WolfLord

Thanks, Chupacabra,for that link. A short faq but most informative. As for environmental impacts of DU, some studies are now showing higher cancer rates among soldiers and civilians in areas where DU was used. These studies are mainly occuring in the former Yugoslavia.

In light of recent headlines concerning DU, does anyone know where I can find armor penetration values comparing DU to tungsten. There is a hot debate in relation to this on the CNN and MSNBC message boards. I need a few solid numbers to back my higher velocity/tungsten argument.

This probably explains why ONE Sherman 76 took out 3 of my HULL-DOWN Panthers! Arrrggggg!!! Ok, I feel better.

If you look at a one on one scenario, then aerial tank busting in WW2 may be seen as somewhat ineffective. However, you also have to remember that for every tank the Germans possessed, there were about 4-6 allied tankbusting planes. This sort of saturation effect makes anything effective. Moreover, if the Ardennes Offensive was to be successful, it HAD to take place in inclement weather (which it did early on). However, when those clouds cleared German tanks started running into problems from MASSIVE air to ground sorties.

Heh, don't get me started on this...just finished a battle which almost resulted in my monitor being tossed out the window. ONE...yes ONE Sherman 76 took out 3 of my Panther G's (not late) frontally at >500m. Not to mention he also got a hetzer and a Stug III...oh yeah...and a PzIV. To say I was annoyed would be a dreadful understatement. To add insult to injury, my tactics were sound and the Panthers were hull down in relation to the '76. I never did kill the bastard...aborted the mission when he took out my PzIV.

Yes, Hitler was a waste of air that served only to repeatedly throw monkey wrenches into sound strategies from capable generals. Anyway, I still can't see how any sort of German Offensive could be viable at this stage of the war due to massive air superiority enjoyed by the Allies. Tanks don't like planes...which resulted in later (failed) offensives being conducted in bad weather or at night. Rommel and gang should have been successful at blowing Hitler to bits in 1944 and surrendered right after Normandy. Countless lives (American, German, British, etc.) and property could have been saved. What a waste...

I'm just finishing up Maj. Gen. von Mellenthin's (member of German Gen. Staff during WW2) excellent book, "Panzer Battles". Within, I found a few bits of startling information concerning the German situation in the West during Oct.-Nov. 1944 such as: "Those of us who had come from the Russian Front, where the German formations were still in tolerable fighting order, were shocked at the condition of our Western armies. The losses in material had been colossal; for example, Nineteenth Army had possessed 1,480 guns, and lost 1,316 in the withdrawal fron S. France." "Some panzer brigades had never even done any squadron training, which explains our enormous losses in tanks" "At the beginning of November our line was far stronger than before. Yet there was nothing really solid or dependable about our front. Under the impact of day and night bombing the supply system worked spasmodically and ammunition was woefully short. We had hardly any assault guns, and some divisions had none at all. We had a considerable quantity of field artillery, but much of it consisted of captured guns with only a few rounds of ammunition. We had 140 tanks of all types; 100 of these were alloted to First Army." I assume the quote immediately above was refering to Army Group G alone, but nevertheless this is still surprising. This makes one feel really special when playing the Germans that you are issued tanks in Quick Battles I guess the game would not be much fun from the German side if the historical situation was taken into account when generating a QB.

I'm still stubbornly attached to the JagdTiger. For all its drawbacks, I feel it is worth every point to have this beast overwatching your panzers as they advance.

Heh, as you would expect I'll go with the Jagdtiger. I've managed to take out quite a few JPs w/ Sherman 75s by using flanking tactics. Can't remember if I have gotten a frontal kill though. Much, much less success versus JTs. Whomever said "They are a tough nut to crack", hit the nail on the head when it comes to JTs. Hey, but I did knock out one's gun with an AT gun!

That's what i love about this board, excellent posts. I learn something new each day. I see now that a closer look at my "Jagdtiger: The Answer to all my Troubles" strategy is in order. However, as Retarted_Keydet stated, I do love the 'ol "muahahaha!!!" factor when my Jagdtiger starts prowling about...especially when my opponent is distracted by a cheaper vehicle.

Just saw a documentary on this weapon which reminded me that it was indeed in CM. I thought, what the hell and began running some tests with it in quick battles. After numerous scenarios, I was extremely surprised by its effective performance. By this time, I felt myself confident enough to employ it in a TCP/IP game. Needless to say, my opponent's dread at seeing this weapon rumble into view rivals his dread of Tigers. As an added bonus it has a great firing sound that elicits notice (and fear) However, I am aware that its 128mm canon has an agonizing ROF and of the vehicle's SLOW rotation (or lack thereof). I have never, in at least 15 battles, lost one of these behemoths to enemy fire. Of course, I was baby sitting the beast with a couple of Tigers and/or Panthers. Just lucky or a weapon ahead of it time?

Yeah, System Shock 2 was great but didn't quite live up to its sire's name...the awe inspiring Thief series. Definately pick up these games if you get the chance...Thief 1 can be found for about 10-20 bucks now while Thief 2 may be a bit more expensive as it was released in April 2000.

Oh well, just a quick point here. I'm still a big fan of FPS's (although CRPGs and Combat Mission get most of my time now) which is why the comment about FPS's requiring no skill sorta rubs me the wrong way. I would would invite anyone who agrees with this to play through Thief 1 and 2 inflicting no damage upon AIs or receiving any yourself. I have done this and to say it takes no skill or tactics just dosen't hold up. BTW, any other Thief junkies out there? If so, I very much recommend that you try some of the fan missions on the net now. Many are on par with the originals.

Yes, go with the Geforce 2 Ultra. I was not planning on spending 400 bucks for a new card but I bit the bullet and got it anyway. I have not regretted my decision. Going to this card from a VooDoo variant is like the awe inspiring moment when I went from a 2 MB Trident to a VooDoo 1 about 4-5 years ago. The Ultra allows me to play CM at 1600X1200 res very nicely and Quake 3 at 1240x1078 w/ NO slowdowns (all eye candy on and detail maxed w/ 32 bit color). Im running a PIII 800...non overclocked. Be warned...Nvidia's antialiasing is not up to par with 3dfx's and you can even bring the mighty Ultra 2 to its knees by enabling it. Hey, but who needs FSAA at very high resolutions? My 2 or 3 cents worth...

Yes, go with the Geforce 2 Ultra. I was not planning on spending 400 bucks for a new card but I bit the bullet and got it anyway. I have not regretted my decision. Going to this card from a VooDoo variant is like the awe inspiring moment when I went from a 2 MB Trident to a VooDoo 1 about 4-5 years ago. The Ultra allows me to play CM at 1600X1200 res very nicely and Quake 3 at 1240x1078 w/ NO slowdowns (all eye candy on and detail maxed w/ 32 bit color). Im running a PIII 800...non overclocked. Be warned...Nvidia's antialiasing is not up to par with 3dfx's and you can even bring the mighty Ultra 2 to its knees by enabling it. Hey, but who needs FSAA at very high resolutions? My 2 or 3 cents worth...

Yes, go with the Geforce 2 Ultra. I was not planning on spending 400 bucks for a new card but I bit the bullet and got it anyway. I have not regretted my decision. Going to this card from a VooDoo variant is like the awe inspiring moment when I went from a 2 MB Trident to a VooDoo 1 about 4-5 years ago. The Ultra allows me to play CM at 1600X1200 res very nicely and Quake 3 at 1240x1078 w/ NO slowdowns (all eye candy on and detail maxed w/ 32 bit color). Im running a PIII 800...non overclocked. Be warned...Nvidia's antialiasing is not up to par with 3dfx's and you can even bring the mighty Ultra 2 to its knees by enabling it. Hey, but who needs FSAA at very high resolutions? My 2 or 3 cents worth...

Yes, go with the Geforce 2 Ultra. I was not planning on spending 400 bucks for a new card but I bit the bullet and got it anyway. I have not regretted my decision. Going to this card from a VooDoo variant is like the awe inspiring moment when I went from a 2 MB Trident to a VooDoo 1 about 4-5 years ago. The Ultra allows me to play CM at 1600X1200 res very nicely and Quake 3 at 1240x1078 w/ NO slowdowns (all eye candy on and detail maxed w/ 32 bit color). Im running a PIII 800...non overclocked. Be warned...Nvidia's antialiasing is not up to par with 3dfx's and you can even bring the mighty Ultra 2 to its knees by enabling it. Hey, but who needs FSAA at very high resolutions? My 2 or 3 cents worth...

Yes, go with the Geforce 2 Ultra. I was not planning on spending 400 bucks for a new card but I bit the bullet and got it anyway. I have not regretted my decision. Going to this card from a VooDoo variant is like the awe inspiring moment when I went from a 2 MB Trident to a VooDoo 1 about 4-5 years ago. The Ultra allows me to play CM at 1600X1200 res very nicely and Quake 3 at 1240x1078 w/ NO slowdowns (all eye candy on and detail maxed w/ 32 bit color). Im running a PIII 800...non overclocked. Be warned...Nvidia's antialiasing is not up to par with 3dfx's and you can even bring the mighty Ultra 2 to its knees by enabling it. Hey, but who needs FSAA at very high resolutions? My 2 or 3 cents worth...

Ok, I jumped off that sinking ship and returned my VooDoo 5500 for the Annihilator 2 Ultra card based on the Geforce 2 Ultra chipset. I must say, CM looks like a whole new game now, esp. at 1600 x 1200 res. Anyway, could any of you Geforce vets give me a few Combat Mission specific tweaking tips to get the maximum visual quality and performance. I've been using Voodoo cards for so long that I feel like a tech newbie when it comes to the Nvidia cards.

Hey, thanks all for clearing this up. I need to do more arty research it seems than constantly reading up on tanks BTW, I was using the 300mm rockets on my opponent...guess I can see now why he was a little annoyed. Maybe I can talk him into 150mm's.

Well, a frequent TCP/IP opponent of mine finally blew up after losing tons of Inf and vehicles to rockets (artillery) in a few recent games and banned my (I was playing the Germans) use of rockets for all further games. No amount of explaining the historical accuracies of German rocket use would sway him. This lead me to play a few quick battles against the AI and test those rockets. My conclusion: to say they are effective is an understatement. Hell, if the Germans could have employed these (Nebelwerfers, etc) in mass quantities, there is no telling how the Ardennes Offensive would have come out. Anyone else on the board heavy rocket users and if so what are your views on the power of these weapons (concerning how they are modeled in CM)?

Anyone read this in the latest PC Gamer? A, how shall we say it..."annoyed", WWII vet replied to Mr. Trotter's thoughts on what led to the Corregidor surrender in 1942. Im not a big fan of PCG, but this is a highly recommended read this month for all wargamers.

Thanks for taking a look at this. I tried your suggestions and ended up with a better overall force...1-2 PZIVGs on 1000pt combined arms battle and plenty of tanks/TDs on the armor selection. I wish the AI would throw me a King Tiger once in a while ...and your right, that would have been an interesting battle. Thanks again

My top ten in no particular order: Ultima VII Fallout 1 and 2 Planescape Torment Civ 2 Alpha Centauri Combat Mission Thief I and II Deus Ex Doom 1 X-Com (1st one of course)

Thanks for the tips, guys. I shall defintely put these into use when I try that battle again...humm...now as a matter of fact Good hunting