JaguarUSF Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 The review of Combat Mission: Shock Force has been posted at Out of Eight PC Game Reviews: http://jaguarusf.blogspot.com/2007/07/combat-mission-shock-force-review.html Enjoy! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Can't quibble with an 8/8 ranking! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Steiner Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 BFC should be pleased with that! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan/california Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Dammi^^^*$&^##@&*(%t, can I please, please, pretty please have a copy of the current build. I have reordered deluxe, I will promise to make several scenarios. Please! :mad: It is even more promising since they have a week or two to deal with the quibbles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 It is that good. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 WOHOOO !!! 8/8 ! If this guy isn't on Steves payroll I'm one happy camper . Great job BFC ! Oh, and that's good to hear Mace ! *starts reading* //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Bear in mind the reviewer received a free copy, Salkin. The game will be different things to different people. And I've never liked star ratings since they are meaningless. As someone who prefers making scenarios to playing them, I'd give the game 8 stars also. If I were a RTS-junkie looking for something easy to play, I'd give it a lower score. Best bet for anyone is to wait for the demo to come out, or at the least, read any review with a jaundiced eye. I've never once read a computer game review of any single product in the last 10 years that adequately addressed all my questions, saved me from buying a game moderately out of sync with what I thought it would be, or did a good job at describing just how much I was going to enjoy a game that was really appropriate for what I was looking for. At best, computer game reviews can spot outright lemons. CM:SF won't be a lemon. Whether it is for you or not, only you will know. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emar Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sounds great and I have already ordered mine sight unseen cause I know it is going to be another top notch title like the first 3 were. Must say however that I was a little surprised to see the comments on the vehicle pathfinding issues since that was probably one of the top things mentioned to fix in all of the "wish list" threads. Oh well, perhaps it will get sorted out before it turns into too big a traffic jam. Best wishes to all those at Battlefront and I am sure it will be another stellar product. Can't wait to give it whirl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Nice post Michael and I appreciate your input, but you better trust me when I tell you that I've probably read at least as many computer games reviews as you have my friend . My gaming interest is probably a bit broader then yours (not that that's a good thing mind you). I don't play even close to as many games as I used to as I have, through bad experiences, developed enough knowledge to spot a turkey. Heck, i even worked as a games reviewer for a short period in the earlier days of my life so I have an idea about how things work. All your points are still fairly true though and like you I only use reviews for an approximate standpoint of how good the game is. To know the value of the review score you have to know what the writer likes, that's what I'm basing my optimism on. It seems this fellow liked Combat Mission and so did I so I can tell you right now that even if I wont like it as much as he does, that 8 out of 8 score tells me I'm sure as heck wont dislike it . As for being an RTS junkie, I'm really not. I clearly like some of the more innovative (yet easily accessible) new games like Company of Heroes, but your average C&C and Starcraft grinder I can definitely do without. The thing I like most about CM games is that they have a depth that really rewards you for putting in time with them and above all learning things about the real units they simulate. It's just an awesome experience, and as sure as Steve is counting my money now, I really hope they've done it again . //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Good review James, and I'm glad to hear that the game is more than an awesome scenario editor. However, also having an awesome computer with an 8800 Nvidia running on a Vista 64 OS I'm a little worried...I'm sure it's only a temporary problem though . //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaguarUSF Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 Being that the 8800s are relatively new cards, there are bound to be compatability problems, and CMSF happens to be the game I'm having problems with (out of 290 games I've reviewed, that's a good ratio). I contacted nVidia and they said they would look into it, so we'll see. [ July 16, 2007, 04:33 PM: Message edited by: JaguarUSF ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoxSpartana Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 My question is, when he's talking about the great "tactical AI" is that referring to say, the OPFOR AI's ability to beat you? In previous CMs, enemy AI was quite poor. I hope it's been improved. (though I'll probably be playing online all the time anyways). Since there's no in-game matchmaking, what do most people use to find opponents right away? (other than posting in the forum, because then you have to wait for a reply) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holman Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 You can judge a review by the reviewer. I've followed the reviews at Out of Eight for a long time, and they have always struck me as thoughtful and well-aimed at adult gamers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazzi Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Thanks for the review ! I'm glad novice players won't have too much of a steep learning curve. [ July 16, 2007, 05:08 PM: Message edited by: Fugazzi ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Originally posted by NoxSpartana: My question is, when he's talking about the great "tactical AI" is that referring to say, the OPFOR AI's ability to beat you? In previous CMs, enemy AI was quite poor. I hope it's been improved. (though I'll probably be playing online all the time anyways). Since there's no in-game matchmaking, what do most people use to find opponents right away? (other than posting in the forum, because then you have to wait for a reply) CM is a fairly multilayered, advanced and detailed game, this means that programming a challenging strategic AI is more difficult for CM than it is to program it for your average RTS. With somewhat limited resources compared to other big companies things don't get any easier for BFC, so the strategic AI that you are reffering to will probably not be all that improved from your previous CM versions. The good news however is that the AI in CMSF will mostly be following one of the plans that the scenario designer developed, this makes the strat AI much less dependant on itself, which is a good thing. I believe the tactical AI mentioned is another type of AI. This AI doesn't plan so much it rather reacts to things going on around the units. In the old CM this is the AI that tells your unit: "You are under fire, abort your current movement orders and take cover in those trees!" or "Enemy spotted, open fire!" This AI is probably more fleshed out in CMSF and probably merges a little with the strat AI now that the action is meant to be played realtime (unless you really love turn-based gaming). As for finding opponents, I'm guessing the AI will be quite sufficient for me, I do however play vs my friend at times even if he does spend to much time with his wife and kids these days . //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pad152 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Huh? Infantry units with rifles engage enemy tanks on their own for some reason (just like tow, hear tanky, tanky)!!!! Nothing like giving your position away, only to get killed! vehicles seem to have a tough time navigating through certain terrain types and will back up, drive in circles, stop, or cross into each other on the way to a destination. Geez, do they mow down trees too! turn-based play is less than ideal. RTS kills turn based play!!! no game is perfect, and I have been experiencing lockups and units moving across the map in an instant. I guess you don't want to play this with GF8800 video card! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAEZ Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I have to admit that this Nvidia 8800 issue is really getting me worry. I just got A new computer with a 8800 gts just to play CMSF ....OUGH! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 As I have said, the NVidia drivers aren't that great. The 162s, on Vista 32 bit no issue, on 64 bit, problems with shadows. I have a 7900 card, so I can't test with the 8800 card, but James sent something to Nvidia, hopefully they can fix their drivers. Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaguarUSF Posted July 17, 2007 Author Share Posted July 17, 2007 The scripted AI plans go a long way in making the enemy a good foe. The tactical AI is much improved and the enemy is not the cakewalk they were in previous CM games. Winning is quite challenging and the Syrians will totally kick your ass if you don't plan ahead. As for the whole nVidia thing, it might just be my computer; since nobody else had a 8800 (AFAIK) we couldn't replicate the results. I guess we'll find out. I turned the graphics down to "fast" and the game still looks very good and I can play for a good 20-30 minutes on a fresh reboot before it locks up. Save early and save often! I am fairly confident that it's the drivers, since I also have had some performance issues. They just fixed a similar bug with Lost Planet (it also locked up early in the game), so if they can get their hands on the problem and there's a big enough outcry for it, it'll be fixed in a driver update. I am curious what, exactly, the issue is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHertogh Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Wow, that is scary news I had thought the graphics had glitches I sure hope I don't have to reboot every half hour... Would kind of suck for Multi-player wouldn't it? As a Vista-64 8800 gtx owner...that pre-ordered this non returnable game.... I hope it was only your system. Marc p.s. Hey Battlefront devs, you need to include more beta testers for this very reason. If nothing else just to have better coverage on compatibility issues. Why don't you send mine over now so I can help you out... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaguarUSF Posted July 17, 2007 Author Share Posted July 17, 2007 Well, the game locks up (really it freezes) but I can Task Manager out of it and just start the game up again. But because the video ram usage is already kind of high, the freezes happen more frequently unless you reboot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 BTW, we have fixed the "warping unit" bug. Turns out it was related to casualties in a Campaign. The problem happened when you had a vehicle killed off in the previous battle (that wasn't replaced) and was supposed to show up in the next battle WITH passengers mounted. CM would get confused because the passengers were assigned to a vehcile that didn't exist, and the vehicle is the element that has the map coordinates. When in doubt CM sticks things in a particular corner. Charles has fixed this and v1.01 will have that fix in it. The same bug could affect vehicles that were killed off in the previous battle and were "replaced" for the current battle. But passenger infantry were the things most likely affected. Heh... I guess our testers are better at preserving their forces than reviewers are, eh James? Well, don't feel bad... they have a few months of experience on you Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 aaah my trusty 8600... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beardiebloke Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 "The game even has realistic sound velocities: the first time you see an explosion off in the distance and then hear it seconds later you'll appreciate how much work went into the game." <-- Wow! I don't remember hearing about that feature - did a search and only found people asking about it. Can't think of any game that's had that before...it'll take some of the sting out of not running at max. graphics settings [until I upgrade next year ]. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Originally posted by beardiebloke: "The game even has realistic sound velocities: the first time you see an explosion off in the distance and then hear it seconds later you'll appreciate how much work went into the game." <-- Wow! Can't think of any game that's had that before.Steel Beasts Pro has speed of sound modelled 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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