c3k

Because the elevation depends on YOUR inputs. It all starts at a default of 20. They show that by using a white number with terrain background. YOUR inputs are hard-coded. If you choose height+x or x, you are making an input. (Personally, I only use x, the SET TERRAIN HEIGHT DIRECTLY. It's simpler for me.) If the map is all 20's, and you put a single 30, then it will blend all the elevations. One input, therefore they all go to 30. Try this (ONLY as an experiment!): Create a border of hard-set 20's around four sides of a map. In the middle drop a single 30. Now, all the elevations will start at 20 near the edges - your input - and gradually slope to your next input, the 30. I mini Mt. Olympus of your very own. It blends everthing to smoothly include all your inputs. Place a line of hard spots at 20. Put another line adjacent it to it at 99. Instant cliff. Everything on the 99 side of the cliff will be at 99. All the low ground will be at 20. Your inputs are shown with a black background. The more you have in a map, the greater the load on the cpu/memory. Just something to keep in mind. (There is a cost in game-terms for having them.) Once you start making contours, most of the ground between countour lines will blend nicely. Instead of solid contours, you can then progressively remove some of your hard set heights. It takes a bit of play. Let us know if you need/want more pointers. Ken

Split out a scout section... Or do what I do. Grab one of those XO teams and run 'em back and forth in front of the enemy until only one man is left. Then send him to man a machinegun. "XO" = eXtra Officers.

Not a mortarman: IIRC, the larger ones use a safety pin which is unlocked by the propellant charge igniting. Once unlocked, the safety pin (a small round bar) is engaged until a very powerful spring drives it out. The only thing preventing the safety pin from moving is the mortar barrel. Once the round clears the barrel the spring forces the safety pin out. Apparently it does so with a lot of force. That's what I've heard. Me? I've been near 'em going off. I'd definitely want to be behind the muzzle just for the noise. I'm not sure ducking 6" would make a difference if one blew up as it exited. Ken

This ^^^ I cannot describe how many cinematic moments I've seen thus far. That's the beauty of WeGo replay. The 1:1 modeling brings the pixeltruppen to life.

Dark Knight as BF.C PR! Ken

Hmmm, looks like a feature to me. They're obviously checking vehicle and tire clearance as they advance through the forest. Too much schnapps? Ever have that feeling that the world is spinning out of your control? Maybe it was just you... Thanks for posting the pictures. Ken

Edited: more later.... Ken

Der Sperminator... (Yes, I'm copyrighting that bit.)

You may have found something...

Yes, it would be a great addition.

Yes........

If you're using infantry with high explosive weapons (schrecks, rifle grenades) the TARGET order will use them. They will cause friendly fire casualties. If you use TARGET LIGHT they will not use the HE weapons, only small arms. The game assumes covering small arms fire is aimed away from your own troops, so no friendly fire casualties. All this is IIRC. Ken

email? I needed email for this?

Agreed. Instant spot would be wrong...especially if buttoned up.

Good ideas.

I'm not trying to downplay any of these observations. I'm only trying to show that we need to be very specific when trying to compare different anecdotes. Within around 400m, should ANY stationary tank - not suppressed or otherwise under poor morale - miss a tank-sized object? How does the game work under those conditions? How should experience ratings change the accuracy? The demo doesn't give enough tools to test it out. Hopefully the release will come very soon and allow everyone to put this issue through the wringer. Yeah, shooting on the move is a sore spot. The Sherman gyro was NOT that good (even when it was working), and anyone who's ever bounced around a tracked vehicle knows it's impossible to keep a magnified scope on a target while the vehicle is moving. I'm not sure what the solution (if any) will be for that. What are your thoughts? - Totally disallow ANY firing when moving? - Selectively disallow firing on the move, dependent on one or more factors such as range, weapon type, target size, angular motion, speed? - Force the moving vehicle to stop and fire whenever it sees a target while it's moving? - Selectively stop the moving vehicle to stop and fire when it sees a target? What would be the parameters? (Imagine giving a FAST order to a Sherman to dart across a small opening but instead it stops so it can trade shots with a Tiger? I can hear the howls of distress!) Ken

To help make sure you get the right squad parts (called "teams"), select one of the teams. Let's call it "Squad 1/Team A". Finding teams B and C could take awhile by the hunt and click method. Instead, use the keyboard "+" and "-" keys. "+" will go to "Squad 1/Team B"; another "+" will take you to C. I've found that's the best and quickest method to find the various teams which make up a squad. (Conversely, from team C, the "-" will cycle up to "B" then "A".) The snap-to effect with movement and targeting: the terrain is a grid of 8mx8m squares. The movement paths snap to the center of the grid. The men will take up positions within that grid based on available cover. Use the Target command FACE to point them a certain way if that may help. For TARGETING, the same snap-to-center effect occurs...if there is no enemy in Line of Sight. In that case, the Target is referred to as "area targeting". Your unit will spray fire throughout the targeted 8m x 8m tile. If you target an enemy unit, the target line will snap to and hold on that unit. Hope that helps. Ken

Not picking on you, but this is a good example of confusing terminal effects and accuracy. If the ATG hit the roadwheels, well, it "hit" the Sherman. If we're discussing accuracy, then we need to ignore the terminal effects. Spotting is different behavior, as well. Tanks with cupolas have an advantage over tanks without them (when buttoned up). At least, they should. Spotting ability, reaction time, accuracy (of first shot, follow-on shots, etc.), terminal effects, are ALL separate items. If something "feels" wrong, try to isolate which aspect you think it is. Then, strip out all the other variables you can. Post about it. Without rehashing many, many pages of older threads in different forums, the single biggest factor affecting accuracy - with any weapon - is muzzle velocity. The faster the round, the less effect range estimation errors have. There is also discussion about the on-the-move accuracy. So, before comparing two different sets of hits/misses, think about the differences. Are the tanks the same? Does one have a low velocity gun? Crew experience? Gyrostabilizer? First shot or follow-on? Under fire? Moving? Etc., etc.

A different perspective: what commander would place a high-velocity crew served weapon on a precipitous slope? That perfect hull-down position for your gun could result in the gun flying down into the ravine once it fires. Or, conversely, the slope may be such that even if you could get it stabilized on the slope, the gun could not depress far enough to be level. Enough of the excuses. Using what we have, perhaps this is more a map making issue? Ravine at elevation 15 meters, other terrain at 20 meters. Going like this: 15.20.20.20 would be hard. In game, or real life, that means a vertical change of 5 meters in less than 8 meters horizontal distance. That is steep. If a map maker did this: 15.19.20.20.etc.etc, the spot at 19 meters would provide a lip 1 meter lower than ground level. That would give you the flat spot for the hull down location. Another solution would be 15.x.x.x.x.x.20, where "x" represents an action spot at whatever elevation the map algorithm selects, and the numbers represent hard-coded "black" elevation settings in the editor. Part of this is the 8 meter action spot, part is map design.

Cool link. Thanks.

If you're a masochist, follow spinkick's "advice". Otherwise, rest assured that your specs seem very good for the game. I am NOT a rep of BF.C's tech help branch, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night... Having gotten that out of the way, if all your drivers are more or less up to date, I'd look at two items: the demo download and your antivirus. If that doesn't work you're left with opening a request for help with BF.C's tech support and having to browse the internet for everyone else's gameplay stories! Ken

Cool quote, but how could the range be 200 meters if the Churchill was driving a total distance of 1,500 meters while under fire from the 88? It may've ended up at 200m, but depending on the geometry, it could've started at 1,500 meters. Just a thought...

There are four camps, with regards to which video card is best. 1.) Nvidia owners who have everything working: Nvidia is the best! 2.) Nvidia owners who have a problem: ATI is the best! 3.) ATI owners who have everything working: ATI is the best! 4.) ATI owners who have a problem: Nvidia is the best! The best advice I can offer is to see what your budget allows, find out what specs your motherboard/system have and therefore which cards are supported, read the reviews for specific problems (for instance, if you have the ABC Zultran motherboard and EVERYONE knows that the ABC Zultran doesn't work with the Hoodoo graphics card, don't buy the Hoodoo card. ). Then add a large grain of salt to all you've read. Next, buy your card. Then add buyer's remorse bundled with a dose of "the grass is rendered greener by the OTHER card", and then acceptance. It'll work (whichever you choose) and you can play the game. Ken

As Zatoichi mentioned, I'd hesitate to use the Demo's hobbled editor functions to be a basis for error reporting.

Ditto. There are a few locations where it just won't do what I want (CMSF, CMBN), however, in the vast majority of times it works great. If you think you're playing a first person shooter, you will be frustrated. If you think you're the platoon commander (or higher), your ability to position squads and weapons is far greater than any platoon leader ever did. Having said that, there have been many threads calling for a tighter mesh. The state of computing doesn't support that right now. It will... Then we'll demand centimetric mesh. The FACE command tells your men where to orient themselves. They will then wiggle and shift to gain the best cover from what's nearby. Very nice... Ken