Needed Implements: what do you feel is lacking, is missing, is buggy?

[Statisoris]

I would love to see the two functions below added to defending side setup options.

Camouflage/Conceal: Defender would be assigned camo/conceal points during setup based upon defense type ie against attack, assault ... defense. Assault defender would get max points while probe defense least. Each point allows one unit to be camouflaged/concealed in its position during setup with foliage and other stuff. This would allow for more depth of gameplay in defense such as effective ambushes with large caliber AT guns and or armored vehicles such as Stugs, which you always see covered in foliage concealment in old pics.

Dig In/Fortify Position: This would be handled the same way as above with a point system based on defensive situation. It would allow individual units especially infantry to create a tougher fighting position without the need for theI current placeable "foxhole" units. In addition, once units are ordered to dig in/ fortify they can be additionally camouflaged to create a really nice concealed defensive battle position.

The dig in system idea would be sorta like CM1 handled it but more advanced and flexible.

What do you all think?

[Michael Emrys]

Camouflage/Conceal...

Dig In/Fortify Position...

What do you all think?

In terms of desirability, I see no immediate objection. It is up to BFC to comment on how feasible they are within the game.

Michael

[RockinHarry]

Completely unrelated but still in the right thread I think:

I could be wrong but shadows seem to show as normal on maps where it's raining, even if it's a thunderstorm. Not a huge issue, just looks a little funny IMO. Would it be possible to maybe lower the general lighting level by an appropriate amount (maybe depending on whether it's a storm or just rain) if it's raining on a map? Then the shadows wouldn't be as noticeable, right? This would do a lot for the atmosphere of these maps IMO. Maybe even add in lightning flashes. No big deal if it can't/won't get done though, I realize they have more important issues to worry about.

could it be related to this observation?

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=98340

[Gen Von Television]

I would agree to fortifications and concealment, particularly the first one, since the Hide function may already serve the purpose of the second: or are you meaning something different?

I still have to try the Editor: is it possible to place a Bunker inside a building? That would be a fortification, but then you need a pre-made scenario and not points for you to buy such kind of option.

Last night I just finished the Vierville battle: interesting one; again the battle finished 30' before its time, and this is kind of becoming annoying, since I cannot understand why it ended! I wiped out all the Germans from the village and I was bombarding the heights in preparation for my attack, and then I got my Total Victory; examining the map, there were still a few disorganized German units in the woods there, a couple of observers nearby, and a Kubelwagen.

They were not surrendering, and still occupying the high ground, so why the battle stopped? This is unfair: either I should have been notified of their will to surrender and bag them all, or the battle should have gone on to the bitter end (still 30 minutes, remember?); that is to say, I'm always glad to win a Total Victory, but I'm also very much interested in observing in detail how it happened, or eventually why it didn't.

This is kind of puzzling at the moment.

[Agua]

A LOS function feature where any action spot could be selected and all action spots with LOS to that location would be highlighted.

Don't know if this has been mentioned in this thread, but I have seen it suggested somewhere before, and I remember this from the old Campaign Series. Since the game calculates LOS anyway, it would seem that it would not be a great leap to include such a function.

[Gen Von Television]

LOS is... lossy.

You mention a function that seems too gamey for me, but then I also encountered many situations where after reaching a position I couldn't see any reason WHY that unit had NO LOS to a certain point. Kind of tricky matter this aspect. Am I remembering correctly in CMX1 you were anyway able to direct fire to a position outside LOS, but then without any precision at all? I may be wrong...

[Agua]

I don't see it as gamey because it does not give you any benefit that an individual unit would not have in reality and simply speeds up the tedium of giving bogus movement orders then checking a target line from that point. No, a battalion or company commander is not going to be able to say "just over the hill, there's a ridge that will expose you only to that depleted german rifle section and from there you can approach the HMG from 16 meters away", but you're doing that anyway in this game, just you're having to do it the hard way. On the ground, the unit would immediately be able to see these little depressions or rises which escape the player despite eye-straining study of the terrain. So no, I don't see it as gamey in the least, but rather a time saving convenience.

[RockinHarry]

I´d like to see small pneumatic and assault boats included, for smaller tactical river crossings.

[Gen Von Television]

I don't see it as gamey ...

You have my vote!

Maybe that LOS selector should be limited to a distance range...?

Of course here we're just trying to point out what we deem as 'issues' not to discredit the developer and beta testers! They all have done a Great Job and KUDOS to them all. I'm having a lot of fun!

Hopefully they may take notice of some of the feed backs here on the forum, and implement them.

Now for another observation:

those pesky AI Observers! What the heck are they doing? As I noted in Raff Campaign in my previous message, and about those two present in Vierville Battle; three cases where they were doing nothing at all! Good for me, especially in Vierville where not a single Incoming Mail was received by my troops. I found them one seated at the border of the map inside his cushy Kubelwagen, while the other was not far away stranded inside a small wood.

It's also true that eventually they were not able to detect my movements, and I started my off board artillery bombardment only at the end of the game, when my CO HQ finally had a LOS to the Heights. But even so my main force stood for many minutes at the southernmost buildings of Vierville, and that wasn't a difficult target to spot, or so I suppose.

[Gen Von Television]

Oh yes, I almost forgot: in CMX1 you were able to discharge the whole barrage to the TRPs even before any action started, but then you weren't able to correct or suspend it. Not anymore?

[Scipio]

I'm missing burning houses and terraine, too.

I would also like to see damage on vehicels.

Nice, but not important would be a single switch to turn of all 'game helps' from the screen, such as icons, text, compass etc and the control panel for an undisturbed view on the battlefield

[Michael Emrys]

A LOS function feature where any action spot could be selected and all action spots with LOS to that location would be highlighted.

IIRC the explanation for why this hasn't been done is LOS depends on the height of the spotter and the target. Unless you can specify who is doing the spotting and what their posture is, it won't work, i.e., won't provide any useful information.

Michael

[Gen Von Television]

About this LOS tool, how were we using it in CMX1? Wasn't it just to move your sinngled-God-eye on the map at terrain level, activating the tool, and somewhat knowing if from that position were you able to see a specific spot? That would save a lot of frustration, or eventually will lead to more, I cannot say.

[poesel]

What I really miss is an undo button.

I think everyone has done something like: oh, whats this HQ unit (double-click) - oh, battalion commander - lets move a bit forward - aaarrrgh - all my troops move a bit forward. Now I have to click on each of them to remove the last waypoint.

In theory thats a user problem. I should have learned by now. Still, it would be nice if the game also catered for the hard learners...

[Gen Von Television]

Sorry, I'd been mixing up my memories with some other tool now... But I'm still sure I used the LOS too a lot!

[Amizaur]

In the "detailed armor hits" feature: would be nice, if hits from small arms were displayed in white text, and hits from AT weapons were displayed with red text - or something like that.

Sometimes a tank takes multiple hits from many weapons firing at it, every one hit is shown (for example hits from MG) and it's somewhat difficult to notice the dangerous hits from heavier weapons.

[Erwin]

Would love to see a return of some of the CM1 features:

1) Ability to turn off the undergrowth. The tree stump idea is fine, but the rest of the undergrowth is still so thick I often lose units, esp WIA.

2) In-game brightness/gamma controls. The night scenarios are too dark and I have to constantly wank around with my nVidia controls to get the contrast, gamma, digital vibrance and brightness just right so I can see something AND keep the game looking good.

3) A better (more easily understandable/more intuitive) way to indicate C2 between HQ's and units.

Also:

A reduction in the pro US bias. It is SO easy to kill German armor etc in this game that one wonders what the problem was in WW2 - you'd think the US had radar-controlled guns and that the German equipment esp their Panthers etc were as bad as the Italian stuff we used to laugh at in CMAK. It reminds me of most of the first person action shooter wrist twitch games, where the AI-controlled units could see and shoot at you over ridiculous distances and kill you b4 you knew what was happening. Newbie players will probably wonder why the Allies didn't get to Berlin in two weeks.

Panzers Marche was a particularly disappointing campaign as the German player: The first three scenarios were fine, but the last one was basically a massacre in which all the German human player can do is attempt to exit units before everyone was killed by the 4:1 Allied odds. Maybe fun for the Allied AI, but not entertaining at all as a German campaign. Why even bother with that battle??

It's also still frustrating that units will not fire for unknown reasons at enemies that are easily in LOS - The LOS AI whatsit still down't work right. So what's the point of this realism when the gameplay has not improved significantly if at all over CM1 (or CMSF for that matter).

CMBN is a wonder of improved AI technology and the graphics are terrific so long as you are at level 1 or 2. But above that it doesn't look that much better than a well-modded CM1 game. I want to enjoy playing more CMBN scenarios and campaigns, but find myself hankering for CMSF and CM1 games more and more.

I want to support BFC as they are the only company making interesting games like this. But, I just don't understand the programming priorities. I worry about eye-candy starting to take the place of improved gameplay.

[Statisoris]

Would be cool to still be able to see all the damaged systems and stuff on knocked out/destroyed/abandoned vehicles in the after action battlefield review. I want to see what damage my 75mm shermans were able to do in those 20 hits on that Tiger I before the crew bailed. At present all that info is blacked out if there is no longer a crew manning the vehicle after the battle ends.

[LemuelG]

Also:

A reduction in the pro US bias. It is SO easy to kill German armor etc in this game that one wonders what the problem was in WW2

Oh dang, I laughed - wasn't expecting that! Wait for those 17-pounders to show up before you start complaining; not enough uber in your mensch?

[Michael Emrys]

3) A better (more easily understandable/more intuitive) way to indicate C2 between HQ's and units.

I've been thinking about this and decided that what I'd like to see is an organization tree showing every single unit in your force together with lines of subordination. This should occupy a full page of the briefing and thus be available to the player at any point in the game.

Michael

[BloodyBucket]

I'd like to see an in-game gamma adjustment.

The idea of a T/O and E page in the briefing that showed current C2 and was clickable back to the map would be nice.

Oh, and a listing for casualties caused by off map support at the end of a game.

[Michael Emrys]

The idea of a T/O and E page in the briefing that showed current C2 and was clickable back to the map would be nice.

Forgot to mention that part. Yes, clicking on any unit in the chart would take you to it on the map.

Another thing that would be useful would be color coding the lines of subordination on the chart so that you could tell at a glance who was in C2 and who wasn't at that moment.

Michael

[rkyfat]

As a newbie I have the following suggestions/ideas:

1. What about boats? I have seen a couple of very promising maps on these forums of people trying to recreate the Normandy beach landings. I have not yet come accross a game that actually achieves a reaslistic portrayal of these events and can't help thinking that CMBN has the potential to achieve this. In particular overcoming some of the issues with the actual landings (ship artillery falling short, landing craft moving off target etc, armour sinking in the sea!). Would'nt it be good to be able to co-ordinate the artillery out at sea yourselves, load troops on the landing craft and make this a tactical mission where you could actually try and recreate the Omaha landings how they were supposed to be as opposed to it turning into a charge up the beach bloodbath with very little tactical requirement (at least for the beach rush!). I know people may be sick of seeing the Normandy beach landings in games but seeing screenshots of one of the maps in particular got my excited!!

2. Tides for sea - related to the above but as with wind surely it would not be that difficult to be able to customise at least the direction of the flow of water so that rivers, sea etc can flow in the right direction?

3. Seen this before but an option to highlight line of command so you can see where it is broken and how to fix it.

4. Again seen this but keeping dead units on the interface

5. Dedicated medic and aid station where you can take injured troops back for treatment. Also possible improvements to animations that would show troops carrying injured ones out of the action on stretchers/being able to load them on jeeps etc etc to try and preserve some of your KIA's

6. Recon plane ability where you could send them over to ID German positions early Apologies if this is in already and I have missed it!

7. Using the map bit of the editor to make trenches etc as opposed to the unit purchase screen. It would save a lot of time flipping between the 2.

8. Civilians?

9. An option to be able to adjust realism relating to ID of enemy. i.e. if unit IDs something that others have not for amateur players like myself would be useful to have the option that if one identified I can see the enemy on the map regardless of which one of my units has seen it. Or do I just need more practice!

10. Has anyone noticed performance issues using ATI cards? I only ask because I recently changed from long time NVIDIA owner (96oogt) to HD 5770. Playing on my 9600 GT performance seemed to be far better than on my ATI card unlike other games where I have seen a 20-30% performance improvement.

11. And finally a very big thanks to those dedicated modders out there who have already halped make this a better looking and more inutitive game to the uninitiated! Vein and Marco especially to name a few!

[Bradley Dick]

I think there should be a "go f*** yourself" sound file for when you try to tell mortar crews who are out of ammunition and enjoying a much deserved cigarette break to go do anything but sit on their assess.

You know, for realism.

[dieseltaylor]

I would like the dead to remain in the squad box so you now how many men are dead.

I would like soft sides as being a more realistic than this invisible border where routing units bounce back into shell barragess, and large numbers of soft-skinned vehicles believe huddling in the corner of the map is realistic behaviour. This single thing for me is the biggest blow by far to any claim of realism that CMBN makes.

What are BF going to do about it?