I got your new Flavor Object Doodads right here!

[Madmatt]

While most of the news this week is getting hogged up by Theatre of War, and rightly so, we decided to show off a little more color that's been going into Combat Mission: Shock Force lately. The thing to notice are all the new "flavor objects" which we just added to the game. Some people would of course simply call this stuff junk.

After looking at previous screenshots, some people were saying that our Syrian streets were just a tad too clean. Well, not anymore. There are now dozens of "flavor objects" which can be placed on the map to dirty the place up, and the screens were taken to show some of them as might be encountered in a typical Village setting. The selection includes everything from street lights, crates, tires, to more elaborate stuff like ATM machines and Air Conditioning units for the more urban settings.

A few of the screenshot also show for the very first time the victory screen layout. We discussed more about Victory Conditions last week on the CMSF Blog.

Lastly, for those who look carefully you can see some of the new animations we have added. We feel the new animations give a much better sense of urgency and are visually stronger.

Combat Mission: Shock Force Screenshot Gallery Page

[panzermartin]

Oh yes, Junk! Fantastic! How nice of you to add this stuff. I love the bus station with the Assad poster and all the new additions. Tracers and muzzle flashes are also spot on! The new running animations are also very intense. I see a nice mosque on the horizon too Bravo!

[beardiebloke]

Uh oh. I can't see 'em!

[patboy]

I'm wondering if I extrapolate, what looks like CMAK next module generation with the last screenshot posted?

Pat

[Peter Cairns]

I think the german halftrack is a bit of a continuity issue, and still no 40ft containers.

Given that they are almost a fixturein military bases world wide they really should be in, as they aresuch a usefull piece of terrain.

Peter.

[YankeeDog]

Great!

Pet Peeve: "ATM Machine" is redundant.

[flammenwerfer]

Thanks Matt.

We also get a our first glimpse of a Mosque.

[panzermartin]

It's nice to see CMSF maps coming to life bit by bit.

One question though..will these provide any cover/concealment for troops? Do they affect LOS/LOF at all? I know that doodads are 99% decorative but are there any plans for including larger ones that can be tacticaly useful as well. Like the containers mentioned above or something like dumpsters or abandoned trucks/vans/cars etc.

[ March 23, 2007, 06:21 AM: Message edited by: panzermartin ]

[Dirtweasle]

Is it just me or do the barrels and that post thing look "off"? The pallets look right, but something about those barrels is not right. Sorry, can't put my finger on it exactly.

[Capt. Toleran]

Beautiful, man, beautiful.

When can we play it?!!!!

[Rat]

Originally posted by Capt. Toleran:

Beautiful, man, beautiful.

When can we play it?!!!!

When it is ready... :eek:

*ooh was I longing to be able to say this once...*

[rudel.dietrich]

Very good looking game

One question however

is AA turned on in any of these shots, or has it been implemented yet?

The polygonal models and texture work are impressive, but every picture I see of the game has some very very bad jaggies going on.

[ March 24, 2007, 06:05 AM: Message edited by: rudel.dietrich ]

[Moon]

That's just me. AA is implemented but I keep forgetting to turn it on. I am taking these screens everytime I am playing (that generates the best "vivid" results and not some setup situations) and always forget to change the graphics settings. :mad:

Martin

[beardiebloke]

I think the barrels look weird because they're are all upright even though every thing else is thrown about. I guess we'll either need knocked over barrels or just have to take care about placing them in scenarios.

By the way, is checking the site more than 10 times a day obsessive?

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally posted by Moon:

That's just me. AA is implemented but I keep forgetting to turn it on. I am taking these screens everytime I am playing (that generates the best "vivid" results and not some setup situations) and always forget to change the graphics settings. :mad:

Martin

Ahh

I cant wait to run this in 1920x1200 with 16x AA turned on and take some screenshots :cool:

[Kilroy Lurking]

Hi!

I think the barrels look out of place....'cause they are not oil drums.

David

[c3k]

Hmmm, a couple of thoughts to share:

First, which of the barrels will explode?

Second, the tire tread pattern is off. It seems to be loosely based on Australian off-road patterns, but asymmetric with no central groove. Obviously, Syrian tire tread patterns follow a different design. Please fix.

Hey, it looks great!

Thanks,

Ken

[John Kettler]

I think players who are O.I.F. veterans should allot extra time to PTSD counselling. This game's starting to look chillingly realistic, and the new

doodads are a huge step in bringing that about. Truly immersive screenshots!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Mord]

As much as I want to play this game, and I do, all I can seem to think about every time I see some new addition to it is how much cooler WWII is gonna look when they get back to it. And I think I am gonna have a helluva time in the interim with Shock Force.

Mord.

[Beastttt]

they are wooden barrels

for me they are too squared

should look more like a football(american)with the ends lopped off

they need to be more oblong

I act at renn faire and we use lots of barrels as props so I see them often

Originally posted by Kilroy Lurking:

Hi!

I think the barrels look out of place....'cause they are not oil drums.

David

[Kwazydog]

Hi Guys,

A few quick answers...

Originally posted by panzermartin:

One question though..will these provide any cover/concealment for troops?

I would have to check with Chalres to be 100% currently but as I understand it they currently do offer a degree of cover, and affect movement. I would say that these objects are certainly something we will expand on in the future, both in what we can use them for and variety, as they are a great addition to see in game.

I guess we'll either need knocked over barrels or just have to take care about placing them in scenarios.

Actually I think that there is a knocked over one in there but keep in mind guys that Matt was just showing off the different options available. The barrel for instance will likely look much more suitable next to a small farm house Oil drums are in too, and have been for some time.

[qb]Second, the tire tread pattern is off. qb]

Lol, tire grog. Actually its a stryker wheel at the moment, hehe, but it will likely be retextured. And all barrles should be considered empty too .

[c3k]

Hey, can I hide snipers IN a barrel?

On a more serious note, who the hell still uses wooden barrels? Well, other than the near-immortals who craft our favorite bourbons, scotches, and whiskeys. Other than steel oil-drums, I've only ever seen plastic barrels. The difference being the shape. Oil barrels are cylinders with the reinforcing ribs, plastic barrels having the slightly tapered ends.

Get to work!

Thanks,

Ken

[Cpl Steiner]

I just noticed that some of the Syrians in the close-up shot on the roof don't seem to be holding their rifles very well. The weapons are not in the right place. I hope this is being fixed.

[Gpig]

I'm pretty sure they'll get around to those little details. And things like soldiers knees touching the ground in the prone position. Or shoulders back, flat on the ground for the wounded guys. These are still the early images, yet to be polished to a fine gleam.

Everything is looking amazing. Can't wait to make maps.

Gpig

[Battlefront.com]

The major limitation of the "flavor objects" is destructability. Or the lack of it, more exactly. Otherwise we'd have to make a ton of damaged models and simulate all the various bits of combat effects on them. It would be nice to do, but from a simulation standpoint it really doesn't add anything. Takes a heck of a lot of development time away though!

Steve