Cyrano

Please number me among those in favor of the status quo. Having read through most of the "fixes", some of which are remarkably ingenious, I still think they tend far too much towards forcing a convention unnecessarily on players. I return to a point I made elsewhere concerning "house rules" and add a note regarding the "Is X gamey" postings on this forum. People are smart enough to decide what they can tolerate in a game/opponent and let that opinion be known. Put another way, send those jeeps at me every blinking time and I will opt not to play against you. Although, let this be said, I would certainly find it a nifty challenge to stop them...once or twice... And, as an aside, kudos to BTS for communicating with your players in this way. One among a million reasons this company is a standard bearer for a better way of doing business. 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

TCP/IP: Oh my yes... Two questions, however: a) Will CM spawn for servers? I've already bought 3 copies (wouldn't necessarily MIND) buying a fourth, just want to know if I'll HAVE to. Maybe more of a comment. We're almost certainly going to have to come up with "house" (my how that expression changes in the era of the internet ) rules for on-line CM. I, for one, do not like the grid line mods and would prefer not to play with those that have them. I suspect similar issues will crop up. Not that the two are even close quality-wide but "Dark Omen" the RTS game based on the Warhammer universe eventually required an entire set of tournament rules just to keep multi-play in line. That, however, may speak more to the balance of the system than not... 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

Allright, so maybe this is OT but I honetly think only BTS (and those what support it) can truly "feel my pain". Nobody loves R. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" more than I. Nobody. Some of y'all may love it AS MUCH, but none more. First, then, I had to endure the indignity of that truly HORRID Verhooven movie, forever entitled "The Movie that has No Name" and now HASBRO is planning to eviscerate my M.I. with their dumb-as-dirt looking RTS game...the "feature" list: *No pod drops, just those damn dropships (they worked in Terra Nova, they didn't in the movie)... *M.I. troopers fighting cheek and jowl...apparently we will lose area-effect weapons sometime in the coming century...and the French will lose the receipe for ice. *Power armor that looks like...ah, never mind... The point? BTS...I KNOW you've got a lot on your plate but I bet you've got a soft spot in your heart for the "Roughnecks". I'll wait (and buy every CM that comes out in the process) but I've got 4-5 decades left on this planet if the actuaries are correct...think about it...PLEASE? All my best, and thanks again for CM... 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

Very well, then... I have searched this forum under a number of keywords and remain uncertain about 2 pieces of information, particularly if circumstances have changed since the early part of this year: 1) Do I understand correctly that TCP/IP will permit 2 players to plot their moves simultaneously? If so, will they be able, then to watch the results simultaneously (given, of course, the contraints of FOW)? 2) Will spawning be enabled? Please? I have already prostelytized 4 people to the cause and just want to spawn one copy for my home LAN. 3) And, while I'm asking, what has become of the discussed option of combining game turns into one viewable "movie" of an entire game. One of my recent battles where artillery arrived JUST in time, would have made Peckinpah (sp?) proud. Reply much appreciated, 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

Many, many, many hours of play now (approaching 50 QBs and have near finished off the tiny, small and medium scenarios) and I have never had a hard time going hull-down. As was suggested earlier, a heavy dose of M1TP back in the day may be responsible for my deep love of ridge lines and a cultivated sense of just when those SOBs can see me. In my view, it ain't broke, don't fix it, make with the TCP/IP patch and bring on the Soviets... Many 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

Smack, Allrighty...so you know CM is truly stellar (and it is...ask my wife who is rapidly forgetting what I look like) let me offer one other take. BTS software is not a "corporation" in the mad-organization-of-bad-people-who-want-to-take-over-the-world sense. It's a bunch of guys who took a risk and, with a lot of elbow grease, have cranked out one of the best PC/Computer (my TRS-80 had a tape drive) games EVER created. They are a hard slap to the side of the gaming industry's head. There is a level at which I NEEDED them to succeed. I'm genuinely glad they have. BTW: My personal tally is 2 copies bought, 5 friends converted...what's yours? BUY COMBAT MISSION...BUY IT TWICE... 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 I said many months ago...CM is my revenge for having nothing truly wonderful to play since my Commodore 64 melted (I do not exaggerate) while playing SSI's Computer Ambush. On the other hand, CA NEVER hurt me the way CM has been for the past 12 hours or so. Note (no spoiler) for those playing the tutorial...that "rise" to which you're supposed to move the Shermans isn't as far down the road as you think...trust me... BTS: This is one magnificent game...thank you.

Man oh man... I've been lurking on this board for the better part of a month now (I downloaded the CM demo two weeks ago and am convinced that it is the only known cure for the addiction that can be EverQuest) but this particular thread motivated me to write. It's been well-nigh two decades now since I melted (I am not giving in to hyperbole, my father still tells this story to friends) my c64 playing SSI's Computer Ambush. I knew Denny Dumke like my brother and would yell at the TV (I had it hooked up to the livingroom console) whenever the Dirty Gerries brought down the hurting on my boys. I have waited for all the years since for a game that came CLOSE to offering what AMBUSH did. X-Com was nice (although I still don't like the layered-terrain thing); Jagged Alliance had its charm; and Soldiers At War as...well...a game of sorts; but it's largely been a long, dry season. This is why it drives me completely BUGGY that there are people around here worried about something as mundane as SMOKE EFFECTS. Who cares if BTS is telling a baldfaced lie (I really don't think so guys...honest) when it claims it can't create "realistic" smoke (whatever that is)...who cares if they've got cute little powderpuff-white sprites in the middle of the battlefield with "I am a smoke barrage" tattooed on their pixely little backsides...dear Lord! All right...I know...most everybody here DOES appreciate BTS and many people have offered what I thought were insightful, worthwhile comments, many of which I agreed with. I cannot, however, bear A) those who ignore forests those who would FOR ONE INSTANT pull BTS away from their hovels where they should be finishing CM to answer odd questions. As for RTS...c'mon fellas, you got DuneIIC&CRedAlertDarkReignAgeofEmpiresStarCraftWarcraft, etc., etc., etc. Your instincts are already serving to tear down the best parts of Talonsoft. This one is for me and mine. This one is for Denny. So there. Yours 'til the 88 finds me, Jim