Mike D

I got a SB Live Value card w/ my new system back in Nov. It's great. Check out www.buycomp.com They have two versions of the SB Live card for about $73. To get to the sound cards start by clicking on the "perihperals" choice on the menu on the left of the main page. Mike D aka Mikester

When I worked on the 737/757 programs at Boeing I got to see some video footage of this type of testing (thawed chicken version). It was very interesting to watch and, I might add, highly entertaining. This footage also included the launching of the chicken directly into the inlet of a jet engine running at full throttle. Messy, but interesting none the less. Mike D aka Mikester

I tried doing a search on this under the terms: braking, stop, stopping, deceleration, etc. and didn't find anything. So if this has already been answered somewhere let me know. My question is in the demo I've taken one of the Shermans in the Riesberg scenario and sent it barreling down the road and into the center of the town just to see what would happen. As turn 1 starts, there is the usual slight delay before anything happens, then the tank starts to lumber forward and gain speed as you would expect. It continues to accelerate until it reaches its top speed and then flies down the road. If someone doesn't nail it w/ 88 and/or P-faust, it comes to the end of it's plotted movement down the road and then comes to an instantaneous halt. No deceleration, no apparent slowing down, just instantly stops right in its tracks. From 30-35 mph to a complete stop in under one second. Pretty impressive, but somehow not very plausible. So out of curiousity, I'm wondering if this descrepancy has been addressed in the final version of the game, or not. Thanks, Mike D aka Mikester

I hate to be a pessimist. But I'm sure they will ruin the game. Especially if they try to turn it into a "Soldiers at War" type of game and/or base it on that engine. Hope I'm proven wrong. Of course like someone said above, I'll probably be so busy playing CM I won't care. Mike D aka Mikester PS: The screenshots they have over on that link sure don't look like they are going to do justice to the SL heritage.

Moon, Thanks for the update. Glad to see that this has been improved. Mike D aka Mikester

GP, I'll take credit for being the "Oddball" (Thanks Steve ) I was running the demo originally on my old 1st generation Pentium 100Mhz machine, w/ Diamond 2000 3D video card (4MB video RAM) supplemented w/ an Orchid VooDoo I video card, and 48 MB RAM. It was a little glitchy here and there. Especially when dragging LOS lines around the map, etc. But it got the job done. However, no way I'd suggest someone play the actual game on such a system for long. It isn't going to be very enjoyable for you at all. Why? Cuz now I've got a Pentium III 500Mhz machine w/ 64 MB RAM and Nvidia GeForce video card w/ 32MB video RAM. The difference is like night and day! God I can't wait until this game is in my hands. Mike D aka Mikester

Sounds good to me MadMatt. Sooner this baby is in my hot little hands, the better. Mike D aka Mikester

OB&G Thanks for the info. I was fully aware of the Gold Demo and Release info. Was just wondering how things are going and how close they are getting to being finished. I believe one of the other major items they were still working on was the manual. So I was looking for update on how that, textures, etc., were going and what at this point was still left to do. Thanks, Mike D aka Mikester

Steve, Could you please give us a brief update on how the game is progressing sometime this week when you have a spare couple of minutes? Thanks much. Regards, Mike D aka Mikester

SS_PL, No misunderstanding, no problem. Mike D aka Mikester

SS_PL, I understand what you are saying and agree. I was simply stating my opinion and views on the subject. This is, and should be, an open forum for the discussion of all matters related to the game. As for people telling others to "basically shut-up", that is their affair and a matter for Steve to address should he feel that it is out of line in terms of the "code of usage and conduct" for this board. Thanks, Mike D aka Mikester

My 2 cents FWIW, I agree with Moon's statements above. And as cool as terrain/map FOW might be, I really don't think it adds a whole lot to the game. And the reason I say this goes back to something OB&G said. Namely, this is a game meant to recreate/simulate combat, not scouting and map making. And while recon and scouting are definitely a part of military operations, I firmly believe that this aspect of op's really falls mostly outside of what CM is focusing on. Namely military combat and tactics of the battle itself. Furthermore, I think that BTS has plenty of other items on "The List" that in my opinion are more worth adding to the game as a patch, or CM2, vs. terrain FOW. In fact, I would venture to guess that terrain FOW isn't even on "The List". Regards, Mike D aka Mikester

SS PanzerLeader is absolutely correct. This was brought up before and was dismissed as it should be. Granted it would be cool, but about as unrealistic as you can get. Besides if you go down to ground level and cruise along your waypoint path, stopping here and there to look around, you pretty much get the same effect anyway, less the computer calculated LOS. But then remember if you can see it in CM you can shoot it, so just going to that waypoint and looking towards the potential target will at least give you a reasonable feeling for whether the LOS is clear vs. blocked. Mike D aka Mikester

Disregard, somehow this double posted. Mike D aka Mikester [This message has been edited by Mike D (edited 04-19-2000).]

Good comments Mattias and Fionn. I guess I'll have to see what it looks like in the real game at different zoom levels. Also, I'd already thought about the editing of the texture. Sounds like something right up CoolColJ's alley. Mr. Cool, are you out there? Mike D aka Mikester

I can understand that something needs to be done (i.e. what it looks like now) in order to make the wire visible. However, be that as it may, IMHO the wire graphics that are there don't look that great. This is pretty darn minor though, so I'm not going to worry about it too much. Mike D aka Mikester

I started thinking the same thing as above when I first saw the wire in the DAM pictures. Sorry, but I've got to agree w/ these guys. All of the other graphics look terrific. But if this is supposed to be wire I think the texture needs some serious refinement. Mike D aka Mikester

I want a rocket cam too! Right in the nose of the rocket so I can streak in towards an unknowing German Panzer and then BLAMMO, blow him to smithereens right there in person. Now that would be cool. Mike D aka Mikester

PIXMAN LIVES! Hey Pixman, how's it going? Nice post by the way, but very disappointing to see another wargame producer falling by the wayside. Like you said, hopefully they will land on their feet. Mike D aka Mikester

Preordered, long, long, ago. Right after the preorder was initially offerred if memory serves me correctly. (BTS: I hope this means I'm one of the first to be shipped the game. ) Have been waiting for what seems to be an eternity, but am absolutely positive it will be worth it. Have no intentions whatsoever to make copies of the game even though I've already been asked to do so by at least one person. Also, would still highly suggest that BTS consider the spawning option that I brought up a loooooonnnnnnnngggggg time ago (as have others more recently). Reason I say this is that I believe it helps take piracy at least partially out of the picture. It also, in my opinion, helps get people that might not otherwise consider purchasing a game like CM to at least try it playing with a friend that owns the actual legal copy, find out it is GREAT, and then they will be much more likely to buy it themselves. Just my 2 cents worth. Mike D aka Mikester

CoolColJ, Sorry to hear about the HD crash. That really sucks. On a positive note, I have liked what you have done so far and definitely look forward to seeing what you come up with for the final game. Hang in there, it will be worth it. I think many of us will enjoy trying out your hard work. All the best, Mike D aka Mikester

Sir, I would HIGHLY suggest you base your decision to purchase the game based on the upcoming Gold Demo due to come out in May (this demo will be based on the final code for the actual game itself, not Beta code). I think many many things have changed since the original Beta demo came out nearly 6 months ago. Many "problems" have been fixed and many additions/improvements have been made. CM is a much different game now than what you are seeing in the Beta demo you are currently playing. Mike D aka Mikester [This message has been edited by Mike D (edited 03-31-2000).]

Steve / Charles, Will CM allow multiple installations of the game on the same hard drive, but installed into different target directories? Reason I ask is that I typically like to do this when patches are released since often times the new patched version of the game is not compatible with games that are already in progress. Will CM have this same "problem", or will we be able to install CM1 patches and pull current ongoing games up in the new patched version of the game and be able to run them without any problems? If not, I'd sure like to be able to have multiple installations of the game on my HD so that I can start new games in a new directory with the patch installed and keep playing out my older games in earlier versions of the game until they are complete and then delete the older version of the game and its associated directory. Thanks, Mike D aka Mikester

Add my name to the list of those wanting a large Gold Demo scenario to check out how my system and video card handle things. Thanks, Mike D aka Mikester

Add one to the FOW count. Looks like the FOW's have it. Mike D aka Mikester