Combat Mission Battle for Normandy - Released

Gah! Two great 3D tactical war games released within a week!

Combat Mission Battle for Normandy is out right now. Can't write or post too many images because I had a long day. But at least I had ten minutes with this one.

I need some sleep now.

Cheers,

Panzer Command - Nothing Quiet on the Ostfront

You can argue that Panzer Command Ostfront (PCO) will not win any awards for its looks ... But there is more than polygons and textures in this massive tactical war game.

Despite heavy AT fire, a Russian T-34 attempts to join a botched thunder run in the town of Niemirow.

I played the first scenario that the game's single battles menu threw at me. Quite interesting setup: I played the Germans defending the town of Niemirow with a mix of infantry and (half-assed) Pak 36s against a blitz of Russian tanks supported by infantry.

DCS: A-10C Warthog - Another Great Excuse to Get an iPad!

Those CDU buttons in the virtual cockpit of DCS-A10C making you feel like you are trying to catch flies with a chopstick, Mr. Miyagi style?

Not anymore!

Take a look at the fantastic work of this guy.



Make sure to visit the Ipadpit webpage, and if possible, donate.

Thanks to Chris for the heads up on this great gizmo!

Cheers,

Bouncy Landings - Yes, it's an angle of attack problem!

I hope I am not sounding like a preacher with my angle of attack posts ...

I assembled this quick video after some really bouncy landings I performed in IL-2 1946.



Cheers,

Combat Mission Battle for Normandy - Demo Gets Widespread Praise

The demo for the upcoming Combat Mission has stormed the hard drives of war gamers worldwide and ... boy ... the reception is fantastic. There is no official word on the release yet, but I assume it is just around the corner.

Cheers,

Phantom Fury - Past Monday's "Military Monday" Mission at SimHQ's Online Gaming

Thanks to "fatty" for the heads up on this one.



The guys at SimHQ are a great group if you are interested in cooperative ArmA 2 online gaming. Everybody is welcome to participate, check details on how to join at SimHQ. Missions are damn interesting from the tactical point of view and a lot of fun. This one is a raid that has a lot in common with the recent news headlines! :)

Salute, SimHQ!

Panzer Command Ostfront Wins the Race: Demo Out, Release Next Tuesday!

Not that Battlefront (Combat Mission) and whatever was left of Koios (Panzer Command) were actually competing with each other. At least their upcoming tactical wargames were competing for my attention. ;)

Played that demo a lot and found it amusing that to get an experience similar to the original Combat Mission you have to play a game not from Battlefront but from Koios ...

Some screenshots of one of the demo scenarios included.

Bin Laden Dead!

It's all around the news right now ... the CIC to speak shortly.

Great news!

Bin Laden was killed inside Pakistan (Abbottabad, see map below) by an special operations forces team.


View Larger Map

Cheers,

ArmA 2 - There is turret down and then there is CIV turret down!

Virtual armor commanders know well the advantages of the turret-down position. Basically used for observation, it allows the commander to watch over a crest with the armored vehicle fully protected from enemy fire and (hopefully) observation.

The turret of an M2A3. The thing on top of the turret, to the left of the screenshot is the commander's independent viewer (CIV). Note how the CIV is higher than the gunner's acquisition system (also on top of the turret, near the AT missile launcher).

ArmA 2 is no armor simulation, but nonetheless I took an M2A3 Bradley for a training exercise on turret down positions ...

F/A-18E Addon for Flight Simulator X, by VRS Products

I am always inspired by Jomni's stories and pictorials of simulated flight in Flight Simulator X (his site is in the blogroll), and when I saw the F/A-18E addon (AKA "Superbug") by VRS Products at my local BestBuy I just couldn't resist.