ShaneO

I was set to start this one today as a PBEM game, but the blurb on it says it's Blue vs AI only. Not practical to play it player-versus-player, you reckon?

The stuff that comes out during as Assault command should be based heavily on violent football chants. And if that's not realistic, well damn it, I blame reality for not being great enough.

I was playing this against my housemate, over an extended period of time (a few turns whenever we're both in the house and think of it and aren't doing something else), and had to call it quits the other day when Brits came out and we both wanted to upgrade. But it was a foregone conclusion by then anyway - I was playing Army, and every single thing I'd tried had resulted in butchery. I just could not find a weak point in his defences. He reckons I could maybe have forced through toward the back (right, from my perspective) like I was trying, but I was getting torn up trying, and if I'd waited to bring in air support I was about to, he revealed as we ceased fire, get a squad of Marine engineers blast through the wall we were hiding behind to murder everyone. Super-tough mission alright, but a load of fun, and the backstory actually adds a ton to it when you're trash-talking with your opponent.

At the graphics-goodness I play at, there seems to be three distinct stages of trench graphics as I move about. A trench in the far distance (low resolution) will display as a drawn-on trench. Up close, it renders the depression in the ground. However in the middle there's nothing. When I tell some dudes to run somewhere and the squares are highlighting, a trench in the highlighting square will render, but otherwise they're invisible. I've never played with the editor - is there a mid-resolution trench tile, or something?

I find my biggest problem stems from putting too much stock in the scenario's victory allocation. I've ordered stupid and costly wave attacks and netted a Total Victory. I've killed dozens and dozens of U.S. men and vehicles and suffered a Total Defeat. I've seen objective buildings razed and rules of engagement completely ignored without any seeming negative effect on the stated outcome. So ignore it. Read the mission briefing and decide yourself if you achieved that in a satisfactory fashion, regardless of what the points system tells you. Enjoy playing the game, not how the game tells you you did. I certainly concur that that area is a failing in the game and needs work - maybe primarily from scenario writers - but there's an easy workaround to the problem, and it's in one's own head.

Played it through today; minor victory on Iron level. Lots of fun actually, I was expecting just another take-the-town thing but for whatever reason I enjoyed this a lot. Nice work, keep 'em coming! *** SPOILERS *** Most of my casualties came from the one tank the Javelins couldn't get, and four 81mm fire missions couldn't knock it out either, it wasn't until the 155mm arrived that I nailed it and the game immediately ended. It's good that you're so harsh on casualties actually.

One likes to think one knows one's way around an ass already.

You enter buildings through the door, rather than by passing through the wall like in the old days.

My housemate was playing a Blue-on-Blue quick battle this evening against the computer, him as Marines and computer as Army. The computer had a number of Bradleys knocking around and his force was mostly Hummers. Toward the end of the game, when I was watching for a few minutes, he had two guys in a building able to see a Bradley that had taken out a number of Hummers nearby. He decided to Hunt forward with a TOW-armed Hummer and hope it managed to snap off its shot before being spotted. It advanced, the Bradley saw it and started firing, but every round went into an abandoned Hummer on the street in front of the TOW one. It fired like crazy, but the gunner aims... fires... the TOW streaks over the rapidly perforating destroyed Hummer and nails the Bradley. Turns out those unarmed Humvees are useful after all.

Any of you Scot gamers going to Conpulsion in Edinburgh this weekend? (it's a gaming convention) Because I am, like. http://ajaxnz.net/Conpulsion/

When someone asks you an awkward question, your first instinct is to hit the EVADE button, pop smoke and dive into the nearest cover.

Village of Trouble is good, radically different forces but equally asymmetrical victory conditions. A tough fight from either side.

Like all computer games, Combat Mission: Shock Force would be improved by the main character being Minsc from Baldur's Gate.

This is all of course assuming you've already tried shouting. It seriously enhances performance.

I came at it from a tabletop wargaming background, and apart from the huge amount of number-crunching being done for me by the computer, far more than is practical to attempt with dice and tables, what really got me was the ability to get down there and put your virtual eye behind your units, checking line of sight and all that, just like on the tabletop but with far more immersive environments. I haven't done much tabletop wargaming now in quite a number of years, because I like Combat Mission better. Damnit!

Please let us know when you've done whatever it is you have in mind with this! I'm dying to play it and am delighted that we'll get that chance.

If you haven't seen the movie The Beast, it's great. It's generally considered to be The tank movie, like Das Boot with submarines. Apparently they went to some lengths to use correct tank procedures - apparently also they didn't get it right all of the time, but it's still good to have some animated context for what you're seeing. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094716/ Which reminds me, it occurred to me while reading a discussion here about canister shot a while ago that "load canister" or whatever the correct command is is probably one of those phrases that is never spoken calmly, like "grenade!".

1) Usually just the once, unless I get completely annihilated and feel I didn't get a chance to get a rounded feel for what the scenario has to offer. That's rare though. Any scenario that's suited to it I intend to getting around to playing as Red too. 2) No, but I'm still new enough to the game that I haven't yet run out of scenarios to play. 3) I don't make scenarios so I don't know how much effort that takes, but because it'll add to the stuff to replay when I run out, I'll go with yes. 4) Blue vs RedAI. 5) Hey, there's a question 5 too! Certainly; I can't see myself looking up every scenario on CMMods or whatever to see if it says how many AI plans there are, I think that sort of thing should be self-contained.

Red or brown circle; the red guys will have an increased chance of being listed as WIA rather than KIA in the post-match statistics, the brown guys are dogmeat already and are just stripped of ammo. The little virtual dude vanishes once buddy aid is finished, so if you're noticing them disappearing then it's being done. Keep an eye on the activity list of squad members in the bottom-left of the 3d view when you're in this situation, one member's activity might change to "Medic". He'll stop when he's finished, or when the unit's given another order.

Just played through it today, my first proper realtime play. I had a blast, loved it! I really enjoy that scale too, and having to pay so much attention to preserving your troops adds a lot to it. Thanks a million for making this! Blue campaign victory, 1 KIA, 15 WIA, Iron level, 1.10.

I love the scenarios where a small number of guys have to sneak about, either infiltrating stealthily or legging it from a desperate situation. There's one in the Task Force Thunder campaign I think that does it brilliantly. The tension was just incredible.

In number 8 I think it is I see an ATGM team with a dead anti-tank guy, but the leader armed with the ATGM and putting it into the side of a blue vehicle. So I'm going to assume that means the acquiring weapons from your former mates issue has been cleaned up. Yay!

Yeah, mine arrived yesterday! It was great. Phew.

Sniper Team... ASSEMBLE!