WhiteWolf65

Sorry about the double post. Brain is a little oxygen deprived at the moment. Man this sucks. **Chris**

Being a former member of a development and Beta testing team, I can say for certain that "The plans of mice and men oft go awry." This certainly the case with any kind of computer program, especially ones dealing with games. The developers can be not five or ten minutes away when all of a sudden one of the testers finds a bug that takes days, weeks, or even months to correct. When a game company says something like "Game such and such will be out by the end of the month." don't be surprised if that deadline is almost always delayed. Patience is the key, especially with a gaming engine like Combat Mission is concerned.

Good Morning, As many of you know, I recently had a very close brush with death and was hospitalized for nearly a week. When I am in a situation like that, my mind is constantly thinking (if I am conscious and bored out of my skull) , mostly about what has or is happening to me but it also wanders into other realms of my creative mind such as ideas for games. During the period of my illness/hospitalization my mind occasionally thought about the Combat Mission games. Goes to show you how much I enjoy these games. Okay, getting off track here. This thought came to me while I was sleeping and literally woke me up. This happened while I was still in the hospital and I had no access to a computer, but I did jot it down so that I'd remember to post this question once I got home. Okay, donning my flak jacket and helmet. Just remember that I love to research new material for future installments for inclusion in any future full games and/or updates to the current titles and that I am a die-hard beta-tester. I will pick apart a game until it bleeds. I am sure this topic has been brought up more than once in the various forums, but I wanted to plug in MTCW. Motorcycles??? I am sure that all of you are aware that the motorcycles used by both the Allied and Axis forces in Europe and the Eastern Front played an important role during the war. They were used for security/police duty, communications, reconnaissance and fire support. For example; the German Zudapp KS 750 and BMW R came with and without sidecars. Some of these motorcycles were armed with either a MG 34 or MG 42 and in some instances a mortar (either a 5 cm Granatwerfer mounted on the sidecar but also the 8.1 cm Granatwerfer although this heavier motorcycle mounted unit may have had a separate motorcycle that the other mortar crewman rode). Of course, the British had their Norton motorcycles and the United States had the Harley-Davidson-WLH heavy motorcycle. And then there is the German Kettenkrad HK101 which was used primarily on the Russian Front but also on the North African battlefield (not relevant at this point) and the Western Front. Okay, fire away. LOL. Cheers, **Chris**

My girlfriend bought me another book for my 65th birthday, "The First Wave (The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II" by Alex Kershaw. I plan to read it after I have finished Spearhead.

I'll have to go searching then. Thanks old friend. Chris.

I just read a post from the archives dating back to the infancy of Combat Mission. In a nutshell, the poster said he hid a lone German tank-hunter in a woods-line along a road and had completely forgotten about him. A column of Russian infantry strolled by his hidden position and didn't notice him. Then a Russian tank came rolling up and he destroyed it with his AT grenade (probably a Hafthohlladung). Now as I have been printing out all of these data sheets for all the World War II titles (I might have to look again at the Red Thunder TO&E), I haven't seen these listed. If they are not part of the TO&Es, I would highly recommend them being re-instated to the game. Another unit that might be cool to introduce into the Western Front battles of Combat Mission are the special German Tank Hunter teams running around in captured Bren carriers. With their speed, ability to hide almost anywhere and carrying those lethal loads of PzFaust 60 to 100 and the Panzerschrecks, that would make for some interesting cat & mouse games. Hey, I know that these were not used in great abundance by the Germans but having them would just be fun and isn't that what we are trying to accomplish here? To have fun? Till next time. **Chris**

A very good idea and I will probably print out those statistics too. I am just now printing the cover sheet for each manual and putting them in sheet protectors. Once done, I won't have to search the various manuals to find what I need. Now if I can just figure out how to do screen captures I can start working on some maps. I would really like to do a scenario for the Battle of Cologne and Aachen using Final Blitzkrieg.

Good afternoon, Question for all of you. How many of you dislike looking up the capabilities or information on any particular unit in the PDF manuals? I prefer to have something that I can hold in my lap and read, rather than trying to read it on a computer screen. Well, today I started printing out all of the unit data sheets for all of the units found in all of the games. I will have one notebook that is dedicated to the World War II titles and another that is dedicated to CM:SF 2 and CM:BS. It will make it so much easier, at least for me it will, to decide which units I wish to purchase when playing against another player in a Quick Battle. I have also printed out the manuals, including the Engine 4.0 manual and I've printed out the guide for designing maps/scenarios/campaigns. This is what I enjoy doing. I know, weird but everybody needs a hobby. Right? **Chris**

Here is one for you. In all the years that I've played CM, I have never seen any infantry get into hand-to-hand combat with rifle butts, entrenching tools, bayonets, or even a rock. Now that would be an exciting addition. In other words, Close Combat (no, not the game). LOL

Wow, I don't know if you were being factious or really serious. I hope it is a case of the former than the latter because if it is the latter you are in a bit of a foul mood this morning, IMHO.

Agreed, agreed, agreed............1000%

I will give you a perfect example of how hidden German anti-tank guns were used with a high degree of success during the war in Europe. I had a gaming friend year's ago who told me what his uncle told him during his tour in France during the war. His uncle was a driver for a M5A1 in a armored recon unit. This situation happened in one of the small French villages. His unit, about five of six M5s, were ordered to scout a tree line and relay any info to the battalion commander. The unit moved out of the safety of the village and started advancing on the tree-line. At about 500 meters, four 88 L/56 guns opened on them. Within a few seconds three of the six M5s were made into flaming junk. My friend's uncle pushed forward until he noticed that the two other M5s had stopped because the crews had abandoned their vehicles after seeing the what happened to the first three M5s. His uncle put his M5 in reverse but wasn't lucky enough to get out of the way of the next 88 round coming straight at him. The round hit the lower glacis plate in front of his position, knocked the seat pedestal out from under him, killed the radio man and gunner (the commander was blown out the top of the hatch), went completely through the engine and out the back of the tank. It was at that point that his uncle opened his hatch, climbed out and ran like all hell had broken loose. Of course, an artillery barrage took out the 88s but that is the type of situation that can and did happen during the chaos of battle. I have also been told battle stories from a Catholic priest when I lived in Asheville, NC about his time with the Waffen SS on the Eastern Front. He told me that every single tank crew was always frightened when it came to dealing with concealed Russian Pak fronts. **Chris**

Well, I should have known better than not to be wearing my flak jacket and helmet this morning. Okay, I admit that I made a mistake when it came to Ryan's depiction of the Battle for Arnhem. As for Darling Dickie Attenborough, he was a putz. Operation Market Garden was one of the worst of the Allied Operations dreamed up by Montgomery. Total waste of time, equipment and most of all the blood lost by those heroic American, British, and Polish troops, IMHO. However, all of you know as well as I do, that camouflage netting or other means of concealing a unit was a widely spread practice during World War II. To make it an abstraction, rather than being able to set it up per the player's wishes (whether it is a good idea or not) seems like a much better way of depicting this important aspect of this type of warfare. Even though what Ryan said was wrong, I can give you hundreds of examples of units set up in concealed positions....say like those during the Battle of Stalingrad. Why not come up with a new command, especially for those units that do not set up in a defensive position to begin with (especially in the larger battles). This new command could be similar to the "Target Arc" command but call it "Concealed Arc". If a enemy unit unwilling spots the concealed gun/tank/what have you outside the concealed units concealed arc, then all benefits are lost. However, you give me a concealed Pak-40 ATG in a wood line on a hill and I'll dare any Allied line of armor to move within it's line of sight. Before those tanks could react there would be several burning hulks of twisted metal and dead tankers. Also remember that during the final days of the war, many fanatical SS troops would risk anything to stop the onslaught of the Allied advances on the Mother Land. I say, get rid of the abstract. To me, that is just cutting corners on what could, and probably would, make these games even more realistic.....pixel troops or not. Damn I hate prednisone. Makes me think too much and sometimes I go off on a steroid rage (this isn't one of them). **Chris**

Thank you for wishing that I get well soon. Now, as with regard to German units being discouraged from hiding vehicles/heavy towed weapons within buildings, on threat of being court-martialed, that would not be the case in the latter part of the war, especially during the final Allied drives on Germany (from both sides)....the Battle for Cologne or Aachen comes to mind. In the early stages of the war, this practice would definitely not be acceptable but in the latter part of the war the Germans were doing everything they could to save the Reich, court-martial or not.....i.e. 12 year boys or old men with Panzerfausts. The point that I am trying to get across is to make the Combat Mission:World War II titles a little more on the realistic side of things. In the book I am reading about the fight across Belgium, many Veteran PzKw IV and V crews abandoned their vehicles when confronted by a superior Allied force only to sneak back at night and destroy their vehicle. Now if that isn't a court martial offense, I don't know what is. Of course, they were ordered to do this by their commanders. So your statement about blowing things up that they couldn't take with them is somewhat not accurate. Not to argue with you. I just feel that all of the current CM World War II games, and hopefully ones dealing with the earlier stages of the war, could really use a major overhaul. Of course, I am not a coder (wish I was) and all that I am saying is nothing more than my opinion, and nothing more. Just remember, that we are no longer dealing with computer technology/coding that was used when these excellent games were released over 20 years ago. My preference would be to keep expanding on the current games, but as a sideline work on a new engine code and then just grandfather in all the good parts of the old game engine. I don't want much do I. LOL Again, thank you for the well wishes. **Chris**

The one side affect of me being so sick lately, is that it has given me an opportunity to think about these games, in particular those dealing with World War II. In the games it is very easy to set-up an infantry ambush by hiding them in concealing terrain, using the Hidden Command. Not so with heavy towed weapons or armored vehicles. I personally feel that a new command should be coded for heavy towed weapons or armored vehicles to be able to set-up in a concealed position, i.e camouflaged with camouflage netting. This was quite common with all units that fought on the Western and Eastern Fronts. Remember in the movie "A Bridge Too Far" where the Germans had a very good concealed position with their PaK-40s and then laid into the sides of those lead Achilles and Fireflies? Of course, once the position were exposed then it would be nullified to some extent. This new command would be "Concealed" and would only apply to the initial set-up of units in a defending situation. Again, just fodder from an old gaming grognard. I don't think this command would be much use in any of the CMSF or CMBS as modern infrared optics make camouflage next to useless. **Chris**

Thank you gents. Yes it has been a bad the last two months. First I had to put down my 14 year-old Collie and now this crap. I'll get back to the games as soon as I can. Again, thank you.

Maybe add some Dragon's Teeth while adding new toys.

I know that I am posting this again but there is nothing quite like beating a dead-horse with a stick. As many of you know I am reading the book "Spearhead" by Alan Markos. I am hoping to finish this excellent book but I am still recovering from my hospital stay I had recently. Back to the book. One of the absolutely worst fears that tankers, and doughs alike, had when they were making their assault vs the Germans in Cologne, Germany were how the Germans placed heavy AT guns, up to 88/L56 and L/43s in the lower levels of a building. This gave our troopers very little warning and many a M4/76 and even some M-48s were taken out when they were fired upon form distances less than 500 meters. Perfect ambush set-ups and were well hidden from Allied aircraft until spotted by ground troops and were bombed out of existence or were taken out by combat engineers. The same holds true from weapon/tank pits(ramps). The purpose of these games is to show what it was like to fight in and on these absolutely terrible battlefields. All of you know that the Germans loved to park their tanks in one story structures with just their main gun pointing out. Do that in this game and I am sure the tactics for playing these games would change dramatically. My recommendation, and this is only my recommendation, is that the designers fix problems like this that will make it a much more challenging set of games, if they ever do a new engine for all of these games. If these features were added to these games at some point, I can honestly say that all of these games would put all of the other companies dealing with this type of warfare to shame. I would like you to remember that I have been playing all manner of war games for nearly 50 years now and I have been a beta-tester for other companies that develop World War II tactical level games. Just spouting off some steam, since I am not up to playing any scenarios at the moment. **Chris**

Hello all, I highly recommend "Spearheard" by Alan Makos. It deals with two tankers during the final battles of World War II in Belgium and Germany. I am just now getting to the part of the book dealing with the battle for Cologne. My God, what an awful fight that must have been. There is a lot of good factual material and maps that can used tp make for some very interesting scenarios. Again, I highly recommend this book to any one interested in the final days of World War II on the Western Front. Cheers **Chris**

Good afternoon, I am sure that this post will be deleted at some point but I am not concerned about that. I just wanted those members that I am playing scenarios with what the situation is. On 6/14 I was admitted to the hospital because I went into full pulmonary arrest and had two mild heart attacks. For all practical purposes, I died. I spent a week on a cardiac ICU and I wouldn't wish that hell on anyone. Hospital beds aren't not designed for comfort. I am now on constant O2 (for the rest of my life) and I have about as much energy as weak kitten pee. I am not up to playing any games at this point but I should be back in the thick of the battle by month's end, maybe sooner. Again, I am sure this post will be deleted at some point but I have much more serious matters to concern myself with. I hope all of you are having a pleasant weekend. **Chris**

Good morning all, I am playing several scenarios of CMBS as the Russian player vs the Americans and I have some questions about the capabilities or lack thereof as far as the Russians are concerned. 1) Is Russian night vision equipment as bad as it seems in the game? Is American night vision equipment as good as it seems in the game? One of the scenarios I am playing is one taking place at night and I am playing the Russian. It almost seems that the American player can see through walls at times. No sooner do I get an anti-tank unit (Kornets) or MG set-up then it gets ripped to shreds by infantry or armored vehicle small arms fire. All I see are the "ghost" icons of either the infantry or the armored units with my other units that do have a clear LOS to the enemy units. 2) Why is it that a Russian artillery barrage takes up to three to four times longer to arrive than it does for an American artillery barrage to arrive? Is the Russian command communication network that bad in reality? I am not really complaining about these two issues, just wondering is all. **Chris**

I agree with you 100%. I also agree with comments that a direct hit from a 203 mm/8 inch round on an Abrams would turn the crew of an Abrams into a quivering mass of goo on the floor of the tank. The Abrams is not invincible in reality but it does seem that it is in CMSF and CMBS. Okay, I've got my flak jacket on this morning. Fire away.