RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO?

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO?

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/15/2010 6:10:52 PM

eniced73

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If you are on a laptop that may be your problem. I have a 'Razer' mouse hooked up to my laptop and had a hell of a time getting it configured to get the mouse wheel button to work. This may be your problem - a setting on your mouse config. and not in the game itself. Believe me though when you get it figured out you will 'see the light'. That little wheel lets you zoom in, zoom out, and when pressed and held allows rotation of the camera to look anywhere your heart desires.

In CM I dont think the mouse wheel does jack squat unless you program your mouse to utilize it. To zoom and rotate you need to use the keyboard! Arghhh! Which is cool is you want to be 'old school'.

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/15/2010 6:58:42 PM

RockinHarry

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I�ve no intention to drop CMx1 (any) from my hard drive anytime soon, as it�s good for what it offers.

PCx somewhat different approach, seems to be like a very good alternative on "proven grounds", with a promising future to bypass CMx1 failures in every respect.

Editors and modability, are a dream come true alone and personally this is already reason enough to have PCx on my purchase list right now.

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/15/2010 7:40:30 PM

HintJ

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Joined: 10/10/2010
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quote:

ORIGINAL: eniced73

That little wheel lets you zoom in, zoom out, and when pressed and held allows rotation of the camera to look anywhere your heart desires.

Please, someone here tell me I'm correct and not crazy. Someone reading understands my point, I'm sure.

Yes, my middle mouse button works, I have my Alt key mapped to my middle mouse button, so I can zoom, pan left,right,up,down using the Alt key.

When I play PCO, I want to be at ground level and look up to see the incoming Stukas! Currently, I could do this with bino view only.

For example, binocular view (quite an awesome feature, by the way)is a free-looking camera--you can look straight up into the sky with it, but the regular camera cannot, because it will at some point hit the ground; it is rotating around a focus point on the ground, and it is not free-floating. Whether you rotate left or right, tilt up or down, zoom in or out, the camera is still pointing at the same spot on the ground.

The only option I'm seeing for the mouse is for speeds and inversion.

< Message edited by HintJ -- 10/15/2010 11:53:28 PM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/15/2010 8:06:27 PM

rickier65

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quote:

ORIGINAL: HintJ

quote:

ORIGINAL: eniced73

That little wheel lets you zoom in, zoom out, and when pressed and held allows rotation of the camera to look anywhere your heart desires.

Please, someone here tell me I'm correct and not crazy. Someone reading understands my point, I'm sure.

Yes, my middle mouse button works, I have my Alt key mapped to my middle mouse button, so I can zoom, pan left,right,up,down using the Alt key.

When I play PCO, I want to be at ground level and look up to see the incoming Stukas! I will do this with bino view only.

For example, binocular view (quite an awesome feature, by the way)is a free-looking camera--you can look straight up into the sky with it, but the regular camera cannot, because it will at some point hit the ground; it is rotating around a focus point on the ground, and it is not free-floating. Whether you rotate left or right, tilt up or down, zoom in or out, the camera is pointing at the same spot on the ground.

The only option I'm seeing for the mouse is for speeds and inversion.

I think I understand (finally). The lowest point for the camera position is ground level I believe. The up angle for the camera does not allow you to look straight up from ground level.

Thanks
Rick

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 1:07:14 AM

HintJ

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I appologize for not being clearer.

However, I don't mean to suggest there is anything wrong with the camera in Panzer Command. In fact, it is the most common 3d camera style for RTS games, and it is certainly effective. Combat Mission uses a more free camera style, but it should be noted, CMBB does not have a true free-floating camera.

But back on topic, I love both PC:K and CMBB. If you can't afford both titles, then you need to take a break from playing games for awhile, my friend.

What are just a few of the things I like about PC:K?

I love staying at ground level, watching replays from EVERY unit in bino view. I keep a diary/battle log for each team for each turn, trying to make my next order decisions based on each unit's exact point of view and circumstance. Every unit develops his own little story.

I can easily spend a week or more playing one mission. I get absolutley lost in the details, like reading a great book. Yeah, and all day at work I daydream about my last turn and what I will do in my next turn that evening, and really, I have no idea how it will end--this is the epitome of a good game for me.

I also love the on-map mortars in PC:K. They are more like the Close Combat mortars that I can place behind something and call in shots to areas I can't necesarily see or have a line-of-sight from a commander. And they look really cool firing.

Does the game need some improvements? Hell yes! And many of them are coming up, it seems. CMBB is a great game, but its pretty much not getting any better now--still love it, but PC:O is where my love is going.

And the tanks actually remind me of little metal minuatures, which I think this game is based on, anyway.

A few small suggestion: let the binos zoom out just a little bit more for a better 1st person perspective--the max zoom is perfect, but a little more pullback would be great. Also, let us rename the command units from the unit selection screen. That would, I think, add more of a personal touch and increase immersion. When I see "1/2/1PZ xyz is having problem x" in the message box, I have to think "Wait a minute, that's the MG team," whereas a common name/callsign gives immediate emotional reaction!

< Message edited by HintJ -- 10/16/2010 1:18:42 AM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 1:32:28 AM

Mad Russian

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quote:

ORIGINAL: HintJ
Also, let us rename the command units from the unit selection screen. That would, I think, add more of a personal touch and increase immersion. When I see "1/2/1PZ xyz is having problem x" in the message box, I have to think "Wait a minute, that's the MG team," whereas a common name/callsign gives immediate emotional reaction!

The names of units are set by the scenario designer and now the AI.

Here is a full screen showing the battle and the message board. Trees are turned off in this screen shot.

Let's just take a look at what we see in this battle.

1) There are 2 German tanks knocked out. One of which exploded and caught fire. The fire is now out.

2) There are 4 German tanks taking fire. These are the ones with the light colored boxes around the tank sysmbols in the HUD.(center bottom)

3) This was turn 13 orders phase and we are now 16 minutes 39 seconds into the game.

4) At least one Russian Armored Car has been destroyed. It is a BA-10. There appear to be other AC's behind it destroyed but I can't tell for sure.

5) There are at least 3 other active Russian AC's behind the one burning.

6) The Germans are leading in the scoring about 2 to 1.

7) The Germans control 3 Victory Flag locations while the Russians control i.

8) All 3 German commanders are still active. There are no substitute commanders for anyone knocked out.

9) All German commanders are in radio contact.

10) Lt. Staudt's #4 machine is out of HE ammo. There is a good chance that means he's totally out of ammo. I need to check his status and pull him out of the fight if he's out.

Good Hunting.

MR

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< Message edited by Mad Russian -- 10/16/2010 1:49:34 AM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 1:36:35 AM

Mad Russian

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Notice that enemy units are only identified by their actual unit type for your intelligence briefing.

Your own units are whatever the scenario designer chooses them to be. In all my scenarios I put the commanders name in the front of the unit ID so you get both. As you say, for me personally, that's more immersive.

So when I see Lt. Staudt's #4 machine running our of ammo, then pulling back, it means more than 1/19 Pz Rgt/4. At least it does to me.

Even then our Great Lt. Staudt has his #$ machine backing up while one of the enemy AC's was destroyed. Not a bad return for investment. His #2 machine took a penetrating hit to the turret and it looks like we may need to back him up too.

Good Hunting.

MR

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Mad Russian -- 10/16/2010 1:40:00 AM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 1:55:28 AM

Mad Russian

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Here is another Message Board display showing Soviet names and units. It's not hard to do.

Good Hunting.

MR

Attachment (1)

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 2:09:18 AM

HintJ

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Yes, this is an excellent improvement for the msg box about the type of enemy unit is affected, rather than inform the player about the oponent's OOB.

Also, I think we see eye-to-eye on the importance of individual names for units.

But what about naming units in random battles, or if a player wants different names? Perhaps clicking on the unit name in the selection screen causes a pop-up window to type in the new name? Maybe that's easier said than done, but it would be great, I think.

< Message edited by HintJ -- 10/16/2010 2:10:09 AM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 2:17:53 AM

Mad Russian

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quote:

ORIGINAL: HintJ

Yes, this is an excellent improvement for the msg box about the type of enemy unit is affected, rather than inform the player about the oponent's OOB.

Also, I think we see eye-to-eye on the importance of individual names for units.

But what about naming units in random battles, or if a player wants different names? Perhaps clicking on the unit name in the selection screen causes a pop-up window to type in the new name? Maybe that's easier said than done, but it would be great, I think.

Not yet. It's on the list for PC4. In fact, I'm sure as soon as PCO is released there will be a wish list started. Be sure that you voice your fondest desires there at that time too.

Good Hunting.

MR

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 2:22:35 AM

HintJ

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Absolutely. Looking very much forward to the release of PC:O!

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 2:26:19 AM

Mad Russian

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There is alot of abbreviating going in my scenarios. The ranks are uniform and not by service or nationality. Some are simply too long to put in the name box and get anything else in there.

Rank Abbreviations:
Maj. - Major
Cpt - Captain
SLt - Senior Lieutenant
Lt - Lieutenant
SSgt - Senior Sergeant
Sgt - Sergeant
Cpl - Corporal

Unit Abbreviations:
Bn - Battalion
Rgt - Regiment
Bde - Brigade
AGR - Assault Gun Regiment
AGB - Assault Gun Brigade
PG - Panzer Grenadier
Pz - Panzer
Gds - Guards
Rfl - Rifle
TK - Tank
Art - Artillery
CAS - Close Air Support

Hope this helps.

As the game comes out and you start making your own scenarios. I also have a list of names for both Russian and German armed forces that are taken from the many accounts I read. So, while not completely historically accurate for the particular battle, those marked with an " * " are historically accurate, they are at least men who fought in the war somewhere. I'll release those names when PCO is available as well.

Good Hunting.

MR

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 2:41:18 AM

heinrich55

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MR and HintJ,
I absolutely agree with you both on the use of names for the units. It is an incredible immersion factor. That was one of the things I really liked about CMBB and CMAK; they had names for the individual units. It made it that much more fun to put together AARs, because you had names to go with the units. Certainly I would have to create additional names for tank crews or the men in the individual squads, but the squad had a senior feldwebel or leutnant, etc already named. Then the story flowed from there.

I'm glad that at this point you could make your own scenarios and include names for the units or tanks. Yes, please, let's have the units named in the upcoming revisions for PC4. I always appreciated the scenarios made where the asterick * denoted an actual historical participant to the battle or campaign in CM. It really made you think about the terrible sacrifice those individuals were making.

Heinrich55

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 10/16/2010 3:05:54 AM

spellir74

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quote:

ORIGINAL: HintJ

What are just a few of the things I like about PC:K?

I love staying at ground level, watching replays from EVERY unit in bino view. I keep a diary/battle log for each team for each turn, trying to make my next order decisions based on each unit's exact point of view and circumstance. Every unit develops his own little story.

I can easily spend a week or more playing one mission. I get absolutley lost in the details, like reading a great book. Yeah, and all day at work I daydream about my last turn and what I will do in my next turn that evening, and really, I have no idea how it will end--this is the epitome of a good game for me.

I also love the on-map mortars in PC:K. They are more like the Close Combat mortars that I can place behind something and call in shots to areas I can't necesarily see or have a line-of-sight from a commander. And they look really cool firing.

Does the game need some improvements? Hell yes! And many of them are coming up, it seems. CMBB is a great game, but its pretty much not getting any better now--still love it, but PC:O is where my love is going.

And the tanks actually remind me of little metal minuatures, which I think this game is based on, anyway.

A few small suggestion: let the binos zoom out just a little bit more for a better 1st person perspective--the max zoom is perfect, but a little more pullback would be great.

Sounds a lot like me 2 or 3 years ago... (Has it been that long already?)

quote:

Also, let us rename the command units from the unit selection screen. That would, I think, add more of a personal touch and increase immersion. When I see "1/2/1PZ xyz is having problem x" in the message box, I have to think "Wait a minute, that's the MG team," whereas a common name/callsign gives immediate emotional reaction!

Again, I thought that too.

The Scenario Editor lets you do that already. You can name them anything you want.

< Message edited by spellir74 -- 10/16/2010 3:08:47 AM >

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RE: If I Own CMBB why get PCO? - 3/24/2011 4:58:54 PM

Mad Russian

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Well let's see, August 24th 2010. Where have we gone since I wrote this article? Thewood's and my AAR yesterday reminded me that I'd written this and not updated it in a long time.

So let's see where we've gone in those 7 months.

More than 10 historical campaigns.
More than 14 random campaigns.
More than 70 scenarios.
New maps and units being added almost daily.
The map and scenario editors have been continuously improved upon to make them both more powerful and easier to use.
More than 50 new vehicle models.
New improved physics dynamics that allow for more realistic movements during game play.
Improved animations that include, but are not limited to, gun recoil.
Improved vehicle modeling which includes many models having the ability to have individual tank numbers, unit ID's and kill rings added.
The game interface has been tweaked to include many play options to fit the style and requirements of the gaming community.
A 3D sound system was added. Which can be area specific, such as a breeze in a meadow but not in the forest.
Weather was added.
In game briefings have been added.
Hot keys for everything.
FOW has been modified even more.
Unit survivability was added. There are 3 levels of survivability you can choose for your troops now. Cautious/Normal/Aggressive.
Turn sequence structure. You have multiple choices as to the time sequences that constitute the way a turn plays.

All in all a lot of changes in the past 7 months. But this was a comparison thread about why you should buy PCO if you already own CMBB. There is really one impelling reason.

For the past 2 years, but aggressively over the past 7 months, the PCO code has been fine tuned to maximize every possible avenue to allow PCO to play with as few resources as possible. What that means in game terms is no difference to game play. What that means in computing power is paramount. If you have an older machine, and many of us do, PCO will play on most of them. There are a range of options that allow you turn on or off a long series of features. You can optimize PCO for gaming on older laptops as well as older desktops. I get told everyday how surprised gamers are at how well PCO runs now on their older machines, which were struggling just a few months ago.

IMO, there are lots of reasons to buy PCO, but for a gamer looking for his Eastern Front addiction itch to be scratched and watching CMBB not answering the call, like it used to, the fact that you can even play PCO may be the best answer of all.

Good Hunting.

MR

< Message edited by Mad Russian -- 3/24/2011 5:05:15 PM >

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