sfhand

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is great! Very entertaining as well as enlightening. Thanks so much, and good luck. I should post one of these to show folks how not to play the game...

People are pretty interesting... I have always ordered a cd with my download (silly me, I could have just burned the file on a cd myself) because I don't want to rely on outside forces to install the game. As I've said to others asking this question, I had a hard time getting into CMSF. Honestly, I had a hard time playing all the CMx1 titles in single player. After I discovered pbem sp didn't cut it. The biggest problem I had getting into CMSF was that pbem didn't work. With it working now the majority of my playing is pbem, but I plan on playing through the campaigns and scenarios (both BF and player created) before I hit the beaches, er... or not, of Normandy. Then there is the huge learning curve about modern weaponry... I have taken is slowly, playing against a couple of other players, one newer than me and one old hand. I just learned that helo's can/will acquire targets of opportunity within their strikezone (I found this out on the receiving end). All this time I thought their strikes were like arty. For me, usually each revelation makes the game better. Sure there are times that the limitations of the game are revealed, but since I'm getting up there in age I'm used to things that are imperfect. Bottom line, if you're looking to really give it a shot drop me a pm and I'll send you my email address for a match.

Nobody's forcing me to read this stuff... I have found that some people can be reasoned with while others can't. What amazes me is how quickly most of us fit into either camp depending on the topic.

As much as I'd like to see this type of improvement, I think it will only come after the game engine is upgraded to handle multi-core processors. Frequently Steve has said things to the effect that players would need a super-computer to run their ideal game. Currently, every time I play the game I have at least one processor sitting idly by. Not going to post a commercial link, but one need only google "steam hardware survey" to see how quickly the cpu landscape is changing.

This clip explains much, thanks!

The AI setup information seems to explain everything except this... Had the AI not setup when the OP checked? After he was done with his deployment had the AI not deployed? And if the AI had deployed why would it re-deploy from a saved game?

My experience on a rooftop so far is that concealment is an issue. I sent a 4 man team up(hunt) with a hide order at the top and suffered one casualty (so much for better cover too, eh) immediately. (orders were quick into 2 story building, hunt to roof, hide)

Thanks guys, I'll let you know if something horrible happens...

Has anyone done it? Will the game still run and patch? I've often wondered about this but didn't want to deal with reinstalling if it didn't work. I noticed an alternate language option in the patch installer and now I'm wondering again...

+1 (that would have been all but there is a ten character requirement)

I'd be more than happy to play a PBEM with you. I'm not very far along the CMSF development curve. As I said before, the Fionn Kelly AAR's really got me into CM:BO too - most of what I learned then applies now. I tried looking at CMAK the other day, no way I'm going back to that...

This raises a question (off-topic as the thread seems to be drifting a little). Since the terrain features of Normandy are going to include much more vegitation, are you planning on changing/tweaking the way trees and such stand up to incoming fire? I'm not taking a position on how realistic the current modeling is, but I'm pretty sure with the increase in vegitation there will be an increase in scrutiny...

The OP said he had the same problem with with CM:BO yet after reading Fion Kelly he was inspired to play on. Had he followed your advice he would have never discovered the joys of CMx1...

It's really sad to see this topic devolve into this... The OP was wondering if/how he can get into CMSF and what BF can do to make the game more exciting for him. Your advice - don't bother playing the game. Since you've stopped playing the game without being able to enjoy it what makes you feel qualified to give anyone advice about things you know nothing about (how to enjoy the game)? And why resort to ad hominem (edit: especially if it goes without saying)?

Your mentioning the eastern front is interesting in that I had a similar reaction to CMBB that I had with CMSF. It wasn't completely new gameplay/mechanics but there were a lot of units I knew nothing about. I hesistate to say this because I'm certainly not a master, but, for me, it takes time to develop a mastery of the game on many different levels and in the beginning that time isn't necessarily enjoyable. That's why I can relate to the OP, especially when he mentions getting jazzed up by reading Fion Kelly's AAR. As I recall,Fion Kelly explained the reasoning behind his decisions in a way that was educational as well as entertaining. It gave me a place to start, with CMSF (I forget which patch "fixed" it for me) I felt as though I was wallowing in the game; I knew the mission but not how to get it done - I still feel that way frequently and am learning the hard way. There is a thread in the tips and tactics/strategy sub-forum about a Community Strategy Guide that might make things a lot easier for those who have the reactions I've had. (and a big salute to hcrof and the others for their efforts) I should have mentioned it in my first post.

I can relate to the OP's sentiments. I wasn't sure about how I felt about the game or why when I started playing it. The challenge of a new game system coupled with a new era of warfare often left me wondering what I was doing wrong. Plus, I played CMx1 almost exclusively as PBEM... my real affection for CMSF has developed while playing PBEM as well, but I do also enjoy the single player aspect of the game, it is a good way to understand the limitations of the game and the new (to me) units. I still have a long way to go in that regard.

Is the thermobaric explosion graphically different than an he explosion in game, i.e. can the player tell which type of round has been used by watching the explosion?

Four families of eastern front games? Now this is indeed a bone... and of course it raises many questions. So far I think you've mentioned 2 families of western front games, are there more planned? Not being a grog I don't understand why there would be 2 families of western vs 4 families of eastern, can you help me understand that? I don't really care about the maps, they can all be recreated, but (I probably already know the answer to this...) are you immovable on the concept of a unit importer? Say player x owns all your families, will you ever make a utility that allows player x to import the units, and their to&e, from previous games into the most recent release? (I understand that at some point you will probably give people exploding models that will probably rule out importing older models - I would rather have the ability to import given a choice there, but I realize exploding models probably isn't going to be the only difference between models in each family) Thanks for the new bone...

My understanding of why you switched to modern was that you were tired of making WW2 (I think you've said this before). That was good enough for me even though I knew/know nothing about modern (everything I think I know about WW2 is a result of playing CMx1 and reading these forums). So I was quite skeptical when you announced CMSF, but that didn't stop me from pre-ordering 2 copies. You know what happened next, so I put the game down and waited because I knew you would fix it... and you have fixed it and more, and in the process you justified my faith in BF. What surprises me is how much I love the modern game. I no longer feel the void of having CMx1 not working (Vista) and having CMSF be, for me, unplayable. Instead I have pbem battles that rival, if not surpass, my nostalgic memories of CMx1 pbem battles past. While I'm looking forward to Normandy, I'm not feeling as though I need it for my CM itch to be scratched. This leads me to believe that you have not only changed the game but you have changed this gamer as well. I thank you for that...

Thanks! This is much appreciated and looking sweet.

Forgive me, I'm a little slow... but it seems to me that your Dr. Who idea would best be implimented after the Space Lobster module is released.

I'm not sure why you feel this way, but surely you've noticed that many of the complaints about Syria as an opponent center around the quality of the Syrian equipment and troops. My plans will add some balance to the fight in a way that I think will make for a more enjoyable and challenging experience. Hopefully you'll try it before passing judgment

Here are my plans to address this issue... I'm going to create a different fictional campaign. In that reality Nato (including Britain) sides against the Syrian invasion because it is clear to all that then President Bush fixed the intelligence to justify the invasion (the nuclear material for the bombs was actually stolen from Russian supplies by unknown entities (by keeping it a mystery one is encouraged to draw their own conclusions about who benefits from the US invading Arab countries.). Having learned from the Iraqi invasion these countries put their troops in harms way hoping they will be human shields and that sanity and diplomacy will return to Washington, but once again they underestimate the Bush Administration. The campaign will not be a long one because I doubt such a situation would be allowed to last more than a day or two. What is BF's position on reusing their maps for this type of thing (of course all credit would be given to BF for the maps)?

I've had one forum "mis-adventure" here. I wasn't complaining about the game but rather citing what I believed to be a flaw in the forum's administration. During this I did ignore one "stupid" comment from a fellow forumite - an ad hominem attack questioning my motives. But what matters most to me is that the people at BF are generally open-minded enough to consider what we have to say, and for that I am grateful.