Lawyer

I immediately downloaded the files last night when I saw DD's post. I'm using 56k, so it took a few hours, but I had no problems downloading it.

I like your mods a lot, gautrek. I have them all. You are very good at making dirt around the wheels and on the fenders. Keep on truckin' Thanks!

I appreciate your effort, but the pictures show lots of white dots for the bolts. I really don't see much dirt either. These mods look a little too shiney for me. But please keep up the effort. Many great mods went through stages.

You have your computer in the bathroom??? It's either that, or... Ewwwwww!</font>

Attention to Those of You Who Can Read: I'm tired and annoyed at constantly being followed around the adult areas of the CM forum by that small yapping chihuahua mutt called Panzer Leader. And so I return reluctantly to this Den of Nosepicking Naysayers to call him out: Hey PL! You salivate at the thought of sniffing the bicycle seat of SpongeBob Squarepants. Your greatest sexual adventure is painting your wife's toenails every Saturday night while she watches "Batchelor" and wishes for life on another planet. You are one of those ridiculous idiots who uses "Panzer" in his nickname on the forum. Your children are so ashamed that they legally changed their names to Tank Follower after learning how the British royal fops went on to even greater public enrichment when they dropped their German-sounding name. Your dog pees on your leg instead of a tree, and then acts like it was a "mistake". Kansas City gave you its 2003 Man of the Year Award in advance because you are now and will remain the biggest dork in town, an immense honor in the heartland. They gave you the traditional gift of a ketchup-stained clip-on nylon necktie with a matching "Western Auto" tie clip. Nuff said. You lick your fingers when you throw cow pies. I still blame you for the continual nightmares that afflict me since you posted that (shudder) upper nude picture of yourself on the MBT to shock the unwary who innocently came here for something to read while doing "Number Two". Thus, you must Die at the Hands of the Law. The challenge was sent, and you foolishly (as usual) answered it. This will be the FINAL episode of "PL Plays House With Lumpy While Wishing to be Eddie Haskell's B**tch". The rest of you can clean up the mess when I'm finished with him. [ December 13, 2002, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Lawyer ]

Yes, CMBO, and now CMBB, are the best WWII games going. First, if you are like me, you will save a lot of money by not chasing the latest whiz bang game that you can't figure out or play. Second, get all the hi-res mods at CMHQ because CMBO is MUCH cooler when it looks real good. Third, I started reading a lot of the real history of WWII to play the game, and now that is more entertaining and interesting to me than than the game itself. You read to play better, and you just got to play after reading about the real events. Very cool all around. BTW, I'm just a kid at 55. I wish they had invented all this stuff long ago.

I'm sticking with Pakfan model "g" from your first batch. I like the color of the map and the CMBB logo at the top. The Russkie tank pictures and emblem are cool, but I wish the pictures weren't so pink. Then again, black and white would be dull. What to do?? Keep at it Pakfan.

56k dial-up at $20 per month because I'm not going to pay $40 more each month for less dependable service on the wild frontier of telecom madness in the USA. Mostly, I just come here, download mods, and play PBEM. Works fine and very dependable. Sure I want more speed, but the cost and connection hassles aren't worth it. I can wait until broadband is ready for primetime.

Your libelous remark has been noted and reported to the International Brotherhood of Lawyers Enforcement Bureau for punitive action. From now on, you will find that everywhere you go something will go "wrong", and there will be no legal recourse for you. There may be no official censors in Germany, but the Legal Police are always watching you.

Are you back in the USA, Shawn? Did Europe survive? I have the "Red October" theme Russian anthemn correctly named and ready for dropping in the CMBB wav folder. I got it off the movie CD. It's 45MB zipped. Too big to email. Let me know if you are around and you can pick it up sometime. It is an awesome start to CMBB, particularly if you get one of those great new splashscreens at CM Mod Database. I'm using Pakfan's "g" model.

Barry, Let me add my thanks for bringing us such valuable insight into Otto's personal view of the war. Whenever I look at the young faces such as Otto enduring extraordinary challenges of war, suffering, and weather, I'm just amazed at how they all did it, whatever nation they fought for.

I bought the whole Capra series on tape and got it again on DVD for $7 each at BestBuy. I just enjoy the whole feel of these films to get into the WWII spirit of fighting. They are repetitive and use the same clips over and over. Also, they switch scenes too often like WWII MTV, so you don't get to study what's going on in each scene. IMO, "Divide and Conquer" is by far the best as Agua Perdido explained above for its neat "spreading Nazi stain" graphics. I love the narration that repeats why we fight Germany: "Ask the Danes! Ask the Norwegians! Ask the Russians! Ask the Dutch!" etc. etc. Propaganda films have the same purpose as advertising. Good ads and good war films motivate people to do what they see.

Going back to CMBO explosions and smoke, you have set the standard for cool mods that other folks don't do. I wish you would do more mods. They are great! Let's all dance "The Juju" to boogie these mods onward.

Great work. I'm collecting all your uniform mods. But what is that white business on the mountain troops' right shoulder? Is it a reversible parka? I can't tell from your pics.

May 2000 says it all.

"Magic Carpet" was a lot of fun. I'd buy an updated version for sure. "Panzer General" one and two were big for me. CMBO and CMBB are by FAR the best of all time for me. Now if I could just learn how to win...

Actually, Mace is best served medium rare. Just sear him enough to remove the odor, and use lots of ketchup.

Yep, I don't know who he is or when he's coming, but Panzermartin has risen to the top of my favorite modders list.

Yes. Thanks Tanks.

I really like that thicker grass in DD5. I hope you can finish the mod so it looks like that.

Very interesting. I missed this thread. Thanks to you and Nippy too.

In the Scenario Depot Ephiphany thread, the following comment by Franko caught my attention: First, let me say that Franko's scenarios are impressively researched and the maps are excellent. But what about play balance? I've played a few of them, and I'm not sure I agree with his opinion above. With a limited amount of time to play CM and a preference for PBEM, I find that the scenarios I like best are those that have realistic maps, modest size, and a chance for each side to be the victor (as defined by CM rules). Experience has taught me that these conditions are typically satisfied with limitations on time (fewer turns), units, or map size. In other words, I prefer scenarios that have satisfactory battle immersion, sufficient action, and a chance for victory in a PBEM that doesn't go much over a month. I've also read a lot of WWII history and enjoy scenarios based on what I've read, especially if I've visited the battle site (not possible for me in CMBB). I agree with Franko that few real life battles were balanced. Therefore, I tend to look for good semi-historical battles to satisfy my game needs. I have trouble understanding how a battle in CM or any other game can be really "historical" anyway. There are myriad human, resource, and weather elements in a real battle that would never happen again, even if the real battle were re-fought. These myriad elements are additionally compounded when filtered through a game engine like CM. So it seems to me that history cannot be meaningfully replicated in a CM scenario. Thus, a truly historical scenario design seems most likely to end up being a lop-sided game that is not satisfying for either player if they are competitive. A good example would be Franko's own "Parkers Crossroads" scenario in CMBO, which he told me is historically accurate, meaning that the US side doesn't stand much of a chance to win. I can vouch from my own visits that his map is accurate. Still, I can't generate enthusiasm for spending a month or more playing a scenario as either the Germans or the US, knowing that my gameplay decisions won't make much difference. What then is the purpose, from a gaming standpoint, of making a scenario for CM? Should it be to try to recreate history or achieve play balance that gives each player a shot at winning? [ November 24, 2002, 10:23 AM: Message edited by: Lawyer ]

I generally agree with your post, Franko. Your scenario grading system makes sense to me. But your point on historical scenarios deserves some further comment, so I'm going to start a separate forum thread. And blame it on you, of course. BTW, I've played of few of your scenarios. They made me realize the value of a good map for enjoying the game, so now I only play maps that look authentic. I know when I choose a Franko scenario that the map will be authentic and the historical research will be accurate. Thank you. "August Bank Holiday" was simply too large for me to enjoy. It took forever to finish by PBEM, and facing the many moves in each turn when I came home from work became burdensome. I was glad to throw in the towel by the end. I'm not criticizing the scenario itself, but it did make me realize that I don't enjoy such big battles. For all the big size, it still came down to some AI shootout decisions whose overall effect on the outcome could have happened in a smaller scale scenario. In other words, the large size didn't add any meaningful tactical options that I could see. In contrast, "Augen Zu" was quite good for me. Interesting map and objectives. Better tactical options. As the Germans, I lost at the wire by PBEM due to a couple of AI decisions that went against me. But it was a nail biting and manageable scenario. After you advised me by email that "Parkers Crossroads" could not be "won" by the US forces, I decided not to play because I couldn't see the point of spending a lot of time playing an "unbalanced" scenario where I had no chance to be a victor. Later, I visited the real Parkers Crossroads on vacation in Belgium twice in 2001 and 2002 for a detailed look. Your map was very authentic, particularly considering the limitations of the map editor in CMBO. Excellent mapping. Keep up the good work. So what scenarios do you suggest for CMBB that will give each side a fair shot at victory?

Great work, Gautrek! Are you going to make your mods CMMOS compatible? Pretty please??

My 56k costs $20 per month. No installation hassles or downtime. Two computers with separate modems can access the internet with no network hassles. Slow? Yes, but who's in a rush? I start a big download and go off to do other things. Guess what, it always works. I'm saving $40 per month and the telephone marketing idiots can't contact me when I'm always online. Not a bad deal. I don't like slow, but I haven't seen the advantage of broadband yet for a guy who mainly comes here and downloads mods.