Mr. W W

Welcome. I have had the game for about 2 weeks and am about ready to PBEM myself. I will fire you an e-mail this weekend perhaps...

Welcome aboard! Great game, great BBS, just not enough TIME!

Mr. Shaw, what part of Utah? And isn't the sky a lovely shade of slate these days?

Done and done. "Gortex", an old, bad habit.

I gotta' get in on this. BTS: You got what you deserved. I have been telling all my real world and online friends about the game, "selling like a mother". I believe in the game, the mission statement and the company behind it all. The work has paid off and I hope like hell the biggies take a little notice! At least to the fact that a piece of software CAN be bug free! I for one will remember, when SSI releases STEEL PANTHERS: THE COMBAT MISSIONS, who started this and what it meant. Congrats! AND DON'T STOP NOW, BABY

OK, yesterday I finaly got to spend some serious time with CM for the 1st time in the week I have had it - 4 quick battles and a scenario: Pegasus Bridge, and I would like to share my impressions, if I may. The game is more damned fun than any other game I have played since Heroes of Might and Magic 2. It fairly oozes good times, and the replayablilty is outstanding. It's just COOL. The joy of seeing 2 500lb bombs take out that King Tiger that was menacing my Pershings is unbelievable. The fun of "riding along" with my T-8 on a fast recon, or my M-10 as it suprises a Stugg at 90 degrees...man, just a blast! The realism is also incredible. The 1st time I saw a round from my m5a1 go careening off and explode in the trees I was almost flabbergasted. Stuff like that. I am not knowledgeable enough to get into the minutae, but it all feels right. I find that I play a lot of Armor vs. Armor attacks on large maps with around 1250 or so points, I like to buy my own units and I love the GA planes. My prefered side are the American Army, with 2 M5A1s and 2 Pershings, supported by the odd M4A1 (105) and T-8 scout cars, 2-3 rifle platoons in a baseball formation, and whatever support I can afford. The baseball formation always seems to give me the most options in any situation without losing an HQ or mortar unit. I nearly always end up with one squad free to maneuver. I haven't tried a PBEM yet, but I am slowly working up the courage to do so. And the time, which is a bigger concern. I especially love, during setup, to "fly around" the map at 1, 4, and 7 to get the feel of the terrain and avenues. Setup went from being kind of a drag to being one of my favorite parts of the game. I spent almost 45 minutes setting up once or twice! As far as things I would like to see in the game, I would really like some sort of a unit list with the capability to "find" a unit. How many MGs were sitting in a copse out of the action because I didn't see them or remember to hit the plus and minus keys? Well, several LOL. Honestly, that is my only real wish. There are plenty of units I haven't tried yet, plenty of tactics, plenty of options...maybe just a little HQ screen to help keep track of things. Maybe I will have more ideas in the future - one week isn't a lot of time. I just wanted to say this and allow any of you to comment and stuff - especially newbies like me. I appreciate all the help you folks have given and look forward to reading your thoughts. Thanks

Hey look, a newbie... It really doesn't seem to matter what the game is or how well done it is, people will constantly find a reason to complain about it. It's the nature of things. Same with music, movies etal. This game is easily the best game of it's (many) type(s) I have ever played. I sometimes wonder just exactly what some people are after The process continues to be refined, and we the players actually get some serious input here on this forum. Just because the BTS team doesn't personally address all the suggestions/complaints on a per/day basis doesn't mean that they aren't on top of things. This is a fairly ambitious title and I for one am glad to be a part of it's refining process. It certainly can be improved, and I believe it will be, but while we wait, it still kicks the crap out of any other game I have tried in at least 2 years, it is as bug free as you can expect such a game to be, and it's just a lot of damned fun. I feel better. Do you?

Admittedly, I am not real knowledgeable about these things, but it occurs to me that machine gun fire vs. infantry is a more effective use of the tank's firepower. The main gun is more useful vs. a relatively stationary target or, as you said, in a direct attack against a single target. But that would seem to be a slight misuse of the tank's capabilities, especially under the circumstances. Was the tank supported at all? Maybe just a 1919 or something to give it a little extra punch vs. a large group of infantry could have made a difference. A single light tank would be very hard pressed to deal with moving, small tagets all by itself, and the main gun would probably not have been very useful at that point. Once the advancing infantry had begun to dig in, however, the main gun would have been a serious problem for them, as they would be realatively stationary and an easy target. Whenever I use tanks in defensive positions I try to keep a machinegun or two in close proximity to get the bad guys to hit the deck. Then my main gun is devestating. Also I would have a 60 mm mortar crew standing by, as the angle of attack from a dropping mortar is even more lethal than a main gun. I guess the key is support, for me anyway. Hope this helps. Peace...but only in the real world..

We could give it a bash. This is my second week with CM and I am still getting comfortable with some aspects. I too have played a few wargames in the past, but this is a different beast altogether, so a rookie I be. E-mail is on the way.

Shoulda' stopped by and said "Hi". I believe the TCP/IP is a legitimate con for most people, and the score reflects that. Gotta' figure, they are reviewing it for all the readers, and that is a sore spot for some. The bad part is we all know it's coming. I suppose when it gets here you can go ahead and add 3% or so. And hell, 91% for a wargame in that mag is not bad at all.

CM is obviously going to be my obsession for a while, but I am certain I will always break out Rising Sun or Steel Panthers for the rest of my life. I actually went and got an old P200 and loaded DOS on it just so I could play SP, Panzer General and the origional Red Baron, along with a few of my other old DOS favorites. Someday I will do the same with CM - it will never really lose it's attraction because of the QUICK BATTLE option. I LOVE THAT! I wish every game had some form of random map generator. I love flight sims, Heroes 3 types of games as well as Military Games, so I will always be on the lookout for new stuff (or old stuff I missed the 1st time around). My biggest problem lately is that Graphics and Candy have replaced elegance and replayability in too many titles. Which made CM all the sweeter to find: well done, replayable ad imfinitum and just plain fun to PLAY. I tend to heap praise on things I like. Can you tell?

I just barely got done watching my 1st close air support in a scenario. 500 lb bombs make a really BIG impression. No real plane graphics, but I saw the shadow just as Preacher said, and again as the plane came around for a strafe. The important thing for me was how the impact "shook out" some enemy units for me to immolate. Never seen THAT in a game before.

Again, thanks! I have a partner at work (who owns a MAC, even, hehe) who is dying to see the screens of this game I have been talking up for the last week...

Thanks, all! I love it when a good game gets a good community behind it.

I noticed in the AAR from Fion that he made screenshots. I am certain I missed it somewhere, but can somebody tell me how to take them please?

I am really not that much of a surfer and I was wondering if anyone could help me out with sites for Mods and other stuff. The more time I spend surfing, the less time I get to play, you know? Thanks in advance.

Well, so far all I do is post concurances, but there it is. Again, it truly is the quality of the gameplay that sets this one apart. I imagine I will be playing the West/East front games and TOAOW forever, but this game offers so much in both serious tactical exercise and just "Golly" fun, I am still in awe.

As to the time of arrival: I ordered this last monday and recieved the game in yesterday's (21st) mail. And I HAD TO GO BACK TO WORK after it arrived. That, my friends, is willpower...

I'll second that. Definately FUN. It makes you feel all smart and stuff, then let's you PLAY! What a concept. It really is as much fun to watch the action go down as it is to plan the action in the 1st place. Just wait til' you get the full version, sir! Unreal.

Thanks, all. I can see the addiction signs already: Case of Dr. Pepper, cheapo frozen pizzas, kid sleeping over at cousin's for the weekend, wife happily stocked up with awful chickflick vids.... Bt the way, I won that scenario tactically - one Pershing left! "Elsdorf". Flanked the King Tiger from the south east. Man! Sweaty palm time, you know? LOVE that #1 view and Camera lock! Why do I feel like an 8 year old with a new toy?

This is the best game I have tried in a very long time. Just wanted to put in a good word about it, and say hello and whatever. So, hello and whatever. What an auspicious debut post, eh?