guachi

If BTS wants people to actually READ the manual they should make it as interesting as possible. Things like tips in the sidebar of the pages. Or a narrative style when describing units from the point of view of the soldiers. This should include more than just a dry description. But rather how units sound or look. I know Steve has mentioned that unit information that is available in game won't be included in the manual, but a description no matter how brief and genereal would be useful. Jason

Here's some info on German Rifle grenades taken from Germany's Infantry Weapons 1939-45 by Terry Gander. (This is really long) "In the domain of rifle grenades, German ingenuity was not rewarded with the usual degree of success. The main reason seems to have been that German designers regarded rifle grenades primarily as anti-armour. This was despite the fact that the low weights of the grenades, imposed by using ballistite cartridges to propel them, meant that the hllow charges involved had to be small, and the grenades were therefore limited in armour penetration performance. Even the few high-explosive grenades produced were relatively ineffective. "The first rifle grenade launcher wa the Schiessbecher mit Klappkorn, a spigot launcher designed to be clamped ver the muzzle of a standard rifle using the bayonet mounting lug. The only grenade involved with this device was the Gewehr Granatepatrone P/30 (other designations were also used), a 60mm diameter hollow-charge grenade with a finned tail, a blunt nose and an impact fuze. The main disadvantages of this arrangement inclded not only the limited anti-armour performance - 80mm at best - but also the strains imposed on the rifle when the associated ballistite cartridge, with its wooden bullet, was fired. The Schiessbecher Despite these drawbacks, the spigot launcher and its associated grenade was retained until 1943, when the Gewehrgranatgerat - generally known as the 'Schiessbecher' - was introduced. This was a two-piece muzzle attachment clamped into place (examples intended for use with the 7.92mm MP 43/1 assault rifles were screwed on tho muzzle threads); a cup with a length of internal rifling imparted lunch spin to stabilize a family of special grenades during their trajectory. The associated grenades had a collar of matching pre-rifling, to corrrespond with the cup rifling, the cup having an internal diametr of 30mm. All the associated grenades were issued with a ballistite propelling cartridge taped to each grenade. "One of the grenades was high-explosive, another was meant for target illumination, and there was even a propoganda grenade, which ejected the paper contents through its base while still in flight. Maximum range for all these types was about 240m. The explosive filling of the offensive grenade was only 32g, yet it could even be thrown as a hand grenade when necessary. "Anti-armour grenades with hollow-charge warheads were also launched from the Schiessbecher, all of them of relatively light weight and with limited armour penetration. The base grenade, thje Gewehr Panzergranate 30, had a range of only 50m while the TNT hollow-charge warhead explosive weighed only 50g. It was soon supplanted by the Gross Gewehr Panzergranate 40. The range improved to about 90m, but the explosive still weighed only 127g, so it remained relatively ineffective. Then came the Gross Panzergranate 46 - the'46' denoting the warhead's outside diameter of 46mm - containing a warhead weight of 146g, capable of penetrating 90mm of armour under ideal conditions. Largest of all the Schiessbecher was the Gross Panzergranate 61. As with the 46mm version, the maximum range was about 180m, but the explosive weight increased to 246g, enhancing potential armour penetration to 126mm, again under ideal conditions. The Schiessbecher grenade concept was adopted by Japan. "The Schiessbecher granade series could hardly be described as cost-effective - their cost and complexity extended to the complucated quadrand sight involved - and there were few compensations in terms of performance. There also remained the problem of high firing stresses, which could damage the associated rifles after prolonged use. To overcome this, it was decided to thread Schiessbecher cups on to the shortened barrels of otherwise redundant 7.92mm Panzerbusche 39 anti-tank rifles, to create the Granatbusche 39, dedicated to launching grenades only. Grenades were propelled by a 7.92mmx94mm Patrone 318 cartridge, with the usual armour-piercing bullet replaced by a wooden one. Maximum range launching grenades against moving targets was about 75m. During 1942 and 1943, 28,023 conversions were made. Most seem to have been issued to second-line formations, to boost their anti-tank armouries." Strangely, no production figures are listed for the rifle grenades. Almost everything else in the book has production figures. Some for grenades: Stielgranate (1939-45) 80,487,100 Nebelstielgranate (1939-43) 7,393,200 Eihandgranate (1939-45) 86,244,100 Blendkorper (a glass-bodied smoke grenade, 1943-45) 5,142,800 Panzerwurfmine (1943) 203,800 Haft-Holladung 3kg (anti-tank magnetic mine, 1942-1944) 553,900 Jason

I could actually only think up five. But in the yuletide spirit, here they are. On the fifth day of Combat Mission my Steve gave to me. Five Gold Kill Rings Four Falling Bombs Three British Brens Two Tank Destroyers and a Panzerfaust in a pear tree Jason

I also urge players to trade passwords with their opponents after the game. Was very educational in my very first PBEM game. My opponent was surprised at how little information I had and how good my guesses on his troop locations were. (Some were just blind luck) Jason

Answers to commonly asked questions so they don't keep getting asked over and over and over and over. Designer notes Thorough description of all the functions in the game. Possibly done through short tutorials. Discussion of some of the more esoteric things. Command delay, hull down status, Command radius, LOS, grazing fire, etc. Thorough description of the all the things displayed on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Bibliography even if it is a short one Brief unit description, especially the obscure ones. Escort company? Sturmcompanie? I had never heard of these and had to ask what they were. There are so many unit types in the game it is easy to get confused. Remember the discussion about the function of infantry guns? Artillery - This has apparently changed enough that those of us with the beta demo will need some help. Short tactical tips - Remember all the discussion about the Hellcats? And the current discussion about StuGs? On board usage of mortars. Using suppressive fire. Conducting a close assault. Good use of artillery. Using man-portable AT weapons (and avoiding them). Effective set-up of AT guns. Close coordination of infantry a armor. Keeping units in command. Turretless vs. turreted. Open topped vs. close topped. Effective terrain usage. These don't have to be long. Just a few sentences to point us in the right direction. Jason

Steve, Why not include a Jagdpanther in a gold demo scenario so we can compare the difference? It would be nice to see a purpose built TD in action. Jason And Britsh vehicles/units. And engineers. And armored cars. And fall or winter weather. And rain or snow. And some REALLY big artillery.

Scenario: Riesberg Situation: Assaulting the corner 88 with a platoon. The platoon was the one with a couple of green squads in it. 88 fires one shell at a green squad dashing across open ground to the cover of scattered trees. Distance was maybe 150 meters or so. Result: Shell explodes and causes one casualty to a squad that was in good order and taken no casualties yet. Squad immediately becomes 'Broken' and runs away. Now I've got an eleven man squad running around with that '!' and I'm afraid of what will happed if he sustains any incoming fire. Morale of the story: Some guys just aren't meant for combat. Jason Oh, the poor unsupported 88 got massacred the next turn.

MechWarrior (the first one) Railroad Tycoon I spent countless hours in highschool playing these games. Missed a final because I was playing Railroad Tycoon. Some of the first games I ever bought. Wing Commander Upgraded my (still running) PS2 286/12 to one meg of RAM (actually, my mom did) just to play this game. Civilization Still on my hard drive X-Wing Ran this on my trusty 386/40. my roommates and I loved this game. Bought a CH Flightstick and a SB 16 for this game. Got to the point that I could kill hundreds of TIE Interceptors in a Y-Wing. Upgraded to a 486/120 just to play TIE Fighter. X-Com Bought this cheap in a compendium. Best atmosphere in a game. Panzer General Took my computer with me to visit my father for a summer just so I could keep playing this game. In the last four years there really hasn't been a game that has jumped out and grabbed me for an extended period of time. Some of them were fun, but not earth shattering. Steel Panthers 1 Battleground Series Close Combat 2 Entrepreneur I just got bogged down into sequel-itis. Games that were fun but nothing really new. I've upgraded my computer to keep up with the times, but not because of any game. Combat Mission has gotten me excited about computer games again. It's the first game I am excited enough about to actually read and post to the message board. And I just got a Diamond 540 32MB video card as a Christmas gift just to play CM with. And I'm seriously considering getting either a separate phone line for my modem or a cable modem (if available) just to play CM PBEM games. In addition I've already spent several hundred dollars on WWII era books and received several as Christmas gifts. Jason So addicted to CM I took my saved files with me while I'm on vacation so I can continue to play my PBEM games.

The "+" on the armor means that extra armor in the field was bolted on. I suppose that the plus could appear on any vehicle that had extra armor added on. Jason

The discussions now going on on this board remind me of what was going on before the beta demo was released. There wasn't much to do. And now we've had questions which have been asked and answered a dozen times. Right after the demo we had lots of discussion about what features could be added, etc. Now there is no point discussing features for CM1 because nothing will get in. The last topic I had any questions about was the use of Infantry Guns. I got some really good answers out of people. I personally can't think of anything to really comment about and my lack of posting recently shows it. After my three current PBEM games finish up I'll have some comments about my tactics and the results. I've got all the turns saved and maybe that will provide some entertainment for folks out there. It's great to get strategy from experts, but average players like me can help provide examples of what not to do. Jason Keeping my fingers crossed that the level of discussion will increase when the gold demo is released.

Fionn, I e-mailed you on the 24th replying to your initial comments in this thread and I indicated that I would be interested in helping out with the 'Grand-Campaign' idea. If you attempted to reply to me, I didn't get an e-mail. Now, for the first time, my e-mail is acting up and refusing to work. I'm going on vacation for a week, but please e-mail me at guachi@wtp.net and add me to the list. Thanks, Jason

Fionn, It's not the size of the tank that matters but the recoil of the gun barrel (and the size of the shell) Jason

I like watching units dismount from vehicles. They'll dismount underneath the vehicle before moving away. I had a MG unit happily stay right underneath a non-moving tank for an entire turn. It was funny to see his head popping up through the floor of the tank. And, yes, the unit scaling was at realistic. Jason

Well, if your mouse is frozen try some other rodent. A gerbil or rabbit for instance. Maybe even a capybara for those really large scenarios. Jason

My very first PBEM game took a week. We were doing three or four turns a day. The three I have going now crawl along at one turn per day. Fun games but moving slowly. I suspect most games I play will likely be the one turn per day type. Jason

I'm a stats junkie so I would like this kind of thing. But remember that games don't end in a simple win or loss. There are varying degrees of victory and defeat and you would need to incorporate this somehow. Jason

Wouldn't it be better if it said Live Nude Girls! I mean, I can go anywhere to see live girls. But seeing a nude girl is a little more difficult. (Well, unless my roommate walks out of the bathroom without a towel not realizing I'm in the living room) Jason

It's the innocuously titled setup2.wav Lyrics: My Lord? Yes? My Lord? What now? Let's get diggin'! Ho! Allright! My Lord? Yes? My Lord? What now? Let's get diggin'! Whoa! Look out! Excellent! We'll enjoy this. Excellent! Leave it to us, sir! Excellent! We'll enjoy this. Excellent! Those damn fools! Diggin'! For honor and glory! Diggin'! For England! Diggin'! For the throne! This is the weirdest s**t I've ever done. Whoa! Dig...dig...dig...diggin'! Whoa! Ho! Whoa! Ho! Let's get diggin'! My Lord? Yes? My Lord? What now? Pikemen, ready! Archers, ready! Macemen, ready! MOOOooo! Sire!!! Aaaarrrrggghhh! Can I be excused? Jason

Steve, On LotR2, who was it that made that silly song? I was going through the directory of all the sounds and one of the files is a completely ridiculous song of various sounds in the game with a really cheesy drumbeat as backup. Man, I cracked up when I heard that for the first time. Jason

Reverendo, as you are not American I probably should have explained my reference. The Sherman is named after American Civil Waqr General Sherman. He is famous for his drive to Atlanta during which he pretty much destroyed everything in his armies way, including Atlanta. So my lame attempt at humor was because, for an American force with a bunch of Shermans, it is only natural to blow everything up. Jason

If the squad you are firing at is not at the 'full' identification level I don't think your troops would be able to see and identify the bodies of the dead/wounded. How could you tell, at 200 meters, whether the guy that is prone is dead, wounded, reloading his weapon, or firing at you? If you can't get an accurate count of the functioning members of a squad, you shouldn't get an accurate count of the wounded/dead ones. At most you might be able to note the difference between a small group of men (say, 4) and a larger group (a full 12 man US squad). On the other hand, if your units are close enough to fully identify the enemy squads they should also be able to spot the dead/wounded. Then again, if a guy has his hand blown off by an artillery shell and then is subsequently bandaged he is no longer capable of fighting but he is certainly capable of moving and keeping up with his squad. How does this situation get modelled? If I remember correctly, BTS is adding or modifying enemy spotting by adding an interim between the three figure graphic and full identification. You will be able to see one, two, or three men to give you an idea of how many casualties you have caused. I care more about whether the enemy is firing at me and what state he is in than what strength he is at. If you are not taking a lot of casualties or incoming fire, assume you are doing something right. I would much rather be facing a Green squad that has taken no casualties but constantly has its face in the dirt than an elite squad at half strength that is merrily blazing away at my men. The unit icons convey all the information you need. Concentrate your attention on the 'kneeling' units. They are far more of a threat to you than the enemy that is hugging the ground. I'm playing a PBEM game of Chance Enconter. AFter ten turns I had only taken 6 infantry casualties in intense eschanges of fire. I didn't bother checking to see how many of the enemy units had jerked back. I had all the information I needed from how many casualties I had taken and how many of his units were pinned/suppressed. Jason

Reverendo said: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>(have you notice that bad habit of the American's? They seek not to conquer, but to destroy!)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> When you have all those Shermans, what do you think the American commander would do if not burn and destroy? Jason

CM will only be available direct through Battlefront. CoolColJ, what took you so long? I ordered a little over three months ago just so I could get that snazzy poster. Jason

The Germans had two common types of Infantry Guns, of 7.5cm and 15cm in calibre. Both had stubby barrels of about 11 calibres in length. Both could elevate their barrels to about 75 degrees. Both had short ranges - 3,500m for the 7.5cm gun and 4,700 meters for the 15cm gun. Why they didn't just stick with mortars for local fire support, I haven't figured out. Jason

Compared to Europe, I think the Pacific is where America shined. So as an American I hope the oft neglected Pacific gets the CM treatment. Jason