Russkly

Ooops! Forgot The Outlaws.

Actually, slightly OT, but, if we add Bluecher's also-excellent Die Letzte Hoffnung campaign, is this the complete list of available campaigns for CM:BN? I've played all of them through already (luckily I've had a lot of spare time this summer), and I can't see any more in the repository, so I'm now CM:BN-less!!! I don't really do scenarios, 'cos they're simply too short a fix for me and lack the immersion and involvement of a campaign. Just wanting to know if perhaps I'm missing some campaign nuggets somewhere. Cheers, R

Scenarios may be small (personally I don't play them), but the campaigns are all large, Devils' Descent being the only coy-level version. Interesting how we all like different things - I can't stand the amount of micro-management required to play btn-sized engagements. R

Not C&F, whatever you do! I've played CM in all its iterations since CMBO, and this was the hardest and most frustrating campaign I've ever played. It was made more frustrating by the fact that it was apparently designed to be so. Furthermore it's large - battalion plus size, and that for me is too many units for either RT or WEGO. As Blackcat suggests, Devils' Descent is SPOILERS... A company-level campaign with extremely limited vehicular presence. An excellent way to learn infantry tactics at least and at a very manageable level. R

Bluecher, you're a genius! Probably the single best campaign I've played in any of the CM iterations. Immersive, challenging and yet thoroughly playable. For me coy-level infantry combat (with perhaps a platoon or two of armour) is the best platform for CM's joys. The "Courage and Fortitude" campaign was just too big and unwieldy for me, since I play RTS and don't like having to pause all the time to get sitreps and issue orders. Plus it had some other elements that didn't endear it to me (which are detailed in a few other threads). My dear Feldmarschall, please make more campaigns - I would pay!! Perhaps even a little extension of C Company's travails... R

Thx again Vulture. I tried your approach and won a tactical victory with very low casualties - given it was my umpteenth run-through, it felt rather false, but there you go. I lost 10 minutes or so up front, because I couldn't face going through the defence of the tool-shed again - the outcome of that little fire-fight seems to swing from complete annihilation of the platoon to complete victory depending on luck alone - same placement of troops, etc, completely different outcome. Partly as a result of the lost time (why is this a 50-minute mission?!!!) I couldn't advance through the fields past the crossroads towards the big-point objectives as you did. If I exposed anyone in the left-hand field (left of the ridge following the US axis of advance) they got toasted by the German flank units, and if I tried to go to the right of the ridge to avoid the flank units, they ran into fire from the fields in front and from the farm on their right flank. So, in the end I left a platoon at the crossroads, another pl. plus 2 x HMGs & an FO team at the bottom of the left-hand field pouring fire on the flank units, and took one of the big-point objectives with the tool-shed platoon. Couldn't get both, because there was a naughty half-section camped in the bottom corner of the field that gave me hell as I assaulted from foxhole group to foxhole group. Thx for your guidance, though - it helped. Now I've had a look at the final assault mission, and it seems to be another puzzle! This campaign seems to be characterised by the designer closing off all the obvious tactical approaches and forcing the player into increasingly bizarre solutions. Any hints, please, because I stopped enjoying this campaign a while ago and just want to finish it with a little tactical pride remaining!? Cheers, R

Thx, Vulture, for taking the time to outline your approach, which I like very much. You clearly have more patience than I and also more of an eye for micro-managing the movement and set-up detail of your forces. Once I get above coy-size engagements I tend to play at camera level 4, which means that the AI gets to play a bigger role. Not good around bocage and well-laid traps in CMBN, it appears. If I can face it (after my draw, I can now play the final assault mission with vastly depleted forces), I might go back and start again trying your approach. At the crossroads, though, I'm pretty sure it was under enemy HMG, ATG and mortar fire, when I moved some inf. through the minefields after prepping the area with (fairly useless) 60mm mortars on one aborted run-through of this mission. You're right about the flanking units, though; they are murderous, and it's hard to imagine that arty or air assets would not have been available to suppress those areas before a btn attack along an exposed ridge. Having said that, the army (whichever country you're in) has a habit of making you do things that do not bear scrutiny. I'll try again tomorrow and report back. As for the spoiler alert, I don't want to ruin anyone's fun, but I kind of thought that anyone reading this thread would sort of expect spoilers given the title, and that, if they had started at the beginning, then their strawberries would have already been well and truly p*ssed on by the time they reach my post. However, warning taken on board - I think it's my first transgression in 10 years, so I hope I get a lenient sentence. Cheers, R

Well, please give me a few tips as to how on earth to win this damned mission! I have reloaded this f*cking thing so many times today I actually ended up hitting the desk when one of my (actually fairly useless vs. infantry anyway) M10s took a ridiculous path and got itself f*cked up completely unnecessarily at the crossroads. Moreover, if the Germans actually has arty in that quantity and with that accuracy (TRPs notwithstanding), the Allies would never have got out of Normandy. I have about 15 saved game files for this mission alone (and that after the awful bridge mission) and the best I've managed is a draw. No other CM/CMSF/CMBN campaign/mission has ever frustrated me as much as this one: There is no room, and you don't get any Pioneers to create room until the mission is half-way over. Any attempts to go via the flanks through the few gaps that do exist leave you exposed to withering ATG, HMG and mortar fire. The left flank seems blocked by no-hole bocage leaving only the right flank, which has got lots of ATGs and HMGs covering it from the hill over the river - even rigorous artying and mortaring doesn't nullify the threat, and using 60mm mortars against foxholes is like p*ssing in the sea. Going up the middle, even with smoke, seems a death wish, and I tried it bounding with a full coy plus HMG, MMG and AFV fire support. The crossroads has more mines than South Wales, and Pioneers can't clear mines, only mark them, so people have to die to identify each minefield. For this reason I gave up on the crossroads. Reinforcements come in a big bunch meaning that you have to pause and spend ages trying (usually in vain) to spread your now uselessly large infantry force across the map available to you and then watch 155mm arty pulverise the lot as well all the useless battalion staff and other HQ and support units, which I guess have a high points value. When I did get the draw, I saw how much the Germans still had left, and I thought that, given the terrain (esp. 2 x wooded flanking hills!!), the lack of quality AFV and arty support, and the 50-min. time limit, this mission is nigh-on unplayable unless it's designed (like the bridge mission) to seriously reduce your forces. I've never ranted about CM in any of its iterations before, but I now want to wring Kip Anderson's neck (joke)!!!!! Aaaagh, aaggh, aaaagh!!!!!!!!! Any clues to unlocking this riddle, please. R PS Wish I could say that the rant helped, but it hasn't. PPS Playing on Elite (not that the level would change this mission much)

Thx, LongLeftFlank. So the mods like Vein's 82nd and 101st Airborne and 2nd Rangers, etc. should only be placed in 'z' when playing a scenario with those specific units? If they're all in 'z' plus various others such as sound mods, etc., how does the game know which mods to use? Cheers, R

Mord, mate, you made me laugh for the first time in a while! Thank you. Quality. R

Thx, guys - I tried that myself with obvious success! So, with some of these mods (like the beach sounds for example), do you need to remove them from the Data/z folder when not playing a scenario/campaign requiring them, or does the scenario/campaign coding only use certain mods automatically? Thanks again. R

Fantastic! Very excited. A stupid question, if I may bother you, please: Where do I put the *.wav file? (Polite answers only, please!) The *.brz files go in the Data/z folder, but the *.wav fellah? Cheers, R

Right, Mr M, now you're being just plain sadistic! You're clearly sitting there smiling at each of these poor, desperate threads, and deliberately and with malice aforethought declining to give us anything tangible! Give us a bone, please. Some of us are grown men with children and all that stuff, and yet now I feel I'm doing everything I tell the kids not to do at Christmas. You are emasculating us in the eyes of our wives and demeaning us in the eyes of our children! R

Yup, they're toying with us, and I bet they're loving every second. Must be great to work on a product that is so eagerly anticipated by some many people (OK it's not exactly in the same league as the new Call of Duty or FIFA thingy, but in sexy, 'intellectual' niche terms, this is about as good as it gets). Good on you, Battlefront. Enjoy torturing us; you've earned the right. And you know the moment doesn't last long once you launch... R

IL2: Cliffs of Dover, perchance? Nice, I like the car analogy, and what you say is correct - no new game in a series will initially meet up to the 'perfected' and familiar previous version, but progress has to start somewhere. Some people prefer iterative, some revolutionary. This game will become (if it's not already) the benchmark in 20th/21st century wargaming, and Battlefront will, as ever, work with this mature (not necessarily in age terms!) forum to achieve just that. Compare to and contrast with the IL2: CloD release and I'm a very happy bunny vis á vis CM: BN. R

Which other east front game is this? Please don't let it remain nameless unless we're infringing forum rules by mentioning any other game company/product. Usually I'm up to speed with new stuff coming out, but you've taken me by surprise. I'm pretty sure it's not Achtung Panzer: Op. Star, because this seems to be dead. Please do tell! R

Ooohh, do tell! I'm not aware of anything else out there that I should have (unless Achtung Panzer: Op. Star has been resurrected). R

I thought I recognised the Sherman engine sound! No idea how many other AFVs have that radial engine. I was also a bit surprised to hear the same US fire control dialogues and sounds - don't think WWII fire control procedure or voice comms quality/protocols were the same as in mid-naughties. As for the what the infantry say, I haven't really got close enough yet to notice - anything above company-level engagements in RT are mostly played at camera level 3-4, since otherwise I don't have enough control. Has been the same through CM, CMSF, CMA and now CM:BN. Still, these minor sound remarks aside, CM:BN seems another excellent step forward in tactical wargaming from Battlefront. R

Roger. Will try, and will let you know (possibly tomorrow AM CET, because it's Barcelona vs Arsenal now, and I live in Barcelona!!!). Sean

Thx, Martin. I'll give the hotfix a go when you send the file via PM. As for why people use these packages, I suppose it's the M$ effect - most people are scared of but horribly reliant on their IT kit, so they go with the big names. Somehow people equate size with success and success with doing a good job, I suppose. "No-one ever got fired for buying IBM" used to be a corporate mantra - play safe. KAV was in fact recommended to me by a friend, who does all my hardware stuff (don't like opening the case!), and I trust his judgement. It's really hard for us casual computer people to keep up to date with all the software, and what's good, bad or indifferent. Thx for the great response - it's one of the reasons I've bought a ton of your games in the last 10 years and will keep doing so. Sean

Hi Moon, Long time, no post in my case. I have the (apparently) Kaspersky-related problem (KIS 2010), so I can't get past the "Input Serial Number" screen either. I'll log a ticket, but, just for the record, I have tried the following: DEP 'fix' - no dice. Searched various forums for how to "turn off virtual keyboard" in KIS 2010 as you suggest, but it seems that you have to enable it to use it, so it is generally 'disabled' anyway. Tried the "Settings" screen in KIS 2010 and used "Ctrl + Shift + Alt + P", but this simply turns VK on and off. Also tried unticking "Keyloggers" in "Settings" under "Proactive Defence" - no dice. So, I'm at a loss as to what to try next. Any chance someone could post a solution for how to deactivate/disable Virtual Keyboard in KIS 2010? It's the first time time I've experienced this in any Battlefront game, and I've had KIS for 2 years or so. Please help. R

...and North Africa and the Mediterranean. Seriously, though, many thanks for taking the trouble to do this, Jon. It was a fun read and an excellent warm-up for the release, which is now even more eagerly awaited. R

Come on, come on, stop gabbing and get on with the game! This is the most exciting thing I've followed since True Blood Series 3. Get on with it! @ Battlefront, Please be aware that each minute that passes between the end of this DAR and the release of the game will be counted in hours of pain for each of us. R PS Probably the most excited I've been about a release since CM: Afrika Korps.

Abso-bloody-lutely! Can you imagine saying to your platoon: "Right, guys, we're going to take that village over there. We have arty support, but we can't use it, because of the ROE. So, instead of wiping out any buidings in which we have identified the enemy, we are going to FIBUA our way around the whole village, during which process we will probably take 30-40% casualties. Sound good? Or shall we just bugger the bloody buildings and save some lives?". R

Interesting comments; thank you. For me it's not the snipers' absolute performance that irks me; it's their relative performance. What I mean is this: you have a sniper team, a platoon HQ, and a JSF/FOO team on the roof of a 4-storey building. Enemy infantry section some 400-500m away in a building opens fire on some of your troops elsewhere and is identified by the JSF team and the platoon HQ. On trying to engage with the sniper team,, which should cause real problems at that range, it transpires that it cannot see the enemy infantry. I tried changing facing, etc. so that the sniper team would gain LOS, but, in reality, the HQ or JSF teams would simply inform the sniper of the enemy location, and that would be that. Even if the sniper team hadn't identified the enemy first, which they might not, since a lot of spotting comes down to where you happen to be looking when the enemy opens up, they would certainly be able to gain LOS from the same position as other teams with LOS. Or not? These sniper teams are all 'Crack' or 'Elite' btw, so they are about as good as it gets infantry-wise in CMSF. I'll try to mock up some scenarios and take screenies or video (never done either before!), because their ineffectiveness is disturbing. R