Warts 'n' all

@ Banemman ... Being a Southern Softie I have to agree with you that Orkney 'Dark' is a gorgeous pint. On the rare occasions it turns up in my local offy I snap it up.

They do look stunning. Thanks for posting them for us to enjoy.

When I recently fought "The Mace" as the Germans I had trouble with my HMGs. Even with clear LOS and LOF they wouldn't open fire on a Bren Carrier at fairly close range. I tried letting them fire at will, tried "Target" and "Target Brief" without any joy. When I checked their status during each turn it would sometimes show them as "Moving", "Turning" and even "Aiming" once or twice, but would they fire? No way.. grrrrrr. In the end I just gave up.

I ALWAYS turn my internet OFF when playing CM. I'm far too busy enjoying the game to bother with e-mails etc.

This is a really clever idea. And looks great!

I really enjoyed this. It is one of the best Combat Mission movies I've seen. I think that Darling Dickie would have loved Combat Mission, no irritating Hollywood agents to deal with.

I think BFC have modeled the Norman countryside as well as they can. In fact, it is frustratingly good/bad depending on whether you are playing as the attacker, or defender. Visibility was at a premium, both for Tankers and AT gun crews. That is why panzerfausts and shrecks were so important. As an attacker I fume when my tanks can't find a target. Of course, as a defender I rub my hands with glee when a blind tank stops just a few yards in front of my panzerjager teams. Obviously, the high banked hedgerows of the bocage country didn't block all sight or movement, but with one vehicle equalling one action square it is very difficult for the game to replicate that moment when a tank broke up through the foliage and exposed it's belly to the enemy before it reached the point where it's weight took it downwards. And from what I have read, "that moment" was often long enough to cop a faust or shreck round in the belly.

That is good point womble made about the front deck. Just take a look at one from a side on view.

Thanks for that Badger. I'll take a look.

I've not seen Divisional insignia on the UI before, is that your own mod?

Given the height of some of the foliage-topped earthern embankments within the bocage country, especially along the sunken lanes, it seems spot on that certain vehicles couldn't bring their guns to bear on a target. Moving in any closer to the hedge would have meant that their barrel would be pointing up in the air, and the belly of the vehicle would be providing a nice juicy target for the enemy.

Certainly looks like "Game Over" for this Cromwell.

As often as possible I like to play scenarios from both sides in turn, and then compare how I have done. This goes back to "Ham and Jam" the first battle in Beyond Overlord. Of course, because I was totally new to the game I played as the Axis first as they were defending, and then the Allies. Ever since then that is how I've played the game, Axis first, Allies second. With this battle, I won as the Axis quite easily. Then got stuffed by the AI when I fought as the Aliies. Ho hum.

Also, bear in mind that "campaign editor" software exists. This can be downloaded from the repository or from websites such as Green as Jade, so that you can edit each individual "Mission" within a campaign using the "Scenario editor" that comes with the game. Therefore you can tinker with the map, your core forces, your reinforcements, and the enemy's strength and set up. If you feel that the original designer has produced a campaign that doesn't suit your needs. The one thing that this software can't provide is entirely new maps to insert into the campaigns provided in the game.

I agree with ASL Veteran, playing the demo gives you a good idea of how "Battles" or missions are handled in CM. As much as I miss the old style "Operations", because they could be played from both Axis and Allied sides, the new style "Campaigns" do throw up their own particular challenges, and are, therefore, well worth playing. Perhaps watching this... ...will give you a clear idea of how they work, without you having you having to buy the game.

Forgot to mention. I enjoyed it so much that I subscribed to your channel. I don't do that often.

Despite the brief periods of pixelation, this is a brilliant video. Keep 'em coming!

I was disappointed not to have the old-style operations too, as I really enjoyed them first time around.

That is a good point about the chances of a crew keeping the same tank from '42 through until '45. Strikes me as pretty unlikely, As far as know, in the case of the Desert Rats, when they came back to Britain to prepare for Normandy their tanks remained behind to be used in Italy, and they were equipped with new "mounts". I'm not sure if that was the same in the case of US units.

I'm always reluctant to have a go at BFC, cuz I think by and large they do a great job. But having gone to the trouble of including windmills, dutch style buildings, street signs etc in MG, they could have provided "Bailey" and pontoon bridges as well. Oh well, it gives me chance to test out my map editing skills.

Unlike some games, in this one making mistakes and getting hammered by the enemy are all part of the fun. And hopefully, part of the learning process.

Having run a little test on this scenario I have to agree with the above. It would have been nice to have some kind of guidance as to what kind of vehicles could cross which kind of bridges in the briefing. It is bad enough having a "Bailey Bridge" that looks like a traditional Dutch canal bridge, it is more annoying to find out that you have no way of knowing what weight of AFV it can carry. Hopefully these sort of things can be fixed in the future, as and when different kinds of bridges become available to the scenario designers.

Classic!

Of course, I should have written Alt-Tab, but I'd not long had my tea. @ John1966.... Yes, having something like that to refer to would be pretty good. Also, I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned it yet, but taking a overview look at hedgerows from camera level 6 will show up the marked different in thickness between the different types.

Alternatively John, just save Baneman's pic and have it minimized down on your taskbar. Start up your game, then use Alt-T when you want to refer to the pic.