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Blazing 88's

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Posts posted by Blazing 88's

    This is why I'm still playing...

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    RL time demands have put me on a one game-day a month schedule, but I saw this thread and thought I'd throw my two cents in. I play because I am looking for the most realistic depiction of WWII tactical combat possible, at the 1:1 level, in a game that is also fun to play. This is what CMBN gives me. There are no close rivals from what I've seen.

    Sure, game X may have better terrain graphics, or game Y may have a nicer overhead map. But when I watch the gameplay vids on YouTube, or try the demos, I quickly realize that they do not measure up.

    CMBN is simply, IT. -And it's going to get even better with each new module and engine update!

    I'm a gen-X'er who had the original Squad Leader board game as a kid (but couldn't find players and so tried to play alone). As pc games evolved, I was always hoping to find that magic in a digital format. I was playing Close Combat III when CMBO came out. CCIII (had IV, but never played it) was okay, but by halfway through my first mission in CMBO, I knew that the CC series was obsolete.

    I played various other WWII-based games, but gradually, they fell away and only the CMx1 series stayed. Then, I stumbled on ASL and got into that. Despite CMx1's advantage over ASL in things like FOW, artillery modeling and vehicle gun modeling (as in realistic shot output per turn, rather than abstracted), I felt that, overall, ASL was richer game experience and that became my game.

    Then came CMx2/CMBN...

    In the weeks leading up to the release of CMBN, I prepped a bit with the demos for CMA and CMSF. I had no problems with the new interface and such. When CMBN came out, I went right in on Elite level as my standard. Scenarios are challenging to various degrees, but against the AI, I've never found things remotely close to being too difficult to be fun. Sure, it can be work. But if what you really want is checkers, just admit it and go with that. Don't keep trying to convince the chess players that they'd be better off moving chess closer to checkers.

    To make a long story short, CMBN has replaced ASL for me. In most (all?) important ways, it has caught up with or surpassed ASL in terms of game depth and richness of play. With 1:1, relative spotting, the new artillery modeling, the various team-splitting options, infantry interaction with vehicles, buddy aid/weapon recovery, ammo acquiring, etc... well...ASL just doesn't cut it anymore. My eyes now see the holes too well.

    There are so many things in CMBN that make it the King of WWII Tactical Combat Games. Others have pointed some of them out. I guess in a nutshell it is that you are playing a great game that usually genuinely feels like you could be witnessing a real WWII battle. And the micro stories really solidify that feeling. Just in the last two weeks, Iron Front came out. Yeah--great graphics. So I look at the gameplay vids. Same old death match, capture the flag stuff. ZZZzzzzz. All that work and not even remotely close to a WWII battlefield. No interest.

    Now, in CMBN... perhaps your only bazooka is lying beside its fallen owner and the enemy is going to be pushing his attack soon. Your few remaining men are spread out, laying down some fire and displacing to keep your opponent guessing. He hesitates. The ground holding the bazooka cools down just long enough for one of your men to get it. He makes it back to his position covering the armor's likely approach.

    The enemy begins his final push...

    This could be right out of a WWII battle diary.

    In ASL, he'd know what you have and where the bazooka is and push forward before you could get it. In a game like WWII Online or Iron Front, no one would stay in position, coordinate or maneuver in a realistic fashion and you'd be shot by someone with better mouse skills. Then, the battle would be won by whoever had more players still spawning in.

    If realistic WWII tactical combat in the form of a game is what your are looking for, CMBN is the King. Period.

    Macisle

    This is all nice and stuff... Where is my early war period, say 41 -43???

    Desert, Russian front etc... those time periods and theatres are my favorites.

    Not so much the Normandy 44-45 period. CMBN/ CW is great though, theatre not so much. JMO.

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    This is why I'm still playing...

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I love the game, the community, and the developers. Been around so long it feels a bit like home. ;)

    I have those special moments all the time. I'm still seeing things that just tip a scenario toward being a great story instead of just being a game. I play as if it's real. I can almost hear the salty old sarge yelling at, uh, motivating his guys. It sorta feeds my lust for glory.

    Still feeling that way about CMx1 myself...

    Slowly getting into CMx2, can't stand the limitations and theatre though so...

    Flame away.

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    CM West at CMMODs complete?

    in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

    Posted

    Hi Blazing 88's - Thanks but I guess people ought to wait until they see it all before they start thanking me....

    Not at all, I am a graphic artist for my day job... I have no ambition, on my time, to do what it takes to do what you and all of the modding community do for CM... this way I can concentrate on CM as a sim only, as the graphic mods are already in good hands.

    Much appreciated brotha's. :D

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    Operation market garden

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I beg to differ: The advantage the Germans had in Market Garden was mainly at the operational and strategic level. The Germans won because of the way their senior commanders were able to improvise and rapidly deploy the necessary forces on the fly. And the Germans had lots of tanks and heavy weapons to deploy against lightly-equipped airborne troops. But...

    Those who love to play as Germans need to brace yourselves for a radically different type of army than you have been used to playing with in Normandy. The summer battles in France left the German units shattered, most of the good veterans and leaders dead. The majority of the German units in Market Garden were thrown-together formations of hastily equipped and scarcely trained green recruits, Luftwaffe "ear" and "stomach" battalions of invalids and old men, aircraft signallers, Feldgendarmerie MPs, you name it. The exception to this are the 9th SS Pz (Hohenstaufen) and 10th SS Pz (Frundsberg) divisions.

    So, if you want to play historically at a tactical level along Hell's Highway, for example, you'd need to set up a lot of equipment irregularities and "soft" factors to represent this in CMBN. And these hopeless troops will be facing the battle-hardened best-of-the best: 101st and 82nd Airborne, and the British 1st Paras. However, I'd give even green and poorly led German units a very high motivation level because in OMG they knew they were fighting on the doorstep of the Reich.

    One of the main reasons CMx1 still rocks my world. Can't wait for the new engines and user made scenarios / campaigns for early war stuff 41-43 etc.

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    Got 1.10 but still don't like it. Bloody icons

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Bloody icons. Hate them; can't see whether my men are in a tree or behind a wall, in a field or in a house.

    I first hated icons when I saw them in Theatre of War and what an awful gaming experience that was.

    Why can't bases or units be highlighted as brightly as the icons? If I toggle icons off I can't see anything.

    Sorry, but for me this (plus other UI gripes) means it just isn't an enjoyable gaming experience. Maybe those of you with great computers or those who are enthusiasts will see past all this.

    As for the RTS clickfest, well ............

    I guess I'll drift by the forum occasionally to see the interesting threads but I'm so disappointed. Time for the medication.

    Instead of the meds... Have you tried any of the old CMx1 games (CMBB, CMAK)? I still prefer them to CMBN /CW. I prefer the theaters and game play /scale of the old game engines.

    As well, CMAK can be modded to CMETO (Europeon Theater, 44-45). Three games for the price of two.

    Love the arty in CMBN /CW though. I just need the Eastern Front and North Africa CMx2 to be created with all bugs fixed. Until then CMx1 mostly for me.

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    Video commentaries?

    in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

    Posted

    No video that i can find in my bookmarks. Here are some links for reading instead:

    http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=31

    http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=32979

    Look up a person named Poor Old Spike in many of the combat mission forums. He had all the ranges and battlefield effects, etc figured out with screen shots. Somewhere someone made a pdf download of all his findings on the game mechanics that help waging war in CM.

    I do not have time at the moment to help you out more. I will check back in when i do, hopefully with more info.

    Searching this forum CMAK and CMBB for tactics and such is a good start, if you haven't gone that route yet.

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    CMBB – Other front mods?

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    Hi

    I was searching for CMBB mods and when I found this post by Der Alte Fritz I got the impression there were west front mods for CMBB.

    http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=85186&highlight=Leaderbonus

    I’ve searched but I haven’t found any information or any downloads.

    Please enlighten me!

    Thanks in advance!

    Cheers

    vonOben

    CMAK can be modded to make CMETO (West Front) with this link. Follow the instructions:

    http://www.tspindler.de/cmak_mod/

    You can find more scenario's for CMAK (CMETO) at The Scenario Depot II:

    http://the-scenario-depot.com/index.html

    Or The Proving Grounds:

    http://www.the-proving-grounds.com/index.html

    and other sites. The scenarios will be listed under CMAK as France 44, 45, or Holland. There are scenarios for France 1940 as well.

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    CMBB on brand, spanking-new Win7 PC

    in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin

    Posted

    What I have done is make a permanent copy of the CMBB / CMAK (and CMETO) install folders on dvd. Or you could use a USB drive as well and copy the CMBB / CMAK (CMETO) install folders from a previous install on a old Win Xp computer. Then copy those folders onto your Win7 laptop/ desktop.

    For me no problems at all, this is without the Vista patch on my Win7 gaming laptop as well.

    I especially like to do this because of all the mods I have installed.

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    WEGO vs RT-Is it age related?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Ahem. As opposed to: Hovering over the battlefield, pausing all combat everytime you wanted to issue an order?

    CMBN is a game. Sometimes I think this urge for realism gets blow out of proportions.

    Realism would be something like this: You as the commander being able to see only the inside of a bunker, while you get updates on the progress of the battle via out-of-breath dispatchers running into the bunker to tell you that a "Tiger is spotted in the western corner of the woods" or recieving half dechifrable messages on the radio. You would then move your virtual commander to the virtual map on the virtual bunker table and mark presumed location of enemy and friendly forces.

    Until another dispatcher tells you that the enemy is retreating

    or

    the enemy enters the bunker

    or

    an artillery shell hits the bunker

    ...and the game ends.

    My point is: realism doesn´t equal good.

    I play WEGO because I love to " glean every detail of what happened to every unit ". If there was no WEGO I wouldn´t be playing CM at all. In my view WEGO is what CM is all about and I really don´t understand why anyone would want to play it real time. Not that I mind - I just don´t get it.

    And I´m only 44 - so no: it´s no age thing ;-)

    smiley_abtu.gif

    0

    Recommended WWII memoir books

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Company Commander.

    Battle of the Bulge then and now (large format photo book).

    Panzer Commander...

    I have read Panzer Commander (good read). I have Company Commander, but have not read it yet... sigh.

    I would recommend

    "The Forgotten Soldier" German infantry account, From Russia 1942 to West Front in 1945...

    I picked this book up in the summer. I plan on reading it very soon.

    Here is some of my collection for suggestions:

    Panzer Aces I, II and III - Kurowski

    Infantry Aces - Kurowski

    Armor Battles Of The Waffen-SS, 1943-45 - Fey

    Michael Wittmann Vol. One and Vol. Two - Agte

    Tigers In The Mud - Carius

    Death Traps - Belton Y. Cooper

    Brazen Chariots - Major Robert Crisp

    Tobruk and El Alamein - Carver

    An Army At Dawn - Rick Atkinson

    Panzer Tactics - Schneider

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    Just found my old CM disks. Anyone up for some PBM?

    in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

    Posted

    I just found my cmbo, cmbb and cmak disks. Anyone still play those? I loved the games. Fire off an email to Scott@fwiz.com

    Also you can make two copies of CMAK and mod one of the copies to make CMETO. Two games for the price of one.

    Here is the link for the mod: http://www.tspindler.de/cmak_mod/

    For a campaign layer for CMAK and CMBB, check out RobO's Campaign Generator: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=88284

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