jmbunnelle

In one of the early games I played, Italy was quickly catching up with Germany in both research and production. I allowed Italy to get a healthy share of the French spoils and also the majority of Greece. By the end of 1944, I was taking my Italian battleships and subs up to the Eng. Chan. to attack the Royal Navy. So I guess the real key is don't shaft Italy by letting the Germans grab all of the production centers.

Immer, since Der Panzinator mentioned the same thing, I'll overhaul the L0 german tank on the next release. What exactly do you mean when you say that the Italians are "threatening on the eye"? Do you mean that their hard to distinguish or too garish? See my other thread on the terrain I'm working on. I'm going to begin the Italian tiles tonight and have been playing around with different color combinations. I sort of wanted to get away from brown but I'll see how it looks. Thanks for the comments!

Work is progressing pretty fast on my terrain and I wanted to get some general feedback on how people felt about it. I decided to lighten the ocean and darken the land tones, using more earthy colors. Keep in mind, neither the unit counters nor the resources have been adjusted to stand out against the backgrounds (especially Russia) so disregard that. I'm doing that next after I finish the terrain itself. Right now I've finished UK, Germany, Russia, and the ocean tiles. Seriously considering toning down the Russian red but it's a hard color to work with, either too dark or too pink. Here are some screens: Please leave comments if you have them because I'm going to try to wrap this project up this weekend. Jim [ December 13, 2002, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

Did some experiments last night and got some good results. I'll post some sample pics soon.

I didn't mean to imply that it detracts from the game at all. It's very clear and easy to navigate. I just think that, if given the option of a smaller interface or more map, players would choose the latter.

Excellent advice, guys. I'll shoot for contrast then. The level 1 German fighter is a sand Ju87 Stuka. Since I used the darker Ju87-G Stuka for the level 3 or 4, I wanted to mix it up. I'll touch them up tonight and try to work for a more distinct outline. Working with such a tiny number of pixels is difficult. Thank god there's no file converting to do. Immer Etwas, Originally I had the Italians on a light acqua counter (a throwback to AH's THIRD REICH) but changed it for reason's I can't recall. I aimed for distinct color differences between the nations above all else. Totally changing the counter color of a power would mean that it would not match that of its territory. I have no aversion to that but it might annoy some. If there's something else you notice about the icons, please tell me. Come on, out with it, man! Jim [ December 11, 2002, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

It seems to me that there is a large amount of dead space in the interface. The buttons on the right are very large and, I think, could be reduced and offer more room for the map. This probably isn't possible via a patch but I just wanted to check. Jim

HOI did get one thing right: it made me want to fire up SC again! I admit, I got really burned out on it a couple of months ago. But I just started a new game with the current patch and am having a blast. I want to start another mod and just wanted to ask what everyone wanted to see. I don't know if anyone is still using my unit counters, but if so, are there any requests for changes? Give me some ideas if you have 'em.

Same here. I sort of sang its praises initially, and I still think it will be very good with a couple of patches. But the A.I. on the default level is literally non-existant. Actually it just made me long for the A.I. in SC. Poland put up more of a fight than France, which had about one infantry in every province, if that.

World In Flames is great but I just don't have the space nor the time for that anymore. I love the counters for it but their map is so horribly busy that it gives me a headache just to look at it. The computer demo I toyed around with was clunky and unimpressive. God knows when they'll finally get around to releasing it. Besides, I enjoy playing against the A.I. which will be impossible from what I understand. Recently, for a tactical fix, I've been playing the Europe Aflame and Drang Nacht Osten scenarios for TOAW:COW. An amazing level of research went into both, especially the latter. If someone is interested in Barbarossa and has a copy of TOAW:COW (only made for the Century of Warfare version), it's a must-play.

Well, no one has answered this because posters typically steer clear of the this-mod-is-better-than-that-mod spiel. It creates animosity and fosters discontent. And someone always gets their feelings hurt. I haven't seen the current version of Mod Manager but I used it all the time for CMBO. The old version did not require a lot of standardization on the modders part so it was quick and efficient. CMMOS is wonderful but there's a serious lack of compliance right now. (EDIT: I should say, those responsible for CMMOS are writing excellent tutorials to help modmakers along with this). The mods that are for download along with the program, however, are well worth it. Hell, get 'em both. See which one works for you. [ December 10, 2002, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

Advanced Third Reich was (is) fantastic. If someone can reproduce THAT on the computer, I'll eat my shorts. And Hubert's too. I loved the act of picking options for each turn. I've yet to see a game steal, er, borrow the idea of an attrition option. I loved the number crunching and thought this complimented the economic/strategic aspect of the game nicely. Besides, I prefer crunching figures over pushing several thousand SPI counters around on a 10' X 24' map.

I love the EU-esque flexibility in HOI and think the former game's engine works well in the WW2 environment. Yes, the manual bites but there are good FAQ's posted at various sites that cover the major areas left out (and there are a lot, believe me).

I'm hoping for a Med game to round out the series. That would make it complete. Gotta have closure, ya know. I can't even imagine how great an Anzio or Cassino scenario would be.

I agree, unless you do something set in Vietnam or Korea I don't think it would work as a tactics game. But then again, my military interest begins and ends with WW2 so I'm not the best person to ask.

You can also open up a file in Notepad--the file that the .exe uses--and set the resolution manually. Just replace the 800 and 600 with whatever. It allows for more of the map to be seen but the interface is not squared off as nicely. Also, download the newest patch before you try it because it fixes some issues with the mouse pointer doing odd things in alternate resolutions.

HolzemFrumFloppen: Yeah, I tend to stay away from forums such as the HOI one for the exact reasons you state, unless I absolutely have to go there for essential information. I've been spoiled by the smaller, more intimate forums like Battlefront's SC and CMBB, and SimHQ's European Air War and IL-2. I know what you mean. People only bitch about ahistorical situations if it results in a negative outcome for them. I also agree with you about slowing the game down. That is absolutely essential in the beginning just to figure out what the hell is going on. It will also allow you to get a handle on what types of messages you want to turn off before they start popping up fifty at a time. They're scarce in the 1936 scenario, when things are slower. However if you start in 1939, get ready to hit the enter key a million times to get rid of them. On the slowest setting, the game is manageable for me. I think they should have made the "normal" setting much slower, as it moves way too quickly, especially if you're spread out all over the globe. Arby: I don't know how the Pacific works. I don't enjoy it because island-hopping bores the crap out of me. So I have been concentrating exclusively on Europe. But I suspect I'd feel the same way you do, that the game models the situation poorly. It certainly wouldn't be the first. Personally, I'd prefer the game only handle Europe and make the map War In Europe scale. Guess I'm masochistic! [ December 05, 2002, 03:36 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

Looks great! I like the AAR areas. Jim [ December 05, 2002, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

I've been playing Hearts of Iron for over a week now and think it's a great game so far. Then again, I'm a control freak who enjoys micromanagement. I also enjoyed EU2 so I knew exactly what to expect from HOI. To my knowledge, this is the first game that has allowed the user to coordinate offensives where the air attacks an hour before the armored blitz, with infantry coming in at a specified time. I find the interface very intutive and friendlier than the original EU one. The HUGE list of generals and govt. officials is mind boggling, each one having his own characteristics and personality type that affect gameplay. The research tree is vast and, as Germany, I have had to plan very carefully to invest in areas while simultaneosly stockpiling reserves of oil and rubber. Ahistorical diplomatic outcomes are also possible via the "Influence Nation" option. Theoretcially one could influence the U.S. elections in order to elect communist or fascist candidates into office, although this is very difficult to do and would surely use up a huge number of your diplomacy points (these acrue at the rate of one per month or so). To me, SC and HOI are totally different and should not be compared. SC is turn-based and faster paced, much easier to leap right into and have a blast. HOI is real-time and plodding, saturated in micormanagement and minute details that will drive some insane. They are both on my harddrive to stay, that much I know. As far as the A.I. goes, it's a challenge for me but if you're a strategic, micromanaging mastermind, you may find it lacking. I really can't say. People will bitch about it regardless. Yes, it has faults and does wacky things just like all A.I. Hardly news to anyone who has played solo computer wargames for the past 10-15 years. Concerning the instability, the game crashed to desktop on me at least twice during the tutorial but it has not happened in-game yet. Might just be my good luck. Paradox is showing nice tech support and is communicating with those at the HOI forum about ongoing issues. They have also asked the user-community for help in filling the remaining general/officer portraits that they have had trouble locating, especially for the minor powers. It's quite obvious that the publisher pushed them for the product because the developer had a patch ready immediately after release. This is nothing new and will always happen with developers who cut distribution deals with corporate enterprises, the latter caring primarily about the bottom-line and little else ("Who cares if it crashes, get it out for the buying season!") By the way, if you have the game and can't figure out how to change the resolution, there is an .exe file (called something similar to "setup") in the main HOI folder. This allows you to set the resolution and a few other options. I have no idea why they did not make this function more obvious. Just in case I sound like some cheerleader for HOI, no, I agree with everyone that it is NOT the Advanced Third Reich-esque grand strategic mammajamma that we have been craving for years. I have stopped expecting it and doubt it will ever come (looks piningly out of the window into the rain with big tear in eye). [ December 05, 2002, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

LOL My feelings exactly. Great work. By far the best whitewashed mod I have seen to date. Keep it up. CMMOS compliance is a must. Don't create something this nice and leave it out, it's criminal! [ November 25, 2002, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: jmbunnelle ]

Tom's site is awesome. I agree that the problem probably lies at Military Gamer Online but I may be wrong. I've used different browsers and this doesn't have an impact on whether you connect or not. I only download one thing at a time but still can't connect 80% of the time. If you really want the mods, just download at non-peak hours. Worked for me.

The one list I've seen of these has a few errors and does not give the entire range. So I cooked this up last night while modding the German gray tanks. All bitmap numbers are US release. Not sure if CDV is the same or not: 12000-12016 PzIVE 12020-12036 PzIVF 12040-12056 PzIVF4 and PzIVG 12080-12095 PzIVD 12160-12173 Pz38t (all) 12180-12193 PzI and PzII 12260-12271 PzIIIM 12380-12393 PzIIIH 12520-12534 StugIIIG 12560-12575 PzVI Tiger (early) 12780-12793 StugIIIF8 12840-12853 sig33B 13120-13133 StugIIIF 14340-14359 T-34 M41 (captured) 14360-14374 T-34 M42 (captured) 7240-7254 StugIIIB 7400-7415 PzIVC 8460-8474 StugIIIE 8580-8593 PzIIIG 8600-8613 PzIIIF 8620-8634 PZIIIJ (short) 8660-8674 PIIIJ 8680-8694 PzIIIJ (late) 8700-8714 PzIIIL 8720-8734 PzIIIN 8760-8774 PzIIIJ (late, short) jim

Tracer, Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a smart ass in my initial post, just wanted a little clarification so I wasn't going on about something you already knew. I prefer PaintShop myself, as I find their .psp layers very easy to manipulate, cut, paste, etc. Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to tinker. Mess around with the various functions of the software and see what it does to the bitmap. Go back and forth from the game to Paintshop in order to see how things look in-game. You don't have to close out of CMBB every time, just go back to the main screen and come back in. ALWAYS MAKE BACKUPS!!!! But I'm sure you know that already. It sounds like a cop-out but there really is no right and wrong way of doing things. As far as coordination between modders goes, well, that will become much more clear after the release of the first patch. I think many, myself included, are holding off to see what changes are implemented and what bitmap renumbering takes place. People's "specialties" will emerge soon enough, just as they did in CMBO. Jim

Sorry to hear it. Thanks for all the fantastic work, Gordon! Rest assured, the mod bug will bite you on the ass again soon enough.

Jesus, you can't win! These same people were screaming "Gimme, gimme, I don't care if it's buggy!" three months ago. Sure, I was sort of miffed that there were no winter vehicles in the game. But then I saw the hi-res modelling job they did on the PZ III and IV and all bitching ceased. Battlefront is a good company and I have no doubt that they will support CMBB to the hilt.