Yskonyn

If I press the hotkey to toggle the Shader on and off I only get the message Shader OFF. It doesn't seem to toggle and I also do not see any effect in the game. Do you need to start the game with a command line option to enable Shader support? I have an NVidia GTX580 with the latest 310.70 beta drivers.

(double post)

Fantastic mod, Rambler. Does this overwrite the tree and bocage textures that come with Aris' HD texture mod?

Hell of an effort! Very well done, chaps. I am sure we will see scenarios made specifically for this popping up soon.

4 looks best for me, but 2 is acceptable.

W00t! Fantastic teasers!

Great work JuJu! Looking forward to it!

First impressions are good. The huge maps really add immersion and realism and we finally have proper horizons now due to map size. Performance seems to have improved on my machine as well. Even on the huge maps with best/best and 8x AA the things keeps running smooth as silk with a fine control over camera movement without any jerkyness either. Good stuff.

Well once we kick off, count me in for participation!

Got mine two days ago! Pristine shape and no additional charges! Amersfoort, The Netherlands

I agree. This would indeed be a nice option and is indeed the most clear way to get an overall picture. Looking at the small indicator lights on the unit card on a per-unit basis is not very efficient. Would like to see that implemented into CMSF as well if it gets done in CMN.

From what I know of CMSF this is due to some abstraction in the game engine. It's not true 1:1 regarding LOS. Wouldn't an enemy be able to spot a unit hiding behind a fountain quite easily? Helmets sticking out, seeing movement now and then over the edge of the fountain's basin. Radioman's antenna sticking out, etc. Hitting it, on the other hand might be much more difficult. So there are some abstractions made. For example (don't honestly know it its the same in CBN) in CMSF friendly vehicles do not block LOS for units hiding behind it, but it does block incoming fire. Think of it like the hiding crew is able to peek around it. This is detail, however, we lack in the game (e.g. the actual animations are not there of the crew peeking around or under or over the vehicle). Hence the abstraction. But more knowledgable guys should chime in and/or correct me. But this is my understanding at least.

I usually split up a squad. Let the one element area fire hoping the enemy will reveal itself. Even adjacent 'tiles' will be affected most of the time. Then I have the other part of the squad and additional squads standing by without a clear target (perhaps only an arc) and they will fire on spotted units as they see fit. Works quite well to cover a 'line' without having an actual command for it. But it does require some work.

Spot on. I think the numbers game should be left here. While you could make efficient plans in CMx1 based on simplified tiles weighing penalties and data values, the current game makes you think about your plans much more naturally. I wonder wether there is a split in users here between the people already used to the engine from CMSF and the people being introduced to it by CMN. It's a similar discussion we had once CMSF launched. People needed to adjust to the 1:1 representation. I don't find it hard at all in CBN to read the terrain, but I have played CMSF a lot as well. And I did have problems adapting at first with that game too.

No, I was merely pointing out that although it might 'seem' like the interface is similar to Cmx1, it doesn't mean it actually is. At least not in terms of 'how' it uses the data from the game engine. You're cutting a few corners in your assumptions. As explained in the other thread about the terrain values, it's just not how the engine works anymore. There are no hard penalties for a given terrain type. It circumstantial from what I understand, depending not only on terrain, but also on the actual 3D objects present in the tile. Every object you can see is an actual obstacle. The one thing I do find difficult to judge is when we're talking about rivers and streams and when looking for holes in the bocage, but otherwise I find the terrain perfectly readable for making plans.

Not to start an arguement, but the fact that certain UI elements were in Cmx1 and Cmx2 seems to share roughly the same UI doesn't make it a fact that it should be easy to implement. The whole game 'skeleton' and calculation engine is completely different. Take for example rims on two cars. They're both rims. Sharing the same purpose, yet there is a big chance the one won't fit on the other's car.

I am finding myself in the exact same position!

Played the first mission of the 2nd Training Campaign: Raff Moves Inland. Very pleased with what I've been seeing! Armor and weapons detail is very good. I find the soldiers a bit bland, though, but no doubt the uniform mods will spring up like wildfire soon. Sounds are very well done as well and of course the bocage / woodland terrain is very nice. Textures are much more crisp and varied than in CMSF, but yeah, what can you make varied in a sandy environment, no? I read a review (of the beta) while ago which was super negative. Mainly telling readers to stay away, because the full game would be set up for disaster performance wise. No such thing at all. Full detail and even the big maps run quite well. The author also complained about pathfinding being a nightmare and that you would have to babysit every unit to make sure it takes the right route. I suspect that this author wasn't too familiar with the CM series, because what TYPE of movement order you give makes a big difference. For example, if you try to race a tank over a road and then let it turn left at top speed to drive through a fence onto a field, yes it will get in trouble. But the manual (at least that of CMSF and CMx1 did) states that if you read it. That is why there are several movement orders with varying speed. For deliberate movement through small gaps, always make sure you use a slow speed movement order and it goes just fine. Had a great moment when I was reviewing the turn, somewhere late in the mission. I was already moving up from bocage to bocage line on the east side of the map, where a Sherman suddenly spotted a German soldier dashing for the bocage line desperately seeking cover. The timer was almost over for that turn and right as the tank has shot its main gun and the shell arrived at the soldier, the turn was done. And the scene was frozen. "That must hurt!", was the first thing I thought!

When I ordered from BFC a few years ago: CMBB manual was a printed thick manual which is actually very good. CMAK only had a printed quickstart manual. I would love to see a CMBB style manual for Normandy. The clear font used in the manual was much better readable than the one used in the CMSF manual. The latter was also a smaller size. TOW2 was not a BFC project, they merely published the title, so I don't think they were responsible for the manual.

Well nothing wrong with patient and methodical play. Right up my alley. I'd say I might be too patient cause of fear to loose any pixeltruppen.

Thanks, but the problem is often more detailed than that. I do grasp the strategic tactics related to the scale of the total operation. In other words; I can spot advantages in terrain, assess defense options, etc. It's the nitty gritty actions by platoons and squads and the HOW to execute those actions so you operate conform your 'global' strategic ideas that I find hard.

Thank you all, this has become a very good thread with great advise. I'll keep this thread for asking more questions when they arise.

I've been using this as well, even created a guide for it (see my sig), but as yet CMSF is still not supported. I've tried to get into contact with the developer of the utility, but he seems to have vanished from the face of the earth. Never got one reply.

I guess the vehicles always pop smoke you cannot see through and only smoke caused by rounds (artillery/mortar e.g.) can be seen through? That's how I understand it anyway.

Didn't the western forces have IR scopes so they could see through most smoke? How do I know my unit has such a thing? (see I am getting there! )