panzermartin

I was impressed with the screenshot, I thought they wont bother with detailed modelling of these and simulate them in an abstract way like CMx1 mines perhaps.

Yes, beyond the visuals, it's a performance issue basically and given the high poly count of CMSF it would help in big maps I guess.

One of the things that seems absent from the beautiful beta screenshots is that distance fog effect, that adds depth to the 3d environment and the illusion of a virtually borderless battlefield. This also softens details on say trees so as no to look unaturally crisp from a distance. Is it a matter of settings or am I missing something here?

Maybe their off-map mortar artillery will be more effective compared to their heavier assets, given their lower profile and more flexible nature perhaps...

Great! Seems the game will deliver more than it promises!

How about on map mortars? Will they be as ineffective as the rest of the syrian artillery? On a second thought, will they have on map mortars at all?

I wonder if the Syrians will get any in game bonus for fighting in their own land in antithesis with the US professionals. Like determination and will to fight, intel from local population perhaps, better knowledge and understanding of the environment etc. Can these be featured in some way in CMSF?

Just noticed that A-10 friendly fire incident video from OIF...Orange rockets?? http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e06da463d7

Heh, some very nice syrian girls too..it's a shame BFC wants to invade this lovely country

Texture richness isnt so important in the initial release.Variety of objects(buildings!) and modability of them is important though. I still remember how the excellent Mangua mod made CMBO looking like a normandy painting. IMHO,there is no need for insane object detail. You can really fool the eye with the right color harmonies and get an overall aestheticaly pleasing sense. Btw, ditches along the sides of a road must be a piece of cake for the CMx2 engine with the finer ground mesh. [ February 01, 2007, 03:26 PM: Message edited by: panzermartin ]

Same question here. Will syrian artillery have any effect in CMSF given the counter artillery ability of the us? Heavy mortars must be in surplus in the syrian inventory so I guess these would do the job, when heavy art is pinned. I still think that in QBs things must be more forgiving for the Syrians, so they could use their heavier art assets regardless of the strategic superiority of the US side. Something like using crack panzergrenadiers and Kingtigers in late CMBB qbs.

Looks great! Sharp detail and atmospheric lighting. A question though, will different times of the day affect light intensity and hue? Looks like most of the shots so far are taken in midday in bright sunlight. About buildings and textures..obviously there is a texture for each building wall that multiplies itself according to the size of the building. Will we be able to mod building skins in a way that our nice arabic grafiti will not display on each and every storie of an apartment block, or repeat itself along a long wall? I wished we could have user created doodads for enriching an urban setting. Signs, abandoned cars, some more debris perhaps. Soldiers and vehicles look incredible, I doubt there is a single strategy game out there with such attention to model detail. [ January 17, 2007, 07:06 AM: Message edited by: panzermartin ]

Oohh nice ones! the BMP is my favourite..well done! Best wishes to BFC team and all

How about a Greece-Cyprus/Turkey border conflict? Think about it, Leo2's,T80s BMPs,M60s, hummers with AT-14s and lots of evenly balanced hardware. Combine this with the endless possibilities offered by the landscape, the flat fields of Thrace, the picturesque aegean islands and the mid east climate of cyprus and you have something I would certainly buy...I'm not sure for the rest of you though PS. There is already a decent campaign try in WinSPMBT btw.

What about maps...are they fully customizable or pre made hardcoded like in Il-2 series?

If US soldiers are to have increased protection due to body armor, will that also take a toll on their mobility compared to the "lighter" syrian irregulars? (no helmets etc, just an ak-47 and a pair of all-stars)

CMSF...a game too far perhaps? Cutting edge graphics, numerous new terrain features, real time, relative spotting, modern warfare with zillions of high tech weapons/countermeasures, 1:1 presentation/animations etc..CMx1 was a game too far as well you'd say but this time all these look like a LOT of work for a handful of people. Well, just a pessimistic thought that crossed my mind...deep down, I know I'm dead wrong

Makes me wonder what types of RPGs are we going to see included in CMSF.

Me neither. I really hope we wont have to exclude artillery along with CAS in CMSF QBs for balancing gameplay. Arty was always fun in CM adding some extra tactical choices I dont want to miss. Btw, according to WinSPMBT, Syria's arty arsenal includes a wide range of heavy mortars of 120/160/240mm caliber. I guess mortars are harder to spot so the syrian side may have some indirect support options after all. SP artillery can survive a bit longer as well. It's all up to BFC and how they will portray the strategic situation in the end. Also, since the Stryker force will be the most forwarded element in the battle, maybe US player wont have 24h round the clock artillery support.

Beautiful! You really should be working for BFC on CMSF , along with Kwazy and Fernando

Some questions here. How flexible is artillery nowdays and how this is going to be represented in CMSF? I think arty is already pretty accurate in CMx1 with mostly quick responses and all. I was wondering how much better this is going to get with all the technology available. I guess US player will have a dozen of options to bring indirect support in the field, choosing ammunition type, salvo patterns etc. On the other hand syrians(given their strategic inferiority) will rely mostly on mortars and that's it..or not? I dont recall Iraqis being able to field effectively something larger than that in OIF(except maybe some rushed inaccurate rocket salvos) so I doubt any other mid east country is able to do much better than that..any thoughts from arty grogs are much appreciated.

M-Theory is BFC's exit plan in case they screw with CMSF. You know, immigration to Mars(stands for "M") , escape velocity and stuff. Drop Team was developed with this in mind anyway. Otherwise, I wish it is a CMSF board

what about multiple skins per vehicle..will this feature make it finally?

An upgraded CMHQ chat will be perfect for bringing the TCP crowd together. Kinda like Hyperlobby for IL-2 flight simulator, with slots etc.

They can also disguise themselves as WMDs. They'll never find them