..... vonB's comments have me intrigued. I hope to see the memoirs.
Ya me three. I know a fair bit but the rest is vague.
Ho hum. I can give an insiders' view from the beginning of both CSO and CSO Simtek, after all, I did co-found and co-own them both. There is only one other person who could legitimately challenge that, and I would be happy to stand in open court and argue that toss, but like I said, in terms of real life importance, it comes pretty low in the food chain. The issues that concerned me are probably much narrower than many might think, especially the conspiracy theorists. If I were a lesser being, I would already have spouted mountains of drivel, rant, and invective, but there are already those who delight in that anyway. Passes the time I suppose.
However, a small note about CC6. During my time at CSO Simtek (as Director and Head of Operations), I initiated the Project for CC6 formally. I guess there are many(?) that might remember when the first Topics started appearing on closecombat.org? At that time, it was an intention, and I guess it still is just that.
The situation was probably the same as it is now. There was no free money available to put into development, which in my opinion, would take a six figure sum to accomplish commercially and do a good job. That in itself did not put us off, as we were in it for the long haul. In a nutshell, any financing of development would have had to come from the CSO Simtek coffers, the revenue for which was coming exclusively from Military (USMC/RAF Regt) sources for the development of CC for them (CCM, CCRAFRegt, CCAT, etc). I am not going to go into commercial specifics, but suffice to say, that did not provide sufficient funds for speculative development such as CC6. Much would still have to be done charitably, but there were committed people prepared to take it on, at least get something started.
Soon after CoI was released, I left CSO Simtek (early 2007), therefore cannot comment on anything from the 'inside' after that.
Most of the comments regarding the why's and wherefore's of the re-releases are in the right ball park, and you don't need to be very intelligent to understand. There's no revelation here. It is the easiest way to make some extra money on a meagre budget, using free contribution as much as possible. If we did anything wrong at CSO Simtek, it was spending CSO Simtek money on the development of CoI. We did because we were committed, in it for the long haul, and any revenues would help to offset the development costs and help towards developing CC6. We were not expecting a lot, but everything helped.
Now that Matrix drives the agenda commercially (unless anyone can detail otherwise?), you are unlikely to get CC6, at least in the terms I was intending, that is a major reworking, even from the ground up. The sums are simple. Who is going to pay for it? There are many things that can be done for free, but not for an intention like that. Re-releasing is all that is viable in the circumstances. Destineer and Matrix (though they would have access to sufficient funds) are never going to spend it on CC6 ever, UNLESS you could provide a compelling argument that the product would not only recover the investment, but a lot more besides. The executive of Destineer is as ruthless as they come, likewise Matrix Games. It's just business.
That brings a final comment. This is all based on my own vision of what CC6 could/should be. Others may have a different vision. It was based on a ground up development of the engine and presentation, using the logic that supports the CC game, in particular the psychological model. Heck it works brilliantly, so why not use it again.
Anyone who has any understanding of what the development effort for something like that is, will appreciate just how big that is. I will admit at the time I wondered whether it would ever see the light of day, but again, that did not stop us wanting to try.
So it's not rocket science to understand why we have what we have. The only real issue is whether you like it or not, and most of the contra's tend to fall in the I don't like community, but then there are those that are happy to play CC using stolen copies.
I'll end with this observation; in all the sectors I have worked, I have never found so many air heads, dick heads, wasters, idiots, and other dysfunctional types as there are compressed into the 'games' sector, most of them thinking that they were something, and probably still do. I spent 10 years working in Oil and Gas. Most of the idiots would shit a brick if they were to try to survive in that sector. I'd give them a day. On the other hand, there are some absolutely top notch, A1, first class, amazing and wonderful people, whom I have been privilged to know and work with. Funny old world.
However, I think I was just being whimsical when I said I might one day write my memoirs. There's nothing interesting enough to justify boring people with. But I may be tempted to publish all the documentation and correspondence relevant at the time, and people can make up their own mind. But not yet...
If anyone has any specific question they would like to ask, then ask away, but I can't promise I will reply...
I haven't the time to indulge yet, but I had to dip into this thread becasue of the title.
Well, that's a bit of a rant eh LostTemple? There is something in some of the things you say, but you are not always on the money there. More 'speculation' than 'specification'.
As the one who initiated the drive for CC6 when CSO Simtek had the Development Rights, it is something I know very much about, probably more than anyone else. What happened after I left Simtek, I cannot say.
As I have said before, perhaps one day I will tell a story, but I will admit, I am not sure whether I can be arsed. We'll have too see whether I write my memoirs in my dotage, and hopefully that is a LONG way off yet!
To conclude, your logic is generally somewhat biased (and I think I understand that), and you are entitled to your opinions. However, you make some BOLD claims so in the interests of balance I thought it appropriate to contribute the observation that your claims are sometimes more opinion than fact necessarily, as one myself who has been involved on the inside at one time.
Why thankee kindly Legion! Having relocated to the UK in challenging times, real life is mercilessly driving my agenda and is a major pre-occupation getting a living sorted out, so CC is on the back burner for the time being. I will however, be returning to a few of my CC pet projects as soon as I can spare the free time.
CC for life! Even death! I will be leaving instructions to place the original CSO Simtek production copy of Cross of Iron (which I produced myself) in my coffin when I finally shuffle of my mortal coil.... Now that is one thing that I will never get rid of... ever. Only one other person has ever seen it (though the digital content was subsequently used by matrix to produce the retail version).
As well as the USMC/CCM collection I am offering for auction on eBay, I also have something special for the discerning collector:
Close Combat III in the original box, shrink wrapped and unopened, as damn near mint as maybe.
There is some compression to the box front and back due to storage, but it is not severe, and the top, bottom, and sides are mint. The shrink wrap is unbroken and undamaged as is the box. No tears, gouges, or other nasties. If the front and back were table top condition, then it would be mint condition.
Some may ask whether I am abandoning CC? Far from it, but these things have to answer to real life priorities, and right now, they appear low on the list, so reluctantly, I am letting them go if anyone is prepared to pay more than a few pennies for it/them. I am still working on a CC3 Saved Game FIle Handler, but the Project is on hold while I deal with real life challanges. I would say that I am one of those who you could take out of CC, but you cannot take CC out of me!, if you see what I mean.
Anyway, there it is for what it's worth. It means a lot to me, and I hope it will mean a lot to someone else.
For anyone that may be interested in acquiring a collection of USMC/CCM TDS Workbooks, Software, and Gazette, I have them on eBay. The Gazette is the original Marine Corps Gazette Edition of September 2004 which includes a copy of CCM (3.1), still in the original card insert.
I think the Gazette will be a pretty rare find now in this condition? It's old tech and old hat, but is a nice little collection in it's own right. The stuff in the Workbook is sound and solid. It would even help you play CC better as it focuses on solid real world tactics.
Anyway, those that know, know, and for those that don't, drop me a line and I'll do my best to help.
I'm not going to give it away for peanuts so bidding starts at £20.00 excluding delivery. If you are interested, go there.
Hi Shane. It was a pleasure working with you way back in Simtek days. Nothing lasts for ever eh? Trouble is those of us who remember the halcyon days of the Zone have been spoiled, and it is unlikely to happen again, at least for CC, but that's the nature of things. I can't believe you will bail out completely, and sometimes we need time off (I too have had stints where CC was put on ice, but it has always returned in some way, whether as a light distraction or something more. Who knows? Even tomorrow can be difficult to see sometimes.
So whether we see you around again or not, I wish you the very best, and nominate you as one of, if not the most significant community Map Maker in the history of CC, at least as far as I am concerned.
For myself, CC is hit and miss, but will probably always be there in some way. I have some pet projects I intend to finish, but they will just have to take due process and fit around everything else going on.
Tomorrow sees me off back to Blighty, so cross your fingers for a smooth ferry crossing.
There's no money for the sick, there's no money for the old. There's no money for the unemployed, at least that what we're told. But there's money enough for rich men to play their money games, and there's money enough for distant wars, with very distant names
Money God we worship you again...
Maybe a tad poetic, but it illustrates a truth.
How is it that Banks have crashed (playing with your money), and bailed out (with yet more of your money). Nations say they are short of money, so where is all this money coming from that the IMF have to bail out Nations? Billions and billions and billions of it readily available to lend at extortionate rates of interest, payed for by your taxes while Services and Welfare have to be cut. How did they get all this money? No shortage of trillions to pay for wars and military machines. Now you (in the USA) can be detained indefinately without evidence, without legal representation or recourse to the law, because they 'think' you might be a terrorist, and it's not much better in the UK. Mmmm...
Why invade Iraq? Simple. Power. Power to improve global well being?
What they do not want is an educated, enlightened, and free thinking population who are prepared to think and question, as the scam they are perpetrating would collapse like a house of cards. Ignore it at your peril. There is plenty of intelligence available to those that seek, but they are very good at the business of propoganda and misdirection.
There are evil people who are prepared to sacrifice the lives of anyone in their 'cause', but do you for a moment believe that you, or your Nation's integrity, security, or sovereignty are in any way threatened by these people? if you do, then you have fallen for the lie, and will hand over your liberty on the back of it. The crime of the century is being played out before your eyes, but you have to look away from your TV, iPod, Or whatever distraction that fills up your waking hours in order to have a chance to see it.
No bloody revolution is needed. All you have to do is reject the lies. You cannot overturn them overnight, but their agenda is based on passive acquiescence. All you have to do is ignore it and buy into the propganda, and they will continue to get thier way.
Is it all doom and gloom? No, I do not think so. There are too many of us with intelligence, and more and more all the time. Could they ultimately win? Again, I do not think so, though it could be a very painful priocess. They do not care about your pain, only their gain. It is as old as time, only the instruments of power have changed, but they are not stupid, but very very subtle.
As to war? It's the biggest money making exploit known to man, and that is all they are interested in. Selling arms to both sides proves that it is not about right and wrong. Just power. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It's a defect of Homo Sapiens. That's all.
Smoke and Suppression can also help. Not all squads have smoke but if they do, try and use it.
As you have seen, if you assault, your squad will use grenades etc., but if you can also have the enemy targetted by another Team/Unit from another direction, this can reduce their capabilities. A combination of smoke, suppression, and assaulting from 2 or more directions simultaneously is possibly the best way to succeed.
But if you stumble across the enemy in a building unexpectedly, then you may not have time to do these things, and have to make a quick call. If you haven't got superiority in numbers/weaponry, then the odds are with the defenders, unless the enemy team is well degraded. It may then be better to err on the side of caution and withdraw and wait for support to arrive.
Do soldiers blow themselves up and can they suffer from friendly fire? Yes, it can happen....
Something like that. Sad to leave tho'.. Lovely country with lovely people, just sold out by the gangsters and crooks rather more severely than elsewhere, so it's going to take them a lot longer to dig themselves out of the economic pit they are in.
Just finished Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. Well worth reading for anyone interested in the evolution of the English language in particular. It's reasonably light reading with typical Bill Bryson humour, but still very informative. Some things will surprise both Brits and Yanks alike. You may find some of the things you took for granted very wrong...
Multiple waypoints is often needed to override the TAI's pathing if you want to specify a particular path, especially a more direct one, or prevent movement into areas you do not want. For example, when moving squads down a tree line (where you want the movement on the side away from the enemy), I noticed that they can weave in and out of the tree line, sometimes on the side closer to the enemy if you leave it up to the TAI.
All in all, having quite a good time (playing as Germans for the first GC, then will do Allies). Where the German BG is thin, there is a bit of a challange. Haven't been kicked off a Map yet, but pretty darn close on occasion (down to a single mauled Squad), and have had to blow a few bridges to prevent them falling into Allied hands (4 or 5 so far). Am playing with enemy on Always obey orders which makes them pursue their objectives more ruthlessly.
Finding it harder to 'slaughter' the enemy (noticed far more wounded than KIA) which is also good, though sometimes have to laugh again, for example when a solitary enemy soldier runs at a VL, totally exposed in the middle of a road, coming under cross fire from 2 Heavy MG's, an LMG, and an LMG Squad, and still the little bugger keeps coming! Consequently, they get further than I would expect when playing other versions. A 15 minute timer means not too much dead time, so there is action going on more or less right through the battle, at least if the enemy BG isn't too degraded.
Mortars a wee bit too powerful for my liking (though I do miss them when they are not available in the German static BG's).
Moving house soon, so CC and Development will have to go on hold for a while.
Had to laugh. Playing LSA (patched), an infantry squad (Grenedier) beat an armoured car (Sdkfz 231) racing down a road (about 200 metres). Infantry straight down at the double. Armoured card veering from side to side in a seemingly drunken stupor. No obstacles, though tree lines/woods on either side of the road in places. I'll take your word for it that the pathing is better than the unpatched version....
As with everything in life, context is important. A fanatic is someone who is intolerant to any alternative (to their view). This does not mean that it is by definition malignant. However, because the psychology of the fanatic is obsessional, it can often manifest maliganantly.
It is not limited to religion; it is more a characteristic of human nature. In most (all?) religions, you can see a distribution of 'believers', who range from the loose to the fundemental. A fundementalist 'Christian' is as dangerous as a fundementalist 'Muslim'. The abherrance is the fundementalism, not the religion.
Unfortunately, we use these terms in so many ways (one of the virtues and frustrations of language), and it is easy to misinterpret or even be misled by what is being said. Do we all mean the same thing by 'Fanatic'? In a general sense yes; there is an accepted meaning based on a behavioural characteristic which is commonly manifest in extreme and anti-social behaviour, but it is clear from the variety of generalisations being promoted here, that there is a divergence in understanding. I am sure there are some who are reading this who will find the language I am using difficult to understand. We are dipping into the realms of semantics, which is a challanging enough activity for born and bred English, never mind all those from foreign lands attempting to use the de-facto (for the time being) 'standard' for international communication.
But there is also ignorance. It is clear from the testimony of German WWII veterans, that atrocities were sanctioned and committed by the Wehrmacht as well as the SS, or any other body, military or otherwise, particularly with regard to Russia. The Party line was that Russians were 'inferior', to the extent that they did not deserve any humane treatment. Any individual whose conscience (or intelligence) found themselves at odds with this, could certainly find themselves suffering the consequences themselves from their own side. There are those who refused to accept the brutalities, and some of those paid with their lives, which merely illustrates the mistake in generalising.
A fanatic is more likely to be inhumane, if the creed demands it, as any counter-argument or alternative perspectives are rejected out of hand. Reason, logic, and such intellectual tools are not available to be used when debating such issues with them.
Even the term 'Soldier' needs some consideration, and is equally open to generalisations. Were all Japanese 'fanatics'? Patently not. We can argue the relative proportions and manifestations, and there is some value in that. There are 2 main types: Conscript and Volunteer. Each can provide fanatics, but that does not make soldiers fanatics. Moreover, it is a mistake to limit the use of fanatics to military or religion. It is a human characteristic, and can therefore exist at any level. Do not assume that it is only the 'other side' that suffers from these kinds of people...
On the whole, I am reasonably content with the infantry .v. infantry simulation. In general, I think the killing capabilities in CC are a bit too strong, especially for tanks which are *way* too strong IMO.
Have started on LSA. I am finding that it seems more difficult to mow down infantry with infantry, but I think it is the better for it. Although it is definately a game that needs to be played as Allies, I am starting to play as Germans to see what it's like (as it's my preference). I gave the Allies Always Obey Orders and I must say, they go for their objectives quite ruthlessly! 15 minute timer. Not uncommon for a squad or 2 to make a bee line for a VL/Bridge, and it's not always easy to stop them getting there! A lot more wounded and incapcitated rather than killed. Again, I find this better. We will see what it's like when there's more Armour around.
Only on the second round, but am finding I am able to sustain a defense, though not always a walk in the park. Down to a single (command) soldier on one of the Maps, and I expect to get kicked off this round. I am tyring to avoid blowing the bridges if at all possible, i.e. only if the position is untenable. In reality, the Germans would only blow a bridge if they thought they were going to lose control of it.
But if you get your deployment well positioned, you can still inflict serious casualties, but if you do not, then the attackers can make good headway. The larger Maps (than CC2) make it harder to deal with tactically. Spreading Units out thinly is a bad idea on the whole, so have to focus on what's important, and put up with being unable to command the whole Map with so few Units.
So, I think having reduced lethality makes a more compelling engagement. You have to use better tactics to sustain a position and keep your force intact, which is not easy against an enemy with superior numbers and a determination to gain their objectives. The only easy engagement so far has been one of the SS Groups, which took the Allied force to the cleaners!, but on the whole, few of the Maps have been an easy defend.
I hope that the armour isn't too powerful when it comes to killing infantry (as is the case in most CC's). We shall see.
My pleasure! Glad it got to you ok. I thought the inner box might make it survive better, but I suppose it had to compete with all the other parcels getting chucked around on the way.
And not just American. It's called propoganda, not news. News is an independant and objective statement of whatever is being reported. Propoganda is when that is 'adjusted' in order to satisfy a particular agenda. At best, it's opinion. Unfortunately, unless you have had a good education (and by that I mean a good general knowledge with a high degree of realilty) and are able to think for yourself objectively, it is easy to accept and buy into the opinion.
It seems to be becoming more common that (some) American Schools are trying to rewrite the history books, and 'adjust' science. What is the point? None of course if what you are interested in is objective and factual.
War is the ultimate dehumanising experience. It dehumanises everyone involved. Atrocity is atrocity regardless of who perpetrates it.
Once you accept the wanton destruction of innocent people, then you have signed up for the dark side in blood.
Rules of War? That only makes sense if you can have independant umpires, but what you are not prepared to do as well as what you are preapred to do, also defines you and your 'civilisation'. If the ends justify the means (e.g. Horishima/Nagasaki), then you have to live with that. The trouble is it is not a science, but a judgement, and one that can never be 'proved'. Was the massacre of all those civilians in Hiroshima justified on the grounds that it shortened the war, and therefore less people were killed? I am a pacifist, but also a realist. Not nuking Hiroshima would not have stopped the war and reduced casualties, and there was no other option involving less slaughter that could have done that. It is therefore the better of the choices. But you still have to live with the consequnces of that, including morally.
Fox News is a mouthpiece for someone, as it includes such opinion in its 'reporting'. As all content is controlled, then just look to who the controllers are. If you can find out what they are about, then you will understand more about what it is they want to try and do. Follow the money...
Civilians should never be a legitimate target. Never. A necessary evil at the very end of need only. Whether enemy military are (whether combatants or not) is more debatable. POW's who attemtped to escape would in my opinion relinquish any claims to be treated as non combatants, as they are engaged in direct action agaisnt the enemy. At the end of the day, it is how you perform that defines you, not how your enemy performs, and to justify your own actions based on what the enemy are prepared to do is dodgy logic at best.
Adjust to the conditions. I have long taken the view that my Tankers were hung over when going into battle so I assume nothing. If I find one of my tanks is taken out because it ended up facing in a bad direction after completing a move, I blame myself for not keeping an eye on it. Move on.
That's not to say that the issue of pathfinding is satisfactory. It isn't.
I know well that negotiating narrow spaces that vehicles are going to take some handling, so I adjust accordingly. It still drives me nuts at times, but by adapting I can minimise the hassle and still concentrate on the game, which is also moderated by the somewhat inadequate AI, and in H2H, both sides have to deal with it, so same ball park.
That's not to say that the issue of pathfinding is satisfactory. It isn't.
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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!
Topic: 
Now that is one thing that I will never get rid of... ever. Only one other person has ever seen it (though the digital content was subsequently used by matrix to produce the retail version).
