medlinke

Hi, I've been using DD's Terrain mods since they came out. I love them, but I still have a hard time telling the difference between elevation levels. I lightened my monitor, changed the gamma in the game, nothing. So, I was wondering if there was a terrain mod out there (grass) that looks good with DD's trees and bases, and also with PanzerTruppen's sweet building mods. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as well as the place to download them. I went looking this morning and couldn't find anything subdued enough that I really liked, and just wanted to see what the consencus was. Thank you Keith ------------------ ------------------------ CultureK.comThe experience will last a lifetime

Do you have the Day of Defeat Half-Life mod? I hate that message board...the people know nothing, are no help, and quite simply put are a real pain to deal with...I try not to visit...ever...

Well, I can tell ya, when I opened it up to mod it...there wasn't much to do...as is evident in the picture...The work really shows Kwazy

Nope. Because I couldn't find any camo schemes etc, and the only "color" pic I had was simple olive drab, I only toned down the green a bit with some browns (a kind of wash, but in some places got to be too much) and added the black splotches of carbon. So...no you aren't missing much! I didn't add any handles / equiptment / or anything although I did see a differnt front with more "handles" on it that I may incorporate as well as a unit insignia. To be honest, the stock image was perfectly on, and there was no real need to mod the damn thing, but I did anyway because, hey, I wanted to give it a go! Keith Keith

Yeah, from what I could gather it was basically a good excuse to put a 17 pounder on tracks, but it didn't stand a chance against any size gun. To defend the addition of the "ricochet" marks...well...come on...they look pretty cool. Maybe someone had muddy boots on? hehehe Keith

bump...please comment!!!

Hi there... Here is a pic of my new Archer Mod. It adds the weathered look to the sides, and in some places reflects the effects of ricochets, etc. I am still working on the browning of the green armor, but haven't finished it all, as is evident on the side of the turret. Tell me what you think. If you want to test it out, let me know and I can send you the files 4100-4107. Thanks Keith

Engaged learning is something that is hard for the teacher to attain. Sustaining a class of engaged learners is nearly impossible through lecture alone without some sort of intrinsic motivational factor. For instance, I think a 3 hour lecture on the history of Dragons Teeth and their influence in tactical combat would be interesting to some degree because I have the intrinsic motivation to learn it. While someone else may not have that. Extrinsic motivation, such as tests, etc. aren't enough always, especially in lectures to create engaged learning. Bottom line: entertainment value goes a long way to getting and sustaining engaged learning. At Michigan State there is a Communications Prof named Dr. Donahue who has the COM100 lectures which are held in the biggest auditorium on campus during dinner time. There is no attendence and all he does is lecture, but you know what? It is packed every time because he is such a great lecturer. The entertainment value alone was enough to create, and sustain engaged learning to the point where students who have every reason and ability not to attend...do. Off topic I know...but as a future teacher (next year) I thought I'd add my 2 cents...

Here's my deal with Modern CM... The 3d Aspect of the game... I thought that there was going to be a new 3d engine for CM 3 & 4. Don't know if that's the case, but if it is, there is a possibility to pull the camera out another 2-3 "steps" so air could be modified. Map Size vs. Hardware After all the CMs are done computer Hardware should be blazing fast. I would suspect nothing less than 2.5 Ghz computers with 128 RAM video cards, etc... So simulating something that big, with that much computation wouldn't be as big a deal....The programming on the otherhand would be a pain.. Turn length... I agree, 30-45 second bursts would be best. I'm not sure how fast a T-80 can get it's turrett around, but I know it can't take too long and if you have a tank engaging multiple targets (or at least the opportunity) from all sides of the tank...then there needs to be the opportunity for the opposing player to react. So I think it would further abstract the turns. Range.... Problem....To account for that a few things would have to happen...More accentuated terrain models, smaller scale on the units, or a few other things that would balance out the game for this, but it would definately be a problem. Verdict... I am more interested in the Med and Desert versions of CM, and I'd rather see a Pacific land version before a Modern. My 3 cents....I get an extra one for no good reason... Keith

Geez...I can't believe you've overlooked the classics... For when you know you're gonna win... Neil Diamond: Forever in Bluejeans Neil Diamond: Cherry, Cherry For when you're losing... Neil Diamond: Heartlight Neil Diamond: September Morn During an Exciting Movie... Neil Diamond: Sweet Caroline Neil Diamond: Cracklin' Rose When you can't play CM... Neil Diamond: Play Me Neil Diamond: Solitary Man When you first turn on CM after a long time... Neil Diamond: Hello Again Neil Diamond: If you know what I mean When writing an AAR... Neil Diamond: Yesterday's Songs Neil Diamond: Two bit Manchild When reading the forum: Neil Diamond: I am...I said Neil Diamond: Shilo So there you have it! Keith ------------------------------ "There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like Neil Diamond....and those who don't..." Bill Murray "What About Bob"

I don't think the student was way off. To many other people, wargaming looks like a glorification of war. To me, I find the games to be amazing and fun. They do save lives, and for me, it's the closest I could ever get to the military. I had a discussion with my fiance the other night about this topic. Basically what it comes down to is this. There is no way, in real life, I could make the kinds of decisions needed to win wars or even small engagements. However, on the computer I can experiment, and see what "would have" happened if I had been in that situation. The one lesson I learn every time I fire up a wargame is this: I really respect and admire those people who can make the kinds of decisions needed for "their country" in very stressful, time encapsulated, situations. Keith

really? medlinke=naive...

really? medlinke=naive...

HASBRO & CM & ASL 2 CM issues I was going to start an ASL website with the permission to host it at wargamer.com and with the blessing of Curt Schilling, owner of Multiman Publishing. I wanted to run a scenario of the month club and produce scenarios for people and have AARs and articles about the scenario. When I went to publish the scenario cards in PDF format I had a TON of people start talking about Hasbro this and Hasbro that. It seems that... 1. You can't do or make anything that appears exactly like something that is ASL. Everything they do is branded, included the format of scenario cards. 2. You cannot use the exact unit graphics from the counters in more than an expository way (ie. this is an ASL counter I scanned see how pretty it is) 3. You cannot publish anything under the auspices of ASL. (Makes sense...but that also includes putting a stamp of approval on it that it is or works like ASL) So...While I don't think it was a Hasbro thing...it may have been (didn't read the whole thread yet) I think that there are a lot of hurdles standing in the way of creating a true ASL support site that has anything more than AARs / articles / and reviews on it. Keith

Hello, As you may know if you had been looking at the league or just trying to see what was going on. Maybe you were thinking of joining (though I doubt it). However...the league has folded. Like so many sites on the internet, what started as a good idea (or at least a few people thought so), simply didn't work out. I was bombarded with e-mails more a non-constructive nature, than of a suggestive nature. I saw hardly no action (to start games, or to complete them) in the league. The time to keep up the site was just too much given the interest level and the actual league activity. While, I did shut it down quickly, I did so before anyone got completing many games. If you were stuck out in the cold in the middle of game...think of it as experience for other ladders. Or...Just plain be mad. However, think about the consequences of letting the league slip downward for a few more months...That's not a pretty picture is it? So, I learned a lot, I hope people enjoyed it while it lasted. And, chalk it up to experience! My Sincerest Apologies, Keith

It's a strange world over there.... I was just browsing their forums...Quite a group of "people?" Their admin for one calls everyone nasty names and such and then answers questions incorrectly... Someone asked if on D-Day ropes were used to scale cliff a la Pont Du Hoc and the moderator was like, "emm no..." So I set him straight... And on top of that...I found the pic I posted here! I don't have a problem with it, I'm not the one who spent the time making the original textures / graphics, but I just wondered what the official policy was on that... There are textures I think would look nice on a website (grass, etc), but I don't use them as backgrounds even though I own the game. Yeah the people who made the mod must have spent a lot of time making it, but really...they could make 3d models of WW2 equip, but couldn't come up with a concrete texture? gimme a break! In conclusion...it was just a quick check to see what the official response was

Check this out... I just wondered what the "official" policy was on "sharing" these kinds of images. medlinke ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

Thanks for the tip! I bought the two Northern Sector books (I & II) and if they are good will probably complete the set. I hope they do this for more campaigns (ie Lorraine, Monte Cassino, Kursk, etc) In any case, I'm looking for a nice overview of the German OOB that can place the units (ie. what Front and where) I think it might be a nice resource. Nafizger has a book but from what I can tell it talks about the units in isolation of their chain of command AND where they fought...So that's pretty much useless without another source... ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

Absolutely! There is no reason to get all bent out of shape. My bad... The point of my site and your PBEM template it for the greater good of the CM community not bickering and I guess I lost sight of that. Sorry! medlinke ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

As I stated to you back channel I am sorry and I did retract my statements from this website. I actually made the post then e-mailed. I was pretty ticked when I saw it as you understand. However, I realize that just like a King Tiger being taken out by a 1:10000000 mortar round...these things happen in CM! So, no hard feelings! Sorry about that, apparently my post doesn't read Oops! now on all people's machines. Regardless, I'm sorry about that and again as stated in my back channel e-mail I'm sorry about the accusation and you can consider this a more than embarassing retraction of my previous statement. I take responsibility for my actions and clearly I was in the wrong. Sorry medlin ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

Hi, I'm looking for a nice overview book with lots of ideas for scenarios. I've been looking around and the unit history books seem to have some battle information in them, but I'm really looking for something a little more general. If you have any suggestions for good books with battles and descriptions in them I'd really appreciate it! Thanks medlinke ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

Oops [This message has been edited by medlinke (edited 01-20-2001).]

I have removed the restriction on no free e-mail addresses and will be offering free web based e-mail accounts on my server to those who wish to use free e-mail accounts with this league. The accounts are totally free, get no spam, and are all yours. They are very comparable to hotmail and yahoo accounts. The difference is that they have NO limit on aliases, they have preset away messaging, and NO limit on mailbox size. So, if you were interested in joining and couldn't because of the restriction...Go ahead and sign up now, and I'll get in touch with you about the details of the free e-mail (asking for a login / pw combination) You have full control over that account so you can give me some junk pw and then change it to what you want later on without me knowing so that you will retain complete privacy. Thank you and hope to see your join email soon! Sincerely, medlinke ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

The people have spoken and the league has responded. It's easier than ever to get a game going now with the addition of more people to the roster, and a bulletin board system for getting games. Also, for those concerned with what happens to their user information, I have added a privacy statement to the website. In the Game Frequency I also added a TCP/IP option for people who are willing to play TCP/IP in addition to PBEM. So keep joining and sending in those suggestions! Thank you, medlinke ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!

I think that this topic is indeed interesting to say the least. Certainly a lot of excellent points about force makeup have been suggested and this is very important to a successful battle. Too little, Too much and you spoil the scenario. As Sun Tzu wrote, battles are won or lost before the first shot is ever fired. He was obviously not talking about force makeup solely, but I think that this is certainly one component, but definitely not the whole thing. In Combat Mission, as in real life, maneuver is extremely important. I'm not suggesting completely mechanized forces. I am merely making the point that maneuverability can lead to crushing movements on the battlefield. The idea of attacking the Schwerpunkt, or attacking the one thing that will make or break a force should be the essential goal of all combat actions. BTS has done a great job of making terrain as vital as the actual units in CM. So regardless of what you pick, you must be able to adapt those forces to maneuver against the enemy's nerve center (DUH...) BUT, the trick is understanding exactly how to overcome the opponent's strength. This is where the Rock, Paper Scissors theory comes in. Getting that troop type at the vital piece or terrain, or getting your forces in a place where they can strike at the enemy's nerve center is the real key. For those who believe Gamey tactics are unfair, should understand this. Your opponent has 3 UberTanks...So what, you get rid of those and your enemy is toast! Maneuver is the key! ------------------ ------------------------ Quick Battle League Play 2001 SeriesLeagues are forming now!