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REEEAAD MYYY LIIIIPPPPS no new taxes. Hey Kwaz. I just feel like yankin some chain. You seem like a nice enough bloke and being a spin doctor-nebelwerfer-butt ain't your strong suit. No offense. CMBO is a retro move. I wouldn't buy it. Not gonna do it. If its on shelves and people buy it, and BTS needs the money, well; more power to you. If you can't see how it irks me and others thats OK too. I think CMAK is a good idea. I would even say just leave it in Afrika and I would buy it. CMX2 is always a good idea. CMBB on shelves is cool too. Heck, if CMAK improvements can be back coded to CMBB, I might even buy it off the shelf maybe. BUT CMBO? Bleh. Must be the money...

The fact that extra work is going into CMBO is what really irks me. Its really just a glitz-over too. Its not like someone said "Oh No! We have 8000 CDROMs leftover from that last run, lets unload them on the shelves!" (I would see nothing wrong with this). The fact is that fresh runs of this old product are deliberately being aimed at the wargaming market. I just read the Manifesto. hmmmm. Maybe it needs to be edited. Anyway, suppose its seen that the in-store-CMBB has CMAK type improvements. Multiturreted russian tanks, russian dust, better whatevers. These features not being downloadable to the online-bought CMBB guys due to incompatability. This would irk some people I hope.

Well if its just money and not real customers you want, put some RTS graphics on the box then. I think that CMBO is a flawed game. It is not representative of what 'Combat Mission' is anymore. BTS has made many a speech about ethics, the game industry, etc. I really hope they reconsider this move. I would not want a lot of binge buyers out there saying the game sucked. I have a feeling that as many will dislike it as get hooked on it. Face it, this is a niche market and unless you got the war bug to begin with, it isn't your cuppa joe. After all the grand-standing and pontificating put out by BTS, this really does not sit well with me. One has to be careful with marketing people. They have a funny way of laughing real hard at your jokes and whispering non-sense in your ears. Yeah it does irk me I guess.

I hope this is taken the right way: I would not tell anyone to buy CMBO. I do not think selling CMBO now, as a reflection of BTS' talents, is a good marketing decision. If CMBO/CMBB were marketed as a dual set (saving money on a single manual), then maybe it would be worthwhile because a real state of the art product was being sold (CMBB). This would bring in customers onto a level that is better for the customer and BTS and this (hate saying the word) community. A cynical person might say: 1. They are just rehashing the CMBB engine to make CMAK so as to wring out more bucks from the already addicted.. 2. They are spiffing up some old coot like CMBO and wanting to throw it on the top shelf.. 3. They won't get the real product (CMBB) to the great unwashed masses till the end of the year.. etc... How will this effect future online sales? Maybe I will wait for CMAK to be released in stores instead of buying online. BTS must make a better cut from online sales. In any case, I think pre-existing customers of the orig CMBO/CMBB will change buying habits just as BTS is changing its selling habits. IF it were my marketing decision, I would do the dual box set and release around November (I wouldnt go nuts fixing up CMBO that much). This would hook a greater pool of people (existing addicted plus newly converted) for the CMAK release (probably winter/spring and more than likely available ONLY online). Residual sales of these marketed items would then fill the war chest and allow CM2++ to be a world beater.

Most people here have bought CMBO already. after playing CMBB, I sold my copy of CMBO! I would not be interested in backtracking into CMBO style of play. Not because of eye candy improvements anyway. It just does not appeal to me after playing CMBB. My future interest in BTS products are CMX2 (or whatever CMBB2..Combat Mission Beyond Borg 2 is called) and perhaps the Afrika Corp "module". BTS can pursue thier marketing goals but perhaps a survey here of what thier customers wants is in order.

(Single, March 1976) Can you hear the drums Fernando? I remember long ago another starry night like this In the firelight Fernando You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar I could hear the distant drums And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar They were closer now Fernando Every hour every minute seemed to last eternally I was so afraid Fernando We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die And I'm not ashamed to say The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry There was something in the air that night The stars were bright, Fernando They were shining there for you and me For liberty, Fernando Though I never thought that we could lose There's no regret If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando Now we're old and grey Fernando And since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand Can you hear the drums Fernando? Do you still recall the frightful night we crossed the Rio Grande? I can see it in your eyes How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land There was something in the air that night The stars were bright, Fernando They were shining there for you and me For liberty, Fernando Though I never thought that we could lose There's no regret If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando There was something in the air that night The stars were bright, Fernando They were shining there for you and me For liberty, Fernando Though I never thought that we could lose There's no regret If I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando Yes, if I had to do the same again I would, my friend, Fernando...

I have still yet to spot a Borg in the game. Are Borgs hard to spot? Do they have camouflaged spots? Can the Borgs be modded?

Oh. I thought that it already taught that remarkably well. And certainly my experience is that being pinned down is very common when I advance my little guys over open ground into firepower. The challenge, at least in North Africa, will be to find those small folds in the ground in what looks mostly like a pool table. Can't wait! </font>

Vehicles making dust could help infentry close with an enemy. Infantry having thier morale bolstered near vehicles might also help. Infantry must seek dips, low points, reverse slopes as cover. The game, as is, does not do this very well. Pinning should be the most common result to firepower. arty making dust could help suppress defenders troops should head towards HQs when under duress. positioning HQs intelligently would then make for realistic conditions. The AI might be programmed to do this also. HQs with stars would then 'suck-in' more stragglers. Troops with 'black-lines' would break, rout, run, the same as they are modeled now in CMBB/CMBO. sun in the eyes might be modeled. LOS could be angle biased. This means, LOS in a certain direction (angle from above) would be shorter than in other directions. Spotting and identification is then reduced for a defender looking into the sun.

Most features break with "standard" conventions, like spotting via sound, or misidentification of targets. Others simply do a much better job, like the instant feedback 3D LOS check. Still others go into uncharted territory, like the adjustable waypoint movement system and incredibly accurate armor penetration algorithms. What does this mean? Break? What is the adjustable waypoint movement system?

In Korea, the antitank gun 45mm fired a very slow HE shell. These were slow but accurate. That si what the website must be refering to. If the HE shell was slow, maybe it was a large warhead (maore HE type)?

http://www.inert-ord.net/russ02i/mort_at/R5082.html Good pics show the comparison of lt and med mortars. German types have very small fuzes apparently. The crudeness of these ammo types is apparent. US 60mm is really a much larger weapon than other 50mm types. The link on that same page provides weight details. At 14.5 kg (32#) this is a load to hump. About the same as a LMG I suppose. The ammo is bulkier and I think if I had my choice, give me a LMG.

i Have read of them being used in Bocage fighting. When both sides were dug in in the bocage, most light arty was ineffective except for a direct hit IN a hole. In which case, hole occupants were blown to bits or badly wounded. So the 50mm and even rifle grenades could do so real damage since the forces were only seperated by 100-200 meters or even less. As the war went on and german platoons shrunk in size, the 50mm would have been a manpower burden and was probably held at a higher echelon.

Spoilage contained herein.. In Valley I finally had a hard time against the AI as the Germans. I lost the 75mmbunker and infgun with a few turns and was getting pissed at the lateness of the cavalry. Soon as the Panther shows up I whack one sherm 105. I try to use a tactic called scalping the hill. Basically have the panther come round the hill and only take on 1 or 2 sherms at a time. As luck would have it a fast shooting sherm takes the gun of my panther out. Seeing the futility of the situation, I decide to take the panther on a death ride. Running the gauntlet of sherm fire I made it into the valley. I was surprised that I could use the MGs on the panther and it was doing good work chasing away the US inf. The sherms were then drawn into the town to fight it and got hung up on the mines and shreck fire. I even KOd one with a faust. The end result was a marg victory so it aint over till its over. Lewis