I have been in an M1 tank, which surely has better all-round vision than a T-34.
Simply put, when you are buttoned, you can't see **** around you.
Jason: rather than construct an elaborate rationalization re: the spotting ability of buttoned AFVs, why not just fix it? This is a well-documented and understood fact among even amateur WW2 buffs: Buttoned AFV's are like blind elephants.
CMBB in its current state is ridiculously unrealistic due to this bug. Really, it affects 2 big aspects of WW2 combat:
1. AFV's can operate without infantry quite successfully, even in built up areas.
2. Long range hull-down sniping is suicidal b/c the target immediately knows where the fire is coming from. In Gulf War I, the Iraqi T-72's were being plinked from 2km away, and they couldn't even figure out from what the direction the fire was coming from. Not gonna happen in CMBB.
3. Anti-tank guns, which were deadly in real life, are a joke in CMBB. They get off at most 2-3 rounds and then are simultaneously spotted by every unit on the board. Ridiculous.
Overall, Steel Panthers WaW ends up giving me consistently more 'historical' results. I just wish it wasn't so damn ugly!
That having been said, this is a pretty good infantry sim (yawn).