jcmil

The only reason I didn't pre-order was the fact the local PO will shaft me on duty. I had $200 of goods come in from the US & got stung for £68 incl the helpful PO charge "We've helped you by paying customs fees-that little favour is costing you £%" The worst thing to me about the duty situation is tax must be paid on fees of foreign couriers. I couldn't believe that the 1st time I got hit with it. & the way it's calculated is deliberately weighted - ((£goods+duty)+S&H)x VAT) +PO handling. Had a mate buy a video DVD from the US had it snatched by the PO & they charged him £15 for a $12+S&H DVD. Software is officially listed on the Revenue site @3.5% for import, technically this is for a business import, but they aren't shy about saying "we're taking it" & "you need to lodge an appeal to prove our charges are wrong." They know most people will avoid hours of paper work & possible court time & just pay it. Bottom line I don't think BFC's $60 is a problem & I'd like the box & manual but I'm not paying the Post Office for nothing but profiteering. Whether the local office branch is particularly zealous/bad I don't know but it seems to be. As an aside I regularly mail to Oz - the main difference is the cost of an identical service on the same package is around double if posted from the UK. & thats before we even get to duties... And all to keep "lord'' Mandelson in rent boys... :mad:

Thats helpful to know, Merci

Thanks for letting me know Arzok. I don't normally use JSGME as I like to know where things are going Knowing what to back up/compare is the help I think I need. As I don't expect to be playing MP I hope I will be able to play this pack right away.

Looks very good. Thanks for sharing the work guys. Which units are removed? - I want to back up the correct folders just in case I need/want to roll back my install.

Thanks for the detailed clarification Schrullenhaft. Can't wait for the CMBN release.

I still regularly play ToW1, there are so many battles to keep one occupied. Once the expansion pack & the balance mod (& Gnashers Bulldogs campaign) are loaded, the game presents a lot of interesting moments in all sorts of European weather/terrain. The balance mod for ToW2 Africa also improves the game immensely - albeit still in sand. Collectively the series represents a long term solution to my wargaming needs, add CMSF etc & thats my spare time gone for the foreseeable future!

Thanks for the info. Interesting new protection system - sounds a bit more flexible. I hadn't been concerned with multiple (2) installations of CMSF as much as with being a dumb@ss again & forgetting or being unable to unlicense & not having my spare activation ready. Its far more likely that I will only ever have the one install & mess up so I guess I'll just wait till that happens.... As regards the new protection, will that allow offline activation? Or as with so many games require a permanent net connection? (I always worry about the phone companies willingness to mess up a net connection! )

Thanks Schrullenhaft. I was wondering about my 2 activation limit & how to review / reset it. I assume my failure to unlicense my old HDD install means that 1 license is effectively used up & thus if anything happens to my install my 'spare' will no longer be there to fall back on. Kinda paranoid perhaps. Is there an easy way without troubling the support desk?

Just reinstalled CMSF on a new 7 OS & wondered about the eLicense control. This info at Comodo forum solved my failure to launch / CTD with CMSF Add BFC's Executables to Image Execution Control Exclusions as well as trusted applications (CIS > Defense+ > Defense+ Settings > Image Execution > Exclusions) (CIS > Defense+ > Computer Security Policy ) Maybe a bit redundant posting here now but it might help someone... As regards the non-functional eLicense icon in CP - how does one find out eLicense status without this? Is there an easy way as I forgot & didn't unlicense when I wiped my HDD.

That makes sense as the game is probably preventing anachronistic force composition.

Do you have empty vehicles? If it's like ToW2 Africa's' mod 1.5.2 it could be syntax errors in the .ini's.

Hopefully I won't be chastised for mentioning a non-BFC product but a good game with entrenching is Achtung Panzer Kharkov 1943. I think the ToW entrenching/entrenched mechanics seem a bit off, as I find only by giving the lie down order do the troops gain any visible advantage from being in the existing trench cover. Wonder if it's moddable??? Nevertheless ToW is one of my favorite games having been a CC fan myself.

I have a pretty much clean install I put the mod into. Had only loaded up the first mission of each campaign to see how they looked & then messed about a bit. So no editing of mission access. I suspect that the StuG issues were a knock-on effect from the (then) less corrected 'ini's. I did generate a scenario with some of the new equipment to see how it looked but that was it as far as unique testing went. I tend to want to play the whole game throughout with the mods as they make a huge difference to the feel & realism levels. ToW1 became a whole new game with the mod pack. Downside with that is one has to replay all missions to get the full value from it! :p I have yet to examine the FSJ, what did you find lacking?

Roller-boots confiscated!!! Steam thread update & new files Every mission I've loaded seems to be OK. Hellmann Haven't seen any spawning issues with the StuG yet. When you added it did you ensure the spawn co-ords were the same as the rest of the German forces?

My StuGs are fine so far. Looking at the Steam thread:- The Inf & BMW anims are off - these are not related to the gooana package but to the hooks within the animation rendering side it seems. There will be a re-edited package in the future hopefully..

It can feel like that at first. Perseverance with <pause> & regular saves will show you it is more than possible. ToW does help you play at your own speed. If you want to micro-manage you can go crazy if you want. Sometimes you need to micro, others the AI does a fair job particularly once you get experienced units, & they quite happily vanquish the enemy with very little attention for you. Use the pause when things get hairy & double check what everything is doing, adjust as req'd & save often. Bottom line is get used to the way the game works & appreciate the depths, that way you can have many replays looking for the 'perfect game'. I actually don't mind losing in this game as there are so many interesting moments along the way. If you just can't win & get disheartened use the editor to reduce the veterancy of the opposing units a little. A switch from elite to veteran keeps it tough but gives a you bit more chance.

I think I felt that the forces were too small first time I loaded up ToW. But experience/trial & error shows otherwise. One does need to use the save & pause features to fill the gaps between orders & AI of troops. & you can go mad with micromanaging if you want. I like to play somewhere in between the 'pause all the time & micro' & 'just let loose & react on the fly' modes. You can tailor the games speed according to how you play & your mood at the time, & having regular saves to fall back on you can make steady progress. There is a lot of replay value in the series & I have fought many battles over again with different outcomes, whilst searching for the 'perfect' victory. I think the strength of the games detail (e.g. individual shells all modeled on the fly etc) means you can really experiment. & that experimentation allows you to develop tactics & troops (via experience points) to suit yourself & have some memorable fun along the way. Bottom line for me is perseverance is rewarded. If all else fails use the editor to reduce the strength of the opposing forces

If this is your first mission your men will be relatively green against seasoned troops & (as in 1944) they will take a lot of casualties. As you build up their experience points they will improve. To expand on a tip elsewhere on the forum - On the difficulty of missions: - the editor is your friend. It is a simple matter to load an ‘impossible' mission xml & alter the opposing forces. (Obviously the original mission.xml should be backed up first.). When I failed too many times I simply reduced the veterancy level of the enemy so I could move on. For those that don’t know how:- Using ToW 1 as an example, go to the missions folder e.g:- ..\theatre of war\Missions Select nation, then battle & open mission.xml with the editor. [before altering anything save a copy of the original e.g. as mission.xml.orig.] Then you can scroll through the opposing forces & reduce the troops/crew capability level. In the image here I’ve switched a tank crew from Elite to Regular. Just altering a few of these veterancy values can make all the difference. It isn’t necessary to make every crew green & useless to change the entire battle. You don't need to learn all about the editor to make that single change. You decide what & how much to alter. Having lowered only a few of the enemy experience values I save the file & restart the battle. Even one less capable enemy crew can make all the difference. That said you NEED the balance mod as it massively improves the stock balance of the game. This is a link for the last JSH balance mod 1.3.5 & the great Bulldogs campaign that was created by a member of this board. You do need to persevere with the learning curve & quirks but once you get the idea there are hours of great moments & replay in this series.

Fresh URL En_texts.utf8 just in case you only want these for the original campaigns...

I think this needs a look - (with this variant it's all working for me so far) Bugs found & squished? See the 2nd & 3rd post entries. Last file link :- Custom Updated 1.5.2- has necessary adjustments to avoid empty vehicles & gives English language throughout the original missions. If you have already installed the earlier patch I think you should be able to simply extract & overwrite to apply this version.

Heres a mirror of the 'correct' file @26mb: Corrected File inc EN .txt ..bit late tho ... Thanks 'OberLeutnant' As mentioned in the info file texts.utf8 will be overwritten with the Russian language variant. Ensure you copy out the texts.utf8 from these 3 mission folders if you want to keep the existing briefings. \theatre of war 2 africa 1943\missions\UK \theatre of war 2 africa 1943\missions\USA \theatre of war 2 africa 1943\missions\GERMANY However if you missed backing them up & need English replacements I posted them here - En texts.utf8 I have appended .UK (etc) for identification, this suffix will need to be deleted from the filename prior to use. e.g. texts.utf8.GER becomes texts.utf8 after placing in \theatre of war 2 africa 1943\missions\GERMANY

Hmmmm good question, the files are CRC identical but this is allegedly the 1.5.2 release... Will have to find the author & ask.

Working mirror Balance Mod 1.5.2

Not so. It might give some gauge of the physical product through-put but that isn't the only reason discounts/pre-orders exist. Companies & their bankers appreciate cash-flow, that $ in the bank equates to a benefit vs things like running costs inc bank charges. Companies can utilise the principle of pre-order as an interest free loan. Big companies generate significant revenue from this kind of virtual investment.

This has been said before I know but... I wish there was a discount for pre-orders on d/l only. Or maybe a discount voucher code to redeem against an upcoming module. That would make early BF support worth-while for us 3rd world types in Europe Reason being not that I don't want the great steel-box package & manual, believe me I want that chimichanga... just that s&h & import duties will effectively double+ it's price & that just plain smarts! :mad: