First Impressions

[Barrold]

After a great deal of intensive internal dialogue after playing the demo and debating the changes from CMX1 I am ready to provide a balanced and nuanced disposition on the quality of the new game and my anticipation for the full release.

It is as follows:

Hootchie Mama!!!!

Great Googlie Mooglie!!!!

Thanks to all those who made this possible.

BFS5

[knightflyer99]

Yeah what he said....

[Budge44]

Love the old Combat Mission games, bought the 1.04 versions (think that makes 3 times i have bought all these games, not gonna ever let em go again though). Not played CMBN demo yet, gonna wait till Steelbox drops through letterbox i think. Still playing Dangerous Water at moment (lovely big blinkin manual, reminded me of Falcon 4's, love biggy manuals lol), dont hear much about DW now, did i buy that game from Battlefront or i am imagining it, first game i bought through internet.

[Cull]

Alright, since we're throwing a bit of everything into this thread....

Just played the "Breaking the Bocage" scenario (the last of the three for me) and wow, some great moments, and I actually managed to score a tactical victory, fulfilling all the objectives save the "limit yourself to 20% casualties" (yeah, like that was going to happen).

Examples: ran a Rhino through a gap in a hedgerow, and directly onto mines. Crew bails and gets ambushed by (unseen) Germans on either side of the gap, just feet away. Four are immediately KIA/WIA, but the last crewman sprints like crazy through the withering fire and heads for an empty trench behind a hedgerow opposite....and gets cut down mere feet from safety. Traumatic to watch, but also very dramatic; it was straight out of the movies (wait, is that good? you get my point)

Had an "unseen" HMG (MG42?) giving me hell while trying to get troops across a field. Mortars were unavailable/out of ammo and everything was chaos--- squads pinned down in the open, leaders barely holding things together. Finally managed to race a tank across the field onto the road opposite, swung it down around the corner and sneaked up behind the MG position. Bye bye MG42. So satisfying to see that bastard gone.

All I could think was "Well HELLO THIRD ARMOR!" from the Band of Brothers "Battle of Bloody Gulch" scene

Numerous other dramatic moments. Really a blast overall.

One thing I got annoyed with: getting tanks on roads turned around and headed in the opposite direction was very problematic (as it probably was in those narrow Normandy lanes)---they kept plowing through hedgerow rather than pivoting in place, which ended up immobilizing two of them. Solution is probably to have them change facing and THEN give them move orders; have to try that next time.

Anyway, great times. Can't wait for....Monday?

[mjkerner]

So it's all clicking together for me: RT and a WWII setting which allows for a slower pace yet seems totally realistic, forces which are pretty much even. There wasn't a moment yet since I started playing the demo that I thought: wait a minute, that looks weird or funny or naw, that can't be. There's such a flow to the game, it's unbelievable.

That sums it up for me, too. I never played CMx1, but went the full CMSF route, and been waiting for them to do WWII since. I tried WEGO at first in CMSF, but eventually went RT and can't enjoy WEGO anymore. But I do miss being able to play back moves. Too bad the engine couldn't "record" RT in increments automatically for playback.

[RockinHarry]

So far, I like what I see, particularly graphics, which also give good frame rates on my machine. Some problems I have is with the sounds, as mentioned elsewhere. While playing the CtP scenario I also had problems with the 6 men german HMG squads, whose members do not position themselves intelligently. They positioned in sort of "line formation" with all crew members forward and ammo bearers engaging the enemy with there rifles at ranges that I wouldn´t consider emergency (above 300m or so). Normally just half the crew would be operating the HMG, with the remaining members keeping somewhat to the rear and concealed if terrain permits. Whished one could "split" those HMG teams as well, in order to keep the exposure of the whole squad low.

The "cowering" animation also lacks a bit. What´s yet mssing is crying for mummy voice file and ****ting pants textures. Seriously, a pinned soldier just makes it flat with the ground and does not roll sidewards to increase silhouette. Basic soldier training actually.

Infantry squad members s/b way more dispersed, but I understand the problem for coding that micro path finding. Maybe it gets hopefully solved in later CMX2 revisions.

I love the map editor functionalty and too sad, I couldn´t save my first map making attempts.

Is there any foxholes or trenches anywhere in the Demo scenarios? I´ve particularly had a look for those, but couldn´t find some.

Dust clouds look more like white smoke clouds, but might be my graphics card and driver (Nvidia Geforce GT 240) does not work right. Also when in the editors 3D preview and with weather set to fog or hazy, there´s none.

Spray rifle bullets hitting the ground also look odd sometimes. Either there´s sparking blotches, where you wouldn´t expect some (like very small HE rounds) or there´s sort of large earth fountains when looked at from far away.

[titanwarrior]

The Bocage is a great scenario. Hard to find and see but interesting. Excellent game so far.

[Zatoichi]

Is there any foxholes or trenches anywhere in the Demo scenarios? I´ve particularly had a look for those, but couldn´t find some.

Dust clouds look more like white smoke clouds, but might be my graphics card and driver (Nvidia Geforce GT 240) does not work right. Also when in the editors 3D preview and with weather set to fog or hazy, there´s none.

There are foxholes and trenches in the 'Busting the Bocage' scenario for the Germans - I had a horrible time trying to clear them out when playing as the Yanks! I've not tried that scenario from the German side yet, but the foxholes and trenches are placeable during the setup phase.

As for the missing textures in the editor, it only shipped with the textures that are used in the 3 scenarios in order to cut down on the demo size, so a bunch of things are missing that will be in the full game.

[Stoppelhopser]

Not through the whole demo yet but my impressions:

Favourable

Very nice to play, some very good graphic effects (love it when tree shadows fall on vehicles). Don't have any reasonable niggle so far.

After been massively disappointed by a most recent flight sim for which I waited six years I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel - and this time its not a train

Can hardly wait for the pre ordered full product now.

[RT North Dakota]

Having been a huge fan of CM1 and still am, I am pretty pleased so far with CMBN. All the basics seem to shine through, and there are some cruel lessons to be learnt.

One thing folks may want to ponder is that the "Bocage" scenario tiny and is fought at incredibly close ranges. Just be "aware."

By far the biggest difference from CM1 is the effect of terrain and trees on spotting and mobility. Now that Tanks can drive into woods, a lot of the comforting assumptions that were certain in CM1 simply go up in smoke. I am deeply impressed by what I see on the terrain front.

Some questions/requests.

1.) A "Follow me," command would make a heck of a difference.

2.) Is there a paved road E-W or N-S tile selection missing? Can't see it.

3.) Will CMBN be the basis for a "terrain and equipment" "War game system?" covering 1902-1973? ... just a thought!

[mjkerner]

2.) Is there a paved road E-W or N-S tile selection missing? Can't see it.

Upper left tile in the tile display area: hit the arrow buttons along the top, above the map area...all the tiles will change to cover different directions. I ahree with your # 31

[akd]

Upper left tile in the tile display area: hit the arrow buttons along the top, above the map area...all the tiles will change to cover different directions. I ahree with your # 31

Or you can left click while holding CTRL anywhere on the map area and the orientation will change.

[MikeyD]

Is there a paved road E-W or N-S tile selection missing? Can't see it.

You got me thinking, perhaps I should construct a 'how to build roads/railroads' PDF tutorial like what I did with the (very much more difficult) highway tiles. CMSF people are of course familiar with how to do it but there's going to be a big influx of people entirely unfamiliar with the process for CM:BN.

In the full game you'll have the benefit of being able to import finished maps in the editor to see exactly how they built the roads.

[Broadsword56]

You got me thinking, perhaps I should construct a 'how to build roads/railroads' PDF tutorial like what I did with the (very much more difficult) highway tiles. CMSF people are of course familiar with how to do it but there's going to be a big influx of people entirely unfamiliar with the process for CM:BN.

+1 Yes, please!

[sburke]

You got me thinking, perhaps I should construct a 'how to build roads/railroads' PDF tutorial like what I did with the (very much more difficult) highway tiles. CMSF people are of course familiar with how to do it but there's going to be a big influx of people entirely unfamiliar with the process for CM:BN.

In the full game you'll have the benefit of being able to import finished maps in the editor to see exactly how they built the roads.

That would be outstanding. Have played with the CMSF editor quite a bit and learned a lot through simple trial and error, but my satisfaction level is not quite what I think it could be.

Really appreciate all your efforts to help us get the most out of CMBN.

[BigJ62]

Yes more guides please.

[portvale]

Ive posted before and pretty much played the demo to death now and i wasnt a fan of CM:SF ( ok but nowhere near as much fun as CM:AK ) and I dont like rt but cant see anything on the AI which causes concern I just hope that the game when released is not tank heavy and the british module is released soonish.

[Lt Belenko]

First Impressions:

1. First of all I am impressed.

2. On second thought refer to number 1.

[Drescher]

Just dropping in to express my appreciation for this game. A work of love and art. Outstanding! Now give us back those cover armour arcs...

[kip]

This is really good. I will purchase this for sure. Thanks for the good times to come.

[Kelly's Heros]

Runs great on my Win7 64 machine with a Nvidia 460 card, quad 6600 and 8GB ram. Runs very fast and smooth.

Pros:

Great looking scenery and models. Best I've seen in any comparable games.

Performs well

A lot of sounds and commentary from the troops

I like RT, so this is nice also.

Sound effects are imerrsive and enjoyable

Troop movement in general is very realistic, combat so far appears to be modeled well

The Strat AI appears to be intelligent

It's fun to play and I'll buy it

Cons:

Some of the animations need tweaking, not sure if this is the demo (mortar teams seem to do some weird things).

Vehicle movement needs micromanagement. I'm kind of surprised by this. Instead of reversing to a location and then turning and moving, tanks will slowly rotate and get stuck on narrow roads when they are directed to move in the opposite direction.

hotkeys don't work depending on which submenu you are on, this is strange and makes RT difficult

Overall, hotkey labeling is un-intuitive - I hope this can be reassigned.

It's still CMSF with a WW2 slant. Artillery sounds like modern radio communication and some of the issues from CFSF have not been corrected.

I would absolutely play this over the CMx1 games, so it is a big step forward from that generation. I look forward to the engine improvements as Steve and his team improve on CMx2 in the coming months and years.

[Echo]

I just had several runs through the demo. Excellent representation of bocage fighting, you really nailed it. Grenades flying, MP44s shooting through the bush, Panzerfausts taking out armor at point blank range, and one wild assed tank crewman who jumped out with .45 and shot 2 of my men before running to the rear. I think it was George Patton.

The best rifle in the game, American M1 Garands fire too slow. Slow is good for long shot, but at close range, you would never know they were semi-auto rifles. They should be unloading those 8 rounds as fast as they can and reloading. They fire like they are bolt action rifles.

[Doug Williams]

Uninstalled the demo today. I'll wait for the full game before deciding if it's worth playing or not. So far...CMx1 wins..as far as being a fun game to play. With that said....Quick Battles are a lot of the fun for me...and those are not present in the demo. So I'll reserve judgement until I get the full CMBN game.

[bram1979]

Any idea when the real game will be released? It says "within the next few days" but any idea???

[Narsus]

Great, just great!