groundpounder

Another good source , Topo maps, 1:25,000 at http://www.ign.fr and http://www.ign.be gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by David Stone: My god, Someone actually played this scenario... Then voted. SHOCK!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Sometimes even a blind squirrel gets lucky David! gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by David Stone: groundpunder, I agree. And I am guilty. I think NOT NEARLY enough people voice their opinions on scenarios. Yes, we are all caught in our little cirlces playing those we know, but taking a few seconds TO JUST VOTE would be nice. I mean, at least this yields some "public" knowledge of a scenario's worth...... Stoner PS- I'm guilty because I don't follow my own advice here.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> David, It is easy to get caught up in playing CM. I does however take just a moment to vote when you get on the CMHQ Depot. On the other hand the Depot can be sloooooooooow sometimes (sorry MadMatt but it does drag sometimes). Its just that there are getting to be so many scenarios out there, we should help each other by at least highlighting the ones that we have found to be good. Some folks will argue that the Depot ratings are not meaningful because you can vote more than once. But if a scenario designer votes his or her scenario as a 5 and a lot of people down load and play it and it sucks. They should be on the depot voting the sucker into the ground. Personally I want to be told if one of my scenarios sucks , but tell me WHY its sucks so I can fix it. So as far as constructive feedback, the CMHQ Depot is lacking. That is why I post my thoughts here. Any kind of feedback is good, at least then the scenario designers know that someone is playing their scenarios. BTW, I did notice that there is a more recent version of "Sandig's SS Counter-Attack at Poirer" by Stephen "Spook" Cleary that was voted as a 4 star. gp

Try "Victory in the Vineyards" as a double blind. Shameless plug gp

I almost always buy a crack sharpshooter. They are very stealthy and good for killing those pesky American arty spotters. Also great for taking out the tank commanders or just buttoning them up. For me they are worth the money. gp

I have toyed with the idea of doing a grape vine mod ever since I did "Victory in the Vineyards" I think I will take a look at what is involved in turning wheat into grape vines. gp [This message has been edited by groundpounder (edited 01-06-2001).]

Being a quasi-scenario designer and having published a few scenarios, I keep a watch on the scenario ratings at CMHQ and comments made by players in the forums. The other day I happened to take notice of three scenarios posted at the CMHQ Scenario Depot that were "unrated". These scenarios were posted on or about November 12th 2000 and were still unrated? They also showed at least 40 downloads each. And still unrated?? Are these scenarios so bad that no one even feels compelled to vote for them? Having an inquiring mind and a penchant for alining myself with the under dog I had to see for myself. Those three scenarios are: 1. "712th at Pfaffenheck" by Harry Yeide 2. "Ride of the Valkyries, act 1" by Tommy Nilsson 3. "Sandig's SS Counter-Attack at Poirer" by Stephen "Spook" Cleary Having interests other than CM I don't get to play as often as I would like, so I have only played one of these scenarios to date. When I get time I'll play the other two and report on those. Or maybe someone else would like to give their impressions on these other scenarios. Its hard to tell much about a scenario without spooling it for others, so I will limit my impressions to the following. 1. Map quality (is it believable) 1- 5 2. Game play (does the action flow or are there long periods of boredom) 1 -5 3. Pucker Factor (the most important as far as I am concerned. This is the degree to which you sphincter tightens up due to unexpected and life threatening events. Like when a King Tiger shows up on the flank of your platoon of Shermans at 250m!). 1-5 4. Briefings ( are there any, are they detailed, well researched (historical) any creative twists). 1-5 Here are my impressions of "712th at Pfaffenheck" by Harry Yeide. Played as Allies against the 1.1b24 AI, default settings. This is an American Infantry Company w armor attack against a company of SS Panzer Grenadiers. 1. Map Quality = 3 At first I was unimpressed my the map. Lots of wide open spaces with a small village, very few scattered trees and one whole side was "Tall Pines". The apparent approach was one paved road. On closer scrutiny (at camera level 1), the map offered some interesting approaches to the objectives. There were nice subtleties in the map also. 2. Game Play = 4.5 Never a dull moment and the action was non stop! Good Job! For the reckless player this could go to a 5! 3. Pucker Factor = 4.5 This one had me puckered up reeeeeeal tight! I kept getting it, but could not tell where it was coming from! Many surprises. Can't say more without spoiling it for you. 4.Briefings = 2 This was the only real drawback to the scenario. The briefings were very short with just the minimum of detail. Much more could have been done here to draw the player into the situation. But if you the kind of player that just wants to get right into the action and doesn't care about briefings then this is not a detractor. So if you disregard the briefings then the over all score would have been a 4.0 Over all score = 3.5 One other factor that I find meaningful about a scenario is the CPU loading. This scenario unit level and map size is such that it can be played on the slower CPU's. It would play well on a 300Mhz or there abouts I suppose. This would also make for a good double blind PBEM/TCP. But hey, who am I to judge??? Try it for yourself and VOTE at CMHQ!!! Oh, and BTW, when you look at CMHQ Scenario you will see that "712th at Pfaffenheck" is no longer "unrated". Seems someone voted on it. gp "After you have secured the area, don't forget to tell the enemy." [This message has been edited by groundpounder (edited 01-06-2001).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kitty: Oh, you all were talking about the tank? Yep. That's a Maus. Specifically, it's the Maus at the Moscow museum and that's CM's own Warphead standing next to it. I thought you wanted to know who the guy was when you asked "what is that thing?" My mistake. Kitty <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Talking about "Chicks with Tanks", "Tank Girl" is my all time favorite war movie! gp

Head does look a little warped now that you mention it. gp

Smoke 'em then choke 'em (go in the back door with a rifle squad). gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by OsinO: hmmm ok, but what are the specs on this thing? Anyone know? ****, it looks 2x the size of a tiger...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Same chassis as the KT, different hull. gp

Shameless plug Try the scenario "Tiger Woods" as a double blind PBEM. You must run it with the beta 24 though. gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CATguy: what about the hamsters in bldgs?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Oh PLEASE, Unleash NOT the rodentia upon this section of the board! gp

Thanks Harv! I can appreciate what a task it is piecing it all together. Good work. I presume you are headed for warmer territory, eh? gp

I use crack sharpshooters to find and kill arty spotters. They are fast, stealthy, deadly at long range and good at spotting targets. gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sgt. JAFO: I have a simple question - how do you place Objective Flags on custom maps? The system decides where to put one, but I am unable to figure out how to move it. I can't find anything about placing them in the manual either. Thanks in advance... Sgt. Jafo<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Try this thread. http://www.battlefront.com/discuss/Forum6/HTML/000571.html gp

Harv, I use the EXCEL version of the database. Works great for sorting and such. Thanks for putting it together! Happy Holidays, gp

Aacooper, Send me the 3 that you want play tested, I'll have a look and give you some feedback. gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Harv: Crockett (and everyone else too), go grab my Database from Boots & Tracks. It has all of the scenarios on the net included, and you can find the ones you are looking for quite easily. There are two versions...a group of CSV files which you can open with any spreadsheet or database, and an Excel 97/2000 Workbook with full search & filter capabilities and active hyperlinks. Go here to find it: http://wbr.thegamers.net/boots_tracks/index.asp Happy Holidays, Harv <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks Harv, Already downloaded it earlier today. Nice piece of work. The hardest task must be keeping track of where they all came from! Happy Holidays, gp

WOW! Thanks Bill! I hope I don't have to wait for Christmas to open these goodies. Tell all the contributors a hardy "Thank you and Happy Holidays!" We all appreciate your contributions to this fun game. *****SPOILER on "Bridgehead at Benicourt" *** * * * * * * * * BTW, played "Bridgehead at Benicourt" as the Allies against the AI. Excellent "pucker factor" . I knew I was in for it when on turn 1 the 75mm PB took out the platoon commanders HT. Happy Holidays to all! gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LimShady: Hi everyone, Just wondering if anyone else is having this problem. But there are some scenarios that i've downloaded from the Combat HQ's depot that don't appear in my scenario list. Is there a maximum number of scenarios that can be in the folder or something? Thanks LimShady<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> LimShady, The scenarios that are not showing up may have been created with CMBO 1.1b. In which case they will not show up in the scenarios menu. "Tiger Woods" is one such scenario (give that one a try (shameless plug) ). So when you download them make a note of what version of CM it was created with (CMHQ and other sites display this). As far as a maximum number of scenarios displayed in the menu, I have no idea, was wondering myself. Happy Holidays! gp [This message has been edited by groundpounder (edited 12-23-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Crockett: Thanks for the tip ,groundpounder ! So simple ! It works. Merry Christmas Crockett <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You're welcome Crockett! Have a Merry Christmas. gp

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pilsudski's Raider: So how did you like the scenario? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> "Just 3 little Stuarts" is a fun scenario. Its a good one for learning the game as does not have an overwhelming number of units. Give it a try. gp

Now I see the problem. Just put the .cmb file type on it by renaming it Just3littleStuarts.cmb . It is not seen because it does not have the .cmb extension. gp

You probably need to upgrade the version of CMBO to 1.05 (see the download section of this site). "Just 3 little Stuarts " was constructed with 1.05 it will not work with a previous version of CMBO. gp