Cyrano

See, I could take all the rest of this lying down...but ya darn dirty devils went and struck a real, live nerve. CM "Greatest Tactical Wargame of All Time ©(sm)" is nothing more than a baldfaced, prettied-up RIPOFF of "Computer Ambush" by SSI with MP cobbled on as an afterthought. Breach? HAH! Played I, II, AND III (designed an entire "Predator" campaign for II). Laser Squad...uh, sure. Even the great Amiga shareware Battletech simulator by the nigh-immortal Ralph Reed (why he ever pulled the forts is beyond me). No not ONE was equal to the sheer joy of CA's "we-go" system. As I have posted here before, I once MELTED a C64 (I do not exaggerate) playing this paen to the grunts of WWII...fighting as they were over the PETSCII map of the same, blasted French Village...my GAWD that was a game. It is the highest honor I can bestow upon CM to say it stands proudly on CA's shoulders. ...man, I've playing these fool games too long... God Bless, Jim ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

My word but that is a remarkable, remarkable bit of work, Hawk. Question: what format are the map files? Can jpgs be imported? Thanks for the program and your reply. ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Yes, but in SMG BATTERIES couldn't be assigned permanently to one command or another. I once spent an entire QB cyber-slapping the hand of some guy in Georgia who kept trying to swipe the guns I had been assigned by the CO...of course he was always trying to take them JUST as I was pushing for the next objective. Lesson: come up with rules for this in co-op CM lest it become all too tempting to keep that spotter for your very own. ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

CM, frankly without question. I PREFER the period covered by Shogun and MP can be quite good (although, if all y'all think CM'ers are gamey, you aint seen NOTHING like the MP on Shogun) but, honestly, it's not even much of a match. ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

AAAARGH... Thanks for the info, but... AAAAARGH... Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

OK...3 searches (full board(s)) and a whooole buncha reading later, I still have no clue, so I shall ask: "What has become of Col. Klotz and his outstanding ASL2CM site??" I didn't have all the scenarios and have REALLY enjoyed playing the ones I did get. This had better NOT be Hasbro "No, really, it's ASL, just in Beverly Hills" Corp. whining about copyright... Info much appreciated... Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Heh? If yew kids went and woke me up with yer ruckus, CM2 had jest better be out...that or four fellers on horsemen just showed up...otherwise leave those nice boys at BTS alone...they were out late the past several nights and are sleeping off the WORST hangovers...sheesh...some people... ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

OK...this thread made my head hurt...a LOT...and I've read many of the Peng threads straight through. I know not what course others may take, but I think our recent obsession (here and elsewhere, of course) over semantics and the power structures it allegedly creates (one day, in the next life, Foucault gets it in the knackers from me) serves only to obfuscate and empower inferior minds. What's more, I swear, if any of this delays the release of CM2 by one NANOSECOND...well...shoot...I'm gonna be right put out. I just had BEST be whapping away at Kursk by 2002. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Until CM2, then... Gentlemen, please take a moment to reap the satisfaction of accomplishment. You have changed an industry...I rather think fundamentally...and, in the process, delivered the type of game many of us started futzing with Heathkits to play. I remember my first run-in with an (I think) VAX hookup at UI-Evansville back in the summer of 1978. It played this text-only horse-racing sim. I've never looked back. Few games have reminded me of those times...Conflict in Vietnam (I will one day PUNISH Hasbro), Computer Ambush, M-1 Tank Platoon (Amiga), and, now CM:BO. Thanks and best regards, Jim ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Tried and failed to find the post that dealt directly with this but, IIRC, BTS has said there will be no "coded" co-op MP in this iteration of CM...CM2 will be another matter. You can, of course, hot-seat a MP game (I've done it and it's actually a good deal of fun with the right group.) Thanks immensely, gentlemen, for permission to de facto "spawn" for home LANs. While, in most cases, EULAs seem cynical and abusive to my own untrained eyes, it is no small niggle with me to deal honorably with those you admire. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

As the TCP/IP "bad news" post has left me both dazed and confused, it is clear that technology has passed me by and left me to the mercy of others... Ergo: Is there a way to dump a CM map file to a printer/print-capable file? I realize it would, of necessity be 2D, but it still could prove useful in planning some of the multiplayer games I have in my own den. Any replies are much appreciated. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Although much depends here on definition, Mssr. Clinton is correct, methinks. My own wargaming (miniatures only, never much loved the chits) goes back 20 years now to days spent learning a homebrew set of 25mm Nappy rules in the basement of a local game store. The guys I learned from were many years older and largely a big bunch of cops, attorneys, and other people with real lives. These guys are still there (the store still has a Nappy campaign...wonder of wonders) but the kids no longer gather to gawk at the battallions of 25's. They've got the latest mecho-doomslaher-kinslayer of fate on their team (purchased for $35 American) and they want nothing more than to push the unpainted freak at the best friends, apparently for the sole purpose of then smack-talking them...(O.K., the smack talk ain't so new ) Me personally, once I can play CM on my LAN, you couldn't PAY me to keep my WWII microarmour (although I am planning on having a last huzzah for it in my basement). I will not miss the endless set up, the LOS quibbles, the sense that had I had ONE MORE FREAKING INCH of flank space I coulda gotten in that last shot, and all the other downsides of lead-on-table gaming. It was a friend I will always remember well, but have few reservations about leaving behind. Like CGW said of computer wargaming, miniatures wargaming as we know it is dead, CM (and things like it) done blowed it up. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Lessee, degree(s) in history...*nope* Degree in journalism...*nuh-uh* Degree in philosophy!!! Yes...uh...*no* Degree in divinity? Sha...right... Wonderful, now I'm even unqualified to understand what's wrong with my favorite game, or at least help devise a solution... Regards, Cyrano Luddite-in-training ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

They've had them in the Wisconsin Dells (once a horrid tourist trap, now a horrid tourist trap with tons of way-cool indoor water parks) for years. Upper and Lower Dell "Duck" tours are wildly popular with folks in my part of the world. More recently, the City of Milwaukee (my home town) just had a contractor start using one for a tour about town...until it sank in shallow water. Can you believe they were the tin cups that carried the Boys of Pointe du Hoc? And, by the by, oooooh yeah PACK...we needed SOME good news . Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

I'm more than please to join in a chorus of "Hoch soll Er leben" in honor of your own, best day. Thanks for your long service to the CM community. You will, I am sure, be fondly spoken of by my fellows in the fields, be they near Chambois, Trois Pointes, or the bridge too far. That said...COW GRAZING MOD??!! Hee...and I thought I had too much time on my hands... As a side note to Tiger: please never stop modding, I'm a 30-something brand-whore and I pretty much now exclusively "Shop Tiger". Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

I'm not necessarily proud of doing so, but I want to be able to find this thread when I get home from work...so...(please pronounce as Inspector Clouseau would have, i.e., "A behm"... "A Behmp...behmpitty behmp...behmp..." Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Hmmm...unwieldy? Certainly, untenable? Depends on preferences, I suppose. I've played co-op hotseat games team games much this way and, assuming you ONLY converse when out of the room (I very vividly remember the German team at my house damn near SCREAMING at each other's incompetence ) coordination can get reaaal difficult. I'm still working out single-player e-mail but, I'll tellya, being able to play a game like this cooperatively AT ALL is exceptionally nifty. Then again, mebbe I just got prepped for it with a lot of Sid Meier's Gettysburg! Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Couple stipulations: 1) Of course this is BTS's game -- and what a grand game it is... ...Therefore, if they decide to permit mods, then mods there shall be. That said, the folks drawing all the cool new "skinz" strike me more as the people I grew up with who spent hours sweating over their dioramas with airbrushes than those who whipped up CounterStrike in the comfort of their garage. I imagine one friend in particular, who I regrettably have lost track of, being one of the people who have given us that REALLY awesome STUG texture 2) If there are mods ("real" CS-type mods), and you have them on your PC, I WILL NOT play with you. I've deleted CS from my harddrive after taking one too many hits from an aimbot-armed k3wl dOod...tinkerers, few of whom possess the patience and dedication it takes to actually PLAYTEST things, will tend to destroy everything they touch, much like the kid who takes apart the clock "just to see how it works". There is an elegance to the CM system, particularly BTS' remark of long-standing that the graphics are only representing the code's internal calculus, that I would not have laid to ruin by mods. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

I must agree with Daveman. Having played, erm, LOTS of games against the AI and a handful of hotseats (multi-command Hotseaters are really cool, BTW) I just started my first email game. I REALLY enjoy coming home after work and seeing a nice, shiny bag of smashmouth armor-banging from my partner in warfare. I LIKE knowing he (probably ) took his time plotting the move. I like the pacing. Sure, it's not for everyone, and I WILL be playing CM on my home LAN but the Daily Radar remark just struck me as, to borrow Daveman's coinage, a bit much. Ah, CM... Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Hard to guess the likely outcome of this... "Daily Radar", a reasonably popular Internet gaming site, has reviwed CM and found it as wonderous as most of us here, giving it the coveted (or not) "Direct Hit" rating...I am of two minds: 1: BTS, batten down the hatches for another hard run at the warehouse and lotsa new posts here from people asking if you're planning on implementing RT play. 2: This will be another award to cram into the trophy case on the CMHQ and largely lost on the l33t doOdz whose greatly increased caffeine thresholds will not tolerate the more languid pace of the greatest computer wargame ever greated. The trite remark in re: e-mail play suggests as much. Only those without imaginations let the appearance of a new turn in their email inbox pass without a little...awwwright! And, in conclusion, MAKE WITH THE TCP/IP...please... Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

PDF for me, please... Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Jinkeez, first, thanks a bunch for posting in re: my earlier problem with these drivers (earlier dentonators). Second, things still O.K. with 6.31? I went 11 turns at Elsdorf trying to generate as much card-freezing havoc as possible and nothing so I'm optimistic. (It is AMAZING what I'm willing to do to keep CM running...NO other game has been giving me grief.) Third: Are you available for an e-mail game? I'm looking for an opponent or 2 and you seem a gracious (if, necessarily, competitive) soul. I prefer the Amis but will gladly play either side. I can usually put together one or two turns a day, although those WILL appear win or lose. Fourth: MadMatt, thanks for this update, it's much appreciated. Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Couple things strike me about the benefits of TCP/IP: 1: You forget it would permit play over a home (or work ) LAN. I LOVE playing multi-player games of Dark Omen, Gettysburg, and Shogun while trash-talking my opponent only a few feet away. As someone who gave up his beloved miniatures and the accompanying addiction until grand retirement, it reminds me of happier times. 2: Co-op play would be so very wonderful. (BTS? Any comment?) 3: On MOST scenarios, with sides evenly balanced, the time taken to lay out turns proves failry even (unscientific hotseat testing) intimating TCP/IP would cut playtime in half. Just a few thoughts, Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

These scenarios make me ANGRY... Why you ask? Please, all who read this, believe the praise being heaped on them by other posters. They are some of the most lovely I have yet seen and are the best I've downloaded at creating that "you are there" feeling that only CM makes possible. (As a side note, it is not immensely frustrating not to be able to "sneak up" behind my troops in Sid Meier's masterful "Gettysburg!") Just load up "Trois Pointes", lock behind one of the Amis, go to ground and wait for the Germans...you'll see what I mean. So why am I angry? Simple, as I have noted in a post in the tech section, my video card (I think) is hosing CM...this CANNOT be allowed. I have pretty scenarios to play and foolhardy Gerries to harm...grrrr... Many regards (and thanks for pointing these out...and the maker for making 'em), Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand

Assistance required... Time-frame immediate... My system: DELL PIII 750, 128 MB RAM Generic GeForce 32Mb card SB Live! I have installed: DirectX 7.0a, new drivers for card, and logitech mouse upgrade... The problem: The game simply freezes. I lose all ability to move around the map, although the mouse cursor remains moveable, at least for a time. When I attempt a warmboot, I get told the game is "not responding". What's more, it doesn't happen with every map or every game. In fact, it seems to happen in my SECOND game...bigger maps SEEM (nothing scientific here) to make it freeze more quickly as well. BUT IT ALWAYS LOCKS NOW. This, as I said, is unacceptable... Assistance MOST appreciated, Regards, Cyrano ------------------ "Watching others make friends, as a dog makes friends. I mark the manner of these canine courtesies and say, 'Thank God, here comes another enemy'" -- Rostand