Hilmer

Geezuz, I'm very impressed with the TacAI never played a strategy/tactics game with better AI then CMBO and CMBB! The new textures are beautiful! I love the landscape nod's (extra details). I run CMBB on extreme settings on everything in 1280x1024 85hz 32bit on my P4 2.2Ghz and GeForce3 without slowdowns. The new sounds are incredible and very well edited to blend into the action. I'm most impressed with the (almost) 2500 new WAVfiles I won't write a full review here, but I can say this much: CMBB is a masterpice, it's exploding with quality and detail! You won't find a better warsim in a long long time!

Got my copy today, can't wait to get started after work

Ahhh.. back again.. Long time no post Anyone played the full version yet¿ CMBB wont arrive in local stores until October 18 here in Sweden! All this waiting.. BTW: Did the title change from CM: Operation Barbarossa to CM: Barbarossa to Berlin¿ the last sounds pretty stupid actually. Berlin = location and Barbarossa = Latin for a red beard man (or is it German¿) Cheers!

Hmmm pilots in CM can relax. I created a test-scenario with 8 FlaKPz IV/20 and additional air support for the enemy just so I could see how downed planes looked like in CM. I think it took 4 passes for the aircraft’s to completely eliminate my platoon of Wirbelwinds! I thought I had enough firepower to at least bring down one plane, but nooo ( [This message has been edited by Hilmer (edited 07-24-2000).]

Yes there seems to be problems with smoke in CM with Voodoo based cards. If you set the smoke to “fast and compatible” you will loose the boosted explosion effect you get with the new patch Are there no other way to (patch/fix) these smoke problems¿

Combat Mission is a pretty revolutionary piece of work that offers quality-gameplay for even the most battle hardened strategist. The tactical AI is working excellent and it’s possibly the best WW2-sim today with a solid 3D-engine! I can only approve Combatsim’s review of CM (my favorite combat-sim reviewers) I recommend you to read it: http://www.combatsim.com/htm/2000/07/combatmission/ I’m sorry for my previous posts and I hope BTS didn’t take to much offence by it. I will recommend this title to everyone who shares my interest in strategy/combatsims! [This message has been edited by Hilmer (edited 07-25-2000).]

First of all Steve, that was a question, I didn’t say you created Muzzle Velocity did I? Not very professional to criticize “the more experienced” Atomic / Microsoft and Close Combat without even playing it Steve, not very professional! Atomic is responsible for some of the best, first and most loved strategy games ever created and the Close Combat series is just one of them. Do you think you can beat their success with Combat Mission? Perhaps you should take a look at other titles and learn what you could do better instead of flaming games that came out long before yours did. Some answer to your questions; 1. If you read my post, you might notice something mentioning playing CM! You can’t point out what part? 2. Ehum.. It’s pretty obvious you ditched school on those history lessons. 3. Perhaps you should play CC4 first! CM doesn’t even have a real campaign system.. geezus! 4. Like I said, play before say! I’m not the only one mentioning problems regarding line of sight in CM! 5. Yes I’m using a pirated copy! The demo wouldn’t work so I had to try the full version instead. Regarding the sounds, it’s possible you got them from the same source as Digi4Fun. If you want’ to, I can list exactly what wave-files that been used in MV on the very same weapons. From what I learned on this forum, I can say for sure that I wont’ buy any title from BTS or recommend anyone to do so. Did you name yourselves Big Time Software to compensate for the small team of youngsters under 25 thinking you’re the best there is¿ Wouldn’t “Small Time Software” be more suitable? Listen and learn or you will spoil your prosperity!

Wayne, yes I played CM for a couple of hours before my post and I’m still playing it. Despite its flaws I find this game pretty interesting. CM’s editor is pretty neat and I find it somewhat fun to pit different units against each other to see if they behave like expected (I feel like a beta-tester) Now that I have spent some more time with CM, I noticed that it’s very similar to the Close Combat series in many ways. It’s almost a copy CC with exactly the same interface! But in Close Combat, the mortars can utilize indirect fire and the sneak, ambush and hide features seem to work better there as well. I say this because I haven’t been able to ambush enemy units effectively yet in CM, they always get detected “might just be bad luck”. I also noticed that the graphics is very similar to Muzzle Velocity’s from Digi4Fun and the sound/FX “wav files” are exactly the same as in MV! I believe that the same team that created Muzzle Velocity, actually created CM… am I rights Charles? > Wayne; CM is the best game I've ever played Have you tried; Hidden & Dangerous - Illusion Softworks, Panzer Elite - Wings Simulations, Panzer General 3D Assault – SSI, Close Combat 4 – Atomic? Download the “Close Combat IV; battle of the bulge” demo http://www.closecombat.com/ Close Combat 1 "Best war game 1997"- PC Gamer Close Combat 2 "Best war game 1997"- Online Gaming Review Close Combat 3 "Editor's Choice"- PC Gamer Close Combat 3 "Editor's Choice"- Gamespot Close Combat 4: http://www.gonegold.com/reviews/cc4/index.shtml http://www.gamecenter.com/Reviews/Item/0,6,0-3551,00.html 9 of 10 “Editors Choice” Why I like Close Combat better: Campaign system allows movement of multiple battle groups on a strategic map of the Ardennes! Real-time battles without annoying pauses and you can issue orders anytime! Better situation awareness, no need to navigate a clumsy camera around a 3D-landscape! You can easily list and locate your units on the battlefield! Beautifully made landscapes and tanks made up of 3D-polygons that follows the landscapes accordingly! Working line of sight/fire without failures! Victory counts; the loser relinquishes control of the contested area. If the conquered area is a crossroads, the opponent can no longer move through those roads, and if your enemy captures one of your supply dumps, you take a reserve hit. On the other hand, the victor's men live to fight another day (and so do some of the vanquished). It's a simple yet engaging system that makes you not only concerned about the battle's outcome but also concerned about the men fighting it! You can find Close Combat in any PC-game related store around the world so you don’t have to give away your credit card number over the Internet! (I doubt it, but I will pay for CM if I continue to play it) > Wayne; The realism is beyond description. compared to / based on what? Nuff said, I guess you all get the point. Thanks vcents and schrullenhaft for the technical support regarding the CM-DEMO! / Hilmer > Fred well.. Command & Conquer <- you can’t spell that? Is one of the first great hit’s regarding RTS-games.. I bought it, played it and loved it! [This message has been edited by Hilmer (edited 07-19-2000).] [This message has been edited by Hilmer (edited 07-19-2000).]

I just got myself a working copy “for evaluation purposes” of CM So what can I say about CM now that I have played if for a couple of hours.. ZZzzzz.. ZZZzzz .. I’m not impressed, this is just another example of those games that would do better without 3D-graphics! There is no “back” button anywhere in CM’s menu, “when for example; making a custom scenario” so if you forget something in the scenario presets, you have to quit and restart CM and do it all from the beginning again.. sharp thinking! CM doesn’t simulate the full-scale war scenarios I thought it did, just small battles, why this hype? No full-length campaigns with historical accuracy like in Close Combat! Line of sight isn’t realistic enough and units can shoot and drive threw buildings etc. Units can’t spot for mortars, so you have to position the poor mortar infantry teams on the front lines “taking heavy fire” just so they can identify the enemies themselves.. I thought mortars utilized indirect fire. Smoke within CM ... I don’t think I have to mention this one do I? Don’t get me wrong, CM has some notable qualities like nice tank-skins, sound spotting .. hmm lemme think.. perhaps a well done armor penetration algorithm? So I guess that’s enough for some wargamers, ehum. Big Time Software made another title that I’m pretty happy with: TacOps3 (modern war/strategy without failing 3D-graphics) fairly realistic battles with believable outcomes.. nothing like CM where this english Piat-inf knocked out a tiger threw a two story building from 150m “now that’s what I call a jolly good rocket launcher” I think I pass on CM [This message has been edited by Hilmer (edited 07-17-2000).]

Schrullenhaft: Yes I get the black screen if I’m running my desktop at lower resolutions, it’s two of them right? It says something like 800*600 120hz. Everything works fine until I’m about to launch the single player campaign, it crashes as soon as the “loading 3D-graphics” text appears I’m running DirectX 7.0a <- also reinstalled Yup my ATI can prob. not get more updated then this I’m using the default configurations for my Voodoo 2 and DX My system use to be very stable and compatible with most programs. I now know only two titles that won’t run on my system and they are: Motorcross Madness 2 and Combat Mission. I don’t care less about MM2, but my problems with Combat Mission is tearing my heart out.. literary! krm: the most logical place to look for new 3Dfx drivers wold be at www.3dfx.com http://www.3dfxgamers.com/drivers/voodoo2/voodoo2_win9x_new.stm

Actually, I guess it crashes even before it starts to load the 3D-graphics, right after the loading text appears. Nope, can’t hear any sound/fx. Plz explain what a passthrough / combo card is. I’m using two cards: 2D = ATI 64 (something) with only 2mb, and 3D = Voodoo2 Orchids 12mb What’s so different about CM-3D engine? All other games/programs works perfectly fine with my system!

Guess what, I changed the desktop resolution to 800*600 and the Combat Mission DEMO started without errors. Perfectly fine (I thought) but now I get a complete lockup when the text “loading 3D-graphics” appears! Not a very stable code is it? I won’t flame this game anyway, I blame it on my system. Plz get back to me if you have any idea on how to resolve this new problem, thanks By the way, I tried the modern Tank sim Steal Beasts yesterday and I’m pretty impressed with this engine. Everything you can expect in a modern tank sim is there and very well simulated. The AI driver has no trouble what so ever to find a good hull-down position (most other tanks sims don’t even have this critical feature) and the sounds from the tanks engine, turret servo and artillery is almost perfect. Simply put- a better version of Tank platoon 2! Cheers

About “Muzzle Velocity” again.. the official site is: http://www.digi4fun.com/MuzzleVelocity.html You can download the demo there, but I only recommend it for those who can enjoy a good WW2 sim without the latest in computergraphics MV is a real-time WW2 strategy/simulator where you control a full-scale war between American/English and German forces. From the map you can double-click on any unit and take part of the action in full 3D and lead your troops to victory. Call in air support or even bombers to prepare that city for your invasion or even hide your troops in the woods and ambush enemy units passing by. Capture surrendered infantry with the ambulance or call in the engineers to repair your damaged tank so you can put it back into action again the combat scenario’s can get pretty detailed with this game, but I doubt that it stands up to Combat Mission.

The answers to your questions: Yes I’m running a pretty fresh Win98 installation and I’m using the latest Voodoo 2 drivers, version 3.02.02 updated Jan 27 2000. I have no trouble what so ever playing Ground Control or Earth 2150 from Sierra, so the card works fine. When I run the .exe file, my HD makes some noises for a second or two “prob loading CM” and then everything simply stops. I don’t’ get any black screen nothing and I don’t have anything running in the task list afterwards. I have tried extracting the files several times making sure I get the entire folder structure correctly “the CM-demo doesn’t have any real installation program”. This is what bugs me, nothing happens so I can’t figure out why it wont’ start! I have PC-support and network administration education so I normally know enough to handle myself when I have PC related problems Thanks anyway, I’m glad someone can enjoy this warsim as it sounds very interesting. I’m a big fan of WW2 strategy and simulation games. I’m not much for modern war or futuristic weapons and units where you can’t identify them or figure out their capabilities. In a WW2 sim, you know for example that it would be stupid to try taking out a Tiger with only 2-3 Sherman tanks if you can’t flank it undetected, or if you have some support form a couple of M10 DT’s. I like the idea of a full-scale war scenario where you can use bort air, water and land units with detailed simulation of both armor and infantry. A couple of year ago I got hold of a WW2 sim called Muzzle Velocity from Digi4Fun, ever heard of this title? I still find it to be pretty enjoyable despite it’s ugly graphics and terrible sounds just because you have this full-scale war with 100’s of different units from various nations like infantry, armored vehicles, tanks, transports, mortar, artillery, ground attack fighters and bombers even ambulances in fact and it’s all in 3D (software) with huge maps complete with nice landscapes with cities and woods, a game with potential for it’s age! The only game I ever heard about that’s similar to Muzzle Velocity is Combat Mission, so I’m not giving it up yet Best of luck in the field general*

CM sounds very interesting and I’m a big fan of Atom's Close Combat series, so I would love to try the demo to see if this game would suite me. I have a P2 450, 64ram, SB AWE 64 and a Voodoo 2 “Orchid Righteous” but the demo won’t start on my system. I don’t get any error messages, nothing.. plz help!