David Aitken

Gremlin wrote: > it could only be in their and our (the customers') best interest if they receive as much constructive criticism and as many intelligent questions and suggestions as possible Constructive criticism is very welcome here, there would be no point in the forum if it were not, and many improvements have been made to the game by this process. However, changes are only made when someone does their homework and states a well supported case for what they have in mind. In terms of the content of CM, this usually entails factual information or anecdotal evidence. In terms of the game engine, suggestions and requests can be made, and BTS will happily address problems or bugs, but they will not happily be told how to design or program the game. So when someone suggests an improvement, that is fine, but it should end there. If they continue to argue for this improvement, they are going beyond constructiveness. Some of the biggest arguments in the history of this board have been over design issues. These are purely matters of opinion, and BTS is the only authority. They have every right to summarily lock up threads on design or programming issues after the suggestion has been made, and this is usually a good idea – but that said, such threads, like most on this forum, are left open until they become too heated or have run their course. David

Gremlin wrote: > BTS are no more infallible than the rest of us, though they have more first-hand experience about certain game design and publishing issues than many, but not all, of the fans do). Ahem... I might suggest that BTS are the authority on BTS. > When a game designer opens itself up to fan discussion and criticism, they can expect both the suggestions and the ultimatums In the rare cases when a game designer is willing not only to listen to customers, but actually engage in discussion with them, certainly they can expect all sorts of things, but they're not obliged to take any of it. Just because we have the opportunity to speak to BTS, and they actually care to listen and respond, does not give us the right to tell them what to do. > BTS should be happy they have an ardent and growing fan base that cares enough to suggest, question, and even complain and whine. Constructive contributors will indeed suggest and question. Complaining and whining more often than not comes from those elements who do not have a strong case, but instead merely wish to have their personal preferences implemented. Such people also have a habit of claiming that what will satisfy them will also make the company more successful, which is a poor argument. > And I think that since they set a high new standard with CM, they should also be held to a higher standard to "keep them honest," so to speak. Why do the standard-setters of the genre need to be held to their own standards? The only reason it is of benefit for fans to offer suggestions and ideas, and to question what BTS has done, is because BTS is willing to listen. In other words, they are their own strict regulators. There are plenty of companies who need to be taken to account by their customers – in fact, probably the vast majority of companies on the planet, let alone software companies – but BTS is not one of them. It is amusing to see people take all of the exceptional things BTS does for granted, and start whining anew on that basis. David

... was on hand to point out to Libby the anomalies in Stuka's purported firepower ratio. "The blast rating is only effective at close range, say up to 3.762 yards", growled Heidman, felling Stuka with a rugby tackle. Calling in his support teams, he continued, "Beyond that the risk of pregnancy is reduced to a factor of at most 23:1!". Holding Stukes to the ground with an arm twist, Heidman dictated the fate of his evil organisation. "Right, all the nuns will be detailed to the field hospital. Stukey my boy, you will join our front-line flammenwerfer team, backbone of our offensive spearhead to incinerate the strawmen of BTS sycophancy!" Stuka thought his time had come, when suddenly...

Gunny Bunny wrote: > The CM webboard is heavily censored Censorship is not the disapproval of that which you do not like. Censorship is the prohibition of that which serves a purpose which you feel to be in conflict with your own. If BTS were deleting threads and banning members, that would be censorship. I don't see that happening. All I see is the locking of threads which are deemed to be inappropriate or unwelcome. Locking does not prevent people from reading a thread – in fact, it attracts attention and causes more people to read it. So I find your crusade against censorship to be somewhat misguided. There are a heck of a lot of contributors on this board, and how many have their threads summarily locked as you claim yours to be? Dare I suggest the problem might be less BTS's policies, and more what you choose to post? You don't seem to have spent very long trying, considering your grand total of 22 posts, most of which have been advertising your UseNet board. David

CMplayer wrote: > You mean that a 37mm AP shell, hitting the back of the turret was able to damage the optics? With all the supposed invulnerability of Royal Tigers and such, you tend to forget that even a ricochet is a matter of a dense chunk of metal being smacked off another metal object at high velocity. That may not penetrate, may not kill any of the crew, but it's still likely to cause trouble in any number of ways.

Gremlin wrote: > I think you can see how the way the graphics thread was closed sounds rather dismissive and loftty itself, and by its own admission was based on one poster's tone. Not all the fans are ignorant of the game industry or are unqualified to discuss it, nor do we all resort to ad hominems. You have to consider that, on a regular basis, people come along and start claiming they know what BTS should be doing, or how easy it would be to do. Very often these people will not take no for an answer. They see something elsewhere, and suddenly decide that BTS should be doing it too, despite clearly having no experience or understanding of BTS's operations and objectives. So when people start up a thread arguing that BTS should be doing what they suggest, they can expect to get short shrift. Taken at face value, they maybe deserve it slightly less, but on the whole it happens to often to humour everybody who thinks they know better. David

And not all topics get locked. Those that do are generally of the kind I have described above, or are off-topic, or have become a heated argument. There have been several rehashed discussions on the board lately which have remained open, so complaining about BTS's readiness with the padlock is unnecessary.

Gremlin wrote: > It shouldn't matter if people want to rehash topics (particularly when new people join the forum every day and haven't submitted their views on those topics) or talk in circles. Many topics start up with a view to convincing BTS to add certain features to the game (a roster, nationality modifiers, better graphics etcetera). These discussions will not end until BTS has given their judgement on the matter. When a topic comes up on which BTS has already stated their position, to discuss it further is both pointless and will demand more of BTS's time to restate things they have already said. In these cases those concerned should refer to previous discussions on the same subject, instead of starting up a new thread to whine about the same old things until BTS has to intervene yet again. David

Wow, that looks pretty realistic, I should start using some of these high-res texture mods.

Wow, Geier is a bit of a hunk. Sorry Jon, I think the spark has gone from our relationship... I need my personal space... PawBroon wrote: > Well one must highlight the fact that due to an oversight by our Steve&Charles, he is in fact firing a Type 96. Actually, I got onto Steve and he modelled a Dutch Loyd carrier replete with Bren gun just for me. Now I'm waiting on Charles coding Dutch forces into the game so I can use it. Don't worry, this won't delay CM2 by more than a year or two.

...as such failed to notice that the auditorium had been infiltrated by no less than a company of SS Panzer troops. The intruders however made their presence known when their company commander audibly lamented "I haf no purpose! Take me avay from my platoons, und zey function no differently! I should haf some kind of command radius to my platoon leaders, nein?" Startled by the incursion, Madmatt accidentally crushed the chocolate egg he had been admiring. Rallying, he retorted "You'll have to wait until CM2! Now this has been discussed enough!", he continued, padlocking the German company commander. His troops didn't take kindly to this, however, and...

Someone ought to tell Foobar he's about to be run over by a tank destroyer. Too late now, I suppose... Lorak, I think the HTML on that one's a bit wonky, unless that's a special narrow-profile M10...

Lawyer wrote: > I'm either too scared to insult Dave because he has a Bren gun, or I actually think he's gorgeous and wouldn't dream of insulting the ground he walks on. Well, I'm touched.

When OS 9 came out all I heard about were the conflicts and incompatibilities. I was damned if I was going to upgrade. Eventually I gave in to temptation, and but for one or two software upgrades, there was really nothing wrong with it. Same goes for 9.1 – apparently there are a lot of problems, but I haven't seen any. Frankly, I think most of the problem reports come from people who have an issue in their specific circumstances which wouldn't affect anyone else, or who have simply caused a problem while upgrading the OS which the OS isn't responsible for. David

Freak wrote: > It would seem that david has a chip on his shoulder regarding any talk about improved graphics. Michael Dorosh wrote: > The big deal is the old timers who whine when something has been discussed somewhere back in the 5 million different threads. Just ignore them when they jump up and down and demand that you search and you will be fine. That's what I do. AbnAirCav wrote: > despite the fact that David Aitken appears to be on a crusade to obstruct further discussion on this matter The only thing I have a chip on my shoulder about is people arrogantly refusing to use the search function. Michael, yes, there are a lot of posts on this forum. Thousands of topics have been discussed, meaning that if you have any Combat Mission-related concerns, there's a fair chance they have already been addressed. This is what the search function is for. I can't understand why you use the volume of posts as an argument against searching. Freak and AbnAirCav, that's a silly attitude. I have offered my views on this issue. What I was really doing was summing up what has been said before on the matter. What I should have done is simply provided the link which I later did. I don't give a flying monkey whether you discuss this topic until you're blue in the face. However I don't like to see the same discussions reoccuring again and again. This is not just a personal issue, there are good reasons for it. I never tell anyone to do a search. I usually do the search myself, and provide a link to relevant discussions. But I do object when people turn their nose up at the search function. Many minds have spent much time considering and discussing many topics on this board. Discussions are very often exhaustive, and when the subject is brought up again, the discussions usually follow the same path and reach the same conclusion. At best this is a waste of time. However, more likely, new discussions lack the participation of the board veterans who are either absent or do not wish to go through the whole thing again. As such the conclusions will be poorer than those previously reached. Granted, new minds might compensate for this, but those who abstain are usually much more experienced. Their wisdom is available for those who are reasonable enough to appreciate that 10 minutes' searching is more efficient than starting up a whole new discussion, waiting for responses, and taking the whole thing to a conclusion, which could take days. As you well know, you are completely free to ignore my advice. But consider why I bother offering it. I don't care whether you resurrect a discussion that has been rerun from A to Z a hundred times, that's up to you. It's not my board, it doesn't affect me in the slightest, I've got better things to worry about. But when I either observe or engage in an extensive discussion involving a lot of wisdom and insight from a lot of knowledgeable people, and I appreciate the way the issues are dealt with and what conclusions are reached, I think "heck, everyone should be in on this". So when I later see someone bringing up the same issue, I want them to see the previous discussion, because it's very worthwhile. This is why I provide links myself instead of insisting that you do a search – because I'm keen that people should see the relevant discussions that I'm aware of. I don't do it for my own amusement, I do it because I appreciate what has gone into those discussions, and I think you would benefit from seeing them yourselves. If you want to ignore that, see if I care. But if you're going to criticise me for it, I care all right. David

Agua Perdido wrote: > Why are my brains in my lap? In your case, that's where God put them. As such you will find reproduction a similar experience to that of insects – usually fatal for the male. However I doubt the unlucky female involved will be inclined to devour you afterwards. Therefore you should abstain from any kind of sexual activity, lest the word should be afflicted with any baby Perdidos... I mean, lest you should sustain brain damage.

Mace wrote: > IT'S AUSTRALIA DAY!!!!! Your majesty, the convicts are rioting! That's why we put them on an island on the opposite side of the planet! Good thinking Batman! I mean, your majesty.

...the weaks points to see the effects of penetration from various angles!" Disgusted at the prospect of penetrations occuring in the absence of sheep, the Australians shook themselves down and started glancing around fervently, trying to locate the source of the call which promised what they all spend their working days dreaming of. As they disappeared out the windows and doors, Andreas the Nippon surprised Herr Oberst and disarmed him with a flying karate kick. Helpless without his new toy, Oberst panicked and ordered three rifle squads into the room to assist him, forgetting that he did not have the 3:1 force ratio necessary to assault the room where Andreas's two SMG squads were hiding. Appalled by the subsequent massacre, Oberst shouldered his Vickers machinegun and retreated, oblivious to the fact that all of his comrades were able to run whereas he could only walk, and was unable to abandon his heavy weapon unless it was damaged. Mercifully Andreas the Nippon inadvertantly came to his rescue with a spinning punch which landed squarely on the receiver of the Vickers and knocked the firing pin out of alignment. "I am freeee!!", Oberst gushed as he dropped the machinegun on Andreas's toes and headed for the horizon faster than an M8 full of conscript rednecks. Just then one of the Aussies mistook Andreas's white karate suit for a sheep's fleece...

Michael Dorosh wrote: > That is what CM offers now, right? Nah, I was kidding.

What is that, "New Nicholas Cage wax model installed at Madame Tussaud's"? Or is Medusa a big fan of his?

Michael Dorosh wrote: > 512 different voices for all the different leaders Surely you mean unique circumstancially-aware computer-generated speech? =)

CM Graphics - Room For Improvement This is a definitive thread on the subject of graphics. Best to read it instead of rerunning the debate here. David

JediJobu wrote: > My search did not reveal that this has been talked about so I will ask. A simple search on the word "hypothetical" would have presented you with the very obviously appropriate thread US vs Russia in CM2. Everyone please read this thread before continuing the discussion here, as it's very likely to go down the same road. David

The only reason Gunny is a junior member is because he started up alt.games.combat-mission in order to give himself free reign, and has a reputation for trying to exert his authority over there and drum up support for unfeasible graphical effects for this type of game. Gremlin wrote: > If that were to have the additional effect of broadening its appeal and perhaps doing a little to prevent the near-death of computer wargaming, would that not be a good thing? "doing a little"? Ha, good one. BTS has single-handedly both revived the wargame genre and pushed it into a new era. Of course, now it no longer looks like a war game, it looks like a 3D action game, so people ignore or forget what BTS has achieved and start suggesting that they'd be stupid not to try to compete with other action games. aka PanzerLeader wrote: > Well, maybe BTS should do some kind of a poll on this board to see what kind of hardware everybody has. Then they could set higher system requirements for CM2, provided they don't lose too many people. That's the kind of attitude that powerful, arrogant companies take. BTS cannot afford to alienate any of their customers, let alone "too many". And keep in mind that there are plenty of CM players who don't frequent the board. The graphics issue has been discussed many times before, and has most recently arisen in this thread: BTS - Is it time for a separate CM II forum? David

Good one mensch, another classic. =) Good god, that thread is a Kitty lovefest. Anyone want to help out in her quest for children?