First Impressions

[spinkick]

Pour some engine oil into the processor bay and switch the voltage on the power supply, place your computer in the backyard for 24 hours and turn it on. If it does not run you now have hardware problems.

LOL. I'm going to try this at work.

[BigJ62]

I'm going to lean towards NO because your system is really weak.

I posted my specs earlyer with the question"will my system handle the game"?

I was hoping the silence was a "yes"

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 System Model: OptiPlex GX270

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A04

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz

Memory: 1022MB RAM

Page File: 357MB used, 2107MB available

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Card name: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

Manufacturer: Intel Corporation

Chip type: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

DAC type: Internal

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2572&SUBSYS_01511028&REV_02

Display Memory: 96.0 MB

[Sergei]

Pour some engine oil into the processor bay and switch the voltage on the power supply, place your computer in the backyard for 24 hours and turn it on. If it does not run you now have hardware problems.

Pour your PC case full of honey, then have a starved bear lick it clean. If after that the bear is still hungry, you have a bigger problem at hand.

[Cull]

Pour your PC case full of honey, then have a starved bear lick it clean. If after that the bear is still hungry, you have a bigger problem at hand.

OK that's funny right there.

[Mord]

I posted my specs earlyer with the question"will my system handle the game"?

I was hoping the silence was a "yes"

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 System Model: OptiPlex GX270

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A04

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz

Memory: 1022MB RAM

Page File: 357MB used, 2107MB available

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Card name: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

Manufacturer: Intel Corporation

Chip type: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

DAC type: Internal

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2572&SUBSYS_01511028&REV_02

Display Memory: 96.0 MB

My comp is down so I tried the demo over here at my bro's house...his specs are very close to yours.

WinXP

Pentium 4, 3.19 GHZ, 4cpu

1 gig ram

64 Megs on board video

The demo would run...It actually loaded up faster on his than CMSF used to on mine...just that the down sampling on the models and textures was horrible. I did some testing and set the game graphics to Best/Best but it would only draw textures for about 30 meters or so...couldn't see grass or flowers or anything unless I was right on top of them. Fastest/Fastest blobbed the textures so bad they made the original CMBO textures look like cutting edge stuff. The turns calculated fairly but camera movement was super choppy. He's got no Anti Aliasing at all. I was able to play a couple turns but it was just too ugly and hard to see anything, so I ended up screwing around in the editor.

So, I'd say if you got yourself a good NVIdia card (say 500 to a Gig. which you can get pretty cheap on pricewatch...and maxed your ram...or at least got it up to 2 gigs...you'll be just fine. I'll bet you could get hooked up for around a $100 or so with just the card and an extra gig.

I was running CMSF pretty good with a 500 Meg Nvidia card, 1.5 gigs of ram and an AMD 2.1 dual core.

Mord.

[LeeW]

Finished The road to Berlin. The game play was really good. The AI does a pretty good job handling the tank movement now. The only problem was not knowing which terrain is impassible and thus AI would replot in unexpected ways.

A couple times I saw the tank commanders beating their heads against the front of the turret, looked rather funny.

The water is a little tricky. You don't know what the infantry will do for sure. Some go around and some get in and lay down.

At the end screen I saw that the Germans were mostly conscript, which took some of the air out of my victory.

The Arty was easy to use and I liked the different patterns.

BF has another winner here. It will take many hours to discover all the details they have hidden in the game plus the fun of playing it. Great job guys.

[gunnergoz]

I posted my specs earlyer with the question"will my system handle the game"?

I was hoping the silence was a "yes"

(snip)

As you no doubt read from a couple of other posters, the answer is something like "not the way it is now." You may benefit from a couple more Gigs of RAM and a separate video card with at least 512 MB of video RAM, like was suggested. If you do those things, be sure you install the latest sound and of course video drivers. The drivers that come with the video card may not be the latest, so even after you install from the CD that comes with the card, check the game demo again...if it has graphics glitches, look for newer drivers for the card. I have yet to buy a video card that came with the latest drivers, and they make a big difference.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[sburke]

Just got through Busting the Bocage playing the germans. Pulled a Tactical victory, but to be honest a few minutes in I wasn't even thinking victory conditions. Was too busy fighting a battle. I just can't get over how immersive it is. Even in the first 10 minutes when i thought I was about to get steamrolled, watching the individual efforts just sucks you in. One of my team leaders accounted for 15 of the enemy before finally being gunned down in the sunken roadway trying to retrieve a panzershreck to destroy one of the last few shermans. Another At team was able to sneak up behind a hedgerow bordering the main road. While one of them gunned down an engineer team on the road with his mp, the other nailed the last sherman with a PF, then the two of them machine gunned the Tank crew as they exited. That the tank crew had a thompson didn't do them any good. You guys nailed it, by far the best game I have ever played. And to think this is just the demo! LOL

[Agua]

As you no doubt read from a couple of other posters, the answer is something like "not the way it is now." You may benefit from a couple more Gigs of RAM and a separate video card with at least 512 MB of video RAM, like was suggested. If you do those things, be sure you install the latest sound and of course video drivers. The drivers that come with the video card may not be the latest, so even after you install from the CD that comes with the card, check the game demo again...if it has graphics glitches, look for newer drivers for the card. I have yet to buy a video card that came with the latest drivers, and they make a big difference.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Concur. Another gig of ram but the GPU memory @ 96mb looks really low.

[Battlefront.com]

To make it official...

I posted my specs earlyer with the question"will my system handle the game"?

I was hoping the silence was a "yes"

Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 System Model: OptiPlex GX270

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A04

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz

Memory: 1022MB RAM

Page File: 357MB used, 2107MB available

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Card name: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

Manufacturer: Intel Corporation

Chip type: Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller

DAC type: Internal

Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2572&SUBSYS_01511028&REV_02

Display Memory: 96.0 MB

Nope, not the way you're setup.

Minimum RAM needed is 2GB, suggest 4GB

Minimum VRAM needed is 256MB, suggest 512MB

No idea if a Pentium 4 will handle things adequately, but I'm guessing it might if the other things are fixed up. However, with the age of this computer I'd lean more towards getting a new or slightly used rig. Me, I go with factory refurbs. Huge discounts, warrantee as good as for a new one, and yet maybe only a couple months old.

Steve

[daft]

Firstly, awesome demo. Realy liking the look, feel and sound of BfN. This is going to be one massive game.

Secondly, I was a bit worried that my MacBook (2008) wasn't up up for the task, but the Busting the Bocage tutorial ran smooth as silk, no issues or stutter at all. I cranked all details up and used AA as well, so it looked really nice.

[Claymore]

The first thing I'd like to do is thank Battlefront for their effort at bringing us this new game. According to Battlefront, and it looks true, every bullet and shell is tracked exactly through space to its eventual destination. That destination is no longer the CMx1 abstracted group of troopers but an exact representation of every soldier, nut, and sprocket. This exact modelling was the predominant reason the the CMx2 build was carried out.

I'm enjoying the game, and isn't that the test for a successful game? At least at the beginning, before the niggling details move from distractions to frustrations. That's the big thing to avoid. Frustration.

I think it is arguable that games (or any product really) who fail do so because of they caused some kind of frustration. In its most extreme, the worst case would be a non functioning product which would cause the most frustration of all. Very good products can however be extremely frustrating and that's what CMx2 has been for me. Very good and very frustrating.

I'd be curious to know from Battlefront what was more successful? CMx1 or CMSF? At least from my observations from long distance, CMx1 had a much more enthusiastic following than CMSF.

At this point in my gameplay I believe that Battlefront can be rightly proud that they have created an immersive environment for grogs. The current CMx2 CMBN engine applied to the WWII time-frame where the weapons platforms were much less lethal and one-shot kills were not the rule looks like an excellent beginning. I enjoy tracking individuals through the battlescape (ha! tube-guy!) which gives an almost roleplaying experience in some cases. We did that in CMx1 after all when we examined each

unit at the end of combat to see who scored the most kills. In fact, the CMBN pre-release chatter requested that Battlefront include the same information CMx1 presented (kills, hit locations). The only place I don't see kill information presented right now is for off-board artillery (or am I wrong).

I hope that some of the criticisms that will follow can be addressed in patches, but I believe that most will be impossible to address and will rely upon yet another engine re-write. Unfortunately I think that the ultimate CMBN build, when reached, will still contain a higher level of frustration with the mechanics than I would wish. I hope that Battlefront proves me wrong.

I guess most of my disappointment comes from the inability of the player to use the CMx2 as its rules implicitly are devised. Remember, since the projectile tracking is a completely faithful model of the real world environment it is axiomatic that unit position and facing are also needed to be precisely defined.

That last point is the crux of the entire CMx2 raison d'etre. An engine that's entire premise for existence is built on modelling a projectile's exact trajectory information. Unfortunately though, the player cannot position his pieces in anything that resembles a similar level of precision.

For armour v armour battles this is not entirely unsatisfactory. After all some level of imprecision is expected when commanding a vehicle to "go over there and stop". So for vehicle vs. vehicle battles the CMx2 engine works quite well and its limitations seem to be acceptable. I imagine that any quirky behaviour can likely be tempered in patches.

Now however insert troopers into the battlescape. Whether you consider infantry vs infantry or infantry vs armour, the inability to locate units is an extremely frustrating element of gameplay. After all the reality of infantry warfare was that units were positioned to take best advantage of precise fields of fire. However, it is impossible to locate crew service weapons in

anything approaching realism or even acceptable. For example, it is nigh impossible to "keyhole" units (AT guns, HMGs, etc...). You drop a ATG on an action square and the CMx2 engine defines exactly where it's going to be within that 8x8 square. A lot of very important things can happen in an 8x8 square. If you're at one side, maybe that opening in the bocage is within LOS, while if you're where the CMx2 engine forces you, you cannot. CMx1 with all of its abstractions had much better placement abilities.

In the Bocage scenario I've been completely frustrated by being unable to place my MGs and AT guns properly. I can't emplace just over the reverse slope of a crest or at a particular break in the bocage during the setup phase. I'm frustrated in the extreme. Frustrated almost to the point of not wanting to play with infantry at all.

Can we "nudge" the positions in the EDITOR? Can we nudge them in the SETUP? I don't know since the EDITOR doesn't include UNITS for experimenting with placements.

So that's my first impressions after playing the DEMO. Maybe these same sentiments about the engine's limitations have been voiced earlier during CMSF. If so, how did Battlefront respond? I realize that shrinking the action square dimensions will balloon the required processor cycles, but hopefully something can be done to ameliorate the situation.

Cheers all.

[Mord]

The action spots can be a PIA now and again...but once you get used to them and work with the highlight boxes that show you where your guys will set up...it's no so bad...I don't even notice it anymore I am so used to working within the limits of the game. My dudes, having gotten as close to the spot as I can get them, usually end up doing what I need.

Something that may help a bit is; once you get them as close a possible to where you'd like...issue a face command in the direction you want them looking...that might nudge them a bit more.

Mord.

[Soldat-Hans]

Whoow, I unpacked the file, and I see, we have to do a lot! The german sounds were mostly old ones from Cm:"Bo, BB, AK". what is a bad quality for todays time (I mean the sound quality). I will see, what to do, to use better ones and release it as a mod. My first Projekt is new weapon sounds, than the blablabla sound is going to start.

Weapon sounds looks like fast to do. Wha they were so BAAAAAAAAD. Sorry, battlefront, but thats a fact. What, ever, Battlefront concentraits on the simulation, the comunity does the rest.

[ricroma]

Hi,

great great demo/game!

I personally didn't have much time to play (work stuff mixed with the fact that my hard drive decided to break down exactly the day the demo came out!).

I have all the old CMx1 games, but never played CMSF so I guess it will take me some time to get used to all the new stuff/improvements.

So far, my biggest problem concerns unit selection: I play WEGO, still to me is kind of difficult to understand which unit I selected and/or which soldiers are part of the unit I selected. The dots on top of the units don't always help much. They are ok when zoomed out, but they become pretty confusing when zoomed in. I loved the units' "bases" in CMx1 where you could tell in a glance exactly where your units were on the battlefield.

I also find it difficult to recognize the different kind of terrain. But I guess I only need to be more experienced.

And a question: when I give a multi-waypoints order, I'm not able to adjust the orders in the middle. You know the "cone" way points? Well, I can't adjust their positions once I set them. Is this WAD or am I missing something?

Again, all my problems can be simply be a matter of lack of habit or of abundance of stupiity, but still, since battlefront was talking about constructive criticism, I'll try to trow in my opinions.

Thanks and sorry for the long post, trying to pass some time at work...

Ricroma

[Zatoichi]

And a question: when I give a multi-waypoints order, I'm not able to adjust the orders in the middle. You know the "cone" way points? Well, I can't adjust their positions once I set them. Is this WAD or am I missing something?

Unfortunately moveable waypoints have been AWOL since CMSF was released - they are on 'the list' for BFC to implement, but as with all things on that impossibly large list, there's no real way of knowing when they'll have the time to do it.

I've mostly got used to not having them now after years of CMSF, but I quite understand it can be frustrating to have to re-plot complex moves because you want to fine tune things.

[Ozren]

Ok, this is nice and run smoothless, at least in demo missions, but....

Always this but...

When and if ever, we got the options to increase mission time?!? I think the 45 minutes, even 2 hours is too much for this kind of game... Let as missions without time boundaries, or increase it to lets say 4-5 hours?!?

[Ozren]

Hm, not too much I mean...

[mazex]

Returning from a long absence I have to say it's damn nice to get rid of the desert and the US high tech vs men with beards and AK-47:s!

In WW2 it simply feels good being good The enemy is definitely bad wearing evil looking black leather coats and has better weapons to top that! That is something to fight against! Popping a battered Toyota Pickup from an Abrams is quite different to getting a lucky shot on a Panther with your trusty Sherman... And playing Germans can be fun too - you have better stuff including evil looking uniforms and machinery, but too little of it...

And then the terrain... It looks really good in this iteration, and running max on everything it's really smooth (have a high end rig though - 2600k @4.5 and a GTX580). The AI and game mechanics also behave a lot better than I feel I have a right to demand from a computer game developed by a bunch of people that can go in same car on their way to a Friday beer

Thanks a lot BF, and even though I was disappointed at the CM:SF setting I am happy you did that first to iron out the bugs to give us this nice game rather bug free! Bought CM:SF and all expansions to support you but hardly played it at all for the reason on the first row...

/Mazex

[c3k]

I cannot get the demo to run. Keep getting windows error. Any Ideas? Running an I7 920 processor, 8G RAM, Windows 7 Home prem 64-bit, video card is a ATI Radeon HD5770 1024 MB GDDR5. with McAfee anti virus and firewall. I have pre ordered and it is not looking to good right now. please help! I have tried to run as admin as well.

If you're a masochist, follow spinkick's "advice". Otherwise, rest assured that your specs seem very good for the game.

I am NOT a rep of BF.C's tech help branch, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night... Having gotten that out of the way, if all your drivers are more or less up to date, I'd look at two items: the demo download and your antivirus.

If that doesn't work you're left with opening a request for help with BF.C's tech support and having to browse the internet for everyone else's gameplay stories!

Ken

[togi]

very good game..

In I have played against against Yankees with warrior settings, I have got major victory with superior German panzer assets. M10s and shermans can't reach to the town in order to help the defenders. Well positioned and hull downed Panthers are great killers..

After I have played against Krauts with Elite settings , I have got a minor defeat, AI is clever, for example , I had killed one panther with a flank lucky shot from 76 W sherman and after completion of the game that I have seen is crew of the tank occupied the bridge flag . VEry cleverly ..

Thanks to BFC for carrying the flag of good wargamer company to the upper levels.,,

[Sgt Schultz]

Finally got a day off work to play one all the way through.

My first impression...

If I could justify any need at all for a second copy, I would order one now just to support BFC.

Niggling tweaks that are on the list™ aside, in my opinion this sim is a home run in every respect.

The incredible camera control will force me to purchase a new hard drive to hold nothing but fraps of CM turn replays while I imagine I am Mr. Coppola.

Seven to ten minutes in replays per turn. I laugh, I cry, I want to see it again and again.

Two thumbs up sirs!

*

[DLaurier]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say "No, your system is cannot handle this game."

You're well below the suggested minimum on system memory and graphics card especially.

Sorry. I'm pleasantly surprised that my 3.5 year old system (which certainly wasn't anywhere near top of the line in terms of gaming even when I bought it) is running the game pretty well, albeit certainly not at highest detail settings. But my system is still substantially more powerful than yours. I think you're going to have to invest in some new hardware if you want to play CMBN.

Good thing I'm buying a newer computer.

I showed my specs to a nice lady who works in a computer store... she was amazed I could play some of the games I do play.

$100 deposit yesterday, and the rest over the next few weeks.

I'll buy the game in july.

[akd]

Ok, this is nice and run smoothless, at least in demo missions, but....

Always this but...

When and if ever, we got the options to increase mission time?!? I think the 45 minutes, even 2 hours is too much for this kind of game... Let as missions without time boundaries, or increase it to lets say 4-5 hours?!?

Problem is that scenarios are made with AI plans tied to time triggers. Changing the time for a scenario could significantly hobble the AI, or deny a player reinforcements set to arrive at a certain time, etc. This would break many of the finally balanced scenarios and campaigns in the game.

Quick battles are different and you can select any time length you want between 30 min to 2hr for any size battle.

But if you really want to change the length of a standalone scenario, you can open it in the editor and set the length up to 4 hrs. However, then you are responsible if the scenario becomes very easy or everyone runs out of ammo after 2 hrs.

[DLaurier]

To make it official...

Nope, not the way you're setup.

Minimum RAM needed is 2GB, suggest 4GB

Minimum VRAM needed is 256MB, suggest 512MB

No idea if a Pentium 4 will handle things adequately, but I'm guessing it might if the other things are fixed up. However, with the age of this computer I'd lean more towards getting a new or slightly used rig. Me, I go with factory refurbs. Huge discounts, warrantee as good as for a new one, and yet maybe only a couple months old.

Steve

Wadda ya mean my vintage machine wont keep up with the newer ones... Thanks. I've put money down on a comp that will handle it.

thankyou.

The new one has:

500 gig HD

3 gigs RAM.

512 mb GeForce 8400 GS video

AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual core 2GHz processor

Hopefully that will run things adequately