for is to imobilize the modern tank and hammer it senseless. I think it would take about 50 WWII tanks to stop one modern tank, and that is assuming 49 of those are just to use up the modern tanks ammo load. I played a CM scenario where I had 50 M-8's try and engage a K.Tiger. Guess who one? M-8's. They lost about 20 vehicles, imobilized the K.T. and just sat there hamering on it until the crew eventually bailed out and were MG'ed to the last man. The only thing that saved alot of the M-8's was a luck hit which knocked out the K.T.'s gun. It was a fun experiment, try it. I also sent the classic 100 MG jeeps against a panther. Panther won. Promptly. Diserted jeeps where everywhere. Zamo PS> Back to the topic, I gotta go with what I know: The best tank in the world today has got to be "Tank, fully tracked, 105mm gun M-60A1 RISE/Passive". (I'm just kidding, kiddies...) [This message has been edited by Zamo (edited 08-02-2000).]

Semper Fi, Jarhead, and wait until you get the full version!!! You'll dig it, baby! Zamo

I don't see this as an issue at all. If it is agreed between two players that a game must be historically correct, then honor dictates that each shall buy accordingly. Or let the machine pick. I think that usually produces the funnest load out, largely because you get stuck with what you have, like a real force commander. I for one, sometimes like to play a game that is not at all historically accurate. I seldom have a TOE or Order of Battle handy and just guesss as I select equipment. I play this game for fun, mostly, and if I want to get a bunch of Jpz's mixed in with some heavy armor, then hey, that's what I want. Don't tell me what I can buy. Otherwise you will almost always end up with a game where the Germans are predisposed to loose, as that is historically accurate. Not much fun to me. I like giving the poor hun a chance to throw back the allies from time to time. My .02 cents Zamo

No, the two demos are exactly the same, just like coke and pepsi, ford and chevy, earth and mars and, of course, men and women. Do yourself a favor and download the gold demo. I have no idea about BTS's EULA. I don't know how far out they are shipping now, but I think I'd play it safe and get it from them. Zamo

OK, I just got my rear end handed to me on a platter in two consecutive quick battles by the AI. This after installing the v1.03 patch. I had not read that the AI was improved so it's possible I just had some bad luck...Has anyone else heard of, or seen an improvement? Zamo

Welcome aboard. Sounds like you are already enjoying yourself quite a bit with the demo. Wait until you get the full version! You won't have any problem finding PBEM opponants here either. That's when the game gets really fun! Zamo

The Germans lost. Deal with it. They have. Zamo

I saw the movie as a youngster back in around '77, then read the book in High School and re-read it in college. I agree whole heartedly that the book kicks all over the movie, though the movie is great too. It's almost as though they are two excellent, mutually exclusive versions of the same thing. I just watched the DVD after posting that last Zamoistic post, and I really do enjoy this one. I have an old, worn paperback of the book and I think I shall dig it out again. Cheers! Time for Friday night Brew-ha-ha! Zamo

I'd sure as hell be peaceful...I like my ears where they are. Perhaps we should recruit some Moary tribesmen as well and encourage them to re-adopt their fondness for "long pig". THAT might also keep folks in order! Do you think the Ghurks and the Mauries would squabble over the ears? "They're mine! I need them for my collection!" "No, they're mine! They taste deliscious with a honey glaze marinaide!" Zamo

Disaster, do you have it on the web? I'd like to see it. I have seen some really neat modelings on the web. I wish I had the time to try it. Zamo

Kingfish, Yeeouch! That's too scary for even battle hardened Marines! Zamo runs under the bed, tail between his legs. Reminds me of the famous Stalin quote. Re: Somalia, I think the problems that went wrong there are once again manifestations of the whole problem of using a Democracies military for police duties. US forces LOVE to kick ass. That's what they are trained to do, and that's what they want to do. Once you tie them all up with beaurocratic BS and rules of engagement and political restraints, thats when they go to hell in a handbasket. Whether we're talking about Vietnam, or Somalia, the truth is, (in the case of the Americans) if the the politicians just "wound us up and let us go", things would be different. Of course, decimating Mogadishu with tons of firepower would not have engendered the support of the locals to be more democratic, but if applied with the proper military fortitude, it sure would have pacified them. The US military of the 1920's and 30's learned the hard way how to deal with such things, unrelenting force and hunting down and killing the leaders. Such things are not permitted these days, so those lessons are ignored and we have quagmire everytime we try and "police" other sovereign nations. I really wish the US would just drop kick the whole UN, myself. It seems to tie ones hands and cause these insurmountable problems far more than it actually helps us, the US. I realize that's an overly simplistic viewpoint, but... Zamo

Modeled alot as a youth, went to college and the Marines, and drifted away from it. Then rediscovered it about six years ago. Since then I have drifted from 1/72 aircraft to 1/35th armor and have amassed quit a collection, and, spent alot of money. Thank god I'm not married. I'm one of those poor bastards who buys kits faster then he can build them I have about twenty unstarted kits awaiting, and about four half built. Right now I'm tediously putting the track links together on DML's M-26 Pershing, Laboriously doing the weathering on the interior of Academy's Tiger Ie, meticulously applying Eduards super detailing to the old Tamaiya PzkwIV Aus. D, and trying to tell myself to finally paint the rubber wheels on the AFV Club M-18. I really need a break. These particular kits have been taking me a long time to finish. I banged out DML's M4A3E8 in between them as well as Tamaiya's M-60A2. Sometimes I just throw one together to break the tedium of the great kits I'm working on. I love it though, it sure is fun. It will have to do until I can save up the $140k for that M-47 on the internet... two of my babies Zamo

Not Quite true my dear Dumbo, "rabid" indicates a diseased condition, where one is not quite in touch with reality. I think that discribes "Unser Fuerher" much better than it does his detractors. I'm not a big Bush fan, either, but I for one won't be voting Democrat this time around for sure. Of course, that may not be a surprise, as I never have before either. Zamo

"This is not a brothel...This is a war!" Man I love CofI, there are so many good quotes in it. Good handle Capt. I also think the beginning and ending use of stills and footage for the credits is some of the most moving in any war film. Very good. Now, my dear Captain Stranski, go read the book... "Follow me and I'll show you where the Iron Crosses grow!" Zamo Don't rejoice in his defeat, you men, for though the world stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch who bore him is in heat again. -Bertholdt Brecht

I can only speak from what I know, and I must agree with Berlichtingens astute observation. In any clime and place baby. I am not sure a grand total of four divisions constitutes an "army", but I know of no other unit as hell bent on kicking ass and taking names as the U.S. Marines. I'll stack a division of Jarheads against a division of anybody else in the world and I know where I'll put my money. Keep the high tech toys, just give 'em each a rifle and a bayonet. "Every Marine a rifleman" is not a hollow boast. Cooks and typists in the Marines get better combat training then alot of grunts in some other nations, and time after time that sage practice has turned the tide in a tough spot. On the other hand, however, while I think the publics perception of the Marines and their historical role may permit a slightly higher tolerance to casualties than the US Army (Marine units have time and again fought in with around 70% casualties. US Army doctrine sez a unit is not combat effective after about 20%) I still think our biggest enemy would be found in Washington D.C. or in the press or hometown USA. Fionn is right. The best way to defeat the US is with public opinion. That's what smeared us in Vietnam, after Tet, the NVA was decimated. We creamed 'em, but it didn't matter. Giap's plan worked flawlessly. He won. Despite all this, I am proud to have been a Marine, and I earnestly, honestly think, all propaganda aside, that there are few equal units, and none better than Uncle Sams Misguided Children. Zamo As a post script, have any of you Korean buffs read Martin Russ' "Breakout"? [This message has been edited by Zamo (edited 07-28-2000).]

Sorry Cardinal, I should have considered the fact that there are different areas for posting tech support. What kind of Audio card did you yank? What kind of Motherboard do you have? I have a AMD K6-II 500 with 128 megs and a Diamond Viper 770 on an FIC M/B and have had ZERO crashes with it. I'll go over and do a quick check and see. Hope you got it fixed. Zamo

Oh...oops. I thought it was the other crew. Probably not more than a carbine or a pair of pistols. I doubt they carted around M1's or K98's too much weight for an already heavily laden pair of guys (with ammo et al) They probably relied on support from the rest of a squad to proctect them from bad guys, as they were there to protect the rest of the squad from BIG bad guys. Z

There was some rumor that that is what Speilberg was doing for SPR, and when I saw the finished version, I was a little (very little) disappointed that he hadn't had perfect ones built. Most everyone except the illuminated, were fooled by the tanks used, and even the ones in KH, but I had high hopes that if Speilburg built two or three scale Tigers we might have seen them in all subsequent movies, thus ending forever the "germanification" of Shermans, M-47's and M-48's which we have all seen before. A shame. The running gear would be the hard part. You couldn't do that with fiberglass. That was really the give away in SPR and KH, though the KH Tigers had the turret WAY too far forward. I've heard the same for the SPR turrets, but it doesn't seem so bad. Might have been better camera angles. Any body know if they might have even been the same tanks? Zamo

I have to agree whole heartedly. I just posted on this in another thread. If any of you lurkers out there are reading this and thinking about waiting until the next patch before buying CM, don't. Buy it now! NOW! NOW! NOW! In it's stock form it doesn't crash and is imeansly playable. The 1.01 patch (now incorporated in all newly purchased copies as 1.02) added more eye candy and made this game phenominal. It doesn't NEED any further patches, so what any additional patches may provide is only going to be more fluff (YES!), but shouldn't cause anyone to delay purchase. The TCP/IP patch isn't even needed, and after lots of craving for it, I find I could care less about it now. I have never been a PBEM player, and have always considered that a quaint holdover from an archaic past, but now that I have used it, it suits CM perfectly, and LAN or WAN TCP/IP implementation will just have one or the other player sitting around WAITING for the other guy. I no longer crave it. BUY THIS GAME NOW! Z

Yeah, seems like you're probably just an adolescent trying to get more attention. I hope that's just the case... Without trying to defend any attrocity, it always has kind of given me a bitter taste at the propaganda style finger pointing this particular incident produced. After all, I KNOW U.S. and Canadian troops, and I'm sure the Brits as well were equally guilty of "taking care" of prisoners during a rapid advance. I have read of the Canadians dispatching a few Waffen-SS prisoners, and I have heard first hand accounts of US Marines in the Pacific "helping" prisoners die for the Emperor. Not to mention what went on on the Eastern front. It's a sad commentary on the brutal nature of war. However to "Want" to see it in a GAME is pretty bad. Seek help young man. You may need it.