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ATTENTION OLD-TIMERS: FAQ help request!

guachi
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guachi Senior Member

guachi

Posted
Posted

I think the recent spate of 'meta' discussions about dealing with newbies has reached a critical point.

We've needed a FAQ for a long time. But now we REALLY need one. A GOOD one.

Interesting that people TALK about needing a FAQ as if it will magically create itself. ANYONE who wants to help, PLEASE send me an e-mail. This goes for you, too, Mr. Simon Fox smile.gif , as well as for all the people who have been frustrated at one time or another by a newbie's question.

I think we owe it to the newbies to provide the same welcoming atmosphere that greeted many of us when we first arrived. Remember that many of you asked the SAME questions that many of the newbies ask now.

Newbies are a GOOD thing. It means more popularity for CM. Let's make their introduction to hte forum a good one.

All I ask is 15-30 minutes of your time to write up and answer ONE question and do a search for a few good links. If enough people pitch in, it should be easy to get to 100 questions in no time.

Remember we can keep answering the SAME questions OVER and OVER or we can do it once and do it right. A FAQ is too large of a chore for one person, which is why I gave up. And also because Simon was right in another thread that I get things done 80% - so I need help on the other 20%! But what I have done so far is still more than many of you have done!

Jason

And, Simon, my database isn't 'fanciful' it is actually quite cool, but you haven't seen it so how would you know? tongue.gif

[This message has been edited by guachi (edited 08-15-2000).]

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Jarmo Senior Member

Jarmo

Posted
Posted

Sure, I'll chip in.

Do you have a list of possible questions or of questions someone

is already going to answer.

I won't mind spending 20 minutes of my (work)time, but I'd

be pissed if someone had already answered the same question better. smile.gif

------------------

Now, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of

our trenches and walking slowly towards the enemy sir?

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Juardis Senior Member

Juardis

Posted
Posted

Talk to us Jason. Is the list you provided in my thread "A question of FAQs" the same list you alluded to here? My thought was to develop this FAQ in this forum with everyone contributing as they see fit. To that end, I added 4 (or 5 if you like hamsters smile.gif) items to the list you provided in my thread. If, however, you wish to compile this thing "off-line", then where/how do you propose we find out about what's been answered already and what needs answering?

Yes, I will help as I said below and yes, I remember you saying you were working on one (which I guess makes me an nuveaux old-timer smile.gif).

------------------

Jeff Abbott

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Guest Germanboy

Guest Germanboy

Posted
Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Juardis:

Talk to us Jason. Is the list you provided in my thread "A question of FAQs" the same list you alluded to here? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think Juardis has got it right. The FAQ should be made available on-line as a work in progress (which it will stay forever anyway), so that it is easy to contribute. It will also make it easier to organise the contributions and avoid doubling up work. I got your email Jason, thanks for organising this.

Juardis, the list is not the same as the one in your thread. I have put all the contributions in your thread together here. Apologies to the other posters.

Juardis':

a. can downloadable scenarios be played with the demo? answer: no

b. what version is the demo? answer: 1.02

c. can pre-made scenarios be used for quick battles? answer: depends. Quick battles are setup by the computer. If playing against the AI or PBEM, the answer is no. However, you can create a map, either from scratch or by using the same options used in a quick battle. You can then populate the map with bought units. You'll just have to rely upon your opponent to stick to the unit costs you agreed upon before hand. This way you can see the map before purchasing units.

d. can fires spread? answer: no

e. are there hamsters in the game? answer: no, those will come in CM2, particularly the battle for Stalingrad.

Mine:

1. CM1 as part of a family (areas that will be covered in later games)

2. Roster, absence of.

3. Treatment of LATW (mine do never hit/always set building on fire, this game is dumb)

4. Moral of Waffen-SS/paras not correct

5. Expansion pack

6. Additions (I want these 99 tiles of terrain that may not exist in Western Europe but still looks cool)

7. FOO

8. Air support

9. What weapons are modelled/will new vehicles be included?

10. Why is it not real-time?

12. When will the Pacific mod come out?

13. War movies

14. Suggested reading

15. Effectiveness of HMG against light armour and in general

20. Campaigns, absence of

21. treatment of experience/morale in general

22. Absence of vehicles, chance of them to be included (e.g. Maus, US HT Quad AA)

23. German Überoptics

24. How to PBEM

25. Arty effectiveness (is never right)

26. Skipping HE rounds (not really)

27. What is gamey?

28. Treatment of crews (lack of personal weapons)

29. Information about fire-power, ranges

30. General accessability of information

31. Absence of Chinchillas

32. How much have you sold BTS, why don't you tell us, we have a right to know!

33. Number of men represented in a squad, reasons for.

37. My PBEM files arrive in the body of the email and it pings. Help.

Guachi's:

What is CM?

Where can I get the demo?

Where can I buy CM?

How much does CM cost?

How long does CM take to ship?

Does CM come with a box and a manual?

Are there any reviews I can read about CM?

Are there any CM websites out there?

Will there be any add-on packs for CM?

What theaters will CM2, CM3, CM4, etc. cover?

When will CM2 be out?

I didn’t notice a CM: Pacific Theater listed.

Can I modify unit data?

Can I modify the textures and sounds?

There are no winter textures in CM.

Where can I download scenarios?

How do I take a screenshot?

What is the latest version of CM?

Are versions 1.00, 1.01, 1.02, 1.03 compatible with each other?

When will TCP/IP play be added?

Why wasn’t TCP/IP play included in the original release?

My (video card, sound card, mouse, etc.) doesn’t work. Help!

I want an OOB screen! (I think this is funny, because I had the answer written up long before the most recent OOB discussion)

Why do squads only have three men displayed?

Can I watch all the movies together?

Mannheim tanker's:

"How-to" for PBEM. I know that I had a lot of questions when I started out with PBEM. A search and helpful hand from some members turned up a PBEM FAQ thread...perhaps a single link to that thread would be sufficient.

ncounio's:

19. How different nations capacity is taken in account in CM (ie : germans are good mechanics, french have a +15% on cooking...)

Spook's:

21a) Why don't my units react the way I think they should? Why do they panic so easily?

38) Are trees 1:1 in scale? Do you have to hide behind one to get the "woods" cover benefit?

39) Where are the MG34's for German infantry?

40) Hull-down Basics 101

41) Crop Seasons (I'm due for a refresher, )

42) Movement Plotting; the Waypoints to Hell

43) How to make manual adjustments to VT fuzes in CM

44) Required rolling distances for vehicles just knocked out

45) Tweaking the German schwere panzers to NEVER get knocked out by anything smaller than an Allied 15-inch battleship shell or 4,000-lb bomb (as wargamers have established as "rule of thumb" for decades; dare we argue with them now?)

46) Allowing infantry to use a bogged tank's shovels to dig it out; crew assistance optional but not mandatory

Think that's it? please remember that not all of these were intended wholly seriously by the original posters. I did not copy health warnings and smilies (I hope).

------------------

Andreas

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aka_tom_w Senior Member

aka_tom_w

Posted
Posted

I'm happy to take the.....

"Why don't Live vehicles (not KO'd burning ones) and bunkers and Pillboxes block LOS and LOF" ?

I'm sure the question can be worded much more simply.

But I'll take care of it if no one else has it.

(As you all know it is my favourite pet peeve, but I know it is not going to get fixed, as the game works well the way it is)

smile.gif

What's our target date for pubilcation or release? We need deadline or I'll never get it done.

-tom w

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Guest Germanboy

Guest Germanboy

Posted
Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Juardis:

Ok, now we have a bunch of questions. Feel free to answer here. My suggestion is that those who posted the questions perhaps take the first stab to answer them. Then we take it from there?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nice try Juardis - I don't think there is any way I am going to answer 30-odd questions myself. Some other people will have to weigh in. I do the campaign/operation one on the weekend. We should bump this one up and try and have one ready each by the start of next week. Obviously some of these questions are going to be more complicated to answer than a simple yes or no, because the aim is to help newcomers understand why something is working the way it does, not just tell them that it works in a specific way. That is the only way to prevent recurrent discussions of issues beaten to death once or twice already. If someone after reading the FAQ feels they have something new to add to a specific discussion, they can always go ahead and throw it in the ring. Or if they just want to get on the soap-box, fine too.

------------------

Andreas

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BFCElvis Senior Member

BFCElvis

Posted
Posted

guachi, I still have the stuff you and peter and I did a while ago. Do you want me to resend it? The reason I didn't pursue the FAQs more when we started doing it was because the game had not been released and anything we did would have been obsolete when the game was released (I remeber writing an answer the "why are there no bodies in the game?" question and then they added them and I was like damn...maybe us people who don't have the full version aren't the people to be wrinting this. Happy to help again if you would like. Let me know if you want me to mail you what I already have.

------------------

"To conquer death you only have to die" JC

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Guest Germanboy

Guest Germanboy

Posted
Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Colin:

People will have to send email to answer questions. It will just be too unorganized here.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Colin, no doubt about it. So I suggest two steps:

1. Put that FAQ by Jason up at CMHQ or whereever someone is willing to take it.

2. Someone (not me) acts as co-ordinator to receive emails and 'assign' tasks by putting a note on the same page as the FAQ about who is doing what, and what remains to be done, for people to choose.

Does that sound reasonable?

------------------

Andreas

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Colin Senior Member

Colin

Posted
Posted

I'm working on a page with that sort of plan right now. I'm also going to host the FAQ that Jason mailed me.

The page will have every question we can think of on it. Every question will be an email link (with a predefeined subject for sorting) so that you can simply click on the question you wish to answer, write the answer as a normal email and I'll receive it and simply copy the answer into the FAQ. Should be fairly simple. It could take some time so bear with me people.

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And if we abandon any platform, I can assure you it will not be the Macintosh.

-Steve

My website!

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guachi Senior Member

guachi

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  • Author
Posted

You guys rock!!

My first post in this thread was my last right before I went to bed. I got back from work and dwonloaded my e-mail and logged in to the forum. I have warm fuzzies from the positive response here and in e-mail. smile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gif

I guess I should get my ass in gear and write up some more answers.

If anybody needs links to discussions for help in writing answers, I've got TONS!

I have over 2000 links indexed by topic for people who want to delve for that 'official' Steve response.

Check out Colin's site as he now has a list of Qs that need an A.

http://cm4mac.tripod.com/

Jason

[This message has been edited by guachi (edited 08-15-2000).]

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Guest Madmatt

Guest Madmatt

Posted
Posted

Fionn and myself originally said we would be more than happy to check the answers provided or do them ourselves once the questions were fleshed out. I am assuming that our offer still stands. We stand ready (Please tell me if you no longer want to help in this endevour Fionn!) just send us whatever you have when you have it and we can correct and try to fill in any gaps!

A FAQ benefits us all!

Madmatt

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If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ!

CMHQ-Annex, The Alternative side of Combat Mission

Combat Mission HQ

CMHQ-Annex

Proud members of the Combat Mission WebRing

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GriffinCheng+ Senior Member

GriffinCheng+

Posted
Posted

Add these lines:

1) Where are you people come from?

2) How do you know you have been playing too much CM? (Demo and The Real One alike)

3) What is the average age of the people on the Board?

Griffin

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"+" is just the beginning. Expect to see "GriffinCheng76", "GriffinCheng(105)" or "GriffinChengA3E8" more should Forum problems occur again :(

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