JaguarUSF

No sir, Mr. American. My pickup with a mounted machine gun is perfectly normal. You don't need to see his identification. These aren't the droids you're looking for. He can go about his business. Move along.

You can have very large battles if you want...the game supports several battalions going at it. The largest map possible is 2.144 km by 2.144 km. Theatre of War is probably the best game I've seen that's melded (I think that's a word) the background and foreground. Of course, the lack of a map editor so far shows the tradeoff there. Parked cars are in there. And you can put any vehicle on the map on fire at the beginning of the level for flavor.

I've seen rounds curve in-flight, but I don't know if they were Javelins or not. When there's a whole bunch of rounds flying around the screen, I don't really notice what type they are So, in short, I shrug my shoulders. I believe the bird is the African unladen swallow. Or is it European? [ May 30, 2007, 03:29 AM: Message edited by: JaguarUSF ]

Heh, yeah I did. I don't mind sharing the news and growing interest in good games.

Game reviewer, actually. My preview gives a good idea about the gameplay: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/combat-mission-shock-force-preview.html

Well, the units don't disappear per se, but they do suffer extreme morale penalties if they have no idea where anyone else is. I think the e-mail thing is what you have up there. When it's your turn, you watch the previous turn, do your moves, and the last person who does their moves resolves the turn.

Well, step 2 in CMx1 was done in the background right after you pressed the end turn button (the pause before the replay). In CMx2, it's done in real time on the screen. I think it's funny if the enemy knows where your tank is but you do not

Yes. I forgot my password for JaguarUSF so I had to create a new login called allenj7. Oopsy!

a) I got the game last Wednesday, so I played it for about 5 full days while writing the review. I played some scenarios that were available on the press FTP server and made seven myself where I tested out the different units and the victory conditions. Since it is just a preview, I wasn't able to sample any of the final scenarios, so a lot of that was based off the options in the editor that was fully working. It didn't come with any scenarios or the quick mission builder, so I couldn't test those. Previews are more of a "look at all of the features" sort of deal, so I went through the game and looked at the manual to make sure I talked about everything that was active in the game. The build is the build, last updated May 28th (I also played builds from the 24th and the 18th of May).

allenj7=JaguarUSF=Out of Eight preview guy.

A preview of Combat Mission: Shock Force has been posted at Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/combat-mission-shock-force-preview.html Enjoy!

The variable victory conditions do a lot to balance the game. While the U.S. may need to eliminate 75% of the Syrian forces and secure 3 terrain objectives, the Syrians may just need to destroy two Stryker vehicles to earn the same number of points. It's all up to the designer and it opens a world of possibilities.

VBIEDs are so cool to see in action. Ka-BOOM....goodbye Stryker! Solider #1: Hey, should we worry about the car heading towards us? Soldier #2: No, it's only a sedan. What could possib-BOOOOOOM

I would expect it to be posted sometime between 6:30 and 7:00 AM Eastern Time Tuesday morning, if you'd like specifics.

By far the best of the previews so far...until mine goes up Tuesday

I've played both (my TOW review is linked in the message boards and my CMSF preview is going up next week) and I personally like the flexibility of CMSF. The mission editor alone will make people pee with excitement.

A review of Theatre of War has been posted at Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/05/theatre-of-war-review.html Enjoy!

Official Paradox press release wording: New York, USA (April 19, 2007) – Recognized global publisher Paradox Interactive announced today the shipping date for their next big strategy release - Combat Mission: Shock Force. Developed by Battlefront, Combat Mission: Shock Force is a modern style military simulation set to challenge the standard of current wargames on the market. Combat Mission: Shock Force is scheduled to ship to stores in North America on June 11, 2007 with a simultaneous release on Gamer's Gate and will ship to stores in Europe on June 15, 2007. The game will retail for $39.99/€39.99. The computer games series Combat Mission has received much acclaim from the gaming community for its simulations of tactical battles. Its fans span the globe and Combat Mission: Shock Force is described as the pinnacle of the series where the developers have poured years of experience into the game and its entirely new engine. This tactical military simulation depicts a hypothetical near future conflict between NATO and Syrian forces in Syria.A highly story driven semi-dynamic Campaign, from the US perspective, offers a completely new experience for Combat Mission fans. Each battle include a detailed Mission Briefing outlining specific Objectives, which can range from taking a particular spot on the map to retaining force cohesion. The Objectives for each side can be different, allowing each side to fight according to its own goals rather than a single set common to both.

The DropTeam review has been posted at Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2006/06/dropteam-review.html Enjoy!

In CTF maps, you are restricted to dropping stuff near your flag during the deployment phase. This makes all the AI drop their craft near the flag. In the last game I played, I just waiting until the deployment phase ended and almost instantly dropped my tank in much closer to the enemy flag. Is this fair? Should there be some sort of penalty (such as no dropping during the first 2 minutes of a game after the deployment phase) to prevent my sneaky tactic?

I think that for the three dedicated servers, there should be one CTF, one Objective, and one Territory, and each should cycle through _all_ the maps for that specific game type. I played House to House today in Standalone (an urban map) and I never remember seeing that in the rotation for any of the online maps (a lot of ice fields, though). Map was fun. Also, like in one of the servers, the game type should the in the server title. Just some suggestions for whoever's running them.

So mortar units can't select their weapon type? Well, I guess it's a "feature" instead of a "bug." Now I know. And knowing's half the battle! G. I. JOE!!!!!

Would it be possible to allow for owners of the full version to play on the test (demo) servers? I'm sure the code is probably different with the 1.0.1 patch, but sometimes I see people on the demo server and nobody on the regular servers and it makes me a little sad.

No, this is the only thing in the game I've seen that's laggy. Look for my full review Monday, June 26th on Out of Eight!!!!

I am using the Windows version, by the way. I was playing online tonight and the same thing happened. I had my weapon switch a good 3 minutes after I pressed the last weapon switch button.