BeWary

Hey, great news. Extra ram wouldn't have fixed your freeze-ups, unless you have no page-file set up. It was probably the directX upgrade that did the trick. Glad you're back in action. BeWary

You can kill everything but explorer and systray. Although, some things may not respond like he's used to if you close down those programs. Those programs running in the background are there for a reason (good or bad). Personally, I identify what everything is running in the background, and make sure it doesn't start if I don't want it to. Go to Start->Run and type MSCONFIG. There's a tab on the right that lets you unselect items you don't want to start. This usually gives a directory the program can be found in, which can help to track it down. You can also search the registry (use REGEDIT to open it) for the name of the background program. This should help you track them down. HOWEVER, it sounds to me like he's running low on hard disk space. Have him run scandisk first to fix any hard disk problems. Then have him delete everything in the Windows\temp directory. Then delete any other programs he's downloaded that he doesn't need anymore, like zip files and movies, that might be taking up valuable disk space. He should then run the disk defragmenter. Try these before removing background programs, especially if the computer isn't working correctly without them. BeWary

I had a similar problem with Unreal (not UT), when I upgraded my TNT (older NVidia card for those unfamiliar with it) drivers and/or directx. I'm not sure which was the culprit, as it was a while in between runnings of Unreal, but something got broken with the OS upgrades. If Epic doesn't have a more current patch, you may want to try downgrading your video card drivers. I wouldn't go so far as to reinstall windows just to play Unreal, but that's just me. BeWary

Well, I'm using an AMD Thunderbird, Win98SE, and a GeForce 2 Pro w/21.81 drivers and don't have any problems like this. Have you been repeatedly testing the same scenario/saved game? Perhaps there's a corrupted saved game or scenario file somewhere. Don't know what else to tell ya. I'm sure if was a bug it would have been found a long time ago. Perhaps it's a video driver problem. Wouldn't be the first time. Is the game running correctly other than the timer? If so, I wouldn't worry about it too much. BeWary

Soddball, A pretty high percentage (it seems) of ME users have had problems with system stability and things generally working correctly (a friend of mine being one of the high percentage). I'm still using 98SE myself, and I only occasionally have problems, mainly with my TV software (for the ATI TV Wonder) and Roger Wilco (a known issue with AMD/NVidia combos). Sounds like you may have just gotten lucky with your system. As far as WinXP goes, Gamespot (pc.gamespot.com) has a review including benchmarks. It looks like the reviewer liked it, thought they did mention the 'ability' of XP to emulate Win9x was bogus. Didn't do a damned thing to solve problems. Though that might be because of drivers like Schrull said. Personally, I agree with MajorH about Microsoft getting pretty arrogant. I don't plan to upgrade to XP unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. I'll probably migrate to LINUX before I bother with that XP registration crap. BeWary

Hmmm, I think I understand. But if that's the case, shouldn't trucks and/or HT's come attached to the platoons/companies automatically? Maybe they do and I've not noticed? The main thing I noticed about the Motorized Infantry is that they have a lot of firepower. Thanks, BeWary

I had an idea last night. What if for CMBB or CM2, the mods we apply to our tanks and infantry actually effect their likelihood of being spotted by the enemy? This would probably require a bit of programming expertise, but it would sure be cool! I'm imagining some sort of algorithm that analyzes the colors and shape of the target in respect to the background colors and shapes, perhaps from many different angles/altitudes, and therefore determining whether the target is visible by any given unit. With relative spotting coming, this might be the next logical extension of this. Especially since each unit may have to be analyzed from many different angles for relative spotting (of course, I don't know how they plan on doing that). Some people would probably dismiss this idea as giving one side an unfair advantage, but hey, the various sides that actually fought the war had the option to camouflage as they desired (with exceptions I'm sure), so why shouldn't we? For those who'd want to play mod-free, perhaps the game could alert a player when their opponent is using mods? That might be necessary for tournaments. What d'ya think? BeWary

I realize this has probably been answered in the past, but the search feature doesn't seem to work as well as it used to. Probably too many posts now. Anyway, it seems to me that German Motorized Infantry should be on motorcycles, thus allowing them much faster movement and no fatigue to get in the way. However, they don't seem to move any faster than regular troops, and they certainly fatigue just as easily. So tell me, if they don't have motorcycles, what part of them is motorized? Are they cyborg infantry from Hitler's genetic experimentation program? Please forgive my ignorance. BeWary

Hi CSO_Talorgan, I'm glad to hear your TNT is running faster for you. It's very possible your neighbor's Voodoo is faster than your TNT. If he has a Voodoo 3 or higher, it's probably faster. The Voodoo cards generally add a slight fuzzy look to 3D graphics (at least the earlier cards did), so perhaps this is why you think his looks better? He may also have FSAA turned on (done in Windows, NOT CM), which would also help make it look better. FSAA means Full Screen Anti-Aliasing, and it basically gets rid of the jagged lines produced by the pixels by changing the color of the pixels to more closely match that of the surrounding pixels. The GeForce 2+ cards do this, as well as the Voodoo 5 cards. I'm sure your card does not support FSAA. Unfortunately, even if it did, you probably wouldn't want to use it. FSAA really taxes the NVidia cards, and can dramatically lower your FPS. You may want to consider getting a newer 3D card. They are pretty cheap now. I'd recommend a GeForce2 GTS or Pro or a GeForce3 if you have the money. 3Dfx is no longer in business, so it's probably not wise to buy a Voodoo. Hope that helped. BeWary

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MajorH: >I only install it once a month to do a check of all my PCs and then I remove it. Before installing it I do a system save so that I can also do a system restore immediately after I uninstal MacAfee.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's probably a bit much. All you should need to do is disable it. If you can't do this through the program menus, go to Start->Run and type "msconfig" (w/out the quotes of course). There's a tab where you can select what runs at startup and what doesn't. This is a great way to control what Windows runs in the background. I check it regularly, especially after new software installs, as many little buggers slip into there without permission. NOTE - msconfig only works under Win9x I think. I'm not sure of the Win2k equivalent. BeWary

Just a note about rotating to target. I've seen, on a number of occasions, tanks not rotating to be at perfectly 90 degree angles to their targets. They have often stopped so that their front is mostly exposed, and the side is only minimally exposed. This would seem to be the smartest thing to do. You'd want a much larger angle on that thinner side armor. I thought I remember BTS saying that CM does model the firing of the round currently in the chamber. I know you guys have examples that seem to disprove this, but I seem to recall seeing tanks fire HE at other thanks if they were just firing it. Perhaps not. It's been a while since I've thought about it. Maybe another thing they can add into CMBB. Or, maybe, they add an extra few seconds to simulate pulling the current round out and putting the correct one in. This might be a smarter thing to do in RL, since once you fire, you expose yourself. BeWary

Hmmm, didn't know about that move command trick. Yeah, try that. But about that sneak command, IIRC, the manual says that units have more awareness of targets while sneaking. I think that means they'll also fire more than while moving. I'll have to recheck the manual. BeWary

Yeah, I've been playing CM for over a year now, almost daily, and just the other day saw my first rifle grenade used. I'm sure I've seen others, but this was the first I noticed. I had two squads hiding in ambush when along came a STUG, traveling with its side to the woods. Two of my ambushing squads stand up and fire simultaneously. Both hit at about 50-60 meters! The first one didn't do damage, but the second knocked it out! :cool: I was pleasantly surprised. I'd agree with the statement, "don't rely on them when defending, but don't count them out when attacking". I've lost vehicles to those damned faust's numerous times. BeWary

Zone Alarm isn't a virus scanner, is it? I thought it was just a firewall. Of course, a firewall can help prevent people from planting viruses and/or trojan horses on your system. I didn't even use a virus scanner on my old machine for about 2-3 years. Never had a virus. I just be careful about what I download, and I never run app's sent to me unless I'm sure they're safe. The best virus scanner is your common sense, in my humble opinion. On that note, I do use PC-Cillin on my new machine since it came free with my motherboard software. It runs fine and hasn't conflicted with any software yet. It's also pretty cheap to keep updated (less than $10 a year I think). If I were you I'd probably just use one of those online scanners if I ever had a file I was suspicious of. BeWary

Well, you could try it, but I doubt it would make any difference. You're talking about turning off graphical options, which would be mainly handled by your graphics card. The CPU is going to handle all of the turn computations. BeWary

If you're running Windows, hit alt-enter to switch between full screen and a window. I don't know if CM allows this, but it's worth a shot. NOTE - This only works with graphical applications to my knowledge. BeWary

Yup. That's the only way to do it. You can't order men to pause in the middle of waypoints. BTS has called that too much micro-management under battlefield conditions. They're probably right after all. BeWary

Well, from my understanding, soldiers did try to dig in as much as possible, even in the middle of combat. Some cover's better than no cover! Perhaps CMBB could include this as an optional command, but the "foxhole" dug would provide much less cover than a normal foxhole, seeing as it won't be as complete. Good idea. BeWary

Well, the games you've already played are out, but I don't see why you can't save future QB's during the setup phase (though the game might not let you do that until the 1st turn begins). Just don't save over them during the rest of the battle (name it something like "... - start"). Then you should be able to reload the saved game in the future. BeWary

Woah there, I don't think Schrull meant to crack into your ISP's router. I think he assumed you had a home router/firewall/switch, as many of us do. If you don't have your own, you'll need to ask your ISP to allow incoming traffic on 7023, and perhaps route it to your house if that's even feasible. Of course, they probably won't do something like that without a hefty charge. Perhaps your friend should host the game? Either way, you may have trouble finding a cable long enought to reach your ISP's router. BeWary

wwb_99, I'm not so sure about the overkill thing. I put a GeForce 2 MX 32MB in my wife's computer (a P2-400 with 196MB ram), and it sure made a heck of a difference with the Quake 3 engine, which now runs quite smoothly, for the most part. The card it replaced was a TNT, 16MB. I have a friend who has a GeForce 2 Ultra on a P2-400, and he claims to run Tribes 2 "ultra-smooth". Disclaimer: Results may vary BeWary

Well, it could be any number of things. Your processor speed. Your video card. Plus, I think the final game has higher quality sounds and textures (?). This, combined with larger scenarios (either with more units or a larger map or both), can cause slowdown. Either way, I hope it doesn't make you stop playing. At least CM doesn't require twitch reflexes and a high frame-rate. BeWary

Thanks for the response Treeburst. I'm glad to see the new drivers aren't worse than the older ones. You had me wondering. BeWary

What exactly do you mean, "From the CD icon"? Do you mean only use the autoplay of the CD? I don't remember if the CD even has autoplay. I never use autoplay. If you could be more specific on how you got it working, it might help us get to the bottom of this. Thanks, BeWary

Sure, I'll help. Just go into your CM directory and delete the file called "CM Prefs". That's not the exact name, but you'll see it; there aren't many files in the root of the CM directory. When you restart CM it'll prompt you for a new resolution. Just make sure to set your Windows desktop to 1024x768 before you start CM. Also, deleting the prefs file will return game options to their default values. For instance, if you had trees turned off, they'll be back on. But it should only take a couple minutes to reset those to your liking. BeWary