Erwin

That's a great quote from DuPuy... This game really illustrates that.

Yes, been watching all the SECRET WAR series and it is fascinating to see stories of the OSS, MI5/MI6, SOE and the deadly infighting, double and triple agents and disasters many of the the organizations' unfortunate agents suffered as a result. The best and most original WW2 doc series in many years. I also recommend the series of books by Alan Furst who specializes in the 30's and WW2 era and is probably the best writer of thrillers about the goings on at that time (spies, collaborators and profiteers). Great atmosphere.

I like em both. But CMFI has better stock graphics - esp the German uniforms and helmets. And yes, I hated the many night battles of CMBN since I had to play around with the Gamma etc so it looked like washed out daylight just so I could see anything.

We're discussed elsewhere that so far almost every CM game can be successfully won by a tactics version of 1) Send out scouts to discover ambushes and important enemy assets like guns etc. (the scouts often die in the process). 2) Use arty to kill the enemy asset. 3) Only then let the armor romp over the enemy infantry (with inf in support to kill bazookas etc.). 4) Use your main inf forces to occupy the ground. The reason is that nearly all CM2 scenarios are essentially frontal assaults due to small-ish maps where flanking by maneuver are very rarely possible. Every time I have sent out inf on expeditions other than as part of the above tactic they have suffered nasty casualties and I have regretted it. But, it is very much a rinse and repeat method. The main interest in CM2 becomes admiring the amazing maps and graphics while you figure out how best to use the above tactics. However, this may have been what most western front battles consisted of and it is therefore "realistic." Nonetheless it becomes less than entertaining after a while. Am looking forward to, and hoping that Eastern Front CM2 and CMSF2 will feature larger maps so that maneuver and mobility (riding on tanks?!) will again become more important.

Shoot... I thought that was fixed in the last update(?) And Womble, I understand what you mean re the thread. But, isn't the underlying issue one of realism? Once one agrees on what would happen in RL all else would/should follow.

I just had a couple mortar crews who were under fire from several attacking tanks calmly spot and fire lethally at inf I was trying to bring up from something like 400 meters away. Those crews sure don't cower easily. (But, after all they were US crews RIP lol.)

I was hoping for some 8th Army action myself. But, not sure if enuff of the historical equipment in CMFI was present in '41-'42 when all the real NA fighting was done.

http://grogheads.com/int-adp1.html

Polish-designed helicopter game - looks good. http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120827/TSJ02/308270001/Game-Review-8216-Hind-Commander-8217-?odyssey=tab

The question is what would happen in RL. How many errant spotting rounds would be shot before someone said, "Stop shooting. We're wasting ammo, maybe the spotter is an idiot?"

"20x zoom to the nearest individual and they go, ooh aah, that helmet is so good that it's unreal! but the way the game models the spread pattern of the 50mm pak 150mm Heat is not tolerable! fix this or do somefink." You mean there are individual reprobates who do NOT play this way?!!! I feel my world shaking... coming apart...

These mods look perfect for lousy weather scenarios (ie: CMBN). However, are they not a bit dark for the sunny skies of Italy/Sicily (or N. Africa)? The stock CMFI vehicles appear to have the right sort of color/shading for sunny weather. My only beef is that the CMFI vehicles look too factory fresh and toy-like. Am really happy to have you back Fuser... I hope you eventually have the energy/motivation to complete the CMBN roster. (And that you have time to actually play the games as well.)

Red on Red campaigns and scenarios are fun, and you get good training in their capabilities.

Might be actually helpful if you tell where they at? Scenario depot II?

Great images on that. Any way we can get em as BG's for CM?

A great post from WeBoB:

Does the clock give one time to the spotting rounds, or the barrage? It's often lovely to have barrages arrive several minutes early when attacking guns, but not if you've planned attacks/retreats based on the clock.

The CMFI uniforms and helmets look great as is. Very impressive. The vehicles still look a bit too factory-fresh and clean, so am glad Fuser/Aris is back on the beat...

I like the idea that when you send out "scouts" (as the grogs here will tell you is the correct term for the CM scale) that you don't get immediate reports like you're playing "Future Warrior". You could say the same for any unit actually. But, the god-like immediate battlefield-wide info we all get is a function of playing a game. Even the IRON mode is thwarted every time you deselect all units and get to see all enemies and friendlies on the map immediately. The game would probably be unplayable otherwise.

Those ARMA pics look great. I had no idea they did a WW2 version. Is it fun played solitaire vs the AI, or is it strictly an online multiplayer game?

I wish the in-game weapons sounded like the ones in the doc. (At least they don't sound quite like that on my rig.)

Much more inspiring that the German patriotic songs. I love it on my CMBB esp that I'm playing in a huge CMBB tourny scenario with 3+ battalions per side plus companies of armor(!).

Thanks. Very inspiring and timely for East Front CM2. I imagine it gets better when sung at a Munich beer hall when completely smashed.

For what it's worth I'm using a 30" with probably similar (maybe slightly higher) res as JyriErik. But, I have to manually dial it down to 1920x1200 just to make the UI readable. However, I do not see any deterioration in image quality, therefore no real point in running at higher res. I suspect that CM2 is designed for a max resolution of 1920x1200 or lower.

re the very first post, I was confused until I realized that the scenarios described are actually #2 and #3. I restarted the campaign and am being a lot more careful with better results. In scenario #3 (capturing the two OBS) I found that I didn't even need to use one of the pioneer and the recon platoons at all. The tanks and arty were enuff. Am about to start #4 (described as #3 above). So, we'll see...