silverstars

While the idea that the Pacific Theatre would be a boring slogfest of close-in jungle fighting and therefore pointless to make, I wonder how such fighting is any different then fighting Uncon forces in a dense urban area like I do all the time in CMSF. As for the whole ETO over PTO idea, I think its the basic fantasy idea that with the ETO (at least on the West Front) it was a very White Hat vs. Black Hat war, compared to the bloody, morally ambigous, Pacific theatre. I believe the concept isn't fair, nor historically accurate, but it is there just the same.

It will be done when it will be done. Frankly I am glad they took the time to get CMSF in working order first before they zipped along onto making modules for it. I've long ago realized that most games that are truly worth your time will never be on time. I mean come on, when was the last time you saw Blizzard release a game ANYWHERE NEAR their touted release date?

Glad you are feeling better from your week-long sickness Steve. I am still curious as to how detailed the water will be. I recall that Assault boats are not showing up, but I was still curious as to how many types of water tiles there will be, if more then one, and their effects on Infantry, Vehicles, AFVs, etc.

I am of the opinion that Audie Murphy can pull the charging handle any damn way he pleases. If he were around, would YOU tell him he's wrong?

As a side thought, I just realized that with all of this talk of how things happened and this books say this and so on, how much I've missed the old WWII grog debates( That German Optics monster thread comes to mind) that went on with CM1. Just a thought. And of course, more questions: Since it's obvious water will be included in CM:N, how detailed will it be? As in will there be just one "Water" tile, or will there be Deep water impassible by everyone, hip-to-neck deep water that could be fordable by Amphibious vehicles and men, fords that are water-filled but could be forded by most vehicles except the heaviest of tanks, etc. ?

Heck, how about some Xbox-esque Acheivements along with something that posts your stats (Wins, Losses, Men & Vehicles lost, # of enemy killed, etc.) on the Forum under your signature. It would be fun just coming up with Acheivements for Combat Mission.... "Buy one get 1 Free"-Destroy 2 AFVs with one ASPDS shot "Oh no you didn't!"-Infantry Squad that is hit by fire from a AFV destroys said vehicle within 1 minute It's gamey, but what the hell.

I didn't imagine they had a large number left over after 4 years of war. And frankly, I will not be heartbroken if they never appear in the series at all( unless CM:France '40 shows up somewhere down the road, where in that case they damn well better be there). I just remember the "Depth over Breadth" discussions from earlier and was curious how far down the rabbit hole they were willing to go. And from Steve's comments here I gather they are obviously shooting for more Depth then CM1, especially in areas I hadn't considered( C2 observation posts, for example).

To John Kettler, Thank you for pointing that out. I couldn't for the life of me remember the source material I got the idea of Captured French tanks in Normandy(you read enough WWII books and play enough wargames your brain bibliography goes all to hell). Now I remember I got it from the Paratrooper Module from good ole' ASL, who in turn probably got most of their scenario ideas from SLAM's work. As far as the whole Recrew debate, I think it's a good thing, Just not good enough to be at the expense of something better, or so major it would seem stupid not to have. The best example I can think of is Theatre of War I, which had the ability to do all these nifty things we seem to want in CM, but had no buildings you could enter. So while it would be nice, it isn't nice enough for me to swallow a Normandy without a flooded Douve River. Besides, just looking at the difference between CMSF 1.0 and CMSF 1.11 I have high hopes of something being implemented in between modules.

Or you may possibly code a "Bunker" that provides no cover and shows a bunch of ammo boxes/crates that you use the "Aquire" function on. You would be able to move it around during set up that way, then it would be immobile for the rest of the game, but still useable. You could then split teams to use as runners for ammo during extended firefights. Again, I have no concept what coding would be required for that, but it sounds both realistic and doable.

Understood. I was mostly musing how things might come about in the future, you've provided more info then I expected and I thank you for it. Of course, I keep coming up with more ideas for questions, so hopefully you can be a little patient with my insufferable curiosity towards CM:Normandy(or should we start referring to it as CM:France '44?). Do you foresee any unique Infantry commands or changes to existing Infantry Commands to better model the tactics of the base nationalities? I don't imagine the command Assault will continue to exist(at least in its current form) but I imagine split teams will hang around, as well as the Antitank Team command for the Germans and their pesky Panzerfausts. Which leads to another question.... Will Squads still have all the dedicated teams for Anti-tank weapons (as in the original CMBO) or do you see more use of the Aquire button? for example, will Americans have bazookas stowed on the Deuce and a halfs or will there be company-level Bazooka teams as before? And I think you answered negatory to this before but, will Tank riding be an option or possibly become an option before or when CM:East Front comes out?

I am also having this problem with quick battle, specifically the Choose one side, switches you to another side issue. CPU:Intel Core 2 Quad at 2.83 Ghz Memory: 4GB GFX: Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 OS: Win XP SP3

Ah....and here I was trying to space things out a little to give you guys some breathing space... So wait, does that mean Airborne units will be in the initial release, or will they be in a Module after the Commonwealth one comes out? And if Airborne units are included in the first release, what is your 2nd (or 3rd) module based around? Since the Free French are organized like US units and the Canadians, Free Poles, and what have you fall under the Commonwealth units, what else is there? A Partisan pack maybe? Or are you thinking with the WWII CMs that one Module will probably suffice?

Ah, I see. So I guess the Normandy Game/modules would probably come out something along these lines.... Base Game U.S. vs. Germany Types of Divisions included: US Infantry, US Armored, German Infantry, German Panzer, possibly SS Panzer Campaign: More then likely focused on Op. Cobra, probably either 2nd or 3rd Armored. 1st Module Paratroopers Types of Divisions included:US Airborne , Fallschirmjager Campaign: Easy bet would be 101st vs. 6th Fallschirmjager Reg., battle of Carentan, but could focus on 82nd Airborne actions 2nd Module British Army Types of Divisions included:UK Infantry,UK Airbourne, UK Armored Brigade, poss. more SS units not included yet Campaign: either the Taking of Caen, or Armored actions involved with or following Caen.(I am not as well versed in the Brit side of things, so I may be missing more lucrative ideas) 3rd Module Allied Minors/Odds and Ends Types of Divisions included: Canadian Infantry, Canadian Armoured Brigade, Free French Units, Free Pole Units, maybe even French Underground Campaign: Who knows. Could focus on any of the above(my money is on the Canucks). This would be my best guess anyway, but it is Steve's Game so he has the last word obviously. Out of all of those the Paratrooper focused one would be the most entertaining in my eyes; my favorite maps are mostly infantry with a smattering of armor to shake things up. I also wouldn't turn my nose up at a surprise, such as 4th Infantry's push to Cherbourg(go Granddad), a French Underground campaign would be highly interesting, maybe use those irregular forces rules from CMSF and use them for partisan warfare would be a unique change of pace from the norm. Either way, Battlefront has my wallet when it comes to CMN.

A few questions: Since one of the main development strategies of CM2 was the "Depth not Breadth", will this mean that Captured french tanks will be available to the Germans? I realize they were not available in huge numbers, but from what I recall they were the most likely to be seen in this specific area/time period(aside from the Fall of France, of course). While all the previous modules for CMSF have revolved around nationality, will this be the same Idea for CM:N? To be more specific, will Paratroopers warrant a different module or will they part of the original release? For CMSF, each module(so far) has included one module. with a situation where the adversaries are on more equal footing, will you continue the same concept or will you have a German/Allied member campaigns for each release? If so, will the campaigns be related; i.e. two opposing regiments battling it out and you pick who you start off with. Also, since the transition from theoretical war(just make up the scenarios/maps) to historical war(needing historical units/maps to accurately model battles) increase the workload, or no appreciable difference? yeah, I have a lot of free time recently.

I think we might be giving Steve a Migraine as he watches us dream up graphics he and Charles can in no way produce, or at least produce and have it done in time before the engine is completely obsolescent).It might be a little mean of us. Oh well. So anyway, How about Mine Dog Units transported in Horse Drawn Carts That can hide in full FOW Trenches?

Also don't forget the war-specific doo-dads: Rommel's Asparagus Beach Obstacles Dead Cows, of course Crashed Waco Gliders Used Parachutes Dead soldiers/Paratroopers(not attached to one of your units, but ones you could sprinkle around the map and have your men forage for ammo) Those are just some off the top of my head. I think if they could pull off the dead men idea, they could easily also put in ammo dumps for resupply purposes. And yes, I also realise many of these are only applicable to D-Day/Normandy beachhead, and the game sounds like it's meant to cover everything up to and including Operation Cobra. But D-Day sells, and who doesn't like paratroopers?

I'll add my 2 cents for the fact I find Helicopter Support fairly borked (it's a technical term) In other words, Apaches and Cobras, Whose reason for existence is CAS, shouldn't be more difficult/ineffective then WWII Fixed-wing aircraft.

Yes, welcome to the crack. As in the kind of crack where you spend 1000$ for a top of the line computer, buy several games that test my CPU as much as possible(Crysis, Far Cry 2,Brothers in Arms:HH, etc.) and end up playing this 2007 game all damn day. I should just call my wallet pocket "Steve's Purse."

Oh of course. How different countries deal with thier raging alcoholism in thier own unique way provides much of the flavor to the CM:CR series. But please remember that Battlefront focuses more on depth then breadth, so fans who have been waiting with baited breath to see a true representation of the Tailhook scandal will have to wait for Combat Mission:Beyond Fraternization.

I wonder how hard it would be to have enemies displayed only after: A)The unit in question discovers the enemy B)A time has elapsed to mimic the delay of information going from the involved unit back to the CO(you). For example: A Sherman tank rounds a corner and comes into an open area lined in forest. He is fired upon, but the incoming shell ricochets. The Sherman spots the offending ATG, and the Tac AI has the sherman start retaliating. Now as the commander, all you see on your screen is your happy little Ronson drive around a corner and then all of a sudden come to a screeching halt, and then you see him fire off into the treeline. Now once the period of time elapses that simulates the Sherman letting everyone know where the ATG is(which would hopefully take into account the quality of its current C2 link with command), THEN you would see the ATG appear on your display. If the Sherman was destroyed during this communication period, then you would then never see the ATG. Now I'm not a programmer so I don't how taxing this would be on your CPU, nor how much of a headache it would be to program. Hell, I'm sure there is a major flaw in the idea that I am just not seeing at the moment. But please feel free to tell me!

Expectations low, eh? Combat Mission: Commissary Run Try to collect as much duty-free liqour as you can before the local V.F.W.(Red Forces) shindig buys it all out.

Wow, that's a good idea. I can't even think of anything negative to say about it, at least from a gameplay/realism aspect. But I'm sure someone else will come up with something. ;D

Yeah, I would love a red module. It could possibly be vs one of the blue armies, in the vein of a post-shooting war insurgency. I have also thought about a campaign concerning a post-war newly-formed Syrian government trying to dispose of some straggling naysayers with a less then crack army, for a Conventional Red vs Uncon Red Campaign. Either way it would be nice to play the game from the other side in single player, and also mesh well with the fictional invasion of the original campaigns.

Combat Mission: Bradley's Guide to Beachcombing and Shrubbery Maintenance Maybe we can suck in that HGTV demographic....

So basically, you can only use "Target Light" to area fire with no LOS.