JaguarUSF

The scripted AI plans go a long way in making the enemy a good foe. The tactical AI is much improved and the enemy is not the cakewalk they were in previous CM games. Winning is quite challenging and the Syrians will totally kick your ass if you don't plan ahead. As for the whole nVidia thing, it might just be my computer; since nobody else had a 8800 (AFAIK) we couldn't replicate the results. I guess we'll find out. I turned the graphics down to "fast" and the game still looks very good and I can play for a good 20-30 minutes on a fresh reboot before it locks up. Save early and save often! I am fairly confident that it's the drivers, since I also have had some performance issues. They just fixed a similar bug with Lost Planet (it also locked up early in the game), so if they can get their hands on the problem and there's a big enough outcry for it, it'll be fixed in a driver update. I am curious what, exactly, the issue is.

Being that the 8800s are relatively new cards, there are bound to be compatability problems, and CMSF happens to be the game I'm having problems with (out of 290 games I've reviewed, that's a good ratio). I contacted nVidia and they said they would look into it, so we'll see. [ July 16, 2007, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: JaguarUSF ]

The review of Combat Mission: Shock Force has been posted at Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/07/combat-mission-shock-force-review.html Enjoy!

Blast can only be used by units carrying demo charges. Doors? Where we're going we don't need doors.

In a campaign, the designer could gradually increase the quality of the units involved (conscript, veteran, elite) over each successive battle.

Rates of fire: yes, dependent on Tactical AI decisions. This goes for grenade usage as well. I've never seen a weapon jam, but that doesn't mean they aren't in there.

Yes. In fact, there is a sample template in the root directory to show you how to do it. You can set the next battles if you win or lose as well as refit, repair, resupply, and rest values.

I'm using an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200, and you can get one (according to Pricewatch) for around $140. I bought mine about a year ago and I like it.

On a semi-related note, I'm playing a scenario where I saw a Syrian sniper prone outside of a building throw a grenade through a window at a machine gunner, who in turn threw a grenade back at him killing him. It was so cool, I felt like I had to share.

All of the artillery is off-map. If the scenario designer allows for it, then they do, although none of the campaign missions are played from the Syrian perspective so I don't know if they have it or not.

CMSF has a "blast" command available to squads equipped with explosives. This are (pun intended) a blast to use...the AI never seems to expect an attack coming from a wall. Suckers!

No promotions, but some units carry over from mission to mission in a campaign (and not neccessarily the next mission, either). The player is not told which units are considered "core" to the campaign, though, to prevent using "disposable" units over "core" units.

You can skip right through the replay with one press of a button.

Previous CM games: 1. Issues orders. 2. Turn resolves in the background (with the progress bar) 3. Watch replay. CMSF: 1. Issue orders. 2. Turn resolves in real time on the screen. 3. Watch replay. So, in essence, now you watch a single minute of gameplay twice in WEGO mode: once when it is resolving a minute of gameplay (with no user interaction possible), and again as a replay.

I'd say about 1/3 are meeting engagements and 2/3 are attack/defense pairs, which sounds about right for the setting. The scripting for AI in quick battles is set up here, attack here. It doesn't matter what type of unit it is, since the operational and tactical AI (which are not scripted by the designer) will adjust the orders for the specific unit. Scripting is really just nudging so the AI knows where the objectives are. The only difference between a quick battle and a scenario is the lack of units defined by the designer.

Preview: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/combat-mission-shock-force-preview.html And 769 MB, approximately.

Ah yes. I was talking from a game reviewer opinion perspective, as I tend to do since that's what I do

Anything can destroy anything if properly equipped if it sees it first. A well placed RPG or any Russian tank can take out an M1 from close or far ranges. I've gotten blowed up (technical term) from 500 meters before. The real advantage the U.S. has is better communication, which results in better morale. Also, the Stryker is superior in all of its variations to the BMP. The Mobile Gun System is my personal favorite. Packs a punch. Another thing that affects it is crew skill (plus any bonuses), which can be easily gauged from the interface, plus whether they are moving or under attack (part of the spotting rules). There is absolutely no uber unit like in previous CM games. It's all about spotting.

Would you consider, say, 27 maps to be enough variety to start with?

Might I suggest reading this page: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/03/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page2.html

July 17th. They like to hold the reviews until closer to the release date to keep hype up.

Probably, although it'd need to be at "faster" or "fastest" settings and a lower resolution like 1024x786, I would imagine. I don't have a comparable system so I can't say for sure, of course. When the demo comes out, then you'll see

Paradox is in charge of retail operations, so supplying the game to stores for the 27th is their deal.

Running the game in either WEGO or real time mode will require the same processing power, because WEGO turns are resolved in real time instead of in the background like they were in previous CM titles. I discuss this in my preview: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/combat-mission-shock-force-preview.html

A lot of your questions were answered in my preview: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/combat-mission-shock-force-preview.html But, to summarize: 1. CMSF is far, far different from CMAK and if you use the same tactics you will die. Quickly. Often. The lethality of armored units and RPGs is far greater than anything in WW2. 2. Real-time play does result in a faster game; turn-based is really intended for PBEM and not single player (for reasons I talk about in the preview). 3. The command system and spotting work hand in hand: if you lose communication, you will not be able to issue orders to troops and their morale will suffer. Spotted units are usually passed up the command chain (the forward observer is the best for arty spotting) and sometimes to parallel units (in the same platoon) but not down again to another platoon. You can't issue attack orders on a unit a particular unit doesn't see or know about, at least at higher difficulty levels. 4. Morale is very similar to other CM games, although communication takes a bigger role here.