Combat Mission - Battle for Normandy (CM:BN) is a unique, fun game that faithfully recreates the experience of tactical land warfare in Western France during World War Two.
Using the unique Turn-Based (WeGo)/Real-Time hybrid game system of our proprietary CMx2 battle engine, the first installment in this new series covers the three months after the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, from Operation Overlord in June through the Cobra Breakout in August.
To accurately simulate the often frantic and rapid pace of modern combat, the Combat Mission game engine was designed and programmed from the start to be RealTime. Experience Combat Mission like never before as you order your units while the battle rages on around you.
Play the game as you want, against the AI in Realtime or Turn Based Mode or against another Human player in Realtime TCP/IP or WeGo in PBEM (Play by Email) and Hotseat.
Building upon the legacy started 10 years ago with the release of the ground smashing Combat Mission Beyond Overlord, CM:BN incorporates years of experience and customer suggestions to produce what we think is the most genuine and enjoyable simulation of tactical ground warfare of World War Two. CM:BN is based on the extremely powerful proprietary CMx2 engine - the foundation for which was laid with the Combat Mission Shock Force series of Modern tactical warfare games.
The CMx2 game engine is now in its 4th year of improvements and expansions, not the least of which are the host of brand new features necessary to simulate WW2 warfare in a temperate climate
Here are some key features of "Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy":
GAMEPLAY:
· Both RealTime (pausable) or WeGo (turn based, simultaneous turn execution) game modes
· player Game Modes with Realtime over TCP/IP (LAN, Internet), WeGo with PBEM (Play by Email) or Hotseat
· Story driven semi-dynamic campaigns, stand alone (non-campaign) battles, QuickBattle generator, and full featured Editor guarantee endless replayability
· Allied vs. Axis, Allied vs. Allied and Axis vs. Axis play options
EDITOR:
· Full featured Game and Map Editor to create your own battles and maps - even campaigns - or edit existing battles and maps
· New hierarchical interface to visually select specific vehicles, equipment, and other options for your scenarios
· Unique and diverse mission objectives for each side, including several objective types (e.g. exit zones, unit and terrain based objectives) that can be hidden or known
· Improved Scenario briefing format, including a new Designer Notes subsection
· "Reduced headcount" option to simulate previously depleted formations
QUICK BATTLES:
· Redesigned Quick Battle Generator that includes the ability to "purchase" and "cherry pick" individual units (similar interface as in Editor)
· Unique new optional Rarity system which allows players to include rare units without degrading their ability to have a viable combat force
· Players can now preview maps before playing
· The map can either be manually or randomly selected
UNITS:
· Meticulously researched TO&E which can be customized by the player
· Comprehensive depiction and modeling of US Army forces, including Infantry, Armored Infantry, Airborne, Armored, and more
· Wide range of German Army (Heer) forces, including Panzergrenadiers, Pioniers, F??siliers, Sturmgesch??tz, Panzer formations, and more
· Dozens of detailed US and German vehicles including tanks, halftracks, self propelled artillery, trucks, and more
· Dozens of detailed US and German weapons, from small arms like the M1 Garand rifle or MP40 machinepistol, to large crew-served weapons such as mortars and AT Guns. Even both variants of the monster German Pak43 are included
MAPS:
· Map sizes as tiny as 224 meters by 224 meters up to a massive 16 square kilometers
· Play large scale battles or small platoon sized firefights
· Conduct combat operations in lush rural landscapes, dense urban settings, or anything in between
· Many new terrain types including heavy forest ground, crops, railroads, water, and fords
· A wide range of bridge types classified to include/exclude certain types of units by weight
· Detailed simulation of Normandy`s infamous hedgerows ("bocage"), including the explicit simulation of breaching with Rhino tank attachments and engineers
· Normandy specific Flavor Objects such as gravestones, haystacks, sheds, wood piles, milestones, propaganda posters and (much) more...
BUILDINGS:
· Generic building blocks up to 8 stories high including dozens of different building styles for dense urban terrains
· Individualized "special" buildings including storefronts, shacks, garages, barns and more for ultimate flair and atmosphere of 1944 Normandy
· Windows and doors of buildings explicitly simulated, and their placement and appearance editable with most building styles
SOLDIERS:
· Individually tracked and modeled soldiers, including their equipment, ammo and weapons
· Dynamic, context sensitive equipment loadouts for individual soldiers depending on what weapon is carried
· Graphical display of secondary weapons, such as a shouldered rifle or Panzerfaust
· Many new soldier animations, stances and positions, including kneeling and sitting positions for crew served weapons, pistol firing animations, hand grenades throwing, crew functions, first aid, and more...
· Soldiers can surrender and possibly "rescued" by friendly units
· Automatic and manual ammo sharing between nearby soldiers as well as vehicles
· First aid between soldiers ("Buddy aid") helps with the recovery of important weapons and ammo, as well as improving end of battle results
VEHICLES:
· Extremely detailed hi-polygon vehicle 3D models with fully articulated suspensions, animated hatches, MG mounts, smoke launchers, and more
· Extensive vehicle damage modeling individually for each sub-system including the most realistic ballistics, armor, and post-armor effects available to date
· Ability of passengers to fire out of open topped vehicles (including but not limited to hatches)
· Rhino attachments fully simulated and visually depicted for Bocage breaching
· Randomly individualized vehicle models including external equipment like sandbags or ammo boxes, damaged fenders, missing or bent armor skirts and more
WEAPONS:
· On-map mortars (hooked up realistically within the command structure)
· On-map assets such as mortars and Infantry Guns are able to fire in both direct and indirect modes, using their own spotters or separate forward observers
· Weapon crews have specific functions which affect weapon performance
· Player-placeable static defenses and fortifications such as bunkers, trenches, barbed wire, "hedgehogs", mines, and more
· Highly realistic and easy to use off-map artillery as well as air support, simulating heavy artillery (including naval artillery) as well as strafing and bombing runs by aircraft such as the P51 or FW190
· Player-placeable Target Reference Points (TRPs) allow simulating prepared support strikes and ambushes
COMMANDS:
· New Scout Team Command sections off 2 men, favoring automatic weapons, to act as scouts
· New Driver Team Command allows large passenger units to leave behind one or two Soldiers to drive and/or man the weapon of a transport vehicle (such as a halftrack)
SIMULATION:
· Terrain mesh detailed down to 1 x 1 Meter (horizontal) by 1 Meter (vertical). Combat and movement resolved to partial meters
· Deformable terrain, including partial and complete destruction of buildings
· Powerful C2 (Command & Control) features controlling flow of battlefield recon information, visibility of units (friendly and enemy), unit cohesion and more
· Relative Spotting restricts a unit`s battlefield awareness to what it has experienced directly or information passed on through the C2 chain
· Stunning high resolution graphics featuring dynamic lighting and object self shadowing, including an entirely new way to display dense foliage
· Wide range of weather types and environmental effects, including rain, fog, heavy winds (with ballistic effects), different types of ground conditions, animated water effects, and more...
BONUS:
· Combat Victories for individual units showing how many and what types of units the soldier or vehicle has eliminated in the mission (totals tracked for campaigns)
· Multi-language support (all in-game strings can be edited)
· Textures, sounds, and user interface graphics can be modified (modded) by players
· Customizable hotkeys
Requirements:
· Core Duo 2.2 Ghz CPU
· 256 MB of Video RAM
· 3.5 GB available HD space
· 2 GB Ram
· DVD-ROM drive
· 1024X768 minimum display resolution
Limitations:
· Only three scenarios, especially made for this demo version, are playable (Note: This Demo includes a training battle "Training Mission - The Road to Berlin", playable from the American side. We recommend playing this battle before the other two.)
· QuickBattles are disabled (but the QB setup screen is visible)
· multiplayer modes (PBEM/TCP) are fully enabled
· the Scenario Editor is enabled and fully functional, but it will not allow you to purchase units, load, or save any maps
· contains nag screens during launch end exit of the demo.
