Forever Babra

They are indeed a fearsome-looking beast. I have no sources to cite, but I seem to recollect that, as mentioned, none saw action in WW2. I believe their true value is that they could rightly be considered the first of the modern MBTs. Even with only 28(?) rounds on board, that monster cannon is nothing to sneeze at. Not an exploitation vehicle, but a real monster in 1945.

Are you referring to resin casting? Vacu-form? Missing Links has articles on most aspects of modelling. http://www.missing-lynx.com/

BTS, please fix or do somefink!

Are they really allowed to use those CM sound clips? ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

No. Ambush scheme is a very unique and specific pattern. It uses a tan dappling effect over an otherwise conventional three-colour camouflage scheme (Red-brown, dark yellow, green). The dappling resembles patterns of light, and makes the vehicle harder to spot when in foliage. Hence the name. Here's the pic Kwazydog posted on page one of this thread. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!" [This message has been edited by Forever Babra (edited 03-20-2001).]

Just to balance things, I did have an opportunity to rush a lone Tiger I with three Stuarts from all sides simultaneously at VERY close range. The little furball lasted for about five turns. At the end of it all the Stuarts were in flames. Even when they were blazing away into the flanks and rear of the Tiger from under 30m, they just couldn't get that kill. The fact that they were scared to death of it and kept popping smoke and backing out didn't help matters. So they don't always work... ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

The mighty Daimler! My second favourite vehicle after the Stuart. (Well, actually the Staghound <ahem>, but...) My prime Daimler moment, and the only decent moment at all in my worst defeat ever, was a clean one-shot kill against a JgPz IV at...oh, I forget, but it was fairly long...something between 300 and 600m. Pretty respectable for a pop gun 2 pdr. In my best victory against a competent human opponent, my tank assets were five Stuarts. His assets were a Panther, a couple of Pz IVs, a JgPz IV and the inevitable "Pair of Pumas". Until I had tagged his armour and infantry AT assets, I did no rushing about with the fragile Stuarts. I kept them in hiding. After I was sure I'd located and identified all the enemy threats, I brought them out en masse, but cautiously, and went hunting. I had a bad moment when the Panther appeared in their front, but a freak weak spot penetration with the first shot ended that threat immediately. When it was done, all the German armour was lost for the loss of one Stuart. I may never buy Shermans again... ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Ever seen those "infantry" sound contacts where the graphic is actually a light gun (which has been merrily plugging away at your armour for four turns)? ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

I got nuthin. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

ticking away the moments that make up a dull day fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way-ay-ay.... Oh, wait, that's what you do when you GET CM... ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Just copy the text into whatever word processing software you use (Word, Wordpad, Notepad, WordPerfect, whatever...) That should be the easiest way. You can also edit out the useless fluff. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

I think I was talking to the same person. I don't think I've ever seen a Tiger I in ambush scheme (though I also breezily assured them I'd scan a pic for them). Two colour cam seems much more prevalent. And now back to the race, where my man Sterling has just taken over third... ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Ah, who can forget that oscar-level fake English accent of Kevin Costner... I'm glad they didn't bother with that nonsense. Personally, I'd rather it be in Russian and German with subtitles. That would really beef up the immersion. But since they wanted English-speaking actors, better they don't try and pretend they're speaking something else. I really should check these posts before I hit the submit button... [This message has been edited by Forever Babra (edited 03-17-2001).]

If you were playing CM and a PIAT crew popped out into the middle of the road, wasted your panther, mowed down the passengers (I know, not possible in CM, but bear with me...) then drove off your remaining armour and infantry, not only would there be a hue and cry of "the a/i cheats!", but I'd hazard a guess you'd think he was pretty gosh-darn lucky too. I believe it was Descartes, in his essays on probabilities, who summed it up best: Stuff Happens. To use this "1%" rarity figure which has popped up, how many individual times do all units fire in the course of a game as a sum total? Thousands! So even at what we consider to be a rare 1%, there should be DOZENS of freak shots in every game. We know there aren't that many.

Smokey is just a Real Life reminder that insignificant units can cause a player great distress from time to time. Blaming the game won't make it go away. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Sadly, there are some who just don't or won't "get it". Take my cat for instance; he was always very interested in "the crumply paper ball". I patiently explained to him the more fulfilling merits of CMBO, pointing out how satisfying it is when the prey puts up a fight. He gave me a disinterested look, flopped over on the keyboard, and resumed batting at "the crumply paper ball". Go figure. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Keep workin' at it ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

The closer to the end of the war, the more track (and other stuff) you are likely to find. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Just so I'm clear now... There was a book (yes, I read it), Enemy at the Gates. Which inspired a book, War of the Rats Which in turn inspired a movie, styled on War of the Rats but named Enemy at the Gates. Which inspired the re-release of the book, complete with movie cover? Sounds like something dreamed up by a cesspudlian. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Victoria Cross citation for Private Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith as taken from the London Gazette, December 1944. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Compliments of Kitty... http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~dpohara/mouse.htm ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

Ah, yes, the VERY-COURAGEOUS-RUSSIAN-LITTLE-BOY-WHO-IS-FINALLY-CAPTURED-BY-THE-GERMANS (hereafter referred to as the "BOY") was very common. I believe each town in russia had a BOY, and in the case of cities, each suburb. Additional BOYs were raised during wartime and issued to military units (one per unit only) as a sort of mascot I think. I look forward to seeing them perform remarkable feats in CM2. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

I second the call for a hunt command. Tiger did up an excellent "orange vest" mod (in panzer grey of course), but other textures and tweaks are required for full immersive effect. Use of soft-skin vehicles is strictly gamey since everyone knows one cannot attrite a deer within 100m of a road. The one time in ten thousand that one tries such a tactic is the one time in ten thousand that Der Wardenhamster will be watching, thus prematurely ending the game in an auto-surrender. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"

The act of deer running away (aka Das Deertaktik) is in no way gamey. It ain't meat if it's still on the hoof. The hunter, in this case, is clearly too attritionist and insufficiently maneuverist to cope with the more cunning intellect of the superintelligent gamey-bastard deer. Knock his horns off, wipe his ass, and send him on out...

Night will nullify every advantage the dastardly kitty has -- he'll be at short range with a slow turret. Go git 'im. ------------------ "Za Rodentia!"