So am I a total Combat Mission Whore if I throw all attempts at resistance away and just go ahead and preorder it now? $35. Or should I make some kind of a principaled effort to hold off and feel better about myself? I am very weak.
Quit agonizing. I was vouchsafed a vision from my Patron Saint. It is okay. I must buy this product now. Thank you for spreading the Good Word.
I think your Patron Saint's word is good enough for me. I'm in.
Money is just a concept the government is rendering meaningless anyway. Now. I. Wait.
CMFI/Gustav DRM?
I'm thinking of getting the CMFI/Gustav bundle when released but, their DRM really gives me pause. There is a post (see below) in BattleFront's support forum that talks about how touchy CMFI's DRM is, just plugging/un-plugging USB devices can cause issues with their DRM, yikes! I'm always adding/removing USB devices (backup USB drive, flash drives, printer/scanner, tablet, MP3 player, cellphones, etc.). I don't want to re-configure my system just to play a game. Anyone have any experience with this?
See;
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?s=1835d70fd3f38c07c0db04afda8d892b&p=1428916&postcount=4
I just wish they would sell their games on Steam.
Quote from: SgtRock on April 03, 2013, 12:43:10 PM
CMFI/Gustav DRM?
I'm thinking of getting the CMFI/Gustav bundle when released but, their DRM really gives me pause. There is a post (see below) in BattleFront's support forum that talks about how touchy CMFI's DRM is, just plugging/un-plugging USB devices can cause issues with their DRM, yikes! I'm always adding/removing USB devices (backup USB drive, flash drives, printer/scanner, tablet, MP3 player, cellphones, etc.). I don't want to re-configure my system just to play a game. Anyone have any experience with this?
See;
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?s=1835d70fd3f38c07c0db04afda8d892b&p=1428916&postcount=4
I just wish they would sell their games on Steam.
I had an issue with their DRM not long ago - caused I believe by a reinstall of the .net framework.
It was the first problem I have had in years of buying and playing their games. I emailed them at 2'oclock in the morning and had a response five minutes later and it was all fixed ten minutes after that. Quite superb service and every bit as good as their games. Seriously the DRM is not a reason not to buy - the games are unique and quite head and shoulders above anything else out there.
I have likely plugged and unplugged usb devices hundreds of times and never had an issue - so it is likely an extremely rare event and quite specific to an individual set up.
Darn it....yet another pre-order...my wife is going to kill me!!!
Quote from: Longdan on April 03, 2013, 12:19:25 PM
Money is just a concept the government is rendering meaningless anyway. Now. I. Wait.
Do they take bitcoin?
Now they've added a Bitch-slap. Three new CMFI Gustav AA unit videos. As if resistance wasn't already futile, now it's pointless.
I have resisted since Cmbn... Now where's that bundle?
They own my soul.
Quote from: Sir Slash on April 04, 2013, 10:06:43 PM
Now they've added a Bitch-slap. Three new CMFI Gustav AA unit videos. As if resistance wasn't already futile, now it's pointless.
That is why I broke down and bought day one....knew eventually I would take the plunge, so why wait:) since battlefront rarely, if ever, has sales on their products, I dont have to worry that in a couple of months it would have been 75% off.
I have been all the way in since day one. There really is nothing better. Being fully committed means you don't have to whine
or talk about being robbed or having false expectations of what you think Battleline should or shouldn't do for YOU.
I really am not in love with their DRM policy etc. but I like the products and spend the extra $$ for the disks.
Products that are download only have to be ephemeral by definition (in North Am anyway) so I just skip the misery.
Oh, please...
A: I always want the new toys. Try painting that many models and see what it costs you.
B: I am funding development of CM:SF2, not to mention the WWI Eastern Front modules.
Resistance was never a serious option.
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
The newly released videos of Gustav line are kind of weird, three videos of just AAA guns mowing down infantry. I didn't like the red line at appears when a vehicle is hit, this that something new? Can the AAA guns even shoot down aircraft?
Quote from: SgtRock on April 05, 2013, 03:02:29 PM
The newly released videos of Gustav line are kind of weird, three videos of just AAA guns mowing down infantry. I didn't like the red line at appears when a vehicle is hit, this that something new? Can the AAA guns even shoot down aircraft?
It was a show case because this is the first time AAA guns have appeared. No they cant shoot down aircraft. That is vehicle hit data which can be turned off.
This is childish but what I love about pre-ordering this latest incarnation of Combat Mission is you pay your money, the bill gets forgotten
and suddenly one day you are on here at Grogheads and somebody tells you it is out. Instant download, send the girlfriend out for a couple
of cases of beer, kiss her goodbye on beer delivery and send her to her mother's for the weekend. Then sheer gaming goodness ensues.
So AAA guns don't shoot down aircraft, do they effect air attacks? I think that's how CM 1 games worked.
Throw in some wings to go with the beer and I'm all in.
I don't need no wings. Yahoo. Now the wait. I don't have to write a letter to Santa.
Quote from: SgtRock on April 05, 2013, 06:47:09 PM
So AAA guns don't shoot down aircraft, do they effect air attacks? I think that's how CM 1 games worked.
No, no effect on air attacks. Tactical Air suport in CMx2 is much more rare (which is realistic I think) so its no biggy for me. Would be nice if it did - but to be honest have been playing the WWII games for eons now and never seen an airstrike. It is on their wish list to add but low down as its rare for aircraft to actually appear in a tactical situation.
Quote from: SgtRock on April 05, 2013, 06:47:09 PM
So AAA guns don't shoot down aircraft, do they effect air attacks? I think that's how CM 1 games worked.
that would be cool, but i have not read anything over at BF's forum yet.
...shouldn't be so hard to programm-in a probability for a bigger derivation from the opponent placed hit-zone/spots, or even a less likely "Abort Message", while idle-set AAA guns swing up, track and released one salvo when a plane 'close in' to there position.... would be Über-cool to watch 8)
There may be also some grognard historical facts speaking against it?
I don't know atm if certain AAA were setup for
Erdkampf (ammunition, optics tuned-in, fortification etc. ) and would need a longer time to get recofingured to antiair-usage then the scenario-clock would tick down.
so at the beginning of that (defence-line)battle the commander had ordered to place them for ground-combat, and forfeit them until reconfig (and probably also relocation to a spot with better horizontal-view, and out of LOS from the enemy) for their standard role...
Come to think of it, I've never played a CMBN or CMFI scenario or campaign yet that did include any air support from either side. Has any one else I wonder? It wasn't that uncommon in the original CM games wat back.
Quote from: Longdan on April 05, 2013, 04:22:13 PM
This is childish but what I love about pre-ordering this latest incarnation of Combat Mission is you pay your money, the bill gets forgotten
and suddenly one day you are on here at Grogheads and somebody tells you it is out. Instant download, send the girlfriend out for a couple
of cases of beer, kiss her goodbye on beer delivery and send her to her mother's for the weekend. Then sheer gaming goodness ensues.
A man after my own heart! Another great mind.
^^Thank you Jim. I admire you and your work. (This is called log rolling BTW.)
About the AAA. Seems to me on the scale we play CMBN and CMFI the Allies liked to stay comfortably back from the aviators at work
as they had a marked tendency to kill their own guys. Behind the lines the Germans operated in great peril but up close on our scale
AAA would be likely used as an emergency ground weapon. The AA guys also generally liked to work further back so they could look up..
which was their job. We know the Germans had learned to use the 88 in particular as an anti tank weapon but the Luftwaffe guys
in the FLAK role did not like to be up front. Kurt Meyer I think it was wrote a famous passage about the Goodwood fighting where he had to force
a battery of Luftwaffe 88's to fire at the British armour in front of them rather than the airplanes overhead.
Of course Allied AA guys would gleefully let fly at any Allied aircraft they weren't sure about as well.
IIRC, the US quad-50 was a helluva anti-infantry weapons. Also, some US AA batteries that were defending Antwerp were sent to the Bulge in an AT role.
That is very true but doctrinally the Allies were very late to envision these things in roles other than AA.
Yeah, I remember a story about a young Brit officer in the desert proving that their 77 mm AA gun was as good as the 88. His superior said basically "Can't be done, old boy. See? It says 'AA' on the box."
It is a good thing modern military guys don't think like that!!
The 90 mm L/53 on the M-26 and M-36 TD was a variant of the US 90mm AA gun. There were also towed versions as of 1943.
You never read much of US 90mm guns in action.
There's a rather famous video and related photos of a showdown between a T26 Pershing and a Panther that had knocked out several Sherms just before. Switch it to 480p before watching.
Here's a page showing some of the details about the incident.
http://www.anicursor.com/colpicwar2b.html
wow just wow
Great video. Thanks Stagger.
wow...unbelievable footage...
Awesome! Thanks Stagger. Now I'll have to go and play the scenario of this in White Star Rising!
Quote from: bob48 on April 06, 2013, 04:56:56 PM
Awesome! Thanks Stagger. Now I'll have to go and play the scenario of this in White Star Rising!
Damn. I don't know much about White Star Rising. what scale is it at? Single vehicle? I'd love to see the map setup and info card for that scenario.
Quote from: Staggerwing on April 06, 2013, 05:17:29 PM
Quote from: bob48 on April 06, 2013, 04:56:56 PM
Awesome! Thanks Stagger. Now I'll have to go and play the scenario of this in White Star Rising!
Damn. I don't know much about White Star Rising. what scale is it at? Single vehicle? I'd love to see the map setup and info card for that scenario.
WSR is a great game. Each counter is a platoon, btw. If you have Vassal, then you can download the mod for it (done by our very own Barthheart).
Quote from: Staggerwing on April 06, 2013, 01:36:30 PM
There's a rather famous video and related photos of a showdown between a T26 Pershing and a Panther that had knocked out several Sherms just before. Switch it to 480p before watching....
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting.
Memory is fickle (at my age) and I should have first reread the link I posted. It turns out that only one Sherm was harmed in the encounter.
i feel a bit sorry for all the tankers that were killed in this engagement. this might well have been their last fight in this war and they died instead of returning to their families.
Anyone played Patton's Best boardgame? One of the most intense tank crew management role playing games I've played.
Regarding the Pershing gunner, at first I wash shocked to think that he kept on shooting despite the crew obviously escaping. How atrocious! But based on the link above, the gunner did not see the crew abandon the tank so he kept firing and thought they died after the 3rd shot.
Regardless I do not think he counted them if he saw them, Keeping on shooting is prudent, you can't see much from inside a tank.
I played a LOT of "Patton's Best" once upon a time. I often thought that an Age of Sail game should be built on a similar engine. Retirement project, that.
Re: the video, a remarkable thing. I discussed it at some length with my son and he was clearly struck by the brutality of it. In an urban environment, facing a Panther, I would have kept firing until I had reduced it to slag.
Best,
Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)
Quote from: jomni on April 08, 2013, 02:38:53 AM
Anyone played Patton's Best boardgame? One of the most intense tank crew management role playing games I've played.
Regarding the Pershing gunner, at first I wash shocked to think that he kept on shooting despite the crew obviously escaping. How atrocious! But based on the link above, the gunner did not see the crew abandon the tank so he kept firing and thought they died after the 3rd shot.
Those guys knew how deadly a Panther was. It was almost criminal to send our boys out in Shermans to face Panthers.
Blast that Panther until you know it's dead. It's too dangerous to leave intact.
Quote from: LongBlade on April 08, 2013, 10:55:01 AM
[
Those guys knew how deadly a Panther was. It was almost criminal to send our boys out in Shermans to face Panthers.
Blast that Panther until you know it's dead. It's too dangerous to leave intact.
That's exactly what the gunner of the Pershing said.
Quote from: Staggerwing on April 06, 2013, 01:36:30 PM
There's a rather famous video and related photos of a showdown between a T26 Pershing and a Panther that had knocked out several Sherms just before. Switch it to 480p before watching.
That is an absolutely amazing video that I have never seen before. It makes me ask: why, after watching countless WWII documentaries on the History Channel, History Int, and The Military Channel, I have never seen it before? Why does every WWII doc either default to the same, tired WWII footage that I have seen over and over again (whether or not it actually is representative of the battle being discussed), or, more recently, resort to rather bland CGI "recreations"? I understand that there are hundreds of miles worth of unwatched WWII footage sitting in archives around the world, yet none of the WWII doc producers seem willing to send anyone in there to look and find some fresh footage.
Another thing about that footage: the quiet flicker of a film reel somehow made the whole video much more riveting. I cannot stand how just about every WWII doc feels the need to dub in canned sound FX. To me, that is like tampering with historical evidence. People who watch history docs are usually pretty smart, they don't need "pew pew" sound effects to stay interested.
I would love to see a doc producer copy the style of this vid. Just recreate one small battle at a time (I am really tired of every doc dealing with the huge battles of WWII - there are only so many times I can listen to an overview of D-Day, Stalingrad, Kursk, Sicily, etc.), using newly discovered footage, and without any sound effects. And, like this vid, just have the narrator pause the vid and point out details you might have missed when watching it.
I would eagerly watch a weekly show like that.
It would be nice, esp. the pause with detail highlights. While we're on it, I wish that the producers of WW2 docs have someone familiar with hardware edit out all the misplaced clips, such as a shot of Churchill tanks advancing when the doc is about M4s (as was the case in one I watched this weekend- Greatest Tank Battles or some such thing), or grainy shots of SBDs diving in a story about the Blitzkrieg.
Actually, small bits of this video have popped up many times in war docs, especially the Sherman tanker pulling himself out of his tank minus his leg.
I've always wondered if that M4 commander survived. That could easily be a fatal trauma. When I was a kid there was a guy who worked with
my Dad who had lost a leg the same way at about the same time.
Quote from: RooksBailey on April 08, 2013, 11:57:54 PM
Quote from: Staggerwing on April 06, 2013, 01:36:30 PM
There's a rather famous video and related photos of a showdown between a T26 Pershing and a Panther that had knocked out several Sherms just before. Switch it to 480p before watching.
That is an absolutely amazing video that I have never seen before. It makes me ask: why, after watching countless WWII documentaries on the History Channel, History Int, and The Military Channel, I have never seen it before? Why does every WWII doc either default to the same, tired WWII footage that I have seen over and over again (whether or not it actually is representative of the battle being discussed), or, more recently, resort to rather bland CGI "recreations"? I understand that there are hundreds of miles worth of unwatched WWII footage sitting in archives around the world, yet none of the WWII doc producers seem willing to send anyone in there to look and find some fresh footage.
Another thing about that footage: the quiet flicker of a film reel somehow made the whole video much more riveting. I cannot stand how just about every WWII doc feels the need to dub in canned sound FX. To me, that is like tampering with historical evidence. People who watch history docs are usually pretty smart, they don't need "pew pew" sound effects to stay interested.
I would love to see a doc producer copy the style of this vid. Just recreate one small battle at a time (I am really tired of every doc dealing with the huge battles of WWII - there are only so many times I can listen to an overview of D-Day, Stalingrad, Kursk, Sicily, etc.), using newly discovered footage, and without any sound effects. And, like this vid, just have the narrator pause the vid and point out details you might have missed when watching it.
I would eagerly watch a weekly show like that.
The clip brings up a detail that has been a strong part of the CM series since the beginning: tankers were never really certain when the enemy tank was "dead". They often poured round after round into the target just to make certain it was dead. The Jagdtiger in the British War Museum is another example of this...it has a few holes right next to each other, made by the same Brit tank.
This level of surety was a matter of survival. For example, in the US Army history of the Battle of Schmidt, there is a description of an American Sherman (Easy 8 I believe) hitting a Panther. The Panther crew bails...they hang around outside the Panther for a bit...realizing damage was minor they get back in the Panter and resume the fight.
Many games, including board games don't model this. Even my beloved ASL...that has a rule for everything...only skirts the edges of this point. So hats off to CM....just another one of a thousand details it gets right.
One wonders how many more videos like this exist?