I love Real Time!

[Capt. Toleran]

Back in the CMx1 days, I was one of the folks leaning towards the WEGO side of things, though I did see some weaknesses in the WEGO system. When BFC said they were including RTS in the current release, I did not think I would use it much, maybe occasionally.

Boy was I wrong. I haven't done WEGO since the first day I played CMSF, and I've been playing consistently since 7/27.

Is it hard to do all the commands while balancing real-life issues? Sure, but you get used to the commands and the keyboard shortcuts, even under the new system. You have to take things slow anyways to not get slaughtered.

Do you get to smell the roses, enjoy the little things? Well, you won't get a replay of that tank kill 10 times in a row, but you will be playing so much more, it hardly matters, with plenty of time to take in the little things now that I've mastered the basics under fire. When you play RTS, you rack up so much more experience, you get through a mission in about 1/3 the time, and can redo it or try out some favorites in the extra time WEGO players are spending to micromanage every detail.

Which brings me to a little challenge I thought up -- why not have some WEGO/RTS matchups? Let's get our best WEGO players against some RTS folks, both conditions (or just WEGO if the RTS people are willing, since we can do PBEM), and see who is gaining experience faster. We're all relative noobs at this point, so we'll see that experience curve (I argue we are seeing it already) develop this next month or so.

Heck, I'll even PBEM, hit me up here, and lets get some discussions going. I think I'm ready for ya

[Midnight Warrior]

I agree about the RT. In regard to not being able to replay, I was wondering if it might not be too hard to add a "what was that?" capability to the RT play where say you hear a whopping explosion you could pause the game and go back in time say 5 or 10 seconds and replay it to see what you missed (I am not talking about a full mission replay but only a scrolling 10 or so seconds replay). I imagine it would require a lot of coding (and maybe be a bit of a memory hog) in that it is sort of like an undo function which I have heard usually requires a total redisgn of a software function to add. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

[JSB]

I haven't played by pbem yet. Real-Time is really exciting. A balance has to be found at every moment between following the plan and reacting to the unexpected, and when the pathfinding and TacAI will be adjusted (which I trust in), it's going to be real good time!

I really like the principles of this new Combat Mission.

Courage!

[Molinator]

sincerely, I´am very surprised with these posts.

All, repeat, all the advantages of the real time system are know...from Dune and other games, more than 10 years ago. And, in tactical games, the Total War saga it´s one good example,their first game, Shogun, dates from year 2000, 7 years ago, !wops!, like CMBO.

And, is NOW, when BF decides to do CMSF with this system, when most fans of Combat Mission discover the real time. But, ironically, one year ago, almost all, or maybe all, prefer the wego turn system.

[mcitt]

I also like real time play. I think playing in real time with the ability to pause and give commands is great game play.

[Sergei]

I prefer to play WeGo because it lets me control larger forces but also because I like to plan the orders carefully and then just sit back and relax (or curse when I sent a platoon to an ambush), but in scenario design the Real Time mode is a very useful tool as it allows me to check some little thing with no delay and to cancel and replot orders at my whim.

[Bradley Dick]

I'm sold on real time as well, and I used to be a FIRM supporter of turn based. I do pause alot though. Especially when I'm looking for a unit or I'm attempting something complicated.

[xmifi]

Real time is the one of the strongest reason i bought this game. And the reason cause it kind has similarities with close combat. I love the game play although right now it's full of bugs.

[Vinnart]

They both have a rush to them, but in different ways i find. It is fun to play both since they offer very different experiences. Real time has an adreniline rush to it. its all about reacting and thinking FAST. I rember during multiplyer playing Sudden Strike on a league i would get so pumped up my heart would actually race.

WEGO is a cliff hanger rush for me, eapecially during PBEM. Its that what's going to happen next? rush. It's like a good game of chess where you can really sit back and enjoy thinking about strategy without having to hurry your thoughts and moves.

The best of both worlds in one package!

[Truppenfuhrung]

Same thing for me.

I was a unconditional fan of WEGO. But right now I enjoy much more the RT.

RT give you more flexibility and with the pause function, you don't really need to rush your orders.

The only drawback: no replay. So you can miss something on the battlefield, just because I focuses something else.

[dynaman200]

WEGO is still the only way to play for me. Not a problem though since CMSF has both.

Although with small (platoon level with a tank or two) scenarios I would play RT as well.

[Vanitas]

I think that real time is not real at all! Especially when faced to a computer ennemy, the computer has the advantage because it can react faster.

Wego makes the game more tactical.

[Pandur]

the only problem i see with RT in multiplayer, wich will keep me from playing it that way, is that it is NOT equal.

on the other hand WEGO is perfectly equal as far as the base requirements are. thats where a good competition starts.

RT lost for me, from the beginning.

[Abbott]

I am in your base killin ur Doods!

[weasel75]

I also play RT only, but I found myself a problem: one can react much faster, resulting in mini-micro-management.

Imagine a RPG is flying towards your Strykers, so one can pause the game and react before the impact (one can not avoid the impact, but react before the actual event happened!).

While one can improve battle-results with detailed management (after all, a 60 second command-window leaves not much room for ultra-fast reactions), it becomes less tactical and with adjusted (increased) difficulty in the level-design eventually more difficult for WEGO and a slow-tactical-play.

... just thoughts...

Salute!

[MarkEzra]

WEGO and RT: I'm glad they're both in. I'm back playing PBEM with old friends. V1.03 works without a hitch. But I have played the RT mode and enjoyed ever minute. And so I think to myself RT's fine but I do like to replay the carnage. And I love WEGO but sometimes I wish I could just back up that Hummer instead of screaming at the monitor. Hmmmm an RT with replay, a WEGO with action orders...What if there was only one play mode and it was called: WE/RT/GO...and then I wake up...naw...nobody could do that, could they?

[Exel]

I'd actually like to play in RT. It's.. interesting. But unfortunately atm it's just that and no more. The camera controls and command interface makes RT too much a fight against the interface instead of the enemy. At least in WeGo I can cope with the limitations of the UI better since it's not as time-critical. I was a big fan of the Close Combat series, and am hoping to get to play more RT once the problems with the controls are dealt with.

[monkeezgob]

Originally posted by Filip Van Wuytswinkel:

I think that real time is not real at all! Especially when faced to a computer ennemy, the computer has the advantage because it can react faster.

Wego makes the game more tactical.

Not when the enemy AI is as poor as it is at the moment it doesn't. It makes it a cakewalk to beat without it becoming an insane click-fest, which it almost surely would considering the weapons ranges and pace of modern combat coimbined with a more competent AI.

Real time in multi-player inevitably turns into a chaotic clik-fest. Where the ability to defeat an opponent depends more on your mouse and hotkey skills than any sense of tactical complexity.

RT is ok for computer games, (yes, I've tried it)but personally I prefer my wargming to be more strategic and cerebral and not a crazy click-fest

[KAding]

You know what would be ideal. RT with replay functionality. The game should keep a cache of the last minute of the battle. While paused you could then rewind a bit to see what happened.

But somehow I doubt this will ever be implemented.

[MikeyD]

I'm always playing realtime BUT I've had to content myself with missing gameplay as it goes on beyond my field of vision. 'BOOM!' and a Stryker at the far end of the board inexplicably explodes. I justify that in the real world things would be happening beyond the CO's control that he'd have to scramble to catch up to as the battle progresses. For years we cried for inclusion of relative spotting. Well, now we got it!

[Exel]

Originally posted by MikeyD:

For years we cried for inclusion of relative spotting. Well, now we got it!

And I wish I could turn it off for Veteran settings. Yeah, it sounds good on paper, realism and all that, but in practice all it means is that I have to constantly keep clicking through all my units to get a picture of what's happening on the battlefield. And realism? You aren't denied any information, all of it is still there, you just need to waste more time getting it. Not really good gameplay.

I can understand the units not automatically sharing all information with each other (hence, relative spotting) but that information should not be denied from ME.

[Yair Iny]

Originally posted by Exel:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by MikeyD:

For years we cried for inclusion of relative spotting. Well, now we got it!

And I wish I could turn it off for Veteran settings. Yeah, it sounds good on paper, realism and all that, but in practice all it means is that I have to constantly keep clicking through all my units to get a picture of what's happening on the battlefield. And realism? You aren't denied any information, all of it is still there, you just need to waste more time getting it. Not really good gameplay.

I can understand the units not automatically sharing all information with each other (hence, relative spotting) but that information should not be denied from ME. </font>

[Exel]

Originally posted by Yair Iny:

Don't quite understand the problem you are having. All you need to do is click on the ground in order to deselect any unit you had selected, and you can see the sum of all spottings, i.e. the complete information as gleaned by your forces.

Cheers

Then why do I constantly see my units fire at something I can only see when I click on that unit?

[aka_tom_w]

that's easy, why can't you just play with the Basic FOW setting?

Doesn't Basic FOW offer you exactly what you are asking for?

[yapma]

I tried real time, but did not like it. Most of the time, I had no idea why something happened. Also, to play it right in RT, it seemed I would have to master the UI. The alternative, RT with lots of pausing, removed the thinking part of the game for me.

But, I like turn based games in general.