Real Time with your host Elvis

[BFCElvis]

I did a fair amount of yammering when the game was released and there was afair amount of crying from some folks like "I'll never play real time" and "real time is just a click fest" and things along those lines. I was popping off about how I never thought I would never have much interest in real time until I started to test this game for a while. And about how (except for PBEM) real time is all I play anymore. I also prattled on about how after a few weeks of playing it most of you will feel the same way.

Did it happen? Be honest. Who here started off thinking that real time wasn't their bag and now play pretty much all real time? Or if you haven't gone that far you have changed your opinion about it being a clickfest?

(Micahel Dorosh is not permitted to respond....Matt please ban him for life if he does.)

[Mace]

Originally posted by Elvis:

Did it happen? Be honest. Who here started off thinking that real time wasn't their bag and now play pretty much all real time?

Me!

PS you didn't say I couldn't respond, did ya?!

[Michael Emrys]

Isn't this just a little incestuous?

Michael

[Statisoris]

I feel the same way. I was frankly scared of RT in this game b/c I was so in love with WEGO on the other BF games and traditionally I have never liked 90% of RTS games due to the hyper clickfest element of them. When I found out the game was mostly designed around RT it made me depressed b/c I thought I was losing something that was unique and fun. As a result of all these feelings I started playing CM:SF only in WEGO, but one day I tried out real time just for giggles. After that session, I dont think I've loaded a game with WEGO since. The game just seems to flow and live with RT, things happen in battle and you as the commander have the ability to react to these things instantly, not one minute after they have happened. For a modern battlefield, especially when playing the US, this level of reaction just seems more realistic. I do still have some level of saddness and guilt towards myself at not playing WEGO, since that is what has been so fun and unique for so long up until now. I do feel that RT is the way to go, however, I believe WEGO must be kept alive and improved as WEGO still seems to be the best/most fun option for scenarios where your forces are very large or are very spread out.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

After ToW I thought RT was my bag. HATE it in CMSF.

[Abbott]

I had a blast with Command & Conquer but gave up on Real-Time after Red Alert. If CMBO would have been RT I wouldn't have given it a second glance. What bugs me about Shock Force's RT is that it forces the AI, path finding and LOS to behave much like Squad Assault's did. A step back from the previous Combat Mission games in my opinion. But I haven't given up on Shock Force, I think BFC will finish the game and it could turn out to be a good one. I may purchase it (I want to like it) after a couple more patches if the problematic AI, path finding and LOS issues can be solved.

[aka_tom_w]

I play real time all the time now and I love it

but like others here I miss the fun of the rewind or replay.

For Abbott I think v1.03 has turned the corner, seriously the game is now very much what they wanted and intended in the first release. (three patches later)

I am guessing there will be a v1.04 and it will only get better.

I enjoy real time and play it exclusively now. (with Elite FOW which now has a group selection bug in v1.03 )

[ September 03, 2007, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: aka_tom_w ]

[Abbott]

Originally posted by aka_tom_w:

For Abbott I think v1.03 has turned the corner, seriously the game is now very much what they wanted and intended in the first release. (three patches later)

Well thats good news Tom, thanks. I will keep an eye on the Forum and keep trying to play the Demo. I am having camera movement issues with the Demo that makes it pretty un-playable for the moment. Maybe in another 6-8 weeks when the weather turns cold and drives me indoors I might pick Shock Force up and see if I can control the camera better. Hopefully by then some of the AI/LOS/Pahtfinding issues will be resolved. If not I can always wait for the next release. The Eastern Front is my favorite theater anyway.

[MarkEzra]

I'm a WEGO'r who loves scen design. To test a scen it was fast and simple to use RT. and I used it ONLY for that....then I thought what the heck, try it for, you know..FUN...and now I wake up with shaky hands and a cold, clammy feeling, as my gut screams for more...MORE RT...get some now, fast...They tried to tell me but I just wouldn't listen

[-E]

First, you'll have to pry WEGO out of my cold dead hands.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

While I never really considered RT to be the spawn of the devil as many seem(ed) to, I was surprised how fast it supplanted WEGO for me.

[Foobar]

I hate RT, and I have played in non-stop

I love WEGO, and I havent touched it since Yakima

[BFCElvis]

I am seeing some folks have experienced what myself and most testers did. Reluctance toward RT and then being drawn back to it over and over again.

I'm not here to sell anyone on one way or the other. Just curious if my release date proclaimations panned out for the general pubic as they did for the testers. WHich it sounds like they did.

[The Limey]

(First, I should point out that I have not yet tried the game with the 1.03 patch. Second, I should say that I don't mean this to be an RT vs. WEGO diatribe.)

With the various AI and pathfinding issues that existed in the 1.01 release of the game, I started playing RT because, to be honest, that seemed the only way to play the game without extreme frustration. I'd initially felt a reluctance to do it and I missed the playback feature in RT, but overall I liked playing it.

That said, unless you don't use the pause button, RT makes things too easy on the player. IMO, the joy of playing WEGO is that you have to set the situation up with unit positioning, moves, and timing to your best advantage and then relinquish control, sit back and watch to see whether you did it right. Basically, after you had issued the general orders, you left it to the TacAI to carry them out - I know it wasn't totally realistic but it seemed more realistic to me.

In RT, you don't have to do that - you get to pause the game and correct your flawed orders on the fly. I still enjoy playing the game that way but, to me at least, it feels in some way that I'm "cheating." The obvious answer is for me not to use pause but I'm not sure that's a realistic option for me either.

So to conclude, it's not that I don't like RT, it's just that I'd prefer not to use it but currently feel I have to. Here's hoping that 1.03 will let me back into WEGO.

p.s. I also read some posts that suggested a shorter interval for WEGO (like 20 or 30 seconds). I think that was a great idea.

[BFCElvis]

I understand what you're saying Limey. Variable WEGO would be the killerest bestest.

[Paper Tiger]

Being a big fan of CMBB, when I bought CMSF I thought "Real Time? No thanks. I'll stick with WEGO". I played the tutorial campaign and found it too boring with WEGO so I started up again in RT and had a blast. I've never played WEGO since then.

I agree, if the WEGO turn length was much shorter, I'd play it again. I like the suspense of watching to see what happens during the turn. With WW2, 1 min is about right. In modern combat, 1 minute can see the bulk of your forces killed outright. It's too long to be out of control.

With RT, I tend to be focussed on one part of the battlefield at a time and the other parts are out of my control. I rarely use PAUSE when I'm playing unless the battle is very big or the action is too furious.

[aka_tom_w]

With WW2, 1 min is about right. In modern combat, 1 minute can see the bulk of your forces killed outright. It's too long to be out of control.

It could be added:

" With WW2, 1 min is about right." for the state of TAC AI control in CMx1 espcially CMAK which was the pinnacle of CMx1 coding IMHO

IN CMx2 (CM:SF) 1 full minute, (60 secs) is a LONG time to watch your men get mowed down. Heck when those nine guys dismount a styker if you do it in a really bad spot (and I have found just about EVERY spot is a really bad spot!) they turn into "9 red dots" in the space of 10-20 secs. (In Realtime you don't have much time to save them either but it sort of "feels" better if you try.)

The state of CM:SF coding right now leaves something to be desired when it comes to full 60 sec WEGO turns when you have to sit back and watch for that long.

So sure I have been playing RT exclusively.

(its also WAY less time consuming and more efficient in that respect if your free time is limited by work and family obligations)

[C'Rogers]

I have given up WEGO vs. AI, whether I will make the same decision for multiplayer I don't know.

[J Ruddy]

RT is better in CM:SF than any previous game that I've played. (ToW doesn't work on my machine)

[Huntarr]

I tried the RT for 1.02 since WeGo was fubar'd. But now that 1.03 is here I have gone back to playing and testing the betas only in WeGo. My feelings are if WeGo gets fixed then RT will be no problem. Since most of the screw ups come from the TacAI, if it is working when you don't have control for 60 sec then it sure as hell can baby sit for you in RT. Plus how the hell can you spot bugs in RT if you can't see what happened? You'll have to be focused right on the area. Your missing them hands down.