Sytass

I believe that changing barrels was/is a very quick operation for a trained crew. Don't think it should take more than one turn.</font>

I play against Malakovski, and I can confirm this: Setting up a game with the German version and sending it to someone with the US version doesn't work. Setting up a game with the US version and sending it to someone with the German version does work.

ROFL!

No, it's not. But here's the url: http://pages.infinit.net/antaress/

It's like your infantry grunts darting for cover... in the impact area of your artillery barrage!

It's like your infantry grunts darting for cover... in the impact area of your artillery barrage!

Well, it probably works as an abstract tactics game with a WW1 backdrop, a realistic simulation of WW1 1914 is certainly not. Units always block LOS, trenches don't give significant protection (not that the AI would stay in them, anyways), every shot is a hit (you only score more hits with more experienced units), every unit has 10 hitpoints, there's no moral of troops.... to name but a few.

It says so in the manual. The trees are only there for "eye candy", and turning them off with SHIFT-T doesn't do anything but enhance visibility of the player. What matters is that your unit stands on the "scattered trees" or a similar tile, no matter if next to, under, or in a tree.

Look at the Boots & Tracks page.

So it does make sense to drag the "Hull Down" command e.g. onto a spotted enemy bunker, tank, or gun placement?

Are you sure that the AI doesn't do anything at all during some turns? My perception so far was that when it has visible units immobile within your sight they use them as overwatch while other units (often not spotted) advance...

Ok, the downloads are working for me now, and the factory looks great, too! (Downloading that one now.)

I noticed that the occasional gun flash helps with locating an unspotted gun. It seems random, though, if you can see the flash or not. I'm not sure, was that feature already in CMBO?

Thanks for the input. Yes, now the advance command makes a lot more sense to be used for (groups of) units with several men.

True, World War 1 is highly misrepresented in computer wargaming. There is a game called Fields of Conquest, depicting the conflict at strategic level. Then there's of course History Line, which adapts the Battle Isle system for WW1. Whatever you do, though, stay clear of the new game "1914 - The Great War" by JoWood. It's nothing but a 3D version of History Line, only with dumber AI, less realistic gameplay, and far less fun! There are World War 1 scenarios for Operational Art of War - Century of Warfare and for Wargame Construction Kit 2 - Tanks!, though. For Age of Rifles there's some Desert Mounted Corps scenario about the fighting in the Middle East. Overall it seems that World War 1 is widely popular only for flight sims, and that ground combat (at least a dedicated game) is vastly underrepresented.

Hm, with no experience in board wargaming, I must say that this is what's usually going on in my head when playing games like Operational Art of War, especially during the occasional PBEM game. I'm not as bad as that (bad) actor, though. I only find myself often assessing an area for its military value - points of defense, points offering good overwatch, areas of cover, good paths of advance....

Just yesterday I was playing a random quick battle. Since I had the encounter randomized, I ended up with Soviets defending a position in the woods. I had but one 76 mm gun in a bunker which, after taking out some halftracks was knocked out by a Pz-IV. I had bought another AT gun, but it was cut out, because of my setting losses for both sides to 10 % (after all how many units go into battle at full strength). The Germans closed in on my position, and maybe 50 meters from the woods, across a street they positioned their Pz-IV, alongside a halftrack. Since I had no AT gun left I decided to send out a tank hunter (1 of 1 alive). He would have to move across the street to a patch of woods, then would be able to flank the armored vehicles. Since there were quite a number of Panzergrenadiere in the woods, I decided that the smart thing would have him using the "advance" command - after all, they're supposed to use cover on the way as best they can. I was shot in the middle of the road. I gave it another chance with my remaining AT guy (started with 1 of 1 alive, too), the others had fallen prey to artillery barrages. I had him run the way that the other was supposed to advance. He was shot at by four or five squads in total, but made it to the patch of woods, hurled his RPG at the halftrack, knocking it out for good. He then returned to the woods where he remained in cover under heavy fire, not faltering for the remaining few turns. What I want to point out is: Does it make more sense to use the "fast" command when close to the enemy and you have clear relatively short distances, especially over partly open terrain? And use the "advance" command only for longer approaches or movement that affords cover (as opposed to road, or open fields)?

Being German, I have little problems getting what the "Waffengrenadiere" say, and their voice acting is pretty good. Of the others, I don't understand zip, but it sure sounds great. (Was similar with Ivan Dolvich in Jagged Alliance, who also had Cyrillic subtitles.) I like it that way, and will certainly not install any voice mods.

I'm always weary when it comes to new drivers as long as everything runs well... I have encountered no problems so far with my GF4 Ti4600, so I am curious what the AA problem would be.

Caution: Very wild, semi-serious guess: Barbarossa was supposed to be pretty tall, and he had a red beard - maybe the name was chosen because the Red Giant in the East was supposed to drown in the hordes of German soldiers? No? Oh, well! [ October 04, 2002, 01:52 AM: Message edited by: Sytass ]

Was just wondering - has anyone thought about converting scenarios from Steel Panthers or Steel Panthers - World at War? Or from Eastern Front 2?

The movie Steiner - Iron Cross has a furious battle where Russians, supported by a number of T-34 push Germans out of their defenses (the scene where Steiner and his squad are cut off and after which they have to return to friendly territory) which would make for a good scenario, I think.

Am I the only one happy with the CDV version? Ok, so the manual is not as beefy (usually I read those in bed), but it's there, all I have to do is take it to the office where I work and print it out. Waffengrenadiere? So what? We have laws in Germany in that regard, including certain symbols, and as long as I know what it's meant to be (I used historical flags/badges, though), I can live perfectly well with it. My only concern is that after maybe a few rounds of patches the German version receives no patches any more. I've seen that happen all too often when Talonsoft still brought out translated versions of their games in Germany and patches never were made available for those "international" versions, until Talonsoft began releasing their English games with an additional German reference manual. SSI's Age of Rifles went so far that the latest pacthes were suitable for all versions, turning even the German version into the English version. I just hope that CMBB will not suffer the same fate as the Talonsoft games and that patches will either be compatible with both versions or available for both the "original" and the German version.

Call me boring, but I like the AI to select the units with me having to live with whatever the computer oicks. (Unless I want to go crazy and attack a IS-2 battalion with a platoon of Volkssturm... )

Considering it was just a weekend to do the touch up it's a good job. Although it makes one wonder what info had been given to the artist who did the first job. Perhaps he only got to look at CMBO?