DeLaVega

Actually I have to say that the AI didn`t make the brightest moves when I was playing the scenario. As you can see on my screenshot on the previous page the AI moved the halftracks and one sherman out of the forest directly in front of the StuG`s. And this happened over the course of at least 20-30 turns. I haven`t moved the StuG`s at all, but the AI was not able to handle them differently. All halftracks were packed with infantry, so the most of them fell with the first hit by the StuG. Would the AI have unloaded all halftracks before and flank the StuG`s in the dense forest they would have been an easy target. I only protected them with a platoon of Recon troops. However, the AI ingnored the assault guns and left the forest right before their muzzle. And even after the whole path was blocked with burning vehicles it still tried to force tanks down the way towards the StuG`s. So somehow I got the feeling that something`s not working properly. On one hand the AI uses the most difficult way in pushing even its vehicles through thick forest, but on the other hand it`s not able to adjust the pincer move slightly after "realizing" that taking the original path means utter destruction.

Okay, finally finished this lovely map, although not quite satisfied with the end result (How can 18 knocked out enemy tanks, 15 armored vehicles and 200 infantry lost vs. my 0 lost tank, 5 armored vehicles and 12 infantry casualties just be acceptable?) I had to make a screenshot of a tight defensive situation... Who is more stubborn here, the attacker or the (2) defenders? :-) Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Who thought this map could turn into everything I was looking for in CM Normandy? :-) In the moment I`m defending three spots and therefore have to rewind three times just to don`t miss any action. Who thought that this 1,5 hour battle keeps you busy for one day? I`m more of a QB guy, so I haven`t played many scenarios yet, but (following my former posters) I also have to point out that you hit the mark pretty, pretty well with this map! Actually for the first time I feel like I play a Normandy map. Most of the others I have seen until now could be anywhere. Really very nice... shallow hills, dirt roads and sparsely placed bushed and small trees close to streets and not just concrete highways and bocage next to it. Wow. Last year I visited Normandy, thanks for bringing back this feeling and the atmosphere!

I have seen this in many QB`s and just now in the "Barkmann`s Corner" scenario. I`m only playing in iron difficulty, so I have no idea if this AI LOS "advantage" is reduced in the lower levels. When I have to defend I take really much time and care in placing all tanks as best as I know. Hull down, facing etc. Then, after the battle has started, there are times in which I think that I could have saved that time and just placed all tanks randomly. For example: A defending player tank is able to overlook just a flat meadow. I see the enemy`s icons in front of the meadow and after a short while they have reached the middle of the field. Just icons, nothing more. I have infantry and tanks overlooking the entire meadow, but they are just able to spot "icons" even when the enemy is already in the middle of the field. One turn later my tanks are mysteriously hit several times before they react and spot something and then, even more hits later, the enemy icons in the middle of the meadow are revealed as ... tata ... tanks. My own tanks and infantry were not able to spot them driving on just flat surface with low grass vegetation? If it would be just this single case, but this example happened again and again. Enemy tanks driving with full speed through nothing and are spotted so late by defending tanks which haven`t moved a bit. And, of course, to even top that, the attacking tank is firing the main gun while moving at top speed and delivers a knock out to my own tank. And just now I was playing the "Barkmann`s corner" scenario for the first time and it was exactly the same. Left the Panther where it`s positioned at the beginning with a clear LOS up to the streets top. A US icon moved to the top, Panther or infantry doesn`t recognize anything. Panther is hit one time, doesn`t react at all. Panther is hit a second time, but the crew keeps sleeping. Panther is hit for the third time ...main gun destroyed ... oh, and finally someone recognized the Sherman sitting there on the peak of the street like a fat duck and sniping my Panther. Hm, that`s really no fun. Can`t remember that it has been like this way in all previous CM`s. I like it difficult and realistic, but commanding an army of blind ones against Sauron? Anyone else has had some similar experiences?

The amazingly nicest thing I have seen so far is how a PAK 40 crew and their ammo bearer`s alone secured my left flank in a quick battle and were holding their ground against 1 million US infantry (at least it felt like 1 million :-) ). This was also the time when I figured out that the halftracks were not "delivered" with a guy behind the MG, so I moved a halftrack close to the last surviving man, let him mount the vehicle and while it was slowly moving backwards he was forcing the US troops to stay in cover, thus delaying them, so they couldn`t reach their objective in time and I won. The amazingly stupidest thing I have seen was in the same battle. The right flank was supposed to be held by my main asset, an elite Tiger tank with its values pushed to the top and therefore quite expensive. It rolled out to stop some Shermans, but what happened was that the first Sherman stopped the Tiger. The distance between them was 60m, so nothing unusual, but the follwing action made me almost cry out loud. While the Shermans were slowly dismantling the Tiger, the elite crew of the steel beast kept continuously hitting trees behind which the Shermans were waiting... It seemed there is no way for the AI to adjust fire to the front or rear of a vehicle, they always go for the middle. And since 10-20 88 rounds are not able to cut down a tree, four Shermans had the best cover in the game you could imagine. :-(

I know, the thread name sounds strange to say the least, but I do miss the unpredictable effects of fire so nicely portrayed in the first CM. A satchel charge, blasted without care in a dry wheat field, a burning tank near a forest or just a simple flamethrower attack on a building, I liked these events of spreading fire. I`m not a pyro guy :-), but the effect of flames neglecting passages or the escape into a building was a big game feature in the first instalment for me. Really a pity that this has been kicked out of the series. Also atmosphere-wise had a burning field or building much more impact than a simple "no damage - damaged - destroyed" condition. The new CM`s have such nice smoke effects, lingering on the battlefield. Would really be great if that would be put to use again with fire effects on fields and buildings...

I also had problems with the infantry.. The Panthers took out all US armor, resulting in one Panther immobilized. Although I waited really long until I sent the infantry in they got caught in enough suppressive fire to stop them in the wooded area in front of the village. For the moment they were useless, I had no idea about how much US infantry is still in fighting shape and how many were still holding their "fortified" positions. I only saw a lot of question marks and had not a single identified american unit throughout the village. With the infantry refusing to advance I used the Marder`s to put area fire on the buildings in their sight and sent the Panther into the village on a suicide mission. I raced him to the spot behind the graveyard near the chapel, right in the middle of the village... and literally surprised the US infantry, which had retreated before to the graveyard area, and the two mortar units. While the Panther took them out one by one the area fire of the Marder`s forced so many US platoons to retreat and, of course, while they were retreating they crossed the line of sight of the Panther. After a while my own infantry recovered and in the moment they were advancing the AI surrendered. Actually I wanted to quit the scenario after my infantry attack was stopped in its tracks, so the Panther rush was supposed to be my final move born out of desperation. Probably not a text-book attack, but a nice example of how you can turn the tide with something "creative"... :-)

I haven`t read all posts, so I don`t know whether someone has mentioned it already, but I really would wish for new sound samples. Not only as a CM disciple from the first hour, but also to recognize the weapons involved easier. The vehicle sounds have enough "bang", but the "lighter" weapons sound quite similar. I miss the typical M1 Garand clip extraction sound (they definetely have some Normandy touch for me :-) ) and MG 42 , .50 and .30 cal should sound really distinctive. Not only for some audio variety, but also to get some feedback on the weapon system involved without zooming in on the units. But maybe that could be a modder`s task? Still, would be nice if it was included right from the start. Other than that: Dense atmosphere!

Like Destraex1 I also know people who reject playing CM because of the way the camera is controlled. I`m using Cinema 4D, haven`t tried 3ds MAX yet, but I can imagine that the camera controls might be similar. The first question I asked myself when I opened the software was "Who created these camera controls?". Yes, I agree, you do get used to it. But only because you invest some time in learning it and then, after a while, it feels natural, of course. When people visit me and I show them "Theatre of War" or a "Total war" game and hand over mouse and keyboard to them, they understand and master the camera controls almost instantly. What I just wish for is an option to map the mouse/ keyboard controls. And, like Destraex1 said, camera controls won`t stop me personally from getting the game. I, like most of you, belong to the group who value other things in the CM series than that. But there are people out there who are spoilt by more intuitive and not so jerky camera controls and they might hesitate...

I like to move the camera with one hand and pan it with the other hand (preferably with the mouse) and I haven`t found a way in previous CM`s to do it that it feels smooth and fast. And I really don`t like to move the mouse cursor to the edges of the screen to move or rotate the camera and then come back to the center to select a unit. I just remembered another example of (in my opinion) perfect camera controls. The "Theatre of War" series offers camera freedom to each direction, yet it`s fast, smooth and very intuitive. (Otherwise I wouldn`t have been able to make all the videos with it :-) ) Only because one can play CM as a turn-based game shouldn`t mean that the way "fast" RTS games are played is being ignored. RTS games have these smooth controls for a reason... (not only to look sexy) ;-)

Hi, one thing which bothered me most since the 3rd instalment of CM is the way of controlling the camera. I haven`t checked any mods in this regard, so I have no idea, whether they have been improved. Last time I played SF: Marines it was still a jerking matter to move the camera to the point where you want to be. I`m thinking of a "Total War" kind of smooth camera movement with real mouse wheel support of zooming and rotating. Or, since you can`t please everyone with one fixed way, what about letting the player map the camera keys by himself? I think in 2011 no one should have to rape the numeric keys anymore to center some attacking soldiers (or click on arrows to pan the cam). So, I`m asking, will there be a change, too?

Hm, okay. I think I based my knowledge on the old ToW, probably before Patch X.X. Regarding my original question I don`t need help anymore. Just a few hours ago there opened up a discount opportunity and I took that chance and bought it. Thanks anyway.

Hi guys, it has been a while since I have been here and played ToW. The continuing trench attacks and triggered counter attacks really tired me out and I stopped playing. Recently I played the demo a few times and there particularly the missions created by the in-game mission generator. I think the fact that you can leave everything to random values and let the PC choose for you makes the battles a lot less predictable. However, the demo only features one map and in every created mission the defender will be placed in trenches. Are there maps in the full version without trenches which can be used for a meeting engagement? And if that exists does the PC attack at all, or just standing around at the starting position? If anyone could help me with that I`d appreciate that. I would only buy this game for the randomly created missions (I don`t like to setup a mission in the editor, since you already know what`s coming at you :-) ). From what I have read here the campaign missions are almost exactly as in ToW (trench after trench after trench), so for me the most important feature would be the mission generator. Thanks and best regards, Michèl

What a nice idea for a thread, crazyman. Yes, one year gone, unbelievable. Can remember my impatience to start playing as if it was yesterday. But then it got more and more a video playground for me. My motivation for playing got a huge drop when I realized that it`s only attacking trenches or defending against waves of enemies. And you never know if it was the last wave or have you already lost with the remnants of your forces? The battle generator never made that up for me, because knowing exactly which force attacks you is entertaining for 5 minutes. With a real campaign and a series of random maps it could have been THE WW2 game, but now, it`s just a connection of maps with no game design at all and it`s just no fun to try to flank the enemy and then be flanked by yourself by "in the map popping" enemy units, which enter the area 20 m next to you as if they had a stealth shield enabled. Without real forests and enterable buildings there is not much tactic required. And if you achieved a victory in the beginning there will be either 5 more waves or enemies who enter the map directly behind you. Additionally there is not much audible feedback from the battlefield. If your soldiers are under suppressive fire you should hear the whistling of the bullets and impacts on the ground. A complete platoon can be wiped out without the player realizing that. But making videos from it gives you all the freedom you need and for me that was a HUGE plus. Oh, some of you mentioned the beta kind of state when the game was released, but if there are a few among you who also were able to play "War Leaders - Clash of Nations" you will know what was really a beta release. In the end I still hope ToW will get a nice campaign with random battles and then everyone who doesn`t have it and likes the WW2 scenario will really miss something. Maybe April/ May 2009 ???

Tartari very nice work! I like the settlements and the mountains in the back very much! Gives ToW a complete new atmosphere.

Webwing, !

Sorry for my late reply, but I`m on vacation in the moment and cannot go online often. Just wanted to thank you recent posters! About the sounds I think as you do. The original ToW sounds are not scary enough. After the launch of the demo we discussed that and Kettenhund mentioned that he might be able to change them within a mod. But I have no idea if there has been some movement mod-wise. Since you mentioned that I guess that no one has taken care for that yet. Really a pity, because I also miss the feedback you get from sounds in general. If bullets and tracers are closing in on your men you should be able to estimate the danger just from hearing the sound. Ricochet sound from bullets hitting the ground is also completely missing. Really wish someone would be able and willing to take care for that. In the state in which the game is now there is not much battle atmosphere from the sounds and that is a pity.

Thanks again! @Tankbuster: The contest video had to be natural and no mix up of different things. Well, that was then and now is now. If I should get it managed to get the file small enough with decent quality I will think about uploading it, in the moment the source is still too big and I need a break from rendering, because this time the waiting almost killed me. Really weird, actually I think my PC isn`t too slow... But thanks for your interest! (can you imagine that this whole "video making" sucked around 250GB? :eek: Unbelievable for 10 minutes...

Hey guys, thanks for your comments! Nice to hear that you liked it. @Uwe: The exact list you can find in the video description. I used ToW and Il-2/ Pacific Fighters as always and for the composing in the background some graphics from "Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts" and "Medal of Honor Airborne". It`s really a pity that there are no cities in ToW, otherwise I wouldn`t have used the background graphics of other games. Don`t want to destroy the illusion but this whole end battle just happened in the ONE street of the St. Lo map. Needed a little patience to force the units into it, especially the Tiger. Hahaha. About the nurses I have to agree. We have seen enough male medics bending over innocent and helpless victims. @MikoyanPT: Nice to "hear" that you are still on this channel! And thanks for your nice comment, of course!

Hi all, after more than 3 months the next part of my little video series has landed on youtube. I`m thrilled to announce that... Okay, no one of you has waited for this, yet I wanted to say it. I hope it can bring everyone a little entertainment who is willing to interrupt playing around with the latest patch for 10 minutes. I have to admit that it was quite hard again to realize how youtube dismantled the graphics and especially the sound :-( . I also hope that no one minds the creative liberty I took this time. Have fun! Ticket for the VIP Lounge:

Very nice one, Gnasher! You are able to feel the battle atmosphere from this one. Has almost an HDR look.

Thanks for your answer, Sneaksie. What a pity, all that stuff from the new mod I could use in my next video. Now I have to create the illusion that I got this mod already.

To Sneaksie or any other who has installed the mod yet: Do the new included SS Assault and AT Teams wear the grey uniforms and caps as before or do they change their clothes to the "camouflage and helmet" version? Just want to be sure I installed the mod correctly, because after installing it the SS troops still wear their "old" grey colored uniforms. Would be happy, if someone knows something. Other than that: Great mod!

Thanks guys for your recent comments! It`s always nice to hear (read) that there are people out there who actually enjoy watching the videos. This gives me strength for the struggle with the next one.

Hi all! Thank you very much for the congratulations!!! And also a big thank you that many of you have been so brave to watch them all! Hm, if I think back on May of this year when I made the "Invasion of Poland" video and as most of you know it was my first in-game video ever. At that time I really didn`t have any idea of what I could improve in my next video. Whoever followed this 5 months journey from my first to my last ToW video will recognize a slight curve of improvement, but how was that possible as "Invasion of Poland" already was my best in-game video ever??? In fact I`m really sorry that "Invasion of Poland" turned out to be the one with the biggest interest, but compared to the others, it`s technically the worst. :-( On the other hand it was my first step, therefore I`m happy about the fact that the people who gave me their comments or ratings on youtube took it for what it is and didn`t compare it. As I have written here before I have not been and am not 100% satisfied with "A sniper`s despair". The amount of time I had was simply too short, but I thought people care more about the visuals than the "voice acting" and this made me putting the biggest effort into the locations, action scenes and continuity. 8 days were way too short to make it as perfect as I wanted it to be and it forced me to neglect the dubbing or use of voices. Of course I`m aware of the fact that this should be a unit with the overall look or sound, but at the end I was almost out of time and even left work earlier only to be able to upload it. But I`m really happy to see that, at least for a few of you, there was always a litte entertainment in these and my other videos. And everyone who watched all the different videos available on youtube will be able to see how much potential this game has and what a playground of creativity it can be, if you want to make a video of it. Freeboy you meant the black car (I guess it was the Horch)? I just tried out to which places I could move the camera. When I reached the underpants of the soldiers I got banned for one day. More trickier was (as an example) the shoot-out between the Panther and Jagdpanther. They never destroyed each other, even placed in different armies. So I tried to help them in placing a Jagdtiger behind each. But in 30 tries the Panther only exploded one time, the Jagdpanther almost always but they NEVER exploded together as I have wished for. :-( Hm, after these 30-35 tries I gave up and used the version you now see in the video. So, thanks again for your interest and long support, and to Battlefront for choosing the poor sniper as the contest winner. With that award Lt. Struecker`s death was not in vain. Oh, I almost forgot... The making of the new video has already started and all who missed british forces up to now hopefully will sweat with them, as they make their way to Caen.