Are there hills in them thar hills?

[FroBodine]

Stupid thread title, I know. Noobie to CM games here. Does Combat Mission have any substantial hills in any of their games? I have only played a bit of the tutorial for CMBN, and watched some of the CMRT videos by ChrisND. But, all the maps look very flat.

I watched some videos of Achtung Panzer: Operation Star, and there were some major hills in their maps.

Do the CM games, and Red Thunder specifically since I will be purchasing it as my first CM game, have maps with some nice hills to fight in? Nothing beats a good hill, I always say. You can climb or drive up them, then run or drive down the other side. Fun!

Seriously - I hope all the maps are not all flat. Educate me, please!

[The Teacher]

I would think there will be all sorts of terrain, both hills, swamps, grain fields all the way to rocky broken countryside.

The game editor is a friendly device that the scenario builders can make almost any countryside spring to life.

If you ask someone may even make a map.

Cheers

Stephen

[gunnersman]

That part of the world (The CMRT part of the world) is pretty flat...I mean really flat. Like so flat when you look out at the horizon you can see the back of your head....its that flat. But seriously...its pretty flat.

If you want lots of hills and/or big elevation, play CMFI. Italy and Sicily are very mountainous.

[John Kettler]

Frobodine,

Here's a partial answer to your question, in the form of a few frames from a custom CMFI map derived from an actual battlefield, Santa Maria Infante. In CMFI, hills can be so tall and steep the only way for vehicles to ascend them at any appreciable rate is to conduct a rising series of "S" turns. Bil Hardenberger found this out the hard way in the Eye of the Elefant AAR from which comes the link.

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=109386&page=21

Also, CMBN explicitly has Hills as a terrain type for QBs. Several scenarios I've played, including Barkmann's Corner and Cats Chasing Dogs. have hills. Can't speak to the CW side, since no scenarios I've played have really had hills. Hills don't have to be very high to be militarily significant. In North Africa, an attack was made specifically to seize a bump of desert a whole two meters higher than the surrounding ground--because of the observation advantage it conferred.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Michael Emrys]

Does Combat Mission have any substantial hills in any of their games?

CMFI/GL. An abundance of hills, and a lot of them are very rugged. I think you would find it hilly to your heart's content.

Michael

[MikeyD]

Frankly, I half wonder if the hills that CMRT does have are a bit too substantial! Google-Earth street view up and down the back roads of eastern Poland or outside of Minsk and you've got a lot of long shallow gradients but few actual 'hills' hills. I was tasked to do the 'mountain' horizon art for the region and I spent much of my time with my head in my hands wondering what to do. Those Italian mountain horizons were easy compared to the frickin' steppes!

[FroBodine]

Thank you all. I still want to get CMRT first, since it's the new toy. But, it looks like I will have to get CMFI and CMBN shortly thereafter.

Don't get me wrong, I like a good plains battle, too. I just wanted to make sure the game engine could handle hills, and it appears that it does very well.

I like my combat games like I like my women. Not too flat.

[c3k]

The editor, in all CM games, is much easier to use to create maps than other games. You can make your own Swiss Alps.

[MikeyD]

Italy in autumn.

[sburke]

Is this big enough? A work in progress. That is not background, that hill is in game. See town at it's feet.

If you need something bigger, you'll have to wait till BF gives us Ski troops.

[Freyberg]

Those hill battles in CMFI can be fun

[MikeyD]

And lets not forget CM:Afghanistan

[LUCASWILLEN05]

For 1944 there is always the Carpathians for the Russian Front although just a little later. Speaking of Italy as we were earlier take a look at the German propagana on the left hand side

http://nuke.montecassinotour.com/THEBATTLESOFCASSINO/tabid/54/language/de-DE/Default.aspx

[Michael Emrys]

That looks like certain parts of Central California. Wait...you're in Central California. Fancy that!

Michael

[sburke]

That looks like certain parts of Central California. Wait...you're in Central California. Fancy that!

Michael

psshaw, heresy from the Pacific Northwest. I am in the Bay Area. The source of all that is evil and destroying American family values.

That shot should actually be slightly more familiar to you too. Particularly that building complex on the top of the main mountain. Though it is still a work in progress and that shot is taken from about 1500 meters away.

[Sequoia]

Monte Cassino. Hah I knew it! And I am in Central California.

[Aragorn2002]

What are those blue remembered hills? ;-)

Sorry, couldn't help thinking of that poem.

[Michael Emrys]

\I am in the Bay Area. The source of all that is evil and destroying American family values.

Then you are in the right place. I know most Californians don't think of it as Central California unless you are breathing dust and it's hotter than hell, but to me anything between Hearst Castle and Mendocino is central California. You don't really start to hit northern CA until you get north of Mendocino.

Michael