What do we want in the next Combat Mission game

[yacinator]

Originally posted by Doghouse Reily:

Would like to see the early years 39-41 before

the game moves on to modern warfare.

ya i would

[RawRecruit]

Probably been mentioned before, but how about pauses between commands. So, I could say 'advance for 20 metres, pause for 20 seconds and then advance another 20 metres'. This would allow coordination of platoons when advancing across open ground. You could also make the time paused a little variable, i.e one Sgt counts 1..2..3.. while another counts 1 elephant 2 elephant 3 etc.

[Vortex]

What about the Japanese front? Japanese tanks are really weird...

[JaegerMeister]

More flexible artillery, ability to put down rolling barrages etc, to lift fire for 100m without having a 3 minute delay or poorer accuracy because the FO cant see 100m further on, considering fire is usually laid to co-ords or can be aerial spotted.

Indirect fire ability from weapons that are capable of, this is essential when using the larger maps.

Better 'campaign/operation' system.

Varied building types, couldn't these be added to the game as a patch? is the game code that restricted that extra bmps cannot be added? which leads to next point,

More 'open' code architecture to allow add-on disks / enhancements for 3rd parties to improve/enhance the game ie Ubi-softs IL2.

Battlefield intelligence : i presume this could be taken care of by the scenario author in the briefings, but its frustrating when every battle is totally blind for the attacker, except maybe where flags are placed. The attacking force would usually have some idea through recon/prisoners etc where the enemy MLR will be except when advancing into virgin terrain maybe. Not asking for pinpoint positions but battles like 'Blitzkrieg' or Kursk when you should have an estimate of enemy positions would enable better pre-planned barrages.

[ April 01, 2004, 06:56 AM: Message edited by: JaegerMeister ]

[Schoerner]

IMO we already have usually to much knowledge about enemy positions.

The small map alone gives a lot of information.

More freedom for the battle-designers in both directions would be great:

more information if they want (like topograph-maps with enemy positions [for the child in everyone of us, the possibility to include JPGs in the briefing]) up to absolutely no information, even for operations (why not the possibility of whole battles in an operation, where no enemy appears?).

[ April 01, 2004, 07:53 AM: Message edited by: Schoerner ]

[WOLFNUTTS]

ok how about this a view from inside a tank or pick a sqwad of men an ud jump to leader of that sqwad an look threw his eyes

an team play 2 vrs 2 players i thk ive read a post on this some were else also

hey man like so many positive waves how can we lose

[Aces_and_8's]

Originally posted by JaegerMeister:

More flexible artillery, ability to put down rolling barrages etc, to lift fire for 100m without having a 3 minute delay or poorer accuracy because the FO cant see 100m further on, considering fire is usually laid to co-ords or can be aerial spotted...

Yea...what he said plus...I wanna be able to plan groups, series, groups of series, and series of groups (both preplanned and preplanned on call). I want to be able to prosecute a linear target both horizontal and perpendicular to my fwd lines. I want the ability to record as target, that way I can use the same target over if needed. I also want the ability to manage ammo better. If I only need a 3 round FFE, then the FO should be able to tell the supporting element thats all he needs, not sling rounds about willy nilly. I want to make the FDCs use their whiz wheels, earn their pay, support me. Oh and panels or markers, so I dont get bounced by my own a/c..."See the panel, dont hit it, that's me. Hit the guys about 500m in East of it." Gimme, gimme, gimme...I want, I want, I want.

[Simon Wagstaff]

If the game stay in WWII Europe, I would like to see all countries playable against one another, so as to play some US vs USSR type battles.

[Frenchy]

How about the command, for vehicles, "Follow Road" then enter a time. Gotta make it easier to plot convoy moves somehow...

[Probert]

Early War in Europe-Med Theatre.

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Balkans, France, Russia, Syria, Norway, Finland, etc... with possible inclusion of a speculative set of missions for Operation Sea Lion.

Assuming the engine is more efficient and it is not too much of a drag on the game I would not mind having a 10 man infantry unit show 10 figures, and have them disappear (or better become casualty markers) when put out of action.

[yacinator]

it would be cool if howtizers could fire indirectly but only if the target is like 250 meters away. early war would be cool but i think cm should leave the ww2 era and enter like nam or modern combat

[Guderian129]

Dunno, the only reason I'm really into CM is the fact that it's an awesome WW2 small unit combat game. reminds me of a really refined Close Combat. I love it. I'd hate to see it leave WW2

[HarryInk]

see the post below....

[ April 02, 2004, 01:02 AM: Message edited by: HarryInk ]

[HarryInk]

1. It'll never happen, as I believe the BTS boys loath 1st person shooters, but a mate of mine dreams of being able to plot moves and then jump inside a particular vehicle and drive/fire from it through the turn - a touch of WW2Online within the overall CM action.

Can't see it workin' meself...

2, For my part, a far better map making process: 3D sculpting, perhaps a land-forming function that allows you to nomiate points and altitudes or indicate rough contour lines and the puter will process the finer detail. This would aid in transferring historical maps to CM.

3. Perhaps tiles could be refined? Quartered in size down to 10m squared so that terrain can be that much more detailed.

4. I'd like bocage to be humps in the ground with tall hedges on them, and I'd like the US tanks to have phosphorus shells to replicate historical tactics in the hedgerows.

5. Squads currently live on little square bases, which I sort of suspect dates back to ASL and/or WRG rules. What about if they were instead plotted into more amorphous areas that stretch and squash up depending on the terrain (e.g. in line along a hedgerow vs. inside a building vs. moving in column).

5. I've also thought it would be cool to have a game that offered the 3D feature of CM but which stepped up a scale. Basic units became platoons rather than squads. The combat mission 'battle' became more like an 'operation', and the operation much more like actual operational warfare.

6. Oh, and of course, the ability to knit all the turns together and watch a movie at the end of the whole catastrophe. As I imagine indulging in this with a couple of mates in my town, the features of this mode would be to view it without FOW, with partial/full/extreme FOW, so that we could swap sides at diff points to see who was aware of what at what moments, etc. etc. Great for a beer and chips evening after the PBEM is done. : )

7. A formalised and smoothed process for multiplayer games. I'd love this online, but a process within PBEMs would also be cool... Having FOW of units beyond your command, etc. etc.

8. MikeyD mentioned improved AI. Oh yes.. .yesss... please. No more attacks led by 2" mortars...indeed, AI mortars with more sense than to advance on the flags at all when the rest of the attack is failing/failed. I remember games like Gettysburg that let you set the aggression and ability of the enemy AI. In CM it's just how many steps to bump up the troops. Something on the tactical ability of the AI might be nice. But overall, just something that will combine all the lessons about the (fairly excellent for its time) AI that BTS must have learned.

9. Oh.. the early war, of course. Gotta love the few weeks in France stuff.

[ April 02, 2004, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: HarryInk ]

[Panzerfest]

Originally posted by Guderian129:

Dunno, the only reason I'm really into CM is the fact that it's an awesome WW2 small unit combat game. reminds me of a really refined Close Combat. I love it. I'd hate to see it leave WW2

My sentiments exactly

I hope CMx2 is a 'unified' CM encompasssing the whole european WW2 theater; '39-45, I think it would be a truely epic game. Maybe the next engine will spawn a trilogy; Europe, Pacific and Korea?? I think it would be a mistake to move the CM timeframe out of the WW2 era.

[yacinator]

i would hate cm to become strategy\first person shooter. that would be a horrible end to this kickass game. i restate cm should get out of ww2 and move on. incedinary shells would be cool. instead of haveing to blow up a building i just burn the enemy out hehe. also airplanes should be armed with napalm. perfect against tanks. even if fire can't even scratch the armor it can cook the crew.

[Halberdiers]

I want:

A function to PREVIEW the final position before start the turn of combat. This can preview the final position of all your units (present in this moment) at least in the second 60" (but it could be better if you can select any second 5",30",45",1'10",3'45" etc). FAST as STATIC IMAGE ,but in where you can give new orders or not . If you can give a new orders , to JUMP from "turn preview" to "turn preview", the player can make a full "battle plan" with sense before start all the turns of combat (for example you can add a seconds of PAUSE between a Fast movement in cooperation with other units). But at least , if you can not give "new orders", the player know where their units will stay at final of the minute ,because now is difficult only with the know of the "velocity" of the unit.

thanks developers

[ April 02, 2004, 05:44 AM: Message edited by: Halberdiers ]

[REVS]

I'd also love to see towns improved - a lot! They're currently very crude indeed. Alleys are non-existent in any practical form, roads are too wide, and buildings butt up to each other very badly. I don't fight town games any more, because of the crudity. So add that to the CM2 engine wish-list.

[Ace Pilot]

Agreed, Revs. Something as simple as modeling staircases would improve city fights.

Hey Halberdiers – what grass mod are you using? (somebody had to say it).

[Halberdiers]

Ace pilot

No MOD, I use the CM grass. why? I lost something?

[Michael Emrys]

Originally posted by Halberdiers:

Ace pilot

No MOD, I use the CM grass. why? I lost something?

Is old CM joke. Is very old CM joke. Soon you too will be asking. Trust me.

Michael

[Halberdiers]

it's OK ,

I accept the joke

[yacinator]

this is my updated list of what cmx needs:

1.helicopters

2.ability to give orders to helicopters

3.remote controled claymore mines (that u can place after setup to make ambushes etc.)

4.painting enemy with a laser to call in an airstrike

5.hand held or mounted guided anti air missiles

6.make it so that troops can take cover behing vehicles

7.make 2 kinds of snipers 1 anti ppl with a .338

international acuracy (for brits)and an anti light vehicle berreta 82a1 .50 cal (for the americans)

8.improve building entering animation so like instead of walking through walls they kick in doors and stuff

9.vehicles coming out of viehicles like a stryker coming of a hovercraft that came of an assoult ship

10.besides regular front line troops add paramilitaries like cops

11.armed and unarmed civilians

12. tow anti tank guided missiles

13. bunkers where infantry can hide and fight from

14.medics. when a soldier is wounded at the begining of the battle and he ramains wounded for the rest half an hour is unrealistic becouse u would bleed to death if u didn't get any help.

then every soldier would have to be symbolized instead of 3 soldiers shown per squad and i don't see that happening but this is just a sugesstion.

15. adding rooms,staircases and furniture to rooms.

16. having a basement level,roof level in buildings. also adding the bell tower level to churches but u can only put there like a sniper

or a machinegun.

17. add skyscrapes with like 50 stories.

18. small helicopters can land on flat roofed buildings.

19. give infantry squads grenade lauchers or rpgs as anti tank weaopns or an kar15 with a grenade laucher attached to it and shown as a weapon in the little squad info window

20. booby traps like punji sticks (these could be mines) or a big bambo that's pulled back and when a tripwire is tripped it shoots forward

21. embarking infantry on hueys or blackhawks and embarking tanks or artilery guns under chinooks

22. letting on map artilery guns fire idirectly

like when a squad with a radio asks for some arty support. but a guy with a radio would have to be close to the gun to get the message.

24. being able to burn off woods and stuff

25. letting infantry go thruogh shallow water like rice paddies

26. having something like this: if u hold the airfield u get air support but when the enemy gets it u don't

27. having small, fast, armed ships like patrol boats

28. having special ops squads

29. paratroopers that actually fall from the sky

ok that would be it

[ April 03, 2004, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: yacinator ]

[Michael Emrys]

Originally posted by yacinator:

26. having something like this: if u hold the airfield u get air support but when the enemy gets it u don't

If contending ground forces are anywhere near an airfield, the air force will be long gone.

As for of the rest of your post, most of your suggestions would only apply to a game set in the modern era, which is what I guess you are lobbying for. That's your priviledge and you may get it. But in the meanwhile, in this thread, why don't we try to confine ourselves to perfecting the game we have at hand, namely a WW II game? You can alsways start a new thread, in the General Forum for instance, raising the question of what a game set in the modern era would need to include and what it look like. That could be very interesting. Just a suggestion...

Michael

[yacinator]

well michael no disrespect but this forum is called what we want in the next combat mission game so i'm talking about the nextcombat mission game