Buckeye

I was listening to the radio the other day, and I heard one of the all-time best comeback lines in my life. Note: This is an exact replication of National Public Radio (NPR) interview between a female broadcaster, and US Army General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation. FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?" GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting." FEMALE INTERVIEWER: "Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?" GENERAL REINWALD: "I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range." FEMALE INTERVIEWER: "Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?" GENERAL REINWALD: "I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm." FEMALE INTERVIEWER: "But you're equipping them to become violent killers." GENERAL REINWALD: "Well, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?" The radio went silent and the interview ended. And all I could think was, Go Army!

Well, Gyrene, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this, but Aikidorat (he of MCMIII fame) said that Charles told him that we'd be using BMPs in folders, instead of resource files, for CMBB. So, it's third hand, but I sure hope it's true. I'm tired of running out of space in those damn resource files...very frustrating for a dyed-in-the-wool mod slut. :mad:

Actually, I'd suggest you use Amazon. The publisher (Grange) is based in England, and lists the price in pounds. I ordered it from Amazon (thanks for the rec, BTW) for $20.

That's what I like, Manx, a man who gives me an excuse to upgrade my hardware! I look forward to the Return of the King!

Problem solved: I used Stuffit Expander rather than Zip It to extract the files, and they worked like a charm! For some reason, Zip It didn't extract the file correctly...although it usually does. Perhaps it's because you (Berli) created them on a Mac and compressed them with Stuffit? In any case, glad to know I can download from Der Kessel with impunity!

Hi Berli. I tried several scenarios. The ones I wanted most were Firefight at Weinbourg Pass and Le Camp Crossroads...say, I guess you could send those to me directly! I have Stuffit Expander, as well as Zipit. The files seemed to expand without any difficulty...but just wouldn't work in the program. Thanks for your help.

Sorry for the double post...ignore this one. [ 10-13-2001: Message edited by: Buckeye ]

I've tried several times to download scenarios from Der Kessel, and each time I do, they download and unzip okay, and show up in the game list, but when I try to open them, the program aborts back to the desktop. :mad: I use a Mac, and have tried both IE Explorer and Netscape to download the scenarios, so it doesn't seem to be the server. Anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be? :confused:

This new scoring system sounds like a very good idea, and could be extended to many other tournaments. As John says, we didn't play-test every scenario 10 times, not only because of limited time, but also because you would really need 10 tests conducted by players blind to the scenario, not 10 by folks who have already played the scenario. So we can never guarantee a scenario is balanced. Until now, the only way to deal with this problem was to have mirrored games, but that doesn't work nealry as well when the forces are fixed from the start, because then the attacker knows what forces the defender has, and vice versa. I'll be very interested to see how this scoring system works. Mike, I assume WB and the rest of his team will have access to the standings? On another front, I'm pleased everyone is enjoying WB's scenarios. I've read two of the AARs so far, and they were both entertaining. They mirrored my experiences in some ways, but were different in others. I look forward to reading more.

The second round of the Panther 76 Tournament on the Rugged Defense Ladder site is currently underway, and it used a diagonal map. It was interesting to play (both my games are completed). I worried about getting hit with an early arty barrage when attacking, and all my forces were grouped closely, but I think that's too risky as an attacking strategy in a Tournament (and possibly in real life). In any case, it does make for an interesting battle.

You would like my sig, wouldn't you, Gustav? Thanks for the compliment, WB. But I only take credit for the scenarios everyone loves...the flubs are your fault!

I helped play-test these for WB, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Of course, I won both those battles, so that helped. But they really are fun armor-heavy battles, with lots of toys to play with. Give 'em a try.

I was a play-tester for WB on these, and I heartily recommend them. Some fierce armor battles, with lots of toys to play with!

Super Ted is more gracious than I! I should have also thanked the folks who helped me test these scenarios. They are Leland Tankersly, Jeff Smith, Dave Rat, Todd Johnston. They all put up a good fight (some better than others ), and also gave up any chance of taking part in the tournament. Thanks fellas!

Good luck, gentlemen! I've tested them all, and you're going to enjoy yourselves...well, actually, sometimes you'll curse, sometimes you'll cry, and sometimes you'll rend your garments...but you'll have fun doing it! I look forward to reading the AARs, and seeing how the scenarios play out for all of you. To the victor goes the spoils...er, wine.

As one of Wild Bill's testers, I just thought I'd pop in and let all of you know that you're in for a treat. The scenarios that he has devised will challenge your skills at using armor, infantry, and combined arms under a variety of conditions. Great tactical decisions await you, and can swing battles from disaster to triumph or vice versa! We are finishing up the last one or two scenarios for your fighting pleasure. I just played the most satisfying draw I've ever had in CM, making a tremendous comeback thanks largely to an inexperienced Panther tank commander who in a brazen counterattack accounted for 4 tank kills and over 30 casualties! No more details, because I don't want to deprive you of full FOW. But man, do I look forward to reading your AARs!

Fausts will definitely kill tanks. Heck, I had one kill a Pershing in a PBEM game recently. Helps to have your units hidden. Targeting will just give them away from small arms fire. They will tend to wait until the tank is very close.

I really hope that all the whining/carping/bitching that Mike had to deal with on the "Tourney of the Stars" (Tourney of the Prima Donnas?) doesn't spill over into this one. WB had put together some fun scenarios...and the emphasis is on fun, which is what these tournaments ought to be about. To clarify the reasons for Mike's apparent departure, and for more commentary, see the "Tourney of the Stars" thread.

Hear, hear! WB, I couldn't agree more. I think it'd be a crying shame to throw out all the hard work and good intentions that have gone into the tourneys that Mike and Winecape have assembled. But I also would understand if they found all the whining, carping, and complaining had worn them down beyond the breaking point. I hope that they will reconsider, at least about the Rumblings of War Tourney, if not this one.

My own experience is that area fire rarely works as well as direct fire, whether for suppression or any other purpose. If you've got a target, shoot at it! The only exception I can think of might be when targeting a unit in a building; if targeted directly, your squad may stop firing if the unit slips from view. This can be a bigger issue with armor.

Richochet, of the two scenarios currently being tested, one is 25 turns and the other 30. Those of you who know Wild Bill's scenarios know he likes to get the action going quickly, and not to have battles drag out interminably. Rommel, I don't want to speak for Wild Bill, but I'd be astounded if he doesn't release the scenarios to his adoring public once the tournament is over.

Hey, Mick Jagger, I mean Makjager , Dave has given me a good run for my money in the games we've played so far. But I spanked him badly in our last one, when we play tested a Wild Bill Wilder scenario. My jabos took out about 7 of his tanks (what skill, eh?), and my cheeky Brits did the rest. Now we're play testing another WBW scenario for the WBW Rumblings of War Tournament. He's attacking with a big force of German paras against my tired Amis...in fog, at night. Oh, it's bloody, and we're only on turn 3! He's already got about an entire platoon dead or wounded...tough to penetrate bocage in those conditions.

WWB, thanks for the offer. I think, but am not sure, that I have folks signed up for all the scenarios. I'll let you know if I need another tester. Mike, sorry about the slip about Rune, and sorry to you, too, Rune. I thought WBW had already given me one by Rune, but I jumped the gun. My apologies.

Boy, this is one time I'll be glad to be proved wrong. I could have sworn that I pasted winter pict files into a resource other than 13, after removing them from 13, and the program didn't find them. Perhaps they have to be in the same resource as the non-winter version? I didn't check that. In any case, I'll be one happy camper if I can add more mods, especially the winter ones!!!! Your memory lapse is forgiven, Dave...just keep sending those turns!

Just a quick bump, so all you tourney heads don't miss this...I've seen a few of the scenarios already, and have started testing two of them. They're going to be fun and challenging (no surprise with Wild Bill and Rune as scenario creators), and a great basis for a tournament! C'mon, join the fun!