sburke
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Posts posted by sburke
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Thanks for the kind words, and the offer of the 10W30 (but I've got CASES in the garage
Now, beer is a different matter...). FWIW, I did not mean to post a "look at what I do", but rather to focus on how much effort it takes to tease out results.My work pales in comparison to the efforts put forth by others on the beta team, and even more so when compared to those on the alpha team.
Big group hug. Great. Now let's start machinegunning each other's men.
You make me utterly embarrassed to say I have beta tested squat.... My inferiority complex just went through the roof. I'll just go curl up in the corner in a fetal position.
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Great post! Having done a fair amount of testing myself -- 'though a small fraction of your output -- I know how time-consuming it is.
Do you know if either of these factors make a difference in spotting?
Can't speak directly to that, but way back last year while running tests on the protective effect of being behind a wall I came across an anamoly I could not explain and my first question to BF was - do you guys model targets being silhouetted? There answer was no (this was all on the public forum). The anamoly ended up being an effect that was occuring if your troops were placed in front of a wall and was corrected later.
It just goes to show that you may be seeing a symptom of something totally unrelated to what you think you are testing for so what you think needs fixing isn't at all the problem. :eek:
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But like Lucifer (presumably - I'll be sure to ask when we meet), Michael sincerely believes that it is BFC who fell from grace, not him.
That is the secret of their success, they signed a deal with the Lord of Darkness himself.
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The nice thing about having one's umpteenth meeting of the year at work over the same old topics , same old issues and undelivered deliverables is you have a lot of time to think over other crap. The point of that was I had a lot of time to think today over the dust up on this thread, LLF's plea for us to behave and my own contribution to this.
First of all to repeat to you again, but publicly, my apologies Pandur for disrupting what is rightfully your space to handle feedback. My contribution was not only unhelpful, but also started the complete derailing of the thread.
Secondly I'd like to apologize to Erwin. Whatever I may have thought about your reply, mine was no better. Worse in fact in that it wasn't even germaine to the thread. You are right, I am not the scenario designer and it was Pandur's place to determine how he felt about the feedback. In addition it is no less a hissy fit on my part to only provide my feedback to Pander via PM.
I'd also like to apologize to the scenario designers and forum participants in general as this is not the kind of behavior that we should see here and I think I simply made things worse for designers looking for feedback while reducing the comfort level of those who would have considered providing some. It was not one of my better moments.
In hopes of making up for that I'd like to take a step back and perhaps provide the response I should have originally. Hopefully it will contribute to getting this back to where it should have been. This by no means is meant to be a "correct" way to provide feedback nor are the suggestions necessarily good ones. They are however meant to be a different way to look at the issues and an attempt to not simply say what I do or don't like, but alternate ways of looking at aspects of the scenario. These are also not necessarily the suggestions I would make as I need to play through the full scenario to understand their impact. They are just general ideas and examples of alternative suggestions.
Erwin made a couple of points that I have been mulling over.
The primary one had to do with the actual crossing. It is too early for me to say whether I think it should or shouldn't be there, but the issue that bothered me was why was it taking Erwin almost 3x as long to get his vehicles across the Kall. He is by no means a new player and I have no secret recipe about it. So I started thinking about the mechanics of the crossing and it occurred to me it might simply be the bridge. I don't know that this is the case and Erwin go ahead and correct me, however I think my reasoning would apply for a new player regardless of whether it is true for Erwin. The bridge is a distraction. They are notorious for pathing issues and the ford has easily twice the thoughput. I only sent a few vehicles across the bridge and instead concentrated on shoving them through the ford. Fewer pathing issues, it can handle 2 vehicles at once etc. I would consider eliminating the bridge and replacing it with a second ford.
Second item was finding the ford itself. Simple enough once you find it, but I know the map really well. Seeing any water at all was a dead giveaway. For someone who doesn't know it, I would consider simply adding a text location for "the ford".
Last item was the trek for the initial company over to Froitsheid. First off it might add to the map and a player's orientation to have a path from Froitscheid to the Kall, mark it again as a location. You could also consider having it provide enough room to move a vehicle on. Get rid of the 1st Company halftrack carriers and replace them with a handful of trucks for resupply. Allow the trucks to be placed on the opposite side of the Kall so they can negotiate the path. Any follow on reinforcements would not have that option so you don't risk someone shoving all their armor through there. You could even make it muddy so they have the possibility of bogging and screwing the whole pooch. They'd still be there for resupply, but it'd be a lot more effort and time.
Erwin also raised the possibility of other engagements. Again this is all hypothetical as you'd already noted the timing issues and this may not fit at all, but there are a few options. A couple mines in the woods, an OP/MG position or two and a TRP that calls down some harassing mortar fire, not too heavy but enough for flavor and some disruption might peak the player's interest (and have them bitching at you.)
Anyway those are some intial thoughts. I hope that I have helped throw a little water on the fire and moved the gas can away (yes I know water on a gasoline fire is a bad idea). Again my apologies to everyone for being a putz.
Once I get through the scenario I'll provide some more substantive feedback.
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9 Shreks? Baaahhhaahhahha He better bring a lot of tanks
Add to that all those PFs and Ian's suggestion of using them in conjunction with smoke and your opponent better make sure those Shermans are hanging back in a support role behind a nice Infantry screen. Even then, the shreks have a really good ability to reach out and touch him. I had one nail a Sherman at 267 meters. No I didn't plan that. I just hadn't set a limited arc as I didn't think anything was near or in sight. Next thing I know this rocket arcs across the sky, kills the tank and a halftrack next to it.
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The 15% was only at a particular point in time. As I recall, at one point in mid-42, the War Department determined that only 15% of global U.S. resources were allocated to the PTO, but that was quickly ramped up to a more reasonable level.
There is a reason they called it Operation Shoestring.
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Funny reading your process newlife makes me remember just why I like spending time on the setup. It not only is good overall for planning etc, you also get to know your force and it's situation much more intimately. Good summation.
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LOL fair enough. Only mentioning it as this current fight is giving me some ideas for creating a pretty good urban combat environment that will hopefully help with the whole issue of Infantry AT capability.
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Speaking from ignorance is generally a bad idea. I have in fact started playing as my previous comment had noted and I have provided additional feedback to Pandur via PM. That is likely where I will continue to provide it as I'd really rather not continue to feed this ridiculously childish tirade. The question isn't one of how or what kind of feedback one gives, only Pandur can speak to what is helpful in reviewing his design. The question was always one of the civility displayed in that feedback.
Sorry Pandur as I had really not planned on further disrupting your thread, but I am not very accepting of snide backhanded insults.
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One suggestion, you may want to take a look at the chateau ruins in the Shadow of the Hill map from Pete Wenman. I have a battle going on there now and what Pete came up with for the ruins has turned out to be some of the most wicked terrain for close in infantry combat I have run into. It definitely presents some ideas on how to create a tough urban battleground that is extremely dangerous for armor. I found I could even make use of PF 30's in it. Hell it is dangerous for infantry too with a few of our encounters taking place at point blank range. Toss in a few ruined buildings based on his design and I think you may find the whole flavor of the battle becoming a lot more brutal.
It has given me some thought on trying to recreate Monte Cassino.
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Another vote for unit parade formation. Even if the designer has set theunits out in some kind of formation, the firat thing I do is group them up by platoon, company, battalion so I can see what my OOB is.
Besides, who doesn't like a parade?
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Well, LLF, I know sburke appreciated your contribution, because he ended up winning the battle!
LOL and I probably still spent well over an hour. The thing that was killing me was knowing my armor was confined to one side or the other of the map. It is things like that which can really cause you to spend some time as the commitment isn't for just part of the battle, it is for the whole shebang.
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Screw spotting Shermans. Spotting what the hell this thread has become is bad enough.
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Outstanding, another DAR!
It is tough initially to air out your tactics on the forum, but even without feedback I think it helps to force yourself to explain why you are pursuing a particular plan.
Question for ya, what kind of AT weapons do you have Shrecks or PF? It'll totally alter your tactics. I love Shreks and have no issues going toe to toe in hedgerow country against armor. Fighting with just PFs is a lot harder. I am still struggling with them.
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you're a good man Pandur. A better man than me I think. Sorry to derail your thread.
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I'd like to think my eyes are already well open to that
Well then wtf did you do that quote in your sig? LOL
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Guys, designers... you put out scenarios and you bitch that no one downloads them or plays them..
You plead for feedback...
Ok, so I am one of the VERY FEW players here who actually THANKS designers for all their work, AND spends 4-6 hours a day playing CM2, testing out your scenarios and campaigns in order to write down detailed feedback for you.
Suddenly you don't like the feedback. You argue with the person you just asked for feedback from.
If you don't want to hear any feedback that disagrees with your conviction that everything you have done is perfect, then I suggest that you say you don't want to have your work critiqued, you just want to be worshipped.
I was a professional writer for many years and ALL one receives is criticism of one's work. One learns to be mature enuff to understand that it's meant to be helpful, or you are forced out of the business cos nobody can stand that sort of childish attitude "that my work cannot be improved".
No worries, I don't need to bother to take the time and trouble to play your scenarios so you can get detailed feedback, and you'll have to rely on... Hmm... who else...? I guess we'll see...
umm, he didn't argue with you. He simply provided you with more detail so you could understand his rationale. You were the one to get all upset that maybe your position wasn't immediately accepted. Pandur's response was polite and inviting discussion. Yours was a slap. Your feedback is your opinion. Pandur needs more than just one person's opinion before he knows what might make sense to tweak. Case in point, I had all the armor vehicles across the Kall in under 15 minutes. If it took you 35-40 Pandur is correct, you need to work on traffic management. It is a fair statement and very few if any of us can't say we have stuff to learn. Hell I have so many things I need improvement on in this game I wouldn't even know where to start making a list. I don't think it is Pandur who needs to work on his, as you put it "childish attitude".
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I'm actively hoping the new TV season sucks just to avoid the distraction.
That is a pretty safe bet....
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Ditto. Sort of.
It is a step forward but not as big as many would like to a theatre that I suspect doesn't capture the imagination automatically.
But there is no reason to feel bad about not getting CMFI or that Battlefront has abandoned you (original poster) or vice versa. They have repeatedly stated that they do not expect all customers to purchase all modules/families.
Unless you have fundamental problems with the engine something will come your way again. It is more a time for patience now waiting for this to come again rather than thinking they have lost their way.
That right there is I think exactly the right attitude. You don't have to buy it if the price or theater interest isn't good for you. There are two more families scheduled at the moment for next year and probably a couple modules. It isn't like you are choosing between CM or no CM, you are simply cherry picking what you want and BF fully expects that.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it doesn't have to become a debate about their pricing or business model. On the other hand there are those of us addicted that also happen to have the discretionary income to finance our habit. I find it highly unlikely I won't be purchasing everything that comes down the pike. I wasn't sure I'd like CMSF and am still playing it regularly, wasn't sure I'd like CMFI and found myself enthralled. My biggest issue now is time. I simply do not have enough of it. Damn work gets in the way so badly. I know folks who haven't bought CMFI yet because they simply do not have the time to play. real life very much intrudes on what we all might wish for.
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Ah! lol. can´t remember that scene.
What? You have not memorized it? Shame
ARTHUR: O, Knights of Nee, we have brought you your shrubbery. May we
go now?
HEAD KNIGHT: It is a good shrubbery. I like the laurels particularly.
But there is one small problem.
ARTHUR: What is that?
HEAD KNIGHT: We are now... no longer the Knights Who Say Nee.
RANDOM: Nee!
HEAD KNIGHT: Shh shh. We are now the Knights Who Say Ecky-ecky-ecky-
ecky-pikang-zoom-boing-mumble-mumble.
RANDOM: Nee!
HEAD KNIGHT: Therefore, we must give you a test.
ARTHUR: What is this test, O Knights of-- Knights Who 'Til Recently
Said Nee?
HEAD KNIGHT: Firstly, you must find... another shrubbery!
[dramatic chord]
ARTHUR: Not another shrubbery!
HEAD KNIGHT: Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must place
it here beside this shrubbery, only slightly higher so you get a
two-level effect with a little path running down the middle.
RANDOM: A path! A path! Nee!
HEAD KNIGHT: Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must cut
down the mightiest tree in the forest... with... a herring!
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I am doing a lot of work trying to play this scenario and give you good feedback.
All I can say is wow. That takes some serious brass to say while pleading with others to create work for you to your design specs
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Looking at this photo it strikes me that at road level it is likely to be not much wider than 10ft or 9ft or the width of a tank
Funny you mention that. Was just reading sections of After D-Day and it discusses the 116th Pz counterattack during Cobra near Tessy sur Vire. Schwerin found the Panthers couldn't use the secondary roads and he was confined to the major arteries...in daylight...in good weather.
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I'll move this to the Helpdesk if necessary, but perhaps a quick answer here will clue me in.
I have CMBN/CW, and am trying to start my first PBEM game. Opponent has chosen a "random meeting engagement" (I assume Quick Battle), and sent me the first file "Pauls".
I moved this into my Incoming E-mail folder, began the program, clicked Saved Games, there it was. I chose it, and the next screen was asking for a new password. Entered one, the next screen instructed me to choose a save file name. I did, "Richard001", and was immediately returned to the Main Menu. Odd. Sent this to my opponent, who presumably ran his turn fine, and sent me "Ricks02".
I moved this to Incoming E-Mail. When I went to Saved Games in the Main Menu it was there, and same thing happened...PW prompt, save name prompt, Main Menu. Only difference between the two events was PW prompt the first time had a Waffen SS symbol, second time it had an American Army symbol. No game play whatsoever.
Is there something extremely obvious that I'm missing? Any thoughts?
It almost sounds like you just got back the file you sent. That is the only explanation I would have as to why you got the Allied password screen. Try moving that save turn you just created directly to your incoming mail folder and see if it brings you to your first turn. Your opponent should not have had to rename the file. It should have come up as "Richard002", they should have just accepted it. Doing otherwise is gonna mess with HTH helper if you are using that and it makes tracking turns pretty darn hard.
Out of curiosity, when you entered a password for the Allied side, what save name did it create?
Ranger33 caught something I missed. The original file was sent to you called Pauls. Your save should have been Paulsoox (I'd expect 001, but with you guys renaming files I am not sure about that.) With all the renaming as Ranger33 noted, it is easy to mis swap files. You really should get HTH Helper, it'll make this soooo much easier. And GAJ doesn't pay me a cent for saying that.
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Lovely! Try a split level effect!
And perhaps a little path running down the center
Now, beer is a different matter...). FWIW, I did not mean to post a "look at what I do", but rather to focus on how much effort it takes to tease out results.
Scenario: KG Himmelfahrt
in CM Normandy Maps and Mods
Posted
Question - Is it the ford itself or the terrain that is used for the entry/exit that causes the bogging? I didn't off hand count the number of vehicles, but Pandur starts you out with a sizable force. Off the top of my head there must be over 50 vehicles as of 30 minutes in all of which have to make the crossing. I had nothing even hint at bogging. Not to say they wouldn't just wondering if it is the ford itself or not. I have had vehicles bog in other scenarios but the ground conditions in those were specifically set for it, I am not sure it was the ford itself. The alternative could simply be to replace the ford tile with regular dirt terrain. It probably wouldn't stand out that much (again the rest of the Kall river has no actual water tiles) and as long as it is marked wouldn't be difficult to find.
The simple answer is it is a pre exisiting map.
Yeah not really a good answer. The one factor that hasn't been discussed about the ford and the time that Pandur has designed into the beginning that is important is, if you set the stituation that contact will be initiated too quickly it lowers player flexibility. As it stands I am now in pretty solid contact with an enemy force at the stream near Froitscheidt. I decided to retain the halftracks and circle around below the hill crest to give myself more speed and retain the halftracks closer to my units if I need resupply or to reposition. At the moment I am wishing I had proceeded a little more slowly. My 1st platoon of 1st Company in it's recon of the stream precipitated a firefight with an enemy force they were not prepared to take on yet. So far the ford crossing itself has made very little impression on me other than it does force you to slow down your deployment a bit. Not a bad thing in a scenario this size.