Civilians

[borg]

Hi all - I haven't exhausted all of CMSF scenarios (yet!) however just something I notice... in cmsf manual and fora , there is frequent talk of civilians that ought to be roaming around - some may be genuine others may be uncon that brandish a weapon after a while.

are there many such scenarios / campaigns that have this ? I'm aware for example - consulate evacuation that one must meet and lead to safety 'civilians' who are unarmed.

i think this is a nice forte of CMSF which is ABSENT IN all other series of the game.

to me - this is an exciting aspect.

[Combatintman]

In the strict sense of the word - No.

In terms of game operation, civilians are abstracted and scenario designers can set the level of civilians in any given scenario. The density of civilians will affect UNCON units and how easily they can be spotted. In simple terms - if the civilian density is set to a high level then UNCONs become more difficult to spot (Page 102 of the manual refers).

That said, as you point out, there are scenarios with civilian units in them where scenario designers (including myself) have taken an UNCON spy unit and labelled it as a civilian. However in game mechanic terms they are not true civilians because they have to be picked as either Red or Blue force elements which means that a Red 'civilian' will always be treated by the Blue AI as a target and vice versa.

[borg]

Aha. That makes sense. Thanks man.

do u think CM series will always be blue and red and two-way , I don't think there are plans to include a third such as - militia /tribal clans ? Not sure in the real world how significant these are.

[LongLeftFlank]

You can absolutely fight RED on RED if you like. There's a couple of campaigns floating around.

As to noncombatants, I don't want to see them in game, still less see them dead. This isn't Grand Theft Auto. Their tactical impact is nil once shooting starts.

BLUE Spy units can stand in for civilian officials being guarded, hostage rescues*, etc. quite nicely. As noted elsewhere, they'll even pick up weapons if their escorts get hit.

* appear as reinforcements, which means BLUE needs to secure their location by the time they appear, then escort them to safety. 

[borg]

Aha. That makes sense. Thanks man.

do u think CM series will always be blue and red and two-way , I don't think there are plans to include a third such as - militia /tribal clans ? Not sure in the real world how significant these are.

[LongLeftFlank]

Mexican 3 way standoffs or a "Third Force" able to shoot Red or Blue at will is pretty far down the priority list, methinks. Cooperative play (multi players a side) has been a top fan request for years though. I'd personally like to see features where you can program AI both sides then watch the movie. But not holding my breath.... 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

The ability to utilise a neutral 'GREY Force' would be an awesome tool for asymmetrical warfare scenarios.....I've been looking at methods of modelling suicide bombers, it can just about be done at present (should be quite easy with triggers), but with a neutral force wandering around it could be done so much better.

Edited April 3, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[borg]

On 4/3/2017 at 11:08 PM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

The ability to utilise a neutral 'GREY Force' would be an awesome tool for asymmetrical warfare scenarios.....I've been looking at methods of modelling suicide bombers, it can just about be done at present (should be quite easy with triggers), but with a neutral force wandering around it could be done so much better.

I really really hope that @Battlefront.com is listening