Mosul (Iraq) The small red-headed child of an epic MOUT map!

[Sgt.Squarehead]

More on Mosul:  https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/09/iraq-after-isis/538608/

[Sgt.Squarehead]

So, I know I've made my scenario pretty tough, possibly too tough, but then there's this:

[General Jack Ripper]

I figure I'd share my videos of this here, since some of you old guys don't know how to work YouTube:

There are five parts so far, all taken from a single two-hour game session then cut into smaller chunks.
There shouldn't be any major spoilers, because the scenario is still near the beginning, but it should give you some idea as to the size and scale of the map, and the gear you have to work with.

[General Jack Ripper]

Part five will be published on Saturday.

[Erwin]

Very entertaining to watch.  Would be useful to explain why you do what you do and what you consider good "technique" for accomplishing specific moves (eg: crossing roads, entering buildings etc.).  I know what I do, but it would be great to see what others do and hopefully learn something.  (I learned my MOUT lessons in CMSF with "USMC Ramadi - Relief of Joker 3" using the huge size of the full Ramadi map.)

For example I saw that you use charges to enter a room even when there are windows and a door in the wall.  Personally, I wouldn't waste a charge like that as one's guys can see if there is any enemy in there through the door and windows. 

My SOP re charges is to only use charges vs walls that are opaque (unless I KNOW there is enemy on the other side that will be stunned).  Generally, the worst ambushes are when the enemy is on the other side of the far wall.  So, when your engineers run into the room they get cut down by the guys hiding behind a far wall (often in the open).

I saw you use only one HUNT waypoint to climb a multiflooor building.  I always have a waypoint at each floor with a 5-10 sec pause so they can look around.

In terms of crossing an exposed road, yeah you need smoke. But what do you do if you don't have smoke?  Do you go a different route, or...?  (If I have enuff men and ammo, I use TARGET LIGHT on all possible windows that could fire on the road crossers.)

Generally I think it's a bad idea to HUNT across streets.  I get better results using QUICK or FAST.  

Also, never ever put your guys on balconies etc.

And so on...

Keep the good work up!

Edited September 27, 2017 by Erwin

[Sgt.Squarehead]

It's interesting to note the similarities and contrasts with both my own play-throughs and those of my esteemed testers, as I noted elsewhere you've taken a slightly different approach and one that may (or may not) pay dividends.

FWIW, I tend to put two man teams into about one MRAP (These are the Nyalas - Apparently tougher than HMMWVs despite the stats and the gun-shields do seem to have an effect) per platoon to bring their .50cals into play for suppressing fire, they punch through light buildings like butter (good chance of suppressing bad guys even in a building with no windows on the face you shoot at) and you have loads of 'em.  A bit later on you will be able to create M1/MRAP teams, these are very highly recommended, but positioning them and manoeuvring them on this map can be tricky.

You are definitely being much kinder to the locals than I was and I know (from looking at what he did to the map) that @sburke also got really quite cross with at least one particularly stubborn pocket of resistance. By the looks of what he did to one area @borg was trying to get a starring role at the Hague.....It took bulldozers to clear a route through to the second scenario (junk & dead vehicles still to be added):

Finally, trust nothing on the map (and do look at it in detail, with proper study you can develop a comprehensive plan of action).....Anything that looks like it might have been 'strategically placed' probably was (for one reason or another) and merits further investigation (of one sort or another).  If you suspect an IED may be present (no IED exists in isolation here, they all have 'containers' proportionate to their size & destructive potential), keep in mind that the triggermen (there may be more than one) need LOS to activate it, on a map like this that narrows your options down a lot, supressing any likely locations (to bits) will reduce casualties as you advance.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Erwin]

I really like these "interesting concept" missions featuring some new design ideas.  They help breathe fresh life into the "aging" CM system.

I dunno if you plan on using mines in any of your missions. But, it occurred to me that if mines are used in any CM game mission then engineers/pioneers should always be included in the force mix. 

It may not be accurate in terms of what sort of units are normally present.  But, in RL, reg troops would be able to at least mark mine locations.  In CM, we have no other way, other than using eng/pioneers, to mark mines and make em a bit safer.  So, engineers would be an abstraction in my example.

The other advantage is that one could then set up an approximation of mine clearing by indicating (to the player) an area of the map where mines are suspected, and use the engineers/pioneers for that purpose, while at the same time having the main operation such as the one in "Hornet's Nest" proceed over the rest of the map.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Erwin

[sburke]

In this scenario you mark mines with bodies 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

3 hours ago, Erwin said:

I really like these "interesting concept" missions featuring some new design ideas.

Appreciate the comment, but it's not really that at all, it's an attempt to model the fighting in Mosul, beefed up to make it worthy of a scenario of reasonable duration and challenging enough that there's a possibility that the player will suffer serious casualties (ie: worse than the real world).  Thus it is much more intense than any similar period of time in the real fight.....It's probably best to think of it as all the 'mad-half-minutes' from a week of fighting rolled into one. 

With more AI slots etc. and more importantly if persistent map damage were available I would approach this in a very different fashion.....Maybe one day.  This one is what it is for now. 

Re: Mines - For the Mosul scenarios at least, engineers will always be present, the CTS core is somewhat abstracted already, so it's not an issue. 

If mines are to be present the player will be given due warning, how precise that warning is, will depend on how good the current intel is.....Adding the ability to spot and/or disarm IEDs (&/or Mines) is something that I think should be given serious thought prior to the release of CM:SF II. 

PS - Keep meaning to take time to thank @SLIM for making these videos.....I'm enjoying them a lot, they're particularly interesting for me as I know what's coming (more or less) so his reactions to events will be fascinating on several levels. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[sburke]

Drone warfare ISIS style.

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-isis-drones-20170928-story.html

[Erwin]

The sad thing is that some folks were warning about this a over decade ago.  Of course, now it's called a "new" threat.

Pack this baby full of explosives: 

 

This video is fascinating - someone built an entire functioning model airport: 

 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Funny thing is though Erwin, if I fly my RC plane on the same channel with a more powerful transmitter, theirs will be jammed out.....It's that easy. 

I'm confident that countermeasures for all un-encrypted drone controllers (and quite a few encrypted ones too) have already deployed by the world's more serious militaries. 

[sburke]

40 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Funny thing is though Erwin, if I fly my RC plane on the same channel with a more powerful transmitter, theirs will be jammed out.....It's that easy. 

I'm confident that countermeasures for all un-encrypted drone controllers (and quite a few encrypted ones too) have already deployed by the world's more serious militaries. 

That doesn't bode well for Amazon delivery....

[Erwin]

Yup - I would predict that Amazon aerial delivery along with self-driving cars are one big financial con.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

1 hour ago, sburke said:

That doesn't bode well for Amazon delivery....

Fairly sure their drones will be encrypted.....Equally sure that won't change a thing in the medium to long term though. 

[sburke]

1 hour ago, Erwin said:

Yup - I would predict that Amazon aerial delivery along with self-driving cars are one big financial con.

Man I am gonna start calling you Glum.  How do you get out of bed in the morning with such a level of pessimism?

 

 

[Erwin]

Well, Sgt S just made a very good point about R/C flying and how easy it is to jam - and I hadn't even considered the implications for AMAZON.

The thing with self-driving cars... I don't think anyone has thought through the implications for the automobile industry... Look at the ads. They are all about the car making you a more exciting individual, the power, the sexiness, the control etc.  What happens to high performance cars when we're all in boxes that all move at the same speed with the same acceleration?

I live in a part of the US where Uber is testing its self-driving cars.  So I have seen the "future". I am living it every day.  And the Uber self-driving cars already "drive" me nuts.  They all go at the same speed like buses.  Incredibly boring "driving" experience.  They can block all lanes of traffic like we will all be driven by grandma.  In other words, they can block the road for anyone who wants to go a bit faster so one can beat those %$^^R^s to a light b4 it turns red. 

 During the transition period, how will self-driving cars and regular drivers co-exist?  It's can be quite dangerous to overtake one as one is never quite sure how it will react.  What happens to high performance brands like BMW, Ferrari...?   Anyone who enjoys the driving will be PO'd since I can't see how self-drive and regular cars can co-exist.

Don't see that as pessimism - am merely using analytical thinking to look a bit further ahead than "Gee whiz, isn't this amazing".

And that's before we get to the possibility of jamming and hostile takeover of a car's or drone's AI.  If banks and Equifax can't protect themselves, you know it's going to happen.

(And then there's Musk claiming he can get men to Mars in 5 years, or that we'll be flying cars by 2025.  This is a huge con to attract financing from marks who want to get rich(er) quick.  How can anyone believe this nonsense?)

Edited September 30, 2017 by Erwin

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I walk most places, almost always with two or more dogs off-lead, so predictable drivers, who remain at a constant sensible pace and always follow the rules of the road sound pretty bloody marvellous to me.....It's pratts in too much of a hurry to 'beat' red lights that get people like me, or my dogs killed. 

Petrol engines should be restricted to racetracks, local commuter vehicles should be self-driving, centrally pooled and run on air IMHO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car

PS - We could have got to Mars in the 60s or 70s.....Ask Freeman Dyson. 

Edited September 30, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[sburke]

This is way off topic so I will try to limit my response.  For me self driving cars have the potential to completely alter our society in a good way.  I am not one of those who can afford a Ferrari/Lamborghini etc so frankly I don't much care if they can't strut their ego.  But think of this.  Suppose you never had to own a car.  You open an app, request a vehicle, it takes you where you want to go and then it goes somewhere else. Net result, because they are dynamically allocated for use it means fewer cars, fewer pollutants (I am speaking here of the pollutants in the actual creation of the vehicle), less space eaten up for parking, fewer costs by insurance companies etc.  Heck I can turn my driveway into garden space.  Yes life will be a lot different but in my view the automobile is largely a very unsatisfactory inefficient answer to transportation.  Self driving autos would go a long way to making them a better answer.

As to that theory of boxes and speed.  Consistency and logic in driving would actually speed up traffic.  It is humans who generally cause the bottlenecks tailgating, causing the fender benders, rubber necking.  The problem isn't that we drive too slow, the problem is we drive too stupid. And the folks who are impatient are the ones generally causing the accidents.  Just think, you'd never have to care if the other driver is paying attention, or texting etc.  I have a new Mazda Cx5 and between the cameras and sensors it amazes me how aware the car is and it isn't even the full package.

As to them being susceptible to someone seizing control... stop worrying about cars and start worrying about trains and planes.  oops I bet I ruined your sleep tonight.   

http://mashable.com/2017/09/29/passenger-drone-vtol-prototype/#lNM.2QNLDkqQ

If we deem this worthy of more discussion we should open in the general forum.

Edited September 30, 2017 by sburke

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'd stop worrying about the trains & planes and focus on the reactor coolant systems & such, but we have indeed come quite some way from Mosul. 

Part two is still work in progress, I've been a bit distracted with other things and I've had to rethink my original plans quite drastically as they just didn't fit the facts on the ground as I now understand them (it was a complicated battle).....I really wish I could build this with the CM:SF II Engine, it could be so much more! 

Edited September 30, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead

[sburke]

2 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

I'd stop worrying about the trains & planes and focus on the reactor coolant systems & such, but we have indeed come quite some way from Mosul. 

Part two is still work in progress, I've been a bit distracted with other things and I've had to rethink my original plans quite drastically as they just didn't fit the evidence on the ground.....I really wish I could build this with the CM:SF II Engine, it could be so much more! 

You saw the vice special on hacking too?

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Nope.....Got a linky? 

 

[sburke]

20 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Nope.....Got a linky? 

 

It is on HBO.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Oh.....I don't think I have one of those. 

[sburke]

2 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Oh.....I don't think I have one of those. 

bummer, in terms of good reporting it is comparable and some times better than frontline.