guachi

I;m sure I'm not the only one who was motivated to purchase CM because of the AARs. It was Fionn's post to csipg.war-historical that tipped me off to the AARs. I read war-historical infrequently because I have to read it through deja.com so it was happenstance that I read his post, but I am glad I did. I remember cruising by the battlefront website many months ago when I was playing CC2 heavily but, frankly, CM didn't look apealing at all. Glad I changed my mind. Kudos to Fionn and Martin. Jason

I overheard a conversation my friends were having a long time ago. The only line I heard was "The brocolli is in the freezer." At the time it sounded like some form of code eventhough he was literally talking about brocolli being in the freezer. And ever since we cryptically say "the brocolli is in the freezer" as a code phrase. Hey, if we get the demo before the unwashed masses, are we the washed masses? Or maybe the unwashed few? Jason

BTS, I laughed at Fionn's descriptions and I think they should be included in the manual. Expecially the elite description. My favorite manuals are the ones that are enjoyable to read. And the most enjoyable ones invarialbly used humor to keep things lively. Jason

We've all been playing the demo for a week. Where have you been? Just kidding, of course. I did buy Jagged Alliance for all of three dollars, so that is keeping me busy. Jason

Thanks for the report Steve! If we can't play the game yet, at least we can experience it vicariously. Reading your report made me think of something. I wonder if any of the difficulties beating the AI come from the fact that it is only the computer and not some live breathing computer. I know when I play games my level of concentration varies depending on who and in what setting I am playing. If I am playing in a tournament I concentrate really hard. The same thing goes for gameday when I play sports or take a test. And when I play against the computer, I tend to get a little lazy. Even if the computer is really good. I mean, it's only the computer. It doesn't care whether it wins or loses. I'm not saying that you or any of the other testers are doing this. Certainly, considering the many lame AIs out there, getting beat by the AI might be a little embarrassing and you would definitely concentrate a little more next time. But maybe, just a little and without meaning to, you might not be concentrating as much as you might against a human. I know that I get lazy when I play against the computer. And I am certain that many of us, even with prior warning, will be in for a rude shock playing the computer. Jason Still looking forward to the demo. But Toys 'R' Us has a 'buy one get one free' on Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley board games. I picked up a bunch of games I'd been eyeing. Like the 40th anniversary Risk (my first wargame at the age of 4) with 384 metal miniatures. No matter how cool computer games are they can't match the tactile fun of a good boardgame.

Waiting for: Combat Mission (whatta surprise) Playing: Jagged Alliance (the first one) I bought it Saturday for 3 dollars at Software Etc. I'm on day four and it's fun so far. Jason

I hadn't factored in production time. In my company, we just send new releases by phone line. I suspect that many of us will be playing the demo enough that waiting for the final release won't be too painful. Jason

I think the ability to string turns togehter into a battle will be a MAJOR plus for the game. I know for certain that I will be watching my games over and over. Just think, no more renting movies. Fire up a few CM games and enjoy! Seeing other people's games will also be cool. Jason

My speculation a few weeks ago was a mid-October release of the demo and a mid November release of the full game. Steve response more or less gave me the impression that my guess was fairly accurate. Although based on a positive comment by Steve, it looks like they may be entering the final wrap-up stage. Steve only mentioned one major problem from the beta (Voodoo2). If that's the case we might get both the demo and game a week earlier. Jason

I've been wondering for a while what extra goodies will be included with CM. What I mean by extra goodies is anything that isn't necessary for play. The only things I can think of off the type of my head are the free pre-order poster and the armor penetration diagrams. Things that I know that won't be included are unit databases, but apparently Fionn is working on that. I was thinking that a good section would be Designer's Notes. I think Steve could just use this forum and get a good chunk right here. Although I doubt the game will have some kind of fancy intro, I think that showing an Action phase would be cool. Show a piece of action from some exciting turn and have it narrated from the Allied and German perspective. Or maybe have it sound like some kind of movie preview. I also think it would be useful if on the CD there was some kind of brief description of the vehicles, units, and weapons. Especially some of the more obscure types. Maybe with a picture and sound effect. This would be particularly useful in conjunction with a scenario design primer. Oh, I just thought of something else that will be an added extra. A bibliography. I was hoping that the bibliography could be divided up somehow by what kind of information is in the book. That would be really helpful for those of us that might be looking for a book on a specific subject. Jason

Steve, Having studied the Communist Manifesto for an economics class, I agree with Lee. There is nothing good even in the theory of Communism. Its first tenet is the abolition of private property. "In this sense,the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property" - Communist Manifesto A government that has no problem taking your private property by force of law or arms will have little problem taking your most precious private property, your life and freedom. I grabbed the quote from a 20 sec. search on yahoo under Communist Manifesto. It's the same link (in Australia) that my teacher used for my econ class several years ago. It's amazing how morally bankrupt and how much a product of its time the Manifesto is. You could do worse during your time waitng for CM than reading the Communist Manifesto. Jason

It seems ironic that those of us who love wargaming and pushing around cardboard counters or computer graphics creating virtual casualties are those who are most keenly aware of how horrible war really is. ( Aside from the actual combatants, of course). Ever since I was little, I loved learning about WWII. Mostly because the planes and the tanks were neat. And, face it, we still think it is cool when Steve posts some new screen shot. But my illusions were soon shattered when I got The American Heritage Picture History of World War II when I was 5. It's a huge coffee table size book of 640 pages. There are lots of pictures of death and carnage. I just looked at it and noticed that the first 5 pages are color pictures focused on death and not famous generals or marching soldiers. I read that book straight for two years and finished before my seventh birthday. I remember looking for a long time at the pictures from the concentration camps. I don't even need to open the book to picture them in my mind. I just couldn't understand how something like that could be real. Jason This thread is depressing. I think I am going to pop in a tape of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and laugh for the next 2 hours.

Last year I watched a show on The History Chanel called, I think, 'Up the Deadly Boot' which was about the Italian campaign. I believe it was a two-part show. Good show. It gave me new respect for the difficulties Clark faced. Steve, thanks for the info on the sturmgruppe and escort companies. I wasn't quite expecting a complete TO&E. Also, thanks for the screenshot of the Commonwealth company. I gather that red is for HQ, but why is the mortar team in yellow? Jason

After reading the squad list again, I realized I have no idea what a German sturmgruppe or escort squad are or what formations they would be in. Anybody fill me in? Jason

I can only imagine that it must have been a nightmare to be a German logistics officer with all of the different unit types. Not just the infantry types but all the different vehicles. I suspect that it will take a while to get a good feel of the capabilities of all the different squad types, especially German. Things like remembering the size of the squad and if it is good at long range or short range. Of course, I could just play the Allies and make things easy. I already know that I am going to have graphs of firepower over distance; I just didn't realize there would be so many squads. I can only imagine how large the unit database would be for a period covering the entire war. No wonder you started off concentrating on one year of the war on the western front. Jason

(sales pitch mode on) Why not pre-order? You get a nifty free poster if you pre-order before the beta comes out. And if you don't like what you see in the beta, you can always cancel your order. Pre-order now, you'll be glad you did. (sales pitch mode off) Jason

Some questions regarding trucks. The light trucks are the Kubelwaqen and the Jeep, or are these in a different class? The Deuce and a Half is the 'heavy' US truck, correct? The only reference I have to the Horch is as a 1.5 ton truck. Is this right and would this be a 'medium' truck? This leaves the generic German and British trucks. Will these be in the 'heavy' class? Why generic German and British trucks and not the Opel Blitz or the Bedford QL and the AEC Matador? I assume the Humber is the armored car and not a saloon, tourer, or 4X4 utility vehicle. I think it'd be kind of neat, though, to see a touring car roaming aroung on the battlefield. Are you going to add any more armored cars/recon vehicles? I see there is already one for each army. Things like the Sdkfz 221, 222, and 231 for the Germans. And the Staghound, Daimler and AEC for the Allies. Any more of the dizzying array of 1/2-tracks. Like some variations of the Sdkfz 250 and 251 or US 1/2 tracks. (I'm hoping for the M16 MGMC ) Lastly, any possibility of any of the non-weapon carrying German 1/2-tracks like the Sdkfz 7 through 10. If I can have an 88-mm gun, I want an Sdkfz-7 to haul it around. Noe of these vehicles are really necessary. It's just that you've put so much effort into the large number of squads, formations, and AFVs that it would add a sense of ompleteness to have a nice complement of lesser vehicles. If nothing else, it would give us something new to ooohh and aaahh over. Everyone has seen a Panther, but how many people know what a Dodge T214 looks like? Maybe some of these could be add on vehicles if it is worth your while to do so. Jason

Taunting is one of the great thing about playing with another human. My friend and I would play Axis & Allies and make up outrageous newspaper headlines everytime we attacked a province. Winning the game was secondary because we were laughing so hard at our silly headlines. Or when my friends and I get together to play D&D and we would degenerate into really awful pun contests. I think a tournament would be great fun. It looks like we have a good range of skills and players and every person I've read a post from seems like a good opponent. Jason

Okay, all you Bob and Doug fans, I'll start. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me: A Beer! Keep it going! Jason

I reside in Billings, MT, USA. The state is a little bigger than Finland, Germany, or Japan in area. But it has a population density less than that of Australia. A land of immense natural beauty and limited economic opportunity. Jason [This message has been edited by guachi (edited 09-28-99).]

I think it is great that we have a variety of ages here. In addition to finding/talking with other players, I've learned a whole lot from all the really knowledgable posters. But where are the women??? I don't think I've seen one post from a women, and I've read every post from June onwards. Why do I have to pick hobbies in which the participants are 90+ % guys? Jason

I'll help out any way I can. I'd have made a unit database for myself, anyway. Obviously, I don't have any data available right now. But as soon as I do I expect to be spending a fair bit of time cobbling together some spreadsheets in Excel. Fionn, I've got an expert certification on Excel from Microsoft (whatever the second level of expertise is), so I'll certainly be able to whip up some real pretty spreadsheets if you need them. Yeah, the certification is really silly, but it looks good on a resume. Jason

I found wounded to get in the way when playing CC2. But perhaps it's because the view is topdown and the soldiers are so small. I'd really only turn casualities on when there wasn't much going on. And I say no to crosses. Not everyone is a Christian, you know... Jason

Steve, I don't know whether I should take your comment that I should be a Producer as a compliment or not. The computer company I work for makes up schedules mostly to make the customers happy. My step-dad (who is my boss) found out pretty early that customers like to be hand-hald and assured that everything will be out on time. But the hospitals we sell stuff to are never ready on their end so the timelines are pretty much worthless. Just for fun, we've actually thrown darts at a calendar and used those as release darts for software. The customers never knew the difference. Jason

I'm certainly not surprised that the Handbook is wrong. Thanks for setting me straight. I suspect that the books you list in the bibliography will be of great interest to many players. They will certainly help clarify some of the finer points that crop up in the game. And the bibliography will make a great Christmas list to give to relatives. Jason