Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone out there has a good Christmas with friends and family. For those of you who are deployed, best wishes to you, call home on your Iridium on the 25th and come home safe in 2012!
Close Combat has been a bit low key over the past few months. There is certainly a back log of new submods and patches to add as well as some old files that have been rediscovered. Matrix Games has some obscure news to report on also.
Visits to the site are still steady. Mod downloads have been going steady as well. Part of my plan for CCS in 2012 is expanding the number of guides and continuing to restructure the downloads FTP area. Yes the FTP is still open for anyone wanting to mass download every single mod or to just download older versions that are not available on the website. This plan is my way of future proofing Close Combat mods. In the years to come, as numbers dwindle so will the knowledge of how to make these mods work. CCS will be providing a clean, secure and straight forward site to help anyone through the task installing and playing any mod. Lets face it, mods are not easy to install anymore.
Tim Stone from www.rockpapershotgun.com has written up a great AAR from Close Combat 2 A Bridge Too Far. Have a read of his first two paragraphs, the entire article is linked below.
``This week’s battle broadcast comes to you from a picturesque Dutch city on the banks of the Rhine. It’s September 1944, and a beleaguered force of British paratroopers, clinging by their fingernails to positions around Arnhem’s strategically-vital road bridge, are about to participate in what could well turn out to be their final action. All that stands between the Red Berets and total annihilation is a couple of 6-pounder anti-tank guns, a flamethrower, two PIATs, a few dozen Stens and Lee-Enfield rifles, and one mediocre wargamer who has known and loved Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far for the best part of 14 years.
If my 40 men are to survive the coming onslaught, they’re going to need to demonstrate as much discretion as valour. We start in nominal control of seven of the map’s nine victory locations. If the German attack is as ferocious and tanky as I suspect it will be, the Brits have little chance of holding onto all of these. Rather than fight for every stuccoed villa and leafy square, I aim to draw the foe into the maze of streets and parks beyond the main north-south bridge road. The more claustrophobic the fighting, the better chance my lads have of ambushing armour and splintering infantry assaults.``
Battlefront has released the new Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy (CM:BN)! The new tactical turn-based/real-time WWII wargame is available immediately for both the PC and Mac OS X platforms, as download or mail delivery, starting at $55. This game is not sold in stores and can be only purchased directly from www.battlefront.com. You can download the demo right from CCS CM_Battle_for_Normandy_Demo_Setup.exe (avoid all the ad sites!).
According to Battlefront, Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy (CM:BN) faithfully recreates the experience of tactical land warfare in Western France during World War Two. So far, only the first module, including German regular units and US units, is available but future modules will include Commonwealth and German SS and FJ units and more.
We have an ongoing discussion in the Alternate Fronts forum, don't hesitate to post your comments about this new game there!
5th Round of Patches for Last Stand Arnhem, The Longest Day and Wacht Am Rhein
Matrix Games have released the 5th round of patches for Last Stand Arnhem, Wacht Am Rhein and The Longest Day. You can avoid the members club and download them all straight from here.
Last Stand Arnhem has been updated to v5.60.51b. Most notably BG points have been changed so you can afford more to bring more of your expensive units into battle. Anti tanks guns are less prone to incoming indirect fire, they can still take casualties but they shouldn't die so quickly. Patch contains all previous updates, it is recommended to restart any campains or operations you have started already. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download Last Stand Arnhem Patch v5.60.51b. New bug comments or bug reports can be reported at Matrix Games forum or right here in our Last Stand Arnhem Forum. Read the full list of bug fixes in the patch announcement thread.
The Longest Day has been updated to v5.50.13b. Changes in this patch are very slim. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download The Longest Day Patch v5.50.13b. New bug comments or bug reports can be reported at Matrix Games forum or right here in our The Longest Day Forum. Read the full list of bug fixes in the patch announcement thread.
Wacht Am Rhein has been updated to v4.50.14b. Changes in this patch are also very limited. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download Wacht Am Rhein Patch v4.50.14b. New bug comments or bug reports can be reported at Matrix Games forum or here in our Wacht Am Rhein Forum. Read the full list of bug fixes in the patch announcement thread.
Matrix Games released a new Beta patch on the 9th of December 2010 for Last Stand Arnhem. You can download the new patch directly from here, v5.60.050b To view the full list of changes for this new patch read Andrew Loveridge's post at the Matrix site. This patch is all inclusive, it contains all the fixes data from every previous patch. All previous patches can be downloaded from our FTP site.
Metal Mod v1.00 by Zon is now available for download. This mod will change many of the Allied and German vehicle graphics. To install simply unzip the archive and run the EXE file. Follow through the prompts the installer will give you. An icon will be placed on your desktop when complete. To uninstall, go through your Control Panel and Add/Remove Programs. Here are some examples of the graphic changes. For more images visit the Metal Mod Gallery.
Stuart & M10
PZ4 & M4
Marder & PZ4
KT
Another beta patch for Wacht Am Rhein has been released. Skip the Member's Club and download it straight from CCS. This version v.4.50.12b was released December 13th 2010. Like all patches for the rereleases so far, this one is all inclusive. I recommend you restart any campaigns or operations you have in progress. You can read the full list of changes in this version in the WaR Forum, post any bugs you find there as well. Naturally you can post any bugs you find over at the Matrix Games Wacht Am Rhein forum too.
A new patch for The Longest Day has also been released, and is available here, v.5.50.11b Its all inclusive and the biggest change is the updated path finding system from Last Stand Arnhem has been included. Post any new bugs you find in the The Longest Day Forum or over at Matrix Games.
The newest version of Ground Tactics is now online for you to play. Davidssfx has released his final Ground Tactics v2.0. This version was modified to work with GameRanger. GameRanger will now auto-connect you and your opponent with this new version. Follow the installation instructions on the download link, you will need ModSwap. If you are new to Ground Tactics read David's post over at Matrix to get a quick rundown of all the additions and deletions.
The Total Realism Sub Mod (TRSM) has been updated recently by Dima. Version 0.982 (final) is now available for download. There are some notable changes. The 6pdr, 4.7cm and 3.7cm guns will not fit into buildings anymore. 81mm mortar ammo count reduced for both sides. The AVRE reload back to the original 90 seconds. HMG, MMG and mortars can now deploy and commence firing much faster. Considering the weight these changes hold, it is advisable to restart any campaigns or operations you may have started if you are not too far along. The TRSM Real Weapons Artwork submod and RD_DeathDealer's TRSM Sound mod are not compatible with this new version of TRSM. They will be taken offline until they are updated by the modder. You can still get them and older versions of TRSM from the FTP site.
Yuma has released a modified mappack of the CC4 original maps. These modified CC4 maps add more trees, minefields and ruins. Water crossings and some buildings have been recoded also. These changes to LOS will give your units more cover when entering a map for the first time. Taking tanks off road will be bit more troublesome as well, it will require more delicate manoeuvring around trees and minefields. To install, backup your C:/Program Files/Close Combat IV/Maps folder and unzip these files into the original folder.
Since our shift to playing Close Combat to GameRanger (GR) we have encountered a problem with auto connecting the rereleases. GR requires the intro, main and multiplayer screens to remain as is, or with very minimal changes. If you intend to create a mod for it to be played multiplayer on GR, consult the forums first on what you can and cannot change. Auto install mods made for the re-releases will not function at all on GR, therefore your mod must be installed through ModSwap, and you change the three screens all you want in this case. There is an ongoing discussion about it here in our forums.
Want all the Close Combat forums at Matrix Games to show up on the same page? Well you can do it, follow these steps. Login to the Matrix Games Forums and select My Subscription (top right). Once in there text search or scroll down to each Close Combat forum. Check the main box, not the sub boxes. Once all five forums are checked click Ok and you are done. Now you can bookmark this link and you will be taken to only the Close Combat forums.
The FTP site is back online again! You can access every single mod that you can on the website and older mod versions that are no longer available. The address is ftp.closecombatseries.net, username ccmods and the password is A6WChQddXMm5rpd7.
2010 was not an uneventful year for Close Combat! We had the release of Last Stand Arnhem and its slew of patches, Ground Tactics mod, Scheldt updates and the Ortona mod revived, a switch to GameRanger for all online activity as well as a big handful of smaller mods and events. To give you an idea of how big our community is lately here are some stats. Since the summer the site has served an average of 2.5 Terrabytes of mods per month. New forum topics per month are about 75, with anywhere between 750 to 1000 posts per month. New user registration fluctuate between 60 and 90 each month, I do my best to weed out the bots to.
In the new year I plan to get the site updated some more. I have taken a huge break from the website and gaming since October. Mikwarleo... we shall continue! All the other GCs I started with you guys in 2010, I will be hunting you down as well. So my plan for the website in 2011 is to continue the filename and folder restructuring, Boot Camp and Player's News will be updated to. Nobody solved CSO_Talorgan's Terrain Challenge from August, this is the 1st time everyone has been stumped. I will post the answer in January and get that contest jumpstarted again.
Merry Christmas everyone. Put down the Blackberrys, IPhones and cellphones, logout of Facebook and Twitter and enjoy your time off the computer-away from work-with your families!
MOOXE
Gameranger.com Primary Meeting Place for Close Combat
1. Download and install Gameranger. GameRanger runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Mac OS X.
2. Create a new free account. GameRanger will prompt you to create a new GameRanger account or use an existing one, and you will need to enter your valid e-mail address. You should use the address your friends are most likely to know.
3. Activate your account and log in. Within minutes you should receive a confirmation e-mail to activate your GameRanger account. If it's not in your inbox, try looking in your junk folder, and mark it as a trusted-sender, or "not spam." Adding the sender to your address book is also a good idea.
4. Invite your friends. Under the Community menu, there are various options to invite your friends to try GameRanger. You can also search to see if they already have GameRanger accounts.
5. Host or Join a game. To join an existing game, select a game room from the list and click Join Game. If the game room has a green dot next to it, then it is already playing. Some games do not allow you to join if they have already started. Alternatively, you can create a new game by clicking Host Game.
Have you ever found yourself in a battle and not sure which exit VL you need? There's no way to check while you are in combat. Your opponent may know exactly which exit VL provides you supply, and which exit leads to an uncontrolled map to freely conquer. That's good intel, and its unlikely your opponent will have it. I have taken seven maps from Invasion Normandy mods and placed the VL values, road network and heavy support range on them. These have helped me so much while gaming online. I know what map is more valuable for overall victory, I do not forget which exit VLs to capture so I can advance quickly and I know when to expect heavy barrages. These maps are all printable. My advice to you is print them off and place them by your desk somewhere for quick reference!
The downloads section is now being restructured. Filenames are all being templated and certain mods are moving around categories. From the example below you can see how all files will be renamed. Some other examples are, "COI_CommonwealthSummer_v8.4_installer.zip", & "TLD_AlliedVetmod_v1.0_installer.zip". The FTP Section is also being restructured to mirror the website, login and view the CC5 folder to see how its being done. Modding Tools will be renamed to thier application name, or best description if there isnt one. All Mac files will retain their original names.
Note: Read more for full explanation
In August of 2004, Zappi, Homba, Bambam887, RedScorpion and MOOXE all pitched
in to create this Close Combat site. I would to thank all the people who have visited
and found this site to thier liking. I hope you had time to check out some
of the great Close Combat mods and our forums. I'd also like to thank
all the members of our volunteer staff that have helped over
the years, and all our users that contributed to this site!
The following services and sites are also provided by us...
Last Stand Arnhem has been updated to v5.60.51b. Most notably BG points have been changed so you can afford more to bring more of your expensive units into battle. Anti tanks guns are less prone to incoming indirect fire, they can still take casualties but they shouldn't die so quickly. Patch contains all previous updates, it is recommended to restart any campains or operations you have started already. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download 
The Longest Day has been updated to v5.50.13b. Changes in this patch are very slim. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download 
Wacht Am Rhein has been updated to v4.50.14b. Changes in this patch are also very limited. This is a beta patch, not an official patch. Download 
The Total Realism Sub Mod (TRSM) has been updated recently by Dima. 
Yuma has released a 
Since our shift to playing Close Combat to GameRanger (GR) we have encountered a problem with auto connecting the rereleases. GR requires the intro, main and multiplayer screens to remain as is, or with very minimal changes. If you intend to create a mod for it to be played multiplayer on GR, consult the forums first on what you can and cannot change. Auto install mods made for the re-releases will not function at all on GR, therefore your mod must be installed through ModSwap, and you change the three screens all you want in this case. There is an ongoing discussion about it 
Want all the Close Combat forums at Matrix Games to show up on the same page? Well you can do it, follow these steps. Login to the Matrix Games Forums and select My Subscription (top right). Once in there text search or scroll down to each Close Combat forum. Check the main box, not the sub boxes. Once all five forums are checked click Ok and you are done. Now you can bookmark 
