M. Bates

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>As an expat living in Norway i for one dream of the prices at home in England let alone in the states. Remember Norway is the land of £4 a pint and spirits only available from a state run off-licence of which there aren't many (no wonder moonshine is so popular). As for cars, even second hand models 5-6 years old cost the earth.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> It's interesting, the Norweigians apparently like to shop in Newcastle, and the English hop across the channel to shop in France. Maybe the grass is always greener on the other side.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>The Cheat removes all FOW for the cheater. Lock this one up now.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> WOW we finally get to know what this topic is all about!!!

Economically, you can't deny the sheer might of the United States. The European Union can dream on: America has one language, a strong home market and low taxation. Europe has many languages, many politicans, and the BMW car company.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Err..where`d the socialist bit come from? I was saying I respected our American breathren (after they`d been getting a beating off fellow Brits) and feel their economic system is far superior to that of the UK?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> So you are of an age to emmigrate to America - and there is nothing wrong with that - but you are a grown adult and you don't know what Socialism is?? Socialism is where your government will take you to the promised land, but it costs you a fortune to get there, and when it is still not in sight, they take more and more of your money. Capitalism is how people get paid according to what they are worth. So if you want the latter, stop voting for Socialist political parties, and then you can have low prices through competition and low taxes, just like the United States have.

As a footnote to this, name ONE non-Socialist MP in the whole of Scotland and Wales. See! It can't be done!

Ummm what does this have to do with Combat Mission? Incidentally, it's your fault that in the UK we have high taxes (though "low" compared to Europe) and a blinkered national health service, because everyone in the north of England and in Scotland are overwhelmingly Socialist. Yet the majority of people in England, who pay all the taxes, and constitute the economical engine of the UK, have to put up with this. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>what gives you that idea? the fact we got the biggest economy, the most high tech army, the most cultural imperialism?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hey, don't blame me, French politicians get excited about "cultural imperialism" from across the pond, so we Europeans get the all-conquering Euro so that we can look even more stupid. It just *annoys* me when, in these modern times, we get people still saying that their kind of patriotism beat the Germans, when in fact their patriotism makes them just as bad the Nazis in some ways.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>what gives you that idea? the fact we got the biggest economy, the most high tech army, the most cultural imperialism?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hey, don't blame me, French politicians get excited about "cultural imperialism" from across the pond, so we Europeans get the all-conquering Euro so that we can look even more stupid. It just *annoys* me when, in these modern times, we get people still saying that their kind of patriotism beat the Germans, when in fact their patriotism makes them just as bad the Nazis in some ways.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Extremely stubborn patriots, but not fully idiots<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hmmm, maybe. I am of the opinion that patriotism leaves you blind to what is actually happening, it is reinforced ignorance. Not only this, but when people start off with their patriotism... "fighting for our way of life" "we had more production than the planet earth put together" etc etc, they actually don't realise how corny and tiresome this is for other people. Just because someones grandfather and his pissed up mates shot some weary German through the eyes, does not mean that the next generation and the one after that should begin taking all the credit. [This message has been edited by M. Bates (edited 10-10-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>If anyone should be prased and honored it should be the poor Russian pesants who were given guns and forced to day in waves for a government most of them hated to be a part of. All these posts about Americans and their "great sacrifices" seem to forget that the US lost the least men and went through the "easiest" fighting out of most participants of the war.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> The Americans are bound to be unbearable and self-obsessed: they are at the end of their "turn". Don't you idiots realise just HOW MUCH equipment the Americans would need to assault Europe?? Their supply lines would effectively be HUNDREDS of times longer than the German supply lines, AND they would be contending with a large air and submarine threat. The Germans would know for DAYS or WEEKS before hand where the Americans would plan to land. Stop believing this macho bull****, and maybe watch some other movies other than Private Ryan with its slow motion shots of the star spangled banner. In the next Century instead we will have Chinese History Channel historians, regaling all and sundry about how their country is virtuous and God fearing, and how they have fought to protect their way of life... ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

Excellent reports, I can't wait to see some of these photos. And from what I remember - Bovington... is... excellent! ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

I don't mean to be negative, but I think that this board already does its job well. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

It's all very well for these people posting their 5,000 point gigantic AAR's, where tanks are mown down like cannon fodder but with 1,000 to 1,500 pointers, if the German player has a King Tiger there ain't much you can do with your Shermans. I don't know how common King Tigers were, but when I last saw the production figure for them I was surprised at how few were actually made. Then in a PBEM you meet a Dream Team of two Tigers and a King Tiger, which are basically invincible.

Surely, if the matter of German advantage was so clear cut, then people would not be making posts to the contrary. If the Allies in World War II had no air power, then they would have found life far more difficult - yet this is the case in Combat Mission. PBEM players are in the ridiculous situation of playing battles with four or five platoons of soldiers, no air support, yet regularly call on mega artillery to soften up the opposition! As regards balanced forces, how likely is it that all these Tigers and King Tigers, with inevitably veteran crews, are cropping up all the time? I don't get these people who say there is no problem with PBEM. So let's take the Allied attack/German defend situation to the extreme, and I am well aware that D Day is not simulated... but if the forces were "balanced", with the Allies asked to take twice the number of beaches with the same number of men, who would then win? The Germans of course! ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>i have played the germs once. since im from the US i almost always play amis. something about hoping the ss wins leaves a bad taste in my mouth... IMHO<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hehehe Yeah, it's like all these forum topics, such as; New Tiger/Panther/Jadgpanther/SS Winter Camo/German Steel Helmet mod available now! Hmmm, very suspicious..... Before anyone replies to this, please straighten your Party Armbands so that your typing is not impaired ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>No, but I do suspect the intentions of those who want historical equipment for the Axis but none of the historical material and manpower advantage for the Allies.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's exactly right. for some strange reason, CM and computer game players in general have an obsession with playing on the German side - note the number of German orientated mods available just for starters - and perhaps this has led to the fewer "Allied" voices being drowned out in the development of Combat Mission and its subsequent updates. No doubt about it, in my mind at least, and this is just my opinion - PBEM is just wrong at the moment. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>He uses almost exclusivley light armor and infantry and tons of arty.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And this is what PBEM comes down to. the Allied player has to stretch his already unfair points to buy more artillery than the German player AND he has to use his brain to near Kasparov proportions to maneouver his feeble Allied tanks into flanking positions just to gain an EVEN chance of toasting the German armour!! The real problem is this: the battles that happen in Combat Mission are, by and large, not historically accurate. In reality, the Allies totally outnumbered the Germans in most battles. In Combat Mission this is not the case, the Germans have better if not more varied equipment than the Allies, for the same points, AND the Germans are just as entitled to air support as the Allies. In a meeting engagement I have just anhialated an Allied opponent for the loss of one light tank. In most planning phases I skim over my units and finish the plan in less time than it took to watch the film, and I still paste the Allies. Ummmmmm What the Hell is going on? ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>You can't use the Allied tools the same ways as you would German tools<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well from what I have seen of Combat Mission, the Allies will have an equivalent for whatever the Germans have EXCEPT that the German medium and heavy tanks are much better if used with a modicum of common sense, and as a German player you get better value for your points. If defending against a German player, the points value difference is not so bad, but it is especially noticeable if you are playing as Allies and attacking the German side. In this situation their tanks and tank hunters will knuckle down and stop just about anything. Their infantry anti tank teams are excellent, and their close range combat troops, once tucked away in foxholes in dense woods, are very very tough. Just my opinion tho ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

If I was you, I would just install the Mad Dog mods without the sounds and leave it at that. They are an improvement. But if you play the game in the higher camera views, you won't notice much difference with all these new mods, unless it is a winter issue mod of course. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

After a few games of PBEM with Combat Mission, I have already decided that if I play an Attack game against someone, I will never allow my defending opponent to be the Germans. The Germans are underpriced, probably by about 10% to 20% across the units, and the German player always gets away with a "multi service" force, whereas Allied players are advised not to do this as it is perceived "gamey". If you attack the Germans on an open, small hilled scenario, his tanks will spread your own armour across half of Northern Europe, and if you attack in heavily wooded areas, his machine gun squads will cut your infantry to pieces! ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>You are missing a famous member of the Dutch Resistance, Captain Van der Crap (I sh-t you not ). I am sure it means something else in Dutch. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yeah, Dutch names are notorious for sounding ridiculous to the Brits, and English names sound ridiculous to the Dutch. Apparently "Jamie Redknapp" (semi-famous sports star) means something quite rude in Dutch. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

I would estimate it like this: Take the number of people registered with the forums, and multiply that by 1.5. ------------------ "War is like the cinema. The best seats are at the back... the front is all flicker." - Monte Cassino by Sven Hassel

My new email address is now eolfreddy@yahoo.co.uk Apologies for posting this here, but I had lost some addresses in the confusion etc etc. Also, Mostro I took your email address from the Rugged Defense site, but that address is not working, so perhaps you have another one I can send to.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>He speaks with a posh English accent, in a slightly disjointed manner, and at times almost sounds like a German (it's a conspiracy!), but he appears to be 'with it'. The narrator has a slightly gravelly, typical English accent and speaks with a low, matter-of-fact tone.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Disapointed that he didn't speak with a Scottish accent perchance? Hehe. That's the British Army's fault for not being careful about teaming soldiers up with people from their own regions like the Germans did (or used to anyways). [This message has been edited by M. Bates (edited 10-01-2000).]

Okay, this is my new email address: eolfreddy@yahoo.co.uk I will check eolfreddy@hotmail.com from time to time still.