rwcanuck

I live in East Vancouver close to Burnaby. RW

I live in East Vancouver close to Burnaby. RW

Lately my two computers sharing files and using ADSL for the internet have both been hit with different Trojan viruses mainly the onne called Bymers. I get rid of them thanks to Norton's and Innoculate T anti virus programs but I have had some files deleted mainly the shortcuts in Programs. Questions: Can viruses be spread from playing TCP/IP games? Does chatting on ICQ or in the Tournament House Chat for example spread viruses? Just recently while I was playing a CM TCP/IP game on one computer while leaving the other computer on the T House chat that computer left on the chat got the Bymer virus and was detected and deleted by Nortons' Anti virus program. I follow all the procedures to get rid of these viruses (sysedit, msconfig, regedit, etc) and by keeping my ant-virus programs up-to-date but they keep re-appearing. Damn, these viruses are annoying.

In the Pacific Northwest the quake was a 6.8 and of course I was playing CM here in Vancouver. The quake did cause a short delay while the house shook during my TCP/IP game but I did manage to finish the game. BTW there was no damage to my house..only on the battlefield

I played a TCP game today and found the problem is ICQ. I Have ICQ on and load up the game I get a black screen at the bottom, and if I disconnect ICQ before loading CM for a TCP game then the screen is normal. Perhaps user resources are low with both the TCP game and ICQ going at the same time. I have lots of RAM so maybe you need a faster computer to avoid this problem.

I have used the PzKpfw IIL Lynx in many armour scenarios and have been pleased with the recon work I have put them through and the success I have had knocking out Hellcats with them.

Lately I am seeing graphic problems ONLY with TCP games. Once connected the bottom of the screen becomes black with white wordings but the the symbols are missing. When playing I have to guess where they are to get the game to work. If I change the screen to a PBEM game there is no black screen. Is this a bug because if it was my computer or graphic card then it should be showing black at the bottom for all type of games you would think? I have a Celeron 466 with 256M Ram and a NVidea TNT2 32M Video Card using the latest drivers and directx8.

Has anyone seen the trailor for "Enemy at the Gates"? Looks to be a great movie due out this March and will certainly wet the appetite for CM2 http://www.enemyatthegatesmovie.com/

What Aka Panzerleader says is true for me as well, but try telling that to your Wife. She thinks I am nuts! My Brothers bought me toy soldiers and a wind-up tank when I was a kid and my love for anything Military just grew, but to this day I am a Pacifist at heart. RW

I am very curious to know what source is correct regarding the use of IR night vision on the Panthers: 1. One of the only sources that I have seen that discusses the use of "Older model Panthers (Ausf. D and early Ausf. A)" is the Concord publication "Panther" by Thomas Abercrombie and Vincent Wai (Armor at War Series #7006), which has a lengthy discussion regarding IR Panthers on pp. 63-66, with photos. 2. Another good reference book "Panther Tank" by Thomas Jentz, Chapter 5 pages 95 and 96 states that the IR was installel in all cases on the Panther Ausf G. Anyway, I was wondering if anybody else has a good reference source on the subject of IR Panthers and what models had it installed. Thanks RW

With many us now playing TCP/IP games Blackvoid has a point especially about the cost of a Churchill VIII. To finish an online under 2 hours most players that I know of choose 1250 pts or less, a 5 minute timer and 20 to 30 turns. With this in mind I am seeing the Allied side player choosing the Churchill more and more because of the low cost and difficulty to knock it out with what the German player can buy for 1250 pts or less. If BTS is not going to increase the point value of the Churchill what is the next best solution for online gamers other than saying NO Churchills allowed or "Infantry only" games?

I'm in..sounds like a great idea! I have a photo of myself standing with a King Tiger which I could use I bet the number of us who where eye glasses are the majority here. RW

FYI the sad news is that Germany has no Tiger I anymore on its soil. The Panzermuseum in Munster sold its only Tiger I to a private consortium in England a few years ago. I am still baffled why they did it? Probably I think for the money to upkeep their remaining armour display which still have the orignal engines in many of them and kept in running condtion. RW

I also feel a withdrawl for armoured vehicles should be in the game under the same parameters as the infantry. This is when the crew will disobey or wait for any orders and take a hasty retreat on their own initiative with the understanding they might end up in a shocked situation after their withdrawl similar to infantry who withdrawl and start panicking. RW

For us grognards over 50 you are the elder we look up to Wild Bill Happy Birthday. RW

Thanks MadMatt I'll give it a go..thanks RW

I recently read the exploits of Ernst Barkmann and the many Allied Vehicles he and his crew knocked out. Are there any scenarios for CM based on any action involving this Panther Ace such as "Barkmann's Corner"? Also, are there any other known Panther Aces? Thanks RW

I just upgraded my PII 300 computer with a Asus PL297 motherboard with a Celeron 466 processor and it works great! I can now play the large scenarios with little lag. Always check the site of your Motherboard for the latest bios and what procssors can be used...in my case the Asus site told me everything I needed to know to upgrade my computer

While searching Napsters' for Panzerlied from "The Battle of the Bulge" movie I typed in the search "Classic War Films" and came across a lot of great music from several movies. This music is difficult to find in the stores so Napters' comes in handy in this instance. Merry Christmas to everyone and happy listening RW

Great work guys! One thing though, I never have seen any tanks bog on dry terrain or on pavements in V1.05. Did this bug just appear into the Public Beta releases?

With my daughters monopolizing my 2 computers playing Nexus I'll have reason now to go out and get my own personal & faster computer to play TCP/IP CM scenarios. A great Xmas gift to myself but the wife will kill me! RW

The "Peso of the North" is too low in value to the US Buck but hopefully with the return of Chretian and the Liberals for another 4 years the Canadian Dollar will rebound and make things like CM less costly to purchase from the States.

Nice to see you again Flymolo...we'll have to have a TCP/IP game once the demo is out. I'll revert back to Gds_rwcanuck once CM2 is out Hopefully CM2 will have Command vehicles especially with the battles around Kursk. Tank only battles were more common on this front where Command vehicles like the Befehls Panther were first widely used.

In the Panzermuseum at Munster, Germany there is a beautiful Befehls Panther Ausf. A on display which brings to mind a topic which has probably been discussed before and that is the need for Command Vehicles in this great game. You have HQ units with a sphere of influence over other squads and bailed out crews but no command vehicles with influence over intact crews of vehicles. I have played a few "vehicle only" scenarios and each time the morale factor drops so fast as soon as you start losing a few vehicles. A Command vehicle like a Befelhs Panther would be what is greatly needed in the game especially in "all" vehicle encounters. My 2 cents RW

I had an Immoblized Jackson use indirect fire on an area I thought the enemy would appear and in the susequent movie a Panther appeared on the horizon. It shot once at the Jackson and missed and taking then better aim did not miss on the second round. All this time the Jackson continued to indirect fire. The Tac AI should you think over-rule the indirect fire command when there is now a definite threat to your unit. RW