deanco

I can tell you are enthusiasic about your subject matter!! This really comes across in your writing, you manage to give the reader some of your own enthusiasm. It just goes to show, to be an effective writer, one should love the subject one is writing about. DeanCo--

I'll tell ya how I'm learning CM. I just played meeting engagements against the comp for a long time. Then, meeting engagements against people. Now I'm on probes, attacking. It's a whole 'nother game, probes. Then I'll play probes against people. Then attacks and assaults. I been playing this game for 5 months, haven't played an assault yet. Too much information out there to take in all at once. At this rate I figure I'll be "OK" at CM around late 2003. DeanCo--

With the exchange rate I paid a smidgen over 400 francs (French) to buy CM, making it one of the most expensive games I've ever bought. It is also one of the 2 or 3 best video game investments I've ever made in my life. In fact that's my personal 'star' system... 'Game X is worth 200 francs... Game Y, they'd have to pay me 100 francs to play it...' I don't wanna say how many stars CM gets...I'm afraid they're gonna raise their prices!! DeanCo--

I never understood why people said "green with envy". Millionaires, movie stars, famous people...these folks do not make me green with envy. You testers however with your little teases have added an olive drab tint to my skin for the first time!!! I look like I've been 'modded' by Tiger or sumpin'! Arrrghh!!! TCP/IP envy! Even the folks who made the doggone game are excited about it! This...this drives me crazy... and makes me GREEN WITH ENVY!! Seriously though...take your time, Matt and Kwazy. You have my permission to test only 20 hours a day, cuz I know you guys need to eat and sleep. And did I mention to HURRY UP AND FINISH THE TESTING, DAMMIT!!! I can't go anywhere with green skin, I'm trapped in my house... DeanCo--

Hi kump, I just want to tell you that the 'comparison' pages where you can see the original version next to the mod... is an excellent idea. I know how much work that is to do. Bravo. Keep up the good work. DeanCo--

After those killer first buildings he made, I'll download and install anything this guy makes, sight unseen. The quality and attention to detail just oozes from his work. I must second Germanboy here, it's the single best mod I've ever installed for CM. It really makes the whole game better. Great work. DeanCo--

Lee said, Steve, will tcp/ip feature an audible message to let you know your opponent's turn is done? Let's say you get your orders done very fast, but the other player has a lot more going on and needs the full time limit to issue orders. You may want to go get a sandwhich while you wait. If there was a sound alert that let you know the other player had finished his turn (he just hit the "GO" button), you could safely leave the computer and turn the sound up a bit, knowing you'll hear the instant he's done and can get back to your PC fast. I think this is a really important feature when your playing a "live" strategy game. It's not like playing a FPS where you have to constantly be there to play. There will be plenty of times when you can step away from CM for a few spare minutes and during those times it will be necessary to have an audio warning you can hear from far away from the PC (obviously, you would adjust the volume on your speakers to suit the situation), so you know when all orders have been completed for that turn and you can hurry back to the computer. --------------- Brilliant idea, Lee. I second the motion. DeanCo--

Wo ho! Thanks you guys! I'm pleased that someone, somewhere, got some use out of my work. If there is someone reading this who doesn't know about the mods, I cordially invite you to check out my page at http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ There you will find the dl links and screens to help you decide which interface is right for you. Once again, thanks folks. DeanCo--

Nothing having to do with CM, unfortunately. I got a gig doing a multimedia CD for this guy (paid) so I'm working on that. When that's finished... I got an idea for a cool meta campaign for CM that uses elements from RTS titles such as base building, economics, etc. It's called Banana Republic, and it will be a royal pain in the butt to design and implement, and I'm sure I don't have the get-up-and-go necessary to get it done myself. All I have right now is the overall concept and a few ideas on how it could be implemented. I stopped there when I realized what a big job it would be. The Game Master will have to keep track of everything...and I wish I knew how to program, because it would be a lot easier to do the math one time and have like a "CM utility" that would tell you what your population is, how much money you have, what buildings you have constructed, etc. Anyone interested in this idea? It is a persistent universe that spans years and even decades of game time as each turn is equal to 1 month. Players build buildings which give them greater options like in RTS. If the building is destroyed in a battle, the player loses those options associated with that building. You get money from taxes and exports each month to build new buildings and buy troops, like in RTS. You will be able to upgrade your guys from regular to veteran etc, either through battle experience or training. I don't want to give any more away right now but if anyone would be interested in working on, testing, and playing this, please let me know. DeanCo--

Hmmm...Microsplat and BTS in cahoots? That'd explain their relucctance to speak out on the whole Z-texture globlet buffering during high paradigm allocation period scandal. Of course, everyone knows that Gates has the Overdue Library Book Fund in his pocket too, so I'll bet the OLBF is mixed up in this somehow, too. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go fix my mom's sewing machine before she gets home from work. She's gonna kill meeee...... DeanCo--

von shrad, No, I don't have one. I used my mom's sewing machine instead. DeanCo--

Well...humph! I can see that good old American ranting and raving is not gonna go far on this forum! Guess I'm gonna have to pull out the ultimate weapon... Scientific Method! I set up a test bed to measure the Z-texture globlet non-buffering ratio between different games. Here are my results : CM: KT, 2000M vs. conscript sharpshooter : 19% Z-tex globlets went unbuffered. CM: Sherman Easy 8, 2000M vs. TRP : 22% Z-tex globlets went unbuffered. (note that the Germans DO have a long range Z-tex globlet advantage, despite the 26,242 posts to the contrary.) Half-Life : crowbar against headcrab, 14% Z-tex globlets went unbuffered. Pac-man : Pac-man against blue monster : only 3% Z-tex globlets went unbuffered!!!!! (my emphasis) I think it's clearly evident from my 15 or 20 minutes or so of testing that BTS has dropped the ball on this whole buffering of Z-texture globlets during high paradigm allocation period thing. Humph. DeanCo--

Faster buffering of Z-texture globlets during high paradigm allocation periods!! I've been wondering when BTS was gonna fix this!! I mean, really, BTS, wake up! How do you expect me to enjoy the game when my Z-texture globlets ARE NOT GETTING BUFFERED FAST ENOUGH! It's a scandal is what it is, and thank you CaSCa for having the courage to speak out on this vital issue. If this is not fixed in the next patch I'm gonna...well, no, not that...I'M GONNA... nah, not that either... hold on a sec... lemme think here........... DeanCo--

Man... I thought about this very idea. My concept was to have a "deathmatch map", a generic map for people who wanted to challenge each other to a fair match. Sometimes the QB maps give an advantage to one player over another. Well my map would try to eliminate that. Then you would have different versions of the same map. Force size 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 points, in infantry, mech, armor and mixed configs, in differing weather conditions and time of day, but always the same map. The real difficulty here is making a perfectly balanced map for both sides. Assuming you're gonna have 100 versions of the same map it better be a damm good map, what? (actually I made a map like that, a river cutting through the middle, 3 bridges and a couple fords to give the player a choice where he wanted to cross. gentle slope down to the river on both sides. a big road cutting diagonally across. somehow i erased it by mistake. but that was gonna be the deathmatch map.) The best idea i've heard dealing with this subject is to have a 'user-made' option when choosing the map for a QB. You would just load the user-made map instead of having the comp auto-generate one. Brilliant idea (not mine) and I'd still like to see this feature in a patch if possible. That way you wouldn't have to make 100 versions of the same map to accomplish the same thing as the QB generator. DeanCo--

I would think if you had a little bit of both it would be even better. But you will take a serious frame hit with FSAA enabled (esp at that resolution) so you'll probably have to experiment a bit to find the right combo platter... Me, I don't like how Nvidia buried the FSAA control in a sub-sub-sub-submenu of the video properties. It's a pain in the butt to turn on/off. DeanCo

Hi Jeff, OK, theoretically you will be able to drop the resolution and still have a beautiful image. When you think about it it's just 2 ways of doing the same thing. High resoultions make the pixels smaller and FSAA smooths them out. When I play Rally Championship I put it on 640x480 to keep the framerate high (driving game) and the FSAA still gives me a good picture. But...wow, 1600x1200 32 bit FSAA 4x...holy cow... my brain is reeling... DeanCo--

I dig the FSAA myself. It's the kind of thing where you turn it on, and you think you see a subtle difference in the game but you're not sure. Then you turn it off and take another look. Then you go back and turn it on again, and leave it on! I run at 1024x768 with FSAA turned up about halfway (Celeron 500, 128 RAM, GeForce 256) and it really looks the biz. Like a painting in motion, someone said...that's right. DeanCo--

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hawk: Still, I really hope they release that patch soon! Hawk <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, me too. I'm sure they will release it soon but it's gotten to the point I check the board 3 or 4 times a day to see if there is any news on it! Arrrghh!! I guess you can tell I'm looking forward to be able to play CM like that! DeanCo--

I am crazy about this game, so I have tried to show it to everybody I can. And I do get a lot of "Urrrr....funky graphics" comments. I always have to plead with them to give the graphics a chance, that they will grow on you. BTW the fact that they CAN grow on you means the graphics are good IMO. I have no real problem with CM's graphics as they stand. They are clear, informative, and make an attempt to be aesthetic as well. A lot of "little touches" were added to the graphics that didn't strictly need to be added (according to some people here), like the recoil of the guns, screen shake, debris, etc. To put things in perspective I am looking at the Steel Beasts demo. I would say the graphics in that game will probably keep me from buying it. This was not the case with CM. An effort was made on BTS' part to convince me, the video gamer, to buy CM, and it worked. Thanks BTS for including me in your demographics. DeanCo-- PS: OH YEAH I FORGOT!! Dynamic lighting! Yeeeeaaahh!!! Please oh please oh pretty please BTS!! Dynamic lighting!!! It will look SOOOOOO killer!!!

Hi Germanboy, You said, Abandoning that vision for increased sales would be the death of the idea, and Steve and Charles could then as well go and sell BTS to Microschrott or Hasbro. Because once you move away from gameplay being the core to 'how do I please the crowds', hovertanks, blood & gore, and all sorts of arse are just lurking around the corner. It is a slippery sloe that will ensure killer graphics, huge sales, big bank accounts and an easy life for them. Look at Atomic. Somehow I don't feel that is going to happen to BTS. Would be a shame if it was. ---------------- My point was they already have the increased sales, unlooked for increased sales. Two backorders worth. And..."the crowds" that they have to please... are here, sorta. I guess I'm one, right? And all without BTS being one bit untrue to their Manifesto (which I have read and believe in wholeheartedly). Hmmm...why? I'm just saying you would want to take a good look at why that happened and then decide if you want to run with that ball or stick your head in the sand and pretend it never happened. (I'm not saying one is inherently better than the other, BTW. There are a lot of good arguments against "increased sales" too.) Let's get away from graphics for a bit. I think the intuitive point-and-click waypoint system sold a lot of copies to this "gamey" audience too. 10 minutes and you're giving orders to your men like a pro. As a gamer I appreciate that too. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that there are a lot of little details that make up a great game, and graphics quality is only one of many. But the whole in CM's case was greater than the sum of its parts. And it was so good it managed to break out of it's niche a little. That's a fact. Now... how to deal with that situation? Do you want to cater to those "extra" people who bought your game (for example, by improving the point-and-click interface to make it EVEN MORE intuitive and ergonomic, and therefore more accessible to "gamey" type people) or not? DeanCo--

I gotta chip in, this is one of my pet subjects. CM sold out...two times. BTS musta thought they had good data when they printed the first run.. 'I think we're gonna sell this many copies'. They were wrong, and I'm happy as heck for 'em. Question 1 is, who bought those extra games? Guys who wouldn't mind it if the game was cardboard counters? Or guys that liked the 3D aspect to heighten the realism and give more immersive gameplay than the counters? Well of course there are some of both but what's the percentage? Is it a significant part of the total sales? Question 2 I guess would be if BTS is interested in selling to this expanded "gamey" market. Maybe they're not, in which case there is no real reason to improve the graphics, since there are those who would buy it if it was hexes and counters. and Question 3 would be if the new "gamey" segment of the wargaming community is big enough to warrant "throwing a bone" to them by improving the graphics. It all boils down to, "Gee, we sold X thousand copies to people who think the 3D part and the eye candy is one of CM's biggest selling points!" (after the killer gameplay, of course...CM is first and foremost a great game) Maybe we shold try to sell to these guys again for CM2!" I can only hope that this is what's going through BTS' minds right now. DeanCo--

Hi there jackson, You may want to visit my website to pick up a few tips. I created it for people who are new to CM. It's at : http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ Hope this comes in handy. DeanCo--

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bruno Weiss: That's where your instincts as a potential Fieldmarshall or Generalisimo come into play. Haul out them fieldglasses (press ctl-leftmouseclick) on the intended spot, zero in at level 1 resolution, take a 360 degree look see, and then unzip yer fly. Kinda like the real battlefield. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh ho ho ho....great answer, Bruno. I got a chuckle out of it. DeanCo--

I'll be glad to post it, Scout PL, if you think it could be helpful to beginning players, since that is what my site is all about, helping beginning players. Well, that, and interface mods too. Drop me a line if you're interested, I have a big update almost ready anyway so your article could coincide with that. Cheers! DeanCo--

Right on, Chupacabra. DeanCo--