Your review on SB update 4.0.

Early days but so far I am very pleased with what I am seeing.
Esim did an outstanding job some of the new additions are a armour sim enthusiasts Valhalla.
The sim feels different (in a good way)I cant but my finger on it,But it seems smoother
The particle effects make a big difference when you score a hit you cant help but tell (maybe a little too much.)
Needs more testing different ammo type etc.
Some of the turret interiors are exceptionally well done the M-60A3 TTS sticks out among them. (Great job)
Having a playable BMP-2 is something I have wanted for a long time and Esim did not disappoint.
It feels right.I jumped in the squad leader position F11. the look on the guys face said it all.
He was not going to live long and prosper. I finally got to take on the Marder that's one tough #%&*$# of a IFV it always has been in game but I liked to blame the game AI on a lot of things cant do that as much now. LoL
I have spent about five hours on it and have not even scratched the surface that in its self says a lot. it seems to me Esim put a lot of thought in to the update it was a long time coming mind.
I will update this post with more observations over the next few weeks yes it will take that long.
If your undecided about purchasing 4.0 I would not hesitate to recommend it even at this early point in time.

Hope this thread gets more reviews form experienced and newbie players alike to the world of the armour sim.

Marder has no focus for the TIS...tanks work fine with all keys ie num del,/ and *as well as alt mouse scroll.But no go on the Marder for any of them.Does it supposed to have such a feature??I assume it does.

Effects are nice.leopard 2a6 is kinda boring(should have made it a Canadian tank with cage armor IMO) as it is, its a carbon copy of the 2a5 but with a little bit longer gun.

Still exploring.but I'm liking it so far.

The Marder's thermal sight should definitely adjust its focus. Let's see if others are reporting this as well.

3 of us tested it together and found the same thing

What graphics drivers are you using?
What Windows version?
You CAN set the focus on other thermal sights?

latest catalyst for AMD radeon 5770

windows 7

yes I can set focus on tanks using ALL methods

I have a great impression of 4.0 as well, Marko. I love how some of the driver's stations are actual and not generic. Hopefully this works its way to other popular vehicles.

It is awesome. Having crew members visible and seeing people in hatches does add a level of detail for me. And the new particle engine is superb. I hated the old system. It actually made me reluctant to play it sometimes.

I will say this though, the added features for controlling and viewing other units sure takes it a step close to being a more detailed combat mission for modern war. The only things missing are some more detail on infantry combat and better camera control for observing the battlefield. But its pretty close today. And its has so much more than CM...scripting, formations, SOPs, etc.

OK, we figured this out.

a) The Marder's TIS has DOF enabled
b) In the Marder, both comamnder and gunner can adjust the focus
c) As it turns out, if you have a computer-controlled commander, he does what computers think they must do.

Expect a fix in the first patch.

Ya, as a one time heavy screenshot taker/share-er, the one thing that has always bothered me about the game/sim is the camera controls. Of course free in replay mode but not while in game... such is life, don't matter much now that I'm out of the share biz.

Just ran a quick tank battle set in a very heavy snow storm. (T-72B1/85 v The M-60A3)
Of course the M-60 had the edge with its thermals but man it was fun.
Could not see #%&*$# in the T-72. but that was sort of the idea wanted to experience trying to fight in extreme conditions
it very atmospheric, As I expected got my ass handed to me, the M-60's ripped me to shreds
Crazy as it sounds that's what I was hoping for, I wanted to see the New weather effects inaction
And there effect on AFV,s. I was not disappointed just what I was looking for.
I hooked up my PC to my big screen sat back and watched the battle unfold.
4.0 certainly has a lot to offer mission makers.

The explosions and particle effects are just glorious. Particles are not quite Graviteam territory yet but it really makes you go "oh sh*t" now.




Terrain tiling is very visible now though, I don't seem to remember it being that bad in 3.x. I often get visible 'cracks' between the terrain tiles. (win10/Radeon R9 200)

A few more observations about 4.0

Ran a scenario last night making use of Artillery to halt a large Opfor advance.
It was very effective both the sound and the visuals were very impressive the best I have seen in a milsim.
Large lumps of earth flying through the air when the rounds hit the ground it was very realistic looking.
As I suspected the Leclerc is fast very fast and with good armour protection,
I hit one three times in a CR-2 the #%&*$# would not Go down.
At one stage i went toe to toe with the Leclerc in my last remaining CR-2. did not end well for me.
A small but fun thing I noted was the UK infantry in game are know using The SA-80 rifle.
Using the player controlled GPMG is now a lot better there's also snipers but I haven't really checked out all the new infantry additions yet.
Another new addition is the argentine TAM Range of AFV's.A TANK.IFV APC.155 self Propelled Gun basically is a marder chassis
Tailored to suit the needs of the Argentine military. having them in game makes for some interesting scenario concepts it good to have a additional light tank in game. I use the AMX-13 as a AML-90 substitute with 90mm ammo.
There's a lot more to check out.

Can anyone recommend a good, non-invasive torrent client? I had a decent-seeming one before (uTorrent) but it played havoc with my PC's security software and seemed like one gigantic portal for stuff my AV and anti-malware programs didn't like. I will consider paying if a "clean" service is guaranteed. Advice much appreciated.

Opera 12.17 used to have one built in. Since they decided to chrome themselves, I'm no longer using it.

But you don't need one to download SB Pro PE. There are also the "traditional", non-torrent dowload links on our website.

I'm happy with the torrent client of Free Download Manager. But I'm not sure how a torrent client would be invasive on its own so it may not be what you're looking for. But I do like that FDM is about downloading and not file sharing so I don't have to worry I'm accidentally torrenting stuff I don't want to.

Tank gunnery by moonlight. Company of chieftains V a company of M-60A3 TTS
Screwing around with some of the setting decided to try some night fighting.
Night fighting is still a work in progress in SB
A lot has been done already and there's more to come when the next part of 4.0 is released. (around December)
I turned off the thermal imager on the M-60A3 TTS decided to go old school.
looking for the muzzle flashes from the chieftains. talk about a knife fight the tension was intense.
The desert setting was eerie. Loved every minute of it.

I'm glad that you enjoyed it, but it's definitely not something I'm happy with. There are still a lot of things to do. The official recommendation is to run Steel Beasts from "first light" to "last light". Dusk and dawn conditions are fine. Non-combat operations in darkness are also fine, if night vision eqipment has been made available.
Combat at night however still requires a lot of work from our end.

Fighting in adverse weather conditions

Again today. trying out different setting on the mission editor.
Today its adverse weather, very overcast rain and more rain.
Even with out the second part of the 4.0 update which will focus on the terrain.
SB as it stands is very atmospheric.

Put together a quick mission decided to not use Soviet/Russian equipment for a change
Went with the Argentine Tam Tank, IFV and SPG against M-60A3's And some M113A1 with Arty support.
Again the all powerful thermal imager showed how it dominates on the modern battlefield.
The fantasians what I call my none soviet opfor. where in pretty good defensive positions some tanks were dug in
The infantry were for the most part in buildings to give them some cover.
And I had F/O teams covering the enemy main approach route they also had arty support to call six SPG guns.
The infantry had Heavy machine guns RPG's etc., It should have been a real challenge for the US side.
Yet team US steam rolled right through the defensive position.
Fun as hell to sit back and watch.

Some screen shots