Combat Mission Shock Force

[Quid]

Combat Mission Shock Force

Anybody played this game yet? Apparently an excellent strategy game from the makers of Theatre of War.

The graphics are mediocre at best but tactically and strategically it's up there, so they say. The Demo is available here.

Quid

[Bob the Insane]

I tried the demo but just couldn't get into it... But then I have always had a bit of a block when it came to the combat mission games...

[Husar]

If it is like Theatre of war, I'll have to say no thanks, a bit too complicated for my taste. I never even managed to win the Theatre of War demo except once where I got lucky and the AI behaved in stupid ways(showing the undercarriage of their heavy tanks to my kingtiger ).

[AggonyDuck]

Got it and I do like it, although it can be frustrating at times, but less so thanks to the unit AI improvements by patch 1.2.

[Slyspy]

I really enjoyed the WWII Combat Missions. Not so sure about this one, the (near?) modern setting is not so attractive to me. But the demo awaits my attention....

@Husar:

I've never played Theatre of War but I believe Combat Mission is rather different. Playing any of the demos won't hurt you!

[AggonyDuck]

Well the Modern Setting is quite interesting. Especially how the game depicts urban combat is wonderful, due to the fact that it truly depicts how gruesome modern urban combat against a well equipped and determined enemy can be. Another interesting thing is that the Syrian and US forces are so different, that they actually require quite different approaches for various scenarios.

[Decker]

If it is like Theatre of war, I'll have to say no thanks, a bit too complicated for my taste. I never even managed to win the Theatre of War demo except once where I got lucky and the AI behaved in stupid ways(showing the undercarriage of their heavy tanks to my kingtiger ).

Nah, Theater of War is a totally different buzzard than CMSF. This CM game is getting tuned up with patches as it was released toooo early and with an enormous amount of bugs, but! They are fixing them through patches and 1.02 should be out soon(or it already is) and they are already working on 1.03. At least check out the demo.

[darkragnar]

I just downloaded the demo , and i cant see my infantry! i can see my strykers alright but my infantry are all invisiable...some one else have that problem?

[AggonyDuck]

Have you checked whether they are currently in the Strykers or if they are dismounted?

[darkragnar]

Hehe , naturally Dismounted :P

i stumble on the solution by accident , i was furiosly striking my keyboard and i pressed alt+w, which turns the shadows off which caused the infantry to appear for some reason...lucky me.

After playing the game a bit , i find it pretty entertaining and fun to play for a while , sure the interface is really messed up but , i dont know its pretty cool to move your infantry squads and fight with them.

and the M1A1 Abrams kick serious arse , the syrains have no chance what so ever against american armor , the metal monsters can not only take a zillion hits but they can also fire with pin point accuracy.

[Samurai Waki]

I find it rather unbalanced. US Infantry armed with the Javelin Anti-Tank/Fortification Missile can wipe out a Syrian Force in a Hurry. The only exception to this is Urban Combat.

[Husar]

I have a small, ehh, problem. I installed the demo and set the options, then clicked on skirmish and fast skirmish but can't get any further. On skirmish it wantes me to load something that isn't there and on fast skirmish I can set some options but can never click "ok", it's always greyed out.

So, do I have to create my own scenario in the scenario editor first or what?

[darkragnar]

I have a small, ehh, problem. I installed the demo and set the options, then clicked on skirmish and fast skirmish but can't get any further. On skirmish it wantes me to load something that isn't there and on fast skirmish I can set some options but can never click "ok", it's always greyed out.

So, do I have to create my own scenario in the scenario editor first or what?

Click on Battle , and then CLick Ok. to go into the main battle, or when u click on battle u can click on the practice mission.

@Wakizashi
But thats the real part of the simulation its not balanced at all in real life and the weapons simulated in the game have got all the ranges and other options as their real life counter part, i mean if they didnt have that i would have lost interest in the game beacuse it would be an arcady attempt then, thats the fun part to figure out how to blow the us forces to hell with ur inferior equipment.

[Husar]

Click on Battle , and then CLick Ok. to go into the main battle, or when u click on battle u can click on the practice mission.

I didn't see any practice mssion, the list was empty.

Maybe I should redownload or so.

[darkragnar]

What did you see then ? the battle button is above the quick battle button.

[Husar]

Basically an empty list.

I can select invisible entries and click ok, just to end up in the main menu again, guess something is wrong with the download or installation. Or it just doesn't like my install, or Vista. I could try it in XP someday.

[darkragnar]

true, perhaps a reinstalation would do the trick

[Zatoichi]

Well, sorry I can't help you with your current demo problems, but the 1.03 patch is due out tonight, and Battlefront will be re-releasing the demo incorporating the fixes from 1.03 in the near future - so in order to get a feel for how the full game plays with the extensive list of fixes promised, you might want to wait a few days before trying the new demo.

I'm really enjoying the game, and am looking forward to the new patch to clear up some of the more annoying issues. As for the 'balance' issues - well, the best thing about CM:SF is the ability to have totally independent victory conditions for both sides. So while the US may have to capture a specific building, whilst keeping casualties low and not causing 'collateral' damage to other structures, the Syrian side may be tasked with destroying one US tank. So even though the US side may accomplish their objectives, if the Syrians loose all their troops but destroy the tank, they'll win. Welcome to asymmetrical warfare! If that doesn't suit you, you can also play US v US or Syria v Syria with 'balanced' forces.

The Combat Mission community is busy cranking out a bunch of decent scenarios, and this will no doubt increase after the release of 1.03. Battlefront are also committed to supporting their game, so expect more tweaks and patches in the future to make the game even better.

Did I mention I like this game?

[Hooahguy]

Instead of making a whole new topic, Id thought I would just bump this thread instead.

Does anyone else have this game? I plan on buying it soon. Ive been playing the demo (which is very replayable, by the way, more and more. Its so much fun after you get past the very steep learning curve. But after you get down the basics, I cant find a better combat sim. Not that Ive played many, but Ive always dreamed of playing a non-shooter game that was set in modern times, and this game has fulfilled that dream.
I also plan on buying the Marines module.

BTW, nearly all the bugs have been fixed (or so Ive heard) and they re-released the demo, which is located here.