Scrapper_511

Welcome back.

I'm down with an all-new, from the ground up, Steel Beasts even if backwards compatibility is lost. Wouldn't I be able to run a parallel installation of 4.1 anyway (for legacy scenarios and maps)?

M1TP2 was probably the first tank sim I really got into. But when SB came out I was sold on its gunnery model and amazing sounds. I still enjoyed the graphics even without 3D acceleration. Does a new graphics engine endanger compatibility with old maps and scenarios? What engine are you leaning towards?

Even better!

Nice! And IIRC there are now indicators as to where the support pillars will be positioned. Very handy when lining up roads under the overpasses.

Alright Ssnake, I couldn't keep my hands off my keyboard since you alluded (in atrOx's thread) to a significant update in (maybe) a couple of years. I can't come up with a guess. The 3D world just got revamped, the terrain elevation can now be manipulated, and overpasses with on/off ramps are possible now. Going back just a little further, we got 3D crew, live suspension and improved pyrotechnics. Going back more we got discernible weather and a 24hr environment, and more or less everything is higher res. And always, we get new vehicles. Personally, as a casual user, I just can't find anything wanting from SB anymore. Sure, the Wishlist grows, some things take forever to load, some models are in dire need of an update (i.e. mine plows & rollers), and my personal craving for certain Cold War era vehicles are not available yet, but I doubt you would consider these items significant. You have previously discussed multi-threading and switching to a new graphics engine, which would be a major update, but I speculate these won't come to fruition until way further down the line. You did indicate elsewhere that SB has perhaps reached its halfway mark. Well, SB has been around a long while now and it was going to go over the hill sooner or later, but I'm very glad it's continued to evolve throughout the years and damn glad to be a part of it (as a user). Whatever evolution or revolution is coming to Steel Beasts, I am certainly looking forward to it. Thanks in advance...

Consider my interest piqued. 👍

Thanks for the patch!

No, I'm not going to mess with that BIOS hack. Not going to be doing any overclocking whatsoever although the Mech OC GPU does have a slight factory overclock and my RAM is in XMP mode. Goodluck with your RAM!

My RX5700 has been great so far. I've ran some graphics intensive games/benchmarks and temps are normal and no freezes/crashes. My card was not part of the thermal pad fix because I can still see the skinny pads on those two chips towards the edge of the card. Good luck finding RAM. Although you can't go wrong picking out a model from your motherboard's compatibility list, the lists are not always complete. For instance, the Corsair RAM I picked was not listed on MSI's compatibility list but it was on Corsair's.

Thanks stormrider. I'm really glad the Tomahawk MAX detected the CPU and RAM correctly out of the box. No fancy cooling here. Just the two 140mm included in the Fractal case, and a Phantec (sp?) 140mm pointing out back. I'm also using the stock AMD cooler! Thanks again for the RAM and monitor advise.

Hello again folks. Just in case any of you were curious about how this build was going, the last component (the monitor) arrived a few days ago and everything came together very nicely. The computer has been purring along very, very nicely and I finally reinstalled SB and got to see my scenarios and maps again after a very long hiatus. Where I was previously getting 23fps in extremely busy scenes, I am now getting no less than 50fps (and with details maxed out)! Ironically, this rig, along with the other PCs in my household, will mostly be relegated to home-schooling duties for at least the next several weeks. Here's is a rundown of parts (in order of purchase): AMD Ryzen 5 3600 MSI B450 Tomahawk Max Fractal design Focus G medium tower MSI Radeon RX5700 Mech OC Corsair Dominator 32GB DDR4 PC3200 Samsung EVO 860 1TB SSD Western Digital Blue 3TB Hdd Corsair RM750x Power Supply ASUS VG249Q (1080p, 144MHz, IPS) 24" monitor I haven't built a computer from the ground, up like this since I I got an AMD K7 I think. Computer cases and fans have come a long way and it amazes me how quiet they can be even though they are so perforated for venting purposes. RGB is all the rage and I initially scoffed at it, but I myself am probably going to upgrade some fans with fine RGB ones. The Radeon RX5700 has been flawless despite all the driver and cooling problems I've read about, and it pairs very well with my ASUS monitor, which I am quite thrilled about. That's that, thanks for your time. Time to update my signature...

Thanks all. I did review the install instructions in the readme but for whatever reason I couldn't wrap my head around it (quite possibly because all my kids are stuck at home). I'll update the USB stick too (which I've already been using the back-up some maps). Thanks again; I'll give it another run on my next day off. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into SB in this new build!

So, I finally finished my build and it's time to reinstall SB. I've just downloaded v4.162 and patch v4.163, but I've forgotten what to do about the map package and map tools. Is there anything current in the red USB stick that I can still use? Please advise. Thanks in advance and I hope you're all well.

Thanks for the monitor recommendation. I'm leaning towards a 144hz and 1080p monitor in the sub $200 range and I see that Acer slips right under that. We'll see; I still need to read up on monitor reviews. Also, I agree on the RAM. I've never had to do so much research to find a set that'll work for my CPU/mobo (having to go through manufacturer's compatibility list is a pain). I have decided to go 32GB of DDR4 PC3200. Still narrowing down which brand and model to go with though. As for a GPU, I've been eyeing nVidia's RTX 2060 Super, but I am not going to take advantage of Ray-Tracing and couldn't pass up on a $325USD deal for a MSI Mech OC Radeon RX5700. My most demanding games are SB and CMANO so I'm not too concerned about the temp or driver issues I've been hearing about for this card and AMD, respectively. Speaking of which, these two titles will probably end up sharing a 1TB SSD along with Win10, then I'll also get a 1TB Hdd for my other games/apps. So, this build is coming together steadily. My next investment will probably be a 750W PS, Win10 and the RAM, followed by the storage devices, input devices, and finally the monitor.