Pascal DI FOLCO Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Well, I wonder why, 8 months after playing this game, I'm still mad about it.. Normally, interest in a game dwindles : - in a few days, because it's just plain crap Example : Soldiers at War (I didn't try "SL"..) - in a few weeks, because there're some flaws that become unbearable : examples are CC series flawed campaign systems (except CC2) and awful AI, EF/WF unsatisfactory combat system. - in a few months at best, just because of boredom/repetitiveness...Even with very good games (BG, SP or Civ series), interest dwindles and game is put off eventually- at best it gets reinstalled some time later, but initial interest is not here anymore ... With CM, none of this happens...Why ? What do you think of it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Magic? What magic? I don't guess my copy has those features. I've never seen that Lightning Bolt streak across the screen to take out that Tiger. Or a Fire Ball shredding a platoon of men. Just bullets and shells. No magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JunoReactor Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 One thing about Civ: I've been playing it with regular intervals since I first bought the original game for my Amiga many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Because Every new Random QB gives the player a new set of challenges. Becuase the Scenario editor gives the power to design new never before scene double blind games for TCP/IP And What About TCP/IP it WORKS! And the game never Crashes! those are all good reasons! -tom w [This message has been edited by aka_tom_w (edited 03-09-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal DI FOLCO Posted March 9, 2001 Author Share Posted March 9, 2001 Originally posted by Maximus: Magic? What magic? I don't guess my copy has those features. I've never seen that Lightning Bolt streak across the screen to take out that Tiger. Or a Fire Ball shredding a platoon of men. Just bullets and shells. No magic. Hey Maximus, Who can believe you play CM, read forum, make mods, play CM, think CM, *be* CM, and that no magic is involved ? It's no Lightning or Fireball, rather Dire Charm-Permanent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeo Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I think the Magic is There for several reasons: It is like solving a new puzzle each time. How do I achieve the objectives with the tools at hand? It is like reading a new fiction book each time. Will the hero prevail and survive? It like a history lecture each time. How did more numerous yet generally inferior Allied tanks defeat the German armor? It is a new lesson each time. How did fighting in the fog affect my strategy as well as that of my opponent? It is a new war movie each time. How can that tank survive such an intensive artillery barrage? It is a new moral dilemma each time. Would I break and run like that squad just did, or would I stand my ground 'til the barrel melted down? It is a way to reach out and touch someone new. How about a PBEM game? And much, much, more... Indeed, the Magic is There! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Aitken Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 CM is the only game I play, because all the others are either repetitive or pointless. The point I see in CM is that it's based on reality, so what you achieve in CM has some bearing in the real world. This also means that, instead of the game itself being everything, you can apply your knowledge of history or military technology to the game, so there is no limit. The game requires thought. You're not adhering to a set of guidelines dreamed up by the programmer – you're just given a bunch of military units and you've got to work out what to do with them. The more thought you put in, the greater your chance of success. And, of course, it is extremely well designed and programmed. David ------------------ where's the BAR? – ColonelSquirrel Where's the Bar? This is the most important and critical question I've ever seen on a thread – Rex_Bellator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenoFlame 36 Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Originally posted by Pascal DI FOLCO: Well, I wonder why, 8 months after playing this game, I'm still mad about it.. Normally, interest in a game dwindles : - in a few days, because it's just plain crap Example : Soldiers at War (I didn't try "SL"..) - in a few weeks, because there're some flaws that become unbearable : examples are CC series flawed campaign systems (except CC2) and awful AI, EF/WF unsatisfactory combat system. - in a few months at best, just because of boredom/repetitiveness...Even with very good games (BG, SP or Civ series), interest dwindles and game is put off eventually- at best it gets reinstalled some time later, but initial interest is not here anymore ... With CM, none of this happens...Why ? What do you think of it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windopaene Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Well I'm still a newbie, but I think the magic is in the WEGO/Movie nature, the TacAI, and the fact that the game is so solid. That and the building explosions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Blackthorne Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 There is "magic" indeed in that little disk. But it is magic from the sweat of the brow from those who created this. This game is DEEP. It's going to take a year just to learn a thumbnail of the capabilities of all of the units involved. Then practicing and learning the strategies that go into the best use of those units, will keep it fresh for quite a while. Bells and Whistles. This game draws you in with the 1st person perspective. You're right there with your units, with all of your units crawling shooting and being shot at. No cheesy sounds to immediately suspend belief. Just wandering a battlefield with an overcast sky is a hoot. "If it's not reality, it's sure fooled me" The "under the hood" depth of this game, from armor slope to shell trajectory, blah blah blah. I would never play combat board games with my brother because of the amount of work involved in figuring out which cardboard piece killed which. Now with this game taking full advantage of what a computer is suppossed to do, freeing the cyber soldier from the mundane so that he can enjoy the smell of napalm (oops wrong war)what more can we ask? I am truly one of the bitten when it comes to this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Deadmarsh Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Because after playing cc2 for 4 years straight, I never thought I'd be able to even play a turn-based game, let alone have it be my favorite, and now I like this even better than CC. Part of my fascination with the game is due to the 3-D world you play in. I can't believe how much of a difference it makes and how it completely changes one's strategy. Sure, in CC2 there was elevation (if you could call it that) but completely different than what we're dealing with here. Another thing that I love is the realism factor this game brings to the table. It makes me look at all the other WWII games out there with shame. I've always been a WWII buff but never before have I been so fascinated with armor thickness and little bits of information that the average person wouldn't be interested in. This game has really given me a thirst for knowledge about WWII. Other things I love about this game are the camera, the scenario editor (which I have yet to really dive into), the bitchen looking tanks, the sounds, and the fact that I can take however long I want to devise my strategy for the next turn. I relate this game to a superior version of chess except that it's "wego" and not "you go, I go." All the above is what makes this game magical for me and keeps me coming back for more. ------------------ Youth is wasted on the young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedbump Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 For me it is the randomness factor. With many games, once you figure out the tricks or tactics, they will work consistently every time in the future. With CM, you learn the tactics, but you are not guaranteed the same results. This means that you have to react differently each time. Speedbump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Originally posted by Pascal DI FOLCO: Hey Maximus, Who can believe you play CM, read forum, make mods, play CM, think CM, *be* CM, and that no magic is involved ? It's no Lightning or Fireball, rather Dire Charm-Permanent Oops, it must have been that "Blindness" spell that was cast on my Battallion Commander when that 14" landed on top of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Aitken Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Blackthorne wrote: > It's going to take a year just to learn a thumbnail of the capabilities of all of the units involved. This is why it's so important that the information is from Real Life™. Alpha Centauri is complex as hell, but all that information is just boring. You could get immersed in it, but what for? It's just fictional nonsense. When you're wracking your brains over CM, you're thinking about real-world equipment and tactics. If First World War generals had had a contemporary version of CM, that war would have been nothing like the slaughter it was. Lessons learned from CM are real – not just applicable to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Hedges Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I think Pasco's use of the term "magic" is exactly right. I'm not sure what the answer is, either, but it's certainly true that I've gone from buying about 1 game/month (sometimes more) in my pre-CM days to having bought no other computer games since I bought CM last October. Whatever the magic is, it includes (1) the WEGO system with the movie (it's just fascinating to watch your orders get carried out and see firefights develop that you are helpless to interfere with; I still find myself watching the movies from different levels to see cool stuff happening); (2) the realism of the fighting (both because this makes the actual fighting more interesting and because it directly connects the game to history); (3) the simplicity of the interface despite the realism; and (4) the QB system, which allows you to experiment and play whatever type of game you feel like playing against a decent AI. ------------------ WOOT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Leader Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I agre with all those things. For me an added benefit are the small pluses. Like, for instance, using the escape key to get to the desktop. It seems like in most other games, CTRL-ALT-DEL had about a 50% chance of crashing the game/or system, but CM has never crashed anything. It also loads fast without a bunch of hokey stuff to click through. You are just thrust right into the game -- no nonsense programming. And finally, all you people, and all the CM sites, artists, scenario designers. We all love to play a game and have friends, and the CM community is real great. Just go to, or read a thread about, your average Quake or Counter-Strike forum and you will see the difference. CM is the only game where I have played a human opponent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelU Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 The disk must come with magic glue because I haven't been able to get it out of my hard drive since I got it many months ago. Now I have to leave work and get back home so I can see what happened in my PBEMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbg2112 Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I remember vividly what hooked me -- the first time my units made contact and suddenly there were tracers whizzing, mortars popping, and tanks booming. In other words, it was the chaos and "violence" of battle. Sure, I love it for the mental workout I get trying to apply tactics to situations, but it's the realism of the battle itself that keeps me coming back. Of course, having played for so long, I've seen a few things that have taken the lustre off a bit, but I take comfort in how good it is overall, and how good it will surely be by the time BTS gets to CM XXIV. Oh, and one other thing. I love it because it has directly and indirectly taught me so much about the momentous struggle that was WWII. And will continue to do so -- I wonder how much CM2 is going to teach Americans like me who've never learned much about the war beyond what happened in Europe and to a lesser extent, the Pacific and Far East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesreidau Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 For me its the total immersion factor. I constantly discuss with fellow PBEM`s and TCP`ers how this game stays so fresh...it really is a classic in every sense of the word. Its Magic alright... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 Its been said before, by myself and others - I think the secret is in the 'stories'. Like the original X-Com, CM generates these little unexpected events that entirely put the player in the shoes of his men. When your lone Bazooka squad unexpectedly dispatches a Tiger, and then risks being over-run by infantry; when your Greyhound punches through enemy lines and drives like hell to avoid incoming fire; when your battered Hetzer survives the battle while the heavier German armour burns on the field... CM just has so many wonderful moments that capture the terror and the heart-stopping action of combat. And yes, the fist-person perspective obviously brings one much closer to the action. GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sten Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 I agree with all that's been said, and, as Panzer Leader, I think this forum is an important extra bonus. I just started playing Warlords Battlecry (my first RTS ever, bar CC) and I like it a lot. Comparing it to CM is apples and oranges, but all games I've played so far pales in comparison with CM. While trying to learn more about WBC I have enrolled in the WBC forum. Although the designers are there, and they give very good support, there are also just a tad too many immature people there. The mature, relevant and often well-argued discussions on the CM forum is a constant source of joy. We should all congratulate ourselves for achieving this. We are all richer for it. Sten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbramsGunner Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 My origianl post ended up being a rant about today's PC gaming corporat ran world and the kids today who really don't know a classic game because few, if any, have come out during their life time. CM captures the excitement, wonder, joy, and endless possiblities that was so true of old classics from the golden age of gaming (1985-1990/1). Because scenarios/operations in the game don't feel as if they are scripted and carved in stone, each time you play the game it is a new experience. And with the QB, it's overwhelming. CM makes you THINK!...ALL the classic games made you think and the experience wasn't repetative like 99% of these games today that have scripted missions, beautiful graphics, and LOUSY game play which everyone hails as being revolutionary when they are a far cry from it. CM is a great game played as a single player or Multiplayer. Seems like most games today concentrate on MP and put the single player second, basically it is just there to learn how to play the game and the experience is the same everytime you play it as a single player. What is revolutionary is going back to the basics of gaming...Producing a quality game with simple graphics, superb outstanding game play, and delivering a new experience each time you play. That is the magic of CM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnin' Ern Posted March 9, 2001 Share Posted March 9, 2001 'Magic', like when your allied infantry squads have been decimated by a German armor push across an open, snow covered field. You have lost all your AT guns and survivors are either pinned or broken and running like hell the opposite dierction from a Panther G bent on reaching VL. A 'zook hauling, lead eating/shell ******* hero with 1 rocket left takes a shot nearly out of range and 'PAHH-TANG!' knocks it out saving the day. I believe the term is 'WOOT!'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SybotCB Posted March 10, 2001 Share Posted March 10, 2001 I still play Civ 2. It's still as fun as ever. (Multiplayer Civ is pretty fun but it's a different kind of game.) Can't wait for Civilization 3. Another great game that I play (Besides CM) is Front Office Football (It's a General Manager type Sim of the NFL). It was written by a one man company (http://www.solecismic.com) and the game was bought by EA Sports 2 years ago. But it is an excellent game as well. CM is also very good and although I can't say until it happens I have a good feeling that it will join the list of those 2 above games that I'm still playing years after they first come out. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blenheim Posted March 10, 2001 Share Posted March 10, 2001 I think that CM is the only game with Civ II that I konw I wouldn´t ever delete from my HD. CM is amazing... and with so much people improving it with mods an scenarios (do a clean install in a different directory... see the change) it never seems old. And its real. REAL, in every sense of the word. (Civ II is also amazing, because is epic history-telling... god, you can write the history of the world with it. Love that game, probably the best of all time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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