Fredrock1957

Dag Gum, those cuetips from FLA....

HAPPY EASTER... and I still think PC:K SUCKS..... But who cares as I am just one of THOSE people...

I do understand that the landing maps were exceptional, in fact on the map shown which was created on April 21 it has the first beach overlay as of May 12th. There was possibly another 10-12 overlays before the actual landing day. This map doesn't show any enemy troop positions, these were most likely updated via Air Recon Photo's... which were a minimum of 4-6 hours behind the actual situation. I was just showing the amount of information that was gathered for dissemination. (whether it got to field commanders or not I would say it was most unlikely) Also I figure the same amount of research went into the Drop Zone areas for the Airborne, though the accuracy of the drops negate any infomation carried or committed to memory by said units. Of course the Hedgerows is a given as it is well documented on how the allies didn't fully understand the makeup of these. Thus Sgt Culin came up with the Rhino (aka Prong) for breaking through some hedgerows. As far as updated maps, from what I have read most map information given to Platoon Commanders was a minimum of a day behind the reality of the situation, but this was supplemented via spoken information and hand drawings, etc., that would be more up to date. If the Platoon commander did not pass this to his NCO's you would have a big problem once a fight started. I have yet to see any 'maps' that a company or platoon commander was given during the Normandy operation and therefore can't say what info they did or did not have. It is a great subject with a lot of speculation on what information was really available and at what levels it got distributed... All in All good stuff....

Earlier someone was talking about the amount of intel found on maps before the invasion... I found some old jpg's that I had, here is one of them Omaha Beach West - May 44 Granted the Field Commander would probably not have anymore information then this, but possibly some detail info on his objectives...

I have put together reference material for about a dozen planned scenario's that will follow in the footsteps of Sie Kommen for CMAK, which was based upon a fictional attack made at the Pas D Calais area of France in July of 1944. The terrain will be as accurate as possible in the Waldam, St. Omar Cappelle, Merck, and Graveline area. I am thinking of creating four huge maps that I can then chop up, etc The forces will be based upon the American Forces at Utah and Omaha, and the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Axis units would consist of the 47th, 49th, 331st, and 182nd Infantry Divisions. One challange I might face is making 12 individual scenarios from chopped up maps, playable from either side or H2H... and then trying to make 3 or 4 campaigns out of the same huge maps, playable from either side. My creations will probably be designed for the WEGO player and not so much for the RT player. (cause I only play WEGO, to many thumbs to play RT ) It's funny but my Dad's name was Wigo (pronounced Wego)... hmmm I wonder... If anyone is interested in coming along for the ride, feel free to contact me

Final version of Clear the Way has been posted at the weblink below. Enjoy

Ok ... I played until the 25 minute to go mark... I think I will wait to retry with the expanded map... I feel it is just to limited in what you can do for attacking the HQ... When you have a modified version, send it this way...

The snipers snaps a picture on his iphone and sends to his commander and buddies... The enemy then isolates the sniper via his GPS and sends in 45 rds of 81mm... There is always going to be realistic issues with any computer based game. This discussion is great in that it might spark an idea for future releases 5-10 years from now... but then technology changes all the time. Personally I like the idea of having a fairly true representation of the landscape and terrain for the size fights that CM:BN is slated for... As a designer there are many things at your fingertips to give some 'false or questionable recon'.. I am not sure who posted it but the change of trenches from the CM:SF (embedded in terrain) to the CM:BN new method will vastly improve some of the recon questions/comments being discussed... I still say "lets get the game in our hands, play, design, enjoy" and then we will have better abilities to isolate potential changes for the future...

Some quick observations: 1) More detailed briefing should be added before final 2) After mounting all the troops I ended up with an Afghan HQ in a Stryker... I believe all troops should be mounted... and thus maybe the ammo issues will also go away... I have troops in AFV's that cant get the ammo they would require... I dont care about the volumes, just that I have the right ammo for the right troops... 3) When addressing my troops I had a tough time keeping command and control in place... They seem to be a hodgepodge of units from different Battalions, Companies, and Troops... Maybe you could give them some sort of appropriate 'naming convention' to address this... 4) Map looks great, though I am concerned that my only objective is stuffed in the corner... leaving me with no flanking capabilites. It must be a head on attack. A suggestion here would be to give another 300m or so off both corners where the HQ is located. I really enjoy the look and feel of the scenario... and like I said the map is excellent... I am at the 38 minute left mark and should finish it off later today... I will post any additional comments then...

e-mail sent:)

Great Job with the video, I just watched the 1080p version and thought it was really well done... After the hour and half ... all I can say is WHEN IS THE RELEASE!!!! If not soon I might start drinkin again...

Hi Guys I agree that CM:A is an overlooked jewel of a game... I am in the process of putting together a scenario about some of the fighting in and around Spinakalacha Village in December of 1987... I do have all the information for making the map... and I am in the process of doing so... I have a copy of 'The Bear Went Over the Mountain', but if anyone knows of some additional reference material that might be beneficial to me, please point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance...

Thanks Eagle2 for your feedback... I really appreciate it... The insurgents in the meeting place are to appear as if a tunnel/hiding area is within the building, kinda hard to reflect but it sounds like it worked... I now will incorporate all the feedback from all the fine playtesters and come up with a final version... Thank you... BTW, I have almost completed a fictional scenario based upon the town of Zillah in Lybia where Lybian Army Troops try to extract armed rebel/protesters from the area... The rebels are supported via NATO Air Units... The NATO Module will be required to play... I will post pics of the map and put up files at the website below when it is ready... If you would like to playtest it, I would really appreciate it.... It is designed for Lybian vs AI or two player... Thanks again

FYI... SPI and Decision Games is reissuing the Original (SPI, S&T) Battle for Stalingrad with all updated artwork, and some new additional info... I have a copy of the original and it brings back many memories, plus it is a classic IMHO... See here http://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P006

As a designer you could just place a truck inside a building... ... In CM:SF I put VBIED's in buildings... One time my opponents Arty took out the building and he emailed like three times 'what happened there' as he was shocked at the size of the explosion...

I few of my favorites are "Currahee! - A Screaming Eagle in Normandy" by Donald R. Burgett ISBN 0-440-23630-4 "By Tank into Normandy" by Stuart Hill ISBN 0-304-36640-4 "Invasion 1944" by Hans Speidel "The D-Day Companion" editor Jane Penrose ISBN 1-84176-779-4 "August 1944" by Robert A. Miller ISBN 0-446-35761-8 "Busting the Bocage: American Combined Arms Operations in France 6 June--31 July 1944" by Captain Michael D. Doubler electronic version here--http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/resources/csi/doubler/doubler.asp

Does that look something like this

Heya Pal, thanks for the input, I have about 3 battles laid out on paper (maps, units, etc) and I was starting to think of issuing Orders to Groups and just didn't want to waste what little brain power I have left.... I think Groups is the biggest deal, 10-12 (Hint Hint BFC) would be about right IMHO for the Unit/Game Play sizes... 5 Plans are fine (Making 3 to work right is tough enough in CM:SF)... Orders would be nice at 20-24... Can't wait to see some of those Awesome Maps and Battles that you produce:)

I can't remember if this was stated (not able to find it in a search)... Are the AI Plans still numbered at 5,the Groups numbered at 8 and the Orders at 16??... or has this been increased in CM:BN... Thanx for any feedback

Dang, my arse is starting to itch reading this thread.... maybe this thread will just FADE away...

Dang I forgot that one... may I change my pick...

This sounds just fine with me, I don't envision any problems with activation or the amount of activations. I had a Win XP machine(actually I still do) that has been used since April of 2004, with the proper use of restore points and appropriate backups, I have never had a problem with performance, rebuilds etc. even when adding video, sound, storage, and memory upgrades.. I also used it for web development work and database publishing solutions, downloaded 100 of betas, demo's etc... Just need to have the resolve to follow SOP's... Now that I am retired I am running two Win7 64x machines... The restore and backup procedures work even better. So unless there is a HD crash or I buy a new machine, I don't see the need for additional activations... I was apprehensive when BFC went to it's e-license for CM:SF... but alas that worked out... You gotta figure they know whats right for their business... I just want to see the game released.... SOON... The release date causes more stress then all these other little nuances... keep up the good work boyz and get crackin on that release...

Erik, I have seen the same in CM:SF within Quick Battles. Also when I was developing and playtesting a scenario the RPG's seem to engage at long range. I ended up making a group for the RPG's on map and set them for Ambush at 600m... This seemed to work really well and changed the whole outlook on the scenario... I just wish there were more Groups for developing AI plans as Recoiless and ATGM's have specific kill ranges (where their hit odds go way up), thus 37.5% of your programmable groups could be spent on the settings of these three weapons, throw in a couple of multiple placement IED's and poof... no more groups for for your troops, etc. I am not sure what you can do about this in a QB though.

Thank you toxic.zen for your additional feedback, I am waiting on feedback from a couple others I know who are playing and will post the final version soon. I appreciate all your input and your insight has been very helpful.

Ah Jeez, Here we go pickin on coffee:), I have about an 8 cupper every morning... its better then the beer I use to have with my cornflakes