Warts 'n' all

The Vandeleur cousins must be in their graves pissing themselves laughing at this.

I've only played it in v2.12. So perhaps I should have rephrased my last line... "If the fly boys are going to be..." I appreciate that fact that it is unintended behaviour.

Given that the designer allows the AT Guns on the Belgian - Dutch border to survive the pre-game rolling barrage, I found it hard enough to begin with. With the fly boys killing my own men I think that I will find it damn near impossible.

I think "30" is the type of Panzerfaust he is equipped with. As opposed to a "K"... etc

I think that we all get annoyed if our troops stop firing the split second their target becomes obscured. We just happen to forget those occasions when the enemy do the same thing.

Personally, as a relative newcomer to this generation of Combat Mission I think that with the standard lighting it looks great. When I have tried so-called "movie lighting" I've found it looks unrealistically grey and ugly. Sadly, it seems popular nowadays, even with BBC documentary makers. If I want want grey conditions I'll wait for cloud cover.

It is no criticism of Battlefront. But, it is virtually impossible to design a game that recreates how the British used their fighter bombers on the day. Having them "uncontrolled" to roam at will, or giving them a pin point target via a F.O. will not work. Vandeleur had about 100 Typhoons (rather than 4) available that afternoon. The troops on the ground fired yellow smoke anywhere they suspected the Germans to be. The "Tiffies" were then allowed to "go hell for leather for a quarter of an hour" i.e. they used all their gun and rocket ammo, and blasted every thing to bits. They didn't waste time looking for "targets", or give up if they couldn't find any, and they didn't hit their own troops. They just got on with the job. I think those of us who have attempted this mission would love that kind of air support.

Nice comparisons... One Member of Parliament did suggest having a captured Panther brought to the House of Commons to show what British tank crews were up against. Churchill accused him of scare mongering.

Although things might get a bit repetitive, I'd hate to command an army of mutes. One thing I have always liked about Combat Mission is the voices. And sometimes I even find myself talking back to them... "Did you see that?".... "No I bloody didn't. That's the ****ing problem."

I don't mind 1 or 2 minute action videos without commentary, But for full length scenarios I think commentary makes it so much better for the viewer. You get a clear understanding of what the player is trying to do, and their reaction when things don't quite go as planned is always fun to hear.

Yes, that was a shame. I was looking forward to watching it.

You're right Michael.. It isn't on a beach. The caption to the original photo calls it a "piste d'envol"... i.e. a runway in French. The photo shows an airfield close to one of the Cherbourg forts that had been captured in late June. As far as I know, as well as using the rigid metal PSP type of "matting" strips. The Allies also used rolls of linked chain, placed on a Hessian base.

A nice lot of screenshots... I'd like to see Waffen SS vehicles with "SS" number plates, rather than "WH" ones, although I suspect that would take a massive redesign of the game. Or some kind of mod that would need a great deal of work.

Interesting photo .... There are some pictures floating around the net that show rolls of both fabric and metal linked matting being man-handled prior to laying. This is the first time I've seen this machine doing the job at an airfield.

It would be nice to have a campaign about 11th Armoured Division in Normandy.

What a great link. Thanks for sharing this with us.

I have to agree with Michael. If A.F.V. crews, Artillerymen and Truck Drivers e.t.c. were told by an Infantry Officer to "Attack" the enemy, he would have been told to "Go forth and multiply".... If they were being polite.

I did wonder about the windows when it kept happening to me. I never thought about using a cover arc, Thanks for the tip.

Having scratched my head and gone to my bookshelf. The first time I would have seen it being used was back in 1984 in Max Hasting's "Overlord". He states that "The Allies" called the later versions of the Panzer IV, the "MK IV Special". Although whether he means SHAEF, the British, or the Americans I'm not sure.

Luke, I think that your designation is the correct one. Using the word "Mark" just seems to be a habit that people have gotten into, myself included.

I prefer to use them as medic teams for riflemen who have been left a long way behind during an attack. And I certainly wouldn't want to risk mortar teams getting killed if they are a core unit in a campaign.

Currently playing this battle at Authie as the Germans. Things went swimmingly for about the first 25 mins. Then just one Firefly accounted for six Mark IVs in very short order...grrr

Doesn't shooting the driver count as a war crime?

I think the lack of postings was a bit sad. Although we have to remember that this is a gamer's forum, not an historian's one. If I want history I go to the B.B.C. I don't come here. Their coverage was brilliant, as per usual.