Macisle

They were on patrol--which is a process of looking for the enemy. Talking lessens your awareness and makes you much more noticeable to the enemy. Actually, that one sticks out for me because I saw an interview with Spielberg once where he was asked what scenes were unrealistic. He named that specific scene for the reason above and for the fact that WWII grunts would likely not have such a conversation anyway. Basically, he wanted a vehicle for his thoughts on the situation and he used them. Upham was his primary vehicle for interjecting himself into things throughout the film. So, in a realistic scene, there would have most likely been silence. Failing that, perhaps peppery talk about pinups and such would be more like it.

I don't disagree. For me, SPR was a case of enjoying its many strengths, while forcefully overlooking some glaring weak points (like grunts talking philosophy while on patrol).

In a similar fashion, I think the scene in SPR that hits me the most emotionally is actually the backshot of the Ryan family mother going onto the porch when "the car" arrives. As she realizes what it is, her legs wobble and she collapses... I always have to fight tears on that one.

Hey, it's cool that we have struck a chord on our memories of TBR1! Happy, happy days, those. Lots of scenes stand out in my head. Too many to list, really. I think the one that has always stood out the most is the tank ambush scene, though. I could just never wrap my head around how the Amis get like one guy wounded and wipe out what--a platoon's worth of Germans? I was still preteen when the movie came out, but stuff like that really annoyed me even at that age. So, I had a love-annoyance relationship with the movie from the beginning. A few months ago, I stumbled on a director's cut on YouTube and watched one of the very early battle scenes that had been cut from the original. It was even worse than I expected. --Just comical. I don't recall "Castle Keep."

I think EZ said that he was waiting to finish it until V2 comes out, so he can do whatever he needs to do to make it compatible. So, no link until after the V2 upgrade, I believe.

W-O-W. EZ, you ROCK! Every time I fire up CMBN and see your uniform mods, I smile. Your American uniforms are my single favorite mod. I am sooo looking forward to getting this Panther mod!

LOL! Come to think of it, I'm about to start mission 5 of The Road To Montebourg campaign. I need the Germans to be numbskulls!

'The Big Red 1' holds a special place for me. Not because it is a great movie (Lee Marvin very much carried the film). Rather, because it brings back memories of the golden years of childhood for me in three ways. First, if there was a classic WWII film on TV, Dad parked the channel there. Most of my favorite actors come from those films (watching ABTF is like seeing old family again!). Lee Marvin links into that. Second, I was right in the prime kid demographic for 'Star Wars,' so seeing Mark Hamill in a WWII film was ace. Lastly, that movie was in heavy rotation in the early days of cable movie channels. I remember what a big deal that all was and the massive dish we had for our apartment complex. There are elements of the film I really like -- mostly music and atmosphere. I also like the cast generally (though the acting was barely passable with some of them). However, one thing that annoyed the heck out of me as a kid and that still does to this day is that the Germans are the stereotypical numbskulls who can't seem to hit the broadside of a barn. No matter how favorable the situation, they fall in droves to any lead that happens to leave an American rifle. More balance there would really have helped the film. 'The Thin Red Line' has the dubious distinction of being my least favorite war film of all time. I HATED it. Which is strange, because I was expecting to really like it. The trailer and poster looked great. The cast looked good. And, I'm the kind of person that likes arty movies (on a case-by-case basis), anti-war movies, and difficult to follow movies. So, I was very surprised to find myself unable to connect with any of the characters to the point of being almost relieved when they died. I literally cheered when the main character finally got killed. I've never had that reaction with any other war movie. I think the cause is likely the WWII setting. Had it been Vietnam ('Apocalypse Now' is one of my all-time favorites), where our reason for being there is so questionable, then things may have worked in the film. But it's pretty much impossible to argue that America should not have fought in the second world war. The Japanese attacked us first and treated captured allied soldiers with a level of cruelty that was beyond the pale. There was no choice. To do otherwise would have been a dereliction of duty and dishonorable on a base human level. So, to me, the main character came off like a quadruple-down on SPR's Upham with pretty much no saving feature or quality. I just wanted to slap him and say, "Do your job, maggot! Maybe you'd like to discuss all your anti-war navel-gazing with the local girls in occupied China!" He-he. I should probably watch it again. 14 years on, it may hit me differently. My second least-favorite war film is 'Pearl Harbor.' For the first 15 minutes, I was like, "Hey, this isn't so bad. What are people complaining about?" After that, it was like, "Oh...my...God." Macisle

He-he. I've been a CM player from shortly after CMBO's release. Though I'm an avid forum-reader (when you old timers talk about people like MD, I know who they are and remember some of the big forum flameups), time demands keep me from posting much. I gotta' fight just to get game time. Thanks for the welcome anyway though, John! In a way, I am kinda' like a new guy, since I only recently started posting. I've read a lot of your posts, though. I enjoy them and learn a lot! There are lots of guys on this forum that I'd love to have a beer with. So many great (and funny!) posts! All the best, Macisle

Well...I'll maintain a position of being "open-minded" on command changes.

I don't want any of the current commands removed/replaced. I just want "Continuous Hunt" and "Continuous Hunt -Armor Only" commands added. -Mainly for use by armor.

CMBN has a demo and the CMFI demo should be up very soon. So, you should be able to compare directly for free soon. As others have mentioned, going with CMFI would allow you to train on the new UI. Also, CMFI runs more smoothly. CMBN can be a bit sluggish no matter how beefy the system. However, my opinion is that you are better off going with the CMBN-CW bundle. There is a huge amount of material in it and there are tons of great mods (look for EZ's uniforms and Vein's Flames smoke/muzzle flash/tracers, etc.). With the bundle, you have a much larger variety of units, tanks and equipment and, most importantly, you have late war hand-held infantry AT assets. They are big fun, and as a new player, you may find the game more enjoyable with those tools in your chest. Finally, with CMBN, you can have bocage or no bocage, open spaces or lots of foliage and buildings. With Italy, the terrain is more open and likely you will have less variety in the maps (but I don't have CMFI, so others, please correct me if I'm wrong, here. Thanks!). Plus, the upgrade will be out soon, so for only ten bucks more, you will be able to bring CMBN in line with the game enhancements offered in CMFI. Lastly, while the price tag on CM may seem big at the gate, it is not like buying a regular game at the same price. If you enjoy the game, it will essentially offer you unlimited replay value. You will only stop playing it when Battlefront releases the next version and you switch to that. For people who get into the game, it ends up being pennies (or less!) per hour of entertainment. It will likely be the most cost-effective entertainment choice you have ever made. My 2 cents anyway. No matter what you decide--welcome to the game and you're gonna' have A BLAST!

I wouldn't try to argue that pound for pound, CMx2 is graphically on par with IFL44. And, lighting/shading is a weak point in CMx2, as compared to say, its vehicle modelling (which is superb). I think the problems I'm having with IFL44 graphics (based on watching about 6 extended gameplay vids on YouTube, as I can't find a demo for it) come down to two things: 1) The Uncanny Valley effect. While many things look superb, this has the effect of making its warts glare out when they arise. The graphics seem uneven to me. CMx2's graphics look more consistent (but I am also using mods--mainly EZ's uniforms for Amis and Germans, and Vein's Flames. Currently no vehicle mods.). Therefore, my overall visual enjoyment is better in CMx2, because I'm not having the frequency of inconsistencies between what is superbly done and what is only average. 2) Not everything is as good as CMx2. Bits and pieces (I don't have time do to screens) in CMx2 are better than in IFL44. --Parts of vehicles, and assuming mods, soldier's uniforms. Plus, on a purely subjective point, CM is less stylized, which is what I like. I'm one of those players who wants to see what it really looked like, rather than what a Hollywood art director thinks will "heighten" the experience. I guess that's why I lost my taste for FPS in general. No matter how good the graphics and equipment modelling are, it's all just paintball. CM has spoiled me on a realistic battlefield. To create that, you have to have a core design based around AI units filling in the formations and roles. Humans alone can't do it, because it is boring for them (how well I remember guarding bunkers in WWII Online...). Really, once contact is made, there is so generally so much more fighting action in a CMx2 battle than the usual WWII FPS. The FPS offers first person adrenaline, which CM can't give. However, CM offers a full, realistic battlefield experience to the armchair commander. That's something no FPS can, no matter how good it looks or well-modeled the equipment is on an individual basis.

Another +1 from me. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Aris's work. My personal taste though, would be about 10-20% of the weathering shown on the Tiger. Basically, I want exactly what it looked like in real life. No more. No less. -Have to say, though...Damn! Nice! It's interesting. When I look at the two Panthers from IFL44 pictured above, my mind says, "Hand-drawn ASL Journal cover." When I look at the Tiger, it says, "That looks like a photo of a real Tiger, except it has way too much weathering and the terrain is middlin' CGI."

Hey, the CW King Tiger is essentially an unfinished vehicle (texture-wise). It's not even close to CMBN standard. Many/most other vehicles are downright awesome. I've seen gameplay vids of WOT and IFL44, and frankly, I'm not that impressed. WOT has those classic billiard table maps (slight of hand use of high detail here and there to mirror away how much is left "flat") and with mods, IFL44 doesn't look that much better for most things--save some terrain/building details here and there (talking ground-level, here). Gameplay looks same-old-same-old in both. I'll take CM any day. Oh, and I actually dislike the WOT graphics in that they give off an "illustration" vibe, rather than going for a photo-look. -Makes it look even more like an arcade game. I'm not saying CM can't improve--just that, as things stand, the graphics cup is far more than half-full and the gameplay cup is overflowing. Note: I'm basing my comments on being pretty close in. I play WEGO and tend to command from a fairly low level, with lots of replay viewing at ground level. Players who play from a high camera view obviously aren't going to experience the full "meat" of what CM has to offer graphically. I've noticed this with many YouTube vids. Some people don't seem to ever zoom beyond a general command overview.

I'd love to have a "Continuous Hunt" command added that would be similar to the old CMx1 Hunt. Meaning, units hunt until a threat is observed, then continue hunting if they lose vis on it. -Would be even better to have an additional "Continuous Hunt: Armor Only" option. This would greatly streamline the player's ability to coordinate flanking attacks by armor. Say for example, you've got a few TDs trying to sneak up on a tiger. As things stand, the Hunt command might have two of your tanks stopping when they see infantry only to have one TD (or none!) actually engage the tiger. This forces the player intent on having all tanks engage together to use Move/Quick/Fast--which means there will likely be excess movement time where the enemy tank will have unwanted firing opportunities. So, as things stand, Hunt is tedious/unreliable and the regular movement commands give unwanted opportunities to the enemy.

Thanks, womble! Gonna' grab my pinata stick and crack open those puppies!

I'm in the second scenario of TRT Montebourg campaign. There is a lot of extra ammo in my jeeps and trucks. I was wondering if I should take it now and thereby stock up for future scenarios or leave it--lest I need it later. I assume whatever the infantry takes will stay with them. However, will those same trucks/jeeps appear later and if so, what would be their ammo status if I drain them now? Thanks!

And again, I learn something. Yeah, I used to get the QB side switching bug a lot in the early days of the game.

Very interesting, Womble! The setup issue has occurred twice. Once a couple of months ago in a QB with barbed wire. The last time was yesterday in the first mission of TRT Montebourg. And of course, that one has barbed wire. Looks like zee bug is still out there. Macisle

(I don't have CMFI, so the following is based on CMBN.) For the first 8 months or so of CMBN, I went with RT. -Thought it was great, playing small battles (mostly QBs). Then, I decided to give WEGO a try (I'm a CMx1 vet of all titles). The verdict: WEGO is where it's at and I'm staying there. -Love the vids and I can catch all the details of the battle and give commands at a comfortable pace. RT forces me to miss too much and keep my focus too broad. It makes me feel like I am missing too much of the magic of CMx2. WEGO also opens up larger battles to me (boy, CW battles are BIG!). My sweet spot is a reinforced company. I'm just starting to dip my toes into the deep end of bigger battles. WEGO does seem noticeably less stable than RT, though. I think I had one crash the whole time I was playing RT and I get them every few sessions under WEGO. Also, I notice that WEGO has trouble with saved setup phase files. If I play the first turn and save--fine. But if I move units around inside the setup zone and save while still in setup mode, the file may not work upon relaunch. And, of course, the soldier slide only happens under WEGO--not RT. RT seems pretty much rock stable. With WEGO, I have to be sure to save every turn (and play out setup and turn one in one go). Now that I'm back in the WEGO camp, I REALLY wish we could get direct internet play for turn-based play. I'd like to try MP eventually. Macisle

Normally, I play QBs as the attacker, but the other night I felt like an experiment, so I took a company of Heer, a platoon of PIVs and one 75mm ATG and put them on defense (QB map 258) against a full company of Shermans and a company of American infantry. Both sides were typical and had some artillery. The game style was turn-based Elite. I had loads of fun! PFs took down several tanks. Shreks even more. The ATG knocked out five tanks before running out of ammo and being knocked as I tried to withdraw it. I have to say, the PIVs also performed well beyond what I expected. I lost one from the first shot from a Sherman coming onto the main road at long distance. The others all survived the battle, taking out multiple tanks from ambush positions. One took THREE hits from Sherman at point blank range, before dispatching it (was immobilized, but in an ideal spot and it remained critical to the defense). The moment I remember most was when a Sherman took a shreck hit, popped smoke and retreated into a spot that was very dangerous to my defense. Several groups of my infantry were hiding in the buildings immediately around the smoke-shrouded tank and none had AT weapons left. All exits on opposite sides of the buildings from the tank were suicide due to surrounding enemy units. So, while the smoke was still thick, I sent a PF team running across the street to the tank's position. For s few seconds, they saw nothing. Then they and the tank mutually gained vis. It started to rotate its turret...They raised their PF at PB range...and fired. BOOM! Sandwiched between a building and the tank, they were both killed by the PF blast, but they char-broiled the tank and then some. The AI had lost most of its tanks by the time it started to move its infantry in. By then, I was able to set up an infantry block, knock out the last enemy tanks and then move two PIVs (of the other two, one was immobile and one held in reserve) in to support an infantry attack on the only enemy-held VL. They surrendered for a total victory (it's the AI on the attack though, so of course no bragging rights.) I would highly recommend this for a fun experiment to people. 258 is a great map, with a full mix of terrain and perfect for setting up an ambush-laden defense. Doubt it would work with a human opponent, though. He would give the tanks infantry support! As for the infantry AT weapons, the PFs were awesome at the right range. Assuming a hit, the shrecks were less deadly, of course, but still usually took out their targets. I have not done specific testing of the American bazookas, but from casual observation, they seem pretty accurate, but lacking in penetration power vs anything beyond light armor. I've seen PIVs and Stugs shrug off up to FIVE 'zook hits (including side and rear). I think they were much deadlier in CMx1. I assume they are more accurately modeled now, but I don't know the numbers. PIATs seem pretty accurate and effective.

With mods like EZ's uniforms, Veins flames, muzzle flash, tracers, smoke, etc., and Aris terrain mods, the game can look MUCH better than stock and quite pleasing. There are moments zoomed in where I almost forget I'm looking at a game sometimes. Assuming you've got the better mods installed, the area that I find most lacking currently is terrain models--particularly foliage. Things like manicured hedges, varied-color iron grate fencing and such would add A LOT visually. When I look at period photos, those jump out right away as missing. Otherwise, the 8x8 mapping grid is still a block for truly life-like maps. If CMx3 can offer half that or better (with appropriate pathfinding!), mappers could make very realist terrain that can give infantry more life-like ability to use terrain in combatting AFVs.

Budget permitting, I'd love to see animations like that, too. Speed of movement should simply be based on reality. Comically-fast movement is a problem in many games, too. That's one of my biggest issues with big-budget titles as well. All that wonderful work in modelling and textures and then they move and I want to spit out my beverage. For CM, like you, I'd love to see more animations--just please gawd don't make them faster than they are in IRL. Rather, make them a natural speed but more varied and fluid. Two animations in CM that I'd like to see slowed down are death animations and tank crew bailouts. Death animations are a bit too fast, but crew bailouts are way too fast. But this is probably to cover up the lack of sub-animations that would be required to pull off a good-looking bailout at realistic speeds...

Thanks, Aris!