First Impressions

[General_solomon]

I dont know about you guys, but i love this game.

thanks BF for finally releasing the game.

I will see you all in MP.

I am going now to play the rest of the weekend.

[SgtMuhammed]

Only have the demo so far but I am impressed. Going to be interesting to play from the Syrian side.

[Razgovory]

I'm a bad commander. My first scenario mission didn't go well. Something about clearing a town full of insurgents. 20 guys KIA 40 WIA and 2 Strikers down. I eventually pressed Ceasefire and it said I won... but that's alot of casualties.

[Battlefront.com]

Hi all,

So many great things to respond to, and not enough time. So a blanket "thanks!" will have to do.

Two quick points:

Rik81,

Sounds like you might be having one of the known problems with graphics. Use the link at the bottom of my post and that will HOPEFULLY fix your problems. Something sounds very wrong

Mr.Spkr,

We have various UI feedback things on the waiting list of enhancements. However, enlarged units is not one of them. We can't do it because the units' visual represetation is actually simulating their physical presence. If we made the infantry twice as tall, they would be simulated as being twice as tall. And good luck getting them into a building In CMx1 the 3D visuals were 100% "fluff" so turning them off or growing them had no impact on the game. Definitely not the case now.

Steve

[SgtMuhammed]

By the way calling fire on infantry in the woods was really neat. Not for them but it was fun for me.

[konstantine]

I'll try again: how come we can't purchase units in CMSF QBs?

The reason I want this is because it really helped me with the learning curve in CMBB. That and I really like custom QBs.

[NoxSpartana]

I'm really finding the enemy AI to be rather... mentally handicapped I'll say in the scenarios and campaign. They follow their pre-set "plans" but once those are exhausted and I do something they just sit there like dumb mules.

Guess I'll have to stick to MP... but there's no lobby . I sure hope I can get games quickly without waiting forever.

[ July 27, 2007, 11:32 PM: Message edited by: NoxSpartana ]

[Exel]

Originally posted by Ryan Crierie:

Foreground detail's good, but far away detail is worse than CMBB/AK/BO.

This is a bad one. Not because of eye candy, but because it makes it very difficult - if not impossible - to make out height differences from any distance. All the terrain shapes are blurred out beyond 50 meters. If there's a small defilade or a knoll somewhere, you wont see it before you're on top of it. Makes it a bitch to try and position units into proper firing positions or to utilize terrain for cover.

As far as eye candy goes, it's not just the blurryness that bothers. The 'softening' of the land mass makes vehicles look like they levitate or sink into the ground when viewed from a distance.

[John Kettler]

MrSpkr,

Armed Sufi mystics, no doubt!

BFC and fellow CMSF piners,

While it's great to read about the game, I'd rather be playing it. Unfortunately, there's no budget at present for a replacement rig.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Caesar]

Overall, I like the game, it is a lot of fun. It is quite the challenge after the previous CM series. Modern firepower is stunningly effective after the WWII stuff. I think (I could be wrong here - it might have been misidentified) I killed a T72 with 80mm mortars. I was a tad disappointed with the effectiveness of the Javelins though, my guys missed with every shot they fired so far (though that could be something to do with the fact that half the squad had been shot up by the tank they were shooting at - maybe it it hard to aim when your pants a full of excrement ). Evidently Steve was not lying when he said charging in with Strykers relying on speed was a mistake; the explosions were pretty cool though. The M1A1s look amazing be they moving, shooting or just sitting there. They are pretty good at killing stuff too Can their turrets really rotate that fast; the gunner must need a seat belt to hold them down. The game is however, a long way from perfect; in fact in some respects it feels more like a beta than a final release.

The positives;

- The arty system is fantastic. It is really easy to set up and you can do a lot with it.

- The sound is probably the best I have heard in any game.

- The explosions are great

- The animations of both men and vehicles are very well done (the wheels do disappear into the terrain a bit at times but I can live with that.

- The graphics are reasonable, the details are good, the terrain passable (my rig is pretty weak so it is probably better on better rigs)

- The AI is at least as good as anything else on the market that I have played and at times better.

- The game is great fun and I suppose this is the main point.

The negatives;

- The camera control is just awful. I have played a lot of different games in lots of different formats, and this system is just not good enough. Yes I can make it work but that does not make it good

- The detail textures (grass & small bushes) stay the same colour regardless of the lighting.

- Path finding at times is a bit odd

- The tabbed GUI control system is clunky and awkward (not sure how else to do it but it's still clunky). The interface overall, is not terribly intuitive. Most games I have played I can pick up pretty easily but this one you need to read the manual to get any idea of how to play it.

- Tool tips are missing

- Quite a few bugs; crashes and some other graphics oddities.

[Moon]

Originally posted by NoxSpartana:

Guess I'll have to stick to MP... but there's no lobby . I sure hope I can get games quickly without waiting forever.

You can use this:

Beta MP Lobby

Or check my sig and use the chat of the Browser Toolbar.

Martin

[Rik81]

Another suggestion: In the CM games I frequently would like to focus on an enemy unit in watching the replays. That is still possible here of course, but what is missing is the rapid map rotation. I believe CM used the "/" key to flip the map end for end. AFAIK we now have to hold down the RMB and rotate the map around. Could we have the "/" restored? A real time saver.

[Tarkus]

Originally posted by Rik81:

Another suggestion: In the CM games I frequently would like to focus on an enemy unit in watching the replays. That is still possible here of course, but what is missing is the rapid map rotation. I believe CM used the "/" key to flip the map end for end. AFAIK we now have to hold down the RMB and rotate the map around. Could we have the "/" restored? A real time saver.

Check the hotkey window. There's a key doing just that, albeit I can't remember which one from the top of my head.

[tinjaw]

Originally posted by Battlefront.com:

I think I know what caused that bunker problem. When I was testing that scenario I *THINK* I noticed that if the crew abandoned the bunker, or was killed (but the bunker still intact), the Squad decided it wasn't worth wasting a Javelin on. That should be fine for automatic targeting behavior, but heck... if you want it gone, who are we to say it shouldn't be gone? I'll write up a bug report for that.

The Javelin is shown in the weapons display and in 3D when the guy feels that is the weapon he should use. If not, it is "stowed" and his primary small arm is put back into use. This is consistent with what I said just above, so if we tweak one the other will follow suit.

Steve

Thanks for that explanation. I've been beating my head against the monitor on this one.

(good catch metalbrew on those icons.)

[Rik81]

Originally posted by Tarkus:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Rik81:

Another suggestion: In the CM games I frequently would like to focus on an enemy unit in watching the replays. That is still possible here of course, but what is missing is the rapid map rotation. I believe CM used the "/" key to flip the map end for end. AFAIK we now have to hold down the RMB and rotate the map around. Could we have the "/" restored? A real time saver.

Check the hotkey window. There's a key doing just that, albeit I can't remember which one from the top of my head. </font>

[Cheeba]

I'm really enjoying this so far. It's far from perfect, but then what release-day title ever is? There's still plenty to get stuck into, minor niggles be damned.

The one real problem I have is what Ryan and Exel mentioned regarding the softening/simplifying of terrain as the viewing distance increases. Currently it seems far too aggressive, with trenches turning into a series of indistinct blobs from not very far away. Configurable settings for this would certainly be appreciated. There's not much point having an engine that looks gorgeous at unit level when you spent most of the game looking at a blurry, indistinct zoomed-out map as you plan your tactics.

[ July 28, 2007, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Cheeba ]

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Seem to recall something about the effect of heat haze on distant terrain.

[Pzman]

Enjoying the game so far, for the most part. Like others I'd say the number one issue is learning the new awkward camera controls. That said, I am starting to get use to it, and within a few weeks no doubt I'd have trouble going back to the CMx1 games camera controls.

Graphics look great, I think I might be able to set them even higher on my system, but don't want slow downs so I'm keeping them at improved levels. As for the GUI, in some ways I like it, in other ways I don't. There is a lot of info right in front of you, and it will take time getting used to that (rather than looking in an info tab, as in CMx1 games). As for the command tabs, a little awkward, IMO, but I think I'll get used to it.

There isn't the feeling of newness as there was with CMBO seven years ago, but the amount of changes and improvements are worth the cash. Overall I'd say I like the game so far and I've only played a few battles. Looks like I'll be waiting a few more days before diving into the editor.

[metalbrew]

This shot is a great example how maps become a disjointed piece-meal at a distance. Notice how some roads are sharp and crisp while others are inexplicably shapeless blobs that don't really even approximate the correct object size. The green fields on the right side are also blobbed out and are lifeless. I realize this is texture blending, but it just looks bad. Trenches blur out and behave like the roads in this example.

[Janster]

Damn this game sucks.

Cheesus talk about 4 wasted years...

I just tried to show my other CM friends the game..and they all agree this just plainly sucks.

You've taken ALL the lessons learned from CM and just thrown them away..

Its like starting back to basic...

Dudes, I hoped for progression here...

Shame I cannot ask for a refund, this was wasted money

Janster

[mmtt]

Here, are mine.

Overall, I'm not disappointed but I have quite a few grips with the game, actually quite a lot. I know this is a game with a low budget, a small team dedicated to a niche market.

Until now, I have played on Elite in Realtime and never paused and one game in TB. I had quite a few technical problems at start but updating my drivers and installing MS hotfix did the trick.

I completed the training campaign (had to deal with the Javelin/bunker bugs), 1st campaign mission, and 2 scenarios and one or two QBs.

Realtime vs WEGO: Well, as I said until now, but in RT, contrary to Close Combat, I'm unable to effectively command my units. The pace of the game and the amount of units (once reaching company size) just makes it impossible to order everyone around. I tried RT to get the handle for TCP. While the speed, the constant action are really great, the constant need for fine-tuning, babysitting units just takes the fun away.

Why? One answer.

Pathfinding: The pathfinding simply sucks for a game released in 2007. What would have been acceptable in 2000' for CMBO is now sorely sticking out. Sorry. My strykers get stuck behind each other in the tiny streets, if they don't try to circle the whole map speeding in front of enemy tanks when the way is blocked. In RT, there is no time to adjust WPs.

Control&Interface:

Camera is very sluggish. The now standard RTS camera system is working well (mousewheel for zoom, panning around). CMSF camera is slow and jerky.

Mind you, I don't know yet all the shortcuts but selecting each squad individually, selecting the Special menu, equipping your guys with the launcher, clicking again for the ammo (who would x1 Javelin when you can carry x3?) then dismounting and giving orders. It's extremely bothersome, especially when a T-72 comes rushing in. Having the same hotkey for Fast movement and Target can lead to some very dangerous consequence including firing some 120mm at your own troops, instead of providing heavy support.

Overall, I’m getting use to it but some work in there would have been more than welcome.

AI:

The TacAI tries hard, tries real hard to be good. But why do my guys fire 3 Javelins at the same target? Assigning specific targets to each squad so they don't waste their precious Javelin missiles is bothersome and tiresome, especially when the same guy fires twice at the same target.

And most of the time, the AI just stand there waiting to get pounded by my overwhelming firepower. Sometimes they can't see the enemy standing next to them...

GFX:

Obviously not the CM series strong point, but that's not what you buy CMx for. IMO, they would have been okay in the early 2000's, but in 2007, they look dated although vehicles and infantry look nice on close up. Terrain is an ugly mesh from afar.

In many ways, CMSF feels dated and clumsy. But despite all those rough edges outside, CM's still a gem inside.

Bringing in a Stryker toward an enemy occupied building, popping smoke while enemy MG fire pings the armor, picking the Javelin for some heavy firepower, having my guys dismount under fire with all Strykers providing covering fire, the troops gets out, hitting the deck, crawling toward the nearby house. One guy didn’t make it. Guess it. My Javelin gunner buys the bucket. (Any way to have my guys pick up that Javelin once the guy's dead?). That was awesome.

The artillery or air support panel is absolutely perfect. It's just a pleasure to use. If the rest of the control were as polished, CM would be great already.

Dismounting a whole platoon amidst the rattling of gunfire and the wind blows away the smoke to rush the enemy trenches is one great experience that few games manage to offer in such a vivid intensity.

[tinjaw]

Add my +1 to zoomed out map graphics being subpar. I would trade my super hires pictures of strykers for a usable map any day.

[Panzer76]

Why are there not unique keyboad keys assigned to each command?!

[Moon]

Panzer76, because there would be too many. We would have to start assigning weird hotkeys and nobody would remember them. The command panel approach gives you a structured environment. It's easier to remember the location of a key than a letter.

The most important six (or so) commands however do have their own keys. Target, Quick (move), Hide and a few others. You can adjust those in the hotkeys.txt file in the Data folder.

Martin

[Guderian]

For me it was worth the buy. CM:SF combines tactical depth with decent graphics. Feels a bit like playing Close Combat, even the theatre is different. The few glitches are negligible for me.

From a technical side it runs fine in 1280x1024, highest settings, on a AMD 3500+, 2 Gig RAM, Ati 1600 (512 MB).