BloodyBucket

The video chip is in an AGP slot. I have looked for similar systems, no monitor or printer, and it does seem that Dell has a pretty good package going. I would be going from a 350 Mhz AMD based Aptiva, so any improvement is sure to be astonishing at my end. I know the 2.4 gig 4550 sports a 533 Mhz side bus and faster memory than the 2.0 gig model that they are really blowing out. My upgrading will probably be limited to more memory and a better video card as time goes by.

The other choice in video cards is a DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200, for $70 more, or the 128mb DDR ATI Radeon 9700 Pro for about $300 more (out of my range, plus I don't know about ATI and fog). If there is a better choice for less scratch, I could get the 32MB ATI card and replace it (I think that saves about $30 on the system).

I might be getting the green light for a new system in the near future. Budget is tight around $700 max and more like $600. Been looking at the Dell 4550, probably configued with a Pentium 4 processor 2.4GHz w/ 533MHz system bus & 512K L2 Cache, onboard sound chip, 64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 MX Graphics Card, and of course, Windows XP (Home Edition). Any thoughts as to how this rig would handle CMBO and CMBB?

There is a new driver out as of Oct 21, #16055 I think, that fixed the airbursts and transparent vehicle problems on my machine. Check it out if you have a Kyro based card.

The idea of rifle squads being more effective is interesting enough, and the HMGs having more play in the game does sound good. Of course, I will eventually get BB, perhaps when the new machine shows up. The wife has agreed to the purchase, she wants to put it off because of silly priorities like babies and such. I am extremely gratified that no one said, "better graphics". I was never a SMG squad lover in BO, so it sounds like a must have after all. BTW, Dorosh, the Corps motivated me with fresh flowers and a nice mint on my pillow every morning.

Can anyone sum up the improvements in BB? Also, anyone who cares to take an opposing view, as to where BO might be better? I am without a suitable system for a while, and perhaps a little report from the players of BB might help get my off my duff and order.

I am sticking with BO simply because my desktop is broke, the laptop I have is not up to BB and the Eastern front does not do it for me.

First commercial games were probably the old "American Heritage" games, "Battlecry", "Dogfight" and "Broadsides". That was back in the 60's when I was a pup, my older brothers were gamers and I grew up with it. Computer games started on the old Commasnore 64. My current collection includes titles from AH, SPI, GDW, VG, 3W, ADG, MB, etc. I only have about a hundred, so not many compared to some! First real wargame, however, involved rolling marbles off a ramp at plastic army men, there were rules, but time has dimmed my memory... I will try to replicate them as soon as my little boy is old enough (He is almost three, so very soon!).

Some thoughts on the airfleet issue: You can limit the airfleet uber alles syndrome by limiting the number of airfleets, or the effect they have. You can limit the number by a hard limit, or by increasing the cost of buying or maintaining the airleet (Oil resources required to fly missions?). You could make replacement points for airfleets more expensive, since pilot training is a time and money consuming task. You can limit the effect by increasing the defense of the targets, or decreasing the attack of the airfleet. Perhaps the effect of airfleets vs. ground units only should be adjusted, so the air heavy side can "rule the skys" but risk being defeated on the ground. You could change the way airfleets attack ground targets, so they mainly reduce the supply status rather than the combat strength of the attacked unit. That way they "open the door" for ground forces rather than performing the job of ground forces. I like the air vs. air aspect of SC. The way the air interacts with the ground units makes me uneasy.

Some games use gearing limits. For example, if you produce three subs on turn six, on turn seven you are limited to producing four or less subs. You can't jump from no production of a type to tremendous production of a type in a single turn. [ September 23, 2002, 11:02 PM: Message edited by: BloodyBucket ]

I have been a little less active on this board because: </font> My computer is kaput and I am now existing on a borrowed 1996 laptop </font>My free time is being eaten up by family matters (new baby on the way) </font>Bill Macon and you others are saying the things that I would say </font>I have not played the game enough to have a really informed opinion (see item one) </font>

Been out of SC circulation for some time, and the ideas in some of the recent threads are very interesting, to say the least. I know that TCP play is in the works, but what is the scoop on future tweaks? I know CMBO is a dead dog now that CMBB is here, will SC hit the patch wall anytime soon? Also, I know Hubert had some tough rows to hoe pre release, and I was wondering what his thoughts are now that the baby has been left at the doorstep? Worth it? Too much of a pain in the rear? Swearing off game design forever?

Posted months ago by Nordwind: "Why do marching soldiers on the CD-cover look normal, while two of the soldiers on the CD itslef have pig (?) like faces? Whats the story?" I still can't figure it out!

Yep, a good idea indeed.

See? They are beating a path to our door as we speak! Mods are available in plenty, but no specific Italian ones that I know of. Several Italian front scenarios available. Very few items in CMBO are hard coded (pistols, projectiles, hands) if you are talking about graphics, but the data for the weapons is not "tinkerable". You could change the Germans to look Italian, but they would still behave like Germans. There was even a mod that changed the German/Allied soldiers to look like Confederate/Union ACW soldiers. Along with the Austin Powers mod, that was one of the oddest.

BO will survive, even if only as a shrine to the one that started them all. Soon, there will be classic BO tourneys, re-enacting the glory days of computer WWII re-enactment. Children will sit on our knees and listen in wonderment as we spin tales of the good old days. A new generation of tactical gamers will make the solemn trek to our door, to hear how it all started, and to pay homage to those who were wise enough to preserve the heritage of our hobby. It kind of hits ya right here (Sob!). Now, where was that bottle?

"Lone Hawks" sounds too...active. Like a gang from "West Side Story" or something. "Rolling Tumbleweeds" on the other hand, has a descriptive ring to it.

The noise the Marines makes has uses. The sarcastic "Ooh-f*****g-Rah" is useful, and a good cheer at the right time is not unprofessional, as I see it. I have noticed that junior Marines have turned it in to an almost universal, noncomital verbal greeting. If I hear "Oohrah, Master Sergeant," one more time as I make eye contact walking along I think I am going to gag. Mostly it is harmless, but it is really getting overdone. It has been in common use for at least twentyone years that I know of, and where it comes from is a mystery to me. My two year old boy likes it.

I've never seen one, so that makes them rare.

The advantage might be that the CMBO board will become more of a club, now that the CMBB board will absorb most of the traditional tomfoolery. Kind of a stodgy, stuffy, stale cigar smoke kind of club, but there is a place in the world for that sort of thing. I remember the rift between the Squad Leader/Advanced Squad Leader set that began as soon as the new game came out. To this day there are those that prefer the original. I suspect that will hold true here as well.

That's easy. This thread is among several that lament the lack of attention to CMBO due to the release of the CMBB demo. The results are predictable, but there should be some railing against the night that is sure to close in on CMBO. I will get CMBB, because it will be a good game and I want to support CM in general, but my heart will always belong to the Western theater. I have yet to download the CMBB demo. I will just have to wait for the wheel to turn back to my area of interest. I do wish that CMBO does not drop totally off the map, and that some of the improvements to CM could be patched over while I wait for the new Western front version. There is always GI Combat, I guess. When I do get around to ordering CMBB, I am sure that my thoughts will wander back to that first game of "Valley of Trouble" while I traverse the Russian steppes. [ September 05, 2002, 11:27 PM: Message edited by: BloodyBucket ]

You could invest in long range aircraft to get them out. If it is a ground unit, and it is out of supply, you are truly stuck, can't disband. This should be fixed.

Who else has done this? Purchase-click on corps-click over to USSR-buy and place HQ by mistake. AAAAGGGHHHH!

Headquarters movement has been nominated. That radio squeal is kind of annoying. I am thinking of replacing the intro music with something like the theme from "The World at War". Jet sounds at lower tech levels has been mentioned, combined with prop-based icons until tech 4 or 5. Any other thoughts on the sound files? It would be nice to have a specific axis/allied win/loss file at the end of the game.

"...if oil mattered in this game, the allies should forego any strat bombing until they have bases from which they can reach rumania, but unfortunately you don't need oil specific MPP's to rebuild your air and armor units" Good point. Oil would mean a helluva lot more if it were tied to air and armor production, and that would be a very nice touch indeed. If the allied bombing had targeted the German Power grid, things might have gotten sticky very quickly. It is hard to farm out electrical production.