What I'm looking forward to (coming from CMx1)

[TexasToast]

Based on a first pass through the manual and the AARs, here is what I'm seeing as the big improvements in the game system, as someone who is coming from CMx1 with no CMSF experience:

+ more detailed infantry orders and team breakdowns

+ greatly enhanced artillery control

+ map resolution and detail (flavor objects!)

+ relative spotting and C2 improvements

+ new victory condition options

+ AI scripting with multiple possible plans

+ new campaign system

+ eye candy: 1-1 modeling, human and equipment animation improvements

+ improved PBEM exchanges

And a few negatives:

- campaigns are only single player (right?)

- limited time frame and forces/equipment (pending modules)

Am I missing anything?

TT

[YankeeDog]

Relative spotting. Single biggest change in the new engine, IMHO. Radically changes a whole range of modeling aspects.

[skelley]

Single biggest change I'm looking forward to is the WWII Setting. 1:1 is good but has its problems. Such as getting your whole squad into firing position instead of just 2 or 3 guys who always are easily suppressed then killed. Then you got to try to move forward again and same thing happens. The action spots probably play a big part in this problem.

[scottie]

Single biggest change I'm looking forward to is the WWII Setting. 1:1 is good but has its problems. Such as getting your whole squad into firing position instead of just 2 or 3 guys who always are easily suppressed then killed. Then you got to try to move forward again and same thing happens. The action spots probably play a big part in this problem.

Agree the action spots are not ideal. Managing individual soldiers to exact position on some occasions would be helpful. Understandable its a limitation of the engine that maybe CMx3 will address. Its not a show stopped though , moving an entire squad is obviously more usable , on some occasion exact placement can make the difference though.

[Wengart]

+ improved PBEM exchanges

I'm not entirely sure how they've been improved. They are often 20mb or bigger and everything must be done manually.

[ClarkWGriswold]

Aside from the obvious eye candy, the thing I'm most looking forward to is the new objective system. The flags in CMx1 are the worst thing about the game, IMO. Most games end up being a "fight to the last man" scenario, with little regard for casualties as long as the flags are taken. Also, I've often "won" a game only to find out it was a draw because my opponent had a squad of men hiding in the woods 30 feet from the flag (while the rest of his force was nearly wiped out, and mine was well preserved).

I think the new objectives will make games a LOT more interesting. You can have the Germans trying to hold a bridge, a crossroads, and a church while the Americans (unbeknownst to the Germans) only have to capture the bridge. You can require the taking of an objective while suffering less than X% casualties. Objectives can overlap without either side knowing what the other needs to accomplish. I definitely see this as the biggest difference as far as play style and game results is concerned.

I'm also glad to be going back to the western front. I like CMBB well enough, but I have more of a connection to playing as/against the Americans. Of course, after two years of CMBN I'm probably going to be begging for T-34/85s and KVs to have a better chance against the big cats.

[Sergei]

I'm not entirely sure how they've been improved. They are often 20mb or bigger and everything must be done manually.

He's comparing to CMx1 where you needed three file transfers per turn.

[ClarkWGriswold]

I'm not entirely sure how they've been improved. They are often 20mb or bigger and everything must be done manually.

The huge size of the PBEM files is a big down side for me, personally. One of the guys I play against lives in the boonies and gets his Internet access via satellite. 100MB turn files are going to suck. But, such is the cost of progress, and it's a small price to pay for tracking virtually every single round and simulating every surface of armed vehicles.

I've actually convinced my CMBB buddies to setup Dropbox accounts so that we can more easily share PBEM files. Actually using email for "play by email" just isn't feasible with files this big, IMO. Maybe I'll have to start calling it PBDB instead.

[stikkypixie]

Single biggest change I'm looking forward to is the WWII Setting. 1:1 is good but has its problems. Such as getting your whole squad into firing position instead of just 2 or 3 guys who always are easily suppressed then killed. Then you got to try to move forward again and same thing happens. The action spots probably play a big part in this problem.

I find this more or less realistic. I always got the impression that it was not easy to get everyone in a firing position.

[ClarkWGriswold]

He's comparing to CMx1 where you needed three file transfers per turn.

Having never played CMx2, I wasn't aware this requirement had changed. I thought needing multiple transfers was pretty much required to prevent cheating or someone seeing the results and then changing their strategy?

[George MC]

Yeah each email you receive gives ya a video to watch, then plot your turn. Waaaay quicker than the old CMX1 system. I've been using a file share provider. Works just fine for me

[ClarkWGriswold]

Yeah each email you receive gives ya a video to watch, then plot your turn. Waaaay quicker than the old CMX1 system.

Nice! Newbies I've introduced to the CMBO/CMBB always seemed to get confused by the fact that some turns you'd watch and move and others you'd only watch.

[DaveyJJ]

I've actually convinced my CMBB buddies to setup Dropbox accounts so that we can more easily share PBEM files. Actually using email for "play by email" just isn't feasible with files this big, IMO. Maybe I'll have to start calling it PBDB instead.

That's funny. I set my "CMBN" Dropbox folder up a week ago anticipating this very need.

[Sergei]

The huge size of the PBEM files is a big down side for me, personally. One of the guys I play against lives in the boonies and gets his Internet access via satellite. 100MB turn files are going to suck. But, such is the cost of progress, and it's a small price to pay for tracking virtually every single round and simulating every surface of armed vehicles.

I think 100MB would be rather extreme. In my PBEM games the file sizes have been between 2 MB and 7 MB, with about reinforced company size forces, lots of action, smoke, etc. Not anything that you need to send on a memory stick to your opponent!

[MikeyD]

greatly enhanced artillery control

I can't talk about CMx1 because that's faded into the past for me. But Normandy took place before the introduction of the VT airburst proximity fuse, and WWII was before everybody and his sister was lnked into the radio net. So artillery control is scaled-back compared to CMSF. So your 'greatly enhanced artillery control' is going to take some practice and some finesse. You fight your men to a crest overlooking the enemy position then discover you've forgot the radio man?... Ooops!

[ClarkWGriswold]

But the artillery in CMBN is much more flexible. You've got point targets for mortars and area targets and firing lines for artillery. Being able to lay artillery along a treeline or down a long trench is awesome.

[Paper Tiger]

OP

- campaigns are only single player (right?)

The campaigns that come with the game will be single player only. However, it is possible to create two-player campaigns with the editor. When creating your campaign script you simply change the [Human Opponent Allowed] parameter to yes (default is no)

[TexasToast]

I can't talk about CMx1 because that's faded into the past for me. But Normandy took place before the introduction of the VT airburst proximity fuse, and WWII was before everybody and his sister was lnked into the radio net. So artillery control is scaled-back compared to CMSF. So your 'greatly enhanced artillery control' is going to take some practice and some finesse. You fight your men to a crest overlooking the enemy position then discover you've forgot the radio man?... Ooops!

I'll make sure to keep that radio geek handy.

Aside from different target types, I'm also interested in the options for preset intensities and durations. I recall a lot of short target shifts and other shenanigans to extend a fire mission in CMx1, not to mention accidentally running out the ammo for forgetting to call it off.

[TexasToast]

The campaigns that come with the game will be single player only. However, it is possible to create two-player campaigns with the editor. When creating your campaign script you simply change the [Human Opponent Allowed] parameter to yes (default is no)

Thanks for that info, the manual seems to imply otherwise (p49: "A Campaign is a single player game...") but it wasn't entirely clear to me.

[ClarkWGriswold]

I think 100MB would be rather extreme. In my PBEM games the file sizes have been between 2 MB and 7 MB, with about reinforced company size forces, lots of action, smoke, etc. Not anything that you need to send on a memory stick to your opponent!

I was exaggerating when I said 100MB, but compared to CMx1 the turn files are huge. CMBB takes an awful lot going on to get a PBEM file over 700KB. I remember seeing one thread here where the CMBN files were 2-10MB, with the average being somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-ish. If you're playing a 60 minute game, that's 300MB up- and down-stream. Not a biggie for most people, but anyone on satellite, modem, slow DSL (me), etc. is going to have plenty of time for coffee breaks between turns.

That actually brings up a thought... what sort of bandwidth is required for real-time head to head play? I didn't see it mentioned in the manual, but I'm only up to page 90 or so. I also wonder what happens in a real-time game if your network slows below the required threshold.

[Sivodsi]

I'm not entirely sure how they've been improved. They are often 20mb or bigger and everything must be done manually.

- actually, as a prior PBEM Helper user I've found that CMSF's PBEMs can be as easy to do.

1. Put shortcuts to the "incoming" and "outgoing" e-mail folders on your desktop for ease of management. CMSF still doesn't allow you to delete files from within the game, and I don't expect CMBN will let you do this either

2. Use firefox and install the add-on "Save link in folder" - currently in version 1.5.4 (thanks to Sergei for this tip).

3. In "Save link in folder" set up CMBN's "Incoming e-mail" as one of your folders.

4. Get an account at "sendthisfile.com" or use Gmail for smaller files

So, when you get a file a box pops up asking you what to do with it. "save link in folder" gives you a drop down box from which you select CMBN's folder, and it saves it directly there.

Then just fire up CM and you will find your PBEM file in 'saved game' waiting for you to play it.

The other good thing about CMX2 is that when you come to save your PBEM it automatically numbers it.

Overall, I think you'll find the PBEM system is superior to CMX1, PBEM helper or not. Sure, you have bigger files, but so long as you have a reasonable internet connection its a breeze to use.

[ClarkWGriswold]

Is there any way to change the directory that CMBN/CMSF saves and loads PBEM files to/from? It would be really great to set the default folder to my Dropbox/CMBN folder and not have to ever mess with copying files around.

[GreenAsJade]

I was exaggerating when I said 100MB, but compared to CMx1 the turn files are huge. CMBB takes an awful lot going on to get a PBEM file over 700KB.

My current WeBob Birthday Bash 9 Tourney CMAK turn files are 2-3M when there's a movie..

GaJ

[DLaurier]

I still play CMBB and CMAK. (actualy in the middle of a CMBB opperation now)

I'm looking forward to more flexible squads, more realistic on map artilery, and those french waitresses who never do up those top few buttons.

[dieseltaylor]

Overall, I think you'll find the PBEM system is superior to CMX1, PBEM helper or not.

Given that PBEMHelper also allowed you to get two films and two moves per e-mail, and to watch all the films quickly I think the claim above wrong. Completely.

Arguably the wider adoption of Helper, and trusted modes in particular would have been a great boon to the game and the players. Excepting of course Mac players.