New CMx2 thread - fun

[Redwolf]

I wasn't talking about the difficulty level with regards to playing the game well to -say- win a scenario.

What I meant is - how do I improve the balance of frustrating aspects with the aspects that give a positive thrill?

And I don't want this to turn into another thread of listing the frustrating aspects  in CM or CMx2 or how to avoid them. I want the other side.

What I am asking is, what is the thrill, where does it appear for your when playing? And I mean you personally, not what you recommend to others they do.

[Elvis]

For me, and this even goes back to the original series, the thing that really gets the juices flowing is playing against a human and the rush of feeling that I have done something clever to get the upper hand in a situation. When I evaluate a situation and come up with a plan and it works. That's what puts me in The Zone. When that's happening, hours of playing can happen and it feels like 5 minutes. I can't wait for the next "movie."

[MengJiao]

What I am asking is, what is the thrill, where does it appear for your when playing? And I mean you personally, not what you recommend to others they do.

I'm thrilled when unexpected but interesting things happen in real time when I modify a scenario.  For example, I carefully built a very nice road so that the Germans could redeploy if they wanted across  the front of the big hill in Chaos at Ferme Denderhove.  I also added a lot of Panthers.  For some reason I though they would go for the nearest objective -- a reasonable frontal drive and easy meat for a dozen Panthers.

But this didn't happen.  No sooner had I started the game than the Panthers trundled down the redeployment road and got shot to bits before my horrified eyes...and all their flak and engineers too.  Interesting, fast, very explosive and instructive.  Maybe a bit thrilling.

[Father Ted]

What I am asking is, what is the thrill, where does it appear for your when playing? And I mean you personally, not what you recommend to others they do.

Personally, I'm not sure "thrill" really comes into it.  Maybe sometimes when I've made a commitment of some valued armour or finally launched an infantry assault and hit the "done" button - akin to placing a big bet at poker, I suppose.  What generally keeps me coming back is the generation of a narrative during each game - I want to see what will happen to my pixeltruppen.  I inwardly cheer on those who do well, castigate those who fail to stick to their task, and feel guilty about those who are unnecessarily put in harm's way through my ineptitude.

I also like the WEGO mechanic which allows me to scoot all over the battlefield and inspect every bit of action, yet never lose sight of the big picture.

Actually, one thrill which I think is often overlooked in CM discussions is in its viscerally kinetic actualisation of armour (or ATG) v armour gunnery.  Other games may have big explosions, but to my mind CM gives the best impression of a heavy, high velocity projectile impacting armour plate.

[sandman2575]

Actually, one thrill which I think is often overlooked in CM discussions is in its viscerally kinetic actualisation of armour (or ATG) v armour gunnery.  Other games may have big explosions, but to my mind CM gives the best impression of a heavy, high velocity projectile impacting armour plate.

I would agree with this. Even CM's animations please me in this regard, like the way the tank chassis rocks back and forth after letting loose with a HEAT round. I highly recommend downloading one of the excellent sound mods to add to the effect -- the HQS "High-Quality Sounds" mod in particular. The reports from the big caliber guns are *loud* and very satisfying, as are the tank engine idling  / in motion sounds. Fantastic.

(This is also one of the big weaknesses of the Graviteam Tactics games -- the sound effects are anemic and tinny, really pretty lousy. There is a sound mod or two out there but nothing that solves the problem. I really don't think you can underestimate the importance of great sound effects in enhancing a game experience and making it as visceral as possible.)

[sandman2575]

In terms of what I find exciting about CM -- another thing that always draws me in is the variety of the different modules. Even within the confines of WW2, to me, Red Thunder 'plays' and feels very different from Battle for Normandy and Fortress Italy, etc.. I honestly couldn't pick any one of them over the other -- they're each unique and I love what each of them has to offer. (Arguably the 'feel' of Battle for Normandy and Final Blitzkrieg is the closest -- but the snow environment of FB adds a lot.)

I just the other night fired up Black Sea after a long break of not playing it, and all I could think was, "Man, this game is fantastic. Why haven't I played it in months?" That's pretty much how I feel whenever I pick up one of the modules after not playing for a bit.

Yes, I admit I am an unreconstructed CM fanboy. The games have plenty of flaws and I'm by no means indifferent to them -- I do think the series should continue to evolve and that there are some major shortcomings that need to be addressed. But they are all permanent fixtures on my HD.

[Yskonyn]

Like an intense shooter game like Battlefield, CM makes me go through similar surges of glory, fear, frustration and happiness, though in a different manner.
Where in BF these surges are often very much in the moment, in CM I have these surges over longer periods of time.
First making a plan, than letting it come to fruition over several minutes and then the outcome hits me in the face (well usually), or something unexpected happened!
Its great and not many games provoke these intense feelings with me.

[Skoop]

I love cm games but don't play them enough lately because they seem so laborious now.  I think what would bring me back in a big way would be would be coop mp or 6 on 6 mp.  This way you could play battalion of brigade size engagements with out complete micromanage night mare.  A big time feature like this would be a game changer for the engine, but it's not even remotely on the radar. 

[Boggit]

In terms of what I find exciting about CM -- another thing that always draws me in is the variety of the different modules. Even within the confines of WW2, to me, Red Thunder 'plays' and feels very different from Battle for Normandy and Fortress Italy, etc.. I honestly couldn't pick any one of them over the other -- they're each unique and I love what each of them has to offer. (Arguably the 'feel' of Battle for Normandy and Final Blitzkrieg is the closest -- but the snow environment of FB adds a lot.)

I just the other night fired up Black Sea after a long break of not playing it, and all I could think was, "Man, this game is fantastic. Why haven't I played it in months?" That's pretty much how I feel whenever I pick up one of the modules after not playing for a bit.

Yes, I admit I am an unreconstructed CM fanboy. The games have plenty of flaws and I'm by no means indifferent to them -- I do think the series should continue to evolve and that there are some major shortcomings that need to be addressed. But they are all permanent fixtures on my HD.

+1

I've just finished playing a Red Thunder scenario AD - Amongst the Ruins - a tiny scenario downloaded from A Few Good Men. But it was brilliant, full of tension, and atmosphere. I had several close calls, and plenty of good firefights. It reminded me why I love CMx2 so much.

[Cyrano]

Playing a fairly large CMFB scenario PBEM with a long-time opponent who, for a change, is not Doug (yeah, weird, I know).  I'm rolling three platoons of Shermans over a hill a bit over a kilometer from a village.  I figure there's no way anybody would even try a shot from that distance. I was, again, wrong.  He's got a STUG stuck in behind a low wall and the gunner is clearly playing "shooting gallery" as he takes tippy-tap shots at ludicrous range at my tanks' profiles.  This, at the end of the turn, leaves me with a decision:  turn and play the game back, or keep rolling and dare him to hit me?  I'm looking forward to the next turn to see if I chose poorly.

Nope, nothing like CMx for me.

[Yskonyn]

Playing a fairly large CMFB scenario PBEM with a long-time opponent who, for a change, is not Doug (yeah, weird, I know).  I'm rolling three platoons of Shermans over a hill a bit over a kilometer from a village.  I figure there's no way anybody would even try a shot from that distance. I was, again, wrong.  He's got a STUG stuck in behind a low wall and the gunner is clearly playing "shooting gallery" as he takes tippy-tap shots at ludicrous range at my tanks' profiles.  This, at the end of the turn, leaves me with a decision:  turn and play the game back, or keep rolling and dare him to hit me?  I'm looking forward to the next turn to see if I chose poorly.

Nope, nothing like CMx for me.

If you're position is relatively safe and he keeps shooting I would gamble and try to deplete his ammo.

[Michael Dorosh]

Love it.

Adore it.

+1   I could write a lengthy treatise on CM's deficiencies and what should be done to fix them (... don't worry, I won't) -- but at the end of the day, I probably play CMx2 more than any other games on my harddrive.

Yeah.

I enjoy playing it, but like you recognize it is far from perfect. Each iteration has just enough new features and fixes that I don't abandon hope altogether.

[Michael Dorosh]

I love cm games but don't play them enough lately because they seem so laborious now. 

That perfectly describes the scenario design side of things as well.