Holien

I have just posted my 1st review. I strongly suggest you do the same as it is a great site and gives you the information to select a good game if you trust other peoples opinions. And if you don't, play it anyway and then give yours... Great Site and nice crisp and clean layout!! Thanks to the designer. H

Good site and an interesting debate about what the role should have been for these tanks. I think the description of loading the round gives a good idea that this was not to be done under fire. We often forget when playing these games the reality of what we are simulating and what we are asking or pixels to do, would not be done in real life. H

I think that caps this one as if that had been a zooka and missed it would not have got off too many more shots. Also there is no clear difference in hit percentage chance and for this reason the Piat wins hands down. Sure you can be unlucky to miss all shots with either weapon, but with the Piat you get the chance to miss all shots!! H P.s. I have just looked at the link on a previous message and read about the PIAT and on that basis I would have run a mile if an NCO presented me one to use. The men that used them were made of stern stuff or seriously disliked by the unit NCO. :eek: [ 07-11-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

Aaronb has had a bad experience which in the telling gives the edge to Piats. The amount of shots they fired shows they remained effective and undetected. (Unless you tell me otherwise?) Would so many shots have been fired by Zookas? I vote Piat because I have just had a 1st shot hit on a Puma in an Urban combat situation and my building is not on fire!!! Sure Piats miss, but if they do, you ae more likely to get another shot, than if you had used a Zooka. As for using them over 100 meters would not even attempt it unless it was really desperate and if it is that bad you are hoping for a miracle!!! H

This is a very valid thing to do if you are thinking carefully about what you want to achieve. I often reassign squads to a Company Commander to give me more flexibility in what I am trying to achieve. For example I have had a Company Commander with a good stealth bonus but the Platoon Commander has none. I needed troops that could close with the enemy or skulk in the woods without being seen. I have placed the whole platoon in command of the Company Commander and made sure I sent the Platoon Commander off on a seperate task out of command range from the troops. This is one of many strong features in the game that make this game very special. H

Hi, This will need a test rig set up to prove it for sure and people prepared to run the tests long enough to statistically prove there is an issue. If there is, and if BTS do a future fix then it might be resolved. Until that time I am happy to live with the explanation's put forward by Moon. The game is not perfect and the fixes for CM2 and HMG's etc... will move it closer to perfection! But in the meantime I will explain away, things like this with "S*** Happens" and in future I should be more skillful at engaging my enemies with what little I have. Moon's explanations are ways for you to deal with the sad fact that not everything in life is controllable. While I am not prepared to run such tests I would hope some others with more time on their hands would do so, that way BTS can benefit and improve the code for CM2 if it truely requires changing. H

I have not yet played the previous suggestions but one I would play again and again and is really good 1st time blind is "Move it Or Lose it" by Moon or should that be Rune It has a really great balance with lots of tactics you can try. The first time blind with a mate or some one you can trust is awesome and it beats QB's any time. The map is well thought out and you can win with either side. I would be interested in your views on the stuff above as I am always on the look out for great scenarios for playing blind. Cheers H [ 07-06-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

You have to always remember that once you see those "hidden markers" it means that was where the enemy was last seen. Now if you have them penned into a wood with good LOS all round the wood then open up with the Arty as you know they are truely in there and have not escaped. But if it is a rather large wood and plenty of ways to move out of the kill zone without you seeing then don't waste your ammo. The only way to see what if anything you killed is to send someone into the woods and have a look around or wait until the end when all will be revealed. But as for damage as has been previously mentioned yes it hurts the same. As long as there is someone there to hurt. H

Thanks Steve, As a lurker on this thread your response has answered all. Bits were boring yet many other posts taught me more intersting facts than I can remember. This one post from you has swung me from not buying the next release (I am not a real fan of the Russian front) to buying it because I want you guys to have my money. And I want to see these changes made for the WTO in a later release, or an update to CM. Cheers chaps H

Lee. H. 2 Pints of Abbot Ale and a Friday afternoon at a work place with internet access = Bad combination for work.

Damn... And I thought my tactic of joining B to avoid playing, but yet appear to be supporting the tournament has failed. But then again I might still avoid the humiliation of losing, if you all ignore this thread... Hmmm now if I say something naughty I might get this thread locked up... Hmmm I have a cunning plan. H Damn that pesky Paco [ 06-22-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

Check if the unit is within Minimum or Maximum range. Look at stats for unit and see what it says. This should really be apparent as when plotting file it says "Out Of Range". If they really have LOS (or Command Radius) and the above is OK then there should be no problem. I should not have to mention this but what is there ammo status / morale status? Either of these could mean they might not fire. The final thing I can think of is if you are targeting a unit that the crew don't think they can damage. If this is the case the crew will decide not to fire. (It will show as targetted and then drop the target as the turn starts.) If you really want to target that unit, then target ground near it. This might get you a hit but if your crew are telling you that they will not damage it then it is better to target something else. This of course could mean you waste a whole salvo at a spot of ground where the unit was 5 seconds ago but the moves well away and you waste a lot of ammo on an empty spot of real estate. (Possibly pissing off a few rabbits or badgers?) H

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PDVincit: Re: Ned Lud's Post You have a computer???!!! Why, when I was a young gamer, we didn't even have a computer! We had some rubbish, an old extension cord, some plastic soldiers. True, it wasn't very satisfying. I forget my point. Thank you.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Consider yourself Lucky!!! You lucky lucky lucky lucky bstrd. You had plastic!! Plastic I ask you!! We were so poor that we lived in a cardboard box and played soldiers with matchsticks my father had hand carved from the twigs of the trees in the local park. You young ones today don't know you were born!!! H [ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: Holien ] [ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

I have spent some time on that beach and others around Normandy and you have caught the spirit of it well. I can almost feel the mist from the spray of the waves against my face. I just wished that BTS could do some more interesting fortifications. A trench system is essential for the defenders on a battle set like this as they need to be able to traverse the battle front under cover to make up for there weaker numbers. This is getting close to my childhood memories of storming the beach with airfix commandos against the german plastic fortification set. The one with a trench system connected to a single gun. Was it a radar station? Anyway another round of applause for a truly talented artist... [ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Holien ] [ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Holien ]

Ahhh I love the power of the net and when I see discussions like this it makes me warm all over. (sad but true). The ability to talk directly to the man at the top and see this from anywhere in the world. This forum never ceases to amaze me. The knowledge gained from just browsing is fantastic. As for the magazine I used to be able to get it in the UK but the coverage in stores is slim and I only want to buy issues when I know it contains material relevant to me. I guess I will have to wait until it appears on the web. The modelling of sewers intrigues me and I hope it can be done in a sensible way without detriment to the game. (On past performance I should have no doubts about BTS ability to deliver, but sometimes people can go off boil... ) Cheers everyone keep talking... H

Hi, After seeing the article posted by the Swedish crew about a Games day for CM it got me thinking the UK players could do something similar. 1st Are any UK players interested in a Weekend CM gaming session? 2nd If so does anyone have any contacts at a Uni for allowing us use of their PC's? I would presume that people would pay a small fee to cover any rental charge made by the Uni? 3rd What format would people like to play? My suggestion would be a fixed time game with the players playing a map not seen before with pre selected forces. But detail like this could be arranged depending on peoples interest? Any interest? Any contacts or know how on how I can get a room full of PC's for players? H

To add weight to this. I have seen this and continue to see (before smoke billows) this happen in games. The latest was a MKIV opening up on Yanks in Bushes some distance away 500+. Rather than wiping the squad it fired smoke. As for buildings and the future I am inclined to issue orders to fire HE at the building or ground near the troops. I think when you do this it does not use smoke. It does mean that you are no targeting the unit directly but might produce the same effect. So don't target troops, target ground near them. H P.s. It would be a nice to have a fix but does not make the game unplayable so I guess people should get used to it...

Fantastic resource. Many thanks for sharing this with everyone. Pity CM does not model many different types of bunkers or trenches. I have walked the beach and I wish I had this map when I had. I think I shall go back with this in hand. Cheers H

Excellent Idea. I noticed some time ago a post for games down London way. Is there anyone who has access to the computers prepared to do something similar? I would love to meet some of the guys playing this game and have a nice social weekend / competition. I would help organise it if there was enough interest in the UK. Just need to persuade a company with the network and PC's that it would be a good thing to do. Any other like minded people out there? Sorry to Hijack the thread but it is a fantastic idea and I wanted to see if anyone else is doing anything similar? H

Hi, That would explain why I can't get you up!! Good Luck and thanks for the news. Cheers H

I agree if it could be fixed then all well and good. BTS have thought hard about cheating and the implementation of the game has revolved around solving that. As with all development some things do not get spotted until after the release. If it can be fixed all well and good if not then at least people know there is a potential problem. BigMac is correct and in an ideal world people should just get on with living, however we live in a world where people want to win at any cost. I take BigMac approach and will play "Auto Pick" if someone wants. I will get an idea of what the player is like through chat and E-mail. If I think I am being mislead or don't enjoy the player then I guess I won't play them again. I can however understand people not playing Auto Pick and in an "Ideal World" would like it fixed. As I would also like the force balance changed with different points cost for the effectiveness ala the points made by Jason. I know however that this might not happen as BTS have other issues to deal with. H

An interesting post from Abbot about his Nephew. You often find that youngsters will find the most effective way to make things work in a game to their advantage. they don't have the clutter that an adult carries with them. IRL defenders choose where they defend and can get good lanes of fire for MMG's etc... The modelling of MMG's in CM seems off kilter as I have situations where half squads have run accross open ground and been fired at by a HMG crew and survied intact. IRL I think the situation would be somewhat different. This would stop dead a mass infantry charge and the morale of the soldiers would not allow for such tatics as the men would see that it was futile against stationary defenders. I wish I could remember where I read a report that in a 10 man section the real fighting strength would be as follows. (I apologise if this is not exactly correct and if anyone knows the exact quote I would love to see it again). The Jist of the article stated that 1 man would be a nutter doing crazy stuff like actively trying to kill the enemy. 4 would support him and the other 5 would be hanging back and trying to stay out of trouble. I think IRL the men in the units would behave above and would not act as brave as they do in any game. If you have ever played Paint Ball you can see this effect when playing with people of varying skill levels (and commitment). I know that the army would have a bit more training than the weekend warriors but in WW2 I have the perception that most troops were of a regular nature than the specialist nutters (Vets Paras etc...). The Army did not have the time to train everyone (Indeed you need special type of people to be trained to be "nutters". No disrespect to these people as without them we would not have the Para's and Gurkha's) to the level to perform such feats as used by some players. Also the point noted re command friction is very important. The only insight I have is from paint ball and if you have ever tried to co-ordinate people in an attack (even just among mates) it is a major headache. Introduce into that more people and personalities you are lucky to get an attack together. I know the British army today is a professional force but in WW2 you had effecively a conscript force with minimal training and not always the level of commitment required. Even the officers were not always well trained. Just my take on it. H

Aka_Tom **** Do the players in the top 10 at T-house ever play "Let the computer pick the units"? *** Hi, While not in the top ten (pretty close) I do let the computer pick forces and have suggested this to people I play. I have only just learnt of the flaw with this and I am dissapointed that you can do this as it now means people are tarred with that brush even though I have never done such a thing. I have played Knaust blind at various scenarios he has suggested and not loaded it up as his force to see what is coming. This has given me some intense games which were fun to play although a bit imbalanced at times. Both Knaust and I have lost these imbalanced scenario games so it kinda evens out. (Knaust you are getting good at long posts ) I agree with Jason that the points seem to be out of kilter and when that happens people who want to win will buy what is best from the shelf. This is "gamey" but it is a game so "C'est La Vie" if you want to play ladder you will get this. I would strongly suggest that the points for units are closely examined for CM2 as this will create situations which skew away from history. However, even if the points do get "sorted" the technicians will choose what is the best buy from the new list. I would just hope the new list would enable a more varied game. The answer without that change is to guage your opponent and enjoy those that play at your level and swiftlty move on from those that don't. (By level I mean your own personal interpretation of "Gameyness".) One can not legislate for it and there is no surefire way of defining gaming ethics as it is a game and the cultural differences of players will always cause mis-understandings. We come from many different walks of life the only rules that can be defined are those that the game allows and while Gentlemans agreements can be made the game will not support those. Gentlemen (and Ladies) will. So choose your players wisely. Trust them and hope they trust you back. It is a game and enjoyment comes not from winning but the thrills during the course of battle. (Well that's what I try and tell myself when I have been rogered badly...) H

Looks more like a Sherman to me. I am guessing a Lend Lease vehicle used by the Soviets until production was in top gear for their own....

Hi I would add what weight I have to getting the flags changed as discussed above. It would add to the game and if it could be done for both CM2 and CM then excellent. Maybe posting an e-mail proposal to Charles will help? H