Kip Watson

*#* ha ha - well, your puny earthling brain seems to be having trouble coping with possibiities outside your own limited imagination. Our invasion plans are assured. -- Space Lobster Overlord *#*

It's not that I disagree with you, it just... who cares? It would be really cool to see Israeli troops in a first class BFC sim. The rest is detail. What do pesky geo-political realities matter? It's all hypothetical. I could think of a super back-story comprising Palestinians with stolen nukes and rogue Syrian special forces, and... But, really, who cares - the back story is just an excuse to set up the Sim, right?

C'mon, that's not much of an objection - if BFC can tweak the hypothetical to include NATO (and why not, I say*), why not just invent a storyline in which Israel moves in too...? It's not like anyone has to actually persuade George Bush or Condy Rice! And in the case of an actual crisis right on their border, it's unbelievable that Israel wouldn't intervene - at least locally (not that that really matters, this is a wargame we're talking about). [*...and why not France, too - on the side of the Syrians! ]

Joking aside, as a hypothetical they're a plausible force, equipped, trained and experienced in preceisely these sort of situations. They have that nice Merkava tank and some other intersting Israeli-made weapons, but they use some US gear too, right? That would make them an interesting variant. And there's also an appealing 'grudge match'/'final showdown' quality to an Israel v. Syria engagement. You don't think they're a good candidate for an add-on...?

Perhap Battlefront could consider Israelis in the list of possible additional modules. After all, they've fought Syria numerous times before - quite spectactularly - and they have an interesting mix of equipment. It would probably mean creating some new unit experience types, though. Like super-elite, hyper-super-elite etc...

The US army was overwhelmingly victorious in Vietnam. They vapourised the Viet Cong, and castrated and disembowelled the NVA. The fact that, at the point of outright victory, the American nation, for almost unrelated reasons, suddenly surrendered unconditionally will ultimately go down in history as a bizarre one-time event.

I have a Syrian Pal. He showed me some of his holiday movies a few years back. Old Damascus is a beautiful town, and a rabbit warren of bustling streets that are like Australian alleyways - only narrower. Fantastic urban combat setting - I can't wait. The 1-off mod idea sounds cool. Could you include alternate mods in a scenario file?

One obvious point seems to be that (IIRR) artillery more often wounds than kills, but I'm guessing a stab with a bayonet usually kills its victim (especially in Napoleonic times?), so there will be fewer wounded with bayonet wounds, but maybe a larger number of unsurveyed dead.

I would have thought with a good Sim you don't need toexpicitly program in things like this. If the capabilities are well modelled, players will find out strengths and weaknesses for themselves, including some surprising ones. One of the fascinations with BB and AK, is that they have made it clear why certain units acted the way they did. For example, conventional histories always implied that the British tankers in early desert war liked to charge with the enemy like a bunch of twits who thought they were still in the cavalry. Playing that period of AK made it obvious - the AP shot was useless against non armoured targets, and the only way to be effective against infantry and guns is to get into effective MG range. The tankers weren't so stupid after all. I'm sure the world's CM strategists will bring a lot more grey matter to the table than the US would ever face from the Syrians in real life. There might be some interesting and unexpected outcomes. (pssst - don't tell the terrorists)

Hey, I love the French too - and I *am* one of those Intelligent Design bigots. Saved the West in WWI (at extraordinary human cost), saved America's a$$* on at least one occasion in WWII, put their guts on the line holding back communism in SE Asia - not bad for a small country. Plus: some of the world's best movies, hilariously chauvinistic like all great cultures (British and American inculded), take no sh#t from environmentalists. What's not to like? Vive La France! (*Free French broke through the Gustav Line, saved US from potentially their worst military disadster at Anzio)

Oh right, this point was already covered... Thanks guys.

Here's a question for the chaps at BF, apologies if this has been covered (I did check, but not every single post...) Will you be close air support, in particular helecopters? And if so, is it still planned for air assets to be visible? NB - excellent choice choosing a Stryker Brigade. Very interesting, very modern and very real. Perfect contemporary/near future hypothetical. Looking forward to this title immensely.

TPG is a cool site, that would be a neat idea. Likes, dislikes... TSD: -loved the side bars, -loved the top 20 lists, -loved the bare-bones (quick loading) HTML, - the search engine was good, the icon-ised lists search results were neat - wish I could've seached for 2-player-preferred games - would like an 'omit' feature in searches (eg. omit night games or whatever... or omit scenarios by Panzerman and Steve Overton - only joking!) - the scoring was cool, screen shots were cool - the reply-to-review was really cool (although the TPG full forum is even better) TPG: - the forums are super-slick - the rollovers etc. work a bit funny on my system and the 'designer' html is kind of slow to load (IE for Mac, it hates lots of other web sites too). I like the bare bones look like CMMODs. - The search parameters are a little bettter than TSD was. (like being able to pick 'best played as') - I like the way the search results are returned in some ways better than TSD (eg. includes designer name), but the TSD unit icons etc. were cooler - I liked the way TSD had reviews and ratings right at the end of the game description Both very good - anything similar to either one would be immediately well received. Wish list: - For those designers you really want to punish (haven't we all felt like that?) a top 20 most hated scenario list? - A balance parameter that shows which side is stronger and by how much rather than just a balance rating. (did that make sense?)

I know I'm late in, but I liked the questions about buildings. The abstraction level sounds about right. Enough to see the effects of urban combat tactics - grenades through windows, kicking in doors, blowing interior walls etc... That would be cool, too much more might even detract. The pre-fab building idea is a pretty good one too (ie. like the existing factory tile options), and one where the limited module scope would make it entirely practical. ie. within a very specific time frame and geography, how many potential different types of very big buildings would be needed? - not very many I would think.

I love both but BB has the edge. All those units, all that history, so many brilliant scenarios. How can you pass up the chance to play scenarios set in Stalingrad, Kursk etc...?

I'm not at all interested in commanding or controlling wounded troops, but I am slightly enthusiastic about seeing some sort of modelling of wounded/killed during the battle (eg. the need to protect wounded, cover their evacuation etc. would affect command decisions). I am also very enthusiastic about a detailed summary (at end of game, but on-going would be great too), about the breakdown of casualties - wounded and killed, how badly wounded, how wounds occurred etc (ie this would need to be tracked). From a historical simulation perspective this would be really interesting to me.

I disagree. Use area carefully, most definitely, but area fire at night from just outside LOS spooks the enemy very effectively. With lashings of grazing fire you stop an attack dead before it has really begun, and all your opponent will see is a sound contact.

Seriously, I think modules will rule. I love CM1 for the comprehensive OOBs, but what you gain in breadth you lose in depth. In CMAK Allies for example, for a particular nationality at a particular moment of the war, infantry types are often kind of limited. I'm guessing, 1:1 representation will make the new game comprehensive in a whole diferent way. Scenario designers will be able to get into the nitty gritty of platoon and squad composition in a way that doesn't exist now. And with the popularity of Western Europe WWII, I predict sheer demand will result in 10+ modules, each far richer in detail than an equivalent slice of CMAK/BO. ...that doesn't sound like it will suck...

Seriously, I think modules will rule. I love CM1 for the comprehensive OOBs, but what you gain in breadth you lose in depth. In CMAK Allies for example, for a particular nationality at a particular moment of the war, infantry types are often kind of limited. I'm guessing, 1:1 representation will make the new game comprehensive in a whole diferent way. Scenario designers will be able to get into the nitty gritty of platoon and squad composition in a way that doesn't exist now. And with the popularity of Western Europe WWII, I predict sheer demand will result in 10+ modules, each far richer in detail than an equivalent slice of CMAK/BO. ...that doesn't sound like it will suck...

Panzerman, You got me thinking and I've downloaded a bunch more of yours from SD into my 'first suitable opponent' folder. Although I have to be careful who I play them against. Guys who are more used to playing QB MEs for example have been known to spit at me for selecting really evil scenarios. (a bit like feeding a baby Vindaloo curry I guess)

Hi Panzerman, I've played quite a few of the CSDT scenarios - especially by yourself and by Tom the Warmonger. (I hope I reviewed them all, might have overlooked a couple). Some exquisite torture indeed! I currently have a PBEM of 'Standing Alone' underway (I'm playing German). Could you hear my screams? I was sure they could be heard around the world!

Hey gautrek , thanks for the review of Kicking in the Door. I left you a brief reply. I'm lucky that people even play my scenarios, but to get is a nice review is priceless!

I would love to see WW2 PTO as the first release, and would NOT want to see ETO.... Why? because the first release won't be the best. By the second or third game (not module), the engine will be tuned and humming! Do WW2 ETO then! But PTO, yeah, I'd like to play it, plenty of small unit action, it'd make a great first release.

I'm like most people - you tell me something is going to change and my first reaction is 'Oh no, it's going to change!' and then 2 days later I can't wait for the change to actually happen... So it's more than 2 days later now, and the thought of modules sounds really cool. I like the idea of a series of snapshots of interesting periods in the war done with nice attention to detail and with scope for very accurate, detailed and specific scenarios (I have a mental image of Scots troops wearing kilts when I say that, please tell me it's not sexual!) And I tell you what else, the idea of a 'near future' game is just so cool. For one thing I think it's safe to assume we can rely on BFC to produce something that's more likely to be based on realistic speculation than way out sci fi, and if so just imagine:- aerial drones, robot drones, metal storm, rail guns, head up night vision displays, computersied HQ command vehicles, GPS jammers, those large-calibre-shell firing guns off Showtime, and the personal Rail guns from that cool Schwartzenegger flick - and that's not even including tanks and helicopters... I think that would absolutely rock!

I'm like most people - you tell me something is going to change and my first reaction is 'Oh no, it's going to change!' and then 2 days later I can't wait for the change to actually happen... So it's more than 2 days later now, and the thought of modules sounds really cool. I like the idea of a series of snapshots of interesting periods in the war done with nice attention to detail and with scope for very accurate, detailed and specific scenarios (I have a mental image of Scots troops wearing kilts when I say that, please tell me it's not sexual!) And I tell you what else, the idea of a 'near future' game is just so cool. For one thing I think it's safe to assume we can rely on BFC to produce something that's more likely to be based on realistic speculation than way out sci fi, and if so just imagine:- aerial drones, robot drones, metal storm, rail guns, head up night vision displays, computersied HQ command vehicles, GPS jammers, those large-calibre-shell firing guns off Showtime, and the personal Rail guns from that cool Schwartzenegger flick - and that's not even including tanks and helicopters... I think that would absolutely rock!