Impressions thus far

[STIENER]

zakblood
" if you look at the tech support page and compare to the amount of bought customers" ...you can see how many games have been bought on the tech page??

not everyone posts when they have issues...you know that I would think? ... allot/ some? will just lose interest and move on to another game. that's was an interesting response to the remark...its a mess....we shouldn't have to turn off all the apps and stuff running in the back ground to play the game we bought, we never have had to before and a lot of people don't have the PC knowledge to do it any ways, so that's not going to happen. if we have the required requirments to play the game on the PC we run then that should be good enough and it should run.

[zakblood]

again fair comment,

the turn off part is to those who have crashes and major issues like it not running at all etc, not for the few who have game or bug related issues, hopefully another patch or fix will sort out the few issues which are left, and like its already been seen and mentioned, not everyone has the same problems either, so it's a odd map or a given setup / position etc.

this is my last post here, i'll come out of replying, so carry on as if i never has replied at all, my comments and posts are there to help and offer advice, take it or leave it, but i'm not getting into a need to reply to everything posted, so will leave it to the developer and move on to another test game,

enjoy[;)]

[STIENER]

thanks zakblood....you are a wealth of knowledge and we apprietiate you helping out here...thanks again. what are you moving onto?

[WillKnott]

Overall, I think TBF is good. Played nonstop since I bought CC1's release way back when you bought your games at a brick n mortar computer store [:'(] 3d has been a long time coming, and I can only imagine the last 10 ish years of developing on one engine, only to realize you had to build another just to make this work, and having the fortitude to stick with it. I applaud the dedication. I hope this game is a commercial success for the team and it leads to future versions and more development. If TBF is to 3d CC as CC1 was to the 2d series, then we are in store for a treat for many more years to come.

Praises...
1. I like the new force pool format, makes limiting casualties more important.
2. I like that infantry when very close can have a chance (low) vs armor, they can damage the tank or immobilize the crew and occasionally destroy it.
3. for a first time 3d, nice to have multiple theaters and varied terrain.
4. the los sight tool is very good, person who thought of that one deserves a medal.
5. I like how you can take your 'slotted' teams and create smaller teams that don't take up a slot. allows some interesting setups and I don't have to waste a full slot to get a bazooka, sniper our 3 man assault.
6. Good scaling of men to buildings, I like troops now actually have to use windows n doors
7. Obviously, the 3d environment really improves the main issue with 2d and line of sight problems. (I see u, u see me aspect and the shooting through hills bugs)
8. Tank vs Tank feels good, I like there isn't one shot one kill to the tank fight, this is good and I like they have to trade shots.

Gripes...
1. Where are the 2 story buildings?
2. Graphics are ok not terrible and 3d tank rendering is not bad, but a bit cartoonish everywhere else on zoom out, and they lack details as 2d did...forgivable for having to make a new engine...hopefully future versions give more time to spruce up some things.
3. Only 2 angles on 3d? be nice to get a ground level view from a unit.
4. Game crashes too often, I have multiple modern systems, tried them all and they all crash. I'm allowing some leeway. We are on version 1.0 of a new engine built from scratch. Its understandable. I will sit on full on complaining until a few patches come out.
5. No custom operation in Editor. That is the best way to play Close combat with a few maps to go back n forth on. Especially Multiplayer.
6. Maps are a bit small, wish they had more space to maneuver.
7. I know CC has the 'mental' aspect of combat, but the men panic, break, and run too quickly. Dudes need to have a little more virtual fortitude. They don't need to all be fearless and never break under stress, but I see men more often break and run at the first shots. I stack up officers with them and it helps, but they need a bump in the values that make them withstand combat a bit more. I see them break and run doing normal not crazy tasks without casualties under good cover.

In the end, combat doesn't seem as refined as the 2d series. Granted, 2d vs 3d is going to feel that way, but I cant put my finger on what feels 'off' to me. However, in infantry level combat, while it still has the "Close Combat" feel to game play, the combat doesn't feel 'right' for a close combat game. (ya, it sounds weird, and why I have a hard time explaining it) Perhaps its number 7 under my gripes list. Its still fun, but compared to PITF or G2C battles in 2d, the fine control and fire and manuever seems to be missing. I hope as patches come out and refinements are made, the finer details of game play start to come back.

[Saturnian]

I think that what they have is salvageable and I don't hold any grudge for matrix releasing it as it is. However there are lots of things that need to be fixed. It is horrible to lose a whole squad because they panic and run toward an enemy. At least make them surrender, for crying out loud. But they don't do that anymore!

[WillKnott]

as for Gripe #3, just saw a post from pip...."You can alter the view angle using both the SHIFT+UP/DOWN keys and by holding down the middle mouse button."

so i guess i can cross that off the list
----
so i post this and patch comes out a few hours later and 'free camera' shows up in the patch...better than editing the file method...


Also, been playing w graphics settings. due to frequent crashing, i set the graphics to lowest settings...i added shadows back and ground clutter after 1.0.2 and it brought back some details that made it look cartoonish...shadows definitely cured the "Lahaina Noon" effect.

[Saturnian]

I can't be the only one that hasn't had a single medal earned other than a purple heart. what is going on?!!?!?

Do I have a setting turned off?! "Soldiers never earn medals" option I accidentally switched on?

And please, why can't I click on the individual soldiers!?!? The game knows who has what gun, but I can't click them to find out!

[STIENER]

seems to me that allot of players are still saying that there troops panic and run allot in this game. Matrix? cant this be tweaked?

[Bradley62]

Played through 5 battles so far with (1.0.4) really enjoying the game. Will always have a great affinity for the top down versions but the potential for this title is enormous. Beautiful game just needs more love and attention. Did have a tank go under a bridge but was able to bring back on road with an order. It rewards for good tactics and can be unforgiving for careless or poor tactical decisions. Highly recommended. Keep up the good work!

[wodin]

I found attacking in Cobra was far far easier than trying to attack in Tunisia

[Saturnian]

I just got through Enna in Sicily and thought it was one of the maps that really lets the AI shine. I felt it allowed the right combination of strategy and tactics and felt realistic.

What I did notice at the end, though, is that the broken remnants of AI teams never surrender(I never have seen anyone surrender in this game, ever) and they can be essentially impossible to kill. I sent in 4 teams for a final flanking attack, but the broken enemy units just stayed where they were and no one could shoot them. I had to run past them and they got to keep that section of map when the battle was over. Realistically they would have surrendered and there is no way anyone could survive what we threw at them at point blank range. And the hand to hand combat looks cool, but it take way too long to get a kill.

But otherwise I think that the AI works best in large, open maps. Work needs to be done on close range fighting because there are some issues.

[STIENER]

@ Pip....again the no surrender scenario. perhaps a good look into this??