madDdog67

I d/led this tonight, and it's pretty much unplayable. I noticed weird stuff during the menu (the "Shock Force" up at the top jumps around the screen, fades in and out, etc). When the demo scenario first boots up, I hear about 100 voices talking in unison...the grass texture constantly redraws itself, and it pretty much goes downhill from there. I tried one of my other computers, but it had the same problem, although the video texture issue wasn't quite as pronounced. These are both AMD 64 dual cores, with at least 4gb of ram. Video cards are GeForce 7600 and 8800GT. Any known issues with this hardware? Any tricks anyone can think of to make this run better? The game looks very cool, and I've really enjoyed all of the Combat Mission games (that incidentally run great on all my systems).

I've got Company of Heroes...bought 2 copies for LAN play, as a matter of fact. Is it CM/BO/BB/AK? No...not by a long shot...but then I already have all 3 of those. Is it fun? Yes...very silly, but it's the kind of stuff you'll just laught at loud at, and have fun with your buddies playing. Is it "realistic"? No, but it doesn't have to be. And, as much as I love the CM series, I've seen enough silly stuff in those games to last a lifetime. The explosions and sound effects in the game are quite good...that still pic of the explosion really doesn't do justice to what they're like in real time. When the OB arty hits, for example, the whole room shakes. To each his own, but if you've enjoyed C&C Generals or Dawn of War, chances are you'll enjoy this too. If not, that's okay...there are plenty around who will.

I agree 100% with Curassier...switch the friendly board edges around and play this again. It's brutal. I kicked the AI's butt repeatedly...but not once I oriented the MG the other way.

Jason, I'd love a tutored game...and I would highly suggest that we do it via Skype, a free VOIP program that is almost phone quality (assuming enough computer hp). I play Advanced Squad Leader via VASL using skype...it's almost as good as face to face. I took a short CMBO break with a buddy the other night...his wife came down and told him to be quiet, as we were both hooting and screaming at our men as they didn't do what we wanted, and died for it. It was quite comical, really. All you need to use it is a headset and mic...and you *can* run the sound through your computer speakers, if you want. While not ideal, it would reduce the cost, although a decent mic/headset combo is under $20. Trust me, the first time you use it, you'll consider it a good investment. Skype supports up to 4 people, although I don't think CM lets more than one 2 people play a LAN/internet game. There are similar programs around that support more people, like Teamspeak, and the sound is almost as good as Skype. EDIT...I just now read walpurgis nacht's post...great minds think alike hehe.

Well, I swapped the friendly edges...it does indeed make a BIG difference! Oh well, back to square 1 with this one.

Wow...what a difference a good night's sleep makes hehe. I cruised through this scenario. I checked the facinf of the MG in this one, he's looking at my approach path...so I assume that's the correct facing for him? Either way, I used the buildings as cover for my approach, and got my guys into a good position w/o a shot being fired at me. Here's turn 7, the early advance: This is the end of turn 11. I had the two squad in the building area fire into the general vacinity of the flag...I've tried this a bunch of times, I don't think it really matters...and advanced the leader forward. When he gets a little forward of the building, he'll spot the trench. At that point, I had everybody area fire into the trench, and gave advance orders orders to leapfrog my squads forward a bit, all the while dumping fire into the trench. From there, it's only a turn or two to this: I think the trick is to get your guys into something approximating the turn 11 pic unscathed...from there, it's almost impossible not to win this. I've done it 5 or 6 times from my save at turn 10 (not shown, but it's just a little bit behind turn 11's position, and I don't think the MG's even gotten off a shot. [ January 22, 2006, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: madDdog67 ]

Okay, other than learning that I suck, and that this scenario is impossible with my lack of skill, I'm stumped lol.

Civdiv, excellent work! I think I'll try that one right now.

Jason, I know it entails a lot of work, but it would be cool if each scenario had a briefing that gave the users a few tactical hints for each of these missions...maybe you could take them in chunks, and include them at your own pace. I'm sure there are some folks--myself included--who'd be willing to help you do that.

One thing that will be extremely helpful (and fun to boot) is to design several small training scenarios for yourself, to illustrate how do some basic things like knock out an infantry gun, or take out a machine gun. This game has one of the best and easiest to use scenario editors ever...just set the size of the battle...I recommend dropping it down to about 400x400...hit the "autogenerate" button, adjust the setup areas to your liking, then place the units...it's that simple. Put one machinegun in the open, dug in,and give yourself a couple of squads to attack with. See what happens. Play it once or twice, then add a mg of your own...then a mortar, etc. Put the mg you're attacking in different terrain, like woods or a building. Once you can knock out 1 MG easily, then throw in another one, or an enemy mortar. Do all of this with FOW off for a while, then put it on so you can see the AI behavior. As you play, you can see the effects of additional firepower being put on the target, and what it does to the defenders (ie, how long before they "run away" lol). Do this with MGs, mortars, tanks, etc. When you've designed your scenario, before you start your assault, hit the 1 key, and get that down and dirty view...try to find blind spots that you can exploit to the target...using the terrain is a very important part of this game. Always keep these scenarios small, and just play around. I had a blast doing this, and learned a good bit about the game/interface in the process. One tip in setting up a scenario like this is to padlock the defender...that way, he'll always be where you left him when you designed the scenario! Also, don't be afraid to play it "hotseat", so you can give orders to *both* sides, and you can really see how everything works. Just remember to keep these scenarios very small...you don't want to overwhelm yourself at the beginning. To tell you the truth, I don't really like a battle that's any bigger than small, and almost all of the stuff I design for myself is tiny...so play it at your own pace, no one says you have to play it on a grand scale with hundreds of units. If it wasn't for the 17 hard drive reformats I've done since I designed my training scenarios, I could send you some lol. Blame Bill Gates!

yes...just play with the scenario editor, it's very intuitive...you'll get the hang of it in about 15 minutes. You can do all the things you've mentioned, giving each side ecactly what units you want them to have, etc. You can have the editor generate your battlefield, or place every tile yourself...whatever you want. It's one of the absolute best features of the CM game system. Start small, and work you way up.

McMMM is another mod manager that works well...not all mods are CMMOS; actually, it looks like there are a lot more non CMMOS mods out there. McMMM does the copying/backup of your old BMPs, so it's very easy to install/uninstall them at your leisure, to see what you like. Between Combat Mission HQ and CMMODS.com, you can get everything your little heart desires, but you will have to do some poking around yourself to find stuff that you might be interested in.

okay...I really only want CMAK to look like CMBO for doing D-Day ish scenarios...not for desert warfare obviously. I didnt' realize there was a non snow version of the Ardennes mod...it's getting closer to what I want now...looks a lot like CMBB lol. Now...to look for some autumn trees and better scattered tree bases, and I think I'll be all set.

Wicky, thanks for the link...I should have specified I'm not looking for winter mods. I'm on cmmods right now, as a matter of fact...the only problem so far is having to d/l stuff and try it out...many of the things I'm looking at don't have preview pictures. So far, the main thing is I need some decent GREEN grass...not brown, not muddy, just the good old green green grass of home lol. (cue the banjo music). I'm trying to make CMAK look more like this: Have you seen anything with grass this green, for example?

pursuing a thread on the CMBO forum, someone suggested getting mods for CMAK rather than buying CMBO. Even though I'm aware of the differnces, I still play CMBO a lot because of the type of scenery and the theater in which it's played. I have all 3 games, but just got CMAK..what are some good mods to give it the CMBO look and feel (US vs. Germans, France, etc). Thanks...