Patrocles

LMAO! I can hardly wait to try out the mod!

hmm...didn't think about the sex angle, but the blood, gore, mayhem and destruction would not be the same in both the PG and the R-rated versions.

excellent! I've been so busy this week that I hope the sale price is valid this weekend!

The R-rated SW series is a kickass idea!

Excellent.

FWIW, Red Orchestra is going for $5! Dangy-dang...i need to dig up my password/logon info and get RO! I don't know if the new mod is included with RO...anyone? thanks!

Sorry, but I haven't gone through all the posts in this 6-page thread. I would like to see an Official BFC server for mods, scenarios, campaigns, etc. for a nominal fee. I might have missed it, but is it possible for BF nominal fee Server to focus on the CMX2 games and let the older, free sites, focus on the CMX1 games? Thanks!

well said! I'm looking forward to both games! I hope Codemaster doesn't make something lame for OFP2!

+1 I suck at RTS and FPS games (low-twitch factor!). I wonder if the following has any influence on L33t RTS players!? LOL http://gizmodo.com/5060687/scientists-find-gene-that-makes-you-good-at-halo-also-makes-you-a-premature-ejaculator Scientist Find That Gene That Makes You Good At HALO Also Makes You A Premature Ejaculator After a study of 200 Dutch men, scientists found that those with a premature ejaculation problem all had a version of a gene that controls the release of serotonin. And, unfortunately for all of you awesome Call of Duty players out there, those affected seem to "have very quick reflexes. They may be excellent at playing tennis or computer games, for example." Oh, cruel fate! Well, at least now you have an excuse, both for your lousy performance in the sack and your awesome performance on Xbox Live. The only problem is that now you can expect a whole new barrage of insults coming over your headset every time you take down an opponent. So what's this mean for you in the long run, my prematurely ejaculating, headshotting friend? Maybe a drug that'll let you last longer without buying those condoms with numbing juice in the tip. However, if you had the option of taking a pill that would make you a stallion in the sack but make you suck at video games, would you do it? Talk about your tough decisions. [bBC]

good question! I punched in T34 and undermodeled into the forum search engine and came acorss this informative entry from JasonC in a thread about soviet gun and ammo from 2001. I bet if you do some searching you can find even more info around this site regarding the undermodeling of soviet weapon systems in CMBB. http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=39282&highlight=T34+undermodeled "Russian weapons are systematically undermodeled in CM. I call it the "German physics" factor. Anything they could actually do historically, multiple by a factor of about 0.80 to account for the fanboys advising BTS. Just so you know what you are dealing with. Now to the particulars. The BR-350A was APC, the BR-350B was the improved APCBC (ballistic cap), which significantly improves penetration against sloped armor in particular. The BR-350P is APCR, tungsten penetrator. Of these only the last is exlicitly shown as a separate type of round in CM - the T ammo. The others are lumoed together as AP, and the improvement fielding the B type involved has to show up as improved ammo modeling etc. In reality, the Germans themselves state that the front of a StuG - 80mm - was readily penetrated by the Russian 76mm out to 500 yards. In CM, they will bounce down to point blank range. We call this the UberStuG, a phenomenon no one knew about until CMBB appeared (because, natch, it is wrong). StuGs are also given tiny rariety numbers even at the time they were the best couple percent of the German fleet (late 1943 e.g.), and very low prices for lack of turret low MG ammo etc. Expect to see about 40 gazillion times more of them than the Germans actually had. The T-34s get APCR ammo in CM only starting in 1944. Right in time for it not to make much of a difference because the T-34/85s are already out. Combined with the previous, this makes all the 80mm plates encountered in 1943 much tougher than they actually were. But at least the Russians have the first SU-85s in the second half of that year. Oops, no not really. Because the ammo modeling of the 85mm in calendar 1943 is so poor, you can bang away at a 30/50 StuG from the front at 800 yards, and see one "shell broke up" result after another. Even the guys who advised them on the ammo model admit that is flat wrong. This also applies to the 85mm AA, which the Russians historically used from the Kursk era on as a tank and mech corps heavy AT weapon. In 1944 the ammo modeling improves and they perform like the stats in the window. Before then, they are barely better than the undermodeled 76mm, instead of being the "animal killers" they ought to be. The only 1943 animal killer is the SU-152. It is given a ROF of 2 rounds a minute. The SU-122 would be fine with HC (HEAT ammo), so it gets 0 to 4 of them, usually the lower. Towed 122s and 152s aren't in the game, direct fire, so those are out as well. Historically the performance of the Russian 85mm was better than the US 76mm, but both were roughly the same. The US 76mm suffered from "shatter gap" against roughly 100-110mm plate at medium range, that is accurately modeled but extends to too many other weapons and match ups. Historically, the US 76mm with plain AP penetrated Panther turret fronts at 400 yards. The theoretical penetration was enough to do so at more like 1000 yards, but the shells failed due to the energy of the collision. That is shatter, and it shows up in CM as "shell broke up" results. The larger 85mm that gets more of its basically similar energy from mass (rather than velocity I mean) was much less susceptible to it. That is not shown in CM until 1944. Historically you'd kill Tigers by flank and close with T-34Cs. You can in CM, but you need ranges around 100m or APCR or both, and flat side angles. In addition, behind armor effect is poor against large tonnage vehicles. You can expect to need 3-5 penetrations to get a kill result. A single T-34C with T ammo placed 100m from a Tiger side facing it and ready to fire, has approximately a 1 in 5 chance of killing the Tiger before the Tiger kills it. Which is nonsense of course, Tigers had about that operational record against them without such placement, but we simply put up with it. In 1944 you can use T-34/85s against Panthers. The 85 is OK by then and will KO them through the turret front out to about 600 yards. Occasional partial penetrations at 800, but you really don't want to trade those. Sides are good against the Panther with 85s or 76s. As for Tigers in 1944, the T-34/85 can do them, but watch out for the hull down ones. The front turret of the Tiger I is modeled as about 200mm about 2/3rds of the time. (That is what the "reinforced turret front" entry means). The upper front hull is only the real 100mm. As for Tigers in 1943, forget about the real answer the SU-85, they are neutered by ammo modeling. Forget about the large caliber towed gun solution, since the big ones simply aren't shown and the 85mm AA has its ammo neutered. Forget about SU-122s because they have no HEAT. SU-152s work, with dismal rate of fire. The best answer though is the 57mm ATG, which can kill them under 400m front aspect or more like 600m side aspect, and is stealthy enough to actually get the shots off. Sometimes you need 3 penetrations etc for behind armor effect reasons. The other useful 1943 weapon is the T-34/57, when rariety is off. Otherwise the rariety forbids it in expense terms. Some LL items are useful. The 75L38 Shermans will KO StuGs are 500m when the 76L42 Russian guns will not. The Valentine IX is an affordable 6 pdr when rariety is on, though it is less effective than the Russian 57mm and otherwise a pretty crappy tank by midwar (slow, no MG, limited HE, etc). Captured StuGs can do what SU-85s actually did. The CM counters to cats are assymmetric fighting. Air support is seriously overmodeled in CM and the IL-2 benefits from that more than any other plane in the game. They aren't sufficient against Tigers, but anything less they simple shred (unhistorically, I might add). The Russian infantry tank hunter teams get RPG grenades starting in mid 1943, 2/3rds of them. Those regularly hit and kill out to 40m. (Molotovs on the other hand are completely useless). AT minefields and pioneer demo charges and flamethrowers are other cat killers. High caliber arty can do it (usually gun damage or immobilization results rather than KO) if they are directly on a TRP, otherwise the responsiveness makes it impossible. As for the StuGs, take some 57s, or make a network of 76s with cross fire. And make them turn - vehicle rotation is very slow in CM, the one place turretless actually makes a difference. Beware also of the StuG showing only front armor, angled inward so one flank is deep inside German lines, and at an edge so the other is protected by the bottomless pits at the map edge. You cannot simply apply the Russian historical tactics against German armor in CM. You have to systematically make more use of the air force, of infantry AT and winning the infantry war more generally, of crossfire and ATG ambush, and of a few relatively rare weapons that are CM effective - the 57mm ATG, the SU-152, the T-34/57, LL vehicles. Mass T-34C rushes at Tigers will get masses of T-34s killed and warm the hearts of the Tiger fish-story fanboys who did all this - don't give them the satisfaction."

Awesome! I've seen pics by a local photographer doing tilt-shift photography and I've been looking for info/examples ever since! Thanks for the info!

ok, thanks for the info!

I found a used paperback copy of Ernle Bradford's book "Hannibal" covering the life of Hannibal Barca and the Carthaginian-Rome war. The book was well written imho, but quite short (<200pages) and lacking in maps and photos/images. Can anyone recommend books about the life of Hannibal Barca, not too groggy/academic, but with a bit more detail than Mr. Bradford's work on the Carthaginian general? Thanks! this is the list provided by wiki on reading material regarding Hannibal Barca: * Bickerman, Elias J. "Hannibal’s Covenant", American Journal of Philology, Vol. 73, No. 1. (1952), pp. 1–23. * Bradford, E, Hannibal, London, Macmillan London Ltd., 1981 * Caven, B., Punic Wars, London, George Werdenfeld and Nicholson Ltd., 1980 * Cottrell, Leonard, Hannibal: Enemy of Rome, Da Capo Press, 1992, ISBN 0-306-80498-0 * Daly, Gregory, Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War, London/New York, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-32743-1 * Delbrück, Hans, Warfare in Antiquity, 1920, ISBN 0-8032-9199-X * Hoyos, Dexter: Hannibal's Dynasty: Power and Politics in the Western Mediterranean, 247–183 B.C. (Routledge: London & New York, 2003; paperback edition with maps, 2005) - has much discussion of strategy and warfare. * Hoyos, Dexter, Hannibal: Rome's Greatest Enemy, Bristol Phoenix Press, 2005, ISBN 1-904675-46-8 (hbk) ISBN 1-904675-47-6 (pbk) * Lamb, Harold, Hannibal: One Man Against Rome, 1959. * Lancel, Serge, Hannibal, Blackwell Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0631218483 * Livy, and De Selincourt, Aubery, The War with Hannibal: Books XXI-XXX of the History of Rome from its Foundation, Penguin Classics, Reprint edition, July 30, 1965, ISBN 0-14-044145-X (pbk)(also [2]) * Prevas, John, Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Second Punic War, 2001, ISBN 0306810700, questions which route he took * Talbert, Richard J.A., ed., Atlas of Classical History, Routledge, London/New York, 1985, ISBN 0-415-03463-9 * Yardley, J.C. (translator) & Hoyos, D. (introduction, notes, maps and appendix on Hannibal's march over the Alps): Livy: Hannibal's War: Books 21 to 30 (Oxford World's Classics: Oxford Univ. Press, UK & USA, 2006).

The linky is broken for me. However, I used of THE GOOGLE and found another article on this topic. At least it appears the family will have closure. OT... Mr. Kettler, Speaking of Amelia Earhart, in August 2007 I heard a fascintating interview on NPR's The Story with a woman who they think may have been the last person to hear Amelia Earhart over the wireless. http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_325_Listening_For_Amelia.mp3/view Listening for Amelia On a July afternoon in 1937, 15-year-old Betty Klenck Brown was listening to her family's shortwave radio. She had her journal and was writing down the lyrics to popular songs when she turned the dial and heard the unimaginable: "This is Amelia Earhart. This is Amelia Earhart." At that point, Earhart had already disappeared, along with her navigator, in her attempt to fly around the world. Betty jotted down everything she heard over 3 hours. She didn't understand much of what she wrote, but she kept transcribing. No one took Betty seriously, until her diary finally made it into the hands of Ric Gillespie. Ric works for a group called TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery). Ric has used the information in Betty's diary to lead a new search for the remains of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. Ric is just back with his team from the search, and they believe they uncovered tantalizing clues.

For me, X-com was a fun, tactical level, turn-based combat game. I'm the last person to try and explain/describe the X-COM game...so here is a comment from Wiki "The premise for the series is fairly simple and straightforward, with variations among them: armies of hostile aliens have begun invading the Earth, killing and enslaving the human race. The mise en scène and trappings of the game closely mirror those of the classic ITV television series UFO. Despite the clichéd setup, the implementation is serious and carefully detailed to give an "authentic" impression. In all the games, the player is put in command of X-COM (Extraterrestrial Combat), the international military organization set up in 1999 (the near future during the original game's release in 1993). By defending X-COM's funding countries (initially Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, UK, USA) from enemy invasion, the force gains monetary support. Any nation may quit, if X-COM's service is deemed unsatisfactory or the nation's government has been infiltrated by the invaders. Through scientific research of recovered alien artifacts, X-COM is able to develop better and more powerful weapons, armor and vehicles to combat the alien menace, and eventually uncover their true nature. The game takes place within two main views: the Geoscape and the Battlescape, a dichotomy that is the hallmark of the entire series. The Geoscape consists of a global view of the earth from space. The player can view the X-COM bases (in various locations on Earth), make changes to them, equip X-COM aircraft, order supplies and personnel, direct research efforts, schedule manufacturing of advanced equipment, and sell alien artifacts to raise money. From this view the player also directs interceptor and troop transport aircraft on their missions. The Geoscape is continual and not turn-based. Gameplay switches to the isometric combat view of the Battlescape whenever X-COM personnel come in contact with alien units. This can result from investigating downed enemy space ships, combating alien terrorist activities, or attacking alien bases discovered during play; aliens may also manage to attack and infiltrate one of the X-COM bases. In the Battlescape view, X-COM combatants are pitted against the alien enemies. In addition to personnel, the player may have vehicles such as HWP unmanned ground vehicles outfitted with powerful weapons and heavy armor, but not gaining experience points in battles. This mode is turn-based and each combatant has a number of "time units" which can be expended each turn. When all alien forces have been neutralized, the mission is scored based on number of X-COM units killed, civilians saved or killed, aliens killed or captured, and the number and quality of alien artifacts obtained."

Ahhh...yes, good point to consider.

I received an email that STEAM is releasing X-COM games today. I had a blast playing X-COM: UFO defense (i believe it was my second computer game!), but I never tried the other X-COM related games. check out STEAM for info!

hopefully soon! hang in there!

Yes, good prices, but do the phones come with several options?

NPR ran a cool 3-part story about two secret programs ran by the U.S. at Fort Hunt, VA during WW2. One of the programs was an interrogation camp of German POWs (top officers and scientists). MIS-X was a program to get materials to Allied POWs to help them escape and evade capture (great stuff like radios hidden in cribbage boards, souvenirs with secret compartments containing maps, compasses, wire cutters,etc.) You can find the 3-part radio program and accompanying text here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93635950

haha Yes, please post some reviews of Company of Heroes (PC) and Conflict of Heroes (boardgame). And what is with LnL using "hero" in what seems to be every other boardgame title??

OFP2 Armed Assault 2 CMC Since Operation Flashpoint 2 is not being made by Bohemia Interactive I hope it turns out to be a decent, realistic game. AFAIK, Bohemia Interactive is working on an Armed Assault 2 for the PC and the consoles.

"The Navy's most advanced warship is all but defenseless against one of its most common threats. We already knew that the older, cheaper, Burke-class destroyers (pictured) are better able to fight off anti-ship missiles -- widely considered the most deadly (and most obvious) hazard to the American fleet. Specifically, the old Burkes can shoot down those missiles using special SM-3 interceptors; the new DDG-1000 cannot." What about retrofitting the two ships with these special SM3 interceptor missiles?

Cool! I hope this is as good as OFP! I didn't see it in the post, but iibc, isn't Bohemia Interactive, the design house for OFP and Armed Assault? iirc, someone here stated codemaster has the right to the title "Operation Flashpoint" so BI went on their own and made Armed Assault (which some folks have called OFP2 or OFP1.5! lol). Is Codemaster making this OFP2 game or did they hand it off to another design house?

not gaming much these past few years... I really want to see Lock 'n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad