murpes

Nope, she has never shown any interest whatsoever in CM, other than to ocassionally check in on my pbem games with "How's that war game going?" I wasn't really clear in my wording - what I meant to say was that playing Risk with my wife caused be to think about how to reduce the randomness of conflict resolution ... when playing someone else! No way will she ever play CM; believe me, I've tried. She plays tons of PC games, as long as they have swords, dungeons, and orcs. If anyone knows about such a CM mod please let me know! My interest in the Risk/CM game was partly due to my recent transition from "gainfully employeed" to "full-time student." I *may* have time over the summer to manage a game like this, but I suspect this is more of a year-long game. But I'll be student teaching in the fall, and no way would I take on a project like this.

I recently purchased my first copy of Risk and have really been enjoying playing it with my wife - who somehow manages to beat me more often than not. But the one thing that doesn't sit well with me is how combat is resolved by dice; it's a little too random. Of course, it makes sense in the context of a board game, and even the title recognizes it. I began thinking about more stratic ways to resolve Risk battles, and I thought that Combat Mission games would be an interesting way to do it. Sure, CM battles don't exacly model Risk battles, but it's sure better than dice. I quickly realzied that a Risk game would take FOREVER doing this, but I began to wonder if there was a way to make this doable. I think it could be done if you run it like a CM tournament, with the battles resolved by IP and pbem games. You could have one Gamemaster who basically runs the tournament, keeps the game board, and updates the web page. Two Commanders, one per side, who are pretty adept at Risk strategy. And at least 5 generals per side I guess. The Commander would determine what Risk nations to invade and what generals get assigned to what battles (with the stipulation that everyone gets games). You'd have to come up with some formula like 1 token = 300 Combat Mission points or something, and general rules about which CM game to use. Maybe a dozen players could do this - really non-commanders could drop out and add new players, as long as you didn't switch sides. I think you'd have to speed up the Risk game as well - I don't know if there are "fast rules" Risk or not. I guess the Secret Missions speed up a game, but since I have a 1959 reproduction I don't really know what they are. Additionally, I think the commander would have to specify all his attacks and commit to them each turn - no "re-attacking." Has anyone tried anything like this? Not necessairly Risk but using CM to fight a larger, different game? Does something like this sound plausible, and moreover would it be fun?

I can see how two similar, yet seperate, paths would arrive at that name. The marketing power of alliteration can't be understimated. I guess.

I was thinking Combat Mission: Vice City.

Hey, that's pretty much summarizes myknowledge of war and strategy.

Here's some of my all-time favorite screenshots. I try and take a shot with every game I play - maybe if I spent as much time on my end-game shot as I do my setup I'd win more! Originally I had a little bit typed up with a link to each picture, and then my browser crashed. So I did it again, and it crashed again. :mad: So now here's just a list. The "s" pix are 800x600 for you modem users. CMBB1 and CMBB2 are probably the most aesthetic. CMBO3 and CMBO4 the most exciting.

I heard that the next engine will refuse to load another scenario until you type a letter home to each family.

And here is one of the major problems with reading the forums - limitations of the game engine are pointed out that I never noticed before! It never occured to me that all vehicles were upright all the time - but now I'll be aware of it. Ignorance is bliss sometimes

Hey, what do you dip your artichokes in? I use butter and lemon mix, sometimes with a dash of vinegar. Sometimes I'll use nothing. I've heard of people using mayonaise; I tried it once and thought it tasted like crap.

Practiaclly infinite, since there is a maximum size of a battle field eventually you could generate every possible combination of tiles, size, troops, and conditions. I'm sure somebody with a better handle on mathematics could figure out an approximation, but by my calculations it would be around 999 gadgillion. The way some of you guys play this game, I bet you're getting close to the end of the combinations. The QB generator is excellent tho - I've never even had to games that looked similar. Other games that have random scenario generators usually end up presenting levels that are different, but all feel the same in the end.

The two sort of go hand in hand. I enjoy CMBB and would like to see a sequel. Bad reviews can hurt sales and decrease that chance, as well as the inverse. Also, bad reviews also diminish the pool of potential PBEM opponents, scenario designers, and mod makers. And forum members! I can see your logic - "if you already own the game then reviews don't matter much to you." But anything CMBB related gets discussed and argued around here with incredible and, uh, ridiculous detail.

Can I sell scenarios then? *duck*

Hi mom!

The need to ask is difficult to understand - outside of courtesy of course. But trying to explain manners may be a futile effort. I'm checking out the CMBB License, from page 2 of the manual: User-created scenarios may be distributed free of charge, but may not be sold or licensed, or included as part of any package or product that is sold or licensed, without prior written consent ..." Isn't saying something like "This scenario can only be distributed from the Scenario Depot unless permission is given by the author" or some of the other similar things I see in text files technically a license? I'll be the first to admit that this is a silly point and is really arguing definition and minutia, but I thought I'd just throw it on the table for debate. CMBB is really a game of firsts - that's got to be the first licensing agreement I've ever read. Is there any aspect of this game that hasn't been thoroughly covered in this forum?

I really enjoy "Long Cold Day."

Courtesy of Make a Shorter Link: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z23A12DF2

You could try some sort of keyboard mapper, and bind multiple key sequences to one keystroke. Make the "2" key, for example, actually report "2,a,a" (or whatever the camera angle keys are) to the game. I was thinking of doing this with my Strategic Commander - fine tuning the buttons to custom camera angles. But the truth is I'm too lazy. I agree, it would be nice to have this built into the game.

eh, I don't know about this ... not the "art" definition (I'm not touching that one), but the whole copyright deal. Granted, INAL, but I was always under the impression that copyright involved some sort of governmental process. I very well could be mistaken. Regardless, copyright or none, I don't think a scenario designer necessarily is in a position to dictate how or when it is distributed. Perhaps if we were talking about creating and releasing a map and parameters outside of the cme format then maybe. But as soon as you put your ideas into a cme file really the only ones who can say anything about its terms of use is Battlefront. I mean, if you design a scenario and say "only distribute this from whatever.com" aren't you really dictating what can be done with someone else's work? The structure and format of a cme is Battlefront's property - their creation just as valid as the map contained within it. One could even argue that such programming is "art." At best, the scenario designer has control over the intellectual property of the maps, but from my perspective they're forfeited the minute they are distributed in a cme file. The texture mods are a different story, since they're in bmp format. BFC didn't "invent" the bmp. Now for all I know, BFC may have a terms of use policy regarding cme files that dictates that the designer can put stipulations on them. I'm sure there's something otherwise how could they prevent people from selling them? What's really at stake here is whether, and I like the terms, a community standard or a courtesy has been violated. Obviously we're (and I mean "we" = the forum) in disagreement about this, but we'll sort it out. My individual opinion is that nothing wrong was done here, but I certainly can see everyone's point.

I agree - I don't like gridded mods but I grabbed one for this very reason. Maybe eventually someone will make a high-contrast steppe, but I understand that the steppe tiles are also used for grass in some seasons.

And neither of them are as good a Arx Fatalis!

Then I guess I should be glad that he's also selling Arx Fatalis - made by Arkane Studios. Arkane and BFC could maybe have a basketball game together, without any subs. They do have a publisher tho (JoWood). Truth be known, the artwork on the copy he's selling actually looks a little better than the real thing.

Neither is mine.

Has anyone ever tried to trade in CMBO or CMBB at ElBo or some other store? I'm curious if it's even in their system. Maybe I'll ask next time I'm there after Christmas ... I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it right about now.

Whew. This may be an excellent time to discuss backup and disaster recovery best-practices!