Wilhammer

Can I order my copy of CM2 today? I was having a fit waiting on my pre-order for CM:TOG. This newbie should be really worried and in cold sweats waiting for his order.

Many threads on this. My first wargaming actually was with the neighbors and my brothers, hunting each other in the Craddock neighborhood of Portsmouth, Va. (Town Center had a 3in gun we could play with). One day, some refugees from East Germany moved in 4 doors down, and we had some "bad" guys to play with; twas a big family with 6 boys in it. We built forts of woven sticks for our army men. Drive sticks into ground about 4 inches apart, and weave other sticks between them, then try to penetrate our bunkers with rocks. By the age of 12, we were digging slit trenches in the woods, and once dug a pretty good size pit we covered with plywood and earth. Then I bought a copy of Tactics II.

I like the M-8 HMC. It is so cheap, and the 75 howitzer packs a wallop. I find in my QBs of 1200+ I can buy one per platoon. I second the M-36. Another good purchase is the Mortar Halftrack. Bring it in after you have located the enemy, and put them in action where they can't be easily targeted, and harass the s**t out of his infantry. The M-20 Armored car is dirt cheap, and the .50 cal, though puny on the ammo, is real useful as a killer of German HTs and ACs. I try to find room in my budget for 2 of them either in support of the M-36 or in conjunction with the M-8 Armored Car. Keep your American infnatry in the 50 meter to 120 meter firefight range. Above all, remeber that CM battles are won by the infantry.

A game for Gunny Bunny; http://www.gamersinn.com/library/arcade/?874 Bunny Blast! If you can't (or won't) get this DOS classic to run, of equal consideration is this java game on the Web; http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=1070 Awesome Graphics and a situation that should remind him of this board membership general response to his non-competent posting. Enjoy! I did. Elmer Fudd [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-29-2001).]

Wayne, I think you are confused. Combat Command is an operational level wargame using an intertwined "YouGoIGo" system. I am trying the demo now, it looks OK so far, except I don't know half of what is going on because of a lack of rules. If anyone else is trying this out, or doing the full version, I'd like to to email with you about it. I always preferred this scale in board wargaming, and so far CC2 (Combat Command 2) looks pretty good.

Thus, PBEM is suspended until it is back up. I have not received any new mail since late last night.

Endless hours of WS&IM. Still have mine as well. AH got a lot of great games from Battleline. WS&IM Flattop (still no decent PC alternative) Submarine (still nothing good. Only Wolfpack got close) Air Force/Dauntless (Flight Sims as board games seem silly now) Circus Maximus (Loved whipping opponents around corners too fast) Gladiator (I have seen Gladiator auction at E-bay for over $100.00)

Ace of Aces by Nova Games (btw, the original developer of a huge Stalingrad Game, which was also most enjoyable) was very cool. We got together several guys on several occasions using book markers to enable multi-player. I lost my copy, but a few years ago found the 2 WW1 sets for 50c each at a yard sale, still in the sleeve box and not too worn. It was my first "online" game. Me and another guy actually played it over the phone several times Another game I enjoyed, but it took a lot of patience to learn and play, was SPIs Air War. For tactical land games, I really enjoyed SPIs CityFight IMHO a lot better than Squad Leader. This game was the first to employ a workable 2-player blind system (though you needed to really trust your opponent). First game I ever played that took into account sound for spotting. Another great double-blind game was Operation Crusader by GDW. It was my "grand tactical" favorite along with its cousin Suez '73. I wish I had some boardgame opponents...have not done any boardgaming since World In Flames about 10 years ago. When will the world be blessed with a BTS quality near perfect Computer Strategic WW2 game? [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-23-2001).]

First wargame anyone showed me was Squad Leader. First I played (that day) was Tactics II. Went that night to a local toy store and bought Third Reich. Been hooked ever since.

Where can I get some info on "uncommon Valor"? I played FlatTop a lot in the early 1980s, and in the early 90s someone made a game on Guadalcanal, but it was a wierd system and did not work too well. I also played Guadalcanal by AH, which for a wargame made in 1968, is pretty darned good. Still got it too. The PTO is very under represented in wargaming, I think I might of played them all, Midway, VITP, War In The Pacific (some of it, huge game), Pacific War (the Victory Games one, quite good), and the others above. [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-21-2001).]

I know its hollywood. And likely not true. Yeah, he sounded kind of funny on that field phone trying to full the German planted mike. He was turning down fictional replacements by reminding the fake command that we were "still fightin' the Japs" [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-20-2001).]

DBL POST [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-20-2001).]

Gosh, did not know about the IMBD. Cool site. Anyway, the movie is called "Hell is For Heroes". Pretty good from what I saw. Saw an interesting tactic not possible in CM, the detonation of a minefield with 60mm mortars. The guy hosting the film at the end said the story came from what was then a just unclassified AAR.

Just caught the last 30 minutes of a Black and White movie on TCM that starred Steve McQueen. In the end, he is shot and runs up to grab a satchel charge the Germans had just chucked out of the pillbox. Steve jumps into the pillbox with the charge, and boom. End of movie. Wierdness was seeing Bob Newhart in the film.

Elvis, I agree with you. I have missed having him on this board.

Lorak. The unit you were targeting in the building is a HQ unit, and he was directing mortar fire. I wonder if the TacAI guessed that and decided to block his observation.

Lorak. The unit you were targeting in the building is a HQ unit, and he was directing mortar fire. I wonder if the TacAI guessed that and decided to block his observation.

Vehicles do not block LOS or fire. However, I have had MG fire miss intended infantry targets and then heard the bullets bounce off of the AFV. Remember, CM firsts determines IF a hit or csualty is called, and then calculates the impact point and any collateral damage of misses.

It was the doctrine of both sides to destroy buildings, especially when they were an obvious threat as a potential enemy OP or stronghold. This doctrine was practiced so much that American troops learned it was best to stay outside of the buildings, AMOF, they were often used instead as crappers. An order actually went out to the frontline telling American GIs to stop crapping upstairs. If they did stay in the building, it was the cellar, and the upstairs was too vulnerable in frontline combat, so since the guys upfront did not occupy the upstairs.... The reason for the order was that when the buildings became behind the frontlines, the officers and staff would occupy the whole house, and the upstairs was often for OP. Problem was, it had become the local sewer. AFIK, the order was pretty much ignored.

I recently had the joy of watching my 155 barrage in a snow scenario hit a road behind a defilade (I could just see the edge beside the road with my spotter)and watched vehicle explosions (3 of them) without knowing any were there. I must admit I guessed correctly that he would use that road, and the time it takes for infantry to get there, so my blind bombardment caught the infantry the vehicles were moving with as well. I did get to see some of them on that ridge line. Heard 'em scream too. The guy never responded to that move. Its been 4 weeks.

Perpindicular approaches against all direct cannon fire is very frustrating. Based on my observation (now just how good could that be ), the TacAI does not "lead" the target. When it elects to fire, it seems to consider ONLY the exact location of the target at the time. Any hits on the unit are backed up by luck.

Cannot be gamey. This is counter battery fire. And we did not think CM simulated this Recon by indirect observation.

From reading the Standard Ordnance Catalog of 1944, the tires on the M-8/M-20 are called "12 ply Combat Tires". Unfortunately, I cannot find anymore information than that. So, just what is a 12 ply Combat tire? Same catalog reports armor sides and rear to be 3/8 in thick, which translates to 9.525 mm. This does not include the fenders or the storage bins that cover the sides, so 10 mm sounds right. Interestingly, the M-20 has ammo storage for 10 2.36 inch rockets and provisions for a M9A1 rocket launcher, which I assume means it is racked and not pintle mounted. If true, then I assume its combat usage would be dismounted crewman or possibly from the open ring (which I think would be risky). Both have stowage areas for anti-tank mines, but it is outside the scope of CM for mine laying. BTW, a quick breeze through of the 38th Recon AARs does not uncover any reports of A/Cs being damaged by blown or punctured tires. [This message has been edited by Wilhammer (edited 01-16-2001).]

From rec.audio FAQ at http://www.unik.no/~robert/hifi/faq/faq-11.html#24 11.24 Can you repair a damaged CD? If the disc is lightly scratched on the bottom, then you can polish out the scratch and probably repair the disc perfectly. If there are lots of scratches or deep scratches, or there is damage on the top, you may be facing a lost cause. The music information is immediately under the label. If you scratched the reflective layer, the disc is normally unrecoverable. Before trying any repair, try washing the disc with clear water and a bit of liquid dish detergent. Do not scrub or rub hard. Rinse the disc with clear water and shake off as much water as you can. Finally, wipe the last few drops off with a soft, clean cloth, in a radial direction. SMALL scratches can be removed with a scrufty T-shirt and toothpaste, such as Tom's Toothpaste. You may wish to try a thin coating of Johnson's Klear floor wax on the bottom of the CD. Often it will cover the scratches enough to allow playing. The refractive index is pretty close to polycarbonate, so filled scratches will be nearly invisible. Noteworthy Music (800-648-7972) sells CD repair kits (#CDR 200, $11.99, one shipping unit). They seem to work as advertised, although getting the disc to the point where you can't see any sign of the scratch does take real care and persistence. You can buy professional plastic polishing compounds at many hobby shops. The ones used for polishing acrylics, plexiglas, etc. work. Ordinary lapidary jeweler's polishes also work. You'll need a rough polish to remove the scratches, then tin oxide to polish to a mirror finish. Telescope lens kits also work. Novus plastic polish and cleaner has been recommended. T-Cut, a car paintwork polish, works well for big scratches. Reviewers at Audio Magazine recommend the "Memorex CD Repair And Maintenance Kit" as the best tool for badly damaged CDs. And Headcount; as others pointed out, if the CD player itself caused this, replace it.

You could repolish it, assuming the scratch is on the non printed (bottom) side of the CD. Try future floor wax (or a hard paste wax) and a piece of cheese cloth. Works like a high strength rubbing compound in restoring vehicle scratches.