ZPB II

Shock Force was mentioned on the France24 news channel.

I've been playing way too much Dota 2 since my first thought about Ken getting First Blood was "Well now he's going to get a gold and XP lead in mid and TP gank top/bot or push the tower" Loving the illustrations and war movie mode.

While I do agree that it would be a nice option to set for quick battles, I have to say that it is your opponent who made a mistake, not the game. Before you have a chance to give any orders or artillery targets, you can check the wind from Menus -> Conditions. It will say something like "Gentle, from NW." You don't buy smoke, you buy artillery. Artillery has a pool of rounds allotted, smoke or HE both take away from the same pool. So if your opponent buys artillery and uses them to fire smoke WITHOUT CHECKING WIND CONDITIONS, he has made a mistake and has to bear the consequences. Wind can also be useful in dispersing the smoke, in completely windless conditions smoke grenades sometimes don't form enough cover. Always remember to check the wind when using smoke. (one can use the rounds intended for smoke by pre-targeting the positions that compromise the approach with a delayed barrage, if the enemy isn't there you can always cancel it. But blaming purely wind conditions sounds like a bit of an excuse. ) On the other hand, if the success depends purely on infantry smoke grenades and tank smoke launchers, maybe the selected QB forces aren't optimal for the task at hand?

They had the technology to keep human torsos alive in wartime conditions? I've heard Rasputin's story but I thought it was a one-time kind of thing and black magic was involved. I'm assuming they were alive since a dead torso with only a head is not exactly news in a war. Can't really offer any insight, but since the Soviets blatantly lied about Finland starting the war with them no amount of bull**** will amaze me. I'm a little biased.

Sorry, I haven't been checking this as often as I would like. ZPB is more than fine! I didn't fully grasp the point about rationing and the black market. I was thinking of this as a manifestation of the lobbying power of the allegedly free market when a certain critical mass is reached. How would things change if the arms industry was nationalised? I may be cynical, but I'm not seeing all that many countries with altruistic aims. I always thought the "We're the good guys" rhetoric is just a part of domestic politics, since it tends to fall apart on closer inspection. One might even joke that the arms industry is already nationalised due to the very close lobbyist ties. Maybe the arms industry could be held responsible if it was secured to national entities de jure instead of going through offshore loops. I'm still having a hard time figuring out what kind of entity could keep this business in control. Trying to find actual answers to a problem of this scale is hard if not impossible. It feels much easier to hop along for the ride and grab as much cash as humanly possible and spend it on cars, boats and women. Everyone else seems to be doing it. In the end, I consider the root of this problem lying in the fact that technological evolution has far surpassed the pace of "natural" evolution. We still have the territorial instincts of cavemen but our clubs have grown remarkably larger. Doesn't globalization mean that everyone gets to have the same problems? If I sound too much like a hippie, that's because I spent most of my afternoon wrestling big sweaty men and having my head banged against the floor. I suspect it may affect higher cognitive functions. Otherwise a fine hobby. Have no fear, I'm still more than xenophobic enough to not start hugging the entire world. But it'd be damn nice if we could stop starting wars over resources and focus on something useful. Then again, war has this tendency to accelerate technological advancement if it doesn't lead to the total annihilation of the participants. Perhaps near self-destruction is a necessary step in human evolution, trial and error as such.

I'd say this is more like a Chess Grandmaster trying to play against the aforementioned Viking Berserker. First thing to happen is that the chess table gets kicked out of the way, pieces flying. Then the axe is introduced. This is Combat Mission with prison rules.

Ouch, that's going to leave a mark to all the people who have made the huge effort to release AARs here, both "official" Beta AARs and others.

Over by the water cooler I heard rumours that the Windmill houses a treasure chest containing a Sten of Smiting +3 and two Scrolls of Identification (used to identify contacts). It is only usable by Chaotic aligned characters, which is probably why Bil is ignoring it. All his troops are Lawful Evil. If you get your wizard to cast Bolts of Purity on the Crusader AA, you'll be doing quadruple damage!

How'd you end up changing your name?

FLS, there is a Bil vs. Ken Market Garden AAR going on over at the CMBN forum.

Det är jättebra att åka Saab. Jag tycker om din blond flickor. Hejja Sverige!

My first girlfriend was bi. Now, back to the AAR. My theory is that first contact has been made but there is so much lead in the air, stilettos doing their thing and screaming pixeltruppen that the turn calculation is taking several days. Poor blue bar, feeling sorry for him. The Valkyrie watches the field of slaughter and smiles.

I'm aiming at keeping this thread about economics instead of politics as to sidestep most of the touchy argument fuel, seeing what happened to the video thread. Though I do acknowledge that the two topics are interlocking. I won't protest if the thread gets locked but I am curious about people's views on the financial angle.

You are correct, they were hastily adapted field guns.

"Follow the money" is one of those old adages that seems to turn out true more often than not. Human rights abuse happens on a daily basis globally, yet some conflicts are brought to limelight. Usually interesting coincidences turn up. Oil contracts in Iraq, mineral prospects in Afghanistan and the oil trade between Libya, Italy and France. I was pondering about the economic connection with Syria and thought about this. Shale oil and gas has been booming in the continental US. Striking Syria might taunt Iran into shutting down the strait of Hormuz and in general cause instability in the region, affecting oil trade and production, driving up prices immensely. Now, it seems to me that the shale oil business on continental soil would profit tremendously from this scenario. I'll be looking at US shale oil company stock and expect to see radical shifts in the next 24 hours. EDIT: In retrospect I removed the link to the stock portfolio since it was a commercial site in the end.

This thread has been a true inspiration. I will devote my life to the pursuit of a sacred objective: talking two young, beautiful and naked women into playing hotseat against each other while I watch.

Look at the ammo & fuel storage diagram for the Panzer IV: http://www.heroesofstalingrad.com/wp-content/gallery/tank-pages/tank_pz24_page_2.jpg It goes whoosh and boom. IS-2: http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7089/phocathumblis217.jpg IS-3: http://www.popmech.ru/images/upload/t_10_ammo_1243422006.jpg Bum bum. Is it just me or is it relatively hard to find good diagrams?

From what I've understood about the Pershing is that it was a logistics nightmare. Against Tigers & Panthers, it had a gun capable of dealing with them but the armour still wasn't sufficient against high velocity guns. It was great against lesser tanks, but against them the Sherman was competent enough. It is hard to say if the opportunity cost of M26s would have been worth it. How Allied breakthrough operations would have turned out with the strained engine and transmission of the Pershing. Also, as far as I know German tanks also stored rounds in the turret ring. Protected ammo compartment was evolutionary and is standard procedure on most modern Western MBTs.

Well, the Allies still took quite a few hits along the way. As far as I've understood, especially the beginning of the campaign made waves in Allied HQ. There were probably enough casualties to leave a void that needed to be filled with an explanation of what happened. Still, the logistic footprint of the Sherman was part of the winning equation. But they didn't brew up any more often than other succesfully penetrated tanks. Now, the real question is, what would have happened if Finland would have received the entire production run of all Panthers ever made and was also the first to develop the nuclear bomb?

You have to understand that every piece of military equipment or kit gets assigned a grim nickname. Gallows humour pretty much the only way to stay sane in such an environment. Some names get propagated in popular culture, others do not. AFVs all over the world have had nicknames associated with them that revolve around the theme of ammunition and fuel burning it's occupants. Just ask Israeli tankers what they think about hydraulic fluids. Also, Germans tanks used gasoline and burnt just as well as the Sherman. Some myths need to stop being propagated. The US gear inferiority complex is a method of coping to deal with the shock of getting beaten up and bloodied in Normandy. "The Germans were übermen with über-MGs and überPanzers in überior defensive terrain"

Actually, nevermind. I had a point about SSRI being really, really bad. But I forgot most of it. Still, the dangers of SSRI are substantial and it is worrying that they are being subscribed dime-a-dozen. (atleast in Finland) SSRI has a very real chance of making you suicidal and irrational when your body is adapting to it. In some cases the adverse effects continue far beyond that. A person with scientific background once told me most school shooters have been subscribed with SSRI medication. The majority of depressed people have been, but still.

Blood for the Blood God!!!!!! Crush, kill, maim!!!!! Build a throne out of skulls and wear a crown made of entrails. Grind those weak girly men into pixie dust!

If Ken walks the walk, I assume he will be somewhat predictable in his course of action. What's the closest thing resembling Viking Berserkers in MG? He'll probably buy those.

Mace? Now that's a nickname I haven't heard in a while...How are the sheep? Sweet looking rides, it is a crying shame they didn't hit production.

As far as I've understood this topic, it's a basic psychology thing. Real-life is often depressing and is governed by rules that are hard to ignore. Fantasy is just that. I'm not saying this in a bad way, but a lot of really hardcore fantasy types I've known have been...slightly aloof. So it is more comforting to project into fantasy. Can't say I blame them. I am also very much a geek when it comes to scifi and fantasy.