WendellM

"[1.03 - ] I assume I dont need previous patches, is this right?" Correct (do view the readme file, though). "Also there are a few other things there (flight commander, tac ops, OTR, Actun Spitfire), are these utilities or add ons for CM?" Those are for other games, and have nothing to do with CM. "What about good mods? [...] should I look into these?" Assuming you're talking about the MadMatt/Mad-Dog mods, yes. I believe that some of them can inflict a performance hit on your system (like hi-res grass), due to their more-detailed nature, and some folks (like myself) prefer some of the original sounds to the modified ones. However, you can always restore the game to its original state by either (kind of technical) copying the original files from the CD (even just some of the files if you know which ones) or else (easy) uninstalling/deleting CM and reinstalling it. So, if you see something you think you might like, give it a look. "What would YOU guys download if you were to be on the verge of your first moments of CM (well, and had a pathetic 33.6 modem)?" I'd try the Mad-Dog sound and (to be safe) low-res grass graphics packs - in fact, that's what I'm using (though I plan to try out the other "grasses"): http://combathq.thegamers.net/mdmp/mdmp.asp I'd guess roughly 3 hours for the Full Sound Pack and 45 minutes for the Graphic Pack with Low-Res Grass if I remember my previous, dial-up modem correctly. BTW, if you don't have a resume-capable download utility like GetRight or Gozilla, I recommend looking into one - they can prevent frustration with disconnects/time-outs during big downloads. [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-31-2000).]

For what it's worth, my experience consists of two games with a player in Germany (I'm in the US). There's a seven-hour time difference, which limits our play window (we're able to devote roughly 3 hours per weekday). We were able to complete a small, defender = 400 point game (took 11 turns) in less than a week. We're now wrapping up a game roughly twice that size (now on turn 22 with maybe 2-3 turns left) after 8 days (excluding the weekend). After sending my turn, I keep my browser auto-checking for e-mail every few minutes, and update my "after" action report. I then go and watch some TV/read until my browser alerts me that the next turn has been received. It's been quite enjoyable. [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-31-2000).]

(p. 100) 'Victory points are awarded for the following: Control of victory flags. Casualties caused to the enemy [i assume equal to the purchase value of the unit for complete destruction, and prorated from there]. Captured enemy (counts double that of casualties). Exited units, generally worth 2-3 times the unit's purchase value (note: units eligible for exit that do not exit score points for the enemy). Any "bonus" set by the scenario designer.' (p. 114) Large victory flags are worth 300 points, small ones are worth 100. Then there's the possible matter of "dynamic" victory flags (where either the attacker chooses one to be the "real" flag or else it's chosen randomly). The defender never knows which is real. Dynamic flags can't be used in Meeting Engagements. Wendell P.S. Whoops, I didn't mention morale. I don't see anything in the manual about how to determine global morale in a mathematical manner (i.e. how much each unit is "worth" depending on what happens to it) though maybe I missed it. However, page 100 does state that if the losing side's global morale is 15% or less AND the other side's is at least four times as high then an Auto Surrender will occur. [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-31-2000).]

"In CM sharpshooters are modeled as a limited, cautious weapon." That would be my gut feeling, too. 'I am a carefully trained, elite assassin,' says the sharpshooter. 'I am hidden death from long range. I am... not about to expose my valuable self by assaulting that armored death-trap!' As I see it, it's like an F-117 compared to an F-15 - each have their uses, but don't try to switch their roles. IMHO.

I played one operation shortly after getting the game, mostly to get a feel for what operations were all about. 1) A Day in the Cavalry 2) Attacker 3) Computer 4) 1.01 5) The last scheduled one, 4 6) Draw (I made it all the way across the map, but took too many losses along the way) My main impression was that ops produce a more protective feeling than stand-alone battles, since you need to preserve troops/equipment for the next fight. Wendell [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-31-2000).]

The first player from the first game could load the first PBEM file (instead of the second player), and thus the players would swap places. However I don't think there's a way to choose different forces for the first side (I don't see any chance to save before then, though I could be missing something). The second side would have a chance to choose different forces, though. The only possible drawback is that the first side's password would remain the same though the second side could pick a different one, so there'd need to be some trust involved. I don't believe there's any other approach, since the editor (understandably) won't load a saved PBEM game (an Alt-S saved game - it won't even see a .txt version).

"enough of the nationalistic crap. As students of WW2 we really should know better." I realize that you're responding to the recent, jingoistic "'X' are far superior" threads, but I think that your sentiment is right in an even-greater sense. The more I learn, the more I realize that "people are people" - that is to say that universal human nature tends to prevail across centuries and across national boundries. Your mention of WW II history is a great example, and there are others in history (for example, Republican and Imperial Rome). Even with Rome's long history of success, it fell. Anything with a more short-sighted view, suggesting that some local "bump" in *any* nation's history makes it "superior", only bemuses me. People are people, tempus fugit, and all glory is fleeting. "Back to the game" In more ways than one... Wendell

"restarting the Grid Wars" To expand: This is a 'hot-button' issue. Some think it's "gamey", while others like it. At the risk of repeating advice you've probably heard too often before, I suggest trying a search (on "grid" as Subject Only).

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>MY GAWD i just played the Demo for the 1st time. (I ordered the game 1 day ago) How did i live without this product? This has got to be the best Sqd level Computer wargame i have ever played.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, great, ain't it? It initially struck me like waking up inside a miniatures wargaming dream. Welcome home! Wendell

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Posted by aka_tom_w: Anyway the British units should have some Bag Pipe Entry sound or music or Something<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Excellent suggestion... The skirling pipes lead on to victory! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Posted by Rob/1: is that a smart ider I mean what if there Germans heard them<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Then they'd soil their feld-grau trousers! Just imagine - you're facing troops whose ancestors fought in "skirts" with nothing underneath. What could be more terrifying? (Yes, I'm of Scottish ancestry... ) [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-30-2000).]

Ted, My guess (and it *is* a total guess) would be that maybe there's a problem with your video/audio drivers or version of DirectX. If you haven't tried it already, I'd suggest getting the newest drivers (from your hardware manufacturers' websites) and installing DirectX 7.0a: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp You might also check out the "CM - Tech Support" forum: http://www.battlefront.com/cgi-bin/bbs/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number=8&SUBMIT=Go Good luck, Wendell

"I'm sure Matt's is further along than mine so I'll trash mine and wait." Better hang onto it - he may get 'the vomiting' again... Just kidding, Matt. Thanks for coming up with yet another useful CM add-on! BTW, I hope your stomach's doing better (I empathize - I hate getting sick like that). Kudos on carrying on in your duties as well as you did while ill...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I tested 120mm mortars as above. Their patterns are the same in all conditions as those of conventional guns. [...] I did not test 81mm mortars because these are not arty weapons. [...] However, it would not surprise me if they conformed to the same patterns as everything else.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks much! All of your fine research has saved me much "scut work" thus freeing up more time for playing. I really appreciate it! Wendell

"what is wrong with saying germans are far superior on a gaming forum??" If you're talking about the issue "as a game" in an abstract, isolated sense, then nothing (a typical German tank was generally superior, 1-on-1 to a typical Allied tank). However, if you're talking about the context of "real world" history... well, the Germans lost - therefore, by definition, they weren't superior on the whole. (If you're talking about Germans in a general sense vs., say, Americans, well then I have no comment - I like both modern-day Germans and Americans, but I'd hesitate to call one "superior" - people are people). "the only reason the americans went numbers over quality is because they didnt have the quality." Yes, but that "numbers over quality" concept won the war, so it was right (by definition). If they'd lost, you might have a point...

"2. will we be able to watch the battle without any FOW" That's a good point, and would be a very welcome option in order to get "the complete picture." I'd still like an FOW option, though, in order to reflect the surprise factor ("horror" movies fall flat compared to a previously unseen Tiger's entrance!). A "pie in the sky" idea would be to have different camera settings tied to different "time indexes", so that you could "edit" the battle into a crafted dramatic movie and distribute it to other players (several racing/sim type games have this now). However, I realize that this could well be reaching too far. I'd just be happy to be able to see a whole battle uninterrupted (making CM even better than it is now).

"I set up an experiment a while back to determine this." Wow, thanks for the data, Bullethead, very useful! I don't suppose you'd consider testing off-map mortars under the same conditions? (I ask lazily )

"After killing more of my own troops than the enemy's with an arty strike in a recent PBEM" Heh, that rings all too true. My "Murphy's Law" rules of thumb: 1. Never use "Target Wide" unless you have plenty of body bags, and 2. Your incoming "precision" strike will always be uncomfortably close. Well, those overstate it a bit, but you get my point. I believe what we're seeing is an accurate reflection of the hazards of telling guns several miles away where to fire. Actually, I've been using off-map mortars (due to "point" limits) more often than guns, and it's pretty easy to get an idea of their expected spread as far as I've seen. It seems that practice/experience is a great teacher - just note how far a "typical" strike deviates from the target point and you'll get the hang of estimating it. Also, you might consider setting the target point a little bit *away* from the target's direction to your nearest troops, just to have a safety margin - the spread will probably still include your actual target just fine, while reducing the risk of friendly casualties somewhat. Good luck. [This message has been edited by WendellM (edited 07-29-2000).]

"Anyway, if that explosion shape is a reasonable one, any chance someone's working on a graphic for it?" I believe that I read here that explosions are "hard-coded" rather than easily-replaced bitmaps (like terrain/vehicle textures). This makes sense, since they're animated, and in that case it would be nigh-impossible for anyone but BTS to change them.

"The [Allied/American] tanks had to be sea transported to every theater and so they were developed with that in mind. Can you imagine JP how to ship a Königstiger PzKw VI weighing app. 70 tons?!" Good point, Insu - that's another strike against "superior" German armor (not that the Kriegsmarine was in any shape to transport them in the first place - they were too busy trying to remain afloat).

"Unfortunately" the Ami's were able to field 5-10+ Shermans for each Panther toward the end of the war, and thus were usually able to get one in the rear for the killing shot... Ain't it a bitch when "superior" armor is KO'd by more numerous "inferior" tanks? Well, war is a harsh mistress - it proves who really had the right approach (by definition), and smashes nice theories. That said, German tanks *were* damned cool.

I like to move foot MG teams up somewhat behind infantry in the approach phase, then place them in semi-forward protected terrain (like woods) to cover the infantry's further advance into enemy territory. That said, *mobile* MG's are great (though they *do* draw fire). In this case, I like to send a T8 scouting ahead. If it isn't fired on, I move a Halftrack into its position, then move the T8 further up and repeat. (Similar tactics could probably apply to nationalities other than American.) I also like to keep at least one Halftrack as a reserve - the ability to turn the tide of an infantry shoot-out with a fast-moving, semi-armored MG is often significant. Anyway, that's my take, for what it's worth. Wendell

"One thing that I would like to see (sorry if I might have missed it in the demo) is a configuration option for some of the controls. In particular, it would be more intuitive (for me!) if the mouse controlled fore/aft and left/right panning on the map, while the arrow keys controlled up/down/left/right rotation." The full version is the same. I also initially would have welcomed the ability to change actions (especially making left/right panning the default for the mouse, instead of the current left/right turning. However, pressing the Shift key for this isn't really a big deal, and it has become second nature for me. Now, I'm so used to it that I don't mind. As for up/down rotation (camera dip), I find myself using that only rarely (I make great use of elevation and zoom, though, which are IMHO logically assigned). While I'm a fan of placing as much configuration as possible in players' hands, the default controls quickly "grow on" you and I don't have any problems now. Wendell

"I find some units like mortar and sniper, are reloading even though they never shot." Hmm, I've never seen this (not saying it didn't happen, but just that I haven't seen it). I know that mortar rounds which are fired late in one turn don't arrive until early in the next one. Unless you see/hear the shell fly up, only the decreasing ammo count lets you know that the firing took place. Just a guess at a possible answer (I can't even guess about sharpshooters).

Nice site. Have you considered joining the CM Webring and adding it? http://nav.webring.org/cgi-bin/navcgi?ring=combatmission;list

Yes, War in Russia is a classic. I picked it up several years ago in SSI's Twenty Wargame Classics, and still play it from time to time. The interface is a bit rough (though up to DOS standards of the time), but it's still a very good game.