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First Impressions (CM:BN Full Release)


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3) I seem to recollect that you Yankee chappies pulled off a very notable feat of arms at a place called Saint Mere Eglise. For some reason this does not seem to have been included in CMN. If there are any scenario/campaign designers out there who are prepared to repair this omission, I am sure that they would earn a huge vote of thanks.

SLR

Might want check what town The Road to Montebourg goes through, or where Col. Edson Raff's task force was headed on D-Day. ;)

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The German opposition in St Mere Eglise were paratroopers which aren't included in the game. Also the town was taken when the Germans had gone back to bed form what I read, so the interesting part of the action would actually be a German counterattack against the paras defending the town.

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Had my pre-order DL for a short while now, very much enjoying it (CMx1 player, no shock force experience). Played through Task Force Raff campaign and a couple other scenarios, found them all to be very well-concieved and a lot of fun.

First impressions:

- general presentation much improved

- list of scenarios included a little bit anemic (I know.. 'the community will make more', but I can't lie, I was a bit dissapointed), QB system truly excellent

- maybe this is the engine I've always been waiting for, there is no substitute for real-time and 1:1 (preferred Close Combat to CMx1 in many ways). Super-happy WeGo remains, even if it is a little redundant :D

- love the relative spotting and C2, good stuff

- AI plans make a big difference to gameplay.. AI manages half-decent attacks (good enough to demand some sort of tactical response so far in my experience) and appears to have an uncanny ability to make you suffer when using artillery, all-round I give it the 'good enough' stamp... though largely due to scenario designer's worthy efforts, but hey, it works - how often do we get to say that as wargamers?

- vehicle models are exquisite, movement looks pretty real; on the downside, the way they rock about after firing is kinda ridiculous - toy-like, that's all I'll say about that

- artillery is deliciously lethal, played Le Desert scenarios as Germans, my tactical plans largely failed miserably (on mines and bocage), but my off-map mortars and howitzers swept the town like a broom; it was serious business, and I began to fret about playing humans at this game, it will be terrible - and properly so. Please find a way of displaying casualties for off-map support after a battle

- pathfinding is pretty good, before I started playing I did not expect to trust it to the degree I do now. I like the way vehicles show awareness of impending snarl-ups and try to give way to each other, perhaps the priority and pausing of the vehicle giving way could use work.. sometimes it can get a little comical with vehicles spasmodically stopping and starting in a: 'you first' 'no you' 'no you, I insist' kinda loop.. things work themselves out, but it's not ideal (it needs to make a firm decision - do I give way or keep going? If I give way, for how long should I delay?)

- 'buddy-aid' is the greatest

- I loathe relative hotkeys, alternatives should be defaulted.. your call though. Ever thought about an MMO-style system where one can assign orders, units etc to a hotbar and access them using number keys? Being able to map things on the fly in battle would be of great benefit for the flow of real-time gameplay - I press 1, I have access to my forward observer or targeting line of overwatching gun without undue hassle, etc - I'd really love that

- I'd like to be able to hide the UI in-battle (maybe I just don't know how, I hope so). If you were to steal the system from CC (unit status and ammo displays can be summoned and dismissed with hotkeys - if you only care about ammo, just have that, or just display unit status, etc) that would be fine with me

- sometimes I see very small bugs, like dead guys lying contorted vertically off the ground, or guys marching along normally, but at an unusual angle to the ground (tilted back 15-20 degrees), the odd floaty weapon; gladly these bugs so far exclusively fall into the 'charmingly quirky' category rather than 'game-breaking'

- I want to play more, in fact I am addicted already.. slavishly awaiting new content. Code seems very mature and has everything I want in a tactical wargame, and more - I bet team BF is chuffed with this product, I would be - cheers, this one is definately a keeper

:cool:

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The German opposition in St Mere Eglise were paratroopers which aren't included in the game. Also the town was taken when the Germans had gone back to bed form what I read, so the interesting part of the action would actually be a German counterattack against the paras defending the town.

I just looked in the Scenario editor and saw that Airborne infantry are included

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I like the quick battles. Lots of different scenarios and maps you can do.

I did a small recon and both sides were down to less than 5 men!!! I Couldn't clear out the last Germans resisting fiercly with their submachine guns. Even tried charging the FO team I had left included in the 5 men. Had to end it by cease fire. But I won cus' I had the objective (the town)

Been playing wargames since the 70's but I never cared for any of the WEGO...or "plot and watch" as I put it, including the CM series.

However with RT this game is very impressive.

Has to be the best game in this genre by leaps and bound.

Called in a strafe P51. Heard it but didn't see it. Nor saw any strafing..

The detail is outstanding!

I wonder what folks think is more realistic..turn or RT?

I would guess turn based since the orders are already given for a certain amount of time... but RT is more fun:)

Oh and saw the tree leaves blow. Checked weather and it was a strong wind. Blowing leaves...are you kidding me!:)

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- sometimes I see very small bugs, like dead guys lying contorted vertically off the ground, or guys marching along normally, but at an unusual angle to the ground (tilted back 15-20 degrees), the odd floaty weapon; gladly these bugs so far exclusively fall into the 'charmingly quirky' category rather than 'game-breaking'

Good thoughts LemuelG,

Can you send me a saved movie file of the above issue so I can have look at it (a FRAPS ingame snapshot = added bonus) as well as what system + video card + drivers you run CMBN on. I assume it's PC and not Mac?

My email/PM details are in my profile.

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Having a ton of fun. Been away from the CM series for a couple of years aside from briefly playing CMSF. I'm very happy with what I am seeing here so far. Still learning the ins and outs of controlling the units and the camera to my satisfaction.

We must all remember this is the first module of a multi part release. Many of my favorite units aren't in the game yet, but I can sure see the potential here as a scenario designer. I can remember after CMAK was released going back and redoing my old CMBO scenarios with the additional vehicles, details and goodies.

Kudos to BF!

JW

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Having a ton of fun. Been away from the CM series for a couple of years aside from briefly playing CMSF. I'm very happy with what I am seeing here so far. Still learning the ins and outs of controlling the units and the camera to my satisfaction.

We must all remember this is the first module of a multi part release. Many of my favorite units aren't in the game yet, but I can sure see the potential here as a scenario designer. I can remember after CMAK was released going back and redoing my old CMBO scenarios with the additional vehicles, details and goodies.

Kudos to BF!

JW

Welcome back Spoon!
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All I can say is that it has started to feel like the first contact with CMx1. Addiction.

I'm only missing a pasuing system in online mode. The details are so awesome that its a pitty to lose them in the chaos of action. I still prefer it RT but a time out system (or a time point pool like chess) would make this great game just perfect.

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I believe the game is awesome but there are 3 things the game lacks:

1) Stratmap.

3) Why can't I mod the data!!!!!???

Do a search in the old CMBO forums...then try CMBB and CMAK...then search again in the CMSF forums and you will find about 10 years and a couple hundred thousand words worth of reasons from Steve about why.

The short answer is it will never, ever happen. They don't want people screwing with the underlying data and fracturing the community with 8 million versions of things. Hopefully he won't get dragged into explaining it for the thousandth time. It's a very old, long argument that pops every now and again. Anyway, you can still mod the graphics so that's something.

BTW welcome and enjoy the game...lots of cool stuff going on!

Mord.

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Not what I expected in any way.

Combat works well wrt what my frame of mind is. I didn't go look for trouble but don't plan to do so unless I want to debug something that seems out of whack.

Movement is what I envision it should be. Speed, tiring and casualties from fast moves into unsafe areas are all what I think CMx1 should have been in the first place. Makes me wonder how many hours of my life I wasted in CMx1.

The graphics look much worse than I thought. LOD is really naive.

The UI is all out of whack. Muscle memory will kick in so this isn't a game stopper for me. But I am concerned about new users giving up before than can happen. Big community would be better than small one.

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I have been playing these games since CMBO. All I can say is WOW!. This is the best yet.

I am amazed at how well the troops respond to commands. I find it is often not necessary to micro manage. In Devon 3 the assault forces stay inside the trench and can be worked around the OBJ. In TF Raff 1 a move-platoon group command to the North Field sends the whole platoon down the road and through the correct gap in the hedge. What a deal.

When something does not work for me, I usually find there is a reason. For instance, the mortars were out of contact in TF Raff mission first mission. What am I doing wrong? Oh, the platoon leaders don't have radios and the OP has lousy LOS.

So I departed from the Game Manual and sent the mortars with the rifle platoons.

Steve and All, Great Job!

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I just completed my first battle. Well... I admit I thought the game had less content than it actually has. I am pleased, so far, with CMBN. It ain't no SF-clone-with-crappier-weapons.

I now have great expectations for the other WW2 CMx2 modules and games. The only downside is that it will take many years to make them all.

One may always hope to see all CMBN modules by the end of this year and the new Bagration game (and modules) by the end of 2012! :D

But I'm afraid my schedule it a little too optimistic... ;)

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This game takes up all of my free time now.

The campaigns are exciting. I didn't get to try SF as I have been a Mac guy for a while now. I always feel that I have lost more men than I really have. Maybe its because when I see a spot littered with bodies I'm still thinking its the larry, curly, moe representation.

After a few days of playing, I think I am starting to get a hang of this bocage situation and am enjoying. I've had some devastating close combat go on. There really is no better feeling than flanking some germans and catching them in an open field.

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