Apache

Madmatt, I'm running 1024x768. I haven't gone though all the pages but it does only seem to be happening on the News page. The others seem OK, there is a fair bit of black space to the right of them though (which I presume is to accommodate 800x600). Also, having just got the game I'm planning some major modding soon starting with MDMPs 1&2. Will your revamp to the mod guide suggest something different though? If so, and if it's not too far off I might delay things a bit rather than have to start over.

Have recently received full CMBO (v.1.1) and having gone through this board I am going to have a dabble this weekend. My plan is to: download 1.12; download PC Mod-manager; download 1.0f? patch, start with MDMPs 1 & 2 and then start a combination of terrain updates from DD, Tiger etc and finally vehicles from across the range. It may be I'm going the wrong/long way about it though - any views appraciated - before I start. I understand some of the mods come with batch files for swapping - these sound a little trickier.

Thx for that.

Having done Voodoo 3 and DX8 I am tempted to see if there is an upgraded driver for my sound card. Sound id OK at the moment though. Is anyone aware of specific drivers to avoid or whether there will be things I'm missing out on by not upgrading?

I presume the Shermans the Brits would operate would in the main be M4A3 75mm? The options screen throws up quite a lot of Sherman options (I haven't read up enough yet on who'd use what and when). I suppose the when is not so much of an issue, if it wasn't available it wouldn't be there for that time period. Availability and realistic chances of a unit having 'x' is a different matter. I am quite interested in a German recon sceanrio. Are you aware of any? Also, would they go for a specific blend of ACs? I understand the Pumas were quite rare, who if anyone would be likely yo have them? SS? And finally, what would be the likely gun armed HTs? [This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-17-2001).]

I'm interested in doing a few screen savers from battles in progress. I am not really into design and editing and tend to use MS paint to save my shots. I also have Adobe photo shop that came with a printer but have not used it. Is there any way you can remove the interface from the bottom of the screen so that the 3D terrain only is the saver?

Unbelievable! They look like oil paintings. Any chance you could post the combinations used in these. I am just about to start a full terrain change this weekend to upgrade the original and would appreciate some info. Vehicles are not too much of a problem but there is a very wide variety of terrain isn't there?

Has anyone experienced problems with the new site? I'm sure on the old one the links were on the left and I used to be able to scroll down and read the 'news' without scrolling left/right. Now I can barely get the news across the page even when the scroll bar is centred. This forum page loads OK as do other sites. Have searched internet options to see if I've hit something by mistake but no joy.

Griffin - I thought the indirect fire condition of 'not moving' only applied to Target Reference Points? I have moved mortars around a lot but still within command radius of HQ units who are able to call in their (indirect) fire. They can no longer acquire TRPs then though.

Thanks. I thought that would be the case. Probable wouldn't be able to see anything in fog at night. It might actually make an optional game improvement for some, would probably be quite interesting probing forces a few meters at a time wondering just what lay ahead. I suppose for the units though that is what happens anyway. Also I imagine they work on the basis the area will have been reconned first.

I have recently updated my system with new drivers and DX8 and want to check this out. Is there any noticeable difference between full/partial weather/fog? When playing a daytime 'thick fog' QB with effects on full there is thick fog. When on 'none' there is no fog but when on partial it looks same as full. Is it supposed to? I only really noticed it when I played the Night at Chenoux (or something like that) scenario and with weather on full I didn't actually notice any fog at all. I only noticed it was foggy when I tried to shoot at stuff and found there was no LOS. I then looked at the weather indicator which indicated fog. It actually looked as clear as day (well, night actually). I tried a few other scenarios and the main difference seems to be the amount of snow etc that falls with full weather. I tried the Chapel scenario too. Again - no difference between partial/full weather with 'thick fog'.

I don't think it is possible. A stepped targeting order would be useful for that in CM2. However, I did get a view behind a Pz MkIV which I'de ordered to lay smoke and it laid 3, shifting aim about 10m to the left each time.

I had problems with pointers too. Make sure you are using 'Windows standard' pointer and disable 'pointer trails'. Also, what is the first option you are shown to accept? This can indicate what your system is capable of but also may be a problem with video drivers and/or DirectX (get the latest versions). Friendly Fire - Did you sort out the Neo chipset? I've got a laptop with a crappy 2.5M version and have given up on it, I use the desktop only now. [This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-11-2001).] [This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-11-2001).]

The cross over sound good. Is there a length beyond which signal degrades (or any other maximum length)?

Has anyone tried H to H play with a serial cable? Does the TCP/IP update support this? I tried a forum search but kept getting a bloody 'time out' message.

Many thanks. Your help has been MUCH appreciated. Both plugs are female, serial then. What about the EPP bit or doesn't that matter? I was considering one of the wireless network systems of the market which would enable play between laptop in lounge and desktop in (home) office. I only really use networking with my son for gaming so don't want to go to the trouble of wiring the house for it. The cable works fine with Age of Empires I/II. I read somewhere that the game can be run as a clone on one machine to join in a hosted game (which will need the CD) on another. I think that is possible (and legal). Also, I always, always, always, where possible make a backup to run games with and put original away. I presume that is possible with CM and is just a case of putting CD into a system with a CD RW and hitting 'copy'.

Has anyone grabbed the Voodoo 3 3000 drivers? I have got the latest 1.07.00 from the 3dfx website but when I installed directx 8 it indicates the driver isn't certified. Do the new drivers fix that and more importantly, do they create problems elsewhere? I am also a little concerned that the site contains a 'These are Beta only' disclaimer.

It's a dual plug cable with 'split ends', one serial (9 pin?) and one paralell (longer?) on each end. As to whether it's ECP/SPP I am not sure, how do I tell? It took four hours to transfer 17M - is that reasonable? As for the port settings, again I'm not sure. I probably need to sort this out as it may affect LAN play. I presume there are settings for this under 'cable connection' somewhere. I'll have a look later and see. And at last.....Voodoo 3 drivers now updated to 1.07.00. Now, in the Readme file it went through installation and then said 'now install DirectX 7'. I already had DX 8 on the system however (I did that first). I checked the DX Dialogue file and there is and indication that 'Voodoo driver blah blah blah' is not certified. I'm not sure if that will pose problems or whether I should revert to DX7, which presumably will be certified as 3Dfx told me to install it. The game now runs fine however (full smoke and explosion graohics). I believe the 'muzzle flash' (shockwave) from firing tanks etc. is in the form of an expanding and disapearing transluscent globe, that's what I get anyway. Thanks for your time so far BTW - great help.

Desktop

Thanks for all the info. Ready yo give it a try I think. The fitter is here next week to put a phone point in allowing desktop to connect to the net. At moment it's laptop only. I've downloaded drivers and DX8 so I may have a bash at cable connection transfer. The last time I did that though it took AGES to copy across (the Shogun patch). Hopefully not this time but the files are 10M and 8M each. If direct cable transfer is always this slow I'm surprised anyone bothers with it. I've just been up to check the machines and they are making REALLY hard work of it. 20 minutes ago I started to copy across DX8. It said '49 minutes remaining, it now says 41!! I presume I'm doing it right, make the connection, enter passworkd for host (laptop), shared folder appears on desktop, open folder, edit/select all (voodoo driver and DX8 Zip files), select destination on desktop then 'paste'. It'll be all night at this rate. Slow or what. [This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-06-2001).]

I am due to upgrade my system later in the year (daughter will inherit the current) and CMBO MUST play on it, and play VERY well, regardless of other sacrifices. There is much argument in computer mags over PIII/IV v. AMD Athlon at moment and I am probably going to go Athlon and a 32 or 64 video card (MX2?). Any comments re this, or othet system compatability issues to watch for. I would hate to be in a position where I invest significantly in a system to find "Ah... you should have got a 'x' if you wanted to do that'.

Perhaps a stupid question but should I be able to copy the current drivers across to another directory? Also, I've read a thread somewhere that indicated that the new drivers may just be installed in the list and you can then select the older one if needed (or have I read this wrong)? I'm OK with most things on PCs but I'm a bit paranoid about driver changes.

Thanks for the site ref., I'll give it a spin. Presumably it will be zipped and will install itself on unzipping. I just want to make sure I can get the old driver back if it crashes. There are three settings under the Voodoo control panel 'Desktop', 'Direct 3D' and Open GL/Glide. It is currently set to 'desktop' (though I haven't a clue what it actually means) and am not sure whether to switch it to Direct 3D. I hesitate from trying because I don't want to have to reboot the system with new settings and agian, find I can get back.

Won't the forward slash / do it? Supposed to spin view 180 degrees.

Help! Have just got the game and installed it. Superb - but one query. My graphics card is a Voodoo 3 3000 and when the game loaded the first time I got the 'accept' message for 1024x768 and it inidicated 'primary display driver' (which I assume is correct as no other display driver shows up under drivers). The driver version is 1.5.1.54. The card is 16M and should be able to run most of the graphics OK I think. However, when I run the game using 'fast and compatible' smoke effects they look quite good if a little 'plumy', but it does look like smoke. When I run the realistic smoke it looks OK but seems to come up looking like square semi transparent windows which looks less realistic than the 'f&c' smoke. Is that how it looks on everyone's system? If it does - fine, if not I need to know what to do to 'up the realism' or if my card is one of the ones not compatible with relaistic smoke (can someone post a screenshot of what full blown realistic smoke looks like so I can compare?). When I go to Voodoo 'Tweaks' under 'display' in 'control panel' it is set to 'desktop', should it be set to Direct 3D or Open/GL? I searched on the forum and have seen many similar queries but not found whether problems were resolved. Presumably it must be a driver or settings related problem. I know people post about driver problems however and if it is the driver I would prefer one that works OK. [This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-03-2001).]