Questions about the demo

[crazylegsmurphy]

Is there a way to shut up the dog and crow?

Is anyone finding the icons being so close to the bottom of the screen causing accidental scrolling to be a problem?

Is there a default camera angle, and if so how do I get to it?

Is anyone having trouble with the mini-map not jumping to where you place the cursor?

Is there any way to protect AT guns (they are getting slaughtered)?

Can your troops use tanks as cover when assaulting things?

Is there a quick way to find your troops, see what you have, where it is, and group units?

When troops get panicked is there any way to make them do something?

Why do "critically wounded" troops still fight?

Is there a way for the ENTER button to follow the turret of a tank?

Can I make my troops sprint, or actually run at a realistic pace?

How do I set waypoints for tanks so they don't hit trees?

How do I stop my vehicles on the move from coming to a complete stop, then starting again when I issue a new order?

Is there a way to make the sounds sound less "Tinny", like a bass setting?

What is the solution for finding cover when running over vast open fields?

Why can my troops see two men on a flat field, but not the third man who is running beside them?

Is there any way I can request feedback either in the form of audio or text to alert me of the battle status? "TANK!!" for example.

When I assign the camera to follow the cursor, is there a way to keep it from skipping forward?

Can I assign my tanks to move to a waypoint and then turn a certain way so when they show up they are not exposing vital areas?

Can I make my planes attack from a certain direction if I want to avoid AA, or my own troops?

Why don't my units move into the formation I choose, I couldn't get them to do it?

How do I build sandbag bunkers, tank traps, wire, MG nests, etc?

Can I turn down the "crackly tank crew" voice, it seems twice as loud as all the other sounds and almost made my ears bleed.

How do I determine what my units are seeing? How do I tell if they can't see around a bush, or a tree? I try doing the ENTER button thing, but I am not sure what the AI feels it can see.

Why are my tanks, and enemy tanks able to turn 180 degrees while in the middle of a trench? As well, how come they don't fall in when driving parallel to the trench?

Can I stop my troops from shooting small arms rounds at tanks? I found they would lose sight of the troops, and then refocus attention on tanks.

How do I force my troops to engage in hand to hand combat? I was in a trench and my man and the enemy sat at point blank range and fired pistols at each other.

How do I keep my men from standing, then laying down, then kneeling, then standing again? Especially in combat?

Can I expand the bottom menu, put it somewhere else, hide it, etc?

What graphics features does this game support that I can turn on in my Nvidia console? (example, Anti-aliasing)

Is there a way for units to find cover automatically when they are in danger, or warn me they are in danger?

Can I move the "battle updates" under the mini-map to the screen? I have a 24" monitor and I miss half the updates because I am looking at the battle instead of down there.

Can I make the mouse wheel zoom forward instead of adjust the hight?

Can I pick up dropped weapons from other units such as Tommy Guns, sniper rifles, etc. If so, how do I find them in the grass?

Can I make my units "sneak" instead of run all the time?

Do the enemy respond to noise?

How do I force my tanks to back up instead of turning around without using the retreat button?

My troops have LOS, but is there a setting to make them "remember" where things were? Meaning, if a unit is being chased by another unit, and the one unit lays down in the grass, can I make my unit/game sort of "remember" where they are (intelligence) so they aren't just gone like ninja?

Going back to try the demo again, will have more questions later probably.

[ April 19, 2007, 04:25 AM: Message edited by: crazylegsmurphy ]

[athkatla]

Another whining post from you, I think you made your point in the other thread, why start another one?

Whatever you may say, these questions are a thinly disguised moan again, and quite frankly I'm getting bored of it, as I imagine so are a lot of others.

[crazylegsmurphy]

Shut it Athkatla...I'm asking questions here, if you can't contribute something to this, then keep your comments to yourself please.

[Earl Grey]

Reading the manual a few times over would be a good idea, anyway... I think it answers a few of oyur questions. Some things I'm still trying to figure out myself.

And yeah, I'd like a 'Reverse' button myself, but so far, 'Retreat' works well enough.

[athkatla]

Originally posted by crazylegsmurphy:

Shut it Athkatla...I'm asking questions here, if you can't contribute something to this, then keep your comments to yourself please.

Shut it yourself, all you have done on here is whine, whine, whine, and this thread is just another expansion of that.

All these points have already been made so why bother going over them again.

Also as the other poster stated, a lot of these questions could be answered by reading the pdf manual, if you're too lazy to do that, why would you expect someone to answer all these questions for you?

[crazylegsmurphy]

All these points have already been made so why bother going over them again.

I have questions I would like answers to, either answer them, or find another thread please, you're simply spamming my thread for no reason. If you're "tired of it" stop reading my threads.

[von Ribbentrop]

Is there a way to shut up the dog and crow and crazylegmurphy ?

sorry just kiddin, couldend resist

[theBrit]

Though our old friend (and BFC nemesis) got off to a bad start, he has raised though with a sledgehammer, some good points.

The sad fact is now CLM will you be taken seriously?

[rofl]

Originally posted by crazylegsmurphy:

Is there a way to shut up the dog and crow?

Go to TOW / Missions/ Tutorial / Mission1...open ambient.xml with notepad and replace True to Flase for all ambientsounds wich you want disable.

You must do that for every misson of corse

[BFCElvis]

Here is a throw back tothe original Saturday Night Live...

A Mr Richard Fader of Fort Lee, NJ writes in and asks....Mr Fader, You aska lot of questions.

Let's see how many I can answer....

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

Yes, No, Yes, Yes

No

It is a soldier using the last of its energy to fight.

No

Yes

Yes

Can't.

Can't

Yes

Crawl don't run

Dymanic spotting

No

Yes

Yes

No

Don't know. Mine do.

Can't

Yes

Explained in detail in another htread.

Don't know. Don't know.

Yes

Can't

Try "hold position"

No

Don'y know

AI does it.

No

Yes

Yes. Give command near bodies.

Yes.

Yes. I believe so.

No. Why wouldn't you just use the retreat?

No. Not only do friendly units move on the map but enemy units do too.

Hope this answered your questions for now

[Moon]

>>Is there a default camera angle, and if so how do I get to it?

When you jumpt to a unit it automatically assumes a preset camera angle and height.

>>Is anyone having trouble with the mini-map not jumping to where you place the cursor?

It jumps exactly to where you place the cursor as far as I can tell but due to the slight zoom you have to click in front of whatever you want to look at and not right on top of it. The camera cone in the minimap is a good guide.

>>Is there any way to protect AT guns (they are getting slaughtered)?

Play better? Find cover? On some maps you have fighting positions for them which you can use.

>>Can your troops use tanks as cover when assaulting things?

Yes. Select a formation of infantry and right click on one of your tanks. The will assume a position behind the tank and even advance with it.

>>Is there a quick way to find your troops, see what you have, where it is, and group units?

Read the manual.

>>When troops get panicked is there any way to make them do something?

No, as it should be. They are panicked and want no more of you. (no pun intended... or maybe a little)

>>Why do "critically wounded" troops still fight?

Because they don't want to die. They do so at reduced ability levels however.

>>Is there a way for the ENTER button to follow the turret of a tank?

No. Click and hold the mousewheel for a free look. (or whatever you set it to in the controls)

>>Can I make my troops sprint, or actually run at a realistic pace?

You have several movement commands, among them Assault.

>>How do I set waypoints for tanks so they don't hit trees?

Set the waypoints so that they don't have to move through trees.

>>How do I stop my vehicles on the move from coming to a complete stop, then starting again when I issue a new order?

You cannot. They stop to receive your orders and reorient themselves. TOW has no other command delays, so it's playing already quicker than would be real (communicating orders takes time).

>>Is there a way to make the sounds sound less "Tinny", like a bass setting?

Check your sound card?

>>What is the solution for finding cover when running over vast open fields?

Go prone.

>>Why can my troops see two men on a flat field, but not the third man who is running beside them?

He may be obscured by a tree or bush, or the units might be looking the other way. "Viewing cones" are simulated, i.e. each soldiers sees only in the direction he's looking at. Of course it's not impossible that there is also a bug in the LOS code. Time will tell.

>>Is there any way I can request feedback either in the form of audio or text to alert me of the battle status? "TANK!!" for example.

The note panel below the minimap. It can be expanded to show a whole list of messages from your soldiers.

>>When I assign the camera to follow the cursor, is there a way to keep it from skipping forward?

Not sure what you mean.

>>Can I assign my tanks to move to a waypoint and then turn a certain way so when they show up they are not exposing vital areas?

Yes, Rotate command. For formations you can also set the viewing direction after you place the waypoint by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse. RTFM.

>>Can I make my planes attack from a certain direction if I want to avoid AA, or my own troops?

No. Close air support is unrealistically controllable as is for WW2.

>>Why don't my units move into the formation I choose, I couldn't get them to do it?

Click the formation button first, then set the waypoint.

>>How do I build sandbag bunkers, tank traps, wire, MG nests, etc?

They are pre-positioned by the map designer. Not possible within the timeframe of a usual battle.

>>Can I turn down the "crackly tank crew" voice, it seems twice as loud as all the other sounds and almost made my ears bleed.

Various ways to do it. I think removing the sound file would even work, though I am not sure.

>>How do I determine what my units are seeing? How do I tell if they can't see around a bush, or a tree? I try doing the ENTER button thing, but I am not sure what the AI feels it can see.

Their viewing direction is indicated by the red cone (which you can switch off and on), but there is no LOS tool.

>>Why are my tanks, and enemy tanks able to turn 180 degrees while in the middle of a trench? As well, how come they don't fall in when driving parallel to the trench?

This is an abstraction.

>>Can I stop my troops from shooting small arms rounds at tanks? I found they would lose sight of the troops, and then refocus attention on tanks.

Yes, issue Hold Fire command.

>How do I force my troops to engage in hand to hand combat? I was in a trench and my man and the enemy sat at point blank range and fired pistols at each other.

Hand to hand combat happens but is not shown visually.

>>How do I keep my men from standing, then laying down, then kneeling, then standing again? Especially in combat?

They choose their stance at will, no way to influence it.

>>Can I expand the bottom menu, put it somewhere else, hide it, etc?

Yes, you can hide it. Shift-P I think? Not sure, RTFM.

>>What graphics features does this game support that I can turn on in my Nvidia console? (example, Anti-aliasing)

Try it. Most of the common ones should be supported.

>>Is there a way for units to find cover automatically when they are in danger, or warn me they are in danger?

They will notify you of certain things in the message box below the mini-map. There are also mini-icons shown on the mini-map (but a little too mini for my taste admittedly). They will look for better cover on their own once they panic.

>>Can I move the "battle updates" under the mini-map to the screen? I have a 24" monitor and I miss half the updates because I am looking at the battle instead of down there.

No, the position is fixed.

>>Can I make the mouse wheel zoom forward instead of adjust the hight?

You can change the key and mouse controls I believe in the Options menu.

>>Can I pick up dropped weapons from other units such as Tommy Guns, sniper rifles, etc. If so, how do I find them in the grass?

Yes, they are available on bodies or shown as a pile of equipment. You need to move within a certain radius to grab them, but it's not very restrictive.

>>Can I make my units "sneak" instead of run all the time?

No. They control their stance at free will.

>>Do the enemy respond to noise?

Yes.

>>How do I force my tanks to back up instead of turning around without using the retreat button?

Issue a waypoint not far away from the tanks position. It depends also on the driver skill. But what's wrong with the retreat button?

>>My troops have LOS, but is there a setting to make them "remember" where things were? Meaning, if a unit is being chased by another unit, and the one unit lays down in the grass, can I make my unit/game sort of "remember" where they are (intelligence) so they aren't just gone like ninja?

If other units are able to see it, the enemy unit will be visible but faded out. If noone can see it, they disappear from view. Basic wargame LOS.

[theBrit]

Thanks for the answers Moon!

[BFCElvis]

Damn you Moon. It took me over an hour while getting the kids off to school to provide answers and then you one up me with more deatailed answers. If I had done detailed I'd still be writing. Make me look bad.

[Moon]

Sorry, I actually didn't see your post when I started writing the replies, or I wouldn't have bothered.

Martin

[MikoyanPT]

Spooky ! :eek:

One could read the entire manual in the time you guys take to write this treads.

It is more fun to find things out for myself.

[theBrit]

Crazylegsmurphy could have written a bleeding manual the amount of berating post his written.

[Lord_Simmox]

how do i tell my boss wife etc i wont be in for a few days when this is released?i cant seem to find it in the manual?

[BFCElvis]

Create highly detailed lie.

[iplaygames2]

Hey Moon, just for clarification...I noticed in your response you had the phrase "RTFM".

Now, I'm no genius, but I want to make sure I'm reading you loud and clear. Care to elaborate?

[PseudoSimonds]

Originally posted by iplaygames2:

Hey Moon, just for clarification...I noticed in your response you had the phrase "RTFM".

Now, I'm no genius, but I want to make sure I'm reading you loud and clear. Care to elaborate?

Read The Fantastic Manual!

[crazylegsmurphy]

Cool! Thanks Moon!

I have been playing the demo a little more this morning taking your answers into consideration, and I thought I would come back and post some follow up questions, as well as suggestions for later based on what I found.

>>Is there a default camera angle, and if so how do I get to it?

When you jumpt to a unit it automatically assumes a preset camera angle and height.

Is there not a key that I can assign to this? I tend to get “disoriented” and I get stuck looking in a direction that is nowhere near the battle. This could be my own fault, but it would be cool if there was a “Jump to” button that would default to some structure or unit that would orient me again.

>>Is anyone having trouble with the mini-map not jumping to where you place the cursor?

It jumps exactly to where you place the cursor as far as I can tell but due to the slight zoom you have to click in front of whatever you want to look at and not right on top of it. The camera cone in the minimap is a good guide.

Ya, this is the trouble I am having. When I am quickly trying to navigate around the battle using the mini-map, I find that when I click on the map, it puts me way up and above the unit(s) I am trying to view. This causes me to have to pan back, then scroll down, then rotate the camera. I feel like I am spending more time finding things, than I am controlling them.

Maybe the camera needs to default to a downwards looking position when you click the map, or maybe the map needs to be bigger, or there needs to be a tactical map so you can quickly assess the battle and get to places.

>>Is there any way to protect AT guns (they are getting slaughtered)?

Play better? Find cover? On some maps you have fighting positions for them which you can use.

Cool, I tried to move them behind things, but then because I don’t really know what the units are seeing, when I move them behind bushes or trees, I am playing a guessing game as to what they can see. I found a few times that they would simply lose sight of a tank, and sit there…once I moved them back out into the open, they were targets again.

>>Why do "critically wounded" troops still fight?

Because they don't want to die. They do so at reduced ability levels however.

This is fair, it does seem a tad strange to me that a battle ready troop would panic, and simply lay on the ground and do nothing, but a critically wounded person would continue to fight. Seems kinda switched to me in the sense that if a unit is panicked, I should be able to coax him to retreat or move or get off the field, but a critically wounded (I am assuming close to death) would simply slump down, yell at the top of his lungs, and not care much about anything.

>>How do I stop my vehicles on the move from coming to a complete stop, then starting again when I issue a new order?

You cannot. They stop to receive your orders and reorient themselves. TOW has no other command delays, so it's playing already quicker than would be real (communicating orders takes time).

Hmm, I am glad people don’t do that on the highway when they are getting directions from people on cell phones! It seems to me that a vehicle would continue to drive and when orders came in over the radio or whatnot, they would simply turn the wheel to a new location. The stopping and starting creates a situation I am finding where they become targets much easier than if they were to continue moving.

This becomes increasingly hard when you have a light vehicle trying to get the jump on an AT gun, or another light vehicle that has a better weapon. Every time I adjust the direction to compensate for the other vehicle, my vehicle stops on a dime, then slowly changes direction, and slowly accelerates..this makes them a sitting duck.

>>Why can my troops see two men on a flat field, but not the third man who is running beside them?

He may be obscured by a tree or bush, or the units might be looking the other way. "Viewing cones" are simulated, i.e. each soldiers sees only in the direction he's looking at. Of course it's not impossible that there is also a bug in the LOS code. Time will tell.

From what I could tell (and this seemed to happen quite a bit) three enemy troops would be running and my guys would be chasing them. The two were in clear view, but others would pop in and out of focus. I don’t know if they were laying down, or what, but it seemed odd.

Because I don’t have any idea what my units are actually seeing on a 3D plane (yes I can see the cone of sight, but it doesn’t apply to anything really) then it makes it hard for me to position my units in a way where they are looking at specific things.

>>Is there any way I can request feedback either in the form of audio or text to alert me of the battle status? "TANK!!" for example.

The note panel below the minimap. It can be expanded to show a whole list of messages from your soldiers.

I was afraid of that. If you have ever played sports you know how good communication is the key to winning games. Teams that don’t talk are lost on the field. While the message panel does tell me feedback, it’s very passive in nature. This means that unless I am sitting there reading that thing all the time, I have no idea what is happening to my units.

I don’t suggest everything be yelling at me all the time, but panning away to reposition my AT gun, then coming back to find my units engaged with a tank without notice can be a tad frustrating. Perhaps a solution if audio cues aren’t able to be added, would be to have the messages pop up on the left side of the screen in different colors to suggest different problems.

The panel below the mini-map is ok for information, but it’s not in a place where you are looking all the time, and to have to visually scroll through countless responses means you’re already 5 minutes behind the battle. That soldier in trouble could be dead by the time you catch up to his “post”.

>>When I assign the camera to follow the cursor, is there a way to keep it from skipping forward?

Not sure what you mean.

I’ll have to post a video. I just find that it tends to pan and skip forward instead of staying stationary, it’s almost like there is a scroll forward command that is fighting the rotation command.

>>How do I build sandbag bunkers, tank traps, wire, MG nests, etc?

They are pre-positioned by the map designer. Not possible within the timeframe of a usual battle.

Oh, that kinda sucks. It would be cool to be able to protect guns/MG’s that need to be moved.

>>Can I turn down the "crackly tank crew" voice, it seems twice as loud as all the other sounds and almost made my ears bleed.

Various ways to do it. I think removing the sound file would even work, though I am not sure.

But then I can’t hear them. If “someone” were to extract the file, tone down the volume and then re-upload it into the game, would that solve the problem?

>>How do I determine what my units are seeing? How do I tell if they can't see around a bush, or a tree? I try doing the ENTER button thing, but I am not sure what the AI feels it can see.

Their viewing direction is indicated by the red cone (which you can switch off and on), but there is no LOS tool.

Hmm, ya, I find the cone to be almost useless. It shows me the direction the unit is looking, but in a 3D world that means nothing when the unit’s cone extends to full range even if I am standing him in front of a wall.

>>Can I stop my troops from shooting small arms rounds at tanks? I found they would lose sight of the troops, and then refocus attention on tanks.

Yes, issue Hold Fire command.

Ok cool, but then how do I get them to fire on troops that pop into their visual site? I mean I understand that I am in control of the troops, but in a real world situation I would yell, “Hold fire!” and it would go down the line automatically. Common sense on the other hand would dictate that my troops wouldn’t fire off rounds at tanks because they had been trained to have more patience than that.

So while a hold fire command works for each unit, it becomes a tad tedious when I have to “think” for my troops. I feel they should have enough brain power to be able to hold fire until they see a killable threat. Or at the very least, they should be warning me through audio responses that “enemy’s spotted, permission to fire sir?”

>>How do I keep my men from standing, then laying down, then kneeling, then standing again? Especially in combat?

They choose their stance at will, no way to influence it.

How come units think sometimes, and other times I’m responsible for them thinking? What I mean is, it seems inconsistent that they will choose to stand up in an open field, but I have to tell them that isn’t a good idea if shots are whizzing by their heads. This applies to my previous question as well, and also why would they lay down in the grass when being chased by other soldiers? Ninja Vanish?

>>What graphics features does this game support that I can turn on in my Nvidia console? (example, Anti-aliasing)

Try it. Most of the common ones should be supported.

If you could, would you mind just posting them from your production notes? I am sure there are a few here that would rather just see what the game can do, set the settings and then spend more time playing instead of trial and erroring the settings.

>>Is there a way for units to find cover automatically when they are in danger, or warn me they are in danger?

They will notify you of certain things in the message box below the mini-map. There are also mini-icons shown on the mini-map (but a little too mini for my taste admittedly). They will look for better cover on their own once they panic.

You are right; I didn’t even notice the mini-map problems. As I said before the message box is almost useless at the moment because it requires constant attention. Plus I don’t know who “Johnny Jones” is, so a lot of those messages are totally vague. Maybe a flashing icon, or maybe an audio response, or a sound or something would help alert the player to the problems.

That’s cool that they look for cover once the panic, but once they panic they are not useful in a fight. It would make more sense to me that they would seek out cover before they panic, and then when they do panic they would simply stay behind cover and not come out.

>>Can I pick up dropped weapons from other units such as Tommy Guns, sniper rifles, etc. If so, how do I find them in the grass?

Yes, they are available on bodies or shown as a pile of equipment. You need to move within a certain radius to grab them, but it's not very restrictive.

What if I don’t have the bodies showing in the settings menu, will they just show up as equipment? Will any soldier pick them up regardless of the weapon they have, how do I keep a unit with a carbine from picking up rounds for a Thompson?

>>Can I make my units "sneak" instead of run all the time?

No. They control their stance at free will.

Why do they do this at free will? I think it would make more sense if the units were able to sneak up on enemy positions instead of sprinting everywhere they go. Since you stated they respond to noise, it would only make sense that they were smart enough to make less noise.

>>My troops have LOS, but is there a setting to make them "remember" where things were? Meaning, if a unit is being chased by another unit, and the one unit lays down in the grass, can I make my unit/game sort of "remember" where they are (intelligence) so they aren't just gone like ninja?

If other units are able to see it, the enemy unit will be visible but faded out. If noone can see it, they disappear from view. Basic wargame LOS.

Of course, but without any indication of the LOS of a unit, it’s like playing “peek-a-boo” all the time. The unit is running away, runs behind a tree and, “Oh…where did he go?” then my unit stops…scratches his head, then, “Peek-a-boo!” the enemy runs out from behind the tree and hey, my units start to attack again.

Because I can’t see what they see, I am playing a game of, “I know where he is because my memory is longer than that of a fruit fly, but my units seem to forget, and don’t communicate what they see to each other, so I have to guess where to put them in order for them to see the enemy again.

I think it would make sense if the AI once “locked” onto a target, would continue to track that target with some form of intelligence until I decided to call them off, or they lost sight of them for more than say 5 seconds.

This would help perusing enemy units into dense brush, or urban places because my units would have enough brains to realize when they run behind stuff, they haven’t been sucked into the vortex of doom.

I appreciate the answers for sure! I am still playing the demo, trying to get a hang of it.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Let's see... you can't be bothered to RTFM or adjust the settings to you liking and have the situational awareness of a clump of dirt. BFC can't patch any of that.

[crazylegsmurphy]

Lets see, I have $45 in my pocket, and a bunch of friends who are relying on me to tell them how this game is because I have been preaching in their ears for some time now.

Lets see, I read through the manual, and maybe I missed some things, maybe I didn't. The point is, this is a forum, I am asking questions on the forum, if you don't have the answers (or the page numbers in the FM, that I can reference, then maybe you shouldn't add nonsense to the post.

Lets see, my situational awareness is what it is, since you have never seen me play the game, you can't comment on it. I have however put a medal in the mail for you, you should be getting it shortly, congrats on having 100% situational awareness on a demo that came out pretty much yesterday!

[Elmar Bijlsma]

I'm sorry?! You can't be asked to find stuff out for yourself yet bitch and moan about stuff you simply don't understand. People here try and answer your question as good as they can and you continue to moan and still feel entitled for us to hold your hand when you continue to moan to cover your own ineptitude? What inhuman patience are you expecting of us?

And take your threat elsewhere. I'm not paid by BFC, I am just a beta tester who roams this board hoping to field questions for those that need a little help. You sir, quite clearly don't want to be helped. I give up! Good luck.