Witp:AE Player entering CMO

[nimitzdd5]

Howdy all

Played WitP:AE extensively (and the original WitP) from Matrix and 2by3. Loved the game and loved the level of detail representing the PTO in WWII.

Looking at getting into CMO, and understand that it solidly has its roots in Harpoon (which I missed sadly). But in looking at the features, I walk away with the feeling that this is very similar to WitP:AE in that it covers all aspects, but obviously you have much more control in CMO.

Are there any WitP:AE players in here? How does the game compare in overall feel to WitP:AE?

Finally, how does it run on Steam and is it still running well 5 years after release on Steam?

Thanks in advance

[Thewood]

CMO in both its incarnations obviously runs in Steam. Otherwise you would be hearing it here. The potential level of detail is much greater than WITP. But CMO has the tools to take a lot the burden of command off of the player. So while the detail is there if you want it, depending on the scenario, you can play it through planning and missions as much as mucking around with individual units.

BUT...it takes a commitment to learn it through tutorials and starting with smaller scenarios. The best to want to set it aside is jumping into large multi-thousand scenarios and getting overwhelmed.

[Thewood]

You should probably read the Matrix forums on it. They are a lot more useful for learning the game than Steam.

[nimitzdd5]

Thanks for both responses. I will hop onto Matrix and ask some questions there as they arise.

I didnt see an exact number on the store page here on Steam:

1. How many official scenarios does the base game come with?
2. Whats the value of the official expansions? Are they generally well received, or do players just rock user created scenarios?
3. I would imagine that by now, CMO has an endless amount of user created scenarios. Am I safe in that assumption?

Thanks again

[d.anderson]

1. About 60, and they are a wide variety of year, type and complexity. There are also extensive tutorials which I can't recommend highly enough. Do ALL of them.
2. I've pretty much enjoyed them all. User created scenarios vary. Some have been playtested, when authors ask for volunteers, others are not. The DLCs have all had testing, some more so than others. The larger ones for me are fun because their is an underlying story, in some cases with "cut scenes". They tell a story. What they don't do is carry through the results from one scenario to the next. But that's ok, because they have to follow the story line, and then you see how well you do in that situation.
3. There are (very roughly) 500 user created scenarios. Huge variety of situations. I looked in the directory but it's hard to count because of the supporting files in there. And if I'm reading it correctly that also doesn't count the approximately 60? scenarios of the Northern Fury series.

And you didn't ask but many will tell you, including me, that the database is worth the price of the sim. You can spend ages exploring ships aircraft and weapons.

[CaptainGeneralGars]

I second it being worth it for the databases alone. Check out https://cmano-db.com for a sample, or as your go-to until you get the game. Note there are two databases, one for the Cold War, which is reflected in the web tool (button at bottom to switch). Also note the entries with written overviews, accessible from Open Description above the maps.

[Seaside]

Very different.
CMO is more of a tactical game IMO. Not an actual Strategic game.
There is no inherent supply requirement . You can artificially add a task group with a mission to supply a base but it doesn't exist from start.
Loading and unloading are awkward.

In fact in CMO everything is designed by the player or scenario designer.

Troops/ aircraft squadrons do not automatically regenerate. There is no timeline for replacements. No repair.
Ground combat is over very quickly - No holding the line.
Most scenario's in CMO are designed with 2-3 bases per side not an entire theatre worth with hundreds of bases.
Everything in CMO is component level ie: you build your bases during the scenario design .
No "Truk" for instance placed and ready to go when the game is played.
There are some pre-designed bases that can be added with the import function but many are missing , same with cities. There are radar stations but same thing many missing. Very few non-cold war Russian bases oddly enough.


Both games have their place but are very very far apart.
I enjoy both games
One thing I dislike in CMO is what makes it good, there are so many ways an attack can not happen when you plan it.
Wrong EMCON level, Wrong altitude, wrong Weapon release authorization, Using a weapon that will not work for that target. Aircraft won't taker off because the runway is too small, the access point is too small - lots of other things. I could go on.
There is little guidance so sometimes you have to play the scenario you designed a number of times to get it to work the way you expected.
You think you got it all down but there is something/s you forgot.
The people who do many scenarios mostly figure it out fast but I've been around since harpoon and still get a bit frustrated sometimes :)


This makes CMO very good if you want every detail as realistic as possible (except ground combat) but a bit of a pain if you want to make a quick scenario and then play it.

[Seaside]

There are lots of scenario's made for the game by players and if you go to workshop / community scenario's you can see them.
Just click subscribe and it will automatically be added to your game, which is very nice.
You can also edit these for your own use ie add a unit etc, as long as you don't republish it. At least not without the designers consent.
Also there is paid DLC.

[Dimitris]

Originally posted by Seaside:

Troops/ aircraft squadrons do not automatically regenerate. There is no timeline for replacements. No repair.

Just a tiny correction here; units are indeed repaired over time, both underway / in the field and also (and much more efficiently) while hosted in their respective mother platforms / bases.

They are also refueled and replenished if compatible fuel and stores are present.

[Seaside]

I didn't even know that,at least for ground units, including ground units like infantry ?

[nimitzdd5]

Thank you everyone for the replies - I see the CMO community has much in common with the WitP community!

This has been great information. Definately going to pick it up then and give it a whirl. And yes, I will RTFM before asking questions :)

Thanks again all

[Dimitris]

Originally posted by Seaside:

I didn't even know that,at least for ground units, including ground units like infantry ?

Yes, see an example here: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4982 (section "Beans & bullets")