sbg2112

For whatever it's worth, I'm using Zone Alarm and I've been able to configure it's security settings to allow CM to work. Do a search if you're interested....

BTS, Had an idle thought while reading your responses to this. How 'bout Steve and Charles duke it out and post an AAR for all of us to enjoy?

Juardis, Yes, I was able to play with zone alarm running. I'm not certain, since I tweaked a few things on the way to getting it working, but I think there are two key settings. Note that these were specific to running as the "host" in CM; my opponent also runs Zone Alarm but I don't think he would've had to do anything (other than give it permission to play on the 'net). First, in the settings / permissions for CM itself, you have to indicate that it can run as a server. Next, go to the "Security" page -- the one with the "Local" pane on the left and the "Internet" pane on the right. In the bottom right of the dialog there was a checkbox I had to check which said something along the lines of "allow other computers to connect to servers on your system". So, basically, you have to tell zone alarm that CM acts as a server, and then allow others to connect to that server. Hope that helps.

you got that right! i just had my first time -- and i feel strangely like I did after that other "first time". what can I say? wow. I had to mess around with zone alarm for awhile (and no, i won't continue with my analogy). curiously, CM died just after the first connection (hey, I said I dropped the analogy), but we just tried again and whaddya know -- we both saw fireworks! a whole 'nother game indeed! [This message has been edited by sbg2112 (edited 11-29-2000).]

Here come the refresh monkeys.... BTS: Can't you see what this does to us? Maybe you should just give us a timeframe (within a day or two) for a given code drop, and then surprise us. If you don't wanna do that, then I humbly suggest you start funding your site with ads. ....

MadMatt -- you gotta help me. I ingested half a turkey and I've been told the only known antidote to an overdose of tryptophan is to study the CM 1.1 readme! Please help me before I lose consciousnesszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

BTS, you're welcome. Anything else I can research for ya? I'd like to rack up enough credits so that you can repay me by adding my last name to the list CM uses for units....

Apologies if I dreamt this up, but I saw a recent request for this where Steve said that you guys didn't have a clue as to how to implement this. I believe it was related to IP play, and somebody wanted the minimized CM window to flash when the turn timer was up or the other person was ready to go. (I'm guessing this was intended for those who'll be playing 20 mintue turns...) Anyway, I couldn't find that thread, but I did a search and found that apparently there's a single API for this -- it's called FlashWindow(). See /getdoc.xp?AN=692463074&CONTEXT=974908997.1703084082&hitnum=2]http://x76.deja.com/[sT_rn=ps]/getdoc.xp?AN=692463074&CONTEXT=974908997.1703084082&hitnum=2 ....Just a lowly Java guy trying to help.

And if Java ever becomes something more than a four-letter word to ya, just lemme know where to send my resume....

Do a search -- I asked for this awhile ago and got about as far with it as you appear to be getting. I really wish they'd change this -- it's gotta be a one line change....The hard part would probly be deciding what color would be better. (Yellow?)

My father was from that area (a town called Todd, if I remember correctly)....

Same here; guess I need to do a search to see if anything came out of the discussions advocating additional levels of FOW.... I wouldn't think that masking unit levels when playing with this enhanced FOW would be a Big Deal to implement....

I'm PBEMing a 45 turn scenario that is only just now getting interesting on turn 39. (My opponent was quite effectively blocked by two minefields and only now has organized for his final push. Apparently, he was unable to get his pioneers to clear the mines.) Anyway, it would be nice if there were a way for both parties to agree to extra turns; in this case, we both know who won but would love to see what happens..... In the meantime, is there anyway I can work around this (such as somehow editing the save file to change the length of the scenario)?

Dang -- if only I'd had a cool username!

Okay folks, there's something that absolutely has to be pointed out. CM is a brilliantly designed game and it's implementation was well executed. On top of that, we've had a nice series of improvements. So what's the point? The point is that BTS's practices are clearly anti-competitive: How could anyone else compete with this? Wargames are dead; long live CM!!!!!!!!!!!!! (All '!' brought to you by the Peng International Ban on Emoticons.)

** probly a spoiler for training scenario "Fire & Maneuver" ** Well, after talking with my PBEM friend (who was having a much better time with this scenario), I realized that the real challenge to this scenario is finding a way to do effective recon WITHOUT losing too much along the way. I agree with the responses in that short dashes from bound to bound are the best way to move up the map, but I don't know how one should do this while meeting the challenge I just described. I guess the trick is to make sure your recon is sufficiently backed by the support weapons (mortars, etc.) and even the armor, but it's quite difficult to find good places for those units and move them in there without them getting hammered. So, Fionn, how would you approach this situation?

I also brought this up recently, and also found that the bases are drawn by the engine -- there's no BMP to change. In other threads discussing this, I've suggested they let us specify the RGB values (the numbers for the colors) somewhere, somehow. I've also said that I'd be embarrassed to be complaining about this but I'm certain this would be quite trivial to address.

** No spoilers here ** I recently stumbled on the "Fire & Maneuver" training scenario on the CD, and even after several attempts (all against the default setup), I haven't come close to developing an effective strategy. How about some tips / pointers? As the German commander, what would your initial plan of attack be? Or, better yet -- how 'bout doing an AAR (perhaps against the AI)?

I'd like to see a change to allow people the option of playing quick battles on maps that they've created (or snagged from other scenarios). Comments?

Yep, your post echoes exactly what I said recently. Since there's no way to control this, I eventually suggested that BTS give us a way of specifying the RGB values for the bases (like in a small config file). I don't believe BTS ever responded. I'd almost feel guilty making so much noise about such a trivial issue if I didn't know how trivial it would be for them to address it....

I've only PBEM'ed one person -- hey, I'm faithful -- but we've played 8 or so times and one rule has just sorta emerged that I think is very important..... If you've just watched the movie and are sending it to your opponent, don't spoil the movie!!! Taunts and all that are mandatory, but don't let your trash-talking ruin the movie for them. After all, you may just inadvertently give away something (i.e., "loose lips sink ships" or however that saying goes). Oh, and another thing that's at least my policy (but may not be everybody's) is to not turn the e-mail into a PR / psych-ops kinda thing. Some people may like to use the trash-talking as a chance to spread misinformation and so forth, but not me. (Good thread. Somebody oughtta make sure the useful bits find a home on CMHQ.)

Okay, I loaded up thumbnails for the entire BMP directory and it appears I was right -- the bases are generated at runtime. I.e., they aren't bitmaps. So, BTS, please consider changing the German base color or allowing the user to set it. (The least expensive solution being to allow for RGB values in a config/ini file). By the way, file 447.bmp is the word "Bogus" in yellow on a red background -- what's that for?

That's kinda the point -- I thought the bases were generated by the engine and therefore weren't bitmaps you could edit yourself. This seems to be reinforced by the fact that the bases are different sizes for different objects..... Anyone know for sure whether they are bitmaps?

Fionn, Maybe the right way to do this is to kill a bunch of birds with one stone.... You could play a group of people in one scenario. From your perspective the PBEM would work normally as if you're playing one person, but that person would be broadcasting the turn files to a distribution list and issuing orders based on everybody's input. If you win, then everybody who participated loses and vice versa. If nothing else, it might prove instructive for those who play against you. Not that I want any part of this, just thought it might be fun to consider. I want to win having fought you "mano-y-mano" (sp?) -- but I'm not ready yet.