Smoker

I thought I was the only one around who actually prefers 16 bit color. My reasoning is the same as yours von Lucke. ------------------ Smoker out.

TacOps will ALWAYS be on my drive. There's a new map making utility I'm playing with now between CM marathons. Before CM, I had lots of TacOps marathons. It's a fine piece of work and well supported by the Major. ------------------ Smoker out.

The 5.32 reference drivers have sliders for overclocking. One for the core and one for the memory. What I did was overclock the memory slowly until the machine wouldn't work then backed it off a bit. After that, with the core speed I just kept nudging it up until the machine got unstable then backed it off. There is a test function to test your new settings right by the sliders. If the machine fails to boot even after passing the test just hold Control while rebooting and your last working setting should take effect. ------------------ Smoker out.

In CM you can get troops to abandon perfectly good pillboxes by putting a smoke round through the firing slit. If the round misses, which is usually the case, you still get a nice smoke screen. A couple of tanks dedicated to this task will put one through the slit within a few minutes usually. It's worked for me several times. ------------------ Smoker out.

In a quick battle I had a Panther very carefully placed behind a light building so as not to be visible to a Sherman several hundred meters away. The panther was KO'd by the Sherman 30 seconds into the next action phase. He never knew what hit him. Careful examination from the Sherman's point of view during the playback revealed a portion of the Panther visible through two windows; one on the west wall, the other on the north wall. Right through the corner of the building! I didn't notice this until I zoomed in on the view all the way. The Panther was definitely invisible at zoom x1. Needless to say, I am now very conscious of where my tanks are in relation to windows. The zoom key gets frequent use now too. ------------------ Smoker out.

I think it's a gamey move myself. I would never have thought of doing it because it sounds too much like work instead of fun, immersive gameplay. ------------------ Smoker out.

Vote cast. ------------------ Smoker out.

The bird sounds are wrong? I thought this game was supposed to be realistic! I'm devastated! Maybe Madmatt can fix it in MDMP-3. Until then, it's off my drive. Now where did I put that Panzer General II...... ------------------ Smoker out.

I like the idea of a "defend arc" and Bobbaro's take on it's implementation. FiftyMicroliters brings up a very good point too. If the human can set up a defend arc then the computer should be able to do it too, if possible. After many, many hours of play this targetting of non-threats in the face of known immediate danger, although not visible at the moment, is the only thing about this game I dislike. I cast my vote for a fix of some sort if at all possible, even if the computer side can't use the command. ------------------ Smoker out.

After many, many hours of play I've also come to the conclusion that an OOB tool of some sort would be a nice addition to the game. ------------------ Smoker out.

I too would like to have a more convenient method of playing in a resolution higher than my desktop. ------------------ Smoker out.

OsinO, I'm surprised that your Elite troops blew an ambush. I haven't tried a situation like that, but I was under the impression that Elite troops were much less likely to do that than Regulars. Perhaps it was just bad luck. There is probably still some chance of Elites blowing an ambush, just not nearly as much as the lesser types. You should try that ambush several times. Also, when you say they fired early, how close were they to the marker? I think ambushes are sprung when they are near the marker, not necessarily right smack on top of it. What would happen if you set the marker closer in to your troops? They might open fire just where you want them to. Jeff, The problem with a "Hold Fire" command is that it would take a great deal of courage and discipline for a soldier to do that when the enemy got extremely close. We would all be using that command to keep Green troops from screwing up ambushes. That would be unrealistic I think. ------------------ Smoker out.

Also be aware of the camera tilt (shift a/z)while checking LOS from a waypoint. I like to tilt up and down while scoping out a potential position. I get a better feel for the position. I was under the impression Shift J (rotate on point) was already in 1.01. It's listed with the "Hot Keys". I haven't played with it yet. I got used to the circular rotation. ------------------ Smoker out.

Page 159 of the manual states that hiding is great for ambushes. Does anyone use "Ambush" without "Hide"? It would seem to me that hiding is implied whenever an ambush is ordered. Following "Ambush" with "Hide" seems redundant to me. Are the ambushing troops more likely to fire prematurely and/or get spotted by the enemy before the ambush is sprung if they don't "Hide" also? Is there any advantage to not hiding while ambushing? Hiding affects spotting. Wouldn't this have a negative effect on the ambush? Just something I've been thinking about. Any comments? Smoker out.

I'm fairly positive that 1.02 has not and will not be released in a patch. Just the Demo was updated along with any new CDs purchased. We will get the 1.02 fixes with 1.03. ------------------ Smoker out. [This message has been edited by Smoker (edited 07-09-2000).]

Final Turn, Grosschau Ridge Unhandled Exception: c0000005 At address: 00567510 Strange, loud sounds seconds before lockup. Did not sound like any game sound. Replayed turn twice more, lockup each time, same strange sound. Celeron 466, 256 MB RAM, Voodoo3 3000, SoundBlaster Live! Value, MDMP-1, DirectX 7.0a, latest drivers video and sound. It sure was fun though! Hardware sucks! ------------------ Smoker out.

Geez, the manual too. What a bummer. So much for your plan Manta Ray. ------------------ Smoker out.

1999 USA pre-orders who receive CM postmarked on the 22nd or later should get CM TWO shipped overnight, super high priority, next minute air for free BEFORE ANY other CM2 units are touched by whoever it is that prepares the stuff for the USPS. ------------------ Smoker out.

Nothing is more exciting than running smack dab into an MG42 while trying a quick flanking maneuver. You don't get the thrill without FOW. It becomes more of a chess type of experience. ------------------ Smoker out.

Rudee brings up something I was thinking about while reading this thread. Of the people who obtain CM illegally, how many would really have purchased the game if they couldn't get it illegally? At this point in the CM saga, I would guess not many. However, it is a truly remarkable game. Should it catch on with general strategy game enthusiasts it could hurt I think. If I was Charles I would probably spend a modest amount of time each day tracking illegal sources for my game. It probably wouldn't help much, but I'd do it anyway. Maybe we need tougher laws, I don't know. It is upsetting to see this happen to them after years of dedicated work, but I guess it was inevitable. ------------------ Smoker out.

Received the game today, postmarked the 21st. Since the last of them supposedly went out on the 22nd I would say all USA guys will have the game by Monday, except for Capt. Manieri of course. His copy was delayed due to his request for a special version of the game which has no option for FOW. His game will instead show all enemy units outlined in bright orange at all times. ------------------ Smoker out.

LOL, If I was BTS I would probably have toyed with the idea of holding Manieri's copy back for a day or two just for fun. Whether I would have actually done it I can't say for sure. ------------------ Smoker out.

So Moon's the main manual man! I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it's great, and I love a good manual. Thanks Moon!! ------------------ Smoker out.

Manieri doesn't use FOW?! Geez Captain, you haven't experienced the REAL CM thrill then. Get with the program, son. You're not afraid of the AI are you? ------------------ Smoker out.

I sure am glad I don't have the game yet. I'd hate to have my weekend ruined by all these technical difficulties. My condolences to all you poor guys. ------------------ Smoker out.