Bahger

I agree about CMBS and feel that it's streets ahead of SF although that is not entirely a fair comparison, as I had been an early adopter of SF and abandoned it three months after an initial release that BF itself admitted had been rushed. I'm sure it's really good now, if not, I suspect, quite as evolved as Black Sea. I must note the coincidence; I, too, got back into Steel Beasts Pro PE while waiting for BS to come out, having not played SB for many years. I think you are perhaps a little hard on it. It is a superb sim (recently updated to v3.025) and much enhanced by many years of demanding military clients. It has the best scenario editor I have ever used, great terrain (especially given that it needs to be rendered in both 3-D, 2-D and first-person) and I was thrilled to see the non-abstracted implementation of both UAVs and attack helicopters. I also found a virtual unit (called the Dogs of War) most of whose members are current and ex-military and who play battalion-level scenarios in the sim fully commed up and with a very high level of tactical expertise. So, I intend to play both games side by side quite far into the future.

Interesting point; with all the C3 comms between these linked units, you'd expect the tank commander to orientate his gun in the right direction and in a timely manner because, despite never having had a direct spot on the T-90, he would have been in contact with the Bradley over the net and received a pretty precise SITREP. However, disconcertingly, that TC is rated -1 in this mission so I figured I had better give him a bit of an assist. If the encounter had gone the other way, so would the battle. This may prove to be the tipping point.

In a small attack QB (armor) I've been fighting as Blue, my vehicles are assaulting downhill through fairly densely-forested farmland. My Bradley has spotted a Russian T-90 (I think...can anyone confirm?) but I did not want the M3 to chase him down the reverse slope so I left him in defilade with area-fire orders, hoping to push the tank back. There was no way I could advance my forces down the road (by far the best available axis) without finding and killing that tank and there was no available spotter LOS for a precision round, so I had to risk a short-range tank vs tank encounter. I sent my M1 down the road with hunt orders but made sure I gave him a target arc ninety degrees to the left of his direction of travel before he got to the opening between the buildings. As my little video establishes, the M1's turret swivel in anticipation of finding the tank was what gave him the first shot and may have saved his life, as the T-90 had heard him come down the lane and was in the process of adjusting fast from his orientation on the Bradley. I reckon he was about half a second from getting a shot off of his own. A minor skirmish, I know, but really quite satisfying, as I have two victory zones out of three and with at least two Red tanks gone, I have to feel I have the tactical edge...as long as I do not do anything stupid or impulsive. What a great game this is, an evolutionary leap-frog over SF, in my opinion.

I am playing an Attack QB with three objectives bordered by yellow boxes on the terrain. TW questions: - Do I need to leave units on these zones to get credit or do I just have to touch them? - Is there any way in the game to see a running tally of zones taken, casualties incurred, etc. while the battle is in progress? Many thanks in anticipation.

Sorry, double post.

So they apply to RT gameplay more than WeGo? Or will they intercede in previously given orders in WeGo too?

I am embarrassed to ask this, especially since I used to know what they are for, but it's been a long time since I last played CM and I have forgotten. I scoured the manual but am sure there is no explanation. Thanks in anticipation.

I'm in the final mission of the tutorial and thinking about a mixed smoke/HE barrage on the objectives before I send my infantry over open ground. However, can anyone confirm whether or not this will impede my own troops' ability to spot and aim? I do not want my Bradleys and infantry to be blinded and I've got a sniper and grenade launcher team in the base of fire as well, so I do not want to score an own goal with the smoke! Many thanks!

Very helpful, gents. Many thanks.

I'm wondering if there is a good way to get ranges for weapons in the game, such as the longer-range, vehicle-mounted weapons like TOW, but also man-portable weapons like grenade launchers. I know that it is possible to use the targeting tool ("T") but that's not effective if its LOS is impeded. Is there a distance measuring tool in the game and any information in the unit data on-screen or elsewhere re. minimum and maximum ranges for individual weapons, or even enemy weapons for spotted units? Many thanks.

On a related subject, can someone remind me how to heal squad casualties? I know it's possible but I am not sure what the mechanic is.

I still cannot see how my thread title can be misconstrued as a complaint about download issues (sorry, but my d/l was completely problem-free and took 45 min). While capable of sarcasm, I find it a good rule not to use it passive-aggressively. Anyway, sorry about the confusion and also about those affected by the d/l issue.

Well said! I am coming back after a long break and having not played CM since the (troubled) early days of Shock Force I am thrilled to see such an evolved, smooth-running game. Performance is stellar and the weapon systems are comprehensive and really well integrated. I am delighted by advances made in infantry deployment and AI, especially vehicle pathfinding. I am sure a lot of this is incremental and has been developed over all the post-SF releases but Black Sea strikes me as the product of a development team at the top of its game.

You're right about "BS". But my inner 13 year-old boy finds "BO" fairly funny too.

This document looks just great for mission designers, really comprehensive and definitive. I have never built missions in CM games (but lots in Steel Beasts, DCS A-10C and many other sims) but I was considering taking the plunge and this will be a great "bible". Thanks again.

Thanks very much for the confirmation.

That makes sense. And if it puts pre-orders ahead of any mad scramble to download, it's much appreciated.

I only just noticed that my email went straight into spam! After checking this forum, I dug up my original order acknowledgement and got the download key/location link from there. So, if that's not vindication for the F5 Monkey, I don't know what is!

Ok, CMBS is now downloading to C: by default but I really hope the installer will give me the option of installing the game on E: I think it will...

Assetto Corsa and Door Kickers were extremely good, high-value early access games. But if anyone who has dealt with Steve thinks he would respond well to demands for this that and the other in an early access version of CM is bonkers. It's tough enough for Steve to put up with all the exacting grognards and their cheese-paring after they've paid for the full game; can you imagine what a riot there would be if the floodgates were opened even wider in an early access situation?

If we hit February with no game yet (I'd put it at 50/50, inclining towards 60/40) the humor around here will turn a little darker. Still, we know they are a small team, doing their very best, that the game is in an infinitely more mature state than SF was on release and that there are real grounds for optimism, whatever the slippage. I would not have considered buying it, let alone pre-purchasing another CM title after SF, if I had not been so impressed by Chris's videos, and some of them were from weeks ago.

Well at least it isn't nose holding, as it was when they released Shock Force! (Sorry, sorry, guys, joke, ok? Water under the bridge and all that...)

IS IT SAFE?

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

Good advice, but it will end up considerably more expensive if I want to keep the sim. I was very involved with SB in the early days as a scenario designer, so I know it's great.