Skott Karlsson

Extra RAM is always good. Although anything over 256 isnt really going to make much difference if your using Windows 98. One has to be careful about what type of ram your buying. Not all 128 modules of RAM is as cheap as $35. Depends on what type your motherboard can use. The newer Pentium IV 1.4 Ghz chips are not as fast as the Pentium III w/1 GHz chips. Even the Athlon Thunderbirds are faster than the PIV 1.4 GHz. Now this depends on which O/S your using. The Pentium 4 was originally suppose to be for MicroSoft's new Whistler O/S but Intel had to rush them out the door to fend off AMD's new Thunderbird chips. Instead of the 13micron size Intel used the existing 18 micron die set. The new P4 chips built on the 13 micron die set will come out later in the second half of the year and they will be superior to those AMD now has. So if you plan to upgrade I suggest holding off till they come out. They will be made to take full advantage of Whistler. Then again we dont know for sure if Whistler will 1)Come out on time. 2)Be as great as MS says. Early beta tests say it has great promise. We will see. My game machine I'm using currently has a P3 500 MHz chip w/128 MB of RAM, Voodoo3 card, 13mb HD, and Windows 98se and its processing the CM battles no slower than anyone else's games I'm hearing about here on the board. ~Skott~

Captain BillyJoeJimBob Sixpak replies.. what is a rifle best for? Deer Hunting. A submachine gun? Herd of several deer. What is a recoilless rifle? A bazooka for them really big deer. What are the differences among an AT gun? Taking out really big tough deer. tank destroyer? For taking out several really big tough deer. and artillery? Artillery is for when your a really lousy shot and just have to get that deer no matter what! ~Skott~ Can you guess I like to deer hunt? ::grins::

Tell her she's spending too much time on the computer and send her to her room. Then fire up CM and enjoy. ~Skott~

Man-O-Man, I been playing agianst the Brits alot lately and those damn PIATs they have are sure hard on armor. I can see why they get targeted so much. They pack a nasty punch. They can also get lost in the mass of men during a battle too. I've learned to keep my eyes open for them. Too often I'll be moving my armor up closer to my front and WHAMMO! Another Panzer unit taken out. I sure am having fun with this game though. ~Skott Karlsson~

With all the battles and campaigns people are making and placing them on the net an expansion pack for CM1 is not really all that necessary really. Not to mention an individual can make his/her own battles and campaigns. The Russian(East) front is where all the big tank battles took place. If you like tank battles then the Russian(East) front is something you will really want to play. Personally, I cant wait. Till then I'll just keep plugging along with CM1. GO BTS!! ~Skott~

Greetings, Gremlin is right. Being atop of a hill can be a double edged sword. You can see everything and everything can see you. One of my little tricks is to come around from one of the sides of the hill. Halfway up or at the base. Pop off a couple of shots and then put the hill back between you and the enemy. The tank's greatest assest lies in the fact that it is a mobile weapon. Fire from one location and then quickly move to another. I like to think of tanks as a big ole steel snipers. Especially when using the armor thin Sherman against Tigers and Panthers. Iraq buried their tanks in the desert and look what happened to them during the Desert Storm war. Sitting ducks. Take away a tank's mobility and its just a piece of artillery. (Not putting down artillery) Ever notice how the Germans named many of their tanks after animals? Tiger, Panther, Leopard. All these animals stalk and hunt their prey and have some ferocious attacks. ~Skott Karlsson~

A few of my top choices are: Steel Panthers I (Never played 2 or 3) Aces of the Deep (Although that is more of a simulation I suppose) Panzer General 1&2 West Front BattleGround: 2,3,6, and 7 Operational Art of War European Air War and now Combat Mission! Which of these is my all time favorites? Thats a toss up between Steel Panthers and Combat Mission. I have played Steel Panthers much longer, in fact its still loaded on my old Zeos Pentium/66 system. Yes, I have a Windows 3.11 computer still. ::laughs:: Anyway... Combat Mission is a better product. But it should be considering the game is what? 6 or 7 years newer? Technology has greatly increased. Still SP was a wargame ahead of its time back then. It holds a special spot in my heart and mind. CM should win wargame of the year for 2000 though.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phoenix: You mean they managed to clone Charles!!??!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I had read an article about Charles Moylan in the read.me section of the February 2001 Computer Gaming World magazine. I guess I misquoted myself on how many people BTS had working/programming for them. In my previous post I was working from memory which apparently was wrong. Here is the question and Charles's answer to it: CGW: How many people did you have working on Combat Mission, and how long did it take to develope? CM: Combat Mission had only two full-time people on the project, but there were dozens of part-time contributors, many of whom volunteered. This was a consequence of our limited budget when we started out, but fotunately the wargaming community on the Net really stepped in to help. The game took about two and a half years from start to scratch to finish. The 3D engine was a pretty massive undertaking, as was the tactical AI (which needed lots and lots of tweaking to the fuzzy logic to make it seem "human") and all the research we did into the armies, vehicles, and weapons. I should have taken the time and gone back and reread the article before posting my original post. My apologies for any misquotes or offence. Still, one has to admire the dedication and creativity Charles Moylan, and his crew, used in making CM. My hat is off to him/them. Just goes to show that the little guy can still make a difference in this world. The article can be found in Computer Gaming World, Issue 199, February 2001, Page 34. ~Skott Karlsson~

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Phoenix: You mean they managed to clone Charles!!??!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I had read an article about Charles Moylan in the read.me section of the February 2001 Computer Gaming World magazine. I guess I misquoted myself on how many people BTS had working/programming for them. In my previous post I was working from memory which apparently was wrong. Here is the question and Charles's answer to it: CGW: How many people did you have working on Combat Mission, and how long did it take to develope? CM: Combat Mission had only two full-time people on the project, but there were dozens of part-time contributors, many of whom volunteered. This was a consequence of our limited budget when we started out, but fotunately the wargaming community on the Net really stepped in to help. The game took about two and a half years from start to scratch to finish. The 3D engine was a pretty massive undertaking, as was the tactical AI (which needed lots and lots of tweaking to the fuzzy logic to make it seem "human") and all the research we did into the armies, vehicles, and weapons. I should have taken the time and gone back and reread the article before posting my original post. My apologies for any misquotes or offence. Still, one has to admire the dedication and creativity Charles Moylan, and his crew, used in making CM. My hat is off to him/them. Just goes to show that the little guy can still make a difference in this world. The article can be found in Computer Gaming World, Issue 199, February 2001, Page 34. ~Skott Karlsson~

Thanks Harv, I just downloaded it. This is something I know I can use. Many Thanks. ~Skott Karlsson~

I do use no FOW, especialy when I first started playing CM. When I first started I was trying to get used to using combined arms effectively, so I turned off the FOW till I got proficient with that. I'am using Full FOW more and more now. Whenever I'm trying out all the various tanks and weapons I usually start out with no FOW the first time to get used to how that equipment works. Then I switch to no FOW and work at perfecting its use. Basically I use no FOW for training purposes. Laugh if you will but thats why they put it in there and so I use it as such. No one here started out as a expert even if their egos claimed to be. ::grins:: Happy Gaming, ~Skott Karlsson~

You have to remember BTS only had two programmers working full time on CM1. They had some part timers in there for some other things but it was truly a small independent company. Still is. And they only sell via internet. CM is quite an acheivement for such a small company with no brick and mortar shelf space. CM2 is suppose to take place on the Russian Front from 1941 to 1945 from what I hear. That excludes the 1941 Balkan campaign. The Germans used many troops from its allies. Finnland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and yes, even some from Spain. I would assume there were some mixture from occupied lands, French, Belgian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Yugoslav, Greek, Poland, and Africa, but these units would be small at best and not really well represented. Although the Vichy French were probably better represented than these other conquered contries. How much we'll see in CM2 is yet to be seen, but one thing we the gamers can do is once its released we can make battles based on the smaller fights as we can now with CM1 and then post them on the Internet for others to try. That is one of CM greatest gift to its gamers. To make historical lesser known battles that the BTS programmers didnt have the space or time to make. ~Skott Karlsson~

You have to remember BTS only had two programmers working full time on CM1. They had some part timers in there for some other things but it was truly a small independent company. Still is. And they only sell via internet. CM is quite an acheivement for such a small company with no brick and mortar shelf space. CM2 is suppose to take place on the Russian Front from 1941 to 1945 from what I hear. That excludes the 1941 Balkan campaign. The Germans used many troops from its allies. Finnland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and yes, even some from Spain. I would assume there were some mixture from occupied lands, French, Belgian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Yugoslav, Greek, Poland, and Africa, but these units would be small at best and not really well represented. Although the Vichy French were probably better represented than these other conquered contries. How much we'll see in CM2 is yet to be seen, but one thing we the gamers can do is once its released we can make battles based on the smaller fights as we can now with CM1 and then post them on the Internet for others to try. That is one of CM greatest gift to its gamers. To make historical lesser known battles that the BTS programmers didnt have the space or time to make. ~Skott Karlsson~

Personally I'm waiting for Whistler to come out the latter half of this year. Its supposed to be the truly next O/S generation replacement for Win95/98.Hopefully MS will come up with a better name. (Windows 2001?) The Pentium IV chip is designed to run it. Intel pushed the PIV out sooner that it had planned. The PIV was supposed to be a .13 micron chip not the .18 micron chip it is now. AMD forced Intel to move quicker. Windows ME is just a modified upgrade of Win98. Kinda like a Win98.3 version. Whistler supposedly will require the new PIV 64 bit chip to run it. Whistler is to be a 64 bit system according to MS. I havent tested an alpha version yet so I dont know for sure. I hear the ones who are testing it says it really has some great potential. We'll see once MS releases it. Meanwhile I'll stick with Win98 for my gaming machine. I will upgrade my NT 4 workstation to Windows 2000 server though. Probably no later than this summer. I've always felt its better to do a complete clean install of a new O/S as opposed to a upgrade. I have found fewer problems going with a complete new install. Going the upgrade route is a 50-50 chance if you look at all the posts people leave about it. I'd rather spend the extra bucks and have fewer hassles but thats just me. I do plan on buying a new laptop this year. Hopefully this quarter. I will get the laptop with Windows ME loaded on it. As far as the great debate to wether or not to upgrade to Windows ME or not depends on your needs. According to all the so called experts if you just want to serf the net and play computer games stick with Windows 98. Also if you didnt know.. half the new items available on ME are readily available to Win98 users for free. Just go to MS's website and look under the download section. I'm not sure what is all available but I heard half of the new stuff is there and for free. Supposedly it was the items released in the ME beta tests and are fully and properly functional. ~Skott Karlsson~

Wayne is right. Lets give these veterans of past wargames a chance to show us what they can come up with. We should be supporting those that want to make more wargames. Doesnt matter wether its RT, Turn based, hexxed, or nonhexxed. A good wargame is a good wargame and these men have the past credentials as proof they can do it. So lets see what they come up with before we judge it. Just my two cents worth anyway. ~Skott Karlsson~

Wild bill posts: AS Airborne suggests, you have to gang up on a King Tiger with Shermans, isolate it and hit it from various directions at once. A one on one confrontation will most likely turn your Sherman into a Krispy Kritter. Heck, I pretty much gang up on all German tanks when it comes to using Shermans. Safety and victory in overwhelming numbers. LOL ~Skott Karlsson~

I have seen them use a satchel charge to clear anti-personnel mines but havent yet had the opportunity to see up close how they clear the anti-tank mines. The camera angles in CM are great but during thick of battle its hard to view everything up close on anything larger than a small map and even then its hard to do. Often once the real time battle mode kicks in I switch to the "4" view to get a better overall picture of the fight. ~Skott Karlsson~

There has been a lot of discussion about wether the Germans could have forced the British to evacuate again if the Ardennes Offensive would have prevailed. The plan was to drive onto Antwerp and cut the link between The U.S. and the British forces. Considering the resources available to the Germans at the time I don't think they could have forced the Allies to evacuate. Most of France had been liberated so the Americans had plenty places to fall back to. I don't think Monty would have let himself into the same situation his predecessor did in 1940. And Ike would have come to the Brits aid toot sweet if they did get encircled. Patton did after all break off from a offensive fight, turn 90 degrees north, and force march 100 miles and engage a enemy again in a new spot in three days. We had control of the air at the end of 1944 so resupply was possible from the air too. No, even if the Germans did manage to cut off the two Allied forces I don't think it would have forced the British to evacuate. The Germans just lacked the resources to follow up once they did manage to cut off the Allies. Some reports say the Hitler was just hoping to prolong the the war in the west by 6 months or so by forcing the Allies back. I think that was the best they could hope for under the situation. Buy some time. But in doing so he stripped what armor he needed to fight off the Russians for 1945. I know I'm arm chair Marshaling here since I wasn't there nor a military strategist but I just don't believe the Germans could have pulled it off (The evac part) given the situation. Even the German Staff knew by December 1945 the war was lost. It was just a matter of how long it would take to finish them. I will say one thing for the Germans they certainly proved many times the impossible was possible throughout the entire 1939-1945 war. ~Skott Karlsson~

Yes, these can also be seen on one of the History Channels shows. The soldiers were required to set this weapon up, dig a trench or foxhole, fire the weapon and then quickly jump into the said trench or foxhole. Pretty assine if you ask me but what do you expect from a government that tested and exposed its own soldiers to radiation just to see what would happen to them. For all our bluff and moral talk about other countries and how they do dispecable things to their people our government has done much the same. We just hide it to our citizens better. That or we citizens refuse to believe our government could do such terrible things. And no.. I'm not disloyal to my country. I proudly did my duty for 4 years and love this country tremendously. I wouldnt want to live anywhere else. It just saddens me that our government is no better than those countries we constantly criticize at times. ~Skott Karlsson~

I once remember reading that the Tigers were used in some middle east countries up till the early 50's. But I havent seen any direct info on where exactly. ~Skott Karlsson~

Tonight at 8pm EST Suicide Mission: Tank Crews

Forever Young!! 39 next month

I've discovered when playing the Allied side one cannot go up gun for gun against German armor. The Shermans and FireFlies just cant hold their own against the German tanks. Basically my strategy lately is to use my tanks like a big mobile mechanized sniper. Sneak about, position, and reposition them constantly in order to get a flank shot at the German tanks. And its always best to do this with at least two tanks against one German tank, preferably three if available. I have found its better to take my time and go slow even if the scenario briefing calls for quick action. Too often I've rushed to try and take out the German armor only to discover that is not very effective, even when I have a 3-1 or better superiority. The last scenario I played I basically played ring-around-the-rosey around a wooded area with a Panther tank with two of my Shermans. As silly as it sounds it worked. My Shermans moved faster than the Panther and were able to hit it in the flanks. It took quite a few shots to make a kill too. I can see why the American tank crews feared tanks like the Panthers and Tigers. They were a force to be reconed with. ~Skott~

Another good anti-aircraft gun the Germans converted to other uses was the 88 mm gun. They discovered it could punch through almost any armor the Russians could throw at them. Also played havoc on the western Allied forces too. ~Skott~

What's interesting to note that in 1940 Germany didnt have the finest tanks. The French had some model tanks that were superior but in limited numbers. Then in 1941/42? Germany discovered their tanks were no match for the Russian KV-1 or the T-34. It wasnt untill around 1943 the the Germans had tanks with guns that could punch through Russian armor with greater ease. In 1944 The Americans didnt have a tank that could match the Tigers and Panthers but they could do something the Germans couldnt. Put 5 tanks against one. And thats what the western Allies did. Throw 5 tanks against one German tank. The Sherman was cheap and quick to make whereas the Tigers and Panthers weren't. Basically the Russians used overwhelming attacks also to beat back the Germans. I remember reading one article that if in 1943 Hitler would have increased tank and plane production like his minister wanted to they may not have lost the war in the east. Of course its easy to sit back years later and say they should have done this and they should have done that. So many mistakes and bluinders were made on all sides. ~Skott~