Disaster@work

LOCK LOCK LOCK THIS UP

On the Thin Red Line. I have to admit that this film is pretty uneven and at times an exercise in pretentiousness. But there were many parts in this that were absolutely beautiful not only in look but in character exploration. I suspect that many went looking for a battle epic so soon after overdosing with Saving Private Ryan. Whoever scheduled TRL so soon after that film was a masochist and a fool. It's too bad because Terence Malick (who made Badlands and Days of Heaven) probably won't make another film for some time. Some may applaud this but he is definitely a director who doesn't make films just to please an audience. Before you jump all over this comment, I'll answer that some films are difficult to watch but are rewarding once you spend the time to explore it. Good literature is like this and it is content you return to again and again. I felt negatively toward the movie after I saw it in the theatres but after sitting down and watching it on DVD (while working on a drawing project) I put down my pencil and found myself totally engrossed with the characters and their meditations. This is a meditative film about psychology, not about battles. If you want SPR in the Pacific Theatre, then Spielberg will have to be convinced that this is even a good idea for a film (I suspect he would say no). I should also say that TRL is speculative fiction; it certainly isn't about wartime reality or a bare in-your-face docudrama that SPR was. It's someone (more Malick himself) imagining what these men might be thinking in their own private worlds. Any comments about whether this was accurate as to the memories of veterans is off the mark. Malick himself never said that he was making a historical document. If you want to blame anyone that would be the marketing people. Again, it was unfortunate that comparisons between TRL and SPR were made at the time. Bad timing. Seen as a movie TRL has quite a few faults. It could have been edited down surely, I didn't particularly care for most of the music, and the dialogue was too loose. However, it contains many gems of meaning and truths that make it one of the better movies of that year and worthy filmmaking. It does NOT deserve to be a worst film of any genre. Anything made with such brave intent is far above the other movies suggested in this thread. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

I've had a question that's always bugged me. I know in Market Garden and Normandy that Germans were shooting at paratroopers coming down. Could they shoot back while in the air? Is it possible now with newer controllable parachutes? What is the doctrine for using paratroopers in the modern battlefield? ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Graaf Spee: Im going from memory now, but wasnt one of the reasons the germans liked it that it had a 60 rounds mag? I also remember reading somewhere that the germans tried to imitate this by giving the MP40 a quick way to change magazines by having two magazines next to each other. Then when the first one was empty you just pushed the second one into place. Not a very good solution because the weapon became unbalanced. Like I said before, this is from memory so I may be wrong. Anyone else?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is called banana clipping. It probably wasn't called it then but today when you tape two magazines together they are usually of the curved kind (picture two AKs) and resemble a banana. I see this all the time in footage from the endless wars in Africa. An aid worker told me once that they also tape the magazines together so that they don't lose them after one magazine is spent. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Formerly Babra: Hey, Red Devils, Did you notice that Heaven & Earth was filmed in Alberta? I nearly fell outa my seat when they looked up at the stock postcard image of Banff and cried, "Ah! Mount Fuji!" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I have one of the 7 ft bows used in the film as well as a set of the plastic armour used by the extras. (red) I didn't think the film had the same level of artistry as Ran or Kagemusha.

Here are a few war films that aren't to do with WWII or later. WWI PATHS OF GLORY - No finer example of an anti-war sentiment has been made. A classic. Shows the hypocrisy of French generals at the time. GRAND ILLUSION - Jean Renoir's masterpiece. A French officer tries to make his Prussian captor understand why they must care about other classes. ALL IS QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT - The black white earlier version is the best. A German boy becomes a soldier due to the urging of his schoolmaster and soon finds horror. 17th - 19th century 99 DAYS IN PEKING - Okay this is in the 20th century but it doesn't fit anywhere else. A multinational force defend the foreign legations at Peking against the Boxer rebellion. As a Chinese I'm a little torn here but it's still fun. GETTYSBURG - The Turner four hour version is full of speechifying but there are two great battle scenes, the defense of the Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge. Turner is seen killed in one shot. GLORY - An emotional film about a black regiment commanded by a white officer who make sacrifices to show that they can earn their freedom. BARRY LYNDON - the tale of an Irish rogue as he travels throughout Europe. He gets caught up in the Austrian army at one point. WATERLOO (1970) - the classic battle as depicted by thousands of Russian extras. Christopher Plummer is Wellington and Rod Steiger is Napoleon. CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE - The version with Trevor Howard as Cardigan is noteworthy for its depiction of the events themselves. The leadup can be a bit stuffy though. ZULU - Michael Caine and Stanley Baker lead a troop of British army who defend a lonely outpost against a massed Zulu army. The Zulus are shown to be cunning. ZULU DAWN - A nice depiction of the Zulu victory over and massacre of an ill-prepared British army at Isandwhala. THE FOUR FEATHERS - The 1939 version is one of the best examples of a colonial British adventure on film. Another take on this tale will be coming out next year. LAST OF THE MOHICANS - Rousing adventure that also pays attention to the history of the French and Indian war. Sure, Hawkeye can somehow reload a musket on the run but it still has tons of integrity 'The Patriot' lacked. THE DUELLISTS - Ridley Scott film about a grudge match between two Napoleonic officers taking place against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Medieval, Ancient FLESH & BlOOD - Paul Verhoven's adventure about a group of mercenaries in the Thirty Years war era Germany who kidnap the daughter of a lord for ransom. THE LAST VALLEY - A band of mercenaries in the Thirty Years War are convinced to settle in an idyllic valley rather than sack it. But the tides of war threaten to put a torch to their paradise. BRAVEHEART - brutal gory battlefield. Scots battle it out against brutal English. So-so filmmaking but good depiction of the battles. ROBIN AND MARION - Sean Connery is an ageing Robin Hood who returns after being imprisoned by Richard the Lionhearted to find Marion (now an abbess) and have a final reckoning with the Sheriff of Nottingham. SPARTACUS - Stanley Kubrick's epic about the slave rebellion against the Romans lead by the slave Spartacus. Nice battle at the end. GLADIATOR - The film begins with an awesome battle between a Roman legion and a German horde. RAN - Kurosawa masterpiece. Three sons quarrel over a feudal lord's bequest and go to war in medieval Japan. KAGEMUSHA - a lookalike for a dead feudal lord is propped up on the throne to forestall a succession struggle. EXCALIBUR - The King Arthur tale. Big men in shining armour. Adventures BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI - A team of commandos seek to blow up a bridge that is being built by commonwealth POWs in Burma. TOO LATE, THE HERO - Michael Caine is part of a British troop making their way through a Japanese-held island to make a critical radio message. Films about the 'home front': HOPE AND GLORY - funny tale about a family during the Blitz MEPHISTO - an actor falls in with the Nazis in Germany EUROPA, EUROPA - the improbable tale of a young Jewish boy who poses as a Hitler Youth among many adventures THE TIN DRUM - a boy chooses not to grow up during the rise of Nazi Germany.

This solution may work. Just put a whole bunch of trucks out there. Within the first round I guarantee they'll be abandoned or burning.

Detonator 3 drivers were just released today. You might want to try these. They claim significant improvements but who knows. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Oh the images work all right. Are you trying to make a Zapruder film? Have you looked at the grassy knoll? Maybe the magic bullet came from there? ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

I've never been able to bring down a two-story building in a turn with an Avre but you might want to try in one of my newest scenarios here: Todt Hotel http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm The Brits have an Avre and a Wasp to try and dig out tenacious Falschimjagers (sp?). In my own personal testing I blew up three two-story buildings with the Avre before it ran out of ammo (and was subsequently plinked by a panzerschreck. I sure wish I could have overrun that bastard). ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Just to add one more which was similar in style to "Hiroshima" (1995) was another docudrama called "WWII: When Lions Roared" which portrayed the relationships between and strategies of the three allied leaders Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. What set this docudrama apart was the interesting method of portraying their communications with each other. Of course, they only met in person rarely and mostly relied upon radio and written messages. In this film, however, it shows them acting and speaking out their written words as if they were in the same room. It was an interesting take on the "split screen" you usually see on TV when two parties are on the phone with each other. Also some clever use of digital effects that used footage combined with live acting. Good cast too: Michael Caine(Stalin), Bob Hoskins (Churchill), and John Lithgow (Roosevelt). ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

I would back up the original poster. Last night I pounded a two story building with an AVRE (very satisfying experience!) until it blew up. The shockwave caught a running enemy who died just as the wave hit him. Poor fellow.

All my friends call the History Channel the "Hitler Channel". As much as I like WWII history I think there's a definite overdose on WWII on that channel. Sure, it was the defining event for this century but surely there can be other events previously or since that deserve attention just for the fact that few people's memories go back farther than WWII. However, there have been a few documentaries recently which have renewed my faith in the medium and in cable TV. There was one called _The Greeks: Crucible of Democracy_ that was well-made and entertaining. This seemed to concentrate on the Athenians. A good example of modern documentary methods that combine using actors, dramatizations, on location shooting and special effects. This weekend I saw a fine Japanese - Canadian docudrama called "Hiroshima". It is a historical dramatization that attempts to show the political events surrounding the dropping of the bomb from the point of view of the Truman inner circle, the Japanese government (staff, Imperial council) and the bombing crew as they prepared for the bombing and carried it out. It combines some fine acting, testimonials from people involved (Hiroshima victims as well as Edward Teller!) with historical footage. It was made in 1995. I don't know much about the accuracy of the events but it seemed well balanced. The Japanese POV is very interesting as it attempted to show the feelings of the staff and their attitude toward impending defeat. Hirohito is shown to be more moderate than his generals. Here is the link to find out more. http://us.imdb.com/Title?0113309 [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 08-14-2000).] [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 08-14-2000).]

If you are on a PC, pressing the print screen button will work. This saves the picture in a buffer so that you can paste it into a paint application. I must admit that I love calling in fire support on otherwise harmless opposition so I can see them react when the shells start plunking down. The arty effect is one of the coolest in the game. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Greybeard 101st: Disaster, started your bridge map cochon last night, excellant work. Have you submitted it to the 3rd party scenerios section at TGN Mission HQ?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, I did and thanks for the compliment. It was the first one I made. Tonight I should be able to upload two more scenarios I have been working on. I'm trying to improve the 'setup' phase of my maps to give players more breathing room at the beginning. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> This game is unbelieveable, I get so tense after issuing orders and waiting for the 60 second play back, sometimes the longest 60 seconds there is. What a blast. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I can't believe the number of times I curse at the screen wishing the little guy could hear my warning. No no! It's a Tiger! ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

Peter, you mind telling us how much you make? What does that work out per hour? What do you do? Thanks! p.s. I'm pretty curious too because someday I want to start a business like this but previous posters are right. They have no obligation. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

The scale sounds a bit too much for CM but you can do one *part* of it. There is no beach texture. The only thing that kind of looks like it is the texture for 'field' which looks like a barren earthy field. However, how it functions is different than what you might expect from open beach. Another designer has done a Normandy scenario. I suggest you take a look at it. ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Greybeard 101st: Thanks all I will get your "bridge" missions soon, wish I was smart rnough to make my own missions. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The mission editor is sooooo easy to use. It's like a basic paint program. Try it out! It takes me between 1-3 hours to make a map and more time to fiddle with the force makeup and writing the mission briefings.

I will play it if you can stand waiting until end of the week for review. Where can I get it?

Keep on reviewing, man! It helps in our revisions! And please try out some of mine! ------------------ ---- To download my scenarios: go to http://www3.telus.net/pop_n_fresh/combatmiss/index.htm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TOBRUK: Hi Disaster,<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for trying it out, Tobruk! <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> I was intrigued by the situation described in your scenario; a sort of strategic withrawal. Very interesting; so I've decided to try it out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I should point out to others wanting to try this test scenario that they do have the option to try and save the fort. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Already it seems as if the scenario may not require 50 turns; at least at the rate I'm taking casualties.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, I replayed it again last night as the Germans and I think it can be limited to maybe 40 turns. [This message has been edited by Disaster@work (edited 08-09-2000).]

When I read that Von Brizee took the SS side of this scenario I felt a chill. Uh oh, I thought, I didn't actually intend it to be played from the German side. So last night until 2am I played the German side to see how the AI would handle the Polish defender. The reason why I thought this might be a problem is because I specified the north edge to be the exit for the Polish troops, giving a *human* defender the option to try and save the fort OR escape with hopefully enough units for points. However, with the Polish defender being commanded by the AI, would the AI make that choice at all? Wouldn't the AI just pull up stakes and run like a schoolgirl? **Spoilers** Please read only after playing the scenario. Read (as a designer) if you are interested to see what the AI would do with this problem. . . . . . . . . . What happened: As the Germans I assaulted immediately on the south and the eastern sides, laying down mortar fire on the NE and SE redoubts. As I feared, the AI Polish infantry did not rush to the perimeter to catch my forces in the open. Unlike me, the Poles did not even fire with their arty .. until, that is my forces got half way. Their howitzers and anti-tank opened up just as the bulk of my howling grenadiers eached the midpoint. This disrupted my attack a bit, as some units broke and scattered, but the Pole AI machinegunners were too exposed when they opened fire and were subsequently suppressed. Designer's note: Foxhole emplacements help, but only if you intend to leave troops where they are supposed to defend. In my scenario, I wanted the bulk of the Polish troops to stumble from their barracks to meet the 'surprise' attack. Unfortunately, because you can't lay out groundworks, these troops have nothing to go to and will be exposed if they defend at the edge! BTS, we need the ability to lay out trenches and foxholes before hand! Anyway, most of my attacking pioneers made it to the wire and proceeded to crest the ridge. By this time most of the outlying redoubt's arty had been silenced or suppressed. Here is where things got interesting. The moment my pioneers crested the ridge, they were met by a hail of gunfire from the inner works of the fort, as I had intended. Inside the fort is a ridge that commands the other redoubts from which a howitzer and vickers can sweep attackers. This worked well, IMO. The moment my attackers gained the ridge, they were slowed considerably by fire from within. However, I could now see what decision the AI made in regards to the exit. The AI indeed was pulling out everything that was moveable. Whatever infantry could run, were dashing for the bridge to get to the other side. What was impressive was the way the AI was covering their retreat. Of course, the arty could not move and thus were already sacrificial victims to slow the SS attack. But also the internal machineguns were lagging behind and were firing at the attackers. Mortars too were keeping up a fire on the wire's edge. On the north eastern redoubt my attack completely stopped because it was exposed to inner fire. Also, a timely artillery barrage by the Poles shocked those troops who had taken the NE redoubt beyond recall. A more aggressive (human) defender could have retaken the NE redoubt. Alas, the AI had decided the gig was up from the beginning of the scenario it seemed. With reinforcements my SS pioneers now backed by infantry swarmed over the outlying redoubts but had to fight hard to gain the center, especially the inner works as at some point the AI seemed to decide that some of the infantry would stay behind as a rear guard. The inner howitzer also was a major trouble as I did not at that time have access to heavy guns to reply and had used up my artillery support smoking one of the redoubts. It reminded somewhat of the climax of the civil war movie Glory, where the Federals boiled over the reb fort only to meet arty inside the fort. In time, I managed to sneak up a Panzerschreck to take it out while suppressing it with machineguns and some light armour that had arrived. Also interesting was that the Polish gun carriers and HTs stayed behind to fight it out, again keeping my SS boys' heads down. With the arrival of my tank reinforcements I completed the taking of the fort, wiping out the Pole HTs and gun carriers. As the first tanks crested the redoubts the remaining Polish infantry surrendered and others scrambled for the bridge. The sadist in me couldn't let this happen and I rolled a Tiger toward the bridge, mowing down the poor Poles mercilessly. Polish armour popped up to attempt to cover some of the retreat, complicating one of my reinforcement maneuvers (my initial assault force was totally spent and most were not inclined to move from their positions). Designers Note: In my next version I will reduce the strength of my SS armour reinforcement to give the Polish armour event more meaningful. The final act was to speed the Polish off the map. This was a bridge assault and proved more difficult than I had designed. Since the AI did not shuttle its reinforcement company of troops across the bridge to aid the defense of the fort, they all ended up investing the northern bank of the river. Only by steadily bombarding the northern bank and then rushing across with whatever troops I could scrape up could I complete the victory. Conclusion: As I suspected, with the AI commanding the Polish troops, still a total victory for the German side. However, the AI pulled some surprises that, as a designer, I can attempt to strengthen with better force balancing. Also, by putting some troops already at the perimeter I can slow the initial pace of the German assault. I was mostly satisfied by the challenges of the geography, including how the inner layout of the fort made for hard fighting once the attackers had gained the perimeter. Finally, the German force was meant to be somewhat overwhelming but in the next version I will cut down the number of reinforcements. ------------------ 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 08-09-2000).]

I agree with lighter AFVs. If the reality is more and more urban combat (i.e. peacekeeping, Mogadishu, urban pacification) then an MBT is not only a waste, it would not be appropriate. For example, in Mogadishu, you wouldn't even be able to fit an Abrahms down some of those streets according to reports. An AFV with wheels would be able to get around better on road in an urban environment and be quicker on the response. Plus, since the U.S. army wouldn't be the only customer for armour, it makes more sense to produce vehicles which are less expensive and more appropriate to other countries. This may be a bit harsh, but most other military establishments have internal security goals and don't factor in toe to toe heavy armoured battles in their plans. AFVs and trooper carriers are what they need for MOUT operations.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Schrullenhaft: Obviously not impossible [to program in a better lighting routine], but I believe it will make turn execution slower and increase the memory/CPU requirements significantly. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes it would be taxing to the lower end systems and lead to longer compile times. There's no getting around that except to enable users to turn certain options off. This requires a hard look at their target machine. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> ...Obviously there will be a lot of work on the 3D models/textures (which is quite time-consuming). In fact just this work alone will probably take the 12 - 18 months to get CM2 out.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, maybe 12-18 worker months. That's a long time, IMO. They can always contract or hire more modellers / texture artists or even buy models from libraries. There are tons of really fine WWII models out there. Some of them wouldn't be all that expensive. The real custom work would be in the character animating which does need improvement. It's fine 50 metres above ground. Once again, you can hire someone to do that. All dependent on if they made enough money and want to grow.

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