Erwin

Good idea. Whenever possible eliminate text for colors - humans process that much faster. Maybe it's different for programmers tho'...

I am never going to buy any more of Abneo's scenarios!!!

On my Win 7 after I click START there is no RUN command. You're right... I should Google, It's still hard to remember to do that when you weren't raised in the computer age and are used to asking humans for help. Using the HELP button got me to the tool and apparently I have DirectX 11. And all the CM1 games run fine,

Re: The SS guy on the Arnhem Bridge trying to save his CO Grabner. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Eberhard_Gr%C3%A4bner

It's one of the odd "improvements" over CM1. In CM1 units would shoot at units outside of the arc if they deemed them to be a threat. Worked fine for me. But, someone musta complained... probably done for the milpro crowd to make it more "realistic".

Royal Mud Marines (UK) has lots of requirements for engineers to blow holes in things, if anyone wants to practice. You have to play a ways into the scenario to get to the buildings. But it is one of the best/most fun CMSF scenarios I have played. (I think there is a USMC version as well.)

You can thank HUGO BOSS for the great-looking SS and other Nazi uniforms... And you can still buy his stuff I am told. Isn't that what James Bond wore in Casino Royale etc?

Yes, there really needs to be a simple fast way to get 180 degree arcs. I use em a lot and it takes ages compared to CM1.

That may be true DL, but from the masses of docs I have watched on the "Hitler" Channel, they were specially selected and trained in the 30's and at war's start. They got a reputation for being willing to take high casualties, to be especially ruthlessness and most importantly very high esprit de corps compared to the Wehrmacht - kinda like the Marines vs the Army. The SS got the job done when the Wehrmacht hesitated. As the war progressed and casualties mounted the SS were forced to take more and more "unter supermen" type men - including those with some Jewish blood, a Moslem unit etc. http://www.srpska-mreza.com/History/ww2/muf-han.html Their special use was that IIRC the Wermacht could only recruit from German citizenry while the SS could recruit from other nationalities - thus filling out the numbers. But, of course aside from a few elite units the overall SS quality declined from the early war days. The Hitler Youth Div was pretty tough (which shows why it's best to use children to fight our wars). There were equally elite Wermacht units: Panzer Lehr, GrossDeutchland etc.

Just curious, how can one find out if one has DirectX 10/11 or 9? I have had no problems with my CM1 games simply copying from an XP machine to Win 7 machine using a flash card. But, as it's a new-ish machine I thought I would have the latest DirectX.

The time delay after one issues a BLAST order and the time for other inf to assault thru the breach is rather critical for us WEGO-ers. Is it always about 30 secs, or does their "breaching speed" depend on the quality of the engineers, and or other factors?

Thanks for the useful info Snake. Hope you don't mind more questions re "good recon practices." 1) In the frontage depicted in your ROAD OPENING scenario would it be realistic to have each recon team in a completely separate part of the front - ie totally independent and relying solely on stealth? 2) In this instance would they have at least a squad or more of reg inf following to get them out of trouble?? 3) Or, would the 2 recon teams stay together so as to support each other, but without any other support? 4) What is the role of the single HQ guy? Does he accompany them on foot to provide quick air/arty support, or is he sitting back in his command AFV with his feet up drinking coffee until something squawks on the radio? I know that they have their own AFV's for "support." But, I presume that having a loud, dirty spewing AFV trailing you by a couple hundred meters sort of defeats the point of stealthy recon to find good LOS locations from where to spot enemy units(??) Oh, and so will you add an extra Fennek so the Jerries can have two rocket launchers, or is it a deliberate design choice to only let them have one? (And why is one Marder immobilized - design choice??)

So, who was the first consumer CM player to log 100 CM games??

"BTW, do you know if the Victory Game's board game "Ambush!" was inspired by "Computer Ambush" or was it the other way around?" The solitaire boardgames were definitely first "BC." (Before computers, mate!) I still have the 4 boardgames in the series. Then Victory (arguably the best board wargame publishers of their era) brought out a 2-player version. GMT Games inherited Victory's mantle and their excellent graphics, rulebooks etc. For you young uns, these plus miniatures is what the ancient peoples like wot I am had to play with b4 the CM series. Another HUGE savings in money thanks to BFC and CM is me not buying a dozen cardboard wargames a year plus a similar number of short lived (on my HD) computer games.

IIRC it's SHIFT+ ARC ORDER. In effect, I think that a unit with no arc behaves as if it has a 360 degree "arc" automatically but at max range. It appears that a covered arc is 50% of the time useful simply to stop a unit from firing when it sees the enemy. So, for recon etc. Other times it's only useful if you want a turret to be facing a particular direction when the vehicle moves.

I forgot: Due to the bug in the most recent patch that leaves out the German AT launcher thingy, only the Fennek has one. Suggest that you add a 2nd Fennek so at least both German teams in the Marders can arm themselves with the rockets.

Oh yes... Panzer Elite PE - still a decade later arguably the best WW2 game of its type, but so buggy you practically had to be a programmer to get it working right. I still have a copy - must see if it runs on Win 7.

Wouldn't it be great to have an in-game staff - like the way TOTAL WAR - ROME provided "advisors". Except updated of course, so when you did something dumb, a RSM image would appear and he would swear profanities at you %$&& West Point/Sandhurst &^&^&!!!

Snake: I was traveling so only just now had a chance to look at the new version. Was delighted to see you made lots of improvements that I don't recall anyone even asking for. The mix of units with the Germans etc looks like it will be a LOT of fun! Now, you have really made us feel like the CO of the base and we have many more options re how to proceed down the road. Lead with the ANA or the German recon? Or, maybe with US recon with ANA and Germans following? Do I send AFV's first, or just the trucks with AFV's, MG's and snipers providing cover? Maximizing tactical options and fun decisions is what makes a superlative scenario. So thanks for such a terrific improvement! One question: Am still curious why the recon elements are off on the right flank. Is that historical in some way? I guess it's a question of how one uses recon troops and what is their function (in a CMSF situation like the one you depicted). My thought is that you don't send recon troops where you KNOW there are enemy - like you tell us in the briefing. Instead, you send an assault force (if you want to take that location). My thought would be to either: 1) Send the recon elements down the road to locate ambushes, OR... 2) Send the recon guys along a direction which hopefully has the LEAST likelihood of enemy ambushes so as to get to good spotting positions in the enemy's flank or rear. The object would be to merely ID the enemy strength and composition so they can be neutralized by (ideally) air or arty (or bring up heavier infantry to attack the enemy using the safe route recon has used) while the recon units move onwards to locate other enemy positions. So, what was your thinking behind the placing the recon units where you did??

Surprised to not be reading more comments from players of this amazing scenario (and map). I would hate to think we playtesters were the only ones to play it... It was a real learning experience and has changed the way I play CMSF (certainly in urban environments). Am hoping to see more scenarios using this amazing map.

The original M1 Tank platoon was a classic. That lasted a long time on my HD. I have the newer version as well but as my joystick broke at that time I still haven't played it. Steel Beasts was a more complex version - more like a sim than a game. Steel Panthers was great in its day - also lasted a long time on my HD. Close Combat was good, but I was never a big fan of the RT aspect. But, nothing else has lasted for the 10+ years of CM1. I have saved probably thousands of dollars in NOT buying 5-10 short-lived (on my HD) games a year thanks to BF's CM series. Which is why their games could cost a lot more and would still be a bargain.

Wow, curvy screens. Hadn't seen that b4. Neat!

The Taliban mod for CMBN should really open up the game to whole new scenario opportunities.

The odd thing is that after CM1 I used covered arcs all the time in CMSF... until I played RELIEF OF JOKER 3 where I found the covered arcs were a danger to my own units as the enemy could come from any direction. I learned - at least in the urban setting of JOKER 3 - that it appears to be better not to use covered arcs but instead the FACE command at the end of movement. Am thinking that my policy now is to only use covered arcs in open terrain where your flanks and rear are secure so you want all attention in a certain direction.

That's a really good idea. I agree that all that yellow can hide stuff I want to look at.