CMplayer

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Franko: I'll be happy to email a copy of the rules to anyone who requests, plus a couple of introductory scenarios. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Please mail the rules, but at present I can't take attachments (no pbem either ) So I'll have to pass on the scenarios. thx! --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Colonel_Deadmarsh: the best part of those cheap 60mm teams are their smoking capability.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Don't underestimate the lowly 60mm morter. Put two or three of them together into a battery and give them area fire orders and they can do an excellent job of: Blunting leading attack elements preparing to jump off from woods. Interdicting reinforcements moving through woods. Taking out guns. Harrassing and occasionally killing open topped vehicles. More? Just remember that _timing_ is very important in getting the most out of these weapons. They need to work together with the rest of your plan, and cause some confusion or reduced enemy effectiveness at just the right moment. regards, --Rett [ 07-20-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Commissar: "Use the Wespe to get into position overlooking the town so it can start blowing up buildings")<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If you want to blow up buildings, the you will get the best mileage out of a Wirbelwind. A Wespe completely sucks at that job by comparison (in the game). Not that this bears any relation to reality, of course, or to the point of your post either, sorry. It's just a big problem with the game, which deserves attention. --Rett [ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Clubfoot: CMPlayer, Thanks for the nod, buddy. Glad you like it hot and dusty. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I just played South of Sidi Rezegh against the computer (as the Brits, of course). To say it was a challenge would be an understatement, to say it was fun as h*ll would also be an understatement. That's the kind of scenario that pushes the limit forward of what CM can do IMO. It seems necessary to relearn basic tactics in the wide open spaces of the desert. I ended up trying to use the Kangaroos for 'tank rider' assaults with half squads. I have some more questions about proper tactics in that sort of a long distance desert raid, but it'll have to wait till I get back from a short vacation. Hope you're around then, and could answer them. Thanks for the great work! --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MikeyD: I've got a CM buddy with a mac who's positively TERRIFIED of the mac mod manager, despite my assurances. Mac people are used to operations being transparent (or seeming to be transparent) and are uncomfortable about letting an application loose to tinker on unseen files.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I've had some problems with what maybe are corrupted bitmaps, or maybe some sort of compatability issues. But why be terrified? I just made a bunch of copies of the Data folder, and whenever I get a configuration I like, I save it. Then you never have to worry about breaking one that is good. Heck, I love mods so much now, I hardly want to play. I just want to install some new vehicle and take it around for a drive, maybe shoot a few trucks. BTW I just put in DESERT FOX DESERT RATS. I thought it was broken till I figured out you have to set a summer date to get the tree bases right. The first thing I did was put together the obvious 'attack the oasis' scenario. Fun, fun, fun. Then I downloaded the scenarios. Clubfoot and others have done some really enjoyable work there. --Rett

Nice buildings!..as a newbie at mods, how do these compare to the panzartruppen buildings in terms of frame rate hit. Are they much more high res? Also, where can I get that black water you did? --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SS_Obergruppenführer: I was always wondering why there aren't any civilians in CMBO. You know; refugees and the likes. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You can imagine them for yourself. Just assume there are people hiding in the cellars of the building when they catch on fire and stuff. It's not too nice to think about, really. I agree that in some very specialized scenarios, there could be civilians, but in general I would rather play an antiseptic, tactical game, and forget about the kind of stuff you see in films like Harrison's Flowers. --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hoopenfaust 101: http://www.combatmission.com/mods/macmodmanagers.asp Get a mod manager man.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thanks for the tip! I tried to thank you by email but your providers' firewall seems to consider me a spammer!? Maybe they saw my postings here. Anyway thanks to your help, I'm now a recently deflowered Mod-equipped player, and...man o man o man.. I would never go back! The game looks so great now! Got the 'tank girl' interface too. thx again, --Rett

Search seems to be broken so I wonder if someone can tell me how to install mods on a mac. In the data folder I find large docs with graphics files, but the mods are individual .bmp files. How to instal them? Thanks, --Rett [ 07-09-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shandorf: Yeah, but that was when people would just initially target a TRP and then target further and further out, all this happenning during just an orders phase. So when they fixed this, it caused the problem I am having. Oh well.. That is life. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, the code is still wrong there. They 'fixed' one bug, and introduced another. --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by David Aitken: I have seen troops lying, or even moving, in open ground suffer no casualties from artillery landing right on top of them, while running troops further away take casualties from the same explosion. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You've seen this in the game or IRL ? --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by David Aitken: I have seen troops lying, or even moving, in open ground suffer no casualties from artillery landing right on top of them, while running troops further away take casualties from the same explosion. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You've seen this in the game or IRL ? --Rett

Still open, come on, you get to attack with Axis! I know I'll lose but I'll try to give you a good fight. I see myself as a 'defence provider' --Rett

Still open, come on, you get to attack with Axis! I know I'll lose but I'll try to give you a good fight. I see myself as a 'defence provider' --Rett

Go over to 'opponent finder' for the info. --Rett

Go over to 'opponent finder' for the info. --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tero: Now they seem to get pinned down and get more and more suppressed until they panic and flee. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's exactly what I was writing about. I wonder if it would work well to view them as 'taking cover', i.e. to separate suppression from morale somewhat. Then you could play sarge and order them to run or crawl to the proper cover at the beginning of the next turn. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tero: Now they seem to get pinned down and get more and more suppressed until they panic and flee. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> That's exactly what I was writing about. I wonder if it would work well to view them as 'taking cover', i.e. to separate suppression from morale somewhat. Then you could play sarge and order them to run or crawl to the proper cover at the beginning of the next turn. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

Those pictures are beautiful. What kind of system requirements are needed to make the game look like that? Can it be done on a *ahem* Mac? --Rett

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PondScum: Using the current code, the troops in your example will run to that wall of their own accord once they start to panic, assuming that it's the best cover around. But then of course everyone complains that the stupid troops panicked towards the MGs and got cut to shreds... the programmers are in a lose-lose situation here <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, they don't seem to understand the value of being behind a wall when taking cover. They just see themselves as in open ground. (or am I wrong?) Your second point seems to confirm what I was saying. Guys in open ground, under small arms fire, should be able to stay put longer, if they have time to take cover. Now if you put a mortar on them, or tank HE it's another story. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PondScum: Using the current code, the troops in your example will run to that wall of their own accord once they start to panic, assuming that it's the best cover around. But then of course everyone complains that the stupid troops panicked towards the MGs and got cut to shreds... the programmers are in a lose-lose situation here <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, they don't seem to understand the value of being behind a wall when taking cover. They just see themselves as in open ground. (or am I wrong?) Your second point seems to confirm what I was saying. Guys in open ground, under small arms fire, should be able to stay put longer, if they have time to take cover. Now if you put a mortar on them, or tank HE it's another story. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Monty's Double: Sorry to bring my grandad into this again<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Bring him in as much as you want. Stories like that are always welcome. --Rett

According to all the oral history out there on the web, infantry has an uncanny ability to squeeze into every little dip in the ground when taking cover from, e.g. MG fire. So there reasonably ought to be a big difference between the effect of small arms fire on units which are prone in open ground, and those which are standing/walking/running. Is this the case? There also ought to be a pretty large difference between pavement and open ground. Once everyone (or the lucky ones) have found an old tractor wheel or something to hide behind, further MG fire would mostly have suppressive effect. The reason I'm asking this, is to try to figure out how a game could better model troops pinned in open ground. Green troops could lie out there for what seemed like hours in real life, but in CM after a few seconds they run away screaming like teenagers in a slasher movie. What I would like to see is something like this: You are ordering the pinned guys to make a dash for cover, say a wall 40 meters ahead. They are nervy, and there is quite a long command delay to get them to do it, but finally (perhaps with the help of a good NCO) they are suddenly galvanized and they GO FOR IT! That means that, even if they are 'cautious', that they won't always freak halfway there and run off screaming with their hands up in the air if someone gets hit on the way. They have rallied _under fire_, in the open, in a way you never see in CM, afaik. The problem seems to be that the level of suppression of a unit is the same as its level of panic in CM. The game should perhaps make a lot more use of the 'taking cover' state, where their heads are down, but they are essentially 'ok'. Suppression ought to be separated from their psychological state (in order to be able to model a great deal more suppression, without overusing the panic effects). It would be cool to see troops pull themselves together long enough to make a rush forward to cover, even though they have been under suppressive fire for quite some time. One of the reasons they do this could be that they are desperate, and another could be simply that, even in open ground, the individual guys, lying prone, are fairly well defiladed from that MG. If they stay there forever they will eventually get hit, but they have time to gather their wits and make a decision about how to get out of there. Are suppression and killing power separate factors in the game? If so, perhaps MG's should have a great deal more suppressive power, with higher killing power against units that are moving (in all forms of cover). This is one heck of a can of worms, and I realize that I have more questions than answers. But as far as I'm concerned, as much as I love this game, there still seems to be a lot of rethinking to do. I realize there won't be an engine rewrite, but I just find these kinds of questions interesting. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

According to all the oral history out there on the web, infantry has an uncanny ability to squeeze into every little dip in the ground when taking cover from, e.g. MG fire. So there reasonably ought to be a big difference between the effect of small arms fire on units which are prone in open ground, and those which are standing/walking/running. Is this the case? There also ought to be a pretty large difference between pavement and open ground. Once everyone (or the lucky ones) have found an old tractor wheel or something to hide behind, further MG fire would mostly have suppressive effect. The reason I'm asking this, is to try to figure out how a game could better model troops pinned in open ground. Green troops could lie out there for what seemed like hours in real life, but in CM after a few seconds they run away screaming like teenagers in a slasher movie. What I would like to see is something like this: You are ordering the pinned guys to make a dash for cover, say a wall 40 meters ahead. They are nervy, and there is quite a long command delay to get them to do it, but finally (perhaps with the help of a good NCO) they are suddenly galvanized and they GO FOR IT! That means that, even if they are 'cautious', that they won't always freak halfway there and run off screaming with their hands up in the air if someone gets hit on the way. They have rallied _under fire_, in the open, in a way you never see in CM, afaik. The problem seems to be that the level of suppression of a unit is the same as its level of panic in CM. The game should perhaps make a lot more use of the 'taking cover' state, where their heads are down, but they are essentially 'ok'. Suppression ought to be separated from their psychological state (in order to be able to model a great deal more suppression, without overusing the panic effects). It would be cool to see troops pull themselves together long enough to make a rush forward to cover, even though they have been under suppressive fire for quite some time. One of the reasons they do this could be that they are desperate, and another could be simply that, even in open ground, the individual guys, lying prone, are fairly well defiladed from that MG. If they stay there forever they will eventually get hit, but they have time to gather their wits and make a decision about how to get out of there. Are suppression and killing power separate factors in the game? If so, perhaps MG's should have a great deal more suppressive power, with higher killing power against units that are moving (in all forms of cover). This is one heck of a can of worms, and I realize that I have more questions than answers. But as far as I'm concerned, as much as I love this game, there still seems to be a lot of rethinking to do. I realize there won't be an engine rewrite, but I just find these kinds of questions interesting. --Rett [ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: CMplayer ]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeff Duquette: Agree 100% with the LMG and HMG issue you have brought up as well. Firing in CM is staggered. Every 6 to 8 seconds infantry units and crewed weapons fire bursts. Yet movement during the execution phase is continuous. Makes “mad rushes” against MG42 nests a viable, and reasonable tactic to use on a regular basis. Why not sequence LMG and HMG bursts to every 2 or 3 seconds. Or simply make firing during the execution phase continuous like movement…model realistic ROF, barrel overheating, barrel switch out etc.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> In scenarios, one thing you could do is simply let two MG's represent one. Put two teams in every position which is supposed to have one, and perhaps tone down the ammo. If you don't want to do this, another idea, in scenarios, is to give each MG position its own dedicated HQ unit, as a kind of guardian angel. These guys would pop up and begin firing at close range as running infantry approaches, also reducing the effect of a charge. This can make them quite a bit more resistant to rushes. --Rett