phil stanbridge

I can certainly appreciate why they aren't going to show immediately but they would be very welcome in the commonwealth module. I'm sure this would be a logical step as there will be less commonwealth armour to simulate in the first place. Plus it would add some nice variation to the missions. I can't imagine a WWII battlefield without flamers and/or fire personally.

Absolutely! I can't remember exactly what the shells were now, but I do remember watching the replay over and over, and seeing whole companies of men wiped out in an instant. And buildings were totally flattened too as you'd expect. It did make me think about the real life situation for a while after. The devastation these big guns must have inflicted. (or could have if they were used properly).

It was a totally unbalanced QB - just the way I like them. If I recall I gave myself 10,000 points and managed to select a vast array of artillery. I built up a very basic map, and stuck as many enemy troops as i could in the centre - then I targetted it with everything I had. I was curious to see what effect the heavier artillery would have on closely grouped units It was pretty impressive to say the least :-)

Yeah, that sort of info would be good to have at hand. It was fun in the old days to find out that 4 shells of your heaviest naval artillery had killed 2140 men and knocked out 3 tanks and 2 trucks All within the space of 10 minutes or so (the time it took to call it in IIRC).

...and panzer grenadiers have no panzerfaust!! I'm holding off the campaign until that is fixed.

I think it's more or less a dead cert that the menu system will be more 'cmsf' like than cmx1. It's a logical step in my opinion. Although some of the commands will have to be implemented more WWII than modern day, the cmsf menu system does work very well for me. I admit it did take a while to adjust, but I'm glad I have spent the time on it, as my integration with Normandy should be a very smooth affair. My mate couldn't get on with SF at all, and he didn't like the menu system either, but now he's cursing because he wants to get into the new game but doesn't want the associated learning curve that comes with it. So it will be interesting to see how he adopts to it. I'm buying it for him regardless, so he can't moan.

Correct me if I am wrong here but if you cease fire early although you conserve your initial force you may in fact lose artillery assets as a result following on, or certainly the probability of losing assets is a lot higher. I've tried this several times (although it may just be bad luck) but when cease firing early (resulted in a draw or a victory) I actually lost artillery assets the following mission. I lost all my 81mm and most of my heavy stuff in one mission which was a nightmare. I did post a thread about it some time ago, as I am not sure how it works.

Didn't we have the AVRE/Croc in the game?

I'd like to know what artillery/air assets can be called upon in the game. Is it possible to have a list?

That sounds glorious! Imagine calling in that off-map naval arty and having it hit a target at the other end of the map. I can imagine the maps are huge too.

The pre-order is normally 4-8 weeks prior to release I thought? So in theory pre-order should be around now. I'm thinking the game will hit the virtual shelves at the end of Feb.

Can't wait to get my hands on this - but I've a nasty feeling it will turn up as my baby is born! hehe.. But anyway, I'll pre-order as soon as poss. Also, did I hear it was mac compatible?

For some reason I've got a feeling close combat was left out.

I can totally understand your reasons for excluding them at this point in time, but they are a must for the commonwealth module in my honest opinion. Hobart's funnies anyone?

I've just seen the website and the announcement. OMG. Amazing news. The screenshots are fantastic! This kill stat feature was sorely missed and I can't wait to see it back in action.

I have to say I am finding the Canadian ATGM pretty useless as well in the campaign. Even at static targets like buildings, the missile tends to drop half way - I have had one successful shot out of many attempts. I am wondering if it's because I have set the ATGM up at ground level rather or just above (perhaps one flight up). Maybe the trajectory needs to be higher.

I'm thinking Feb too. There's a lot of progress made. Let's not forget the bones are action shots and not just artwork. I reckon it's almost there. BFC have been reasonably slow to post bones in the past - so let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

Actual baby mate, cheers

Yup! I'm near Ayr.

lol handy! My sis in law is a nurse in Edinburgh - she has had a tough couple of weeks!

haha nice - I'd still like a shot at it prior to my baby arriving at the end of Jan... Thank god the snow is melting eh? We were very lucky on the west coast here, but I have mates who had 3ft of the white stuff not so far away from here...

I've spent some time trying out the Canadians and really like what i see. They feel more mobile than the other forces (don't ask me why!) and their light infantry dudes really pack a punch. Plus those armoured cars they use are amazing. Talk about taking punishment! I've only tried a couple of missions to date however. Anyway reason I'm here to pester is this - I've a couple of questions. First of all, recce infantry units don't appear to have binoculars - this can't be right surely. Secondly, concerning the LAV III, when they have passengers they like to stick their top halves out of the back - and I can't button the chaps up again. So they're sitting ducks. What gives?

Just fired up the German campaign for the first time and sure enough, my units have lost the Panzerfaust launchers!! They have plenty of rockets but nothing to fire them with! Aggghhhh.. (1.31 by the way!) Does this mean I'm best off not playing the campaign until it is fixed?

I'll just add that the launchers can get damaged/destroyed in which case you would end up with just the rockets. This has happened to me a few times.

Super work once again. It's amazing how such a subtle mod can make such a difference.