Olduvai

I saw Cuchulainn's post about a NY cm club and thought that would be a neat idea. Admittedly the Puget Sound area is probably not the hotbed that NYC or LA might be, but hey we do have Fort Lewis and a pretty good spread of techies, so I thought there might be some interest. So, if you are Puget Sound resident, and like the idea of a) possibly gathering in person, being on a mailing list, or c) anything else you might think of, send me an email at georges@speakeasy.org or reply to this post. I don't really have any plans regarding this, but CM's a great community and I would like to meet some locals On the very odd chance there are more than one Puget Sounds in the world, I am refering to the Northwest USA variant. ------------------ ========== "Many the paths, and no gates, ever." -- Sheri S. Tepper

This is something that I have thought about as well, especially after finding a map generated that is less than ideal for the force mix selected. I am powerfully ambivalent about the subject, as I agree with both the realism arguments and under some circumstances Coral's belief that it would be funner. There is in my mind no question that both sides were often faced with using forces that were less than ideal for the terrain and enemy forces arrayed against them. However, it seems equally likely that there were many circumstances in which the force selection was made based on intelligence gathered from things such as spotter planes (did they have cameras attached to those in wwii?), recon/scout patrols, and the locals. Another consideration is cheating. There is a pretty decent range of maps generated by the qb regardless of size and other parameters, and I have definitely seen maps generated under the same parameters that are HUGELY more favorable to defense or offense. It seems to me that if the map were visible while selecting units, the player who generates the "first" pbem file could generate a new game over and over again until a map more suited for his defence or offence is generated, and then select his units accordingly. While this would be offset by his opponent's ability to see the map (and presumably the hell he is about to face), it seems to me that in the balance the game would be unfair. [Now I suspect that as a rule we are all a pretty honest group (I certainly haven't been aware of any less-than-honest behavior in my limited pbem experience)as I think we would all rather defeat our opponent because of skill not circumstance.] I like BTS' proposal that this view-before-selection might be included as an option in the future (and as it is a solution that satisfies all parties, i am really going out on a limb throwing my support in that direction, heh heh). Btw, how exactly does one go about producing those smiley thingies? I think I understand that Mr. Peng is the considered expert on the subject. . . ------------------ ========== "Many the paths, and no gates, ever." -- Sheri S. Tepper

Thanks for the reply; the sky mods look great Pillar. Looking forward to them.

Rob/1 (apparently the model without the Nahwertisgundebundesbank) alluded to the existence of CM weather mods. I have partaken heavily of the mods on MadMatt's site, and unless I am an idiot (which is certainly possible)I didn't see anything of the sort. I would certainly appreciate a link to any such mods. Thanks in advance.

two words: grolsch

Formerly Babra asked: Do people have the right to self determination or not? ========== That's an interesting question. Certainly my bleeding liberal blood says well of course they do. However, we in Washington State USA a couple of years ago were almost confronted by an interesting extension of this argument. Our state house actually passed a bill which stated to effect that secession could be accomplished legally by passing a simple majority of the individuals who wanted to secede. This was the result of a local neighborhood wanting to remove itself from a county plan for urban growth. Now obviously this is a far cry from the secession movement of the South prior to the ACW, and i'm not actually trying to link it to that. What I am struggling with is my liberal bent toward the right of self-determination and what I think was a radically bizarre and stupid law. Perhaps I'm not as liberal as I think! I guess this is a microcosm of that tangled web which is the social contract (ie, as individuals how do we balance the need for society against the needs of the individual). I'm pretty sure I don't have a point here; maybe I'm asking "what do you think?" On a side note, I have to admit that the SC position has been presented here in a whole new light for me. I also would never have thought to compare either the North or South position with that of Nazi Germany, and that's been some interesting thinking.

I'm only interested in military history and Leisure Suit Larry. Oh yeah, and hamsters.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Von Brizee: ...Damn the Kubelwagen from hell!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Now that's a signature line if I ever saw one.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pillar: ...Wonder who will win? Bets anyone?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Three smilies and an umlaut say the Mighty Axis (with a capital M) take out the feeble allies in Pillar's CM RPG!

www.AdrenalineVault.com's Nick Stewart has reviewed CM, and yes, another reviewer has discovered BTS' magic. The reviews for CM are so overwhelmingly positive that it gets silly I suppose to post another great review, but I am a silly man. Stewart wins kudos in my book by pointing out that the graphics are phenomenal, even if they aren't Quake. Here is a quick quote from the review summary: "The combination of the "wego" system, the 3D landscape, the believable AI and the careful attention to realistic detail make for a powerful experience, one that I unequivocally recommend to anyone even remotely interested in WWII, historical combat, or tactical warfare. Combat Mission is a standard-setting wargame of the highest caliber, and is probably the most enjoyable tactically-focused game that I've had the pleasure of playing. It is, without question, a true classic." Woohoo! Once again, congrats and THANKS to BTS!

I too have had some fun moments with bazookas. In a recent pbem, as american attackers i was quickly advancing over relatively open terrain against dug in Heer troops. I managed to get to a treeline before the smoke cleared, but soon discovered that this treeline was an enormously obvious place to be. Mortar started dropping everywhere; my troops would soon be slaughtered. Reverse being the wrong direction, ahead was the only option; two buildings about 40-50 meters away. Probably both manned, but I am receiving fire from only one. I send half my troops including bazooka unit racing toward one building while the other lays down suppressing fire (I play so enormously badly that I need to sound impressive in my retellings). For reasons known only to the CM gods, my particular bazooka team leaps up a good 5-10 seconds and goes charging toward the building. Inspired by their comrades, the two squads also charged with taking the building leap to their feet and follow Speedy Gonzales by only a few feet. I am not sure who is more surprised, my bazooka team or the flamethrower who is hiding in the building; regardless the appropriate action for both seems to be ignore each other. Bazook runs past alarmed flamethrower, and takes up position against other wall. Two squads are about four seconds from entering the building; I figure the flamethrower is waiting for them. Bazooka discovers another suprise waiting for us on the other side of the building; a Pak of some sort, which he promptly decides to take out with the zook. I suppose you can guess where this is all leading. In a dramatic three seconds, bazooka fires and takes out the Pak. Of course, there is a flamethrower unit directly behind said bazooka, and yes, the back draft from zook does in fact ignite the flamethrower. Massive fireball ensues, which apparently triggers the detonation of the building, and flattens it (accompanied by the biggest damn shockwave i have ever seen in cm). One squad looses six in the flames; both decide that the mortar-ridden tree line is in fact much safer and makes a hasty retreat and wouldn't they in fact rather be in Peoria?

I'm very interested in playing, but not sure if who I should contact -- Pillar, or one of the commanders. Please let me know, thanks much!

Awesome, thanks for the speedy replies. I especially want to learn more about the possible Coral Sea incident!

This thread makes me very uncomfortable. I get nervous whenever folks start talking about The Way It Should Be. I think this thread is indicative of how good this board really is. Whether intentionnally provocative or not, any post which in effect says "this place has changed and I'm leaving" is destined to produce a wide range of responses. I think a lot of boards out there would degenerate immediately into a pointless and offensive flame war. Instead here we have a relatively thoughtful and mildly philosophical debate about status quo, about how to All Get Along. Yes, the board will change as new people come. And yes, the larger the sample, the flatter the bell curve. But we are also talking about wargamers, Extreme Grognards, and people who understand why Combat Mission is so revolutionary -- a pretty good sample to begin with. In other words, this is good people. As a newbie (and someone doing his best to flatten that curve) I appreciate the fact that many of the "old-timers" have gone out of their way to welcome all comers, and even point out their contributions. Many have made the point in this very thread that they appreciate newcomers. But please be aware that any discussion of How It Was Before is bound to make anyone new at least a little uncomfortable.

I read in a post here that during WWII bombers landed in the wrong countries. By inference, I assume that this is by error and not due to circumstances (ie, damaged allied bombers landing in China). This certainly doesn't surprise me, and I would like to learn more. Can someone point me in a direction? Even knowing whose bombers (or fighters for that matter) and what country would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Seanachai wrote: "...Most of these demented swine have 'combat' tatooed across their knuckles." I saw a guy with "Poor Impulse Control" tatooed on his forehead. Would he count?

ASL started it all for me, actually. I was an avid roleplayer (D&D) in the mid-80's, and of course had seen all those boxes when visiting the local hobby store. I figured there must be something wrong with those games -- they were in a box after all, like monopoly. The one of my D&D buddies turned up one day with ASL, and we played it, and a wargamer was born.

Grognard wanna-be ISO other like-minded Combat Mission fanatics for pbem. Likes: fire missions, long walks through a foggy minefield, and the pleasant exchange of 75mm shells. Dislikes: the French. Please feel free to send me an email if you are interested in any of the above. Olduvai: georges@speakeasy.org ps if there's a player-matching service out there of which I am ignorant, please let me know.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SuperWidgeon: Hey just one more thing, when it comes to voodoo drivers are you sure the beta drivers are the way to go? It seem to me from the website that the WHQL certified driver are highly recomended. 1.05.00 WHQL released jan 30 2000 to be exact. "The driver numbers on the website are confusing" Because that date and driver number don't seem right,they seem to change on different pages. Anyway bottom line is beta vs. WHQL is beta stable and worth the risk?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ==== SuperW, I have tried the both the beta drivers for Voodoo3 PCI and the most current WHQL (or official) drivers. I saw no difference in qraphic, smoke, or explosions, but did notice a marked slowdown in simply using the interface when using the beta drivers over the offical drivers. Just my experience, your mileage may vary.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bat: I have a Compaq Persario AMD k62 with 128 ram. The system is using a Rage LT Pro AGP 2x and has the same problem. Smoke and transparent buildings work. Fog = white screen. File details are MACW4.DRV file version 4.10.2456. I also do not have the fog emulation button, (or just do not know where to look), but do have the latest version of Directx. Do this mean fog is hopeless. In other simulations, fog does not appear to be a problem. I have seen a picture of fog in a post and it looks great!!! ANY CHANCE AT ALL FOR FOG?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> ==== Unfortunately Bat, I don't think there is a remedy for you with the Rage cards. I have two different ATI chipsets, Rage Pro Turbo and 128 Xpert. No amount of driver manipulation (old or new) allowed me to see fog on either of my machines with the rage cards. I gave up and tried a voodoo3, and it worked fine.

Thanks for all the help guys. As one of the posts here suggested, the problem was not with the video card but with my settings. Win98 thought there were two monitors; there were not so that what was causing the freeze. Thanks again

well, in the stoopid human tricks category, I have discovered that my alleged voodoo3 problem is in fact my own, and I do not have any problem with the card now. If you are curious, I had managed to convince my machine that I had two monitors while only have one connected. I surmise that the hang I was experiencing was cm going out and querying a monitor that did not exist. Convinced the computer there's only one monitor now, and cm loads fine. and by the way, ain't that fog suh-weet?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Frenchy: Hey Olduvai, I have the same card. I did not have the problems you had when installing it and playing CM. As a possible solution, perhaps reload the drivers and be sure to download and install the latest drivers. It will fix the blocky smoke. Sorry I couldn't be of much help here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Frenchy, which drivers are you using, and what's your processor configuration? I can't even get the game to load let alone get blocky explosions so you are on to something I'm not yet. I am on the current non-beta drivers, which are 4.12.01.1222. Thanks for your help.

I am having a pretty severe problem with my Voodoo3 2000 on my PC. I understand there are known issues with that card on Mac and wanted to know if any pc users are having the same functionality (or lack thereof) that I am having. My problem is basic -- the game locks up before even getting to the video resolution screen. The machine hard-locks, I have to power down and reboot. Needless to say I am a little frustrated. I got the Voodoo3 card (without reading the boards so I have only myself to blame) because I my ATI 128 won't show fog. The voodoo problem seems to be isolated to CM, current games such as Deus Ex and Diablo II run no problem on it. Any suggestions from anyone? Thanks much in advance.