The Commissar

Tom, Wasn't camo used to make the object being camoed appear as nothing out of the ordinary? If I saw a reasonably pretty girl standing in the middle of a field, my first course of action would be to approach her! So indeed, this was no camo device, but a cunning German trap to lure unsuspecting and horny Americans to their bullet-riddled doom! Now if only someone was to mod this into CM... [ 04-08-2001: Message edited by: The Commissar ]

Wow, VERY nice! Although some of them look a bit too flashy for me (like those rather complex looking German awards), some look dead on (like that metalic cross with the swasticka). Hey, and where can I find the ones for the Allies? Err, woops, took a look at that pic after posting the mssg and saw that there WERE Allied images also! Silly me... Keep it up, m8, very good work! : [ 04-08-2001: Message edited by: The Commissar ]

I agree with you, Redcoat! If our current game is anything to judge by, maps are big enough as it is in CMBO, but as they say "Bigger is Better". Maybe if we had more units available our forces would clash by now ! Right then, since the battles on the Ostfront were considerably larger in scale then those on the West front, and considering the imporvements in PC power when CM2 is released, I suggest an option for more units is available. My current computer can already handle downright gigantic numbers of units, so more wouldnt hurt much. If you dont want it, dont play it, right?

Although a good idea and would make for some wonderful eyecandy, you cannot even imagine how difficult it would be to code, especially for something that doesnt model lighting like the CM engine. A full rewrite would be required. Hey, maybe for CMII? We can only hope...

To "change" low-res to hi-res you need to do a lot of downloading! Lots of mods all around the web and on different sites. D/L them and unzip into your BMP folder. Some are good, others are not so good, and still others are flat out gorgeous. Heres some links to get you started: www.combatmission.com www.combat-missions.net

Thank you all for your suggestions. I must make a few clarifications, however. It seems to me that you guys think I will be playing the battle, and while this would be a great honour if this article is ever printed, it is also doubtful. The battle would more likely commence between Trotter and a fewllow editor, or between Trotter and the AI. I have suggested Valley of Trouble for the very reasons you guys mentioned, and I really hope he gets the permission he needs. Thanks again for your responces - Ill keep you posted. Cheers! Comm ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Playing with myself, eh? Been there, done that, discovered females. Next?

All of my High School buddies are too dim or too addicted to console crap to play a real game that involves that dreaded word - thinking. No, they would rather have their little Dweebcasts and Gay Stations. Anyhow, any introduction I attempt to make to this game (and I have made several) resulted in scholarly questions like "Ugh, does this game, like, sorta like Quake or something?" and "WW2? When did that happen? Lets just go smoke some dope in the basement, dewd" Where do you live, Grenadiere? I might want to move there ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

I didnt think editors wrote back to their fans all that much, and I sure wasnt expecting it to happen this time. The REAL surprise was that my suggestion of doing an article covering a battle in CMBO was "very appealing" !!! Here is a copy of his e-mail: "Your suggestion about a Combat Mission match is very appealing (except for the fact that I've been so busy working on a 1500-page Civil War novel that I haven't played a single CM scenario since, well...I can't remember. In any case, I'd probably get my arse shot off unless I had time to work up to it) In any case, I'll run the idea past the editors and see what happens. As long as they don't stick me with that "World's Greatest Wargamer" label (as they did when we ran that Steel Panthers feature). I was not informed of that in advance and was absolutely furious..." I guess the lot of us were wrong in jeering at him for that greatest wargamer label. Right then, what do you think I should suggest to this poor, CM-deprived man that would put us high on the charts of a possible article?!? Suggestions are not ONLY welcome, they are downright required! Now get writing! Cheers! Comm ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Thats the way they do things at PCG for some reason. Always one issue ahead.

Eep! Silly, silly me. In my excitement I forgot all about it! Here it is: desktopgeneral@pcgamer.com Viva CMBO! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

In this issue of PC Gamer magazine (the May issue) one of PCG's editors mentions how great a game CM is in "The PCG Playlist" feature. Joe Idunnohislastname the editor actually proposed (perhaps only in humour) to challenge Trotter to a match. How bloody great would it be if Trotter devoted one of his articles to such a match-up? Im for it...perhaps they need some convincing though? I sent him an e-mail, but whether he will take me seriously is doubtful. Just a few more tidbits concerning CM's ever-spreading influence. Cheers! Comm ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 04-03-2001).]

Just voted once again...hope this helps get CM noticed. All those other top 20 games barely deserve to be up there...I wonder if we can get CM all the way into the Top 5 or *gasp* the coveted #1?

Heinz, To see these pics, or any others not showing on this forum for that matter, do the following: 1) right click on the borken link and select "Properties" 2) Copy the web adress for the pic 3) Open a new window, and paste the adress you copied in the adress bar Bingo! Now you can see the pics! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" [This message has been edited by The Commissar (edited 03-31-2001).]

I forget, what did Kwazy Dog tell us the last time we asked him (which was, like, yesterday?)

Using sharpshooters for recon is both effective and realistic. Sharpshooters were made to scout out terrain ahead of them main advance, if possible using their shooting skills to a good effect, and reporting back to the commander to report enemy activity and positions. Plus they wont fire at anything closer then 100m, thereby leaving them reasonably safe. Cheers! ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Because crushing Germans is ever so much more fun then doing it to some other Allied nation. Duh!

Its funny how some of the ideas Hitler's scientists and mechanics worked on in the depths of their dark laboratories are sci-fi/comic book material these days. Sort of frightning when you think about it...

We're doing the exact same thing that was done a year or two ago, when CM1 was still in development. Use the search and take a look at some of the first threads. They are much like the ones we start up these days. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

If 3 ISU-122's does all that, what would those 150's do? BTS!! I demand that all wooden houses within ISU blast radius collapse when 3 or more 122's and 2 or more 150's are fired simulteniously!! Plz fix or do sumfink!!

You dont seem to realize, bob, that the very reason BTS is getting suggestions for the game is because it has taken suggestions in the past, with CM1. BTS asked what the fans wanted (or was asked in turn if a feature would be implemented) and often a time -**KAZAM** (youre not the only one who can use flashy buzz words) - the feature was in! So this is perfectly justified. Generally, your post was thus not needed. Neither did mine, really. I give this thread a day. Then again, I did learn a new word to humour my buddies with: Swelltastic - ROFL!

Dont you worry about that! Since Russians always made a point to use "maskirovka" on their vehicles, troops, transports and everything else they could lay their hands on, I am almost positive we will see some super-keen hi-res vegetation covered "Za Stalina!"-emblemed Soviet AFV's cruising down the battlefield soon after CM2's release. gunnergoz, They had a big ol' discussion about the link you mentioned a while back. I dont remember the name of the thread itself, but the general opinion seemed to be that test was not a very good one. Just because the Soviets lined up a KT on a range and shot various projectiles at it did not mean it is not effective. One must consider that the shots were dead on accurate (something very rarely achieved in combat) and that when shell after shell was fired, the internal armor of the KT began to flake after several shots, thereby decreasing its strenght and ruining the rest of the test. MrSpkr wrote: "Horse Carts and Horses!" Sorry to spoil it pal, but it has been discussed to forever, and finally, we have obtained a final answer from Mr. BTS himself: "The Commisar quoted the following: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Although they would still make occasional mounted attacks on disorganized or unprepared troops, the tactics usually involved riding horses to a pre-chosen battle line, then dismounting and fighting as infantry. Also, to avoid detection and attack by aircraft, the cavalry moved mainly at night or in bad weather, and avoided known roadways. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very true. When used in this capacity, especially in the woods or swamps, they were very effective. As dismounted infantry they worked well too. But as was found out early on, straight out 19th century cavalry charges were mostly suicidal. Combat Mission is just not set up for horse. There would need to be special TacAI just for them, and that would be pretty tough to do. The modeling of the horses, graphically, would be a big undertaking. Remember, we have to program in behavior patterns. Legs don't inherently know they should stick to the torso and foot We would also have to come up with some sort of way to simulate mounts being shot out from under otherwise intact riders. With a horse "squad" unit and a rider squad unit, that would be very tough. Because of these and a few other reasons, no horses for the Eastern Front. As the quote of mine posted above says very well, we understand that they do have a place on the Eastern Front, but it is simply too small for the effort needed to simulate them. Therefore, no dice. Steve" Sorry pal, we tried ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

I dont know about programmers, but I distinctly remember Steve or Charles saying in several interviews and possibly on this very forum that they did not, in the forseeable future, wish to license their engine to anyone. I dont see anything wrong with discussing this, either. We are fans. This is a public board. We can talk about anything that relates to CM, and this does. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

Im just glad that with Soviet weaponry in the game we wont see any more of those stupid "KT IZ UNKILLABLE! DO SUMFINK!" threads! Im looking forward to all the Soviet armor. Can't wait to brew up those "nemetski" Panzers!

Skipper, Uh, no they werent.