the "little" things...

[Pandur]

since there is no designated place like a bug report thread its hard to note all the "little" things people notice.

so maybe one can post em here if he/she finds no better place or doesnt want to open up a new thread wich vanishes after some days anyways.

lets stack it up at "one" place i thought.

- soldiers with javelins should not man the "air guard" ports when in a stryker. looks funny but i dont think it has any sense.

-"hide and cover arc" still dont like each other. i dont know wheres the problem behind it but its still not possible to set up an controled ambush that way. you just can do it in 1 minute intervalls or one after the other, depends on how you play.

thats not quiet pleasing...

- turret commanders still stick out of their hatch when they face enemy vehicles. it was done "nearly" perfect in CMx1 where they automaticly button up when the shooting started.

i keep loosing TC´s becouse they stay unbuttoned like they want to provoke their own death.

i have no problem to unbutton them again after a engagement but right now, if you unbutton your guys they stay until the tank is hit the first time and i never saw any TC surviveing that in the game so far.

- infantry based AT missiles still get launched regulary into the dirt 100-200 meters in front of them. yesterday i saw it the last time at mission 4 of the campain. the attack through this salt pan.

you can spot big explosion suddently emerging out of thin air over at objective grease where the syrian rockets are. if you hover over the spot you can hear the rockets fireing off in the trenches followed by the dirt exposion in front of their position. i go that far to say that out of 4 rockets, one hit my bradly and 3 i saw reportedly going off in front of the syrian position. maybe they should at least fly further out than 100m and go down "somewhere" around my position!?

- after a split squad joined up again it got droped out of C2 and was more or less "indipendent" than. the section where it showes the cain of command and the red/green lamps was "empty".

- in the wego replay still many things dont show up correctly;

40mm granade/tank and ATGM "tracers", vehicle ammunition, partly embarked squads just show the "unembarked" soldiers in the replay(that means if 5 made it in and 3 are outside at round end, the squad in the replay will just show 3 man all 60 seconds long), moving paths,destroyed vehicle icons.

there could be some more but thats what i recall out of my head.

- i cant order a squad to embark a vehicle wich is ordered to move to the position where the soldiers, wich should embark, are. the soldiers will get a automated waypoint to the position where the vehicle will drive off and than ran all the way back to where the vehicle drove in the end and than embark. it could need some attention.

thats all i could think off in the moment, now iam off to play the 4th campain mission to the end...

[PeterLorre86]

I would like a seek hull down command, similar to the one in CM1. Using stryker ATGM version, i tried using the HUNT command to get them to expose only the ATGM launcher over the ridge. Unforutunatly they drove to the top of the ridge line before they spotted the enemey, needless to say they where destroyed rather quickly by syrian armour.

Strykers would be alot more usefull if you had a command to use that would limit thier exposure to only the weapons systems. Recon hummers would also be alot more useful if they would only stick their optics equiptment above a berm.

I would be interested to know if the LOS/LOF issue would effect this, also, it if is possible from a design perspective for such a command to be implemented.

[Huntarr]

Well actually the best to put a bug thread is in the Combat Mission: Shock Force Tech Support

since they don't get buried as fast as in the general.

[PeterLorre86]

Yea, that might make sence, although Tech Support seems to be more about issues with the game not running, graphic problems etc.

Also fewer people tend to check that on a normal basis.

A dedicated bug forum would be nice.

[Huntarr]

well, by that train of thought then even fewer would check in, since bugs are getting less by the day.

The tech is really the best place for it since "technically" it is a technical problem with the software, vis a vis a bug.

[SlowMotion]

Here's one little thing I saw in a scenario against the AI:

My reinforcements arrived, some infantry sitting in an UAZ vehicle. I wasn't paying attention to this part of the map so I didn't give them any commands during the first few minutes after their arrival.

While I had been using other units, the engine of the car had been damaged from enemy fire so the car was immobilized. Still all passengers stayed in the car instead of jumping out and finding cover.

Normally if some vehicle gets destroyed the crew and possible passengers dismount. I can't remember if they stay in if the vehicle becomes immobilized, but I would think leaving the vehicle would be a good idea IF the vehicle is not really giving them any protection like it was in this case.

[PeterLorre86]

@Huntarr

Fine, by that explanation, I "technically" agree with you.

But i would say that is the work of the main sub-forum. Since in the Tech Support forum i see only one gameplay related bug, and thats on page 3 of the thread list.

Well i guess you could say beta testers find bugs too. Every once and a while... By mistake...

[SgtMuhammed]

Pandur,

I can confirm the continuing ATGM bug. Just played the Salt Pan scenario and saw at least 5 Saggers slam into the ground a couple hundred meters to their front.

[Huntarr]

Originally posted by PeterLorre86:

Well i guess you could say beta testers find bugs too. Every once and a while... By mistake...

OUCH! ZING pow! "rim shot" good one.

[Andro]

Ok, just my 5 cents:

After a save and reload I miss the flames und smoke on destroyed vehicles, they are gone.

The anti-tank selection weapon bug - already posted, but its the 4. patch and still there...

The new immediate stop of the infantry on "hold", this is a great feature but cause another bug:

If the troops are bailing out of a vehicle, you have to wait till all are out, or the troops and the vehicle are frozen when hitting hold to early.

If you want to attack 3 tanks with 3 anti tank infantry troops, you have a problem. All troops fire at the same time on the same tank (the frist entering the LOS), 2 teams wasting the firepower on the destroyed tank. Only with micro management its possible to stop the anti-tank trooper, or he shoot, in pause, on hold its allways the same. A "hold fire" for heavy weapons would be great (or a goal distribution from right after left).

If an enemy tank is on his way, you see his position when he is producing dust - even with no own troops in this area.

It would be great if we get an option for an ingame FPS counter (like in every other game) and which rendering mode is active (hardware, software, AA on/off ... )

[ October 06, 2007, 02:40 AM: Message edited by: Andro ]

[PeterLorre86]

Huntarr,

Hehehehe. I couldn't resist.

Pandur + Sgtgoody

I dont think the Sagger thing is a bug, to be honest. The AT-5 is an old, wire guided, joystick controlled missile. If you read the manuel section that talks about weapons, it describes this. With a conscript, and an early version of the AT-5, i think this behavior is just a simulation of what would happen in reality.

I dont have the manuel with me, but i do remeber this being explained in it.

[Mord]

Originally posted by Pandur:

- in the wego replay still many things dont show up correctly;

40mm granade/tank and ATGM "tracers", vehicle ammunition, partly embarked squads just show the "unembarked" soldiers in the replay(that means if 5 made it in and 3 are outside at round end, the squad in the replay will just show 3 man all 60 seconds long), moving paths,destroyed vehicle icons.

Almost nothing resets in play back. Steve is aware of this and it's on the list as far as I know. They wanted to get obvious stuff that was screwing up game play done first.

For me some graphics clean up,

I'd rather see the little rocket disappear when the unit is running than have it float.

And this here, icons in the UI show two AKs and a pistol, but units are all sporting AKs.

And Syrian grenade launcher gunners always reload their assault rifles with big grenade clips, when they switch from the launcher to small arms.

Mord.

[ October 05, 2007, 04:14 PM: Message edited by: Mord ]

[Mace]

Originally posted by Huntarr:

OUCH! ZING pow! "rim shot" good one.

Hey where's the associated cartoon?!

[Huntarr]

Ah, I see I'm developing a reputation for the toons.

[Pandur]

i have some things to add, i just returned from finishing the salt pen, mission 5 and mission 6, all won through syrian surrender

- cover arcs REALY have to be extendable behond the mapedge. in narrow maps or maps where the area in question is at the verry edge or corner of the map you can hardly cover this areas with an arc now. and if you manage, nothing else is covered.

- the units fireing at enemys in the cover arc is much much!! better since 1.04 but some things remained. generally i notice that units are not willing to open fire on "spotted" units further away than 250-300 meters. when you manual target them they shoot more often than not, but thats not the point behind the cover arc.

Pandur + Sgtgoody

I dont think the Sagger thing is a bug, to be honest. The AT-5 is an old, wire guided, joystick controlled missile. If you read the manuel section that talks about weapons, it describes this. With a conscript, and an early version of the AT-5, i think this behavior is just a simulation of what would happen in reality.

i think the ones used where the AT3´s. arent those the ones with 500m minimum range!? shouldnt they allways fly the first 500 meters, more or less, the same way!?

thats why i think it is or could be a bug. also i "guess" that it would be more likely that this guy overshoots the target or it goes down "somewhere" near it, but you have to be a total retard to launch the missile with XXXXm range into the ground in front of you. thats my guess.

Mord

Almost nothing resets in play back. Steve is aware of this and it's on the list as far as I know. They wanted to get obvious stuff that was screwing up game play done first.

oh, ok thats fine! also for me its no big thing gameplay whise but better write it down twice

[SgtMuhammed]

Originally posted by PeterLorre86:

Pandur + Sgtgoody

I dont think the Sagger thing is a bug, to be honest. The AT-5 is an old, wire guided, joystick controlled missile. If you read the manuel section that talks about weapons, it describes this. With a conscript, and an early version of the AT-5, i think this behavior is just a simulation of what would happen in reality.

I dont have the manuel with me, but i do remeber this being explained in it.

I would believe that if every missle didn't impact at almost exactly the same distance out from launchers firing over open terrain with an altitude advantage. Not a single missle made it even to the halfway point. Even conscript ATGM troops would have recieved some training.

I am about to play the scenario with the U.S. advancing through heavy ATGM resistance. I'll see if it happens there as well.

[SlowMotion]

This from playing a scenario against the AI:

Two AI controlled Strykers (ICV and FSV) had advanced to the last area of their AI plan. For several minutes they were in this same place spotting targets so it was good to see how they view nearby units.

If enemy vehicles appeared they were quickly spotted and fired at with MG. Seemed to work very well. But there were also several enemy infantry units that were spotted and some were firing at Strykers and other units nearby with MGs mostly. The Strykers ignored these infantry units. This seemed strange considering how quickly they reacted to vehicles. When Strykers hadn't dismounted their infantry those passengers were firing at enemy infantry, but vehicle's MG wasn't used. If the infantry had any RPGs it was easy to destroy these Strykers from distance of about 200m.

Here's a screen shot. Several infantry units are visible, yet the Stryker totally ignores them.

Edit:

I don't know if this has to do with roofs only, but Strykers certainly seem to ignore infantry on roofs. Another screen shot of that. As soon as the soldier on roof goes outside the building and tries to assault the Stryker, the vehicle wakes up and uses its MG.

[ October 06, 2007, 03:22 AM: Message edited by: SlowMotion ]

[PeterLorre86]

Yes, AT-3 was what i ment, but actually, i may be wrong in my explanation. Playing a scenario earlier today i had my american ATGM Stryker do the same thing, fire the missle directly into the ground a few dozen meters infront of it.

Come to think of it, my Stryker had an altitude advantage over its target. Target was 1000 meters away.

Mabey this is something that needs to be looked at.

[SgtMuhammed]

Just finished that scenario. The AI seemed to get good results from all their ATGM systems except the AT-3. All AT-3 shots encountered since 1.04 have uniformly burried themselves in the ground at a range of about 150 to 200 meters. All other ATGMs seem to be working correctly, maybe not hitting all the time but definitely being resonably close.

[Pandur]

another little thing...

- its reproducable in the Al Amarha scenario. i allways place 2 MG teams next to the street looking towards the town.

at some point, 2 or more soldiers of mostly both teams will stand up and ran off somewhere and stay there. if you give them a waypoint, they all come together again but they shouldnt ran off in the first place.

it happened ever time i played this scenario so far, also in 1.04. i also had this in other scenarios but not as regualry.

- about the units wich get droped out of C2, i have done a screen of this.

you can see the selected infantry unit with empty C2 box, and without lit up parent units.

@sgtgoddy(esq)

was it the "the screen part 2" scenario!?

i played that the same day and saw the same, just the AT3´s act totaly out of normality. the rest of them seem to work reasonable.

by SlowMotion

But there were also several enemy infantry units that were spotted and some were firing at Strykers and other units nearby with MGs mostly. The Strykers ignored these infantry units.

thats what is called "ammo conservation" by some generous people in that forum.

i still think its totaly missplaced in the game.

i question why we want to conserve ammo instead of destroying the enemy with it. vehicles sport X tousend shots of amunition, but still they are verry unwilling to fire them, when compared to the amount they have.

in no single battle i saw a stryker´s .50 cal ammo count drop below "<1k".

i wish back the agressive behaviour of CMx1 units wich opened up on everything at every range when stuff was spotted, thats what cover arcs where good for.

i also wouldnt mill about that if i wouldnt see that stuff regulary in every battle. its most frustrating when there is just one infantry or vehicle unit wich sees the enemy and could give support to an unit wich get totaly waxed by that enemy unit. than you watch your own unit with the lit up enemy icon but it doesnt shoot.

than suddenly, in a command phase , i target this unit manualy, they shoot :eek:

at that point i start to question what a cover arc is good for!? i threat a cover arc as "fire order on everything whats in there, as if it would be manual targeted", the game does not it seems...

here we are at ammo conservation again, why dont support but sit on tousends of shots. i know that the "game" cant know that this unit is critical for me to support something but thats why they should generally open up on everything they spotted just to be sure that dont happens.

i really hope that the units will get rid of their ammo concerns, that "should" be my problem as commander in that game.

[ October 07, 2007, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: Pandur ]

[SlowMotion]

If ammo conservation really is the reason that reason could be tweaked. Like you wrote, what's the point of saving ammo for some more important targets that may never appear when the troops that this unit is supposed to support are dying? If they have lots of ammo IMO they should use at least some of it to any threats that appear if it can have effect.

I tried playing that scenario from the blue side, giving commands to Strykers to see how they would perform then. I saw that they quickly became unable to use their MGs because of small caliber fire. I checked the Damage list and it seemed to me that the reason was Optics. Why can't they use MGs even at close range if just Optics are damaged? At least in the FCS Stryker the MG is operated by a crew member who manually aims.

[hoolaman]

Little Things:

How about tooltips for newer players/demo players?

Still as important now as the day of release when everyone complained about them.

[hoolaman]

Oh, one more, how about a hi res skybox, or even better, two skyboxes, a near horizon and a far horizon. The map edge might be here to stay but it could look so much better.

[Zemke]

How about Strikers seeking cover from incoming T-62 fire instead of sitting there shooting back! In CM1 the tacAI would never let that happen, or at least I saw plenty of my armored cars and half tracks scrambling to get the heck out of the line of fire.

[Wiggum]

I hope most of these problems will be fixed in 1.05 !