StieliAlpha
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Posts posted by StieliAlpha
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Yep. They bought it from some other developer, Yaquinto IIRC. I think it ultimately got made into a computer game as well, but I admit to being pretty vague about the details.
Michael
The WSIM computer game dates back to the veeeery old times (early 90s or so) and was crap. Came out too late, after lot's of trouble and was even at that time not up to date anymore.Later there were two versions of "Age of Sail" in John Tillers Battleground series, which were quite ok but no big hits either.
BUT:
- There is a nice WSIM online game on www.youplay.it. Graphics are poor WSIM style, the rules are quite simplified WSIM rules and it has a very active community. Very good "Beer and Bretzel" online game, if you need a change. Quick, challenging, very competetive games. One on one or multiplayer.
- and there is "Velmad" at www.velmad.com. Absolutely BRILLIANT online game. A very much improved WSIM, with vastly improved graphics (but certainly not up to todays standards), quite detailed rules and a GREAT communication system (within one scenario, the players communicate with flag signals. If the receiver obeys is a different question.) The biggest drawback: The english speaking community faded away quite a while ago. Today it is virtually only Spanish speaking.
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Brother George sent me this in connection with some Micro Armour™ AFV painting he's doing. According the post by a grog's grog when it comes to authentic German AFV paint jobs (restores Panzers), the RAL colors of today are NOT the RAL colors of WW II. Apparently, they got messed with as part of the overall extirpation of the Third Reich. Believe you who work magic on AFV skins will find this of real interest, and I hope this link won't cause the Moon to fall upon me. It's a forum.
Panther in original camouflage scheme (minus mud on it when pulled from a river). Post has others, together with correct color palettes.
Regards,
John Kettler
Hi John
I investigated a little further. And the RAL question is, indeed, less than clear. A question widely discussed in different stakeholeder groups. It seems everybody struggles with confusion. From modellers to AFV collectors to train grog's.
To start with RAL never was a clear definition. The system provides tables and specifies: This colour is RAL 7015 slate grey. Unlike the NCS system, RAL does not specify how a colour is composed. Only how it shall look like.
Clear is: The colour numbering system changed around 1940. Before that the code was named "840 B", basically just the number under which the standard was published. It included 40 colours, named 1 to 40. Important to note, at that time only the number was standardized. Not the colour name.
Around 1940, the system changed to the 4 digit numbers which have today. But again, the names have not been standardized.
After the war some names were changed (obviously nobody wanted to read "Feldgrau" or "Panzergrau" anymore. E.g., RAL 8017 was "Red brown" before 1945. Nowadays it is called "Chocolate brown".
My personal favorite is RAL 7028 "Dark yellow", which was actually more like khaki. Fits nicley, because the 7xxx series are grey colours.
To make it a little more complicated, it seems the "offical tank colour" was "Dark yellow according to sample". That is the sort of yellow which we know from CMAK and CMFI. But it never was a RAL colour.
Further some colours were deleted from the RAL list. E.g., my favourite RAL 7028 does not appear in todays lists anymore.
So, what we can say the RAL table of today is certainly not the RAL table of the '40s.
Back to the technical side discussed earlier: It seems, indeed, that the colours were delivered to the front as powder or paste, designed to be diluted with as many dulites as possible. Water, petrol,...
Note: This was because the camouflage was normally applied by the combat units, not in the factories already. Though there have been exceptions, of course.
You can imagine that the result was less than uniform.
Here are some more interesting links:
This one about RAL 7028: http://www.militaerlacke.de/lack/1kkunstharzlacke/wehrmacht/ral7028dunkelgelb.php
This Wikipedia article includes a RAL table (you can find it elsewhere, too), with some notes about where the colours were used, what changed when,etc.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAL-Farbe
And here a nice discussion of some AFV guys, trying to figure out the "RAL issue". Very interesting, because it shows samples of old RAL tables:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1344357686/In+Tomas+Chory
Ah, with reference to CM, I forgot to mention that the computer can not show RAL colours anyway. At best something which looks similar.
So, to answer your brothers concern again: Don't worry. What looks ok and nice is probably good enough.
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Don't know, why this topic kicks me on. Probably because it is such a nice technical issue.
Hi John
I found two sites, which may be interesting for you in regard to this topic.
This one with the offical history of the RAL institute:
http://www.ral-shop.com/ral-history/
And this one from a forum of "bunker nerds" (or should I say: Grogs? ;-) ). They discuss a very similar topic:
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Brother George sent me this in connection with some Micro Armour™ AFV painting he's doing. According the post by a grog's grog when it comes to authentic German AFV paint jobs (restores Panzers), the RAL colors of today are NOT the RAL colors of WW II. Apparently, they got messed with as part of the overall extirpation of the Third Reich. Believe you who work magic on AFV skins will find this of real interest, and I hope this link won't cause the Moon to fall upon me. It's a forum.
Panther in original camouflage scheme (minus mud on it when pulled from a river). Post has others, together with correct color palettes.
Regards,
John Kettler
And after a quick Wikipedia research:
Yes, the RAL numbering system changed around 1940 to the 4-digit numbers which we have nowadays. Interesting to note: until 1944, the army or Heer camouflage colours had a 7 or 8 as first digit.
And yes again: the RAL System started with 40 colours in 1927. Nowadays we have more than 200 in four different RAL systems.
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i believe the colors could vary widely. german paint was issued in paste form and it was up to the crews to mix it and apply it. so depending on how and what the paint was mixed with you could get a variety of shades.
Yep. In my projects, I have a lot of painted steel structures with colours from all different codes. My experience is, the final top coat colour is not uniform anyway. The actual appearance depends on a lot of factors: colour mix, shelf time, primer coat colour, surface finish (routh or smooth), surface preparation, means of application (spray, brush,...), curing time and conditions....
So, anything which "looks alike" is probably fine.
Ah, I forgot to mention the different fading of paint under different environmental conditions.
In my projects, we quite often have issues with equipment from different suppliers, which should have the same colour but is obviously different.
In war times it probably was even more difficult. E.g., I remember that I read once, that the typical "white wash" was often only chalk being diluted in water and applied with brooms. I do not think you can expect a standard white here.
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The Cossacks
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 2:06
The Cliff
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 6:32
Soldiers, Brave Young Men - Soloist : E. Tsekinovski
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 2:48
Cossack's Song
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 1:56
Song Of The Volga Boatmen
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 3:48
Partisan's Song
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 2:51
Varchavianka
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 3:42
Slavery And Suffering
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 4:16
The Red Army Is The Strongest
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 2:43
The Cliff On The Volga (Russian Folk Song)
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 5:45
Konarmeiskaya
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 2:28
We Are The Red Cavalry
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 2:20
The Parade Song
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 2:53
If The War Should Come Tomorrow
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 3:45
The Song Of The Soviet Army
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 2:19
The Russian March
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 3:30
The Artillerymen's Song
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 1:38
National Anthem Of The Ussr
The Red Army Choir The Best Of The Red Army Choir 3:44
Moscow Defenders Song
The Red Army Choirs (Alexandrov) The Very Best Of The Red Army Ch... 3:12
Eh, to answer your question: Yesyes!
Since the good ol'e CMBB times, I have the Soviet Anthem as splash music. With CMRT I still use it as splash and for the intro I swap between:
"Proschanie Slavyanki" and the "March of the 3rd Tankista's".
The proper music adds so much to the game!
For CMFI I have a small collection (including "Lili Marleen" and "We are the D-Day Dodgers") at GaJ's. I wanted to add some (mainly "Il Piave" and "Fratelli dell Italia") for CMFI recently and also some British regimental marches for CMBN, but for some reason could not upload. Perhaps, I should try again.
Would you be willing to share your impressive Russian Collection? If so, please PM me.
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To bring it back to games terms: Strange, I learned that questionable morale (as one may expect with Italian troops in Italy), does not play a role in CM.
I still dare to say, that the will makes a difference. One may have the experience and the skills and still lack the resolution to continue.
Or, to make it short, I have the impression, the Italians are over rated.
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Well, I remember my father telling me when I was a little boy, how "comforting" it was for him to walk-in behind a tank.
So, it und was probably not too rare. But I guess, yes, a question of distance. Probably they spread out, as they got closer.
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Behause when they played it's like in a sloooooowww moooootiiooooonn while they work perfect with VLC and German voices work with the game.
Stupid question: do your wav-files have the right settings (sample rate, etc)? I remember, that I once had the same issue with a music splash file mod.
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Well, depends on a lot of things. What was the terrain like? Flat or hilly? Where was the TRP? What was the fire pattern? Where were your squads? Running or
hiding? Etcppblabla...
I have seen useless strikes of a battery of 81's and devastating hits of single 45's.
So, yes, probably bad luck....
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Umm, 20 batteries of 288 rockets each -- that's 5,760 rockets -- will blanket a very large area. For the price of a single T-34. And of course you don't have to hit the whole map, just the part the enemy may be occupying. So for instance, if you are playing on a 2km x 2km map you may only really need to hit half of it. Dump 5,760 rockets on a 1km x 1km area and see whats left.
Not that it would change the truth of Vanir's statement, but the half of 2x2km is 1x2km, not 1x1km.
1x1km is actually a quarter....
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Yep, I still remember the day with horror, when my precious early war German battlegroup encountered a company of T34s for the first time in good, ol' Steel Panthers. A desaster and I gave up, after trying the scenario a couple of times.
I mentioned this tale (I think it is from Guderians memoirs) in another thread (and got thwarted for believing propaganda): just before the war, a Russian delegation visited a German tank factory and left embarrassed, accusing the Germans to hide their heavy tanks.
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StieliAlpha,
Only fully?! To respond, I was doing a quick research drill to see what was out there in the marketplace for board games these days, when I came across the one you mentioned. Since it seemed to be at the same tactical level as Ironclads, I thought it a reasonable comparison--having never played Iron & Oak, though. I wouldn't get too self-congratulatory about Ironclads, much as I love it. The ROFs are way too high, and the maneuvering ludicrous. IRL, it took half an hour to turn around the CSS Virginia/Merrrimack. Nice combined ding on me and shout out to Ed on the FG&DN game! Ed again did the Scenario Guide, had a piece of the Player's Handbook, and I'm all but dead certain he was up to his eyeballs in the Data Annex. I worked with him on scenarios for Steel Typhoon (second half of PTO at sea in the CaS series) and found it both brain and labor intensive, right down to poring over Google Earth images of tiny Pacific islands trying to puzzle out runway length, revetment locations and more in places long overgrown. Do you play any of the CaS games?
Hi John
Yep, re Ironclads, I may have dwelled a little in fond memories of the past and dreamed about long forgotten playing sessions. Ironclads certainly had it's shortcomings. Realisticly, one could rate it in the same league as WSIM: Nice and playable wargame, but not neccessarily a Simulation. Anyway, it is still miles better than Iron & Oak. That one I found overly simplistic and, even worse, quite boring to play.
Re CaS: Nope, though I do own quite number of the CoA games, I really played only the La Bataille and the Age of Reason series. And lately some Fires of Midway.
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"In board wargames, GMT Games has Panzer (2nd Ed.) at $120, and it is broadly similar to CMRT. Iron & Oak for $60 is somewhat like Yaquinto's Ironclads"
Hi John
I have to fully disagree. You can't compare Ironclads, where you "feel" every single gunshot with the beer&pretzel die-roll contest Iron & Oak.
Hey, you can do better than that. Your brother designed Fear God, Dread Nought!
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I agree Germans make the best WW2 films. Funny though how one of the best American WW2 films was about the Germans "Cross of iron".
One movie completely neglected (as far as I have read this thread. My other post may show, that I do not read everything with sufficient patience. :-) )in this discussion is: Die Brücke.
Dating back to the 50s and you see only one Sherman, but for me THE German war movie! About a group of youngsters, being held back to defend a tiny bridge in their hometown.
When the unexpected US troops arrive, the thing turns into desaster.
Extremely touching!
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I think you missed the sarcasm tags that were implied given it was in response to @JohnS's biting but hilarious post.
Ooops, yep I missed it.
And forgot an ancient Bundeswehr order: raise complaints only 24h after the incident!
My correction was a quick shot from the commuter train. ;-)
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They should have used the proper model Tiger for the time the film covers.
When this happens in films the results can be fantastic. Check out these Tigers from the old 60's flick 'Battle of the Bulge'. Not a smoke launcher in sight!
Sorry, but these "Tigers" are M48 Walker Bulldog, if I am not mistaken.
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No, they bought it in France in 2006.
Have a look at their web site. The King Tiger project has it's own page, explaining the history of the tank in some detail (and in English).
Working Tiger I? Ah, the one starring with Brad Pitt in Fury.
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Gents,
here comes some advertising, which should be interesting for us guys in Europe, namely Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium and to everybody else who does not mind to travel a little further:
On 2nd August the Swiss Tank Museum in Full-Reuenthal presents an intermediate stage of their years old (started in 2006) King Tiger reconstruction project to the public. The partially reconstructed King Tiger will be presented prior to the installation of engine, gears,etc. With the opportunity to take whatever photos you like.
That's certainly a not to miss "once in your lifetime" opportunity!
Of course,they have a surrounding programm for those who have seen enough of the King Tiger.
For details see: http://www.koenigstiger.ch/bilder/flyer_A6_2.pdf
And those who have seen enough tanks for a day can still visit the nearby Swiss broder fortress.
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A completely different approach to your question: Keep on trying and work out the best strategy for you!
I remember the other day, you asked in a thread what you should do, when you were finished with CM.
Well, I am playing CM since 15 years now and THAT question never occured to me.
Be patient and find your own solutions. That's much more rewarding.
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For me the important thing here is: In H2H you will learn faster. Probably on the hard way, but you will see actions ( smart and not so smart), which you will never experience when playing against AI only. Indeed, playing H2H is quite different from AI.
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No issues with my 7+ years old Dell XPS (2GB RAM, 256 MB NVidia graphics card). Even CMRT runs ok, though the old boy is struggling.
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You just drop the ".btt" file into the "scenario" folder, which you find in the folder "game data".
Note, GL scenarios do not run under CMFI and you need to have the latest CMFI version ( v1.12, I think) installed. Or, to be more precise, scenarios, which are designed with v1.12, won't run, if you have an older game version installed.
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Hi Kieme, just out off curiosity: Do you use contemporary photos of Russian buildings as template? Some of your buildings look perfectly Russian to me, others not so.
New Italian Front board game
in Combat Mission Fortress Italy
Posted
In case anybody is interested to see the Italian Front from a different perspective: GMT will release their new "No Retreat: Italian Front" probably in the first quarter of next year.
Great, grand strategic, board game series. For Italian Front the scale is 20km per hex, 1 month per turn and Division or Corps per counter. That makes for nice, quick, smooth flowing wargames with low unit density. In their East Front game they had just 70 units to cover the complete war.
As a goodie for us CMFI fans, a little "Invasion of Sicily" scenario is included.