Mortarman Deke

I'm still playing this game in 2023. I pretty much exclusively play my own mission updates for it now. The game has really stood the test of time, and the AI in it can make the missions play out differently each time you play them. I have not been able to find the skins for the T-72, T-55, and T-34/85, which would be great to update them to a more modernized look. I love how the game makes you feel like you are really there.

Hi Bert 66, The URL's are still functioning for the T-72 files I uploaded to the repository. They just are no longer included on the Battlefront.com navigation bar. You can try using this URL: http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=select&id=19&orderby=4&page=1 Hope this helps you find what you are looking for!

Hi Bert66, sorry for the delay in my reply. I recently fired up my XP machine again, and started to play T-72 BOF again. I have to get a refresher on the controls, and then yes I may have more new missions on the cards. I don't think they would be shared on BattleFront.com anymore as the direct navigation to the T-72 BOF section of the repository is no longer available. If I eventually make more, I think they would need to be shared directly with those that wanted them via email as attachments.

Hi there Ebolacat. I think that if you want to group selected missions into a campaign, you would need to safely move the current campaign cache files out of the CACHE folder to another folder and replace them with your missions renamed to match the names of the current CACHE files. Do the same with the script files from the DATA folder. However you will just be using the structure from the original campaign when you start the campaign with these missions. If you want your own diary and campaign story, I think you would have to dive in and develop it yourself. I recommend just using the "user mission" option on the game home page, and open up the *.ca file that you want to play from the windows folder window that pops up. It's not what you wanted, but it works best from my observations.

Hi Dragonfire! You're welcome! I'm really happy to see that this mission update is now available for download on the T-72 BOF page of the Repository.

On the map accessed by tapping the F11 key, the second row of buttons from the top on the button control panel to right of the map are used to give movement commands. the leftmost of the three is the button that commands the units under your command to move. Click that button, then move the mouse cursor to the point on the map that you want your units to move and left click that spot on the map several times, then return to game play. The command does not always get transmitted with just one mouse click. Do this and the units should move to that location once you return to game play. If there is a point where you want your units to stop on the way to your point, there is a STOP button at the far lower right on the button control panel next to the map on screen when clicked it will stop your units. Regarding other websites, there was a dated one that I had found, but it had actually deep linked to my updates that I uploaded to the Battlefront.com Repository. The sites that I know of for sure are the T-72 BOF page in Battlefront.com, and the Battlefront.com Repository. Hope that helps.

Hi Bert66, If your hatches are open, (Ctrl H), the sim will open your commander and crew up to being knocked out by collateral damage from OFS (HE Fragmentation), glancing BKS (HEAT) shots, and lucky machine gun fire. If your hatches are closed, your commander and crew are considered protected - even when the commander's view is switched to binoculars. Having the hatches open can make your tank a bit more survivable when hit by a BKS (HEAT) projectile, but it also makes your tank's silhouette taller - in effect creating a bit bigger target for enemy gunners. I have seen an AI tank crew get knocked out after a guided missile fired from the player's T-72 tank hit an open hatch of the enemy tank. Personally, I tend to keep my tank hatches closed most of the time.

You are welcome Bert66! Looks like this update has not been posted yet to the Battlefront Repository. Maybe because the administrators are out of the office for the Holiday week. Hopefully it will be posted there soon.

This is another mission for the T-34/85 tank, set in the training mission map environment. I had wanted to build out another mission for the T-34 tank, and with a little inspiration from the movie - The Siege of Firebase Gloria, I centered the mission around the small area surrounded by tank trenches in the northwest quarter of the training mission map. The cache file is: T34DefendFirebase.ca The script file is: T34DefFireb.pd In this mission, your T-34/85 tank and an RPG heavy infantry squad are attached to a battery of 5 Sprut-B 125mm anti-tank guns currently located in a fortified firebase. An additional RPG heavy infantry squad will be airlifted to the firebase and dropped off by an allied Mi-8 helicopter after the fighting starts. The helicopter will then proceed to search for and attack enemy ground forces with its unguided rockets. Enemy forces assaulting the firebase consist of three separate groups. One section is 2 T-55A's, and an SU-100, another is 2 Leopard 1A4's, an SU-100, and an infantry squad, and the third is a platoon of M-50 SuperShermans. The burms along the edges of the tank ditches make excellent cover for your tank, so be sure to exploit that. As the different sections attack the firebase, be open to moving your T-34 to more advantageous positions to make engagement easier, and also to increase your protection from enemy fire. Allied RPG gunners and the Sprut-B's will be providing heavy resistance against the advancing enemy forces, which makes for an awesome show of tank busting rockets and artillery while you are in the thick of defending the firebase. Keep in mind though, those units are in the open, which means the infantry and artillery will also need your tank to be staying active with its 85mm tank gun to suppress and draw enemy firepower from and for them. The 85mm BKS (HEAT) round is the most effective projectile in this mission, especially against the T-55A's and Leopard's. Your T-34/85 tank has been modernized in this mission with a fully stabilized 85mm tank gun, and an improved internal fire fighting system. The stabilizer will already be ON when you start your tank at the beginning of the mission. This one was a lot of fun to produce and test. Enjoy!

This one should be available for download soon this week. This new mission for the T-72 is set in the Desert Ambush mission map that comes with the Mission and Map pack #1 from the T-72 Balkans On Fire game page in Battlefront.com. In this mission your tank and crew are tasked with destroying an armored force to clear the way for the capture of an enemy headquarters facility. The Cache File is: desertassault t72.ca The Script File is: desertassault.pd Aerial reconnaissance has revealed a concentration of enemy armor around a cluster of buildings northeast of your current position. Command thinks that this series of buildings is a local headquarters facility. Your mission is to support the armored force to which you've been assigned, with the destruction of the enemy armored force that appears to be protecting the buildings. Command has allowed for a howitzer artillery fire for effect on a stationary group of armored vehicles dug into what appears to be a negative slope defensive position west of the headquarters facility. This will reduce the opposition numbers, and allow your force to search and destroy the enemy armored maneuver elements. Allied forces consist of 3 T-72B's (including your tank), 2 Leopard 1A4's, and 2 Shturm-S cavalry fighting vehicles. Enemy forces consist of 8 T-55A's, 3 SU-100's, 2 Mi-8 helicopters, and an infantry fireteam. This trackless desert map environment is an area of rolling hills which does present some challenges while searching for your enemy. Range to target can close very fast as you come over a hilltop, and given that you're in a desert, there is no where to hide. As your forces are on patrol try to do what you can to support lead elements as they crest hills so that enemy tanks are not able to mass fire on one allied tank at a time. The tank crews you will face are fanatical, and well trained. Their T-55A's have been upgraded with horizontal as well as vertical main gun stabilization, and they will exploit every negative slope engagement that they can as your armored force moves through this area. It took a while to get all the kinks out of this one, and I had a lot of fun along the way getting the mission to work. There are a lot of opportunities to get cool views of the allied tanks on the move, and the Shturm-S's and T-72's firing guided missiles at enemy helicopters. It's pretty sweet when you're lining up a shot at an enemy T-55A in the distance, and you see a guided anti-tank missile from an allied Shturm-S streaking in toward the tank as you are about to take your shot. As with most of the missions I put together, I recommend that you go into Configuration Mode (cfgmode.ca) and change your player's tank armor multiplier to 2.0. This will make the mission a little more enjoyable, and trust me, the enemy T-55A's will still be able to destroy your tank. This mission is a serious armored slugfest with neither side willing to back down. Enjoy!

Whoops! My mistake. Sorry about that. You are very welcome.

:-) I'm not an employee of Battlefront.com, so I'm not tracking on your invoice reference. I'm just a big fan of this game, and have a lot of experience playing it, and making mission updates for it that I've published for free download. Anyway, if you have any further questions regarding this game, I'll help you with what I know. Have a good one!

Nice work on starting that help ticket Cats! Good job on that. Some tips for learning to use the tanks... 1-From the game Homepage you can go to User Mission > CACHE file > cfgmode.ca, and modify some of the game configurations. Like increasing your own tank's armor or increasing your own tank's ammo load, etc. Just remember what you change and how to change it back if you don't like the results. 2-Don't forget about the 12.7mm machine gun at the top of the turret, or on the Commander's cupola. The 12.7mm machine gun can destroy the Shturm-S, MTLB, and BRDM-2 even out to 2000 meters. It can destroy a Super Sherman as well at point blank range. You can also drive behind a structure or a high burm where all but the 12.7mm machine gun is covered and engage the enemy. 3-Not able to coordinate from the Gunner's position very well during battle? Remember that you can switch to the Driver's position, and the AI crew in the turret will take over and engage the enemy (as long as they are not knocked out). 4-If you can dig in or fight from a covered position where you tank hull is behind cover, do it. Raised highway roadbeds are great for this. Most of the shots from your tank and the enemy's strike the hull, not the turret. 5-If you are in a good fighting position, and have time to improve it, or check your firing range to landmarks or trees before the enemy shows up, do it. Tramping down tall grass will cause your field of view to be dramatically improved, and determining your ranges to objects ahead of time will help when the atmosphere is too opaque for the laser range finder to work. 6-The OFS (high explosive fragmentation) shell can damage or destroy enemy tanks when the shell lands on the ground adjacent to the tank - especially if it lands behind the tank where the shrapnel (splinters) has a better chance to damage the engine.

You are very welcome Cats!

Hi Cats, Did you have to create a username and password on Battlefront.com when you purchased T-72 Balkans On Fire from the Battlefront.com website? I would suggest giving that a shot. I'm not sure what else to tell you on that one. You're not missing too much new with those two download packages. If it's any consolation, go check out the missions for this game that I uploaded in the Battlefront.com Repository. In the Battlefront Classic Games > T-72 Balkans On Fire section. There are new takes on campaign missions, and new missions entirely. I'm currently working on another new one with one of the desert maps. I should be done with it in late October, and I'll add that one to the Repository as well.

Hi Cats, It's been a long time since I downloaded the upgrade packages from the T-72 BOF page in Battlefront.com. The bottom line is the following. The map files are of the format *.ca . They are cache files. So place them in the CACHE file in your T-72 Balkans On Fire file on your hard drive. The script files are of the format *.pd . They are script files. So, place them in the scripts file in your T-72 Balkans On Fire file on your hard drive. Once you have the files in the right place, to play the new missions, click the User Mission link/button on the game's homepage. It will be on the right half of the screen when the game homepage loads after the opening video sequence. Click on that, and it will open a little windows file explorer window on your screen. In the new little window, navigate into the T-72 Balkans On Fire / CACHE file. in the CACHE file, choose the new mission that you downloaded and want to play. The new mission will begin to open and run once you do that. I hope that helps. This is a really great game, and will be a cause for frustration at times, but once you gain experience in it, it becomes so much fun. Also, I uploaded 20 additional missions in the Battlefront Repository, that you can download for free from there. You will need to create a user ID for the Battlefront site if you have not already done so. Which is also free to do. Anyway, it's really nice to hear from other people playing this great game.

Well thank you Dragonfire - I really appreciate that!

This is a new T-34/85 mission set in the excellent T-72 training environment map that I have already re-used for the T-72 Capture Radar Outpost mission. In this mission your tank crew is tasked with supporting a light armored task force with safely recovering a group of civilians pinned down in some lowlands along a lightly contested portion of our frontlines. This mission has been submitted to the Battlefront Repository for publishing in the T-72 Balkans On Fire section. It should be available for download within a couple business days. The Cache File is: T34RecoverCivilians.ca The Script File is: T34RecoCivi.pd Mission Summary: Recent aerial reconnaissance has revealed a small group of civilians trapped in lowlands along our frontlines near an enemy military camp. We think the civilians were residents of the living quarters west of an enemy artillery firebase, and were able to escape safely thus far. Command has tasked your tank crew and modernized T-34/85 tank to help escort and provide overwatch for a light armored task force consisting of 2 modernized T-34/85 tanks, and an MTLB. Move with the armored task force to the map label T-34 Waypoint in the southeast corner of the map, and then turn north and provide direct firesupport as the allied T-34's and MTLB's move to the lowlands and pickup the civilians. Engage and destroy any armored forces that approach during this recovery. Then return to the T-34 Waypoint, and head west to the nearby helicopter landing pad to the west. Scout ahead of the armored force and engage and destroy any exposed artillery pieces positioned in the enemy firebase before the allied T-34's and MTLB approach. Be careful not to move to high ground as even the High Explosive Fragmentation shells from the artillery pieces are capable of rolling your tank over, not to mention the anti-tank shells. Once the allied armored force reaches the heliport, they will drop off the civilians who will board a waiting Mi-8 helicopter, and get flown to safety. Expect additional armored forces to show up at this point. Once the civilians are dropped off, the 2 T-34's and the MTLB will begin to patrol the south half of the area, and after airlifting the civilians, the Mi-8 will return to provide air support. Your primary objective is to safely recover the civilians from the battlefield, and get them flown to a remote location. Your secondary objective (and not required to achieve victory) is to destroy enemy forces in the area. Enemy forces consist of 2 SU-100's, 5 M50 SuperShermans, 2 Sprut-B heavy anti-tank guns, and 2 infantry squads. For more enjoyable game play, I recommend that you go into cfgmode.ca (configuration mode) and set your own tanks armor to 2.0, and set your own tank's ammo load to 2.0. Getting all the scripts and triggers set up to make this mission work was extremely challenging, but when playing this mission, it was totally worth the effort. I have a great time playing this mission, and I hope that you do too. Enjoy!

I only have submitted 2 mission updates for the T-34/85 to the Battlefront.com Repository, so I thought it would be nice to try to create some more missions for this great tank. I'm re-using that great training environment map again, that I used for the T-72 capture radar outpost mission. This new one will be centered around a light armored force tasked with extracting civilians pinned down in some lowlands in the middle of a battlefield in a lightly contested area along allied and enemy front lines. Your tank crew is tasked with supporting 2 additional T-34/85's and an MTLB with picking up the civilians, and then getting them to safely to a helicopter landing pad. At which point an allied Mi-8 will fly the civilians to safety, and then return to provide air support. Enemy forces consist of 2 SU-100's, 5 M50 SuperShermans, 2 Sprut-B anti-tank guns, and two infantry squads. Allied forces consist of 3 T-34/85 tanks (including the player's tank), an MTLB, and an Mi-8. The development of the mission is basically complete, and I'm nearly finished with testing the mission out for gameplay performance, and also to make sure all the scripts and triggers execute properly. This one is one of the most complicated missions I put together in the missions editor thus far. Also I added full stabilization to all tanks, upgraded the ammo for the T-34/85's, and gave the T-34 improved internal firefighting capability. I wanted to give the feel of a modern light armored force in this one. I'll have more updates as I expect to have this mission submitted for the Battlefront Repository later this week. If you want to see screenshots of this new mission, you can check them out on Facebook on my fan page for this game at: www.facebook.com/T72BalkansOnFire .

Hi navillus2, T-72 Balkans On Fire is a complex simulator, and requires the full keyboard to manipulate the player's tank. What I recommend, is take some time to get used to the controls, study the keyboard controls list that can be accessed from the main menu screen, and eventually you will find that you know all the controls and have muscle memory. The full manual comes with the full game when you download it, and can be found in the "Docs" folder in the game folder in your Program Files folder on your hard drive after you download the full game. There is a game manual, and a beginner and advanced tutorial for building your own missions. If you have other questions feel free to ask. I have produced and uploaded 19 mission updates for this game in the Battlefront Repository in the Battlefront Classic Games > T-72 Balkans On Fire section.

Thanks Dragonfire! Yeah, I try to have the helicopters stay at an altitude where they can't be easily picked off by RPG gunners or riflemen. So, it's also challenging to find and engage them with the 12.7mm machine gun. When you nail them though, it makes it that much more rewarding. Next time I think I may try to do something with one of the desert mission environments I downloaded a while ago. I'll see what I can come up with.

This mission is set in the Ford mission map from the T-72 Balkans On Fire campaign. In this scenario your T-72 tank crew is tasked with preventing a nearby village from falling into enemy hands. The enemy force in this scenario is also equiped with T-72 tanks. The cache file is: RiverVillage t72.ca The script file is: RiverVill.pd Intell reports that enemy forces have been massing armor and infantry forces to the north of the village located nearby the military outpost at which you are currently stationed. Enemy artillery has caused severe damage to the bridge linking the road to the village with your military outpost. It looks like the opposition is taking this opportunity to make a quick power grab and seize the village while the bridge is out. Enemy forces have recently succeeded in infiltrating some of our armor and motor pool facilities, and have managed to seize some T-72 tanks. We think these T-72 tanks will be used in this attack. Allied forces in this mission consist of 3 T-72 tanks (including the player's tank), with an infantry squad in support, and about 2 additional infantry squads located in the allied village north of your military outpost. Enemy forces consist of three elements. A group of 3 T-72 tanks supported by an infantry squad, a mechanized infantry force consisting of 2 T-72's, a Shturm-S, an MTLB, and an infantry squad, and a flight of 3 Mi-8's. Your force will begin the mission in the vicinity of the military outpost. The engagement with enemy forces will be on the north side of the river that runs through the center of the mission map. The allied forces located nearby the military outpost will begin to move out toward the village as enemy mechanized forces are initially spotted by allied troops protecting the village. Your tank crew is tasked with supporting allied mechanized forces in the defense of the village. You are not in command of any allied forces, and you are free to accomplish your task from any approach or position you find advantageous. Once the initial armored advance is destroyed, anticipate a counter attack consisting of armored and aircraft resources. This mission does have some close quarters tank engagements especially if you venture into the village during the fight. The game play is pretty cool looking, and it has been a nail-biter pretty much everytime I've played this mission while testing it out. I recommend that you set your tank's armor setting to 2.0 in the game's configuration mode (cfgmode.ca) prior to playing. I have had a great time playing this mission, and I hope that you will too.

I'm nearly finished with a mission set in the T-72 BOF Ford mission environment. This one is a T-72 force vs T-72 force scenario. In this one you are tasked with preventing a nearby town from falling into enemy hands. The allied force consists of 3 T-72 tanks - including yours, and about 2 infantry squads re-enforced with RPG gunners. The enemy force consists of three elements. The first group is made up of 3 T-72 tanks and an infantry squad, the second is 2 T-72 tanks, an MTLB, a Shturm-S, and an infantry squad, and the third element is a flight of 3 Mi-8's. The battle takes place entirely on the far side of the river that runs through the map, and is full of close quarter tank engagements in and around the village grounds. I have to test this mission at least one more time before it will be ready for upload. I have screenshots of gameplay from this mission posted on the fan page I set up for this game on Facebook. If you want to check them out search for T-72 Balkans On Fire once you log into FB. I'd post them here, but this forum doesn't seem to allow uploads.

If anyone is interested, I have some screenshots from this mission, and others that I have submitted to the Repository on the Facebook fan page I created for this game. To find it on Facebook, after logging into FB, just search for T-72 Balkans On Fire .

I just checked the Repository, and the new mission T-72 Meeting Engagement Helicopter Support is now available for download. Thanks!