Mattis

German Bundeswehr:
 

Canadian Forces:
 

British Forces:
 

US Marines Corps:
 

Let´s start with the US Army:
 

I must admit this often makes me angry. There are so many great campaigns and missions out there with their fun completely taken away by enforcing those cheap time limits, especially in the WW2 titles but also the modern titles suffer from this: If I recall correctly the Black Sea BP1 campaigns were just outright absurd in this matter. "Hm I have no idea how to present the player with challenges, let him do this assault in 5 minutes, works every time"
- do proper recon before the main body develops an assault? - nope, recon are just another word for light assault infantry.
- establish proper base of fire element covering assault elements? forget it
- pick up the wounded and dead? - no time for that nonsense, there are no score points given for that, and points are everything in a real war right?
- reserve your artillery elements for important moments? - nah best is to unleash them before even the missions starts as calling them in may take half of your mission timer away and we got no time to wait for artillery strikes or support to arrive unless you´re ready to run your troops into your own artillery, I suggest just throw bodies at that enemy MG.
- carefully work your way forward and exchange units that suffered casualties and stress with reserve elements? Sure why not but won´t take long and you´ll notice that there are only ten minutes left and half of the map is still not under your control, just end up spamming those quick and fast commands and have fun getting your pixeltruppen killed like in a C&C game because time is money and manpower is not important right?
Disabling time limits or extending them manually is requested since the stone ages but you hear the same two arguments:
a) in the real world time is also very important and "insert babble about the hard truth of war operations here".  I served and read enough about every modern conflict out there that I can promise you that no modern army in the world demanded such gains in so short time from you like it is daily business in many of the CM scenarios. No not even Peiper and company was demanded to storm 5 heavily defended villages in 45 minutes.
b) the AI actions are tied to the timer and because of that allegedly the timer can´t be disabled or extended. 1st) in most scenarios there is not much going on with the AI in the last minutes, in fact you notice that in most there are no AI commands or waypoint given out by the script anymore, they just hold their positions being completely passive except their built in 4.0 behaviour, they could do that for hours. This is especially true for the scenarios where you have to attack which is basically 95% of what you have to do in CM.
I get it that some hardcore WEGO CM vets playing this for 20 years may accomplish everything with 10-30 minutes remaining on the ticker in scenarios while I´m suffering to take  half of the objectives in time... So what? Good job! They can be proud now and hit the cease fire like a hero and be happy. Why scenario designers always assume "okay lets remove that spare time and everything is fine" forcing everyone to eat this artifical difficulty.
Take this post with a grain of salt but I don´t know how often it get so annoyed to realize that I started one of the CM scenarios and campaigns, applying real life tactics and procedures you´ve learned or read about, just to find me in the usual endgame rushing click- and die-fest more resembling one of these Korean starcraft matches than real world ground operations. This is extremely fun-limiting especially when you´re one of these roleplayers that focus more on recreating/reliving what-if moments, who just don´t do everything for the sake of getting some gamey virtual highscore. I wouldn´t even care if I get a Marginal Victory or a Draw but often you don´t know if your campaign is botched and lost just because you didn´t Zerg Rush the objectives or wasted your time with "silly" things like recon or real life tactics.
I really hope one day this custom and game mechanic changes allowing for individual preferences or that a hacker comes by and finds a way to cheat-modify the time limit 😂

Hello,
I had pretty much given up on CM back in 2016 for various reasons and mostly lost interest in anything CM related as well. The announcment of CMSF2 has brought me back somewhat and, coincidentally, I am currently learning a new programming language. So I decided to write a little application I had wanted to write even way back then, which can extract scenarios from campaign files so you can look at them in the editor or edit them. Mad Mike's ScAnCaDe is a great tool for parsing scenario files, extracting campaigns and visualizing scenario and campaign metadata. However, it does not work with the 'legacy' CM games Shock Force 1 and Afghanistan. Also, who knows if Mad Mike is still around to update it anymore for future versions. He did a great job deciphering the various campaign file formats that have existed throughout CM's lifetime and much of what I did is based on his groundwork (which involves a lot of staring at hundreds of rows of bytecode and figuring out which bytes stand for which variables), so credit where credit is due. And while according to the devs you should be able to play any old campaign in CMSF2 out of the box, now you can also extract the scenario files from these campaigns and update them to the new engine standards, even if the original creators are now longer around.
I decided to focus on the extraction part and didn't bother with any of the metadata listing and visualizing. The tool should be able to extract any campaign file from any CM game so far and should also work with CMSF2 once it's released. I originally wanted to extract every bit of information required to also recompile the campaign from the extracted data without any further input, but that proved to be more difficult than I anticipated because some of that information is compressed or decrypted within the campaign files and I have not found a way yet how to extract that. This includes the campaign victory/loss texts and the complete core units and campaign briefing data. Maybe I will manage to add this at a later point. For now the scenario extraction works really well however, but I need some feedback from others. I don't have any CM games installed currently besides Shock Force and thus have only been able to  thorougly test the CMSF stock campaign as well as many campaigns downloaded from the Scenario Depot. So if anyone finds a campaign that does not work, make sure to post or send me the error log file that should be created. Usage of the application is as simple as it can be, just put the .exe file in a directory that contains any number of campaign files and start the executable.
 
uncam-0.9.zip

Mattis,
If I haven't done so already, welcome aboard!

Which is the great find, the Tiger 1 emergency cannon trigger or the clutch of Tiger tank Bosch spark plugs?
Regards,
John Kettler

 

Erwin (and others) did neither attack somebody nor did they ask for something unreasonable. I also agree with him. He just pointed out that they would love to see more of the assets in scenarios and campaigns and even mentioned that he admires everyone spending his time to design scenarios.
And still you have to explode. There was no reason for it really.
I do not see anybody here attacking scenario designers nor do I see a comment here that should leave a negative effect on any individual designing scenarios. I just see paper-thin skin and one that can´t take different opinions.
 

I am better of by making my own picture of how I perceive and categorise people and do not need your questionable advice so don´t try to draw me onto your side.
I have been to these forums only for a couple of months but in this time I just saw legit comments and great activity by Erwin. Nothing that justify the aggression here. But let me guess, once in the past he dared to voice slightest critique about Battlefront, Combat Mission, or your job as self-appointed moderator and forum dictator, is that about right?
On the other hand in this short time this is probably the 2nd or 3rd time I´ve seen you suggesting everybody to put a guy onto the ignore list just for the sake of not agreeing with you. How often I´ve seen you going for such and other ad hominem attacks I´ve stopped counting. Is that the high bar your talking about?

As BFC's interior modeling fidelity improves over time (certainly by when we have CM in #D holograms), all those fiddly details will matter. The Tiger 1's backup firing system in the event the electrical system fails, killing the electrical firing system, is this. When you mash the button down, it generates sufficient electrical care to fir the gun.


Regards,
John Kettler

Just this week Steve finally added Stinger AA units to the TO&E of various Blue Force armies. CMSF2 Red force has always had SA-16 / SA-18 Igla AA missiles. The Shilka AAA vehicle, which comes with the NATO module, can now (very effectively) target aircraft, as can the ZU-23-2 pickup 'technical', also in the NATO module.

The Alamo playthrough is now finally ready in full HD.
 
And the link to the German Leopard 2 wrecking trough two enemy vehicles with one shot at 1:36:31: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAx81M54ZSw&t=1h36m31s
Enjoy!

A playthrough of one of the missions of "The Road to Montebourg" campaign.
I am almost only utilizing the interface for issuing orders (except for mandatory hotkeys like SHIFT+"Target Arc") so you can keep track of what I am doing and thus this is a great resource for new players try to understand how to play the game (and for what mistakes to watch out.)
Beside a collection of mods and shaders, there are movie soundtracks included alongside gameplay to help creating a gritty atmosphere.
 
Have fun!

Ok. I have read enough of your posts now, that I have to say this so that you will understand the concepts in CM. Firstly, YOU have to WIPE your brain clean of all the RTS nonsense. Take it out of your skull, squirt some Windex on it and give it a nice scrubbing. Now, put it it back in and away we go.
CM isn't gonna give you power ups,  weapons upgrades or healing/resurrection (they have their place in other game but not here). You MUST forget all that stuff if you want to learn. You have to approach it as if you are a real commander, on a real battlefield, with real men, using real weapons for the time period you are playing. It's more of a simulation than a game where exploits replace actual tactics. Battles can take place anywhere from thirty minutes to four hours, no tank is gonna get upgraded armor, no soldier who just had his leg blown in half is gonna get a magic bandage, or a green squad that just killed three Germans is gonna advance in experience, within those time periods. On the contrary, it would take a few days to up armor a tank, the wounded soldier would be shipped home, and the squad would slog for weeks before they learned everything they needed to survive. Think of it this way, if it doesn't happen in the real world, it doesn't happen in CM.
Once you rid your mind of the gaminess of other games you'll be better suited to absorb the nuances of Combat Mission. It's a whole different experience and very rewarding. Have fun with it. Most importantly read the manual! There is a wealth of info there. But don't hesitate to ask more question on what you don't understand. It's nice to have new blood playing the game.
 
Mord.

One of my non-CM wargame colleague posted this, and I think all of you should be aware of it, since it upends some 1000 books on D-Day. This may be old hat to some of you, but it's news to me. While the article leads with the major studio interest aspect, the important material concerns the massive discovery of historical information, via both archival research and direct site inspection, which led to the discovery and excavation of a huge German fortification complex next door to the iconic and famed Pointe du Hoc. The discovery is called the Maisy Battery and is the subject of two forthcoming books by the man, author and historian Gary Stern, who found it and even bought the property to investigate and preserve it.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/maisy.html?fbclid=IwAR2dwSN1Ob5zkPY_iQujcxqT1n-_GZAhkUBWfewDKjjRczQJD_v9VIgaJ08
Regards,
John Kettler
 

Germany:
 

The vehicle pack:
 

Commonwealth:
 

Lets begin with the US:
 

Most battles, even on larger maps, take place at what might be called 'knife fight' ranges. You don't even have to calculate range because the round trajectory's basically flat for the first 1200 meters. I'm not saying this for certain because it happens so rarely, but engagement times above 2300m might take longer, especially against not-moving targets. You can sit there and sit there and slowly [?] icons start popping up and eventually resolve themselves into targets. Its at these longer ranges that having many eyes scouting for trouble (and a strong command link) shows its advantage.

Like already mentioned map size and the quicker communication and command play a key role why everything plays out faster here.
Also most of the time in real combat operations there are no air or cavalry conveniently around the corner to provide support. You may stir up a hidden nest, call in support, and then hit the deck for several hours before they come to solve your problem.
Also many things in CM die alot faster, especially infantry in buildings or other cover.
To visualize this:
There was a night where nearly an complete operation was hold up because of incoming small arms from a five-story compound in high density urban territory. Hours of shooting at nothing and dark spots that may be somebody peeking or just NOD shenanigans, thousands of round were put into this building but they simply denied to stop shooting. Cavalry was called in and also put another pack of heavy ordnance into that building (many buildings don´t collapse that easy), even calling further support was considered. Silence. Then order to enter the building, enemy gunshots erupted on one of the higher floors. Again on hold. Took another half on an hour to find a solution in order to pacify it and nearly another half hour to clear the rest of the building and situation (which takes seconds in CM).
Turned out that this building was occupied by only two individuals armed just with one AK and one RPG and alot of ammo.
They´ve managed to hold up company sized elements, cavalry support, and futher to delay the operations of other elements for half of the night.
Imagine this in urban environment where you have dozen of such buildings.
Real warfare can also involve an unbelieveable amount of waiting and also "camping" to put it in video game terms.

He definitely knows what he is talking about, which is a rare trait in the internet.
Also there is no reason instantly start fiddling around with your stopwatch just because you´ve seen a random Steel Beasts video. It is perhaps the most definitive tank simulation but still far from reality, at least the version for the private sector.
For example a military grade joystick may give better results than a lagging mouse simulating this joystick, also the override... I think it isn´t potrayed completely correctly but damn close. Then imagine a fellow that probably spent countles hours with a virtual simulator, in the life tank with sim equipment, and then in life fire excercises.
Beside this not all tank features especially newer inventions and confidental ones are represented in Steel Beasts L2A4, C2, and the other tanks there.
Furthermore most commanders wouldn´t call out a slow HEAT round for a >2k meters moving APC target like SB´s AI does there but just stick to the high velocity KE-based rounds like APFSDS. You hear occasionally stories about the danger of overpenetration without causing any damage but these people have no clue. Hits are highly likely mission kills. Yes it will overpenetrate but you and your friends inside that APC definitely will notice when a 120mm KE says hello when passing by and you´ll consider twice if you continue your journey if you´re even in the state then to do so.

Like already stated gunners when instructed or in case of direct danger can open fire without permission. Triggering the laser range finder gives you normally an instant result and manual or computerized lead for moving targets also is adjusted pretty fast or in most cases (especially the short engagement ranges of CM) not even needed due to the high velocity of the rounds.
An further possibility that may contribute to the speed is that some of the modern Western battle tanks (not sure about other vehicles and don´t know about Russian) also have an override function that in case enemy contact allows the gunner or commander to instantly slew the turret/cupola of the other crew member to his bearing. In most cases this happens when the commander spots and target and then slews the gunners turret towards the target. Taking into consideration that both crew members are likely looking towards the expected enemy contact this form of target aquisition takes not even a second.
Further account goes to the fact that CM assumes that most Western vehicles in the theatre have superior technology in comparsion to the Soviet/Russian vehicles and also simulates highly likely superior Coalition crew training when compared to their Syrian crews.