chrisl

...his leather horsewhip. Smiling to himself, he...

...that he learned to use the edit function of the board to fix his errors. It's the icon second from the right, with the little pencil on it. This, however, was not enough to mitigate his obtuseness, since he... ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk) [This message has been edited by chrisl (edited 03-02-2001).]

A lot of CMBO stuff will apply directly to CM2, though since many, if not most players of CM2 will also be experienced at CMBO, it may justify a separate forum. There-- I gave you arguments both ways in a single sentence. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

It's the risk of map edge hugging-- you can fall of the world. I managed to force at least a platoon of my opponents troops off the map in the first battle of an op. Those guys are gone forever...no replacements, no more ammo, nothing. Like they were picked up by aliens. It's ok to be fairly close to the edge as long as you aren't under fire. Keep the squads spread out a little so that they don't end their movement orders too close together. But if they get shot at, they're likely to run off the map edge for safety, without realizing that they'll be taken up to the mother ship. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

...are all ex-cesspoolers who have entered the federal losing player protection program. It was set up after the night of the refreshing monkeys to protect... ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

The next one will be the same basic engine, but with data (involving a great deal of research) for the men and equipment of the eastern front. It will also have a number of enhancements that BTS have hinted at, but since development of CM2 is just starting we have to wait for them to drop some more teasers. You can set up buy your own quick battles against the AI or a human. All the parameters are set before you have to pick how or who you're playing against. The map generator does a pretty nice job, and if you want the computer to buy your units it will give you interesting combinations that aren't unreasonable. You will probably want to shell out for a 3-D card. I play on a laptop where I get 640x480 with the hardware rendering (ATI RageLTPro, 4 MB) or 1024x768 with software rendering (it's a pretty speedy laptop 300 MHz G3) and I prefer the speed of moving around the map with the hardware rendering in lower res. I don't do much modding, but the mods are all done to external files, and are just bitmaps. If you do manage to munge things up you just have to replace the file with the original from the CD. I think a lot of people keep bunches of versions of the various skin files around and change them depending on the battle or what they had for breakfast. There don't seem to be many (really almost no) reports of mods causing trouble. As long as the file doesn't get corrupted the worst damage you are likely to cause is uglyness or maybe a transparent panel here or there. You can't add vehicles or troop types. Those are intentionally hard-coded so that if you're playing against someone across the net you're guaranteed to be playing the same game. They can't add the "KitchenSink Ausf.D" mod to obliterate your forces or anything. Scenarios are just extra files that you drop in the scenario directory. They can't break anything, and they're the same for mac and pc. You can also PBEM or TCP/IP with someone on a different platform with ease. A person's selection of mailer or ISP makes more difference than the particular platform. There are lots and lots of extra scenarios and operations available. The replayability of CM is enormous, though once you play against people a few times you won't be able to play the AI any more. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk) [This message has been edited by chrisl (edited 03-02-2001).]

Try some smoke between his infantry and his tanks-- the tanks either have to come up to support the infantry, or you can abuse them with your own tanks. You may also be able to force him to show you the side of a hull or turret with the smoke. You can also move around a lot and force the Jumbos expose a flank to at least one of yours at all times. It's a little harder when he's got turrets and you don't, though. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Lorak, oh Lorak... Please get out the chisel and inscribe in Meeks' head..er.. I mean the tome: chrisl: win Lawyer: loss It was close, and I had to do a gamey little flag rush that I'm sure he will go on and on about, but he should be used to that sort of thing, living inside the beltway, and being a lawyer and all. The other lawyer is suffering badly. I may have to grant him a cease fire because I almost can't bear to watch 110 more turns of this. Either that or push him back off the map. He's demonstrated that he can fight effectively in neither fog nor clear (well, overcast, but visibility is pretty good). Send him to Jersey and let Hiram tutor him. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Now that I know the Brit OOB... ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I was in LA. We didn't feel a thing, but I think we have your drizzle, and I suspect you'll be wanting to return our seismic activity. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I have it on good authority (I saw it with my own eyes) that the attorney morse will gladly drive large numbers of AFVs into a wicked abattoir of an ambush on demand. He just hurled seven of them (some tanks, some acs, some SP guns) into a deathtrap in the space of a minute. I almost feel bad continuing with the beating he's getting, but then I remember he's a lawyer and I feel better. And then I remember that he changed his login to "jd" and I chuckle a little at the midlife crisis that prompted it-- he's probably driving around in a sporty little red kubelwagen that he thinks will help him pick up chicks. I suppose I'll just continue with the slaughter, as much as it becomes tiresome. I no longer hate Rune, even though I may be punished in All's Quiet by elvis. In fact, I may have to retire from CM because I can't imagine ever seeing a movie as awsome as the one in which morse drives into the trap. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Looks a little like a troll, given its close proximity to this thread: http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum1/HTML/016675.html , which includes some pretty reasonable evaluations of allied vs german infantry squads. I play the allies a lot, and except for not knowing how to use british armor effectively (I haven't played the brits too many times) I don't see that they're particularly worse off than the germans. As for US rifle squads vs. german SMG squads, take another look at the FP vs range-- SMG squads suck at longer than 100 m (except the heavy SMG squads that include a couple of MG42, which are usually 1/3 of the SMG platoon). Hell, I've even seen German Fusilier (the heaviest close range FP there is) platoons get ripped up by US troops at close range in the fog. Übertanks aren't all they're cracked up to be either. Once you start to figure out their weaknesses they're just another unit on the battlefield. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Wanker. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

LOL. There's plenty of people who will claim the opposite-- that BTS keeps nerfing the German stuff (esp the tanks) so that the übertanks are killable. I personally think things are pretty balanced, and tend to stay away from the expensive stuff, because it still has plenty of weaknesses, and once it's destroyed it's just expensive scrap. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I think it's just contagious, and Peng is the vector. elvis has also transmitted a mild case of it to me. In PBEM news: Frightwig Jake is on the run. He's being evicted building by building from the town I have to take. Clearly he's not really a lawyer-- he's been way too easy to evict. He just got the boot from yet another building with a flag on it when I accidentally set it afire. Oh, well. His squads were forced out and are now being shot to bits. He ought to just surrender now. Instead he's got a halftrack lurking in back to make a gamey last-turn rush to challenge a flag. Fortunately the auto-purchase gave me about 35 bazooka teams. I haven't gotten the latest back from morse. He must have snapped. His last email had exclamations of joy and happiness about how well he was doing. The odd thing was that he wasn't actually advancing, or even killing my troops, but rather he just didn't lose three vehicles and a couple of squads like in a usual turn. Must suck to be him. The match with elvis is pretty early--and the real action hasn't started yet. He popped a scout car. Oh well. I think I hate Rune though, even despite the gift that he's given me in my match with jd. Everything about "All's Quiet" makes me want to jam bamboo shoots under Rune's fingernails. I'm sure he's set up a terrible surprise for me in Rest of the Red Devils that will allow morse to turn the tables. (edited to make elvis' name all lower case) ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk) [This message has been edited by chrisl (edited 02-25-2001).]

If I want an MG to suppress, I let it deal with targeting itself. If you area fire it will be pretty sticky on the area target unless threatened. If you target a squad it will be pretty sticky on that squad. If you let the TacAI do it, it will tend to switch targets more effectively. In general I try to leave at least one unit in each small firefight to do its own targeting in case a surprise pops up. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Aside from what weapons are still present in the squad, CM doesn't track individual soldiers. The firepower rating in any given fight/shot is a composite of the firepowers of all the remaining weapons. There would be something of a performance hit to model in greater detail (especially for those who play reinforced battalion sized battles and larger), and for the scope of the game the individual soldiers aren't that relevant--they're all abstracted into a squad. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I mostly agree about padlocks, but in many historical scenarios they're useful-- especially where one (or both) of the sides was caught while moving in- the padlock is used to force you to deal with a surprise. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I think in CM you can set up a fluid defense, and defeat an attacker much larger than you, but it seems to be harder than being the attacker. Certainly when you first start playing. You have to not try to defend head on--set up defensive positions that the attacker has to encounter without being able to mass fire on them, but where you can mass fire as he approaches, and then withdraw troops before the attacker gets close and set them up in a new defensive position (prepared by splitting squads at the start to make extra foxholes). If you put stuff in a commanding location (hilltop, etc.) the enemy will just be able to concentrate a lot of fire on it without having to take a lot of risk. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Hey, how do you think I feel-- you didn't manage to kill any of my troops in the last battle (I think my net losses were about one squad and one gun) and tha bastard gave me reinforcements. Where the hell am I supposed to hide them? Every square inch of woods is already so heavily armed that we've had to prohibit smoking to keep from setting off the ammo stores. And now you did it again-- you sent me the setup file for battle two. No, I'm not going to fall for it-- you can't have any do-overs. In other news: the Lobbyist is on the run from his few remaining positions in the town we're fighting over. He still seems to think he controls all the flags. Gotta love that FOW. The battle with elvis is a little too soon to tell anything, other than the fact that Rune is evil, and we already knew that. Neither of us really had any cover for setup, and now we have to move through a further lack of cover to capture the flags. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

And that's the sappy romantic part. It gets better further into it. Too bad you sent the file. Turn one: scratch three vehicles. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Well I tried to get people started on a little Frisch (and how apropo a selection it was) when we were back in Germany, but nobody picked up the bait. I was going to rename you Pedro and suggest we do Santa Cruz, but you took a blow to the head and forgot how to use a computer for a while. Then whoosh, the bald one comes and suddenly we're off to somewhere sunny. And if you're going to start singing brecht tunes, there's better ones. Here's the first part of one of my favorites, from The Wedding. I'm too lazy to type in the whole thing right now, or translate it, but it's perfect for the pool... Ach, sie schmolzen fast zusammen Und er fühlte: sie ist mein Und das Dunkel schürt die Flammen. Und sie fühlte: wir sind allein. Und er küßte ihr die Stirne Denn sie war ja keine Dirne Und sie wollte keine sein. I might get inspired to put in the rest after I watch the movie of morses troops dying in the second battle of our operation. He's going to get hammered from turn one... ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

I say we make him play that new guy, whatshisname that isn't worth scrolling back up the page to figure out, at Crodaburg, and if they finish, and entertain us enough. The winner can stay and the loser has to go to Pengs house and play Hiram in a hotseat game. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)

Oh jd needs all the help he can get with fog tactics... (edited to adjust nested quotes) ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk) [This message has been edited by chrisl (edited 02-22-2001).]

They're wicked good. Sometimes the pattern is tighter than I would like for suppressing a spread out enemy, but a group of three 60 mm mortars with an observer can pin and hold a platoon or more at a treeline. They're also great for demolishing large buildings (though it can take some time, and sometimes the residents now run out before the building falls, but it's a similar result-- enemy displaced. Need spot smoke? Call in the on-map mortars. Little clouds delivered while-u-wait. Best of all, the on-map observer can remain hidden and call in fire, which generally arrives immediately.. On map indirect mortars: don't leave home without them. ------------------ "If you can taste the difference between caviar on a cracker and ketchup on a Kit-Kat while blindfolded, you have not had enough aquavit to be ready for lutefisk." (stolen from some web page about lutefisk)