karch

Jeez, you'd think that after 1200 shots they'd have the range nailed and all get first round hits wouldn't you?

It's very easy to to with a Mac. I don't know about Windows versions, but the screen movies should look identical. The best program I know of is Snapz Pro by Ambrosia software. Go to http://www.versiontracker.com and to a search on snapz and you'll find it. It records movies with sound really well and will allow you to save them out different sizes and you can specify your own audio and video codecs. As for people using them. People seem to have enough problems finding a way to host 100k screenshots for free. I just don't see any cheap way for people to be posting 3-100MB movie files on the cheap. Sure many of us have ADSL, but with UL speeds usually in the 384Kb range. That's only about a 30k/sec max serving speed. Have 5-20 users DLing you movie and you'll have some pretty bad transfer rates. I think the main reason you don't see them more is the bandwidth requirements for serving them up, not making them. I know I've seen a number of Mac users posting movies in the past, all made with SnapzPro.

I know it's off topic, but I wanted to drop a quick line that we're having our 2nd baby tomorrow at 8am. Very VERY excited. I was really trying for Sherman as a name, but it got vetoed for both kids... so #2 will be Will.. William Riley Karch Packing up the laptop right now to have at the hospital in case I get any free time to play CMBB!! Probably not, but I can hope. Wish us luck with the surgery. [ October 18, 2002, 12:55 AM: Message edited by: karch ]

There are no unique vehicle models or stat file. Both are woven into the application. Models are just eye candy and are not related to vehicle stats. Even if you could make a PZ II look like an Abrams, it would still work like a PZ II. I recall BFC saying they would never allow access to their 3D models, and if you can go in and change them, you would be able to get the data out for yourself, and they will not allow that. These things have been mentioned by BFC on a number of occasions and they seemed pretty firm about their decisions. I'd love to see "slots" in future games that would allow you to insert your own models and textures. If you leave them open, it uses the game models, if you include models, it uses them instead.) I can only imagine the rediculous poly counts people would end up with!!! It would be cool and possibly keep BFCs models private.

The models are not 3D model files, they are embedded into the application and can not be extracted or replaced by anyone other than BFI. One of the main reasons is they aren't willing to give THOUSANDS of hours of 3D modeling to competitors for free. If you can go in and replace the 3D models, then you'd be able to extract the 3D models and do anything with them and they have definitely said they will never allow that. In addition, it would be a TON of time to change CMBB to handle this if it could be done at all. SO... the original reason is probably so people don't steal their models, and the reason now is that the game probably can't support the change, or it would take too long to change even if they could. Heck, I'd love to have 3D models of tanks etc for file icons and just to play with, but it just isn't going to happen. Probably not in any future games either. That's just too much programming to give away for free to the stealing community and competition.

I know you've seen it mentioned, but BFC said they will not be bringing back shock waves in CMBB and I'd wager, not in any future versions. Primarily because they weren't realistic at all. Not everything in the game is realistic, but it is to the best of their abilities. There is no way the weapons being used could create shockwaves like those. From what I've read, mortar fire is very hard to see unless it's landing in material that will spray or kick up a lot of dust/material. Personally, it wouldn't bother me either way, but I do think that the game is now more realistic and to scale. I agree it's harder to see smaller/med sized artillery landing from our God's view. It's an interesting debate to go into whether the game should try and look as realistic as possible, or try to make it easier to see from farther and farther away, or just to increase the coolnes/WOW factor.

I actually really like the idea of a death clock for guns. It would probably be much shorter than on tanks, given you would be able to see the crew much easier, and what they are doing, than a tank's crew. As for the game "remembering" guns, tanks, troops. It would be great, but isn't going to happen. It's been mentioned before that the game engine just doesn't have the capability to remember things like that. It's too bad, but that will have to wait until the engine rewrite.

I've never played any campaign type games. With the casualties you regularly get in CM, it seems it would be difficult to both give your units enough combat to increase their quality and have enough of them left to fight in the next battle. If you have a "special" squad you are trying to get from battle to battle and hold them back so they aren't actually fighting, why would they then get an experience bonus. If you assaulted a tough enemy but lost 50% of your men and get greenie replacements, how do you factor that in. What if they were vets and were ready to go to elite but lost 60% casualties and got green/conscript replacements, wouldn't you then have a green unit to baby back to veteran? Sounds very difficult to make realistic to me. How do other games handle it. What would a platoon with mixed crack/conscripts look/fight like?

What the heck are you talking about. Please try to explain in clear English.

I hope you're joking. There have been discussions about this for months now. Many many many many discussions. Blame it on Germany. CDV is a German company and any product they sell has to jive with German law, no matter where they sell it. If there were UK or French or (insert distribution company of choice) that gave developers the same agreements CDV does, then BTS could have used them. But all the other distributing companies BTS looked into had unnacceptable agreements. This was the only company that gave BTS/BFC a contract they felt comfortable with. If you can find another European distributer that gave BFC a better agreement, they may use them in the next game, but CDV has a legal agreement to destribute CMBO and CMBB in Europe. It wasn't a cop out, it was either use CDV and deal with the restrictions of a German based company and get market penetration far better than they did just via the internet.. or, sell far fewer copies with the internet only model they uses until now. BFC is a company that has to sell lots of software to make money, they will sell more copies using CDV than over the internet. I guess you could also blame your European brethren for being so slow on the uptake of internet purchases. If CMBO would have sold well enough across Europe using only internet sales, they may have kept up that model. Obviously they weren't selling as many copies as they think they should have. The game works exactly the same as the US version. Play it for a while and see if you can get used to it, if not, contact someone in the US and have them purchase a copy for you and forward it to you in England. I really don't see what the big stink is about. You could try and be a little more polite or tactful with your comments or requests. People on this board are pretty rough on posters coming with rude, offensive and especially ignorant posts. Posting in the tone you just posted will usually be answered in the same tone as your initial post. Very Rude. Posting concerns in a polite fashion will often open a thread of great discussion and insight. You really reap what you sow in this forum. I'd watch your tone on any further posts.

Yeah, that's probably why. I was very impressed by the description of NTFS. On FAT drive, you could have 50 Gig free on an 80Gig and still have tons of fragmented files. If you try and save a file, the drive will find the first open space and start writing the file.. once it runs out of space, it searches for the next piece of open space and starts writing... and on and on. So if you are trying to save a 100MB file, you may have it fragmented in many pieces even if you have tons of free space. NTFS will find a single space big enough for the file AND additional space at the beginning and the end (101MB or whatever) and then write. Very smart. Also, if the file is really small, I don't remember how small, it doesn't even write it to the storage area of the drive, it writes it in the drive's directory because it will take less space just putting tiny files in the directory than describing the file and where it is. I though that was interesting. Boy, you learn something new about computers every day.

Do you know if XP home edition on Dell's ships with NTFS or FAT formatted drives? I was just researching NTFS tonight (yes, I'm a geek) and found that NTFS can almost not be fragmented. It will always search for a section of drive space big enough for the file, and then leave a little room at the front and back of the file for small changes without having to move the file or split it up. Unless your NTFS drive doesn't have enough room for the file you are saving in 1 piece, NTFS will never fragment files. Very cool. Now if Dell ships with FAT32 drives, then it could be fragmented. But I doubt that's your problem.

I don't think so in RL because I don't think guns could depress far enough. I think most German tanks could depress further than Soviet tanks, but nothing like that. lucky for you CM doesn't model gun elevation/depression limitations. Thanks for the pic.

I played a real nail biter this morning agains the AI. Made a small 1941 ME Quick Battle, armor/mech. Let the computer buy all troops. I got a Plt of short barreled IVs and 1 Mk III with a 50mm L 42? or similar. Along with some small 222 type arm cars. Got to the last 3 turns and I was down to my III and a single IV with a casualty that really slowed down it's reactions. I couldn't take it on frontally with either tank and it took me ages to flank it on both sides. If I didn't take out the tank, the flag would be contested (my inf were on the other side of a rise about 50m away from the KV) I hoped to get both tanks in LOS of the KV at the same instant, but the IV with the injury took off about 20 seconds late. The III took off on time and as soon as it came into LOS of the KV, it started taking flank shots on it and I watched as the KVs turret slowly turned toward the III and finally fired... Miss... 2 More German shots and then Klunk! Front turret penetration, Knocked out!! No deathclock or anything. Just about that time, the IV finally crests the rise it was behind and takes a bead on the left flank and rear of the turret. The IV fires twice as the KVs turret keeps slewing 180 degrees to draw a bead on my last vehicle. One of the hits was an immobilizing track hit, the other a miss. The turret was only about 5 degrees away from lining up on the IV, just BARELY out of line with the IV when my Pz fires and gets a weak point penetration and the turret STOPS TURNING!!! About 5 rounds later the crew bails. That beast took out 3 IVs, 1 III and 3 222 ACs. I had engineers with satchel charges but could never get close enough to assault because of enemy MGs further back and no cover near the tank. I haven't been that excited about a AI QB in ages. That was fun and really showed how hard the Germans had to work to take out KVs early on.

No spoiler really. Scenario is Germans trying to retake a small hill or crest during a blizzard. I get totally destroyed by the Russians every time. even after playing it over and over. Total defeat after 7 turns or so. Anyone have any luck playing the Germans on their first or second attempt? I'll attempt it with 200% troops and see how I do. Advancing uphill in a blizzard is tough.

This is the same way CMBB works. From what I've seen here on the board, it's a game engine limitation, not really a bug. A bug would be considered something that doesn't work the way the programmers intended and that can be fixed or changed in the game. Limitations of the game are generally not considered bugs since no matter how much they would like to, the developer's can not change the item. This is one of those situations. MG crews, it seems, can't abandon their guns due to the game engine. Too bad, but not too terrible. Once the crews left the gun, you'd still be out your MG, and rarely would the points you lose make or break a game. Looks like this will have to wait for the engine rewrite. Scott

Not to be too cynical, but I'll bet he only got 1, burned a copy and is selling the real version and keeps playing the burned copy. I hope I'm wrong, but that's what my gut says. S

Wow!!! Thanks for the replies. Scott

Hey there. I was just curious of the exact reason for the different CDs. If the Mac and Windows versions use the exact folders full of textures, there are ways for a hybrid Mac/Win CD where both versions use the same data, ie, BMPs. Are the sound files identical too? Or do they use different sound files, that could be enough to kill the hybrid CD if they use different files and they wouldn't fit on the CD. If they use the same sound folder and BMP folders, you could probably get both versions on one CD. Upside of hybrid CDs: Only one CD to burn and distribute, less inventory to order and manage Those of us with Macs at home and Win at work can play both places Downside of hybrid CDs: Can't track mac/win sales couldn't sell CDs to CDV territory because it would have PC app Any word or any other thoughts from those of us that don't have the game yet?

Good grief! What makes you think that any option you want is BFC's responsability to include? If BFC bowed to everyone's pet fancy the game wouldn't be out until 2004 and cost about $200/copy and you'd be whining because a) it took so long cost so much c) included so much crap you didn't want (ignoring the fact that most people didn't want your grid lines, and that all the other items included were wanted just as much by others) Seriously. Exactly WHAT part of BFC's job do other people do that they don't. And another thing. The game doesn't ship with any MODS. Mods stand for MODIFICATIONS (to the game). The game ships with stock textures, to say it ships with mods is just stupid. You play the game out of the box with STANDARD TEXTURES, if you want to change them, you load MODIFIED TEXTURES or MODS. Your ideas might be a request, but you are whining, complaining and ripping on the company that made the game instead of offering polite requests or constructive criticism. HUGE difference. You'll generally get relatively polite discussions if you talk about them civily, but a kick in the teeth if you sound like another whiny complainer. And I'll be first in line.

another reason for them not showing up is the amount of VRAM it would eat up. You would need twice the VRAM to hold the textures you would be toggleing on and off. Your system would need to load both the gridded and non gridded textures for all your ground and then toggle between them when hotkeying. You would not be adding or subtracting the grid lines themself.

Well, how about HANDLING. How about if they sent you a UPS ground box, for your shipping, but didn't bother to fill it with a program, manage inventory so there were tracking their inventory, print and include an invoice. The software and hardware for managing all that. The overhead for the people doing the work and managment of the shipping. I see you have no idea how much work goes into shipping products.

something really small so if I can find someone to play over IP with, we'll finish it in one sitting.

It's a good idea, that's what I'd do if I were them. We'll find out soon enough.