junk2drive Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Did anyone buy this game to play in North Afrika? Silly question. Back in my other computer wargame days (SPWAW SPWW2), I tried to like desert battles but just couldn't get the enjoyment from flat land, long range shootouts, lack of cover, etc. I bought CMAK, tried a couple from the CD, didn't like it for the above reasons. I am now trying desert battles in CMAK again. I have noticed a lack of mods for the desert. Are the BFC originals that good? They are nice. No buildings mods, few terrain mods, some AFV mods. It made me wonder if people bought the game for Afrika Korps, or Italy = Europe ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought it 'cos it was there! : ) You have to play all terrains and theatres to get the full feel of the kit and the forces involved in the European/Med . You know that the tactics are different and here you get to find out why. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought it because I was expecting to finally see some T-28's and T-35's (delivered to Brits via Persia in 1941 as Soviet Lend Lease). Man was I buggered when I noticed that they were left out! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiram Sedai Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought it because a vision came to me one evening of Elvis. Except he was a car salesman and had was riding a nissan. He broke wind and dissapeared. Then I met Peng. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 Sergei, kinda like the M3's at Kursk in BB? Maybe the T's share bmps with the Italian tankettes. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Funny, I recall all those people who had steadfastly refused to buy the Eastern Front game ("Who cares about them foreigners fighting on the steppes, anyway?") and who impatiently waited for the Afrika Korps game to come out. The dream of playing with proper Lees, Crusaders, M3 GMCs, Honeys, in sandstorms, dust clouds, wadis, etc. After all that anticipation I do find MUCH less board discussion on fighting with Honeys in the Western Desert than I was expecting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Well... Yes J2D. I did. Plus Italy of course, a very not-unimportant theatre. Of course I wanted the engine improvements too, but those were available in CMBB already. And I couldn't wait to fight with Lees and Grants. And I think Crusaders are unusually graceful beauts. Not sure why the desert so rapidly grew so impopular and so like Mikey here I am rather surprised. I even find it hard persuading my usual pbem opponents to play there. Cheerio Dandelion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 In addition to my list, for some people, 20mm and 37mm AFV's just aren't as exciting as late war equipment. Playing some of the 1940 France scenarios with early German kit gave me a whole new perspective on the arms race in WWII. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Fewer desert war mods mostly because the old CMBO/CMBB 'cringe' factor has been substantially reduced with the new CMAK art. There aren't really any equivalents of those CMBB IS-2 default textures in the N.A. theater (though I did redo all the Valentines). My mods recently have been mostly attempts to bring more art up to the excellent N.A. default standard! I recently posted a from-scratch CMBB-only Sherman mod, so I'm now starting to eye (with some terror) the loooong list of CMAK Shermans to be tackled. Something to do on those cold winter nights. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David I Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Let me see, how should I put this? No. Yeah, I think that covers it. DavidI 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Pollock Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Well, you might not live up to your moniker, but I love having Junk 2 Drive. None of that one-hit-one-kill, I-can-level-that-building-in-two-shots nonsense. No: each penetration is a gamble and infantry in hard cover has a chance of having it stay that way. In one of my PBEMs, we've got Cruisers taking on M13/40s...and the Italians are holding their own - love it! [WHUMP! Turret Front Partial Penetration - No Effect] Originally posted by junk2drive: In addition to my list, for some people, 20mm and 37mm AFV's just aren't as exciting as late war equipment. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Someone remarked back when AK was first introduced that the North African war is best appreciated at the operational rather than the tactical level, and it's possible there may be something to that. The other thing is that BFC's treatment of that war leaves something to be desired. Numerous bugs (can't independently target the Grant's cannons) and omissions (where's the LRDG and the SAS?) dampen one's enjoyment a bit also. I think NA in the literature comes with a certain aura of romance that is well-nigh impossible to reproduce within the existing CM engine. The result tends toward a somewhat bland product. Cest la guerre. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Someone remarked back when AK was first introduced that the North African war is best appreciated at the operational rather than the tactical level, and it's possible there may be something to that. The other thing is that BFC's treatment of that war leaves something to be desired. Numerous bugs (can't independently target the Grant's cannons) and omissions (where's the LRDG and the SAS?) dampen one's enjoyment a bit also. I think NA in the literature comes with a certain aura of romance that is well-nigh impossible to reproduce within the existing CM engine. The result tends toward a somewhat bland product. Cest la guerre. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 Brent, Hans uses M13 and M14 in the PTO and I can't believe how many turret hits it takes to knock one out. MikeyD and all, the stock buildings in AK are very good IMO and I don't forsee them being modded. Very detailed if you get up close. Kudos to whoever did them. The desert marsh tiles are, uh, nothing like I've seen in the US southwest. I have started collecting the DAK mods. Andrew's are of course, Andrew's, but are a different colour then everyone else's. The SPW 251-1 is very common in the battles I have played and is the default for unidentified halftrack. Yet no one has modded it. The BFC one is nice, but looks too nice. The Shermans need Wicky's dust like his M4A1s. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequoia Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought CMAK for the desert and Italy and all the cool new vehicles that came with it. "I like the desert. It's clean." Probably a misquote but guess who said that? As my sig says, I still have a fondness for CMBO and use it when I want to play Western Front. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snarker Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Actually, I'm playing The Dead Salute the Gods and I'm loving it. Armor on armor, excellent map. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Murray Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought it due to the improved graphics ( ie. dust ) & find that on a decent map you can fun some fun blasting away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Puppchen Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I bought it for the desert and plus I love the game system... each time improvements from CMBO to CMBB to CMAK. One thing I learned quickly that I didn't anticipate is that the German victories so heavily due to tactics and not equipment. It was sad that the british failed to use combined arms tactics and cost so many lives as a result. When I do a battle vs a human and we both pick forces I frequently get my butt kicked playing the Axis. British equipment really wasn't that bad. That never really sunk in until I started playing CMAK. I have been surprised that not many people emphasize the battles for Crete. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chapuis Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 My favorite games are combined arms with cover for inf. I only played one NA map - a long thin map, armor only. It turned into a long range shooting contest. Not much fun. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted December 16, 2004 Author Share Posted December 16, 2004 Micheal Dorosh's The Med website has a wealth of info for uninformed people like me about the campaigns of this period. Someone at TPG has done some scenarios named AOI.... I had no idea what that meant until I read about it at The Med. I see some Persia-Syria scenario possibilities in the text there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 I like italy maps and the old BO equipment in a new engine . //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent Pollock Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 NRBH, but aren't the desert "marshes" supposed to be salt marshes, rather than wetlands? Maybe that's why they look odd? Originally posted by junk2drive: The desert marsh tiles are, uh, nothing like I've seen in the US southwest. [/QB] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer76 Posted December 16, 2004 Share Posted December 16, 2004 Bought it to support BFC really. Dont like the desert, small battles can be ok. Italy is fine, but feels to confined, which is why I still have CMBB installed, but unistalled CMAK a long time ago. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted December 17, 2004 Author Share Posted December 17, 2004 Damn this game that make me learn something. A google search for salt marshes turns up this definition from one website: "A salt marsh is a low coastal grassland that is covered at least once a month by the rising tide. Salt marshes are found on the edges of estuaries; places where a river flows into the ocean. In the marsh, the water flows very slowly so sediments are dropped from the water and build up a muddy environment where plants can grow and small animals can live." Then I find a Nebraska USA website that shows salt marshes in the middle states. It mentions the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the Salton Sea in California. I have been around the Salton Sea but don't remember any marshes that looked like the CMAK tiles. I guess I will leave them alone until I find something better. Last night I started Hans' Small Battles, Notre Dame. City fight, lots of buidings on pavement. 3 turns I had to stop and make a mod. I had Juju's Afrika cobblestone streets joining the black stones in CMAK pavement tiles. So I copied and pasted Juju's cobblestone on BFC pavement bmps to make a set that matches the roads. I'll send them to Juju for approval. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Try a QB using the CD's Grand Boulevard QB map but set it in N.A. 1942. Its fun rushing through city streets taking pot-shots with 2 pdrs! If you're a stickler for 'historical accuracy', let's imagine Rommel had made it to downtown Cairo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.