deanco

Everything cool, Elijah. I'll shut up now. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

boing.

What?? Graphics AGAIN?? We just got done with the group hug over in the Gunny Bunny thread, and I come over here and find THIS?? A couple of points: I don't agree with the definition of Group 3 either, as some other people have already eloquently stated. The most interesting thing in CM BY FAR is the tactical possibilities of the units, and I'm a Gamer. Please stop lumping us all in one category. You even said, "By this I don't mean accurately modelled TO&E or proper penetration for the long 88, I mean turrets flying off tanks or men reduced to bloody pulps or aircraft crashing onto the battlefield." I think most "Gamers" here would disagree with you there, I know I do. Even if we may not know the stats by heart, the realism is the reason the game is so finely balanced. Each unit has a unique and varied set of capabilities, because they are taken from real life. If one tried to "make up" a set of units like this, I imagine one would have to do a lot of thinking. 2) Graphics and gameplay go hand in hand. If it is nighttime and a vehicle is on fire, and a platoon walks near the flames, they should have a greater chance to be spotted. If and when dynamic lighting is implemented, this will add to CM's realism. Just 1 example, there are more. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

OK, cool. That was my question, you answered it, subject closed. Didn't mean to bug yas, didn't even really expect to change your mind in the first place. Just jawin and yappin, that's all, you know how we are by now I think. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Rollstoy, 2 questions : Which of those levels of lighting would vehicle reflections come under? I'm guessing Level 2. I know your time estimate is a ballpark figure of course, but how many coders were you thinking of to do it in that time frame? And I know it's just an educated guess, I take it as such. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Can we have some of the experts weigh in here? I have a question. I agree with you Andreas, if BTS had to hire 50 people ('a sweatshop of coders') it would destroy the nature of the company! I surely wouldn't wish that on them. I was thinking of a smaller, more managable number, but perhaps I have been spoiled seeing the incredible work Charles has done by himself. So here's my question : How many people will it take to do the job? Oops, I'd better define my terms. Say, one light source, (the 'sun') on all the time and bathing everything constantly in diffused light. And a bunch of smaller lights, on intermittantly, that only affect a small area (muzzle blasts and explosions). Large map, lots of buildings, and a 1000 point assault worth of units on the map too. Sun reflects off the armor but not the men, the small flashes light up everything. How many monkeys and how long? Educated guesses? Happy to get this discussion on a constructive track. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Here's an idea : Hire outside help. Possible advantages: 1) Will not appreciably slow down (except for added 'administrative' work) research and development of CM2. (That is, Steve and Charles' work.) 2) A chance to hire the best minds in the business to attack this problem of graphics quality vs. computing power. At the very worst, fresh minds can sometimes see the problem from a different angle due to their 'neutraity' to the game. They can also do poor work, run behind schedule, etc. I know. But the idea would be to get the best and brightest minds possible. 3) Most importantly, expanded graphic quality could make the appeal of CM even wider than it is now (more sales) and bring other gamers from other areas (RTS or whatever) into the wargame fold. This is good for BTS and good for wargaming in general. Possible disadvantages : 1) Costs more money. Yes, I know this is not a 'possible' disadvantage. See below. 2) Security issues : If 2 people know a secret, it's no longer a secret, I read somewhere. Could be minimized by only releasing the 3D portion of the game to work on, thereby insuring that Tac AI, battle algorithms, etc stay in the family. 3) Enlarges the company. The more people you have, the less absolute control over the product and the harder it is to oversee everything. Again this can hopefully be gotten around by hiring good people who are responsible and can work on their own. --------------------- The bottom line in all this is this : If CM2 is going to cost X dollars more than CM to make, then BTS MUST sell Y more copies of CM2, due to graphic improvements made to the game, to get their investment back and show a profit. Anything less than that, and the pain-in-the-ass factor becomes too great. This question can only be answered by market research, mixed in with a bit of gut feeling. I don't have the figures, but I do have the gut feeling. Sorry, I know that's not rational. Keep the flames low folks, I DID try to present a balanced argument. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Once it comes out, I will compare Real War to CM by 4 criteria: Fun Factor, Realism (because it claims to be a military simulator), Graphics, and Sound. It's a little bit early to start comparing since we know very little about it. However we DO know that it is a port of a simulator used by the armed forces, so I guess that would put it smack dab in the CM category. I don't care if you can't zoom down like in CM, nor do I expect every future wargame to have a true 3D engine. I want my games to be fun, have immersive gameplay, and have good graphics and sound (and in the case of Real War, be realistic, since that is what it purports to be). If Real War manages to do that, it will STILL compete with CM2 for my gaming dollar. Clear now? ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Or this one, Real War : http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2677613,00.html A short quote from gamespot : "The game was first developed for the US military by Virginia-based OC Incorporated, a defense contractor for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was designed to teach the coordination of operations across the four branches of the military - the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. The original game, named Joint Force Employment, is currently in use at several military academies including West Point, US Joint Forces Staff College, and Air University." The graphics are certainly quite colorful and pleasing to the eye, and I think I see individual soldiers in one of the screens. The view seems to be locked in the 3/4 isometric position. Anyway, this is just an example of the possible 'competition' CM2 may face. Don't get me wrong, just because of the aforementioned credentials doesn't mean that Real War won't suck doggy doodoo. However, if it has better graphics and explosions than CM while still trying to remain faithful to the actual unit capabilities, it will definately vie with CM2 for my gaming dollar. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Watch out, this demo leaves a lot of crap in windows registry and there is no uninstall program IIRC. It was really nice seeing "New CC2 game' in my right click contextual menu after I had deleted the demo. Not sure how I got rid of it, maybe regclean, I'm not sure though. I'm not qualified to talk about the game, (except for the atrocious graphics and sound) but if they are going to be sticking registry entries everywhere the least they could do is include an uninstall program.

Pillar pointed this out on the main forum and I'm glad he did. There are some great tips here, and most importantly, it is all written for the game, and explained in game terms, not like a military manual. I really learned a lot there. Thanks for that post, Jason. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

I have nothig to add, being perhaps the worst CM player in the entire known universe, and possibly the parrallel planes as well... but here's a bump so the grogs will see it... ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

I brought this up a while ago as well, but that mighta been with 1.05... But yeah, you guys, it's happened to me too. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

You did it again, Slapdragon! Anybody know how to get rid of spilled coffee from a computer keyboard? ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

You did it again, Slapdragon! Anybody know how to get rid of spilled coffee from a computer keyboard? ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

I never thought I'd get a laugh from a Slapdragon post, but that made me laugh so hard I almost spilled coffee into my keyboard!! Bravo, Slapdragon! The only criticsm I can make is that the soldiers should have paisley shirts and bellbottom pants. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

i gave it 90%. Great game, but really, they shoulda done somefink about that interface... ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

The first 3 posts....they symbolize this board very well. And yes, I know gunny bunny too, and what he's done, and that he has a personal vendetta. Doesn't matter. There was no call for this whatsoever. Here I wanted to read a thread about graphic improvements, and within 3 posts I am disgusted and mad as hell. Are you trying to get rid of the new guys so you can have your sandbox all to yourself, like it was before?? You're doing a heck of a good job, y'all. Keep up the good work. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

That's fine, but this information really, really, REALLY needs to be in the game. This is one of those side effects of selling so many copies. I'm sure BTS was just planning on selling to the grogs, and so didn't put it in the game. Humph. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

I am. I hate guns and violence, and would never dream of striking someone or using a gun. I'm glad there are games like Half-Life and CM that allow me to vent my frustrations without hurting anyone. So there, you people who want to ban violent video games! ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Well, after reading this, I think I'll fire up a QB.... ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Total Annihilation (patched) I still fire up a skirmish game of TA from time to time, mainly when I'm tired of the minimalist animations in CM and I want to see even the lowest of units explode in a fiery ball of flames (with extra screen shake added, thank you very much). OK, it's not as 'strategic' as CM but each unit has it's strengths and weaknesses. Low level units are still useful in the later stages of the game. Combined arms tactics are more much effective than mass production of 1 kind of unit. It's a classic that got pretty much everything right. Ergonomics (TA began the convention of holding Shift to assign multiple waypoints, since copied by pretty much every other RTS worth mentioning), addictive gameplay, cool graphics, just the "right" amount of clicking.... a high level of perfection indeed. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

A bounce. And, yes, the Boot Camp Artillery article is much easier to read now.... thanks! ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Yeah, something I've known for a while: not every QB generated is necessesarily a good game. I don't see how they all can be good games given the number of random factors over which no one has any control, the random map generator being the most striking example. In this I compare CM to another of my all time great games, Civilization. Not every map was a balanced map in that game either. The game was just too open-ended to control everything that could (and did) happen. So I see this as an effort on BTS' part to insure that there are a GREATER NUMBER of playable and balanced QBs generated. They have the figures, they have the expertise... the whole force balance thing may be an educated guess on BTS's part, but the operative word here is "educated". I got some good 1000 pt. QB buy templates out of some of these discussions. Thanks to the people who posted those. But at this point the whole thing really seems like a case of 'much ado about... well, not much'. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time

Maximus has got it right. The fog table emulation thing fixed my problem with that. I'd say try that first. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ so many games...so little time