panzermartin

I remember those complaining about taking away the fun factor of CMBO with the more complex (but superior) CMBB. The reply was that BFC didnt intend for CMBO to be "fun" and it was rather a side effect, so they didnt actually take anything away from the game. The "fun" cherry picking is gone now and I'm starting to suspect that there is a secret plan for leading customers to depression J/k but really I wish CMSF didnt take itself so seriously sometimes. IMHO QBs should be the fun part of the game, since for all the rest we have an excellent editor, scenarios and campaigns. I'm glad that at least CM Normandy will bring back some of the lost joy

Spotting right in front of your units could be better. There is so much randomness its insane. In CMx1 more or less I knew what was going to work, who is going to see who etc etc. CMSF is quite unpredictable, in LOS/LOF/Cover/ Unit response that you can never be certain about your moves. Patches have improved things a lot but sometimes its just dice rolling and pray.

BFC is lucky to have such a die hard community

I really want to shoot the guys who "criticized CMx1 QB system" At least it was working back then sniff.. I have to agree with the symetrical auto purchase of units. Just add a "Mirror Forces" Box. At least for BluevsBlue and RedVRed. No more Recce Jeeps vs Javelins and Strykers or Elite ATGMS vs hordes of infantry. Predictable but playable and fair. I can hardly think of any other "small" improvement to fix the weird QB selections. Players could come up with fair balancing if a cherry pick system was allowed, like the old rules of CM, but CMSF has a fixation on controlling everything and sticking to "realistic" OOBs and Command trees even when we talk about a bunch of toyota hiluxs. For Normandy, please consider reintroducing variable rarity. It made purchasing and constructing a fighting force a game on its own.

It would be nice if water could be used as an overlay feature, instead of a "tile" so as to apply it over marsh tiles, rocky terrain, and recreate, muddy roads, lakes, rivers, canals, ports, flooded parts of a town with submerged constructions/objects etc. That would mean that depth would vary with ground elevation so it might be a bit difficult to program all the gameplay side effects.

Wow! Modules on fire Its nice to see things are rolling fast. That means WW2 is not that far away too, maybe a year? All this dry terrain makes you thirsty for a glass of water straight from a Normandy well

Hmm, well Nazis turned one of the most cultural, scientificaly, and industrialy developed world nations into a dark age murdering force, that exercised a witch hunting of "Untermenschen", Jews, Gypsies, handicapped and mentally ill right in the middle of the 20th century. I didnt see that happening in Hungary or Chechoslovakia during the Soviet occupation though. Unfortunately everything the Nazis did was in such an impressively calculated and sickly imaginative way that they stand miles away from any competitor. Nazis killed their own people en mass too, and the fact alone that they ignited WW2 is enough to hand them the first prize in body counts category as well.

Nice mall, but yeah I have to agree that most build up maps come out looking strictly modern urban with straight roads and boxed houses. There is a range of buildings/textures missing that would make environments look less arificial and cardboard-like.

I have full respect for the Red Army, so has my father who lived under the 41-44 occupation. Every one has its own point of view on the subject but given the atrocities and the ethnic cleansing against the "subhuman" russian population, everything else pales in comparison. At least the russians didnt erase whole cities from the map (Dresden etc), while most would probably agree that they had every right on earth to do so.

I have played a few multiplayer RT CMSF battles. Not really fun. Sync/Lag problems, the known gameplay weaknesses, and the lack of a pause feature mean you never actually get in the game. In contrast with CMx1, where you actually had even detailed dreams about the map and that crack stug behind the hill, after an intense TCP/IP session I dont say that WEGO is the way to go in TCP/IP though. I would strongly prefer a Time out/Pause option with a preset limit agreed between the players, that would allow some deeper tactical thinking between the frenzy mouse clicking, while retaining the flexibility to order your troops in Real time.

The floating map should go sometime in the future. TOW has done it quite well, without sacrificing view angles and framerates(TOW graphics are actually really pretty but sounds are synth crap compared to the excellent CMSF audios). CMSF graphics are visually pleasing in their own "clean cut" way. I think some more overlay decal textures can do miracles, in a way to avoid multiplying the same dirt pattern for instance floor after floor. I still remember how magnificent CMBO looked with Magua's Normandy mod. The game looked absolutely beautiful without the add of a single polygon. So I guess the solution is propably not in more polygons, but in key color combinatons and smart use of texture here and there. Imagine how much more atmospheric would a mid east building show with say a huge worn out propaganda portrait painted on its side, or graffiti/ ads etc. If a decal feature was somehow imlemented the community could do wonders with this kind of stuff. So far, the custom nature of building makes any texture modding look a bit weird. I also find some tree graphics a bit disapponting. I mean, we only get one Palm tree iirc, same height, same type, its like those rows they plant in beach side roads. Some others like olive trees (?) are really nice though.

Stalingrad 42-43 would be a good starting point. Summer/winter landscapes, infantry focused urban combat, interesting combo of hardware and no overkill tanks. A more complex damage model for buildings would be welcome as well as improved visual damage on walls etc. Then perhaps Kursk, and lastly Summer 1944 till Berlin. Pre 1942 plays a bit dull at least in CMBB terms. Closer to the assymetrical CMSF, with hordes of conscript russians, invicible KVs, might be hard to balance things in QBs etc. Still, those panzer grey tanks are cool.

Hey thats good news. Veteran was easy on the opposition intel and elite was a bit annoying with the constant disappaearing of whole tank platoons right next to your unit. Iron sounds like an ideal mid solution!

Well aprt from doodads, I just wish buildings woulnt be so geometrically symmetrical as in CMSF. Makes the environment look a bit sterile and unatural. At least textures should be made in a way to fool the eye, eg not perfectly straight building walls, roofs, balconies etc. A pseudo roundness (I know that 45/90 degrees orientation limit) on buildings would be heaven sent to break the monotony. Whenever I think of French countryside I think of picturesque. I like the touches TOW has, like the clothes Mord says, the carts etc. Also, CMBO was a bit on the bright green side. A drab pallete ala Saving Private Ryan should be the guide with a bit of brighter tones here and there. Doodads in CMSF are quite a few and varied but there are insignificant in size to really add to the landscape, except when being stacked but then they become taxing for the system. I'd like to see vehicles/buses/trucks/tractors/train wagons as objects too. Water towers and more distinguised building types, farm/village/urban/industrial-railway etc. The customizable storie/balconies/facade tool of CMSF wont do the trick alone imo, since villages in France were far more varied and interesting than the sterotyped concrete boxes of today's urban areas. Maybe its too much for eye candy but with the graphical capabilities of the current engine it would be a shame not to try to make a WW2 title visually attractive and atmospherical. Also, a slight fog/haze should be made as a default feature even in clear weather. Depth of field and distance dont feel right without it.

No, just try to play an intense battle in RT and you'll probably see what I mean. Palm trees turning to low ress bitmaps and soldiers to scarecrows at random. I guess it helps to keep the frame rate stable but its really annoying. I have faith, its BFC after all As a TCPer, I rather feel in the minority here and try to make my wishes heard.

Of course...a good scenario designer can make a battle really challenging. But it is always a let down when you realise that enemy units dont respond to simple tactical situations because the author hasn't write one or two more "instructions". This is where I so much miss the TCP/IP of CMx1. Single player was maybe a 1/100th of the drama and fun of those H2H fights with friends. Probably my best gaming experiences ever. I think I have every right to ask this from CMSF with its neat new features, 1:1 etc. Unfortunately real time TCP, with the intense calculations, has quite a lot sync problems for many players and it isnt suitable for larger battles due to the lack of a pause function. I remember Steve thinking about introducing some kind of time-outs feature, which would be a nice mid solution. Of course WEGO helps to track things but isnt CMSF a Real Time game in heart? How can a real time game lack basic situational feedback. Or is it a Real Time game meant to be played in WEGO :confused: About the graphics redrawing. It happens each time the AI has intensive calculations to make, vehcile navigation etc. When all is quiet landscape is perfectly detailed and smooth. Could be my system but lots of people are complaining too. I guess Mord, you havent noticed them because you are not playing in RT. And yes, I forgot, I miss the kill list too.

I'm tempted to start PBEMing to be honest. I thought it was kind of boring in CMx1 but now it seems the only alternative to single player. Still, wating for a week to see where your AT-14 lands seems a bit surreal

I miss the old TCP/IP glory Single player is boring imo. Since the CMx1 days, it only served as a training tool for the big things (see multiplayer). CMSF has that extra AI route planing tool but, since units are actually brain dead, scenarios end up being a kind of puzzle that is solved in the 2nd or 3d try. Where is that TCP/IP auto pausing or even turn based mode? RT just doesnt work with the lag/sync problems and there is no save game option to continue your battle the next day. I miss text messages.. I never know what happened to my units. What was wrong with the "gun hit"/ "internal armor flaking" etc kind of messaging? Its impossible to keep track of the grey spots on the systems menu, especially when playing RT. In general, player needs more feedback on situational awareness, units under fire (radio messages maybe), enemies spotted etc etc. I miss stable graphics CMx1 had no fancy lighting or multi polygons models but I loved the fact that everything looked solid and "there". CMSF looks nicer and has a pleasant pallete and superb models but I hate the constant redrawings that make the environment look artificial and kill the immersion. Also, some more color pleaaaase. Some more shops facades, red/white water tanks, something to break the sepia monotony here and there and is larger than a trash bin. Patiently waiting for the upcoming fixes of 1.10..

I hate the redraws of graphics in CMSf. That and the random frame rate drop every time the AI scratches its head about how to plot movement paths makes the environment look so artificial and fragile. Something must be done about it. One time you have a high-res palm tree with highly detailed soldiers and the next moment you get a blurry bitmap straight from the mario kart series and moving matchsticks holding invisible AKs and yelling curses in arabic. (I also miss the vocal variety of CMx1) And what hurts me most about Il-2 vs CMSf comparison, is that I could play a 10 player coop in the first with minimal lag *with a crappy DIAL-UP*, while a 2 player TCP/IP on DSL in CM with sizes over a company is a laggy nightmare. Marines readme says, improved internet speed and reliability..after 10 patches should I believe it?

WW2 happened a lifetime ago, its not the same thing. We all are hobbyists but its nice to be human every now and then and not rush to open threads about our new toys each time a war starts.

Problems like buggy TCP/IP and QBs remain. Some more vehicles and skins won't make these go away and are not worth the extra cash imo. It wont make much of a difference if the non responding unit is a BMP-2 or a BMP-3. I'd rather wait for the patch myself.

DzrtFox is correct. It is a problem ignored by BFC and even beta testers. I haven't seen anyone posting about playing online smoothly either. Well, apart from that tiny scenario. The funny thing is that they are future plans about cooperative online play with up to 8 players iirc. Riiight...

That's why I still consider CMSF an inferior game to CMx1. Not properly working multiplayer in this massive online gaming era is a huge minus. RT addition was a great step but I was really expecting it to shine in head to head. Maybe till the ww2 release things will get better.

[ May 31, 2008, 08:02 AM: Message edited by: Ali-Baba ]

Combat Mission: Symetrical Warfare (at last) Or Combat Mission: Beyond the Bren Tripods