Disaster@work

Press the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. This will save the entire screen in a buffer. Then paste this into a paint program. [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 12-08-2000).]

Hi, I've been asked by my work to come up with cool video content for our video streaming product. Can anyone point me to public domain WWII video footage (perferably good quality - not Real crap) or even modern army training videos? Thanks. By the way our technology is this one: http://www.videoclipstream.com

Another suggestion. Don't play when you're frustrated. This doesn't usually come into play for me in a turn-based game but it definitely effects me when I'm playing a more action-oriented game like Counterstrike. I can be leading 14 kills to 8 and then be suddenly killed eight times in a row by the same person because the first couple times I can't believe he got off a perfect shot or that I died while about to blast him in the back. Then it's game over for the night as I rage and rage and rage. One time I wouldn't stop playing until I had evened my score in an unfair map (CTs, on Estate). I ended up finally doing it 32-31 after two hours of screaming and cursing. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Come to my site. At least I have music http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

You won't have any trouble. Combat Mission is in fact not all that complex compared to Close Combat. Many of the same thinking applies and, actually, you get all the time in the world to think over your actions. The only odd thing from an RTS player's standpoint is that you can't stop the action and issue corrections to your commands, once you issue the commands, you sit back and watch the fun happen over a 60 second period. If you look at it that way, CM is simpler to play than CC and more realistic. In CC you are assumed to be am ominiscient god who can direct telepathically everyone on the field. In CM, it's more akin to everyone having radios and you watching from a mountaintop with your binocs. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Most of my scenarios are good PBEM: http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Civilization 2 Gettysburg Half Life: Counterstrike Pirates Masters of Orion Doom Quake Ultima IV X-Com Close Combat Colonization Myth

One of these days I will replicate a Myth map and substitute dwarfs with mortar crews. The motars/dwarfs will be on top of a steep slope. At the bottom will be multiple riflemen who have to climb the slope in order to reach the top. The trick is making the slope steep enough that it is a challenge for the riflemen to get to the top, but not so steep that the mortar crews can't see where to target.

Another good addition would be the "power pellet" from Pac Man. Fleeing trucks can roll over one of these and temporarily gain 88mm cannon for 4-6 turns. However, any enemy tanks they destroy are restored at the nearest friendly edge of the map after this period is over. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

What applet is it? I want to use it the next time my gf asks me: "Do I look good? Do I look fat?" ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Tom's Hardware gave it a scatheing review. At first they really liked it, but then after a reader pointed out a problem with their testing criteria (full FPU testing), they reversed their opinion to disappointing. Here is the link: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001122/p4-01.html ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Sad but true. But I would hazard that militarized societies are also consumers of military entertainment (when they are not actually fighting, that is). The U.S. for one. I had a friend from China tell me that all her male students were intense 'war geeks'. One of my uncles who was a major sat down entranced with Panzer Elite and promptly bought a PC just to consume games like that. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hans: I beg to differ ...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I bow to your personal experience, of course. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>I live in the Middle East and you do have a large middle class (especially "Western" expats) who would and are interested in Wargames. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I know there are large expat communities and would expect them all to be PC users and have net access but are they a viable market in size and purchasing behaviour? Are there many computer or software stores where they can buy legitimate software or do they bring them from trips back from Europe / Asia / N. America? I am interested to know. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> As for the Arabs/Muslims of the area. There is some limited interest. For CM if it were to expand into say the 48, 56, 67, 73 wars between Isreal and the Arabs there would be a GREAT interest. As would the Pakistani vs Indian conflicts (Many of these used WWII equipment and there follow ons), the Indian/Pakistani Market would be/is huge and their paying capacity is increasing.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I wouldn't have considered India / Pakistan to be part of the middle east and certainly even just counting the Indian market I know they are certainly worth addressing. Although the percentage of India who are middle class is low, the size of it is huge. There is very much a case for a muslim-oriented software market. In fact, three years ago I made a business case for setting up a game development / publishing business in Malaysia for that purpose. Part of the challenge was considering a new market (muslims / Indians / non-Chinese or Japanese Asians) for games. While we thought there was a viable market for games with themes that appeals to these groups, we were a bit dismayed at the lack of business support for such a business at the time (distributorship, funding, piracy control). <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Why don't they buy? Most wargames(CM included) are very Western oriented, and directed at US/Europeans they not marketed in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu or any other Middle Eastern/Muslim language. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I support this statement. In this area, Microsoft is very much ahead of others in penetrating new language markets. However, localizing is very expensive for smaller developers and publishers. By the way, it took me more than one trip to the east to really understand the older generation's fear of new media. Some of the business types I spoke with were leery of another western-centric media taking over the minds of the young. When you couple that with a powerful religious authority in many of these countries, it is a somewhat risky proposition for small developers. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Should CM create (with the Med CM 3 you'd have the desert terrain and the possibility of recreating a number of the actions of interest to Middle Easters. A story: while teaching business in Saudi Arabia It became obvious to me that more than 25% of the college students had no idea that anything called "WWII" had ever occurred!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This last anecdote does not surprise me at all. One business person asked me seriously if I would be teaching Christian or Jewish values in my games. I told him that I would stay away from that issue and be neutral. Later I was taken to a club in which several young people wore nazi garb as part of a theme party. They were all Asians (I am too). It was clear that they didn't really understand what this would mean to other people. But we in the west do the same all the time and never have reason to question what we put out. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

There's a reason why mortar crews blow off all their ammunition. Ever carried any of that stuff? It's heavy! Anyway, to stop them from firing their whole load, make them HIDE. IMHO, unless they have half their rounds still available, getting them to stop firing when they have only a few rounds left isn't worthwhile as it takes them a few to retarget anyway. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

That is too bad when that happens. If everyone were to apply the following rule to email and posting messages, there would be fewer bad feelings between Internet friends. Rule: DON'T POST or EMAIL WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY or UPSET! Wait several hours, revisit the thread, and then see whether it is worthwhile to post a message. I've been there and made that mistake and possibly lost friends to my regret. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

You know what is next, of course, a MAUS mod with the allies as mice and the Germans as cats. Maus is the pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegleman in which he retells his father's story of the Holocaust but in comic format with cats as Germans and the Jews as mice. http://www.georgetown.edu/bassr/218/projects/allen/maussea1.htm#LIST ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Ok, so I spoke a little too soon. I did some digging and found out that, like the rest of the world, sales of PCs in the middle east grew in the past few years. Sales of PCs apparently are expected to top 1,000,000 this year in the region. http://arabia.com/article/1,1690,Business|22926,00.html Of what percentage would use it for gaming? I don't know. A market that is probably fairly viable is PC-based military simulations for third world armies. These institutions lack the budget for high end teaching and simulation systems and the technical knowhow to maintain them. However, anyone with a few months of education can maintain a PC network and a software system. Third world armies are dreadfully behind first world armies in training and doctrine. Just having something like Tacops would lead to great improvement among the middle officer ranks. That said, it would require a more forward looking and stable leadership to sponsor even that simple an addition to officer schooling. In Africa? Forget it. Middle Eastern military institutions are more apt to send their staff overseas for training with country sponsors. Regardless of the awful news from Israel every week, the middle east is actually more stable than many other regions and the officer corps are more likely to stay in ranks for a length of time and would benefit from such training. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

I was doing game industry research a three years back and the middle east is hardly tracked at all. The reason (IMHO) is the lack of a middle class. There are country differences, of course. Israel is a first world country in the middle of the third world. Turkey has a big middle class as does Egypt. However, the other countries have either really rich people and a lot of very poor people. Some of the countries have good education and a great many don't. Remember that game software only takes hold after business software is taken up. [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 11-23-2000).]

happy thanksgiving you wargamer mapper you

Civilisation II: the tops of grand strategy. Can't beat a classic.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sonora: Hey, I D/L your Cochon Bridge last night. It turned into a battle of the FOs and with Tanks and AFV jockying for cover tring to get LOS on the targets on the other side of the river (some nice long shots were made) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yah, if you are patient, you can suppress enough of those German machinegunners and pieces so that you can rush over and overwhelm the anti-tank. Smoke helps a lot too. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Played as the Allies. In the end had all the flags but one and was closing on that one.(flag in the far corner)Fought to a draw. (Due to heavy Allied KIAs I think) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for trying it out. It was my first scenario. I'd like to get back to making smaller but jucier ones like that. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

This week's issue of _The Economist_ has an article about the challenges facing European tankers and it covers much of the same ground as this discussion but from a European viewpoint. It uses the upcoming decision by the Greek military to choose a supplier for up to 250 tanks. This will be closely followed by a Turkish order for 1000 tanks. The interesting thing is that once the Greeks make their decision, the Turks will immediately NOT choose the same supplier that the Greeks chose. Now, if you were a maker of tanks, would you then want to lose the Greek order in order to have a shot at the Turkish order? Anyway, most of the article actually talks about the strengths and weaknesses of the various tank packages for European countries. The Germans tout their Leopard MBT but when they had to get to Kossovo, they needed ship transport as the tanks were too big to fit through Eastern European train tunnels. Both the French and the English tout light armour because both have active ex-colonial concerns and must be able to fly a fast reaction force. The French especially are active in Africa. I suspect that the U.S. armour makers will be thinking more and more about light armour from a sales aspect. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 11-21-2000).]

By the way PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT for people (like me) who are going to wait until they see the film to find out the ending.i.e. who won the duel. I realize this may be difficult but at least put in **spoiler warnings**. Thanks! ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

No, there is a book called "Enemy at the Gates" by William Craig that is now hard to find. There is one copy being flogged about on Amazon. A good source of information on this movie is this page at Upcomingmovies: http://www.upcomingmovies.com/enemy-at-the-gates.html ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

AICN (Aint It Cool) has posted an insider's review of a very early test screening of the Stalingrad epic, "Enemy at the Gate", the story based upon the real life duel between a Russian sniper and a German sniper brought in to deal with him during the seige of Stalingrad. The insider seems to have snuck into a very early screening so the review reflects rough editing, incomplete special effects and other not so nice details. However, the reviewer does say that the sniping scenes are tense and the acting good. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=7514 You can read the Talkback (message board) for entertainment and as usual there is a collection of smartass comments but also one question regarding a "landing scene" akin to "Saving Private Ryan" that occurs at the beginning of the film. Since Stalingrad is landlocked, what is this landing scene based upon? A Volga crossing? ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 11-20-2000).] [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 11-20-2000).]