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I tried playing it today....I really tried. My first impression....compared to CMBO/CMBB/CMAK..........CMSF sucks. Hoping it's just the learning curve. I've already preordered CM Battle for Normandy. Please tell me I didn't waste my money.

Em, if your impression was that unfavorable, maybe you should have waited for the demo?

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I tried playing it today....I really tried. My first impression....compared to CMBO/CMBB/CMAK..........CMSF sucks. Hoping it's just the learning curve.

I bet its learning curve. I was put off by it at first, but play around with it. Print off the manual, read the command and info panel descriptions, then fool around in game with some of it. The more familiar I became with the interface and the commands, the better I liked it.

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I bet its learning curve. I was put off by it at first, but play around with it. Print off the manual, read the command and info panel descriptions, then fool around in game with some of it. The more familiar I became with the interface and the commands, the better I liked it.

Good. To be honest, I really don't care for modern combat simulations, but thought I would purchase the basic CMSF game so I could become familiar with the engine before Battle for Normandy arrives in a couple of weeks. After all, $45 is not a large purchase to us "old guys". I'll give CMSF another shot, when I get the time.....but the "magic" of CMBO is definitely not there for me. No harm, no foul, if CM BfN gives me the same gaming experience as the CMx1 games did.

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Good. To be honest, I really don't care for modern combat simulations, but thought I would purchase the basic CMSF game so I could become familiar with the engine before Battle for Normandy arrives in a couple of weeks. After all, $45 is not a large purchase to us "old guys". I'll give CMSF another shot, when I get the time.....but the "magic" of CMBO is definitely not there for me. No harm, no foul, if CM BfN gives me the same gaming experience as the CMx1 games did.

To be fair, I greatly enjoy CMSF, but the base game alone really doesn't have the 'magic' of CMBB (my personal intro to the series). One or two user made scenarios were pretty good, but the US army base game lacked something. The marines and brit modules on the other hand play very differently, and do have that ol' magic (again, IMHO). I think it is a combination of a) more patches improving things, B) less off the all-consuming insta-kill everything of the base game (particularly the British forces) and c) a steady rate of improvement in the scenarios available.

So while CMSF will get you used to the interface and how the 1:1 mechanics work in practice, I don't think it will bear much resemblance to the feel of CMBN. Just the extra equipment and TO&E of the modules changed the game massively. With the WWII setting back, and more engine improvements, I don't think the base CMSF experience is much of a guide to how CMBN will play out.

All a subjective opinion of course.

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Downloaded demo for CM:SF Friday, bought CM:SF and Marines bundle on Saturday why didnt someone tell me how good this was earlier, really enjoying it :)

Once I got past the first 4 download failures and figure I had to turn my anti-virus off I was sweet

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To be fair, I greatly enjoy CMSF, but the base game alone really doesn't have the 'magic' of CMBB (my personal intro to the series). One or two user made scenarios were pretty good, but the US army base game lacked something. The marines and brit modules on the other hand play very differently, and do have that ol' magic (again, IMHO). I think it is a combination of a) more patches improving things, B) less off the all-consuming insta-kill everything of the base game (particularly the British forces) and c) a steady rate of improvement in the scenarios available.

So while CMSF will get you used to the interface and how the 1:1 mechanics work in practice, I don't think it will bear much resemblance to the feel of CMBN. Just the extra equipment and TO&E of the modules changed the game massively. With the WWII setting back, and more engine improvements, I don't think the base CMSF experience is much of a guide to how CMBN will play out.

All a subjective opinion of course.

Thank you. This answer was what I wanted (needed) to hear. I will not waste any more of my money on the "modern" CM series. If CMBfN sparks that "magic" again for me, I'll purchase all the sequels. If not...then "game over". Appreciate your input, Vulture.

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I tried playing it today....I really tried. My first impression....compared to CMBO/CMBB/CMAK..........CMSF sucks. Hoping it's just the learning curve. I've already preordered CM Battle for Normandy. Please tell me I didn't waste my money.

" a learning curve " is about right. Took me a while to enjoy it coming from CMAK but after some time and reading about how great the CMx2 engine is i would honestly never look at CMx1 every again , CMx1 just seams like a waste of time to me know knowing that CMx1 is engineered and CMx2 recreates the environmental variables.

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"Magic" has a lot to do with the player's connection with the subject matter. There's a lot of WW2 fans who have really liked playing CM:SF, but it's kinda like having a really good 40th birthday party. It's good and all, but man... compared to that 21st birthday party with the drinking, strippers, and that dude with the goat... well, it really is hard to compare in some ways :D

CM:BN might not even recapture all the "magic" for some people, yet they really like it. That's because when a person first found CM they might have never even imagined a 3D wargame. For some their heads nearly exploded, despite the relatively primitive graphics. That's pretty much a one time event that is going to be pretty hard to top.

I think of the recent FPS games out there. Awesome stuff... totally immersive, liquid smooth, etc. But nothing will ever likely top my experience with Marathon 1 when it came out, despite that being nearly 18 years ago. The key here is I don't let those fond, and in some ways idealized memories, stop me from having a really excellent time with a really good FPS.

Steve

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Good answer, Steve. For me it was Doom, not Marathon, but I get your point.

"For some their heads nearly exploded" probably describes me when I first played the CMBO demo. I guess I should never expect that again, just like, despite the fact that modern FPS are light years ahead of Doom, probably none of them will ever equal that day in 1993 for me, and no MMO will ever grab me like EQ did, etc., etc.

I'll give CMSF another go next weekend. I probably just need to familiarize myself with the interface better to get more enjoyment out of it. It's pretty damn lethal....that I found out quickly.

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it's kinda like having a really good 40th birthday party. It's good and all, but man... compared to that 21st birthday party with the drinking, strippers, and that dude with the goat... well, it really is hard to compare in some ways :D

Well, Steve, I don't know if you come from old money or pledged an old money fraternity, but when I was 21, the only way I would have been able to attend those kinds of parties would have been being the stripper or that dude with the goat.

As to the OP, I will definitely be back in Ramadi again after I've spent a few months in Normandy.

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That's because when a person first found CM they might have never even imagined a 3D wargame. For some their heads nearly exploded, despite the relatively primitive graphics. That's pretty much a one time event that is going to be pretty hard to top.

Steve

This was me in when the beta Demo was released in October 1999 :eek:

I have never been disappointed in any of the CM releases yet.:P

CMSF wasn't WWII, but what a leap forward!

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I'll give CMSF another go next weekend. I probably just need to familiarize myself with the interface better to get more enjoyment out of it. It's pretty damn lethal....that I found out quickly.

Please do. The biggest difference in modern vs WWII is that with SF, practically anything that is in LOS can be killed in seconds.

The lack of lethality and corresponding length of time in BN armor duels will be a nice change from the laser accuracy and instakills in SF, but sometimes it's nice to play with the incredible power of today's weapons. It's a great challenge to complete your objective without the ability to press on through high casualties, due to a totally different political situation.

One more thing, I suggest you get the hotkeys.txt mod to make the commands more what you're probably used to from BB and AK.

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Plus, if you get tired of the asymmetrical aspect of Blue vs Red (although playing as the Brits against T-90s and Syrian special forces doesn't always feel too asymmetrical!), give Red vs Red a try - there are some excellent RvR user made scenarios and campaigns available out there, and the lethality is dialled down a notch or two. As others have said, CMA is an excellent 'middle ground' between WW2 and modern, but even more niche I suppose.

Still, some people will just never enjoy modern as much as WW2 for whatever reason. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who does - when CMBN comes out I'll get to play 3 excellent wargames so I'm having three times as much fun - lucky me!

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Good answer, Steve. For me it was Doom, not Marathon, but I get your point.

"For some their heads nearly exploded" probably describes me when I first played the CMBO demo. I guess I should never expect that again, just like, despite the fact that modern FPS are light years ahead of Doom, probably none of them will ever equal that day in 1993 for me, and no MMO will ever grab me like EQ did, etc., etc.

I'll give CMSF another go next weekend. I probably just need to familiarize myself with the interface better to get more enjoyment out of it. It's pretty damn lethal....that I found out quickly.

My hotkeys are in a sticky on the CMSF forum - they're better for old CM1-ers.

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Still, some people will just never enjoy modern as much as WW2 for whatever reason. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who does - when CMBN comes out I'll get to play 3 excellent wargames so I'm having three times as much fun - lucky me!

Yeah, I'm good with any setting to be honest :) The T-90's will always keep me coming back too.

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I tried playing it today....I really tried. My first impression....compared to CMBO/CMBB/CMAK..........CMSF sucks. Hoping it's just the learning curve. I've already preordered CM Battle for Normandy. Please tell me I didn't waste my money.

In my opinion if you didn't like the way CMSF plays your not going to like the way CMBN plays...as it's the same with different weapons\enviroment...

You also need to play a user made scenario...as the series is only as good as the scenario maker...and BF admits the first game scenarios are nothing compared to the later ones...

Still I will be very surprised you will like CMBN if you think CMSF sucks...

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What doesn't help the attractiveness of the base CMSF game is that Strykers are really ugly vehicles with their extended armour grids.

Abrams and Bradleys look OK, but in most scenarios you will have to play with those Strykers.

The other modules offer much more attractive looking AFV's (although the Stryker is tougher than most of those).

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