Spear

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Abbott: I was thrilled when I luckily got a mobility kill on a Jadgtiger the other day. Didn't even try to kill it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I had a similar situation in which I immobilized a Jadgtiger with an M-36. It was during a close-range village fight, and I was then able to drive around behind it and knock it out at point blank range - right up the arse!

I remember watching a movie several years ago about ANZAC troops in Vietman (or was it Korea?). I don't remember the title, but I thought it was pretty good. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

I don't recall the vehicle's designation, but I think these SP guns on M-3 halftracks were built as a temporary stopgap measure during the North African campaign. They were very vulnerable to enemy fire and I believe that they were withdrawn from frontline service before the invasion of France, so their inclusion in Kelly's Heroes was a bit of artistic license. That's probably why they're not in CM.

Great thread. Re: lend lease tanks, it is my understanding that the Soviets were very pleased with the Sherman tanks that they received, largely due to their mechanical reliability. I think that speaks well of the Sherman, given the success of the Soviet tank designs. Didn't the Soviets equip some of their Guard units with Shermans?

Okay, I think I finally figured out how to link to a picture. This one is for all you rodent fans out there.

I play "Spearhead" miniature rules, among many others. Hence my username...

Punxsutawney Phil declares six more weeks of winter (so he can spend more time playing CM, of course). [This message has been edited by Spear (edited 02-16-2001).]

1st Boardgame: AH Battle of the Bulge 1st Computer Game: AH Bismark (on a TRS-80)

Done.

I just received the latest issue of PC Gamer. The issue features a preview of several upcoming WWII games. On page 38 is a sidebar of currently available games that they recommend, and CMBO heads the list as "easily one of the best wargames of the year." Way to go, BTS! Also in this issue, William Trotter reviews Hasbro's new Squad Leader, and hammers it with a rating of 12%. This is consistent with other reviews that I've seen.

Like many other CMBO players, I would never even have found out about CMBO if it hadn't been for Trotter's review. I enjoy his column and his reviews.

Lots of good points on both side, guys. This thread reminds me of when I used to play Games Workshop's Epic Space Marines, when I used to subscribe to an Epic newsgroup. There used to be lots of similar discussions there, but instead of the term "gamey" they used to call such tactics "cheesy." In any case, I only play single player vs the computer. Thus, I can experiment with strange and new tactics to my heart's content without being accused of being "gamey." Heck, I've even gotten into the habit of saving my game each and every turn, so if I do something stupid like wander into an ambush, I can simply restart the game as if the turn never happened, plus it gives me intel on enemy positions. If that ain't gamey, I don't know what is. -Scott

I read Colonel Trotter's review in PC Gamer. Downloaded the demo and was immediately assimilated.

Has anyone received the October issue of PC Gamer yet? I'm still waiting...

Jaeger wrote: Taken from "World War II Almanac" by Robert Goralski: THE FIRST SHELLING OF THE U.S. MAINLAND "Japanese submarine I-17 shelled the Elwood oil field west of Santa Barbara, California, in the early evening hours of Feb. 23, 1942." Hey, didn't they make a movie about this? I think it starred John Belushi... (Just kidding!)

Since I've been playing boardgames and miniatures for more than 20 years, I am much more comfortable with a turn-based system for most games. Although I enjoy real-time for certain things (flight sims and shooters), I prefer turn based games. I agree with William Trotter (PC Gamer's wargame columnist) that RTS systems just can't compete with turn-based systems when it comes to serious simulations for anything but the most tactical levels. And I think that BTS really advanced the state-of-the-art for turn-based games with the WEGO concept. Simply brilliant! As far as which type is more demanding, well, I can handle RTS games like Age of Empires at the beginning of the game when I don't have many units to worry about, but I quickly get overwhelmed when the unit count increases. I guess I'm just old fashioned! Or perhaps just old...

Teamski wrote: "I personally never liked the ASL system. Compared with the original SL, the idea of blowing so much money on "modules" when for $100, pretty much the whole TO&E was yours in SL. Add the outrageously unecessary new rules introduced, made the game a farce (residule firepower?, come on)." I'm with you, Teamski! IMHO, Squad Leader reached its peak of fun and playability with Cross of Iron. It went downhill after that. I bought ASL and several of the modules, but the game is simply too complicated for my feeble brain. Now with CM, the computer takes care of remembering the rules for me!

I received my copy of CMBO yesterday. Needless to say, I stayed up way past my bedtime last night. In the eternal quest for wargaming perfection, I freely and willingly submit to assimilation by CMBO. Resistance is futile.

Gen-X87, when did you place your order? I ordered on Aug 18 but so far I've not received my copy of CM.

I'm in the same boat with you, WhizKid. I was so blown away by the demo that I ordered the full game a week ago. I'm still waiting, patiently, as I know that all the favorable reviews are surely boosting sales beyond BTS's expectations. Hard to keep up with all these new orders, you know. Still, I'm always a bit disappointed to come home from work each day, only to find no shipment from BTS. Anyway, I'm only up to my 3rd CM game, which is also my first attempt at the Valley of Trouble scenario. Last night, I just dropped my first smoke barrage on the pillbox with the 75. I thought, "wow, that's cool!" Although my frame rate drops a bit when panning past the smoke, I think it looks pretty good. Yeah, the smoke looks a little chunky when you're close up, but when viewed from the American positions, it looks fine to me. Actually, one consistent theme that I've seen in the many CM reviews that I've read, is that the graphics are not quite as flashy as in many other of today's games. I play a lot of FPS games and flight simulators with some of the latest graphics, and I own a fairly decent system (TNT graphics card). Although I would concede that CM's graphics may not be quite up to state-of-the-art standards, they still look pretty good to me(at least so it seems from the many cool screenshots that I've seen on CMHQ - great work, guys). Also, with the constant stream of new mods and patches, the graphics will only keep getting better. But the bottom line is, CM is such a great game with an innovative system and interface, that any minor blemishes in the graphics department can easily be overlooked, IMHO. CM RULES!! FIRE FOR EFFECT!! : [This message has been edited by Spear (edited 08-25-2000).]

I'm fairly new to this message board (I signed up about a week ago), and I have generally found many of the threads that actually relate to Combat Mission to be quite interesting and useful. Emotional political rantings like this one, however, need to be locked up ASAP. They really have nothing to do with Combat Mission, now, do they?

I am probably one of the few US citizens who did not watch Survivor. What was I doing last night instead of watching the last episode? Playing CM, of course!!!!

I ordered CM last Friday, and I received an order confirmation e-mail stating that I should receive it in 2-3 days. Unfortunately,I just got another e-mail yesterday to the effect that there was a problem with orders placed this past weekend, so my order was delayed a few days. So I guess I'll just have to be patient and play the demo, which is still great fun. I am finding the Valley of Trouble scenario to be quite a challenge as the Americans. I need more practice!