LuckyShot

It's arrived in Bolton, Ont. (near Toronto)!!!!

I can not wait for CMBB to come out! Thank you matt for helping all us fans out. we combat lovers have hard times with other war games for the pc but you guys from bts make it right! thanks bts and matt for being so loyal to customer. I like it and your games! Best wishes and please make the game come out quick! [ March 09, 2002, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: LuckyShot ]

You might be interested in this CD ROM product from Tamiya: http://www.panzermodeler.com/tigercdrom.htm Apparently it has full plans and tons of tech data. And looks like it's only $35 at this site: http://e-hobbyland.com/newtamcdromp.html Good Luck!

ho ho...why do so many Canadians have short-person syndrome? Rob1 doesn't but he can't spell worth a damn. Thanks for beating the bushes Colonel - I was also wondering why the board seemed a bit drab lately. And no offense Rob/Panzerman - it's great to see someone so enthusiastic about CM - keep it up and ignore the jerks like me eh?

Here's the NY Times' take: ------------------------------- March 16, 2001 'Enemy at the Gates': World War II From a Different Perspective By A. O. SCOTT Three years ago Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" was justly hailed as a breakthrough in war-movie realism, a harrowing immersion — particularly in its early battle scenes — in the brutal chaos of combat. But if Mr. Spielberg established a new standard for a venerable film genre, he also took a deliberate step backward, restoring to the war movie some of the grandeur and romance it had lost in the decades after Vietnam. Anchoring his story to an unimpeachably good cause, he avoided the moral ambiguity and political queasiness of most Vietnam films and helped to inspire a swell of nostalgic sentiment for World War II. An enormous new memorial has been proposed in the middle of Washington, Tom Brokaw rules the best-seller lists, and movie studios are turning out big-budget World War II pictures like Michael Bay's forthcoming "Pearl Harbor" and Jean-Jacques Annaud's intermittently gripping "Enemy at the Gates," a long slog through the siege of Stalingrad that opens today. In its attempt to set a story of individual love, valor and rivalry against the backdrop of a battle that lasted more than six months, claimed (by to some estimates) almost two million casualties and altered the course of the war, "Enemy at the Gates" deliberately solicits comparison to Mr. Spielberg's film. This is never more obvious than at the beginning, in which hundreds of newly arrived Russian soldiers try to cross the Volga into Stalingrad under heavy German fire. The intensity of the bombardment, the cries of anguish and geysers of blood recall the Normandy landing in "Private Ryan." But in the middle of the effectively choreographed mayhem our attention is repeatedly drawn to the handsome blue-eyed face of a certain Russian soldier. Even under layers of muddy olive drab, weary and unshaven, this man is clearly something special. He's a movie star. He's Jude Law. Mr. Law's effortlessly charismatic presence — his instinctive grace, his preternatural ability to seem at once clever and simple, steely and tenderhearted — signals early on that, for all its abundant gore and grit, this will be an old-fashioned, unashamedly hokey war picture. Mr. Law plays Vasily Zaitsev, a real-life hero of the Soviet Union who became a crack shot hunting wolves as a boy in the Urals. After a disastrous assault on a German position, Vasily meets a Red Army political officer named Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) in a corpse-littered fountain and proceeds to pick off five Germans with five shots, from an impressive distance. Danilov, part of whose job is to print and circulate leaflets designed to boost the morale of the beleaguered citizens of Stalingrad, soon arranges Vasily's transfer to an elite sniper division, and news of the young man's feats of marksmanship make him something of a local celebrity. Vasily's skill also turns "Enemy at the Gates" into a curious and oddly entertaining hybrid: Vasily's story resembles nothing so much as a baseball or boxing picture. He's like the Lou Gehrig of Stalingrad: a wholesome young man thrust half- unwittingly into the big time. Fan mail pours in; workers want to name their coal mine after him; the local shoeshine boy (Gabriel Marshall- Thomson) trails in Vasily's footsteps and memorizes his life story. Danilov, at once Vasily's publicist and cornerman, burnishes his image (he makes the front page of Izvestia, which at least doesn't spin across the screen) and talks him through moments of self-doubt. But then the opposing team brings in a ringer, a legendary Nazi sniper named Major Konig (Ed Harris). He and Vasily conduct an elaborate cat-and-mouse game in the bombed-out architecture of the city. The scenes in which they face each other, crouching in the rubble and hidden in heating ducts, tunnels and the aisles of a half-demolished department store, provide ample evidence of Mr. Annaud's dexterity and visual flair. Although they're invisible to each other, the tense, almost physical intimacy that develops between the two sharpshooters is conveyed through eyeball-tight close-ups and carefully framed point-of-view shots. The director's unerring aim and cool concentration matches theirs, but it's a wonder anyone can concentrate at all amid all the noise. I don't mean the whistling bombs and pounding mortar fire but rather the keening strings, breathless angel choirs and tympanic rumblings of James Horner's characteristically abusive score. The script, by Mr. Annaud and Alain Godard, is at times similarly overdone, a lurching mélange of the obvious and the implausible. Too many big sentimental speeches drain away the reservoirs of real emotion that accumulate in a few quiet, subtle moments. The suspense of Vasily's deadly competition with Konig is undercut by the love triangle that develops among Vasily, Danilov and Tanya (Rachel Weisz), a university-educated militia fighter eager to avenge the murder of her parents by the Nazis. Tanya and Danilov are both Jewish, and the spectacled, anxious and possibly treacherous Danilov comes close to anti-Semitic caricature. Several times he expresses the view that he and Tanya are, owing to their background, more worthy of survival than the people around them. Perhaps this is a well-intentioned acknowledgment of specific and disproportionate suffering, but it also evokes some ugly, ancient prejudices. And surely there is something a bit unseemly in a World War II movie that puts the line "I'm following orders" in the mouth of a Jew. The sexual rivalry between the openhearted Vasily and the neurotic Danilov resolves in a ludicrous moment of melodrama built around an astonishing speech in which Danilov concludes that because Tanya loves Vasily, Marxism is bunk. This is a crude moment, but otherwise the filmmakers succeed in finding an appropriate and tricky moral balance as they take sides in a fight between two dictatorships. "Enemy at the Gates" does not minimize the heroism or the sacrifice of the Soviet people, but it harbors no illusions about the terrible cruelty of their rulers. Even as it rubs your face in a numbing, general slaughter, the film handles individual deaths with restraint, making them more dignified and more devastating by averting its gaze. "Enemy at the Gates" has its deficiencies, but the first-rate cast is not among them. Bob Hoskins has a broad, entertaining turn as the porcine and profane Nikita Khrushchev, who arrives in Stalingrad to shake up the battered Soviet forces. The script gives him some howlers, but Mr. Hoskins howls them with great professionalism and panache. Mr. Harris performs with his usual force and efficiency, allowing us a terrible glimpse at a monster who is also, somewhere behind those cold blue eyes, human. Mr. Law, in the tradition of Socialist Realism and Hollywood idol making, is at once larger than life and completely down to earth. In a relatively brief film career, he has yet to miss a target. "Enemy at the Gates" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). It has intense, nonstop graphic violence and one brief, not especially graphic sex scene. ENEMY AT THE GATES Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; written by Alain Godard and Mr. Annaud, inspired by the books "Enemy at the Gates" by William Craig and "Vendetta" by Derek Lambert; director of photography, Robert Fraisse; edited by Noelle Boisson and Humphrey Dixon; music by James Horner; production designer, Wolf Kroeger; produced by Mr. Annaud and John D. Schofield; released by Paramount Pictures. Running time: 133 minutes. This film is rated R. WITH: Joseph Fiennes (Danilov), Jude Law (Vasily), Rachel Weisz (Tanya), Bob Hoskins (Khrushchev), Ed Harris (Major Konig), Ron Perlman (Koulikov), Eva Mattes (Mother Filipov) and Gabriel Marshall-Thomson (Sasha). Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

Thanks for the post Croda, I tuned in because of it (rarely watch TV) and was surprised. Very brutal and very honest stuff without much of the narrative-glorification I was dreading.

Double check that your shortcut (if you are using one) points correctly to the latest EXE file. The only other thing I can think of is to re-install the 1.05 patch and make sure you follow the directions for moving and copying the files exactly as it's written.

Here is the latest press release from 3dfx - don't see anything about a Voodoo6 being cancelled. Rather it seems like someone made them an offer they couldn't refuse - can't really see where you could forsee the death of 3dfx from this, but maybe there is some more info we're missing? ------------------------- Press Release 13 November, 2000 - 3dfx Licenses 4-Way SLI Technology to Quantum3D PC Industry's highest performing 3D graphics technology to be used in advanced visual simulation systems Las Vegas, Nev., Comdex.- November 13, 2000 - 3dfx Interactive® Inc. (NASDAQ:TDFX) announced today that it has licensed its 4-way Scanline Interleave (SLI™) technology, based on the Voodoo5™ 6000 AGP project, to Quantum3D to be incorporated into their AAlchemy™ family of PC-based systems for visual simulation and training applications. The company also announced that its 4-way SLI technology, which has achieved 43 percent better Quake 3 graphics performance over leading competitive solutions, will be available exclusively from Quantum3D, and will not be available in the retail channel. 3dfx will demonstrate its exceptional 4-way graphics performance at the Comdex/Fall 2000 trade show November 13 - 15, 2000, Las Vegas, Nev., to a select group of customers, media and industry analysts. The demonstrations will show the 4-way design's ability to display high resolution images, with superior full-scene anti-aliasing (FSAA) enabled. The 4-way SLI design is the first graphics card able to achieve greater than 60 frames per second (fps) performance in Quake 3 benchmarks at the ultimate screen resolution of 1600x1200x32-bit color. "The raw power, ground-breaking technology and superior performance of the 4-way SLI design proved to be another perfect match for Quantum3D's visual simulation and training marketplace," said Ross Q. Smith, founder and vice president of sales and marketing at Quantum3D. "For the first time ever, visual simulation and training integrators can choose from a software compatible product family that delivers the precise amount of high fidelity performance that their applications require and their budgets can accommodate." 3dfx has a long history of leveraging its leading-edge 3D technology into the visual simulation environment with Quantum3D. Starting with 3dfx's revolutionary and award-winning Voodoo2™ and Voodoo3™ products and now with its scalable VSA-100 accelerators, Quantum3D has successfully migrated 3dfx technology into today's most demanding 3D graphics arena. "Licensing our breakthrough 4-way SLI technology to Quantum3D is the best way to expend our engineering resources in a way that offers the best return," said Byran Longmire, vice president of the graphics business unit. "While we are sympathetic to the disappointment this may cause to a small number of our loyal gaming consumers, we are looking forward to seeing this incredible technology marketed to the visual simulation industry where visual quality is the most important attribute." About Quantum3D, Inc. Quantum3D, San Jose, California, develops and markets integrated interactive PC-based 3D visual computing systems, realtime 3D graphics subsystems, and related system software, that combine to deliver sustained realtime frame rates, superior graphics quality, and value. Quantum3D delivers complete 3D visual computing solutions for the visual simulation and training market and the out-of-home entertainment markets, and is the exclusive supplier of 3dfx® graphics technology into those markets. In addition, Quantum3D creates and distributes realtime 3D development software tools and products, enabling developers to fully optimize their applications to benefit from the company's visual computing systems. Visit the Quantum3D, Inc. web site at www.quantum3d.com. To contact the company call 408.361.9999, send a fax to 408.361.9980 or send e-mail to info@quantum3d.com. About 3dfx Interactive 3dfx Interactive is a global leader in enabling the emerging age of visual communications, and the 3D multimedia revolution in personal computers and consumer products. With its patented and award-winning graphics accelerator chips, boards and software, 3dfx provides the technology to create high-impact visual experiences. The company is recognized worldwide for its ability to bring the world's finest games, educational content, interactive entertainment and media-rich business applications to life. 3dfx products are available in retail stores worldwide, and through leading PC makers including Compaq, Dell, Falcon Northwest and Micron. 3dfx has headquarters in San Jose, Calif., with engineering and manufacturing facilities in Richardson, Texas, Austin, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. The company also operates www.3dfxgamers.com, the premier online community for Voodoo owners and gaming enthusiasts. 3dfx Interactive is available on the Web at http://www.3dfx.com. 3dfx Interactive is a registered trademark, and SLI, Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and Voodoo5 are trademarks of 3dfx Interactive. All other names may be trademarks of their respective holders. Note to Editors: Visit the 3dfx Virtual Press Room at http://www.3dfx.com/press.

If you need info on the BMP files, search for "BMP organization", or scroll down until you find a thread with that title.

Juju has generously recorded the numbers for the Axis guns (AT, AA, Inf. etc.) and they are now listed above, numerically and by name. Mark

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LuckyShot: By the same token, marsh tiles might also work, though (perhaps realistically) movement across them would be much slower. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Nope scratch that. That would leave a thin strip of open ground between the river tiles and the marsh over which vehicles could probably pass. Fords are about it for now I guess.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: Granted this works, but then you end up with green lines in the middle of the river, because the ford graphic is meant to be used for rivers only one tile wide. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yep - never said it would look pretty By the same token, marsh tiles might also work, though (perhaps realistically) movement across them would be much slower.

In the scenario editor, using multiple fords across a river should give you an identical effect to a flimsy pontoon bridge (vehicles can't use them).

Ok, just tossing this back out as some people seem to be interested in it. Anyone with a website want to cut and paste this stuff to a TXT file as a small download? I'm sure all the future mod-michelangelos would appreciate it. MW

Just do a search for "bmp organization" from the past 30 days and that should bring up a thread that contains a huge list of the BMP numbers including terrain and vehicles.

Just updated the above list with all the vehicles and tanks, for those more interested in that stuff. And I forgot to mention that this does still omit all the winterized textures - so if anyone has a bunch of that data kicking around, feel free to add it here. MW [This message has been edited by LuckyShot (edited 11-03-2000).]

>>Unlike the Anzac cavalry that rode with them, they shied from any frontal assault... now in CM, would that make them Green, or Conscript?<< THAT is the joy of CM buddy, _*YOU*_ get to decide! - no one making broad generalizations for you, no one imposing strict guidelines - freedom is a bit scary at first, but trust me, it grows on you. It is absolutely ridiculous to impose numeric restrictions on 'people' based on culture/world view - IMO the only reason board games resorted to such practices was because they weren't able to come up with any easily accesible method to vary the troop quality (eg: how annoying would it be to have to refer to a graph to determine your ASL units stats, rather than have them clearly marked [in stone, effectively] on the unit counter). That said, hopefully CM2 gives us even more freedom with regards to modelling troop quality - I just hope they keep the base units equal as they are now. MW ____________________________________ "CM is a game of battles that happened - People who wanted to surrender would have done so before, or hid in a cellar" - PeterNZer [This message has been edited by LuckyShot (edited 10-29-2000).]

>>some things need to be sacrificed in order to make it playable, but to make it unrealistic in order to make it "fun" is something I think many people wish to avoid.<< And I think that is exactly why the developers decided to allow the user complete control over how a unit behaves. They could have gone the way you desire but then when you come to a scenario where a crack Italian company historically repulsed a British attack (for example) you wouldn't be able to model that properly. In that case the attempt at 'realism' would have backfired and essentially dumbed-down the game. I really think it was the right decision not to "hard-code" differing troop behaviours into the game - armour penetration, shell trajectories, etc. etc., yes - but to do that to something as intangible as character would have been a mistake IMHO. You are right in that it does allow for some ahistorical situations, but overall, wouldn't you rather have more control over creating a scenario than less? It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Russians in CM2 (with regards to hard-coding poor armour communication, leadership etc.). MW

You should have no problems with mods slowing down your system - at least not significantly. Just stay away from any mods labeled "high-res" if you are really worried - most of them are the same size as the originals though which means no slow-down. I don't know if the mods will work in the demo - you could check by downloading a small terrain mod and seeing what it does. And there are special mods just for the gold demo around somewhere - searching this forum or finding a site with good CM links would probably locate them.

Don't know much about that card but does it maybe use a 3dfx voodoo chipset? You should check out the support forum - there are a number of similar issues with Voodoo2/3 cards.

High-Res mods are made up of more pixels than Low-Res mods - it's a sort of relative thing as there are no standards as to exactly what is 'high-res' or not, within CM at least. The low-res mods may give you a speed increase if you have an older graphics card without a lot of on-card memory. That memory is used to store the BMP textures. Some cards (maybe all cards?) can crunch textures down to a smaller size (low-res) dynamically to ensure the game never slows down too much. Basically, I think you just have to do your own tests to find the right balance between playability and looks. I personally take all the bigger vehicle textures and resize them as I think they look just as good smaller. Of course if your system and video card are top notch you have no worries.

Those are the tops of various rifles, smgs, etc. - they shouldn't be totally blank, but they are made up a very tall, thin strip of pixels that might be hiding on the left edge of whatever program you are viewing them with.

I think Theron and probably a few others touched on a very good idea: a conditional extension of the turn limit - "overtime" if you will. If a *major* Victory Location is "contested" (insert your own definition here) when time runs out, the game extends the turn limit *once* by a random number of turns which are not known to the players, say 5-10, allowing some sort of resolution. If the VL is still contested after that, too bad, game ends, but it at least would eliminate the smoke-obscured rushes mentioned earlier.

I stand corrected - I wasn't aware that LOS was always restricted to about 30m in those conditions. Thanks for the info Peter.

If you had not seen a "graphical representation" of the unit prior to this turn, it might be a bug, but going on the fact that 'cross markers' don't appear unless a definite "graphical representation" has been displayed, I'd say it isn't a bug. Really you need to give us a couple turns prior to this, as I bet the vehicle in question was spotted earlier. Subsequent "spottings" would then be easier and, just going on my gut feeling, it would be easy to tell where a tank was in such an atmosphere where the sound carries very well.