Questions about the future of this game

[cabal23]

In the future version of this game, I had some questions for BF:

1) Will there ever be a way to give orders to more than 8 AI's? That is a bump I hit when designing scenarios. How much more dynamic the scenario's would be with more AI's available.

2) How will uniforms work for seasons in the WWII version coming soon? Will each module include soldiers in the appropriate uniform for the weather? (white for winter ops) I think it would be a nice feature to allow scenarios designers to incorporate the appropriate uniform for the seasons.

3) Will it ever be possible to allow mods to be used in user created scenarios as part of the scenario? That way no one would have to download them as they could be added during scenario creation and when you download the scenario you automatically use that mod when you play the scenario.

4) Will we ever get more than taxi's and pickups for this CMSF? I feel like taxi's should have been a standard auto. Seeing a city filled with taxi's and pickups is odd. Also will we ever get vehicles as flavor objects to help flesh out cities?

That's all for now.

Thanks!

[Sergei]

I have doubts about seeing more AI groups in CMSF, as I imagine that would break the old scenarios. Or maybe not, but still it's probably a difficult thing to change afterwards. The next title, who knows...

As to winter camouflage, I have the understanding that the first WW2 title will portray the fighting from Normandy to late autumn, and the second one would take it from Bulge to the end of the war. I'm sure that there will be appropriate winter camos for men and vehicles in the second one, and out of the box instead of the CMBO way of leaving the winter alternative bitmap numbers to be filled by the players.

On #3, think of how big the scenarios using this would be. Already right now if the scenario includes all possible max size briefing bitmaps for both sides, it adds about 2 MB's worth of dead weight to PBEM files.

And lastly, maybe the Lada taxi's could be modded into ordinary Lada's (like the mod that removes slatcages from Stryker), but I doubt that adding more civilian vehicles is that important for BFC or most of the players in comparison to some other units (ooh I'd love to have a Syrian truck!), so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Function before form and all that. Meanwhile, cars are unlikely to become flavour objects, as the way they work is something of eyecandy and occasionally obstacles to vehicles, while cars or other objects that big also block LOF.

[Cpl Steiner]

I agree about the taxi. It would be better to have a basic sedan car and for the skin numbering thing to work so you could have multiple skins for it. That way you could have a whole host of civilian vehicles parked about the place, all with different colour schemes, scratched paintwork etc.

Vehicles should also provide cover for both sides rather than just the friendly side. A projectile fired by anyone close to a vehicle should be treated as if fired over or around that vehicle - i.e. not blocked - and one fired far from the vehicle should be stopped or deflected by it. All it would take is some logic to say that vehicles are considered "friendly" to combatants within a certain radius of it and enemy to all others. I'm pretty sure this sort of logic is already used for building walls to allow units to fire out of windows when not exactly lined up with the aperture.

[birdstrike]

Yes, I think if multiple vehicle skins were introduced (like multiple uniform skins at the moment), I think we'd come a long way without adding more vehicle models. (This doesn't mean we don't want Syrian trucks ).

And I think the vehicle cover issue has already been adressed in the recent patch - at least I had an instant recently, where a destroyed red pickup was blocking shots from another red one firing from 50m away on a blue squad - can anyone confirm something like this?

[Other Means]

You can have multiple skins now, I just can't remember how.

[panzermartin]

Multiple skins would be sweet. They made this possible with winter skins in CMx1. Why not add some extra 3-4 slots for each 3Dmodel? Let the user decide if his Vram is enough to handle them. WW2 with its camo variety would be ideal for such addition. If extended to flavor objects and buildings, well, this would be just amazing.

[MikeyD]

Spies, combatants and fighters can use multiple random skins currently. Just number them -1, -2, -3 etc. I uploaded four numbered spy textures in a mod on cmmods.com awhile ago. I'm hoping by the WWII title the same will apply to vehicles too so we can have camou'd PzIV-1, -2, -3 in-game. We should be careful what we wish for though, our fantasy wish lists could easily overburdon our PC's capabilities and then we'd blame BFC for the game not working!

[cabal23]

I think that would be brilliant to add more cars because they provide cover. Many of the scenarios are urban in nature. Just one more layer of realism. I think this issue is that they have to be able to make them explode so they technically would differ from regular flavor objects. I mean currently I can put tons of destroyed trucks and taxi's on a map but no car just parked on the street? Cars blowing up in urban environments would be cool too. I am still mad about about the stupid air conditioner flavor object which easily could have been blue sedan!

I agree that some sort of way to cycle through uniforms would be awesome. I guess what I was really wondering is in the WW II game will you get a new army every module? I mean if all that is changing is seasons between modules, then the uniforms will change to. So I wonder how that will handled in the game interface itself. I guess I am assuming that each module you will be able to use US forces. So are you getting a new US force in each module with the new uniform or are you going to be able to make uniforms interchangeable in the different modules through a manager of some type

[ChrisND]

Cars blowing up in urban environments would be cool too.

Cool maybe, but rather ludicrous.

[cabal23]

Why ludicrous? Three Marines are parked behind a vehicle firing on a position down the street, an enemy soldier fires an rpg at the parked car. Boom! No different than firing on a dismounted vehicle.

[ChrisND]

Why ludicrous? Three Marines are parked behind a vehicle firing on a position down the street, an enemy soldier fires an rpg at the parked car. Boom! No different than firing on a dismounted vehicle.

Cars aren't loaded with explosives which enable them to blow up, except in movies and Call of Duty.

[SlapHappy]

I guess the impression that many people have is that vehicles will explode when hit by weapons fire because of gas tank penetrations. There simply isn't a high enough volatile compression level for that to happen, however. It's simply a myth.

Small parts of the car might ignite from the munition detonation itself, but not a catastrophic explosion ala Hollywood.

[SlapHappy]

That being said the "damaged" models for buildings and vehicles kinda leave a little to be desired. Most especially the buildings.

Looks like somebody carved out an irregular section of the wall using a reciprocating saw.

[ChrisND]

Small parts of the car might ignite from the munition detonation itself, but not a catastrophic explosion ala Hollywood.

Yep, the car (or parts of it) burns, it doesn't blow up.

[cabal23]

Well never having honestly witnessed what happens when a car is shot up, I will take your scientific evaluation. But my comment was what happens when an RPG hits a car, not gun fire. I am thinking armor and rpgs firing on vehicles. Last time I check they DO make cars go boom. A car would provide some sort of cover if troops were behind it against bullets and as my hypothetical situation stated. Troops are parked behind a car firing on an enemy pos. when one of the enemy fires an rpg at the vehicle wounding or most likely killing the troops. That in my opinion is very realistic. Then there is a smoking car on the street and several soldiers that need buddy aid. You see how such a small feature just changed the battlefield suddenly?

[Sergei]

That's the HEAT shell that goes boom, not the car.

[cabal23]

So then it is not so crazy to imagine. I assume that the fuel also adds a bit of kick, no? RPG + fuel seems like a big fire to me.

[panzermartin]

Hmm, I guess the video is sliiightly edited. Unless the Gustav fires heat seeking air missiles. And the boom seems to come from explosives inside the car.

I think this is more realistic:

[Smaragdadler]

There is some docu-series in german TV, where they examine if certain things you see again and again in movies whould work in 'real' live. Stuff like, if a Sheriff-Star, Bible or metal bottle could stop a bullet etc.

In one episode they tried to destroy cars by shooting in the fueld tank, but it don't worked...

[Sergei]

Hmm, I guess the video is sliiightly edited. Unless the Gustav fires heat seeking air missiles. And the boom seems to come from explosives inside the car.

NOOOOO!!! Are you telling me that they use TRICKS and SPECIAL EFFECTS on Top Gear? :eek: You crush my world...

[panzermartin]

I'm sorry Sergei, I wanted to enlighten cabal

[Sergei]

There is some docu-series in german TV, where they examine if certain things you see again and again in movies whould work in 'real' live. Stuff like, if a Sheriff-Star, Bible or metal bottle could stop a bullet etc.

In one episode they tried to destroy cars by shooting in the fueld tank, but it don't worked...

You probably mean Myth Busters?

Note: the video link above does not discuss whether cars explode. That has been a subject in two episodes, however.

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode15

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode38

Anyway, can a car explode? I think it can, if the fuel tank is hit with something big enough and there actually is some fuel in the tank and the tank was intact so as to contain pressure. But would that be a big explosion if we assume that the tank is half filled, and how much of it would the car frame block (eg. if you were on the other side from the tank)?

[cabal23]

Nice video. So there was definitely an explosion when the recoiless hit the car. I love how they hit it over and over. A fine video indeed.

[dan/california]

True explosions of the fuel tank are very rare, however you get some spectacular fires when burning gas from one parked car sets off the next one in line. You certainly get fires that you don't want to stand right next to, and LOT of smoke. Whether any of this is a top programming priority is another question.

If I knew there was a war coming my way I would make every effort to park both My car and My self at the relatives place in the sticks, preferably in another country.

[ChrisND]

That's the HEAT shell that goes boom, not the car.

This.

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