panzermartin

I really really wish CMSF to borrow some UI from these massive RTSs. If something, they know the realtime thing years now. Right mouse click should be used for ordering and not camera panning. Facing would be easier by holding down the right button.

Once more I bring this back because I cant figure what's going on with either my PC/connection or CMSF net code. The last time I joined a game I had a 180ms ping to the host and it took minutes for my units to carry out simple orders like move or target. It was a medium sized scenario. I have a DSL connection but no matter who is the host I always have huge lag problems. Anyone with better experiences?

I would agree with Rollstoy here about WiC. I dont even find it attractive which is a shame for such a big budget product. I even think CMSF is prettier with its fine colors and minimalistic details. WiC is overloaded with flashy explosions, glooming blooming lighting whatever but lacks good taste imo. As for gameplay, if I wanted a good RTS I would play Company of Heroes. Beautiful visually and a hell lot of fun.

Since you are in the scenario sub forum, that would be a great idea for a CMSF battle. Fanboys defending Steve, Charles and co against the attack of the taliban-whiners. It would be cool to also include an Abrams named "MadMatt"

Also, sometimes tank guns dont actually point at the target but many degrees off. CMx1 had all the guns pointing exactly where they were shooting.

Panzer76, I'm well aware of the problematic TacAi and I have repeatedly mentioned it in other threads (I hate the building corner thing too). Its not always happening, but when the infantry takes action you get a very realistic result. Its very impressive to watch squads exchanging fire in trenches from 200m away with bullets whistling above, guys getting hit when popping their heads up, others cowering etc. If they managed to sort out the infantry movement, cover and Los/Lof issues the game will be nothing short of a classic. My guess is that this will happen by the time of the WW2 release.

I have high hopes for this one. My prediction is that it will be a vastly improvement over CMSF. A very capable engine debugged, slower pace and more forgiving weaponry plus more varied terrain will make for much more interesting gameplay. I'm glad they went modern with the first installment but it didnt prove that exciting as I had imagined. Small and packed scenarios, instead of big and more spread out combined with one shot one kill weapons and the known issues with Los/Lof and TacAi decreased my enjoyment. I also miss the distinguised role the WW2 units had on the battlefield. The MG42, mortars, AT guns, recon cars, support tanks, tank hunters. Now you can pretty much do anything with just a squad equipped with javelins and artillery support. Some things I expect to see in CMx2 WW2 if possible: - More infantry-centric gameplay. Meaning, more responsive squads, better self preservation and use of cover. Still having problems to use as cover building corners, vehicles and hill crests. I'd love to see some improvement here, since in a WW2 wargame the infatnry part would be crucial. - Vehicles self preservation. A sherman retreating in front of a King Tiger sounds like a good idea. - A small number of characteristic types of buildings like kiosks, garages, shops etc combined with the wonderful custom building editor to spice up things a little and add some more color. These are just a few that come to my mind right now

So far,I dont see any point in friendly spotting. Friendly fire is not simulated anyway.

Friendly spotting in elite is plain tedious. Group select is a pain in the a** and it is just more work for your mouse and memory. Nothing to add in the game imo. Keep the enemy FOW as is or make it even harder but drop completely the friendly units going invisible. Just doesnt feel right. I'd play veteran but the instant enemy intelligence makes it uninteresting.

Is there any tweaking of the multiplayer part? I've yet to play a lagless game and I have tried several different hosts so far. What kind of connection is needed? I have 1024k DSL. Yesterday I had joined a game with a ~170ms ping. Not perfect but I couldnt explain the SEVERAL minutes it took for my vehicles to carry out the orders and the neverending disembarkment of passengers. Is this just bad connection or bugs in the net code? I havent come to a conclusion yet.

Despite all the complaints (mine included), CMSF is an impressive achievement. I was watching an infantry firefight the other day and it was amazing how realisticaly soldiers ducked, reloaded, got hit, how bullets ricochet , and how the rythm of the shooting was really close to the real thing. If the range permits, you can actually hide a squad even in open ground, something that wasnt possible before with borg spotting. You can take cover behind vehicles, and you can shoot and scoot with your tanks, on your own, in RealTime! This must be the first time ever a computer game tries to simulate combat with 1:1 accuracy and realistic ranges and actually succeeding. I'm not fan of the Los/Lof abstractions and the self preservation TacAi but I admit CMSF still feels very real. I bet that with the WW2 slower's pace, more varied terrain and less leathal weaponry the engine's capabilitites will show through and the next title will be an instant classic. Ah, lets not forget QBs ok?

What a cool scenario idea. Liked the small scale and that you get connected to your units. I much prefer playing as the syrians so I instantly liked this one. The VBIED as fuel tank is a brilliant trick. Well done. Can we have some more red scenarios pls?

I tend to think its the modern setting. I thought it was going to be fun nailing Abrams with rpgs but the game is overkill. A simple pathfinding error, Los/Lof abstraction or wrong click can ruin the game with so much lethal arsenal all around. Add to this that the 99% of the maps are less than 1kmx1Km and you almost feel like fighting in a matchbox with laser beams. Why or why we dont get bigger maps with less units on them? All I play is 700x500m maps packed with 15 IFVs per side, which leads to a turkey shot from the setup zones. WW2 is going to showcase much better the engine of CMx2 and will be much more fun with the slower pace and the more forgiving weaponry.

Well half of the fun of COH is the replay battle. You can switch sides, have a cinematic camera POV etc. I'd love to see something like that in CMX2.

Great map and scenario. Nice details all over, liked the abandoned vehicles and the nicely put together buildings. Very well made. *SPOILERS* The Pick-up assault was a very cool moment, caught me completely by surprise. Good AI timing there. Gonna give it another try, I lost half of my men when accidentaly the A-10 hit my guys

I like maps with more space for maneuvering. Right now, small maps are overkill with the high tech weapons of today. The ideal for me is few units and big maps with cover routes, hills, forests, and some sparse villages but as less taxing as possible(not many doodads, complex buildings etc)

Ground should stop small arms and even shells. I can live with the LOS abstraction but getting your men shot when clearly in perfect cover is frustrating and ruins all the fun, especially when previously CMx1 has "spoiled" you with an abstracted, yet robust LOS/LOF system which has made ground level POV you the best way to discover the map and enjoy the action.

That is great to hear! Thanks for your continuous support.

The WW2 title with all the bugs and features sorted out will be an awesome game. Slower paced, better infantry behaviour(hopefully), less CPU intensive than the complex virtual modern battlefield, nail bitting tank duels, shorter engagement ranges-more interesting gameplay, mortars, AT guns, water etc. And all this in RealTime! Hope they 'll find a way to further fine tune the LOS grid so the classic hull down duels will be back without the shooting through terrain occuring.

Bump...I still need a FO with binoculars to find an online opponent.

I got your point but I was thinking that the players wont sit and wait for the whole of the time-out but rather hit go as soon as they are finished with their orders.

Guys..Los/Lof system of CMx1, although abstracted, was the closest to perfection I could imagine. The hull down guns you say were actually a realistic feature. Mortars were your friends in that case anyway. No shooting through solid terrain, 99% of times I could judge if I was hull donw or not, you could estimate if trees were blocking Los or not with some gaming experience and despite all this you occasionaly had some nasty Lof surpises once in a while that made the game more fun. Definetely a solid game system. CMSF on the other hand is totally unpredictable. I mean losing an Abrams from an underbelly shot witht the shell going through a berm? I've seen stock maps with painfully detailed ditches that are just eye candy since they are so fine crafted that are actually non existent for the LOS/LOF grid. I played a scenario the other day which main's terrain feature was a berm defended by fighters on a reverse slope. I got 2 techincals hit from 300m away with small arms fire through what it seemed a 3m high berm, the vehicles being totally obscured by the terrain. It happens way too often to the point I dont trust the visual representation of the game anymore. And thats way too bad for a 1:1 simulation. 1.03 seems better but further fine tuning is needed imo.

My guess is no, since CMx2 WW2 wont be a module but a different title. And I think their new strategy is about more closed architecture of the series. Once modding is doable someone will turn CMSF into mainland Europe anyway.

In the future patches will we see something like this? The game autopausing for both sides, say every 3mins, allowing for more detailed planning till the realtime action and ordering starts again? It could be optional, preferrably for the bigger scenarios. I guess it would be a good substitute of the TCP WeGo system.

Pace is one of the things they got perfectly in CMSF imo. Do you play in RT? Speeding up infantry moves will make it less manageable.