Clubfoot

Alright fellas, I'll see what I can't do by the end of this weekend. When I get something done I'll ship it off to Manx and to you guys. Clubfoot.

The background looks to have been done with MetaCreations Bryce 3D, a fairly simple and straightforward environment fabrication app. that can produce breathtaking backdrops. If anyone is interested, I've got it installed and it probably wouldn't be too difficult to come up with some hi-res backgrounds like the one seen in that picture. Hoot and holler if you'd like to see something of the sort. Clubfoot.

Is this guy a find or what? You'll also all be happy to know that Audace is responsible for the Italians Attack! force conversion in DFDR. That's a beauty Rick, keep up the incredible work! Clubfoot.

Griffin, I'll e-mail MikeT & Pascal and see if they could post the unit availability list here. In all likelihood they've already read this and are way ahead of me, however. Clubfoot.

Just a cut&paste from a previous thread in which I attempt to tap-dance around this issue: " The "authenticity" issue has been touched on by Mike T and myself previously. To clear things up, however, I'll give it a whirl again. There are indeed aspects of the game which we are powerless to change (as I think we'll all agree is NOT a bad thing). Hardcoded text, vehicle specs., particle effects and tracers. These game components are out of our reach and should be (if anyone here was involved with the I'76 community, you'll know what I mean)or your PBEM games would soon fill with sinister, chuckling preteens crashing about in hacked, supersonic King Tigers with Pratt&Whitney jet turbines and a bow mounted BFG. To this end, if one is to enjoy Desert Fox-Desert Rats, you'll have to exercise a jot of willful ignorance. Textures will try to approximate a different version of armor or different type of terrain, but the facts the game relates to you will not always exactly correspond to what you see. Palms are still "forest" in your interface window. Vehicle variants will not always be historically accurate. Some terrain may catch fire inappropriately. And so on ad nauseum. However, we did not see this as a good enough reason not to do the mod. I'm sure some people will enjoy it. I'm sure some won't. We will try to make it as accurate as possible, but there will have to be concessions weighing in on the side of "fun". " Clubfoot.

It's brush.

Tiger, "bad guy"? Nothing of the sort. As an artist myself I respect both your opinion and desire for a polite request to use your work. As for "placing no value on other people's work", I'm not sure where this assumption came from, but not from my post. I said nothing of the sort nor do I believe this. I place plenty of value upon the work's of all mod-makers for all games. My point was that in any other modding I've done and MOST I've seen, there will be either a statement "Do not use or duplicate without express written consent blah...blah...blah" or "If used in part or whole please credit the author blah...blah...blah..." or no statement as to third party use at all. If you feel strongly about this, include in your readme's something to the "written consent"'s effect. Otherwise, my point is simply that a mention in the credits IS enough. That said, and since this thread has become flame-bait with all the hurt feelings going around, I suppose I'll quit while I'm ahead (or behind, or whatever). Clubfoot.

To be frank, mod's made and released for FREE are NOT intellectual property and cannot really be claimed as such once released. Having made mods for many games over the years, I can assure you that common etiquette for other games has never been to "seek permission" to use something that's free. A credit in a text doc. is all that's ever been expected. The many makers of CM mods are quite talented and dedicated, but OWN nothing of what they release. Everybody here knows which mod's are Tiger mods, Marco mods or DeanCo mods, etc. If someone changes a Marco Sherman by simply adding a unit insignia and releases it, we all know. I can understand people's desire to be asked permission to re-use and re-hash their work, but it's something that no other gaming community has ever done. People have modified others FREE work for ages and it's never been considered "rude and impolite" so long as the original author received a credit blurb. Understand that you are asking for something that no mod authors have ever asked for before you. Mods are supposed to be for FUN and for FREE, not for self-promotion and CM community "social climbing". I suggest you let anyone fiddle with, alter, or destroy wholesale any work you've done. The results will speak for themselves, as Michael has stated. None of this is meant to offend anyone, but we're all taking ourselves a little too seriously, methinks. Clubfoot.

Rommel22, How about I send you a few Commando Skorzeny scenarios. I'd insist that you play-tested them first however to make sure they're up to snuff. Let me know what you think. Clubfoot.

Some shots up at CM Outpost have the older interface changes. Thought I would throw this one shot up to show the newer alterations. Clubfoot.

Unfortunately, mine fields can not be cleared with artillery. Daisy chain mines are a series of Anti-vehicular mines fashioned together by rope, cable or chain and dragged into place across roadways or choke-points. They are hastily prepared and quick to employ but rest on the surface of the ground or road and are thus easily spotted (and removed by engineers/pioneers). Regular AT mines are prepared well before any engagement as a static defense. They are buried inches below the earth and much more difficult to spot, usually by hitting one. Clubfoot.

That does sound good and it would be convenient for us. But you must realize this idea impinges upon future planned releases from BTS. They already plan to do early war Africa, but in CM3 or 4 I believe, not CM2. Although the inclusions you mention would add new dimension to CM2, it is in fact probably enough new dimension to warrant it's own release. Probably not prudent from the revenue conscious angle of anyone owning and operating a small business. All that said, I have to admit that personally I would love to see the features you mention included. Clubfoot.

Score one for the home team! Thanx Manx! Clubfoot.

While phoning the organization whose servers will host the DFDR site (and who shall remain unnamed), they were of course asking questions as to the content which would be displayed on said site. Any pornography there fella? No. Any subversive or hate-related material? Nope. This is to be a gaming site then? Yep. What, pray tell, will it encompass? Downloadable modifications for Big Time Software's Combat Mission:Beyond Overlord. Oh... (with the requisite pregnant pause that always comes before "some additional charges"). I was informed at this point that although I had estimated X hard drive space required and X potential up- and downloads per week, I was to be billed at a higher rate than I requested. Their contention was: Based on prior site experience with this and two other games (also to remain unnamed), they've determined that CM sites are great eaters of bandwidth. Typically more so than other gaming sites. Now, I don't want to infer that CM isn't as popular as they say, but does this really sound plausible to the rest of you guys when there are umpteen Quake, Half-life, and other twitch of the day sites with gobs of downloadable dross? Webmasters chime in please. Clubfoot.

Or, Manx could post a snail mail shipping address and everyone of you grunts could send him 5 bucks. My check would be in the mail tomorrow. Clubfoot.

My boys were mounted on a Sherman 76 when it took a round from a German 88. Quite a light show. But to be honest, I've seen it many times with many assorted vehicle/weapon combinations. Clubfoot.

You've not seen a really devestating vehicle explosion yet? When you do, hope the vehicle is not yours. It's even more painful when your .50cal and 'zook team's are embarked upon said Roman candle. Clubfoot.

I'll nominate Gonzo's "In the woods". I thought it was something of a nail-biter. It can be found at Manx's site. Clubfoot.

He's probably just down for updating or his server's acting up or something. Clubfoot.

I must say that having shipped a CD by priority mail (faster than typical mailing and more expensive) to France last week that the ship time I was given was 7 or 8 days. That's priority mail. I can assure you that if your postmaster informed you that 4 days should be all that's required to receive your cross-Atlantic shipment, he told you a bald-faced lie. It appears some of us seem to entirely disregard BTS when they tell you 2-4 weeks. I'm not sure I comprehend ordering a product with a declared shipping time of 2-4 weeks and then raising the roof when you don't receive it in 4 days. I live in the very heart of the U.S. midwest, and waited 10 days for my CMBO CD. So reign in the dismay a little fellas. When you get the game you'll not care an iota how long you waited for it. Clubfoot.

I see. That being clarified, I would agree that lighter vehicles are much more enjoyable fare for a friendly quick battle. My personal favorite small armor would have to be the Lynx. Just ask your opponent if he or she would like to try using some force restrictions. Clubfoot.

I believe it will indeed help to be hidden in scattered trees. Ravine-like landscape can also offer some protection (from two directions, anyway). It certainly doesn't hurt that jabos are dicey at best. They fail to show up often and also suffer from target misidentification quite frequently. Other than that, there's hope. If they arrive and decide to pick on your tanks, chances are you're gonna lose something. If you have any AA assets, this will help deter enemy fighters from returning. If you have nothing that can poke back at them, however, they may just stick around for quite some time and bomb the hell outta ya. Hope this helps a little. Clubfoot.

Shadow..., Send us both a copy for playtesting! Maps? plural? Well Allrighttt. My e-mail is in my profile. Clubfoot.

Not to sound critical, but all those examples you mentioned (schreck, AT guns, infantry) will poke that Priest in the eye almost as quickly as the M8. There really are no foolproof uber-vehicles. Forgive me if I'm incorrect, but it sounds as if your contention is that you can roll said Priest (or any other heavy AFV) right on past those aforementioned defenses with impunity which is simply not the case. Clubfoot.

Photoshop for me. It's pricey though, and Paint Shop Pro is considerably cheaper while offering many of the same functions. If your serious about making some good mods, a decent processor and lot's of RAM are a must. You'll find that while working on one texture, you'll have many open at once. Making a Hi-res grass mod, for instance, you'd probably have 20 or more images open at once and available for reference. RAM gobbler. I'm running Photoshop 5.5 on a 500 mhz machine w/ 192 meg of ram and it works well with little slowdown. Hope any of this helps a little. Clubfoot.