sbg2112

BTS wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>(we would of course love 6 months to do nothing but AI ).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Let's put it to a vote, as we did for TCP/IP. (Lest anyone think I'm serious, let me be the first to vote against this.....)

Uneducated guesses follow.... My first guess is that one of the "couple of milestones" is the manual. With printing times, etc., this usually requires quite a bit of lead time at the end of a project. (And if it's not the manual per se, I'd guess it's all the packaging stuff.....) But dunno about the second of these "couple of milestones" -- I would've said "punch list", but BTS has said the code's done. (Yeah, like any code that hasn't shipped is done. ) Based on other things BTS has said, my guess is it's the user interface changes they're making. Makes sense, since that would allow them to make improvements in the overall fit and finish of the product with little to no risk to CM's engine (AI, etc.) Hopefully, the textures are finally done and any scenario development is only continuing until these milestones are met. In other words, any scenarios not done when these things are done will have to wait for the expansion pack or be distributed over the web, etc. -- you won't let these unfinished scenarios hold up the release, will you? So, how'd I do?

Thanks -- I was familiar with this round, but my brain was so preoccupied with the idea of a Pershing sportin' 7 tomahawks that it didn't associate "t" with tungsten.... For anyone else who missed it, below is a quote from Fionn that summarizes this: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Yes, HVDS, HVAP, PzGr40 and all those other "special AP" rounds will be modelled. They are modelled using the T type of ammo but all are individually and separately modelled per gun. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> [This message has been edited by sbg2112 (edited 01-27-2000).]

By the way, please keep these articles coming. Those of us who always wanted to wargame but just couldn't get into it until CM have some catching up to do. And what better way to endure the waiting....

And while we're over-analyzing this thing: for ammo it sez "46h 17a 7t". Now, I've learned that the first number represents HE, the second represents AP, but in the demo I'm used to seeing the 3rd number represent smoke, indicated by the letter s. So, did the letter change, or is "t" indicative of some other kind of shell? My first guess was "tomahawks". "Torpedoes" woulda been my second guess. (Hey, maybe that'll inspire Max Molinaro....) [This message has been edited by sbg2112 (edited 01-27-2000).]

To me, CM is one of those things that I can't wait to pay for. CM is both brilliant and revolutionary and will have tremendous replay value -- so much sothat I can't see ever buying another game in any genre, except CM2, CM3, etc. So it's worth every penny to me, and I suspect most of us feel the same way. Of course BTS should pursue this, but I hope they won't let this distract them too much... So, BTS, can I please pay for it now?

Yo, guys -- while you stand around and discuss poetry, the enemy among us is quietly sneaking away. I say BTS should try to determine if the prankster pre-ordered, and if so, move 'em to the bottom of the list so the perpetrator becomes the last pre-ordered person to get it. Now that's poetic justice! Of course, let's not spend so much time trackin' em down that it affects CM. Where the heck is MadMatt when you need him? [This message has been edited by sbg2112 (edited 01-18-2000).]

Fionn stated above that he didn't think that smoke would change, but I wonder if in fact it will. Now that BTS has the technology (as evidenced by the transparent buildings), perhaps transparent smoke will be another pleasant surprise. Now, my guess is that they won't change the actual graphic that's currently used, but that they might make the current graphic transparent -- I'm sure it's way too late / complex to try to do anything more realistic. Just a guess folks -- heck, I'm only a junior member after all.

I'd also like to see something ring-bound, or at least capable of being ring-bound (i.e,. shrink-wrapped hole-punched pages so I can put them in my own notebook, if that's what it takes to keep costs down). This was something a "real" game from a "real" games company did, and while I eventually gave up on the game because they still hadn't fixed it after a year's worth of patches, I liked the ring-bound manual. What's nice about it is that I can add articles on tactics or whatever, printed maps, etc. and keep it all together. Keep in mind, though -- I think this is nice to have, but having the game sooner is even nicer....

Fionn, Thanks -- you raise a good point regarding the encryption, but I'm sure the code-slinging talents at BTS could address that. Regardless, I just wanted to float the idea, because as somebody who has always wanted to discover wargaming, nothing clicked for me until CM. One of the best things about CM is how much it can teach you about WWII tactics and in fact is making me realize just how little I've really learned about tactics in all my reading. So now I'm scrambling to try to learn these before the game comes out so that I'm not caught flat-footed, so to speak. I thought these annotated movies would be one useful tool for that. Perhaps another approach would be for the experts, such as yourself, to maybe do some hotseat scenarios in the style of AARS, with the express purpose of illustrating different concepts. These would be limited in scope and strictly meant for educational purposes. Of course, the editor will allow us to do these ourself, and that's great, it's just that I'd like to see / hear the military historians illustrate WWII thinking... I still would be curious to hear BTS weigh in on the viability / feasibility of this, but that can wait until after CM1. Well, I'm done with this topic -- for now!

Not sure what to make of the lack of an official response on this subject (is it in but it's a big surprise, or did it just not make it), but-- What would be way kewl would be the ability for the original players to annotate these movies (with the option, of course, for the movie viewer to not see these annotations). The way it would work is that when a player is viewing a turn, they could pause it at a certain point, and create an annotation via a hotkey or button. This would present a small window where they could type in comments capturing their perspective at the time. Some details to consider, like where does this annotation text appear during playback, etc., but when viewing other peoples movies it would really help you understand why they did the things that they did, given their side of FoW. Note that the way I've described doesn't sound like it would require any real mods to the game mechanics or implementation, but then again, I ain't seen the source. In particular, I think it should be part of that person's turn -- after they've finished viewing the playback for that turn, any annotations they've added can't be modified. (Now please ship the thing so I can leave the design stuff in BTS's capable hands!!!)