This. Fire is a feature that would take an absurd amount of time to code and get right, especially when you consider all the dynamics that would have to be applied. At the end of the day it just isn't worth all the time and effort it would require. Besides, there are better features that can be worked on than fire.
There are certain 'nice to have' features that might get used a couple times for novelty sake then largely ignored afterward. Like battleship artillery, minefield belts, marauding aircraft and corps-level artillery rocket barrages. And Sturmtigers. Everyone wanted Sturmtigers in the game but the novelty wore off pretty quickly.
Imagine the framerate hit if half the map in CM was billowing flames and black smoke. The BFC guys have been bending over backward to increase framerate, not slow it.
Okay, I just did a quick test in CMFB v2.0 Engine 4, with the StuG IIIG (early) and StuG IIIG (mid).
You must order the vehicle to unbutton first to Target Light.
I forgot to mention that members of the blitz are playing a scenario this month designed by our own @Bulletpoint. He asked me it we could do that a while back and we are finally here. Going to be interesting. And fun.
Hello it will be a year now that I discovered CMBN and this forum and is time to intervene to say thank you
I'm not the only one to do it but the repetition is good
Since my childhood I have a dream, a desire, to see with my eyes this battle that has rocked my childhood, imagining to travel the battlefield like a drone.
I was born in Falaise in 1970 and my family suffered the battle : 4 killed, the house bombed, the exodus on the road, the strafing of the bomber fighters, the artillery, the fighting but also after the battle, the destroyed houses, the burning vehicles and corpses littering the battlefield were all family meal conversations. Here in Normandie this was an important trauma.
It always impressed and interested me, in a word: fascinated. I constantly asked for clarification and to question civilians or soldiers who had experienced these events.
All the film reports on the subject, I watched them. I think I have seen ¾ images known from the battle.
I never stopped walking the battlefield, collecting vestiges and remaining some hours to imagine the events.
I used every means to immerse myself in this battle and the battles of the second world war in general. Movies, books and even games
Squad leader then Close Combat that I practiced a long time.
But although this battle has become my daily life because I have made it my job (I am a guide of museum and even considered as an expert of fighting led by the Poles during the Battle of Falaise pocket), the time passing my imagination has declined. and little by little the image of these fights in my mind was becoming more and more abstract. I ended up consoling myself by telling myself that if I go to paradise there I will can achieve this wish
i was not counting on CMBN
What a shock and even if it remains a game, my imagination work and as in my childhood events come to life in my head.
After a year of practice my enthusiasm is not blunted my dream is somehow realized.
So for that:
thanks for this formidable game
thanks to the moder who improves even more are aspect,
thank you to persons who animates this forum
thanks to the battle designers (for the anecdote I live on a map of the game !)
I'm begining to smoke again and to say some nastiness on my neighbors, paradise has lost its appeal !!!
Just a quick suggestion - if you have not read the recent book "Battle Hardened" by Craig Chapman, you really should. I have read a lot of WW2 histories over the last 55 or so years and I cannot recall a book that gave me so much "real life" information regarding front line infantry tactics and weapons use.
The author's father served in the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and was on the front lines (except for the two periods when he was recovering from wounds) from D Day thru VE Day. He was an officer who first commanded a mortar section, then a heavy machine gun platoon and finally served as commander of an infantry company. The son has reconstructed the details of his father's service through summaries of his father's recollections, battle reports, letters home, interviews, review of Field Manuals etc. In the process, he describes in detail the manner in which the squads and platoons used mortars, machine guns, artillery, tanks, etc. at the squad, platoon and company level. He describes German tactics as seen by the US infantryman and the learning curve which brought increased use by the US companies of combined arms tactics and provides, anecdotally, a whole range of information on the methods and methodology of WW2 infantry combat. In addition, the author provides an excellent description of his father's experiences and great examples of the sacrifices and dedication of the WW2 infantryman. A very, very worthwhile read.
As I read it, I consistently had the reaction of ------ "Interesting how that reflects on how I should be playing scenarios in Combat Mission."
I think the Hapless Stavelot AAR's do a nice job of showing Combat Mission game mechanics and processes. While I like his Air Support, Indirect Fires, and Armor parts, I do not think he shows effective infantry tactics. His whole approach to securing his right flank was too lackadaisical for my tastes. I suppose that helps show how overwhelming this game can be in Huge battles at Battalion level. However, I think its a mistake for any player to underestimate or neglect the importance of closely managing your infantry in taking and holding ground or using it to deny ground to the enemy.
Call me "Posh" (or any other "P" word which suits you ), but I agree with the comment which observed that it is unfortunate when the number of expletives constantly exceeds the number of casualties. Hapless's AAR shows a lot of time and effort. Kudos for that. I just wish it were more suitable for a younger and general audience. The Josey Wales vid's are exceptional.
Yep and I've posted it here before, I'll see if I can find it again.....To summarize, (IIRC) the formation of the jet requires a very precisely timed detonation of a very precisely shaped charge, a hole in the liner messes with the formation of the jet reducing its penetration massively.
After some trawling I found it again.....You'll find the relevant diagrams and sourcing in this thread (dealing with ERA): http://sturgeonshouse.ipbhost.com/topic/1528-no-nozh-doesnt-work-as-advertised/
My mistake though, the fragment modelled was 5mm in diameter not 1mm as I erroneously stated.
I'd also suggest figuring out if any of your units have demo charges. "Mouse holing" between buildings without connecting doors is a good way to move into advantageous cover without having to expose your forces.
"Stay out of the road if you want to get old" is a good phrase to remember. Count on any road as being a fire lane for your enemy.
However, Battlefront games last for years in terms of whether you get tired of playing them.
Many of us here have been playing CMBN since it came out and are still playing it. ( and all the others as well ). Which adds up to some serious value for money.
If in any doubt, download some of the demos
Nothing is quite like CM, trust me.....I've been an avid wargamer for over thirty years, I've played everything from ACW skirmishes on a typical dinner table through to Harpoon battles on a tables the size of a double garage and nothing, but nothing, does a better job of modelling platoon-battalion sized WWII or modern land engagements than CM, be it on tabletop or computer.
I commented elsewhere about GHQ (& their ilk) being a nostalgia trip for me.....CM1 & CM2+ are the reason.
I'm probably too late to help too but I'll put this in case anyone else reads it looking for the information.....
If you purchased the 4.0 Big Bundle, to do full installations of each game you would download the Full Windows/Mac versions for each title. For instance the full game installer for a Windows computer for CMBN is called "CMBN 4.0 Full Windows". That will install everything through the 4.0 Upgrade. The base game and every module, patch, Upgrade and Pack.
From there you will need to activate things. Here are the keys you'll need for each title....assuming that you own everything (some items may be part of a Bundle but I think you'll get the idea):
CMBN: 4.0, 3.0, Market Garden, Commonwealth, Vehicle Pack, Battle Pack
CMRT: original base game and 4.0
CMFI: base game, 4.0, 3.0 and Gustav Line
CMBS: base game and 4.0
As mentioned above, CMBS also has the 2.01 patch that needs to be installed. The 2.01 patch and CMBS Battle Pack are the exact same download. The only difference is that when you purchase the Pack you get a key to "unlock" the content.
I can dig how much of a pain it may be to dig through your account for all of the key. Whenever I get a new key for something I add it to a Word document that I keep so that I can get to them easily.
Despite some griping I do from time to time Battlefront's customer service is top notch - any time I've reported a problem they had it sorted out within an hour or so by direct communication.
Hello names Hector. i live in Puerto Rico and you may know what hurricane Maria did to our beautiful island. We have no power only 3 hours a day, and as a CM fan had really missed playing. I had a little problem with the game installation since they were downloaded (i had the cds also) and tried to contact battlefront but was hard with no internet so I managed to get on for a bit and found a phone number and called Steve whom I really dont know who he is but he answered. I want to say Thanks for the conversation we had. He offered to help and eventhough I got everything working offline after, it was refreshing to hear he was available to help. I really appreciate his gesture and will continue to support Battlefront knowing that behind this company are great and caring people. Again Thanks Steve .
Hector
With much talk centering on CMFI and the upcoming (hopefully soon) release, I played out a scenario that had some great action. I thought I would share it.
It is December 6, 1943, 2:15 PM local time, and Obersoldat Rolf Schenk peers through his binoculars at Villa Roggati. His uniform is soaking wet, the cold rain running in rivulets down his neck and back. It drums off his steel helmet with maddening consistency. He wipes the smears of rainwater off the end of his binoculars, letting out a sigh of frustration. Things are quiet now, way too quiet.
He was in town when the Canadians attacked, and his unit had to retreat. They took up positions just outside of town, and now he has his MG team set up where they can just barely see the town. He has been tasked to support the coming counter-attack, but Hauptmann Esch has also given him the job of providing intelligence from his vantage point. He has not been given a radio, so he will have to break away one of his ammo carriers for this task, leaving him a man down. He is not pleased.
He quietly waves over one of his ammo carriers, gives him specific details, has the man repeat them, and then sends him to the rear with his observations. Time is ticking inexorably towards the attack time of 2:30 PM.
The attack begins, slowly at first. Artillery begins to fall on the town at precisely 2:30 PM. Off to Rolf’s left is a PAK, set up to cover approaches into the town. Suddenly two Sherman tanks are spotted by the PAK gunners. The tanks ease out from behind a large white building – they are barely visible. The PAK gun is pointed straight at their location, but a hail of MG fire from the tanks causes the gun crew to duck for cover. Then they are slowly picked off by the deadly hail of lead, one at a time, until they are all dead or wounded. Schenk can hear the wounded moaning in pain, but he dares not move from his position to help. The tanks have that location zeroed in.
Rolf hears the distinctive squeal of tank treads as panzers move up to try and duel with the Canadian tanks. The Germans didn’t have tanks earlier when they were thrown out of the town by the Canadian attack. Now they do. He wonders where HQ managed to scrape them up. If they’d had them earlier, then they would still be in the damn village. One of his crew mutters that the tankers will deal with those upstart Canadians. The panzers roar and 7.5 cm shells launch towards the enemy tanks.
The lead tank trundles forward under cover of the following tanks. Oberstleutnant Fuhrmann is trying to gain a flank shot on the enemy tanks. He has his driver ease past a small shed, his turret already facing the right direction. Fuhrmann is confident they will get the first shot off. As his tank barely clears the shed, Fuhrmann stares in shocked horror down the barrel of one of the enemy tanks. The tank spouts fire, and the first shell rips into the lower front of his tank.
Smoke instantly fills the interior. He can hear screaming from the driver and radio man positions. His gunner is already ripping at the side hatch, self-preservation overtaking any thoughts of return fire.
Fuhrmann is counting down numbers in his head. He knows a good tank crew can reload in about 5 seconds. He yells “Everyone OUT!!!” as he reaches up for the…4…hatch. The lever swings…3…and he throws his back against the hatch. The hatch flies…2…open and he is looking up at grey sky that immediately bathes his face with cold rain. He starts to…1…clamber up into the cold rain and he hears the roar of a tank gun. He realizes that if he hears the gun, the round is already on the way…his last sight is a boiling roar of red flames…
View from the Canadian tank – a catastrophic explosion as the kill shot ignites the enemy tanks ammunition loadout. There are no survivors.
In the space of a mere five minutes, the Canadian tank gunners knock out three German panzers. This view is from the Canadian held town.
Funeral pyres of the flaming steel coffins rise into the grey December sky. Fuhrmann’s tank lies in a crater in the road, caused by the giant explosion. Schenk sees some badly burned survivors run from the other tanks. He immediately sends his runner back to Hauptmann Esch to inform him that the initial thrust up the center is being blocked expertly by the Canadians.
Hauptmann Esch slams his fist down on the hood of his Kubelwagen. He didn’t rush the armor in. He was cautious. Still, the verdammt Canadians are putting on a show. His right flank is getting blasted by very accurate artillery fire. He sends out the orders – Left Flank, GO!
Several remaining panzers veer off to the left flank. They take a circuitous route, bogging at times, but somehow managing to pull out of the sticky Italian mud. They arrive in time to support the Landsers who are trying to overwhelm stubborn Canadian resistance. The cowering ground-pounders find new courage with the arrival of the steel monsters, and they rise up to push through the warehouses on the left flank.
Pioniere Unteroffizier Hardenberger leads his squad up the same road as Fuhrmann. He is confident they can work their way along an embankment, concealing their approach. As they near the flaming wreck of Fuhrmann’s panzer, 7.5 cm shells and machine gun fire tear into his men. He screams “VORWÄRTS” and sprints towards the shed that appears to be the only real cover available. Two more of his men crash through the door and throw themselves on the floor, panting with exertion and adrenaline. Hardenberger can just see the Sherman tank through a crack in the wall. How the hell did it see us? he wonders. “These Canadians are possessed by the Teufel,” he mutters out loud.
The unlucky Pioniere caught by the enemy tanks…
Fuhrmann’s tank still burns on the road.
Hauptmann Esch receives reports that the left flank attack has broken through into the town. He orders his command staff into their Kubelwagen and he heads around the left flank to see the progress.
Hauptmann Erwin Ruckdeschel leads the push into the town from the left flank. His Mark IV Panzer takes a right turn on the first street and eases slowly towards the town center. He is careful not to outpace the infantry. Like all panzer men, he hates fighting in the close confines of any town. Dead Canadian soldiers lay in the street as a reminder that nothing is safe here.
“Feind Panzer, Eins Uhr!” shouts his gunner.
Ruckdeschel’s eyes immediately snap to the one o’clock position. His gunner had already pointed the turret in this direction moments before, as the driver slanted the tank at a slight angle to increase their front armor effectiveness. He sees the barrel drop ever so slightly as his gunner lines up the shot. He has a very good crew.
Following tanks are covering flanks with HE, and he had his loader keep AP in the breech. He calls out “115 meters.” This is knife fighting for panzers. They are so close.
Erwin sees the enemy Sherman tank starting to round the corner. Their turret is already turning in his direction. He smiles, knowing they will be too late.
“Fire!” he shouts, the roar of the cannon rocking the tank. Smoke fills the interior and then begins to vent. “Treffer!” shouts the driver. Now Erwin can see the explosion. Flank shot. It is a kill!
Two more Sherman tanks will try to work around their flaming comrade and will meet the same hideous end, brewing up after taking one or two hits. Ruckdeschel’s crew is putting on a clinic.
A forward MG crew has set up in a blown up gasoline station. The pumps are still standing but the building is rubble. They took casualties and one of the crew tries to stem the bleeding of his comrade.
In the distance to the right, another squad of Pioniere are also attending to casualties. Smoke from the three Shermans brewed up by Ruckdeschel are ahead to the left.
Ruckdeschel and the crew of a Wespe, commanded by Unteroffizier Thylin, systematically reduce the buildings that are sheltering the two Shermans that blunted the initial attack. Their handiwork can be seen by the MG team, as a field of rubble that used to be buildings now stretch out before them.
Stabsfeldwebel von Pannwitz tried to ease his Mark IV Panzer slightly past the bus station to get a flank shot on the enemy tanks. Again the cursed Canadian tanker somehow was already watching. Von Pannwitz took a shell in the turret, knocking out his main gun. Obergefreiter Lorenko is now in command and Ruckdeschel does not know if his friend, von Pannwitz, is dead, dying, or merely wounded. It tears at him but he keeps his focus on the dangers all around him.
There is some confusion now, as the battle grinds to a halt. The two Canadian tanks at the front of the village are stopping the frontal assault and have now stopped the flank attack too. They are perfectly placed to interdict any movement towards them from the front or from the side street where Ruckdeschel sits. And, unfortunately, they are very good at their craft.
Hauptmann Ulrich is given hand signals by Unteroffizier Franz Witt. They are at the front edge of a vineyard and can see the enemy tanks, maybe 100 meters to their front. Ulrich sees that Witt wants a smoke screen dropped on the enemy tank position. If that happens then perhaps the tanks in town can get the drop on them.
Franz has something more daring in mind. He plans to lead his squad into the smoke for a close assault of the enemy tankers. The Hauptmann doesn’t get that part of the message.
Ulrich calls in the smoke. The FO is one of the best, and the smoke rounds start to fall in about 3 minutes. The smoke is now building all over the enemy tanks. They will be blind. The tanks on the flank will now be able to advance and once the smoke dissipates, they will have the drop on the Canadians.
Ulrich sees Witt leap to his feet, and start sprinting towards the wall of smoke. Witt’s squad instantly rises as one and they pound after their squad leader.
Hardenberger sees the smoke and immediately has the same idea as Witt, even though he has no idea what Witt is planning. One of Hardenberger’s survivors has at least one satchel charge and they can use that on the blind tanks. He roars to his two men to charge the tanks. They leap to their feet and begin the crazy charge towards the wall of smoke and probably certain death.
Rolf Schenk and his men see the smoke dropping. There is a silent Mark IV right next to their position, yet another panzer vexed by the skill of the Canadian tankers and knocked out with a single shot. All the crew got out of this one though. In front of the berm protecting his men are two dead soldiers from an earlier attempt to sneak through the vineyard.
They have no idea what is being planned, until Rolf sees Unteroffizier Hardenberger and his two men, greatcoats dark against the backdrop of white smoke, pounding across the wet field from the left, heading right for the smoke. He catches his breath at the daring attack, and one of his men shouts “Sind Sie verrück?” This echoes his own thoughts – they must, indeed, be crazy.
They don’t see Witt and his men off to the right, as the smoke has already obscured their equally mad charge.
It is chaos and madness in the smoke. Hardenberger can barely hear anything from the loud pounding of his blood through his head. Machine gun fire rips the smoke, as the Canadians fire blindly. He barely hears the screams of one of his men, and he finds himself running just under the barrel of the enemy Sherman. He has no idea that Witt’s men are also rushing into the smoke. Witt himself is crawling towards the misty bulk of the enemy steel monster that lashes out at the host of tormentors that mean to do it harm.
Hardenberger rues the fact that he didn’t take the satchel charge himself, as he is now in the perfect spot to attach it to the enemy tank. But all he can do is run in the smoke, hoping the enemy tankers focus on him and don’t see his men trying to assault it with the satchel charge. He now seeks some sort of cover as the tank flails the smoke with its machine guns.
Franz Witt’s men are among the two enemy tanks. There is some slight cover from the rubble of a building and some craters from artillery fire. The smoke is dissipating way too fast – the rain is settling it too quickly. Dammit, Witt thinks, they only have seconds to live now.
Witt takes cover in a crater and hurls his grenade. The man to his left – Max, he thinks but can’t be sure – is about to shove a grenade into the front tracks of the tank. Karl, off to his right, is about to hurl yet another grenade. All he can do is hold his breath now. It occurs to him that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Witt’s grenade goes off, a cascade of sparks and smoke lighting up the side of the tank. Two more grenades are heading for the enemy monster. It is time for them to get the hell out of this deathtrap. He screams to his men to run. The enemy tanks open up with their machine guns. He hears some of his men scream as they are hit. Everyone runs like frightened rabbits in every direction to confuse the enemy gunners.
Erwin Ruckdeschel sees a Feldwebel in the captured bus station to his right. The man is waving through an open window, trying to get his attention. He throws open his hatch and slightly pokes his head up to try and hear the man. The Feldwebel shouts that Landsers are attacking the two Sherman tanks, running into the smoke screen. Ruckdeschel had seen the smoke dropping, but in the absence of any instruction, he had remained in his position, covered by the wall of the bus station.
As the smoke clears fast, the Feldwebel gives Erwin a running blow-by-blow as he describes Witt’s and Hardenberger’s men being cut down by the enemy tanks. This is too much for Ruckdeschel.
He gives his orders fast. He has the turret swung to the 2 o’clock position, and he orders his driver to move forward smoothly about 15 meters. He tells the crew they are going to try and hit the two enemy tanks in the flank, just like von Pannwitz tried earlier, but his crew is going to succeed perfectly. The men nod quietly and grimly.
“Now!” he orders, and the tank slides smoothly out from cover, gun turret already lined up in the right direction. A soldier, incapacitated from his wound, lies helplessly in the street as the giant panzer rolls past him, missing him by centimeters. He can only scream, knowing that no one will hear him over the roar of the panzer engine.
He stops screaming when he realizes he has not been crushed. Then new terror fills him. What if the tank turns? What if the tank is blown up? Horrors flood through his mind but he is powerless to do anything. Mercifully he passes out from blood loss and fear.
Erwin’s gunner has two perfect flank shots, just as predicted by his commander. The Sherman on the left starts to turn its turret. That makes the choice for the gunner.
The first shot is a hit. Is it a kill? No time to judge. The second Sherman is now trying to turn the turret towards them. Ruckdeschel lets his gunner turn the turret smoothly to address the 2nd target.
The second shot – this is a certain kill. The second Sherman is torn apart in a massive explosion. Still no time to breathe or think. The gunner gently sweeps the turret back to the first Sherman. They have to be sure. Moments count. Seconds tick off. Erwin is not aware that he has stopped breathing.
The tank is utter silence, save for the clang of the ejected shell casing on the floor of the tank and the schick of the new round being slammed home into the breech, then the slam of the breech as the shell is rammed into the gun. The loader cries out that the gun is ready.
Unvented smoke is wafting through the interior and the heavy smell of burnt powder is tickling the back of Ruckdeschel’s throat.
The gun roars again, and sparks and flames gush from the 1st target. It is a kill too!!! Smoke is already pouring from the burning wreckage of the other Sherman.
“Damn fine job, Comrades, Damn fine job!” shouts Ruckdeschel. The crewmen smile and bask in their commander’s praise, while still watching the enemy ahead.
A figure is seen leaping from the burning tank on the left. His uniform is blackened and smoking.
A second man falls from the Sherman. Then a third. All are burned and covered in soot. They are too far away to see any blood. Ruckdeschel sees the faces of his men turning towards him, questions on their faces as they wait for orders.
“Let them go,” he says quietly. “Don’t fire.” He thinks he sees relief in the faces of his crewmen as they turn back to their stations. He knows the Canadian tankers have fought with skill and bravery, just men doing a horrible job. The survivors deserve a chance to escape.
With the destruction of the two enemy tanks in their crucial defensive position, the Canadian opposition wanes and they fall back to defensive positions outside of the town.
Oberleutnant’s Gloser’s command squad emerges from the vineyard and joins with Rolf’s MG team. They are bloody and grim from attending to all the wounded in the vineyard.
Pioniere Harzer, the sole survivor of Hardenberger’s attack in the smoke, finds his squad leader bleeding in a shellhole, wounded as he fled the attack on the enemy tanks. Harzer still has satchel charges that he didn’t use in the attack, as he faltered at the last minute when they entered the smoke and he found cover to hide. Hardenberger is bleeding and unconscious. Harzer shoves the charges under some nearby rubble and attends to dressing his squad leader’s wounds. No one will know.
Witt and his entire squad are wiped out. They will never know if they immobilized the one tank in their attack. The two tanks are destroyed so it wouldn’t matter to anyone but Witt and his survivors if their attack was for nothing.
Witt is badly wounded, as are two others from his squad. Three are dead and the attending Sanitäter remove identity discs from the fallen while others patch up Witt and move him and the rest of his wounded squad to the rear.
Ruckdeschel knows that the attackers in the smoke played a vital part. He saw that the two enemy tanks were distracted by the brave Landsers in the smoke. This was what gave his tank the edge, that and the skill of his crew. He is so proud of them – the crew can see it in his eyes.
Rolf Schenk sees a very different skyline of Villa Roggati now. It is a scene of carnage and destruction.
He shakes his head at the stubborn Canadians. They fought with skill and honor and they died when overwhelmed. They have surely given his comrades a bad blooding this day. He wonders why they didn’t just retreat out of the town. Why did they stay and die? Do they owe The Queen and England their lives?
One of his comrades gives the Canadians an off-handed compliment. “I sure don’t want to come up against these bastards again,” he mutters. Rolf quietly concurs.
Twas the night before CM-mas and all through the bunker
not a 'truppen was stirring they were all down and hunkered
The frags were all hung by the rifles with care
In hopes that Santa Steve soon would be there
The 'truppen a snoring and dreaming away
of the hookers they'd met, on leave last May
When out in the minefield there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bunk, my skivvies all tattered.
Away to the gun sites I flew like a plane,
pulled back the bolt and steadied my aim.
When from mod weary eyes I spied from afar,
Some northern Maine dude with a brain in a jar,
Santa Steve! I shouted with excitement and glee
but in response, just some bitching about TO&E
On Stragglers, on Sicherungs, Luftwaffe and Herr
on Jagers and Gebirs, and others more rare
He droned on and on as the brain kept a coding
and I knew deep inside this was no normal foreboding
For once in a while a reference to Syria
and with that little gem I was sent to hysteria
For amidst all that heavy WWII talking
Toward Shock Force 2 I knew he was walking
Patiently on the desert I'd waited
and soon it'd be real and my lust would be sated
Back to the sand! Nato, Uncons and pals
but with 4.0 flare and friggin' hit decals!
My head filled with war and the toys that it brings
I was hoping I'd see it before G**D*** spring!
Then brain in arm, he turned toward the west
to continue ever onward the Combat Mission quest
Teeth clenched and jaw set against the snowy wind
he trudge into the night, a phantom again
And as he passed by the bunker and out of our zone
I chewed on the annual Christmas bone.
FYI, I have heard back from the Helpdesk and these guys are the BEST! When they aren't working on BF games, they should be giving courses to others on how to run a customer support service.
They have given me as much help as they possibly can, and there might have been a way to get my info back, but there are too many missing pieces at my end (and that's all on me, not BF!). They are still trying to work something out, but in all fairness, I've decided I will will simply re-purchase the games. The bundle package is not expensive (especially considering how much work they've put into these games), and that encompasses most of the games I want. The others I'll pick up as well separately.
So thanks to BF's support and for the help here. I'll be back once they games are on .
Glenn
When I was kid...
Don't get me wrong. Mines, fortifications and engineers can be fun - they can add some challenge and colour to a game. Some of the best scenarios and campaigns I've played have featured mines and fortifications.
But let me tell you about my dad...
When I was a kid and my old man - my beloved old dad now - first caught me playing Second World War wargames, he wasn't pleased.
He was only a boy in the war, so he hadn't seen it first-hand (he was still in primary school when it finished), but he was old enough to have found it frightening, and he'd had uncles who served, including one who was wounded.
Anyway, when he first found me playing WWII wargames, he got quite indignant. "What's this?" he said, to which I replied, "it's just a game dad - it's fun." "It's 'fun' is it??" he said gruffly, "you think the war was 'fun'? Hitler and Goebbels and all those 'fun' guys?" "Geez, Dad, it's just a game." "Yes," he said profoundly, "but it wasn't just a game though, was it?!"
Anyway, I've played a couple of scenarios recently that dad would have loved. One in particular - I won't name it, as a lot of work clearly went into it and to make sarcastic comments about the work of volunteers would be spiteful. It was magnificent in many ways: it was realistic, well-researched, the map was spectacular (you really felt like you were in Italy), the briefing was good, it was immersive, even the platoon leaders had names.
But it was as if the purpose of the scenario was to instruct the player that the war in Italy was anything but fun.
Sacrificing fun on the altar of realism...
As I say, I don't mind playing against fortifications, but at a certain point it becomes tedious. In this case, I had a large number of infantry in an exposed area, who had to thread their way forward while engineers cleared gaps in minefields, all while being shelled by an array of artillery ranging from mortars to what seemed like small tactical nukes. The walking-through-minefields phase probably took 20-30 game turns, which amounted to about 3 or more hours of play. If you think clicking vehicle paths on roads is time consuming, that's nothing compared to trying to keep several companies of men, split up into teams, well dispersed as they walk team by team through some zig-zagging mine-cleared paths.
There was some exciting combat in the game - but of the the nearly 200 casualties I took, over 100 were from artillery (and I gave up before the end) and probably at least 20-30 from mines. I spent most of my time micro-managing troops and giving buddy aid (although I gave up on this before the end).
I know some players love realism above all else, so please take this as a personal view and not a serious complaint - and I know that the reality of war for most men was of being constantly shelled without being able to come to grips with the enemy, but it is possible to sacrifice fun on the altar of realism.
Anyway, dad as he was would have loved this kind of scenario...
"So, the Second World War isn't so much fun now, is it son?"
"No, Dad, you're right - it's not much fun, not much fun at all."
.jpg.abae10629a001a520ce8d4074f3cc733.jpg)
Badger73 reacted to IICptMillerII in Fire in the future?
Badger73 got a reaction from Freyberg in Happy New Year's Day! 2018 look ahead
Badger73 got a reaction from Bulletpoint in A Video Worth Watching
Badger73 got a reaction from Rinaldi in Is there Validity to these Observations?
Badger73 got a reaction from Mord in The Night Before CM-mas
