kump

1) "What a beautiful clear day! Driver, forward...." 2) "Who is that knocking on the hatch? I didn't see anyone..." and finally 3) "AH HA! Quick, over there in those trees, some more AFV crew." "But sir, that Firefly that just popped smoke!?!" "Don't question me! Tiger #204 leads with a crew killed score of five and we are only down two. Now turn the turret this instant!!!" sorry, couldn't resist...

Somehow, for the first time in wargaming for me, a computer program has forced me to experience true desperation in performing an ill advised attack. As the German trying to break out of a possible encirclement, I had very little time and needed to capture several objective areas to “open an escape route” towards Germany. Attacking at night, I considered it a loss unless I captured all objectives, especially the village at the exit point. In this scenario (will remain nameless), time is short and my usual careful attack with good supporting fire would not allow me a victory. With two of the three objectives taken and the clock ticking, it had to be now, and it had to be quick. My supporting armor (one AG) had been taken out, so it was to be infantry alone. I had to attack across an open field into the village. It was something I would never normally do, but considered the casualties would have to be paid if I was to win at all. I hate casualties in wargames. Smoke could be used, but it wasn’t the field I was worried about. I had already given the US troops a severe beating and driven them back into the village. It was once I got to the edge of the village and beyond. It was going to be a nasty close range street fight and I could only hope my troops would arrive in a coordinated fashion. With dread, I pushed the Go button and watched with anxiety as the troops obeyed and rushed forward. To say it was a fight of desperation was an understatement. I got what I did not want, a lot of casualties. I watched as platoons were reduced to the last man, bodies everywhere, both Axis and Allies. I hated it! And yet, I loved it! It was a total nightmare and I felt helpless! I watched with concern as the squads got whittled down to single figure squads. I watched with disappointment as my single Pioneer squad lost its chance to take out a US armor unit which was a true thorn in my side. In short, I was forced to watch an attack I truly did not want to do, and was certain that I had now lost the battle. As the mayhem started to die down, and there was certainly a lot of it, I could see I no longer had a worthy platoon left to carry on the fight. There were still half squads left that defended the finally obtained objective area, but nothing to continue any kind of an assault. Fortunately, the US was in the same shape, the vicious fire fight had left their numbers depleted and exhausted. The game immediately ended. I won a Minor Victory (54-31), with 109 casualties and 2 vehicles. The US lost exactly the same, 109 casualties, 12 captured, and 2 vehicles. Was it an ill advised attack? I certainly would not have done it in the manner I did, but I was forced due to time constraints. Overwatch? Not in this case. As it was, I won a minor victory just in the nick of time. I got that avenue open towards Germany. Only problem was, there wasn’t much left of the break out force. I did not like the pressure that forced me to plan such an attack. I was kind of perturbed that no time was given for a good coordinated approach. Oh what the heck, lets go! To my surprise, the desperation of the whole issue was experienced and I may now have some idea of how it felt to be in such desperate situations. There was a real feeling of anxiety to break through at all cost and to do it NOW. It was almost one of an assaulting retreat. I had to get through, no matter the costs, for there was no retreat in this battle. You have to love a wargame that immerses you that much and brings about emotions such as these while playing. I never perform the almighty save game reload maneuver, for this only deadens the emotions and takes away the feelings of accomplishment and defeat, both of which is why I play in the first place. Can’t wait to fight on the Eastern front with CM2. There, desperation was handed out in the handfuls. Great game BTS, great game.

Michael emrys, Your #1 counter point is at issue. The main gun/coaxial can still fire at AT units such as PIATs, etc. All "AT" threats are treated as high priority. Crews will be IGNORED and distant infanty squads would be ignored. When normal infantry squads approach to within a certain pre-defined distance in LOS of the AFV on orders to "main gun on AT threat only", then the TacAI could include those infantry units as AT threats of a high priority also, finally using main gun on infantry squads. THE BIGGEST problem is the number of crews for knocked out AFVs that can appear on the battle field. Its a pity that the slow turreted vehicles continuously turn to waste ammunition and put themselves into a tactical disadvantage due to these non-threatening targets. There seems to be too much duck shooting going on. Small groups of men running in the other direction don't deserve my Tiger I's dedicated attention, and throwing shells their way is grounds for a severe repremand. I love the game, and its a joy as is. Playing with slow turreted vehicles are a lot of fun when playing against the fast turreted vehicles. Lots of suspense and excitement. But losing slow turreted AFVs due to turret fixation on scampering crews and ignoring temporarily out of sight AFVs is not exciting, its aggrevating. There are currently two smoke screens in the game. The first is your normal smoke screen to deny LOS. The second is from your destroyed AFVs, which issue a human smoke screen, effectively providing a target rich environment to the detrement of slow turreted vehicles.

Well, I've read several posts on getting their vehicles knocked out and watching it continue on until it hits a building or something. Tonight I had a jeep go racing across a wide road bridge at 65 mph and long distance machinegun fire killed the driver (knocked it out). At that speed, the tiny jeep kept flying, no one in the driver seat, just screaming down the road for a mighty long stretch until it hit some scattered trees and finally rolled to a stop. The funny part was the platoon headquarters unit in the back. Not even shaken! There they were, just sitting in this fast moving driverless jeep, looking at the scenery as this thing went out of control down the road. After it stopped, they just got out as if nothing happened and went on their merry way. Not phased at all. Guess it doesn't matter how you get there, just as long as you get there. Those guys have guts, no one screamed, no one complained, but I bet it was a hell of a ride [This message has been edited by kump (edited 07-07-2000).]

Sorry, I go with the ever enthusiastic sniperscope. Not perfect, but definately better than a 7. I understand Madmatt's comment. Yea, the MDMP proves we can have better sounding rifle shots, machineguns, explosions, etc.. But look at the package over all... We have incredable ambient sounding backgrounds. Damn if the rainfall and thunder almost put me into a trance, its very good. Listen to the volume as you approach speaking, fighting, and tank engines. Add to that having them all being played at once. I'm sorry, its more than just quality of a single sound file, but the sound technology of the engine and how it was pulled off that is also counted in that score, or should be, not just the opening theme song, the background music, or any specific sound effect. Now add to that one item further, the sound technology of CM allows one to substitute their own wav files if they wish to add what they may feel as better quality. Its all subjective, but I rate it higher than a 7 due to the technology and the customization alone. Not a 10, because Madmatt has already given me improved sound effects, but I would put it at least an 8, or even a 9, for who needs musical rock themes to go with the shooting? Play your stereo.

Seanachai, I didn't know you cared? I'm truly touched. And here I thought all my crying was going largely ignored. I also admit that I am a CM forum junkie, even continuously checking on the Canadian issue, being totally jealous of even better crying than my own. But there definately is a community here that I find fascinating to follow. I've eaten CM every day for a four day weekend and I'm simply blown away. I can't imagine switching my diet to anything else anymore. Its CM or I don't eat.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>KUMP.where do i get the snip scenario????<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, I didn't want to give too much away, so I really don't think I should say it is the "All or Nothing" scenario that comes with the game. It wouldn't be right, so you will have to figure it out yourself.

Zhammer, Your system sounds like its more than up to the task, so something is very strange there. Don't know why there would be pauses. Good luck in getting a better post than this "sorry to hear that" post I'm doing Wish I had an answer for you, but I don't. I would uninstall, defrag, and reinstall. And then I would continue to ask tech support. You definately want the ambient sounds going, its worth the work.

Hmm... I've never seen sharpshooters, or snipers, treated this well in a wargame before. They are causing me royal PAIN!!! Playing the scenario called (snip) I am advancing down a road in rain. I've got infantry on flanks in trees looking over a large field that I just knocked out some (snip). I just know that there is more. My infantry ran out into the open to several other wooded covering positions, my buttoned up CS tanks sit out in the open waiting to squash any sighted defender, an artillery spotter sneaks to the edge of the field, and a recon scout car dashes back and forth on the road across this open area. Nothing, all is quiet! (PS: Recon scout cars are incredable in this game, they really have an improved sighting capability over other vehicles.) With an aura of confidence, I send my troops down the road and "ZING - AAARRGGHH", a Mortar crew man down! "ZIP - I'm HIT!", a MG crew man down! Where the hell is it coming from!!! My infantry posted on the edge of the woods overlooking this open field have reported nothing!!! No one can see where this fire is coming from (FOW full). Its raining and LOS is restricted, if only I could find that bastard or bastards to retaliate for the hurting they are giving me! And they held their fire until the good stuff (mortars, spotters, machineguns) came walking out into the open. Sharpshooters can be deadly! Oh, and thanks to MDMP mod from CMHQ, the ZING and ZIP sounds when squads get hit really help in knowing when you've caught the attention of sharpshooters! Great stuff! (edited - had to remove other clues as to side I'm playing, no spoiler here) [This message has been edited by kump (edited 07-04-2000).]

Hmmm... This is strange. Maybe its the access speed of the hard drive? No, maybe something else. Processor speed? Not enough memory? Maybe if you folks described your system a little? And maybe post over at the technical forum would be good idea. If your just curious about what others see, on my PIII500, 128 Meg, with Ultra-Wide 2 Cheetah drive, I have no pause at all with ambient sounds on. Never play without them, they really increase the immersion level to even a higher level. Full install is usually the answer. I suspect hardware limitations after that (long hard drive access times). [This message has been edited by kump (edited 07-04-2000).]

Great and the review looks ... ugh... I don't know. If someone could be so kind and translate to an English version, I would appreciate it

Since I wasn't there, I'm hard pressed to say if CMs MGs are "really ultimately realistic". As it is, I think the MGs do a great job without making it INCREDABLY difficult on the attacker. I've had them do miracles, some times, not. I can imagine if a single MG42 HMG opened up and wiped out an advancing 12 man US squad in a single burst, the posts on this board would be quite opposite this one. By the way, I had six Shermans, three abreast, two deep, waiting in a Paris street. Two full nine man German squads decided to cross the street at a run towards a victory area. The first one crossing into the open was cut down to the last man in a matter of two seconds by the Shermans single machinegun bursts. The second squad appeared fifteen seconds later and shared the same fate. No suvivors. I'd say that is pretty effective. [This message has been edited by kump (edited 07-03-2000).]

PIII500, 128Meg, V5 5500 (1024x768, FSAAx4), UltraWide 2 Cheetah drive. Hmm... A slight slow down, but over all runs fine. I can't complain. If this scenario is the worst as a graphics hog, then I'm very pleased. Great scenario though, especially when the (snip) arrived and (snip). Brewed stuff everywhere!

The best troops in CM are the ones your always short of. When in close, the SMG squads are to the rear. When you need to suppress, the MGs are on the wrong side of the tree line. Found a mine field, your engineers are on the wrong flank. Need medium range cover fire on advance, everyone is armed with SMGs and the Rifle squads haven't arrived yet. In other words, they are all good. The best infantry is the infantry trained for the job at hand. They all stink unless the commander (you) put them in the right place at the right time. As for what is best in the game comparing like types? I think experience and fanatism count more than anything else. There are no superman squads here. Even the most elite squad will fall quickly when improper tactics are used, especially in CM. I guess you can only identify a squad type as your favorite, but "best" is reserved for that certain day to that certain squad that happens to be in the right place at the right time. And you will be surprised what squad type that unit may be. I like to play with all the squads with an exception to the one armed with pitch forks. I just can't get those peasants in close enough before they turn and run!

The trees change with seasons, but did you notice that the ambient background noise reflects the season? Not just weather effects like rain, etc, but the common background that goes with the distant sound of battle. The fall has wind blowing and leaves rustling. I was quite taken by surprise that even the background sound was worked on to this detail! For the last couple of days, I've been kicking the tires, peeking under the hood, and turning all the knobs. I'm still stunned by all that I'm finding. What an amazing product CM has turned into. I hope BTS and all those who helped are aware of the fans truly appreciating their work. And once they finish bowing, get back to it and bring us MORE!!! An Addicted CM Fan

In the scenairo (snip) you have quite a few Shermans for a large city attack. The Germans have Panthers distributed several places. I had four Shermans on a large street who just smoke screened themselves from a Panther on the same road, being lucky not to lose anyone except a TC (lost two Shermans on another street someplace else, luck strikes good here, bad there). Hmmm... because of the way the scenario map was done, these poor Shermans could not find another route. It had to be straight ahead. Should I wait for the smoke to clear and trade frontal shots? Frontal shots on Panthers? Not on your life! I noticed this particular Panther was only 350+ meters away, which graphical wise, looked pretty far, but Shermans are fast and just maybe... I decided to take my four Shermans and "Fast" them to the Panther to point blank range, surrounding it on all sides. When you lack the quality, you use the quantity. These tank rushes worked well with miniatures, and I was sure the road pavement would give my Shermans speed. Man, was the tension high, because I would also be out in the open and there could be other Panthers or things covering further out. The charge could be a deadly mistake. But staying and waiting for the smoke to clear could even be more deadlier. I'm impressed! Worked just like I thought it would. WOW! Those Shermans raced out of the smoke like a dream come true. Speed demons those things are on roads! They completely surrounded the Panther. The Panther got one Sherman, not unexpectedly, for how could it miss! But no way that turret was going to turn fast enough before, YEAAA.. a Sherman at the rear of the Panther put it to sleep! What a rush!!! It worked! I traded an M4A2 Sherman for a Panther G, nice trade. Then payment continued. One other Sherman brewed when hit from another Panther G much further out. Damn, just what I feared. First thought, CHARGE! But now I was down to two Shermans for this platoon and the quantity equation wasn't so good any longer. Ran to cover instead! LOVE this game. With this kind of play, it will be around a long, long time.

Did you folks note the detail in the 3D models that reflect the details in the game? The only difference between the Pz-VG and Pz-VG (late) is that the shot trap is fixed, and this is not only in the game data, but the 3D model reflects it too! Take a look, its easy to spot the shot trap removed in the late model. The more I kick the tires of this game, the more I'm impressed. We got us a jewel!

BTS, Noticed while I was goofing off with the scenario editor, the model of the Pz-VI B / Porsche (King Tiger) has the wrong turret. Its the same as the Pz-VI B turret. Should not the 3D model of the Pz-VI B / Porsche differ from the Pz-VI B? Historically it was different, and I swore I saw some beta tester screen shots showing off the difference, but in the full version patched to version 1.01, the turrets are identical. Could someone look into this and if not correct, fix in future patch? Or at least fix my misunderstanding.

killmore, How would the Easy Eight know that your Tiger had a damaged gun? Well maybe, if it was bent up at an unusual angle I am impressed that the TacAI of the Sherman continued to fire at the Tiger with the damaged gun! The usual case is that it would cheat and switch immediately to the other Tiger. But the Sherman TacAI is behaving in a realistic manner and not getting information that it should not have. Oh well, at least that is how it appears to me. I applaud CM's AI again for playing full FOW. But I may be mistaken.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Quote from Seanachai Hey, did kump get his copy yet? Because I'm standing around here with this special squad of 6 guys, and as soon as we get the word that he's the last one with no copy of CM, we're sposed to go in and rescue him. Be nice to know if he needs it or not. Sheesh, all this bushwah to save one lousy gamer...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, I got CM this bright Friday afternoon before the weekend. I won't be the last pre-order at this weeping wall, so no rescue will be required. But I did appreciated the thought! No time to hang around here, got to go play. But I had to drop by the visit the weeping wall. After being here so long, it starting feeling like home, and I'm already kind of missing it....NOT!

Oh never mind... [This message has been edited by kump (edited 06-30-2000).]

Pre-order CM arrived today!!!! I wanted to thank... Steve, for jumping in personally and taking care of my pre-order. Steve, thanks! It arrived before the holiday weekend as you promised it would! I am recommending you for Sainthood. Bill Wood, who exchanged e-mail with me this week to guarentee I would have a copy of CM by this weekend. Lived an hour and a half away near Greensboro NC and gave me the peace of mind that I would definately be playing this weekend. Thanks Bill! You are a gentleman and a new friend. To Joe Shaw, sniperscope, Supertanker, and ALL the rest of you on this board. I've been a real pain sometimes (remember my initial "BTS deserves all the Blame" thread?), but I attempted to switch to humor instead of anger, for there really was nothing I could do about it. All of you have been great about putting up with me and giving me a smile. This really is a great community here and I wanted everyone to know that I'm thankful. To my weeping wall compatriots, both old and new. I regret that I have to leave such fine company, but my knees hurt! On to CM and finally, I can now say, "It is worth the wait". Man, that saying got on my nerves. Of course we know its worth the wait, that was why we were crying so loud!!! Now to four days of 4th of July holiday of CM, since that is all the fire works I'm going to need. Thanks folks, ------------------ Garry Kump

I was a Novastar customer because I loved SP. If a newsletter existed for CM, I would subscribe, no problem. However, Novastar went out of business...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>From Joe GET A LIFE YOU PATHETIC LOSER IT'S JUST GAME WHY DON'T YOU ACT YOUR AGE IT WILL GET THERE WHEN IT GETS THERE GROW UP!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh no! That actually felt pretty good. I'm really going to miss these good ole days! [This message has been edited by kump (edited 06-30-2000).]

WOW!!! My old favorite weeping wall thread is back on top!!! Completely forgot about this thread! Being an old timer of this thread, I'd like to welcome all new comers. You are definately welcome and please, take one of the complementary hankies as you find a position at the wall. My name is kump, and I've been here a long time. There used to be a lot of pre-order folks here, but they have long gone. A very small unfortunate few of us pre-order folks are still here. We, however, never give up hope. If things go right, I should get my CM today! The BTS gods have heard my pitiful wailing and have shown mercy by devine intervention. However, much as I would like to think that intervention was due to my lamentation at this wall, it is actually attributed to an offering I made called e-mail. Now that the game has been restocked, you should be getting it in a reasonable amount of time. If not, e-mail BTS. In the mean time, please find a position and no slobbering on your neighbors