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New Scenario: Tactical Operations Center


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Be patient.  It takes a serious amount of time to properly playtest a 4 hour scenario.   Had to play thru the first 30 minutes 2 or 3 times and restart due to improvements made by MOS.  Then got up to an hour, then 2 hours.  Last time (Beta  8) I had to stop as my Ukrainians were running out of ammo after 2 hours play, and that was not a design intention.  So, now TOC is on Beta 9...

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  • 3 weeks later...
31 minutes ago, MOS:96B2P said:

I had intended to have it out by now.  Several unexpected things in RL are getting in the way.  I will probably forgo the PDF file and release the scenario in the next few days.  Sorry for the delay.   

Dude the last thing you need to be doing is apologizing for releasing a scenario that has taken an enormous amount of work.  Yeah everyone is itchy to get their fingers on it, but don't take that as criticism, just the impatience of Christmas eve.  ;) 

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2 hours ago, MOS:96B2P said:

I had intended to have it out by now.  Several unexpected things in RL are getting in the way.  I will probably forgo the PDF file and release the scenario in the next few days.  Sorry for the delay.   

NO worries...I assume the PDF is integral to the scenario...so we can wait....sigh...a few more days. 😎

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5 hours ago, sburke said:

Dude the last thing you need to be doing is apologizing for releasing a scenario that has taken an enormous amount of work.  Yeah everyone is itchy to get their fingers on it, but don't take that as criticism, just the impatience of Christmas eve.  ;) 

Exactly this.

A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to, as will this scenario, the fruit of a wizard's masterful labors.

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Tactical Operations Center has been posted at The Scenario Depot III.  The link is below.  Thank you to all the Beta testers, @Sgt.Squarehead, @Erwin, @rocketman, @sburke, @General Jack Ripper and @Combatintman.   Thanks to everyone else for patiently waiting.     

http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-black-sea/cm-black-sea-add-ons/tactical-operations-center/

I had some computer problems so in the end mod tags were not used.  However links to the mods are listed with the scenario.  Instead of a PDF document two Word documents are included with the scenario.  The Word documents help explain the intelligence code and the map grid lines.  They are not needed to play the scenario since the same information is in the briefing.  However the Word documents may be downloaded and printed out for players who wish to do so.  Some of the beta testers thought it was helpful having a printed intel. code on hand while playing.  

If you have questions ask here or send me a PM.  Hope you enjoy it.  Post cool screenshots!  

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2 hours ago, sburke said:

 I’d advise folks keeping the doc handy for the intel portion as it is a critical component for unit tasking and resource management. 

Yes, unless you have an eidetic memory, it is almost essential to write down all intel gathered by Defectors because when the Defectors are evacuated the player will have to remember what intel the Defectors provided so as to determine future COA's (Courses of Action).

For players who have been hankering for a large, operational-level feel, low-intensity/COIN scenario in which the player has to analyze and prioritize the importance of various actionable intelligence items that are provided during the game, and which may change the game depending on how the player responds, this is a uniquely brilliant effort by MOS.

Hope that TOC will inspire similar efforts when CMSF2 is released as CMSF2 may be even more suitable for this sort of COIN scenario or campaign.

 

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I´ve spent already about two hours with this scenario and can safely say that this is one of the most advanced Combat Mission scenarios I´ve played in over 10 years when not the most advanced.

The amount of detail put into this project and the briefings is superb. So is the "under the hood" technical stuff that runs this campaign. Unbelieveable that you figured that stuff out. 

This is not an usual scenario but indeed a sandbox campaign built into a CM scenario worth dozen hours of playtime. 

Issue wise not much to say atm:

1)when I try to incorporate the pinned UKR forces into the relief engagement, they´re triggered by 4.0´s retreat mechanic and consantly need to be stopped from running towards the enemy and suiciding (probably because the wall around the building),

2) due to the map size and mobility required, babysitting the extensive convoy operations takes a lot of energy and nerves but this is basically a fault of the game itself and not of your scenario.

thats it.

The intel reports fron the intelligence branches and detainees, are they randomized/influenced by your actions? Are there any tips on how to get a bit better FPS performance out of it?

Even with everyone being somewhat focused on SF2 you should definitely put this piece of Combat Mission art on your list.

Personal recommendation: Listen to the Zero Dark Thirty Soundtrack when you hunt for "the Butcher".

 

Edited by MANoWAR.U51
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1 hour ago, MANoWAR.U51 said:

This is not an usual scenario but indeed a sandbox campaign built into a CM scenario worth dozen hours of playtime. 

2) due to the map size and mobility required, babysitting the extensive convoy operations takes a lot of energy and nerves but this is basically a fault of the game itself and not of your scenario.

The intel reports from the intelligence branches and detainees, are they randomized/influenced by your actions? Are there any tips on how to get a bit better FPS performance out of it?

Personal recommendation: Listen to the Zero Dark Thirty Soundtrack when you hunt for "the Butcher". 

I was trying to get the feel of a sandbox campaign that would also have persistent map damage so I'm glad you noticed that. 

I agree about the convoys.  Convoy security for supplies, defector transport and Quick Reaction Forces (QRF)s play a significant role in operations.  When a unit leaves the FOB you're head needs to be on a swivel :lol:.  You'll probably get some practice with convoy security, logistics, analyzing intelligence, prioritizing, planning missions and choosing you're fights.  My hope is that it is more interesting than difficult. 

The intelligence reports are not random however the Tactical Site Exploitation (TSE) intelligence is dependent on the player discovering it.  Also one TSE site will often (not always) lead to another piece of intelligence etc.  The intelligence, or lack of it, will influence the player's decisions.  The player's decisions will then cause random events by the tripping of triggers.  Some you'll hit some you won't. 

You can also stop or delay some attacks from happening.  This occurs through the destruction of enemy base camps and eliminating certain OpFor couriers / officers.  As provided by intelligence those couriers / officers are en-route to a destination that contains a trigger.  If they reach the destination they will trigger an attack(s) by the AI.  If you intercept them the attack will be stopped or delayed.  The significance of being delayed is that it is generally no longer coordinated with other attacks and easier for the player to respond to (I say generally because it is somewhat dependent on when and in what order triggers are tripped) 

FPS performance.  I'm not a guru on FPS stuff.  I have heard others say turning off shadows?  @General Jack Ripper would know more about this. 

Zero Dark Thirty soundtrack ........ :D  :lol:  that's a great idea.  I listened to it as I typed this.                           

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On ‎7‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 2:36 PM, MOS:96B2P said:

FPS performance.  I'm not a guru on FPS stuff.  I have heard others say turning off shadows?  @General Jack Ripper would know more about this.

I can only share my own observations drawn from my own (admittedly aging) system.

First, toggling shadows off will almost always save you at least 3-5 FPS.

Second, reducing the focal length of the camera by zooming in slightly will save you something like 5-10% of your total FPS.

Finally, trying to pan the camera around the map edges while looking straight over the center of the map will kill your FPS every time. Best to place the camera base in the center of the map, and look outwards towards the edges.

The way Combat Mission runs, even if you don't physically "see" all the forces on a map, they are all still being simulated by the game engine at all times, thus trying to adopt a camera position that would result in the vast majority of forces on the map, (either visible or invisible) to be present in front of the camera is where you get your biggest hit to your FPS.

It's best to limit your view, by either keeping the camera pointed towards the map edge, limiting the field of view of the camera by using the zoom feature, or panning the camera downwards and adopting a 'top down' or 'isometric' viewpoint.

My observations are based on an AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHZ quad core (4 physical 8 logical) processor, 16 GB of RAM, with Nvidia GTX 750.

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