A Canadian Cat
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Posts posted by A Canadian Cat
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Well that sucks. OK actually it is awesome, or it will be awesome once I can order it too.
Note to BFC: I would have gladly given you money for a pre-order but I have *no* desire to have any physical media mailed to me. Please, if you are going to give preferential downloading to those that pre-order - let those of us that only want a download to join the club
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Are you guys for real or are you just yanking our chains. The monkey does not like his chain yanked.
http://www.trunkmonkey.com/2005/01/18/trunk-monkey-2-throwing-eggs-suburban-auto-group/
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Happened to me yesterday ( for the first time actually ) - in a pbem game of Huzzar!,
Yeah, I saw it sever times in my recent game of Huzzar! But also in much smaller scenarios too.
Possibly a RAM issue, since Huzzar! is the largest scenario I've played to date and running XP so only 3Gig available.But again, I'm upgrading to W7 in the next day or so, so unlikely to be repeated.
Don't bet on it:) I am running Vista with 4G and see it.
What I have found that works is always restart the game after you play a turn. By that I mean if you are playing turns for your 5 PBEM games shut down the game between each one. That seemed to reduce the occurrence. Some one else reported that positioning the camera low and such that very few unit icons were in view and waiting 5s before pressing the big red button and then waiting another 5s before pressing the OK button. I have been doing that - not sure if it helps but I have been doing it.
The most important thing that has been helping me deal with this is I always save the game before pressing the big red button. When the save dialog comes up I add _save at the end. Then when I press the big red button my turn has _save 001 at the end. I then backspace away all that and press OK. That does not stop the problem of the game forgetting your turn but it means that the cost is only a restart and reload.
Hope that helps your remaining time with 1.01 be less stressful.
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Word back on the PBEM thing is, in short, that we aren't sure it's completely fixed because we were never able to reproduce it. However, since we moved to a new compiler the problem appears to have gone away, which hints at some sort of issue with the old compiler. We're hopeful that's the end of that one.
Steve
Yeah, those bugs are the worst kind. I am happy to hear that this is likely behind us. All the wishing that this worked different or that feature got added pale in comparison to spending time working out some new orders for your guys and having the game forget about them.
So, thumbs up. I look forward to pressing the big red button without a care in the world:)
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<snip>I prefer to latch on to the word 'finalized' (sic)
in the above quote and attach entirely subjective interpretations as to the length of time it implies. I would assume that finalise couldn't possibly mean any length of time exceeding one week.<snip>Yeah but things are all iterative. Yes, it is true, once you think you have a releasable build there is a finite time between when you make the call to ship it and when it is available. But part of that time is final testing. And if you find something you want to fix before releasing...
It has to be investigated...
Then fixed...
Then some testing of the fix...
Then a new build...
And then the clock of "finite time before shipping" it starts all over again. And trust me you don't want them to short change that final testing process.
The anxiousness of you guys amazes and amuses me. <snip> Maybe not having an internet during most of those years was an advantage as I didn't have a crowd of anxious guys all being anxious together.<snip>LOL good point. I guess I am not helping either:)
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We don't know the list of changes in 1.1 yet but Moon did throw us a bone saying that the list of changes would be out this weekend:
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1344604&postcount=3
OK more like he waved a bone under our noses for us to smell and beg for:)
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<snip>Still, having your Shermans slug it out toe to toe with a Panther is not a good idea. Best to keep on the move and try to get a side or rear shot.
Yep I have lost lots of Shermans too. Flanking is the way to deal with the German big cats. And as the German player you want to prevent that. So, you will lose a lot of Shermans but if you keep the threats to the German tanks coming from many angles and simultaneously you can come out on top.
Of course that is easier said then done some times.
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<snip>Just my .02, with NO insight. If I were running a company about to make a release, I'd like to have Monday as my "last chance workout". Put it to bed the previous Friday, maybe look at it a little on Saturday, but definitely take a break and review it with fresh eyes and a rested mind. Monday fits the bill for that kind of day.
<snip>
As a software developer myself I cannot count the number of times we have put the product "to bed" Friday which caused the poor testing team to spend their whole weekend testing. What happens the next week totally depends on what the testers find. If things are well then they get a few more days to make sure and we ship it. If things are not we have emergency fixes over the weekend or at the beginning of the week. If things are really bad we end up starting over again. Often putting the next build "to bed" Friday again:D
This is a tricky time during a release. There is always a list of known bugs and someone needs to make the call as to which to hold the product for and which live with. Those are hard choices, especially when you know you have customers that really want the product:D In fact in my industry we *never* tell our customers when a new release is coming out. The only people clamoring for a product to ship are internal stake holders. I cannot imaging the pressure there would be if we had customers with shipping date expectations.
Ian a guy, same as Ken "with NO knowledge, NO hints, NO communications from behind the screen, NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH"
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Do they? I must try this! I don't really understand the action spot technology but why can't somebody make a map with the action spots on the corners of buildings rather than either in the middle of the wall or in the middle of the road?
Oh sorry I was not clear. Troops do *not* do this now. What I wrote was my suggestion to Battle Front.
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I think it's because we can't place infantry in an exact spot like you can vehicles. I have a hunch that the action spot system may make peeking around corners for infantry difficult to implement.
True, that makes it difficult. But I think it can be done. Right now when you position a squad against the wall of the building they are in an excellent hiding position. I think if we add the ability to let the face command do a sensible thing we could easily get guys peaking around the corner.
So, right now if your guys are in a building and you give them a face command outside the building in the street to the left they will position them selves such that they look out the windows on the left side of the building. Give them a face to the street on the right and they look out the right side windows.
What I would suggest is make the face command for guys outside a building in the action spot next to the wall do something sensible too. If you give them a face command down the street on the left they then shift, along the wall, to the left and have two or three guys peak around the corner. Facing down the street. Same for a face command into the street on the right side - they shift right and two or three guys peak around the other corner. Now if you split your AT team off the squad they can be given the face command and now your two man AT team are peaking around the corner. Woe to any tank that comes by:)
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The question is what movement order to give? Crawl, hunt, run? Do I need to issue a target arc? Do I need to pause and then run back and will my PF soldier get his weapon ready and fired before the tank fires or will they just fire small arms as has happened previously? Cheers.
Here is my 2 cents. First split the squad - split off the AT team. Send the team running into the smoke. Have them move through the smoke. That way they will stop once they are clear of the smoke. Give them a face command towards the tank on that way point then add a pause to that way point. I would vote for 10 to 15 s pause. I worry that 5s would be too short. Then have them fast to cover.
The rest of the squad can help too. Try to have them flank the tank. If they can get far enough alone the side they can distract the tank and button it up. Plus of this goes well it would be good to have some available fire power to deal with any Rambo tank crews:-)
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Making the troops able to fire around the corner... just like Hilts is asking for... _that_ is the missing "realism".
GaJ
+1 as well
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<snip>
for those of us that have other pursuits, maybe a sticky that says not done yet!!!
<snip>
How about a note that will show up when it is available?
Once it is ready to go there will be an Announcement at the top of the forum's list of threads.
There are four up there now "And the winneris...", "CM: Battle for Normandy - Commonwealth Forces Module Manual", "CMBN Commonwealth Forces - VIDEOS!!!", "Crumbs! Commonwealth Forces preorders, books and screens!"
The F5 monkeys are watching for that fifth announcement to show up...
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Not sure about everyone else but I will be installing the base game into a new directory and then adding the module to it. I will be doing that because I have 5 PBEM games currently on the go that I will play using my current install. Yes, over time I will negotiate with my opponents to convert over to the new version but there is always one that does not want to and another one that will not convert. That is what happened with the patch (most opponents and games converted no problem).
So, given that I will keep my current install (with all my mods) intact and then create a new install for the CW module. What I plan to do is make sure everything works sans mods. Then I will copy the various mods over a few at a time and verify that they still work.
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slysniper gave you some good advice already. His point about the map design being a big problem is spot on. So is his advice.
I will add two more possibilities - actively surround tanks that are on the move. If they survive the ambush you set or find a path that avoids them try to surround them. For example if a tank is moving down a street have your infantry move the other way on then next street over or a back alley or even building to building. If you can get behind the tanks from two sides then you can make them have a bad day.
The other thing you can do is play hide and seek. The big problem tanks have in an urban environment is if they cannot see the enemy unit they will have trouble targeting them. This is another issue that I have experienced from the tank's point of view. When a tank is on the street and they cannot see any enemy units there is a good chance they will not be able to area fire HE against the buildings down the street. So, use that weakness and have your guys pop up in a window fire at the open tank and then move to a different floor and hide or slip out the back door into a different building and hide. If you keep your guys moving and hiding in the buildings down the street two things will happen. 1) the tank will be kept buttoned up 2) there will be so many ? targets and your opponent will not be able area fire at many buildings.
I realize that many feel that buttoned tanks see too well - no comment from me - the fact is they see better opened up so keep them buttoned. If, on your opponents turn they have few or no visible enemy units they will not be able to blast HE at the buildings your guys are hiding in.
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To point out the obvious, that depends on when the Sherman swings into view. If it appears, say, in the last 10 seconds of a turn, it isn't at all likely to fire at your StuG before the end of the turn. That allows you to in the next orders phase to drop the covered arc and manually target the Sherman. How long before the end of the turn that safety margin extends depends on a number of variables; under extreme conditions, it might be the whole turn.
Suuuuurrrrrrre - true enough - but with a cover armor arc I do not have to roll the dice that the attacking armor support will not enter the kill zone at the beginning of the turn.
Don't get me wrong. I am willing to roll the dice for an ambush like this. Personally, I will not roll the dice on my country's constitution but for an ambush in a game I'll roll the dice:)
Right now IMHO the right thing to do is give the Stug a short arc and clear the target when armor enters the kill zone. It is the only way to prevent your ambush from being triggered by infantry.
I actually try to set my ambush with a combination of MGs and AT assets. The AT assets get "hold your fire cover arcs" and the MGs are weapons free for the kill zone. I do this so that the infantry screen will come under MG fire which will in turn encourage the attacker to move up his armor support to deal with the MG threat.
So far all that dice rolling has come out in my favour most of the time. Once we get armor cover arcs then I can set the whole ambush up to work just like I want with no risk that the enemy armor will show up just as the turn starts and cause me trouble.
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I'm trying to create the "Perfect Storm" for this coming weekend! ....
Oh, man that's it we will not get the game this week:)
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<snip>By saying this of course I am hoping for an immediate invocation of sods law which proves me wrong two seconds after I have said something.<snip>
Shhhhhhh! if you say it out loud it will not work.
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Sorry, I didn't say it well, but that's what I meant. I would have created a very small arc of say 25 meters, then let them come on. If the enemy grunts saw me first, they'd open up. If not, there's a good chance the enemy armor would appear and I really don't know if the game AI would have the STUG open up first, or wait until being fired on by the enemy armor first.
And there in lies the problem. With the 25m cover arch the Stug would most likely ignore both the infantry and the tank and *not* fire. Even if it gets fired upon it will still likely ignore the enemy outside the cover arc. It is true it will not ignore it forever or in all circumstances and it will depend on the training and morale of the tank crew. Bottom line though is as a SOP the cover arch is to be respected and if there is nothing in the arc no shooting.
And in a WEGO turn this causes a problem because if you want to hold your fire against the infantry you have to have a short arc. But that also means you will not shoot at the tank that comes around the corner either. So your ambushing Stug needs to stay hidden for a whole minute before it can respond. Then you can clear the cover arc and choose your target. The advantage of having an amour cover arc is that you can set the ambush and watch the infantry come down the road and wait to fire on any following tank. If the infantry start getting too close you an clear the target and let the Stug shoot HE at the infantry.
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I am just about done with this battle also in a HtoH match. I think this is my favorite scenario so far since playing CMBN.
It apears you are right in the thick of town, way to go.
Thanks - yes I ended up with a total victory.
I found after all the early scouting and securing my frontlines, that I had openings up the left flank into my Opponants rear, So I have been having a turkey shoot on the Germans and not so worried about pushing the objective.but now that the battle is ending I am pressing the town with units from 3 sides and have already taken out four Stugs without the loss of any of my medium Armor. In the whole battle I have only lost 2 stewarts and my armor cars.
Might be the most one sided battle I have ever done. But loved the fact that it came about because of scouting, probes and then aggressive movement of troops to the open locations.
Opponant is totally in disbelief. He has at yet even managed to fire one panther round at my units. But I have eyes on them keeping track of any move they might make. have 15 min. left, arty still raining on the objective and so on.
OK wow that is impressive. I lost a pile of stuff and my troops were in poor shape morale wise. In fact when I took the town I was unable to muster any effective force to send to help take the farm. I only ended up with the farm objective as well because opponent's forces were in worse shape than I thought.
Funny thing is after watching the way my opponent played and the forces he had at his disposal I was thinking this should be very winnable by the Germans. My opponent showed a lack of caution when using his Panthers and I took advantage. I think that if he had used his StugIIIs to protect the Panther's flanks and was not so aggressive with the Panthers I would have had a much harder time.
For me this battle shows so many aspects of how I can play this game like I could never play CMX1,The new engine rocks, no matter what I say when I am not happy about some features within the game
Huzzar! is my favorite scenario too. I really like how it was constructed with scouting built into the scenario and the map well it is amazing.
As for the engine / game - I agree. Simply amazing work. There are things that I would like to see added and a few things that I would like to see addressed. In fact while taking the town in this scenario I ran into my biggest issue with how things work. I need to consolidate my thoughts and evidence and start a new thread on the subject. But as you said the game is great and none of this is show stopper stuff IMHO.
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Wow that is close - who came out on top of that encounter?
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I'm the *only* person I know who is dubious about triggers. The scenario designer would soon lose control of events as trigger commands start cascading across the map.
I am sure that triggers could be used to create a mess and a disaster:) But they could also be used for good. Consider the OP's example. Instead of the AI guessing on a right flank attack they could instead have defenders left centre and right and hold a mobile reserve. Once the attack starts and the defenders start taking casualties (or similar trigger) the mobile reserve could react to that and move into position to defend against the attacker.
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Agreed that we should enjoy what we have. And I do - very much. It is just at the end of some aniolation games I am left wondering about when a real commander would have backed off. I hope some day to try my hand at scenario design. I am curious if the current game's scoring can be used to encourage more realistic behaviour on the part of us commanders:)
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Yeah I should have turned off the objective highlighting.
in the above quote and attach entirely subjective interpretations as to the length of time it implies. I would assume that finalise couldn't possibly mean any length of time exceeding one week.<snip>
CW is ready...
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
Posted
Oh please don't make us wait anything like that long. We are ready to give you money now!
What is the criteria for deciding to open it up to the rest of us unwashed masses? Do you have to wait until a certain number of pre-orderers get it? In which case come on you guys get going. Or is it once the traffic has dropped off? In which case - nothing to see here move along hopefully a lot off people's email is down.