J Ruddy

feck!

A great thanks to Lars for spelling out the rules so that even he can understand them!

No Dongles! I hate Dongles! I'm not sure how much lost revenue CM suffers from piracy - I think it's probably the bigger sellers that the teenies want to rip & distribute. (NWN, BF2, MOH etc...) SafeDisc I've never had any problems with SafeDisc protected games, although some folks have complained that they won't play on certain cd drives. Another option is to force users to register before playing tcp/ip or PBEM. Again, I am not sure if the amount of piracy this would curb is worth spending time and money on a complex registration / verification system. The bottom line is that even the biggest software companies can't stop the pirating even after spending God knows how much in counter measures. I'm thinking a simple cheap solution to keep the honest people honest may be the best option for cmx2.

Maybe don't attach the 'chutes to the turret though... kinda seems like a really bad idea...

Krill, We MUST have para-dropped Jumbos implemented in CMX2! Judging by the size of those 'chutes, I figure they'd be falling at about 200 mph - if you aim right and it lands one on top of a Tiger, it's pretty much a guaranteed kill!

I have seen the dead horse and yet I have this need to flog it! FLOG AWAY FOLKS!

Well, the time is almost here - when the gaming Gods at CM feed us little critters with screenies and (finally) the goods on the new game's arena of operations. So, I'm going to risk the lock and getting booted from this forum by opening up the challenge to those who think they know what the first release is going to be... What's at stake? Bragging rights - for those of you who are going to say "I knew it all along!" put your predictions where your mouth is. Based on bones etc.. I think it will be WWII Western Front - specifically Belgium to Dunkirk. Maybe I'm smoking cordite - but dammit, someone has to be the first!

"Oh My! There's a Stug III, let me rotate my turret and then my hull - ok , now I'll shoot! Damn I missed - oh well it's gone behind the building, I think I'll rotate my hull another 120 degrees so that I can shoot at this infantry - oops! The Stug is back and he looks p!$$&d off, I think I'll rotate my turret and then my hull hull back to (*Boom*)" Please fix this in CMX2 - it drives me nuts!

Lets look at it this way. For anyone who has played tactical wargames to any great extent, the CM1 AI is a pushover. I have become so totally bored with single player that the only time I launch single player in CMAK/CMBB is to test my home grown scenarios for playability and balance. (But enough about me and my huge brain) By implementing the ability for some of my forces to be controlled by the AI, (hopefully responding to my commands but not directly under my control) it introduces a whole new strategic level of single player play, and prepares players for the 2 on 2 or 4 on 4 cooperative play that many of us are begging for. Secondly, the idea of relegating of command some of your troops to the AI (be it an infantry platoon, the armour in a combined arms battle, or the cavalry in the Napoleonic era) when you are playing a weaker player can force a level of balance to the game simply through the general ineptitude of the AI. (No offence intended - it IS better than many other so called tactical war games on the market - thanks be to the CM team) The last goodie I see is the ability to put AI vs. AI. There's another post for that somewhere in the forum - it is a neat idea, lots of Chess programs allow this, but I'm not sure the AI is up to the task of play testing scenario's. Humans are a lot better at finding positions to exploit. But if you want to be a Monty or a Rommel, it might be neat to set the objectives for your company / platoon commanders and let the fur fly! For TCP/IP I can see a pre-made scenario start screen having: Total Players [4] (This is set in the scenario file) List of players Side A Commander : [Jimmy@255.12.12.55] Side A Player 2 : [AI] Side B Commander : [Gordo@255.69.69.60] Side B Player 2 : [AI] In theory it could also be cooperative vs AI - but where's the fun in that? For a quick game it would take a bit of work as the Screen where the settings are made would need to also need to contain the Multi-Player information, including points, nationality and branch restrictions for each player. (Maybe a tab system would be a good way to save real estate?) Anyways... if this ever gets implemented it would be a good thing. {Edit} Of course FOW would be in full effect between commanders - limiting Borg Spotting and allowing friendly fire. Maybe implementing a scenario specific option to allow F.F. for multiplayer would be best? Although I'm guessing it's pretty easy to tell Space Lobsters from Cromwells. [ September 12, 2005, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: J Ruddy ]

That's easy - the Leo is German, the Challenger 2 is British and the Abrams is American, and everyone knows the Americans and British won the war. ...Or was it Soviet Russia...? Dang - there goes my theory

Michael, that is a well thought out proposition. One question - would the Strat AI be programmed to react in a similar way? In your example, would the German forces be broken into company level segments and the AI simulate communications chains between them? In your system, would you be able to have an AI contoled force on your team. For example 2 human controled companies and one AI controled company. If so, what level of command & control would you have of AI Company? Still using messages (using pre-canned commands) would you simply request actions of the AI "Advance 200 meters", "Advance to point Romeo", "Hold your ground" etc...?

What happened to Steve's disintegrator pistol?

Thanks Duke - that's a nice find. The crewman looks either constipated or scared sh-tless. Finland, Finland, Finland, The country where I want to be, Pony trekking or camping, Or just watching TV. Finland, Finland, Finland. It's the country for me.

And on topic, I'd probably pick up a 40k version of CMX2 if they made one - just for a larf.

Bwa haa haa haaaaaarrrdiii haaaaaarrr oooomph.. oh wait - were you being serious? {I feel a rant coming on} Their plastics are priced ok, but they have the most expensive 25mm figures I've seen! $50 (US) for 5x25/28mm figures (Terminators) is paramount to extortion. $40 (US) for a 1/50 scale mostly plactic, some pewter tank is just silly! I have to somewhat shamelessly admit that I do have a pretty big space marine army - but the reason is it is a quick and fun way to introduce people to wargaming. (Plus a newb can comfortably go to a nice clean friendly GW store instead of a smelly, intimidating 'real' wargaming /hobbie store.) But I also have a pretty nice selection of 25/28mm WWII Russian troops that cost me 1/4 the price of the GW stuff. Not to mention FFL, BOERs, ZULU's etc... GW has to pay for their fancy stores, their conventions, Golden Whatever awards, fancy red shirts etc... someone like Bolt Action (http://www.boltactionminiatures.co.uk/) makes a high quality non B.S. product at a fair price. (£4 for 4 figures) Anyways - sorry for the flaming rant - its Friday and I need a long weekend. Thank God for Labour Day! [Edit - Grammar is not my friend] [ September 02, 2005, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: J Ruddy ]

I guess I've been (quite rightly) put in my place. Just don't come crying to me when the Space Lobsters invade, I'll be holed up in a shack by the river with my M44 carbine and a huge pot of boiling water, waiting for lunch to come busting through the door.

I thought it was going to be the War of the Roses? I hope it is, because I'm really Stoked about it...

Duke - I know what you are saying. The thing that most people don't realize that Beta Testing is seriously hard work. Then, when the test cycle is done, there will still be bugs of varying degrees as the change management process prioritized what needed to be fixed, what could actually be fixed in time for release and what is going to be fixed in the dreaded patch. Then, after all this hard work, if the M1 carbine doesn't sound just right, the anal-ites of society try to crucify you for not making 'their' product perfect. Just be glad it doesn't cost $5,000 per seat. People get testy when they spend $250,000 on new corporate software and they find bugs in it.

Someone please tell me they are putting in a freeking volume control! When I am Voip'd to my opponant and can't make him any louder and can't make the game quieter (without moving away from the battlefield or muting the game) it sure makes conversation frustrating... Give me sliders or give me death! Master --------O-- Ambient ---O-------- Game Sounds --------O--- Music O----------- Space Lobsters ----------O- ?

Mord - I'm there - but only if the Midget hookers are also Mexican Midget Hooker Wrestlers, OK?

Phooey! I should have known. [Edit Start] {Delete: A silly attempt at impressing the powers that be} {Add: My mom thinks I'm smart and I can tie my own shoes (but only if they are the velcro ones from Walmart)} [Edit End] or maybe I'm just making an ass of myself - go ahead - flame me - I'm wearing my asbestos socks - I can take it! [ September 02, 2005, 06:39 AM: Message edited by: J Ruddy ]

Maybe I missed an earlier topic, but the question I thought would have been asked one hundred and fifty times over already is: When do you expect the QA/Beta process to start and who do I have to kill to get on the Beta team?

Never mind... google is my friend. (plus i found the can) Thanks anyways guys

I've read this entire thread. 15 minutes of my life has gone by and I still have no fecking clue what this Peng Challenge is. If anyone here thinks they can explain it to me in 100 words or less that a 30 something Software Analyst can understand, I am waiting... in the dark... in a round room... and I have to pee.

I agree that an echo or delay is a nice to have feature but.. the first release will be space lobsters and in space no one can hear you scream... btw... in CMAK where are the French Canadians? Maudis Tabernaque!