What are your favorite settings?

[pritzl]

Lets call this an informal survey to see what people prefer for their most used views and settings while playing CM.

For me, I nearly always use the 3 view. I switch to camera 4 to get a better lay of the land once in a while and often go to views 1 and 2 when I want to get in close to a particular part of the action. Very rarely do I use any of the overhead views.

I also prefer to have my units at realistic scale with the unit bases turned off. It's very difficult to see the troops at view 4 or above, but I only use those camera views for the map reading and overall strategy purposes.

I also like to have translucent walls and the roofs on the buildings. For me, a big part of the immersion factor is the scenery and having it look like the real thing with everything to scale.

So, am I in the minority?

[Eridani]

Hmm

I also keep realistic scaling... I feel it gives a much better feel for how the battle is progressing. I do keep unit bases on however, that way I can still see all of my units clearly.

I would use transparent walls + smoke, but unfortunate the ATI mobile POS doesn't support it. Oh well.

I stay very fluid with my views... usually reserving the higher overhead cams so I can really get a feel for how the battle progressing. Other than that though, I use any/all views all the time, just depends on which one gives the best information on what am I looking at.

EridanMan

[Doug Beman]

I crank scaling up to maximum just to make sure I haven't forgotten anybody in all the confusion.

I keep smoke set to realistic unless there's a lot of it, in which case I set it to fast/compatible to keep frame rates higher and reduce mouse-move choppiness.

DjB

[Bullethead]

My usual graphics settings are realistic size troops, bases on, full trees, high detail smoke, flags off, and transparent buildings with roofs. I also turn off ambient sounds so I don't confuse them with combat sounds.

When setting up, I use #6 or #7 as a map and #3 and #4 as a coarse relief map to get the lay of the land and come up with a general plan. Then when doing detail planning, I conduct an extensive terrain recon all over the map with views #1 and #2 to check the LOS in key areas and find those little ripples in the ground that become so crucial. When so doing, I repeatedly switch trees from full on to off.

When giving orders, it depends on what's going on. If I'm moving through a relatively secure area where exact placement doesn't matter, I often use #3 or #4. #6 is also useful with the group select (cool new feature).

If I am putting guys in buildings or trying to snake a tank between woods and/or slopes, I find view #5 ideal for exact waypoint placement. Another good use of #5 is being sure you're actually in the woods instead of open ground in different areas of the green tree background splotches.

When my troops are or soon will be in a firefight, there is no substitute for views #1 and #2 to take advantage of very small terrain features and prevent the enemy from doing the same. Sometimes #3 is sufficient but it's usually risky.

At points during and at the end of giving orders, I turn on all movement and/or target lines (another cool new feature) to be sure everything is as it should be. I also turn trees off and use view #7 or #8 briefly to be sure everybody is doing something (trees sometimes hide bases).

I find that #3 is the best view to watch the battle unfold. It allows me to see what's going on in about a company area in enough detail to spot important events. Of course, it also makes me have to watch the movie several times, once for each main area of interest. If something cool happens to a particular unit, I sometimes watch the movie again with #1 or #2 focused on this unit.

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-Bullethead

jtweller@delphi.com

WW2 AFV Photos: people.delphi.com/jtweller/tanks/tanks.htm