Stan Hope Park Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I recently taught a friend's young son how to play both Close Combat and Combat Mission. So I could hardly refuse when he insisted on introducing me to this Play Station 2 game. I then surprised myself by actually enjoying the experience. Where this leaves my reputation as a reactionary old fart I do not know. Obviously Call of Duty and Combat Mission are worlds apart. Indeed, it is embarrassing to mention them in the same sentence. I now understand what is meant by the "twitch crowd" as the Play Station does not allow for thinking time. Previous PS2 experience, practice and constant repitition of what were obviously heavily scripted situations win through. The game did resemble WW II but this was mostly due to the grapics which, it has to be said, were very good. For someone who has never fired a military rifle, I seemed to do extremely well with an assortment of weaponry. It helps though when the enemy hangs around in a queue, waiting to be shot. I now understand the calls to be able to scavenge enemy equipment. I now understand why youngsters on the forum want more eye candy and "flash-bang effects". It's what they have come from and are obviously used to. Did you know that bullet wounds can be cured instantly with a first-aid kit? It felt very odd in a game to be *recieving* orders (from game characters), although the situations were obviously structured so as to introduce you the mechanics of game play without the inconvenience of having to read the instructions. My host's concentration span is noticeably limited. I know not whether this was his misfortune or a feature of his age group. Finally, I grew tired of the script. You will understand that obeying the orders, especially those of Communists, goes against the grain! So I turned off the sound and tried to go for a post-prandial stroll along the Volga (in the middle of the Battle of Stalingrad). The game permitted me to take a closer look at some of the scenery and the actions of some rear echelon troops, but I could not wander freely. The camera would not take you wherever you wanted to go, as it does at our end of the spectrum. I thought it amusing to saunter past a Commissar while he stood there shouting and gesticulating. Someone shot me in the back of the head shortly afterwards though, so maybe he had the last laugh. In summary: future incarnations of Combat Mission would undoubtedly benefit from the improved graphics which are nowadays possible. The debate about the reuse of enemy equipment might be re-examined. Beyond that, how badly do we want to attract new blood from other genres? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I have posted other places of my theory that CM has two kinds of players separated by an age gap. The board game generation and the video generation. The first enjoys the setup and tactics. The second wants to know if they won. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 "Did you know that bullet wounds can be cured instantly with a first-aid kit?" I'm hoping the CMx2 engine has health crystals hidden under waterfalls, myself. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Very nice post CSO_Talorgan. And too true. To answer your question about the young blood: the answer is that we don't need it so badly that we couldn't wait until the youngsters grow up and start enjoying using their brains as much as their eyes Yes, we're aware that it might take 20 years or so for the age gap to close. We'll be here when they need us, enjoying good games in the meantime... Martin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slysniper Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I do not know if we can pull the younger ones in, I have a 16 & 14 year old, both love the first person shooters like "call of duty", but I have only marginally been able to get the 14 year old to want to understand the play of tactics in the game of CM, he interest only stays if I load the game very heavy in his favor. Where as I was about 16 when I started and the board games were hard to learn to play (SL and Panzer Leader & such), but wanting to understand the true nature of combat, drew me to the games, just as CM continues to entice me today. Yes, they might change over, but with what the future might offer them In gaming, maybe not. Reality is not the mind set of this coming generation, they want to believe in super powers and such. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rommel42 Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I am 15 and bought CMBB. I am now addicted to it and play it much more than the first person shooters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Hope Park Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 Originally posted by rommel42: I am 15 and bought CMBB. I am now addicted to it and play it much more than the first person shooters. Hope you didn't feel as if I was getting at you? My friends son is a good deal younger than you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Indeed and I started war games VERY young. (But Im biased b/c I was born in Germany and I come from a military family) I started CM at 14 but that was only because thats when the beta demo was out for CMBO. I started playing war games with Steel Panthers and Panzer General (dont laugh - selection wasnt great back then) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 When I started playing CM I was 14 as well and compaired to a lot of games I had played the CMBO beta demo had poor graphics, but I still played it every day for months. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmavis Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Originally posted by MikeyD: "Did you know that bullet wounds can be cured instantly with a first-aid kit?" I'm hoping the CMx2 engine has health crystals hidden under waterfalls, myself. Yeah, and when you eliminate an enemy squad, they'll drop dollars! A nice treat for Russians and Germans. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Hope Park Posted January 6, 2005 Author Share Posted January 6, 2005 Teenagers playing Combat Mission. There is hope after all! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.A. Miles Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I'm 19, and I enjoy Combat Mission more than any other game. I play Battlefield 1942 to get my "action" kicks, but that's just for fun. I started playing CM when the Beyond Overlord demo was released. I also enjoy other wargames, both on the computer and in miniature. I guess the difference is, what state of mind you have. It takes a serious, patient person to play CM. Believe it or not, there are a few serious young people out there that can finish a serious wargame. Not many, but a few. In the miniature wargame group that I play with, I think I'm the only member below age 30. In summary, anyone can go run around firing an Stg44 on full auto, but it takes a sober, level-headed person to play a 45+ game of CM. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.A. Miles Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Sorry, I meant 45+ turns! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Very amusing reflection there Talorgan, delivered in quality prose too. I mean the top one, not the one above mine here Cheerio Dandelion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sirocco Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Originally posted by K.A. Miles: it takes a sober ... person to play a 45+ game of CM.Then how do you explain the number of Finn's playing the game? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzman Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 The Finn's play while sobber, the its the rest of the time that they are drunk. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.A. Miles Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 No, I didn't mean sober as in... I mean.... I meant, never mind... LOL 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cthulhu Dreams Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 I started playing when I was 20 - AK time. It's a good game, I dislike some parts of it, like others, lots of replayability, frustrating balance issues, and I would love it if the graphics got a revamp Dawn of war style graphics would rock very much (Indivdual soldier combat animations, you see the guy throw the grenade etc). While it's not going to add to "gameplay" per say, it would make it alot more enjoyable to see your russian SMG platoon fanning out in the woods, moving from cover to cover etc. I'd like source style mods n stuff to, but that doesn't seem to go over well here. I just really enjoy compedative multiplayer games, because testing your mettle against another person is the finest form of gameplay:) Playing the AI isn't satisfying at all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slysniper Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Well, I see we have some young players that are willing to speak up and say how much they like this type of gaming, hope after all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonxa Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 I found out about CM when 17 years old, back when the Alpha AAR was the hottest thing. What I have found to be of most hindrance to new players I have tried to introduce to CM is their lack of interest in the era and finer details of combat. It's just too much for them to learn about OOB's, reading the terrain etc. I think one has to have a genuine interest for WWII and combat in general to be able to appreciate CM in it's full glory. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denwad Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 I'm 15 and I like to play CMBB/AK The only FPS that I've never uninstalled from my hard drive is WWIIOL, registered 3 1/2 years ago and I'm still playing it 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pud Posted January 10, 2005 Share Posted January 10, 2005 My two sons (9 and 11) occasionally play but they do play it just to see tanks explode. "Here son.....buy shermans" I expect they will grow and come to like playing it for other aspects. I think the main problem is they do have Play Station's etc and dont have to rely on fun from more passive, thinking entertainment like board games and minatures like I had when I was a kid. [ January 10, 2005, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Pud ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halberdiers Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 In summary: future incarnations of Combat Mission would undoubtedly benefit from the improved graphics which are nowadays possible. The debate about the reuse of enemy equipment might be re-examined. Beyond that, how badly do we want to attract new blood from other genres?100% with you. in their nature , "Combat-mission" are a more ambitious game than any shooter out there . I think that this ambition should be according with the best balance in the interaction with the player that could be possible: -The best graphics. -The best interface. -The most simply. The best engine must need a mass of graphics . As a machine gun need ammunition . In my opinion ,"combat-mission" by their complex nature , need more interaction between player and game than videogames as first shooters. How and how much the player understand the nature of Run/Advance/Assault or Fatigue/Panic/Fanatic?. I think BF go by the best way when they decide to improve the graphics. One aspect that I see in the demo of call of duty is that the player are inmediatly immersed , in the first seconds, in the game. That is another aspect that could be improved in CM too. Maybe with a introductory movie with the self engine of the game made by the designer of the battle at the same time that the player reading the Mission Briefing texts. Qui lo sai . best regards [ January 10, 2005, 08:20 PM: Message edited by: Halberdiers ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Tiger Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 I dont think that its only an age thing....i´m playing roundbased games since i drink beer... but must confess, its hard to get back after you played such "Hollywood" styled games like Soldiers or Rome, even if the game system are crap. And also i think, CM is more missing than only stunning graphics. If CM:X will not include a Grand Campaign, and/or individual modelled soldiers, i have problems and im tired to play a chess like tank simulation anymore. Its still a great work for such a small companie, but i doubt, they can come close in Grafic and Sound performance like named Titels. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Enigma Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Originally posted by junk2drive: I have posted other places of my theory that CM has two kinds of players separated by an age gap. The board game generation and the video generation. The first enjoys the setup and tactics. The second wants to know if they won. am 18 so i must be in the video game gen as you put it, i play cod quite alot for the mp fps shooting and on the sever i play on at least the teamplay. However i also play alot of cm and i enjoy the setup and tactics of the game so there goes your theory of all of us out the window 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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