Use it or lose it question... [Archive]

Falconander

02-25-2009, 10:21 AM

Had to start the campaign all over due to a corrupted save but now I understand a lot more about ammo and resupply. I also remember running out of artillery down the road because I used it free and easy in the beginning missions.

So here I am on mission 2 and I have just about everything at my disposal, I have ships off shore, F-18s, Attack Copters, 105s, 81s and I even think some smaller mortars.

Thing is my ground pounders with the support of the AAVs have a handle on things...

So here is my questions.

Are my AAVs resupplied with 40mm after each battle?
How do I know whether my use of artillary/mortars will affect my next missions?
How about my small arms ammo, 7.62 and 40mm. Is this replenished?
How about AT and Javs?

Shifting Fire and Ceasing Fire with my Arty has significantly helped.

But knowing some of these would help as well. I don't want to get caught short down the road so any help is appreciated.

Meach

02-25-2009, 04:13 PM

I wish I could advise but I never play the campaigns. I know that the replenishment rate is set in the scenario carry over by the designer.

I watched my wife put together a campaign a while back and it was all too much for me. She had a notepad out and was jotting down formulae. So I know there is a % of replenishment.

Falconander

02-25-2009, 05:47 PM

Meach,

Holy freakin cow...

Where do I find a wife like that? Talk about a match made in heaven...

My wife just kind of looks blankly at the screen and wanders off.

I don't think I have ever heard from a female on these boards yet...

Dietrich

02-25-2009, 06:25 PM

Indeed -- I've never actually heard of a girl or woman (other than some pseudo-mythical gaggle of gals called the Frag Queens or something like that) playing even so straightforward and popular a game as, say, Halo, let alone something so groggy and not-all-that-graphically-sophisticated as CM.

I've figured that my chances of earning a girlfriend (let alone a wife) are in direct proportion to the extent to which I don't spend my time playing "video games." :rolleyes:

Verily, has there ever been a woman CM player? *shrug* The only game that I know of which is played by a significant number of girls/women (indeed, a significant number of people) is World of Warcraft. I imagine it would take quite a nerdy/groggy girl/woman to be interested in CM. But I like nerdy/groggy girls. :D

Clevinger

02-25-2009, 07:05 PM

Dietrich : there are two girls on the french CM site "Appui-feu" :D !

Mhh, two out of 200... Statiscally it is an endangered species :eek:

Dietrich

02-25-2009, 07:13 PM

Dietrich : there are two girls on the french CM site "Appui-feu" :D !

Mhh, two out of 200... Statiscally it is an endangered species :eek:

Deux filles dans la...! :eek:

...Oh blast, my knowledge of French isn't nearly as good as would be needed to woo a French CM player-ette. =P

handihoc

02-25-2009, 07:34 PM

There has been a woman here, yes. Sadly for us, Meach got there first. And she's been very quiet lately. Mishga, where are you? Bring a little light back into our sad, blighted lives.

Meach

02-25-2009, 10:16 PM

She's been kept busy with the kids etc etc but I know she sent a new scenario to Mark Ezra for a look and a tidy up but he's not got back to her.

Falconander, check out cmmods.com and search under Meach or Mishga for some of her work. She used my account there to post her stuff cos she never had an account of her own but she fixed that eventually. She done some mini campaigns a long while back plus a few scenarios. Failing that drop her an email to cuppedia@blueyonder.co.uk with a scenario idea or just to say hello and I am sure she will get a map done and off to you.

Falconander

02-26-2009, 11:17 AM

Meach,

I'll take you up on that... thanks...

I was developing a fantasy board game, roughly a mix between poker, risk, Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. At my peak I had about 30 artists out there drawing/painting for me. Some of these were very attractive ladies/girls. There is something about fantasy art that attracts the female interest hence the success of World of Warcraft. If you have some cute girls it is bound to attract more boys and thus the party goes until 2-3am playing on the computer.

But alas, the WWII realms isn't as sexy for the ladies. But hey, I play WWII games and she watches her shows. Everyone needs a outlet....

Mishga, I bet you can design a mean scenario. I need one one my son and I to play blue on red. I still have not been able to convert him over to CM:SF. He loves COD, Company of Heroes and Faces of War. Maybe CM: Normandy will do it for him.

Dietrich, yes that computer:girlfriend equation is a tough one to beat. Maybe Meach can give you some pointers on how to be able to play with your lass sitting on your lap or by your side.

I still can't get that image of her sitting there doing calculations on her pad and programming away.... something too cool about that...

Cheers,

Falconander

Dietrich

02-26-2009, 12:43 PM

Dietrich, yes that computer:girlfriend equation is a tough one to beat. Maybe Meach can give you some pointers on how to be able to play with your lass sitting on your lap or by your side.

Ah, but I don't have a lass to sit on my lap or by my side. =P Had I a lass, I would have not as much free time to spend playing CM:SF or any other game. Besides, I would have more engaging activities vying for my time. (And no, I don't per se mean that word that begins with "s", ends in "x", and has "e" in the middle.)

I'm looking for a lass who (as Arthur Dent said of Trisha McMillan) is "charming, beautiful, devastatingly intelligent." =) You know, the kind of girl who could be seen to lean over my shoulder, peering at the screen through her elegant glasses and with her lustrous hair framing her lovely face, and offer some sage tactical advice. :D

I think the success of World of Warcraft among the fair sex can be attributed largely to the fact that it's as much a social game as it is a kill-monsters-and-earn-gear kind of game.

I would be honored to play a scenario created by a woman. I'll have to take your advice, Meach, and look for such on cmmods. :)

Meach

02-26-2009, 02:36 PM

There are actually some pictures of Mishga on the forum somewhere. Some guys thought I was split personality or something and demanded physical evidence. So she's here somewhere.

Falcon, that sounds like an awesome concept for a game.

Mishga

02-26-2009, 02:41 PM

Yes I am still around. The Formula I was trying to work out was ammunition resupply percentages. My earlier work is quite rough around the edges compared to the stuff I can do now. Having a better grasp of the editor and what it can do.

Meach supplies the technical ideas. "No, No a Battalion vs a Platoon is not a very fun fight for the Platoon!" But I don't let him loose on the editor as he makes maps like tabletops and plentiful supplies of artillery.

Falconander please drop me an email and I will send you a small collection of what I have done. Be warned there is no chrome polishing in the way of fancy breifings as that is what I find the most time consuming. Using Fraps, then art packages to get nice combat images is time that the kids usually demand.

Falconander

02-26-2009, 03:41 PM

Meach/Mishga,

You have mail....

Looking forward to giving it a go. It will be interesting to see how she treats my pixelmen and what devious traps are laid out. The poor bastards won't know what hit them...

...Enter the wrath of Mishga....

Dietrich

02-26-2009, 03:47 PM

After searching the forums and espying the aforementioned picture of Mishga, I can confirm*...

A woman CM player! Will wonders never cease. :)

Not only a woman CM player, but a woman CM player who designs scenarios as well(!)

* Yes, I'm new around here. :D Except in the sense that I've been playing CM for about three years now.

Meach

02-26-2009, 05:02 PM

Falconander,

Three scenarios have been bundled up and mailed out.

Dietrich, what's more is I have challenged her to a H2H game now the kids are in bed. I promised to play as the Syrians to go easy on her :P

handihoc

02-27-2009, 11:36 AM

Meach, I sure hope you treasure what you've got there. How on earth did you find that woman?! For me wargaming and girlfriend are completely separate aspects of my life, and always have been. There's no point in me even attempting to explain my love of wargaming, let alone getting her to play. Tolerance or resignation are the best I've ever been able to hope for.

Falconander

02-27-2009, 11:52 AM

Mishga,

Score one for the red guys....

...I thought you said Meach liked the artillery and I also thought that you said that Meach squashed the idea of the battallion against platoon saying that it is no fun for the platoon....

Spoilers.....

Played airborne on Elite and had a minor loss. After the initial pounding of my men by artillery right off the bat I am sitting in my foxhole cursing the Arty Gods and thinking to myself do i spread out or hunker down. Well the 4-5 tanks coming at me answered that question.

Arty died down a bit and some of the tanks were dispatched. By about this time my srty was inbound on the men off to the right side as well my men pounding on them as they ran for the woodline.

My heart sank as i saw the treeline off to the top left fill up with question marks and the remaining two tanks were charging me.

I tried to break off a squad through the woods and into the depression on the left but they were nailed by one of the tanks.

My AT squad for some reason could not get clean a clean shot off. So the tanke came to point blank and slaughtered everyone.

I don't think I had time to use arty against the tanks (20 minutes) and they were always moving. My AT guys were also direct to the front so hard time killing them.

I split my forces up so I think I'll try again and leave everyone concentrated in the middle and try it that way. If everyone is in the middle, I will probably lose the woods to my immediate left so that is unappetizing as well.

A fun quick mission.... first time playing defense with Blue on a small scale....

Meach

02-27-2009, 12:06 PM

Falcon,

"Airborne" was more a test of the AI and multi-plan scripting rather than a true scenario. Yeah, I tend to do scenarios with huge explosions and suicidal world war 1 charges :)) Mish refuses to let me loose for scenarios that will be posted for general consumption.

I hope you did not find it too frustrating tho? I did after a few whippings but realised it was an uphill fight and one to dig in and hold out.

That scenario is very harsh. Best I got was a major loss but the VP are off. The BLUE forces should get more for holding the outpost. My best bet was to hold off from moving about and nail the tanks as they rushed in. Did you remember to add 100pts for holding the Outpost? The file has been fixed if you want a resend?

Handihoc,

Mishga is a gem. Makes a lovely cup of tea too! You want the scenario's she made mailed out to you? If so just drop her a line.

handihoc

03-01-2009, 08:37 AM

Meach,

Thanks. Will do.

In fact, have done. . .

-Pv-

03-01-2009, 06:20 PM

"The only game that I know of which is played by a significant number of girls/women (indeed, a significant number of people) is World of Warcraft. I imagine it would take quite a nerdy/groggy girl/woman to be interested in CM. But I like nerdy/groggy girls."

"I think the success of World of Warcraft among the fair sex can be attributed largely to the fact that it's as much a social game as it is a kill-monsters-and-earn-gear kind of game."

For these same reasons, there is a lot of female membership on Eve Online where players can work their way up to administrator of a corporation with thousands of members. Without firing a shot or planning a battle, a person can order thousands of guys around.
-Pv-

Mishga

03-02-2009, 04:41 AM

Funny you should quote those statements. I run a guild in Warcraft that raids occasionally and I do play Eve online but quite more a casual player there.

I would not class my self as Groggy or geeky as I love socialising and going out, having a few drinks etc. I cannot help it that the good Lord gave me brains and boobs! :) Having two kids does put a crimp on a social life I admit.

To be honest about CMSF, I am much more interested in the WW2 setting. I cannot wait to see what the editor is like for that.

I make scenario's for CMSF as all the tools are to hand. A little bit of thought and exploring the editor you can come up with some pretty good stuff. I am working on a map just now that's a multi-plan 1hour long battle that involves at least one ambush, one counter attack and static defence from the AI. If anyone wants to playtest it drop me an email.

Sergei

03-02-2009, 04:51 AM

Meach

03-02-2009, 05:45 AM

Women are always sitting on a fortune as they say :)

handihoc

03-02-2009, 05:54 AM

..Heh-heh!..

Falconander

03-03-2009, 12:17 PM

Mishga,

Played another one of your scenarios....

Forgot the name but had the code name like PBSR or the like...

Blue moving to contact on red in side the small village...

I liked this one a lot. First thing I noticed was that you gave me like 4 spotters and at least 3 javs with 4-5 M1s....

I immediately shuddered and thought what does this evil lass have up her sleeve?

Spoilers....

My guys started moving out and sent some infantry and Humvees on the recon. Arty was falling to my left into open pasture so I was beathing a sigh of relief on that one. I opened up against the first small cluster of buildings at the crossroads. Satified that i had surpressed it and having ample troops i charged forward to secure the crossroads. Well there were 3 BMPS behind the building in ambush, one of which was up in smoke so I thought I was done until the other two ambushed me.

Well I went from that cluster of buildings and easily swept through the larger cluster to the left. I had my eye on the far objective line thinking that things were too easy so far. I mean hell the F-18s were not even put to use yet.

I sent a Hummer over to check out the phase line and it hit a mine about 20 yards away so I sent some infantry in. I saw some enemy ??s in the trees so i swept through only to find a freaking BMP or whatever hidden deep in the trees. MY men thought that they had easy prey and ran into armor.

So now I am thinking that only a woman would prey on guys over-zealousness to plant us into amubush after ambush. I saw another 3-4 BMPs in the far tree line and sent some arty on them along with F-18s and my JAVs up in the top of buildings.

Had to quit early but those BMPs in back of the building and the other in the first clump of trees were really well done on their ambush orders....

Fun time playing this one... will have to give the others a go....

Sixxkiller

03-03-2009, 12:28 PM

You guys must live under rocks, or dont play anything else. I play another game called Perfect World. Has maybe 20-35% of the female gender playing. A few of the top players are actually female. I would guess that most of the women who play started to play with their boyfriends or husbands. I even tried to get mine involved too. She actually does like it and did pretty good when she started. But that was true when I taught her the basics of CMBO too. She did however do well in a tournament for Down in Flames and won her first match after only playing the game a few times previous. She even had the distinction of losing to the eventual champion. I was so proud!!! She wasnt very gracious in defeat tho hehe as she slammed the mouse down and vowed to never play again. That vow was kept unfortunately.

Would be nice for BFC to tap a more female market though. Maybe some of you modders can make the Tiger into a "Kitty" and rename the Chaffee to "Chanel". That would get my woman to look twice. :p

Dietrich

03-03-2009, 12:50 PM

You guys must live under rocks, or dont play anything else.

I, for one, play a bunch of other games (Crysis, Company of Heroes, Call of Duty, Falcon 4.0 Allied Force, Age of Empires 2, to name a few), but they're all games which are unlikely to appeal to girls/women.

I play another game called Perfect World.

But isn't Perfect World an MMORPG? It wouldn't be the only game of its type to have a significant number of female players. Women/girls are psychologically more oriented toward sociality and interpersonal interaction, so no wonder they play RPGs (especially MMORPGs) more than most other types of games, which are more soloistic and/or violence-oriented (even if they are really violent per se).

And not to put too fine a point on it, but how can one get one's wife girlfriend involved in game-playing when one has no wife or girlfriend (as is the case with me)? =P

Meach

03-03-2009, 01:33 PM

I got Mishga into the game by showing her the editor. Her creative juices started flowing and the rest is history. I appealed to her sense of creativity more than the blowing of things to kingdom come.

Once she created things then she moved onto blowing them up.

Falconander

03-03-2009, 01:57 PM

Once she created things then she moved onto blowing them up.

My over-confident pixelmen might have issues with her...;)

Falconander

03-03-2009, 02:06 PM

Ok... I can understand the girls not liking war games and like social games more. Growing up there were not too many girls playing risk but a good majority played Monopoly. So there is a hidden desire to squash their opponent and take all of their money and hoard it but it can not be so evidently diplayed as in a war game. It has to be under the guise of Monopoly or Life or such things.

I don't think the average wargamer is ready for the advent of the female wargamer. I guess it is our last bastion of a refuge. Somewhere we can crawl into knowing that we will not be followed, our haven where we can drown out everything else and hope for the type of immersion that will give us a couple hours of happiness.

Dietrich,

Your hope to find a gaming wife or girlfriend would hinge on you going to a Gen-Con or like gaming convention and see if there is any hope out there for you. Barring that, I'd say put the "mouse" down for a little bit and come out of the cave and venture forth among the "commoners" and see if you can find someone with those +2 attributes that makes every pixelmen's day...

MarkEzra

03-03-2009, 03:37 PM

She's been kept busy with the kids etc etc but I know she sent a new scenario to Mark Ezra for a look and a tidy up but he's not got back to her.

I've been busy learning a new language (English)!!... and think I missed it. Please ask her to re-send and I'll Get into it...

Dietrich

03-03-2009, 04:15 PM

there is a hidden desire to squash their opponent and take all of their money and hoard it

Funny you should mention that.... I've come to the opinion that the wants of the sexes can (generally) be boiled down to this: men want sex; women want money. (Forgive me if that seems unduly cynical, and if any think it is, I understand.) Recent psychological studies have suggested that for males there is a link between warfare and sexuality, so in light of that, it's understandable that women generally could care less about wargames.

I don't think the average wargamer is ready for the advent of the female wargamer. I guess it is our last bastion of a refuge. Somewhere we can crawl into knowing that we will not be followed, our haven where we can drown out everything else and hope for the type of immersion that will give us a couple hours of happiness.

Anyone here read (or even heard of) Co-Ed Combat by Kingsley Browne? (It's nonfiction.)

Dietrich,

Your hope to find a gaming wife or girlfriend would hinge on you going to a Gen-Con or like gaming convention and see if there is any hope out there for you. Barring that, I'd say put the "mouse" down for a little bit and come out of the cave and venture forth among the "commoners" and see if you can find someone with those +2 attributes that makes every pixelmen's day...

It is indeed a mouse. No quotation marks needed. :D

I freely admit: I too am a commoner; I just live in a ramshackle hut just over the hill from the village, a rather out-of-the-way place for a valkyrie or even a milkmaid to likely wander by. :-P

Falconander

03-03-2009, 04:40 PM

I just live in a ramshackle hut just over the hill from the village...

I was beginning to feel sorry for you but I saw that you live in Northern California and maybe not as good as Southern Californai you are within spitting distance of at least watching some ladies on the beach or play some beach volleyball.

OK, pick up the laptop, get a wireless card, and head off to the beach. You have a great opportunity to put us all to shame....

You could be playing CM:SF on the beach with the waves lapping at your feet while said Valkries and Milkmaids play tauntingly in front of you. Now naturally this might mess up your CM:SF play but at least it might marginally solve the lack of mate issue....

...Oh by the way when they walk over to see what you are doing, maybe ALT-TAB over to something more interesting.....

Dietrich

03-03-2009, 05:27 PM

I have no laptop. :D

I live 3/4 of an hour's drive from the beach. But the beaches up here tend to be rocky, and the water is cold enough (even in the summer) that a wetsuit is advisable, and it tends to be windy. These factors mitigate against seeing milkmaids and/or valkyries on the beach, even if dressed for the weather. The beaches up here are suited, not so much for bikini-clad frolicking, but more for bundling up in rollneck sweaters and making smores round a bonfire.

And no wi-fi at the beach, as far as I know. But I tend to play single-player real-time anyway.

Mishga

03-03-2009, 06:12 PM

Dietrich,

I feel really sorry for you now. Once some of the scenario's have been playtested a bit I will mail them out to you! Until then X X :)

Falcon and Handi,

Thanks for the feedback. Sent out a new one medium sized meeting engagement. Watch out, it's brutal!

Mish

Dietrich

03-03-2009, 06:31 PM

Dietrich,

I feel really sorry for you now. Once some of the scenario's have been playtested a bit I will mail them out to you! Until then X X :)

*blushes and swoons* Thanks, Mishga. You've made my day. :) (Both the scenarios as well as the X's.)

Sixxkiller

03-04-2009, 12:47 AM

You know there are women that look very good in Northern California too. :) But as I also lived in SoCal I will admit its better south hehe.

And, yes it is true, women like MMO's more than anyother game type. But Perfect World does also have fashions you can purchase (as most MMO's do now) and I have seen guys fight over that crap too.

Meach

03-04-2009, 07:36 AM

Drop us an email, Dietrich.

Mish cannot mail the scenario's to you as your profile don't allow contact via mail.

Dietrich

03-04-2009, 06:24 PM

I sent Mishga a PM with my email address (dietrich.march@gmail.com). :) Haven't heard back from her yet, though....

Mishga

03-05-2009, 07:42 AM

Scenario's sent, Dietrich.

I don't check in here as often as I should.

Homo ferricus

03-05-2009, 08:17 AM

Woman can be useful when it comes to gaming, case in point:

My ex-girlfriend bought me an 80GB Playstation 3 bundled with a game and extra controller.

We broke up.

I kept it :D

Falconander

03-05-2009, 10:39 AM

That was the kiss of death for your relationship...

See as referense the previous equation discussed where:

Time with Girlfriend-Time playing games=Quality time with girlfriend

and

years * gifts * quality time= probability of girlfriend becoming wife

with

((Money spent on gaming and hardware)/(Salary + Savings))*(Salary and Savings)=gifts

So maybe she thought that gifts would increase but what she did not realize was that quality time dropped to zero which took the probability of a future next to zero.

Had she understood these basic terms things would be different. But hey, you were able to reap the rewards. The only bad thing is that you can't play CM on a playstation....yet...

Dietrich

03-05-2009, 12:35 PM

Scenario's sent, Dietrich.

Thanks very much, Mish. :) I'll dig into 'em and get back to you with some AARs.

Mishga

03-05-2009, 01:04 PM

Please do. It's always nice to get pointers on how to improve the product :)

Bear in mind though that they are more a "beer and pretzel" presentation rather than filet mignon.

Falconander

03-06-2009, 11:27 AM

Mishga,

You most recent one where both a armies are moving to the small town in the middle was pretty fun. Had a total victory within 12 minutes or so. I was a little taken back when I saw the open terrain, massive amounts of fire power and a relatively small objective. I was relatively cautious moving out and kept my units on the initial firing range until I felt comfortable that I ahd attained superior firepower.

Spoilers***

Normally some don't like starting a game in line of sight with the opposition but i like the slugfest in the beginning. Also there was the hail of arty falling into the village that was put out there like a big ol' bear trap. So I hunkered back and looked at the timer with 1 hr ticking away. I was thinking, well I have Cobras but no line of sight but with the area fire I can creep the target close enough to the enemy plus it takes all day for them to get here anyway.

So called in the cobras figuring they would map up what I missed. In the meantimes I split the M1s into 4 groups. On the right flank took 2 groups and moved the line forward into line of sight and finished the armor to the right. I had another group in the middle that supported right and eventually swung with the right flank to seal off the left flank forming a reverse "L". I had enough eyes on target to call in the arty with non-spotters but I figured what the heck, I have an hour and am in no rush as my armor was pounding them.

I think a second wave came to the middle of the map but was quickly punished and sent smouldering. At about this time my Cobras and Arty were doing their trick and my M1s were just having fun picking off troops. I was raining 40mm all over the place as well.

This thread is called "Use it or Lose it" so I made sure to at least try and spend all my resources.

The enemy folded far too quickly on this one... 12 minutes in for a Total Victory.

Maybe a larger middle objective is needed or several small towns. As is after the initial slugfest it is just mopping up the streets.

Definitely a good "Beer and Pretzels" because it made me happy and wanting more....

Meach

03-06-2009, 03:25 PM

I will pass on the comments to the Scenario editor in chief. I played the same scenario and the AI does fold after about 15-20mins for me. I doubt this was the intention from Mishga but you must have kicked them around some to get a fold in under 12mins.

handihoc

03-06-2009, 04:28 PM

****Spoilers*****

I had a similar experience to Falconander. A fast and very furious battle from the off. I took a lot of punishment, but held my tanks back while charging infantry with javs to occupy the village. Two squad and their Brads got toasted but others got in safely.
Several of my M1s were destroyed, but they took out a hell of a lot more of the enemy vehicles. Artillery and copters did a lot of enemy damage and I got an enemy surrender after about fourteen-fifteen minutes.

I agree with Falconander - the central village could be larger and/or more villages added around the map, and while it's a great opening with some major action everywhere, it needs more of a challenge later to justify the longer time limit.

It's good enough for me to want to try it again, though. Don't know how many AI attack plans you have, but I'd like to see what happens with another enemy attack.

Meach

03-06-2009, 04:52 PM

Mish is really busy putting the kids to bed so I will field the reply for her.

"I think that particular battle has at least two AI plans for each side. So, with all of her work it's QB map capable and scenario play. Not so good for H2H play as it's a blastfest."

I like to field the Syrians for a stiffer challenge but that's just me. She said it's cool to crack it open in the editor and poke about it's guts. Pass it on to friends etc etc.