LJFHutch

22, play almost exclusively RT (without pausing), I don't mind wego (absolutely cannot stand PBEM) but it just takes much too long and the fluidity of RT is much more enjoyable. I never play scenarios where I can't control my forces properly either, as to RT being a "click-fest", what size battles are you playing

Hmm, choose your own forces? I hope that's implemented well and not like some other games have gone about it.

Very well deserved

I thought you meant the wikipedia page, that seems outdated and scarce on info.

Oh no, imagine the quick battle purchase screen on a group of troops?: Bladder: Full - 562 pts Moderate - 573 pts Light - 582 pts Fresh from toilet break - 595 pts The more full the bladder (also affected by time and weather conditions) the greater the chance a soldier must perform a kind of "buddy aid" on himself, if he is at "conscript" level he has to find a section of bocage out of sight of all soldiers to avoid embarrassment, however more hardy soldiers may not need to move at all! Some lower level soldiers may have to be out of sight, but if they're not conscript you can give face orders to all nearby units to give them some privacy for their toilet break.

I read that as "fail" for a second. Personally I haven't really used or encountered mines all that much, there is so much ground and so few mines!

So thaaat is why they're so cheap

Seems silly to base indie game of the year on popularity, doesn't that defeat the purpose a bit?

I regularly listen to and enjoy the podcast, he said he wasn't in the hardcore group of CM players who wanted realism or extreme accuracy, which (memory running on vapors here) is why he preferred the more simplistic/game-like CMx1.

The thing is, I can understand that showering a tank with HE would do damage (even 40mm grenade launcher fire?) but an old WW2 AT shell glancing off the side of a tiger at a small angle surely wouldn't do any damage.

You use the Steam group to initiate an instant message chat thingy to arrange a game, that way you're talking to them when they're online (and can hopefully play) and you don't have to spend 6 posts trying to arrange a specific time when you're both online

Yeah Steam is good for RT MP, I haven't used it for ages though.

I can't entirely remember it, though I do recall some confusion with AP.

There's definitely a face near the top.

Ooh, definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this, thanks for the news!

Give them maximum troops and defend and it's pretty awesome Except sometimes they bodge it up and get massacred anyway

Surely someone else could temporarily take over just to get the tank out of immediate danger. All the mushy bits in the way would be a bit of a problem but when your life is at stake I'm sure they could manage.

To me it seems like KIA should give a lot more points than WIA: you have to feed them and probably give them aid as well, making them somewhat of a burden.

I can think of two things that would probably help: 1. Improved AI that was able to get an entire platoon to take up good positions in an area. 2. Streamlined UI, perhaps a system that allowed for easy access to the various groups (by that I mean platoons, companies etc, maybe it could be a fold out thing that only displayed as much info as you needed at the time), which would work well in conjunction with improved AI. That way you could quickly and easily get a platoon where it was needed. Then again I've always preferred smaller games where I can get down a bit closer and really ... "micromanage" sounds like the wrong word here. Co-play! A battalion vs battalion engagement with four or so players on each side all in proper chain of command would be absolutely fantastic

Well I came from the "standard" RTS's and the UI was a bit of a hurdle at first, but when I got used to it I couldn't go back. It's all relative, it's like saying a modern fighter jet has a horrendously confusing set of controls that doesn't convey information easily ... well yeah, compared to a car perhaps, but then again, a jet has to do a lot more complex stuff than a simple little car does Likewise in a game where all you do is select a blue unit and click on a red unit to destroy it the UI can be far less cumbersome and much simpler than a game like CM, which not only has to have a lot more controls but also has to give you a lot more info. Again though, I agree that it could be streamlined a bit.

As far as I'm concerned the UI could use improvement but it's not a huge issue, it works. I'd like to see the clunky camera controls fixed though, that can get irritating sometimes. I think to try to cater to a larger audience might be a mistake though, refine sure, but you would have to make some pretty major changes to make the game appeal to a starcraft player, unless of course they're interested in what CMBN is in the first place, but then the only thing that could be stopping them from playing is not knowing about it or maybe they're put off by the interface. Then again, I would think that if you're interested in Combat Mission the interface/graphics/sound would be highly unlikely to put you off. That's like saying that getting dirty and doing exercise might put off potential recruits for the army

I kind of expected that score to be honest. On the surface CMBN is a game with poor graphics, horrendously unresponsive camera controls, a cluttered and too complex GUI as well as slow and boring gameplay. Then again, I wouldn't trust or read any review that focused on the "first impressions" of a game, since the first impressions will only exist for 10 minutes or so, that 90% score will hold out only until you find out the gameplay is shallow, repetitive and allows no creativity or thought.

Yeah absolutely, I never liked the way you'd hit 50% or something and suddenly you got points, kill 246 enemy soldiers and you lose terribly, but kill 247 and you win! I've always put the destroy unit objectives instead, even in quick tests vs AI.

I'm not sure, but my list wouldn't include a Sherman

But would anyone actually do that? To me the problem seems to be the cost/effectiveness of the fortifications, I would simply buy more infantry/armour/artillery. Just because players have more points doesn't mean they will "waste" them. It'll be the same as now but the games will be unbalanced in favour of the defender who now has more points.