Is it possible? Is Task Force Panther actually released?

[ChrisND]

********SPOILER*********

Now, on to Snitch

For Normal Dude: Very nice scenario - try to find the balance between speed and caution and it works well with this scenario. I found it very easy for myself but I don't doubt if I was too cautious or took another route, that it would have been a hell of a lot harder than it was. Once again, last game save is available.

I think that's the first I've heard of someone doing it that fast. Well done! 90% of the attempts result in Blue hitting the marketplace at the same time as the Red reinforcements. It gets... exciting, to say the least.

I'm interested in the route you took. Please send the last save and some sort of explanation of the route you took.

[ChrisND]

Pigs of War

...

Pigs of War - five stars all around.

Very nice report and good work. It looks like TPF2 is working exactly as intended. I was really worried that this one wouldn't work out - at one point early on it was on the chopping block. :eek:

[ChrisND]

************SPOILER***************

First two done. Had 1 kia and 10 wia in mission 1. 25 kia and 10 wia in mission 2 (the one that I opted not to skip!). Finally killed all of the armor, but at a hell of a cost.

Ouch! Were most casualties due to arty or vehicle fire? You may want to restart that scenario and not continue the campaign.

When I redo that mission at a later date, I'll make sure to hide all my infantry and just let the A10's do their dirty work.

The optimal strategy is to let the A-10s cull the crowd and the TOWs pick off BMPs at leisure, with the infantry as the last line of defense in key-holed positions.

[Clevinger]

First mission went just fine, with 1 KIA and 2 WIA. The BRDM weren't so aggressive after a few well-placed .50 round, or an AT-4 if possible.

"Pigs of war" was much harder, but I think that with the infantry placed in the entrance of the yard to score flank shots, it would have been easier. But I was afraid to see the syrian dismounts taking the surrounding buildings before attempting to rush the main building. Around 10 KIA and 20 WIA.

"Snitch" : I think the timing was just perfect , even if I had some very intense firefights to exfil the package.

"All the way" is cool with the demo charges, otherwise I was around 10% losses. My battalion HQ was surprised to see a BTR platoon rolling next to his HQ on the edge of the map...

"Machete" I skipped.

"Ambush" went fine, it was really funny to see all these funny little 60mm ordnance exploding.

"H-minus" is a low blow, I tried to flank them but I tumbled on a MAJOR strongpoint! Lots of injured... I had difficulties to silence the trenches to the right and the SPGs... I felt the lack of mortar rounds.

"Finale" Very nice map. But I think I'm too short on personnel(or there are too much RPG-29 on the other side :-p), so I just decided to stop and restart the campaign from the beginning . But : the Paladins are a real blessing since you can pinpoint a building to level it... The Abrams had a lot of fun, but they have been badly mauled by RPGs and ATGMs. Next time, I'm going to take my time and turn every building into smoking rubble...

[BlackMoria]

All The Way (Scenario 4) AAR

*********** Spoilers ***************

For this one, I had Havoc plt head for the Scud Inspection site, Bushwhacker plt head towards the nearest complex objective (administration complex) to clear it, and Bear plt deployed to the far deployment area with the intent of taking the high ground and having the option of assisting Magician or coming into the complex from the rear to assist Bushwhacker. Both callsigns of Shadow deployed into building near the corner deployment zone.

Shortly after scenario start, Shadow reported sighted infantry advancing across an large open field and the sniper teams went to work, stopping the advance and inflicting casualties. More infantry showed up in the area and were likewise shot up at range by the snipers.

Meanwhile, Bushwhacker and Havoc advanced on their objectives and came under fire. Several firefights that last 5 minutes occurred as both Bushwhacker and Havoc platoons tried to gain the upper hand on the tenacious defenders in the complex complex and the scud inspection site.

Magican force snipers relocated as Magican squads started to clear the insertion building and prepared to seize the R&D complex. It only took about 10 minutes of Magican force to clear the complex of enemy by breaching into each building and assaulting in.

Havoc finally fought their way into the Scud inspection building after several protracted firefights and help from the Apaches.

Bushwhacker likewise fought their way the administration complex after several protracted firefights but not before being harassed by several BTRs which appeared by Shadow and moved into the complex. Shadow destroyed one vehicle, Bushwhacker one vehicle and the Apaches killed the remaining 2).

Bushwhacker and Havoc tried to push out from their respective captured objectives to capture other objective building further in but got held up by very determined forces covering kill zones.

Bear plt, which had taken the high ground, moved into dead ground and took the complex nearest the R&D facility, which was safely in the hands of Magician. Magician snipers moved to assist Bear inflitrating deeper into the rear and towards other complexes.

Havoc and Bushwhacker got set upon everytime they tried to push out so mortars and Apaches were called to try to dislodge or attrite the tenacious enemy. They made little headway for the rest of the game, trying to kill the multiple enemy defensive positions by ranged fire. The Apaches seem surprising ineffective in taking out the enemy in buildings, despite repeated cannon and rocket attacks.

Bear plt made headway, having taken one complex and moved on another. Finally, the Apaches leveled a key building full of infantry, allowing Alpha company to make some headway. I got a Total victory screen at this point.

I got the maximum points (odd, since I still had one complex to take still).

It was a tough fight. Havoc and Bushwhacker basically could not make headway after they took their intial objectives due to the overlapping fields of fire and the open ground. Infiltrating one platoon into the center of the complex was one aspect of the plan which worked. Oddly, the Apaches seemed relatively ineffective as their rockets were either off target and the cannons didn't seem to do much to the defenders in buildings.

For Normal Dude: The R&D faculty fight is either too tough or too easy. If one uses demolition charges and conducts a proper and aggressive breach entry, it is over in short order with little casualties (Magican had only one or two wounded if I recall). I reverted to a earlier save to see what would happen with a normal assault entry and the Magician forces get the stuffing kicked out of them. Nice work on setting up the complex forces. This was one of the few games in which I literally couldn't make any headway with two of the three Apha platoons after taking the intial objectives. I prevailed but I had to work hard for the victory and preserve my force. Once again, a last game save is available.

Nice map and good scenario. Expect a tough fight.

[afreu]

###SPOILERS###

H-MINUS - Initially 60mm and 81mm mortars were used to deploy a smoke screen between the scout platoon and enemy positions. With smoke cover established, the platoon mounted their vehicles and retreated back to friendly positions. Havoc platoon moved to the west into the woods, trying to bypass the village and attack the enemy's flank. Bear and Bushwacker occupied buildings to the east of the road and, supported by the scout's 50 cals, advanced north. Bushwacker platoon moved to the group of buildings between the road and the hill, while Bear platoon attacked the enemy trenches on the hill itself. This movement turned out to be a challenge, requiring both platoons to support each other, while falcon called in mortar missions. Most of the time was spent trying to conquer the hill. The Syrian defenders, although few in numbers, put up a good fight. After I took the hill, Havoc Platoon moved in from the north-west onto the village and Bushwacker Platoon from the south-east, with direct fire support by the scout's 50cals.

FINALE - Cleared the hotel in the south-east and am advancing with all three infantry platoons towards the building blocks, surrounding the German consulate. Those Syrian SF troops are pretty hardcore. Especially in the defending role. Without immense direct fire support and a numerical advantage of the assault element, any close combat with them is lethal.

[BlackMoria]

AAR for Machete (Scenario 5)

I must have been wearing my lucky rabbit's foot of this one. One of the Bradley's moved up the hill into the building compounds and narrowing avoided being taken out by the dreaded AT-14 on a hill. The Bradley was beside a wall and the wall took the hit. Since this was now about 15 secs into the scenario, the pucker factor went way up. I was waiting to get a feel for where the enemy was before I moved the Hummers and with horror, noted that the AT-14 position had visual with part of the Hummer harbour, so it was hammer away with the 50s while getting to cover. A squad and the HQ element from Bushwhacker platoon took to the buildings to get a height advantage and eyes on the area while the 25mm and 50s peppered the area of the AT-14. Once the mortars arrived, the area was subjected to airburst to ensure the AT-14 was dead.

Engineers worked down to the nearest mine area and slow crawled in (and took a KIA and WIA despite slow crawling in and out of the zone).

In the meantime, one M2 worked itself left into low ground with one engineer squad while the other M2 up in the fenced compound fired TOW missiles at all visible target buildings. In the course of working the area and maneuvering for a shot, the second AT-14 was revealed when it fired at the M2 and missed. The mortars made sure it would not fire again.

Slowly and methodically, dismounted Bushwhacker squads and the engineers worked through the map, destroying several infantry strongpoints in the area in the course marking all the minefields. Lost some more engineers in clearing another minefield and 1 KIA with Bushwhacker due to a sniper.

Once the AT-14s were killed, it went relatively smoothly albeit slowly. The 25mms of the two M2s working together supported by Bushwhacker made short work of any found resistance.

Got another Total Victory. My losses were light, with the majority of them from the engineers.

For Normal Dude: The engineers took losses on two of the four minefield clearings, despite moving SLOW in and out of the minefields. I don't know how others are finding the scenario but once the AT-14s die, the Syrians get ground under heel with the M2s working in tandem with mutual support for the platoon. Maybe some more Syrian forces or have more RPGs for the existing forces may be in order. Then again, others have having problems or have passed on scenario due to the difficulty so maybe it is my stellar luck at work again. Both AT-14s missed and they didn't get any followup shot due to be suppressing the hell out of them.

Good scenario but watch your movement from the start point or get nailed almost straight away.

[ChrisND]

"Finale" Very nice map. But I think I'm too short on personnel(or there are too much RPG-29 on the other side :-p), so I just decided to stop and restart the campaign from the beginning .

I'm going to have a new version out tomorrow, modified with the feedback from everyone here, along with the individual scenarios.

[ChrisND]

All The Way (Scenario 4) AAR

*********** Spoilers ***************

I got the maximum points (odd, since I still had one complex to take still).

A few objectives have no points. They are merely friendly reminders that the player needs to clear the entire complex.

Oddly, the Apaches seemed relatively ineffective as their rockets were either off target and the cannons didn't seem to do much to the defenders in buildings.

I have noticed this as well. They aren't a ton of use in this scenario (better than a sharp stick in the eye anyways).

For Normal Dude: The R&D faculty fight is either too tough or too easy. If one uses demolition charges and conducts a proper and aggressive breach entry, it is over in short order with little casualties (Magican had only one or two wounded if I recall). I reverted to a earlier save to see what would happen with a normal assault entry and the Magician forces get the stuffing kicked out of them.

The R&D fight is meant to be easy. Using demo charges is the proper way to clear it.

[ChrisND]

AAR for Machete (Scenario 5)

I was waiting to get a feel for where the enemy was before I moved the Hummers and with horror, noted that the AT-14 position had visual with part of the Hummer harbour...

An AT-14 had LOS to the area that the humvees started in, or LOS if they moved out of their starting area? If so, I need to fix that. Checking.

Engineers worked down to the nearest mine area and slow crawled in (and took a KIA and WIA despite slow crawling in and out of the zone).

This will be fixed in next version, the mines will be AT mines.

For Normal Dude: The engineers took losses on two of the four minefield clearings, despite moving SLOW in and out of the minefields. I don't know how others are finding the scenario but once the AT-14s die, the Syrians get ground under heel with the M2s working in tandem with mutual support for the platoon. Maybe some more Syrian forces or have more RPGs for the existing forces may be in order. Then again, others have having problems or have passed on scenario due to the difficulty so maybe it is my stellar luck at work again. Both AT-14s missed and they didn't get any followup shot due to be suppressing the hell out of them.

I think I'm going to wait on more feedback before changing this one too much.

[theFightingSeabee]

************SPOILER***************

Ouch! Were most casualties due to arty or vehicle fire? You may want to restart that scenario and not continue the campaign.

The optimal strategy is to let the A-10s cull the crowd and the TOWs pick off BMPs at leisure, with the infantry as the last line of defense in key-holed positions.

OK, I'll restart if it's going to screw me for the rest of the campaign.

Most of the casualties were from a couple of tanks that made it through in the second wave. I moved 2 squads to try to hit the tank (4 A10 gun runs couldn't seem to take it out) from the side. Boom, boom, boom, boom! 2 at4's and 2 laws into the side of the tank from about 20 meters and it still didn't go down! The tank turned around and pulverized the squads with it's main gun. The other casualties were due to similar occurances, where I was trying to take out some vehicles, missed, and they returned fire.

I'll restart and probably do MUCH better knowing what to expect now.

[bodkin]

I'm going back to play Machette again it turned into a disaster for me with those RPG's nailing both my Bradleys.

So far I've got 3 draws and one total victory on Snitch. I think the casualty penalty is too severe, in all scenarios I've taken all the objectives but the Syrians always get a big bonus because of just a few casualties.

[BlackMoria]

AAR for H-Minus (Scenario 6)

************ Spoilers******************

After looking at the situation on the ground, I opted to extract the stranded platoon rather than to try to push further out with Alpha company. I had the mortars drop smoke and safely extracted the platoon back to better cover.

During the extraction process a few enemy positions were revealed and suppressed, including the hillside recoilless rifle. The air asset was vectored to comb over the hill feature for targets and visible trenching was hit by short duration mortar missions.

One platoon advanced on a wide left flanking maneuver to come into the urban area from the left rear and sweep back towards friendly lines. Many enemy were located and destroyed during the sweep. Once this platoon made good headway, another two platoons swept right flanking, one tasked with taking the hill feature and the other to link up with the left flanking platoon in the centre of the urban area.

The enemy was tenacious but mutually supporting Alpha company squads quickly overcame the defenders and at end of the scenario (it went the full time allocated), Alpha company held the majority of the urban areas and the hill feature.

I got another Total Victory with only 2 WIA. The Syrians were tougher and held up better than in previous scenarios (being elite airborne themselves) and only grudging gave up their positions. A tougher nut to crack for sure but it can be cracked.

Expect a tougher battle and dangerous house clearing if you go after the Syrians. Keep tight mutual support of fire base and assault elements. Once the shooting starts for a localized fight, don't hold back and hit the defenders with everything you got.

Another good scenario that appears as a simple task to do but the devil is in the details. The defenders can mutually support each other so a full on, half baked, drive into the teeth of the defenders is going to make your casualties skyrocket.

[ChrisND]

Uploading the new 1.01 campaign now, as well as each mission individually.

VERSION 1.01 CHANGES

Manual:

- Your Command section fleshed out with in-game unit names, more detail added to certain entries.

- Psyops removed from XVIII Corps entry.

- Visual fixes made to printer-friendly version.

TPF1:

- Adjusted blue and red victory conditions. Blue must now clear a certain percentage of Red forces off of the entire map. Briefings changed accordingly.

TPF2:

- Adjusted AI plans. Red should be more aggessive at the industrial complex.

TPF3:

- Adjusted AI setup. A rare chance for Red to fire upon Blue on turn 1 should no longer happen.

TPF4:

- Adjusted AI plans.

TPF5:

- Adjusted mines. Mines are now Anti-Vehicle mines.

- Adjusted briefing. Emphasized ATGMs.

Work in progress: Adding more AI plans to TPF8.

[ChrisND]

Any more feedback? I'd like for this to shed that "beta" attachment to the title...

[Clavicula_Nox]

I'll get the updated campaign tomorrow and restart.

[theFightingSeabee]

Yeah... it keeps kickin my arse.

It took me about 5 reloads to defend the big armored counter attack without more than 10 KIA. Now I'm assaulting on the huge map (with the R & D complex) and I just lost an entire squad KIA to a lucky rpg shot. It's been tough so far.

I guess that's why they have to be devils in baggy pants.

[ChrisND]

Yeah... it keeps kickin my arse.

It took me about 5 reloads to defend the big armored counter attack without more than 10 KIA. Now I'm assaulting on the huge map (with the R & D complex) and I just lost an entire squad KIA to a lucky rpg shot. It's been tough so far.

I was worried for a moment there that it was too easy after BlackMoria's Alexander-esque conquering of my battles. I think I'm going to have to wait for a bit more feedback on difficulty before I make adjustments though, as the few I've gotten seem to be everywhere on the spectrum.

It's interesting that you are having such a tough time with TPF 2. I haven't seen anyone else with those sorts of problems with it.

With RPGs involved, there is definitely a bit of luck involved. Not really any way to get around that though.

I guess that's why they have to be devils in baggy pants.

[ChrisND]

Anyone who has played the campaign:

How are the casualty replacements working out for you? Are your casualties being replaced quickly, or do you feel the loss later in the campaign? If anyone has made it to the last couple of scenarios, what are your force levels like?

[ChrisND]

Also, the next version (a few weeks away most likely, there is a lot of work to do including some major map work) will be the finalized. There are a lot changes in it, some which I think you guys will really dig.

[Delta228]

I just played Snitch, and it was the most fun I have ever had playing CMSF! Great job ND!

It started off with my SOF guys getting ambushed, and 2 Humvees of them died instanly from RPGs. The one remaining unit linked up with the informant, and began moving him towards Bear Platoon. Then, suddenly, my SOF guys and the informant were "beseiged" by at least 6 groups of combatants.

Blindly, I my first 2 squads of Bear Platoon to help, only to run into another ambush, where almost an entire squad (including the Bear Platoon leader) was killed.

At this point, I was pretty frustrated, so i went into the briefing again to see if by the grace of god, you had given me some sort of B-52 carpet bombing type air support to level the whole bloody town and be done with it. Thats when I noticed, at the very end, where you said: "for a greater challenge, don't go to the extraction until you have recovered your casualties".

Now, this is a seemingly obvious part of modern combat, but i had never thought about it before. It was brilliant!

I spent the next 45 minutes, not trying to get to the extraction, (the informant was already there, besieged again, only this time with the depleted and bloodied Dog Platoon Humvee crews), but desperately trying to recover my fallen comrades, all the while fighting off combatants from literally all sides.

I am proud to say that I recovered all my fallen men, except one Humvee full of SOF guys, (but it was unreachable and on fire ) .

this lead to the stunning climax, as my last remaining men rushed towards the extraction, seemingly ducking under the 50cal rounds fired from my only 2 remaining Humvee who were covering their escape.

In the end, I lost 5 Humvees, 16 killed and around 25 wounded. it was by far the best scenario i have ever played. Thank you so much for making such a great campaign. I would recommend this campaign to anyone who has not played it, because it is fantastic.

That being said, I feel it will get more difficult from here, because Havoc Platoon was cut to peices on the runway, Bushwhacker was almost anihalated in the defence of the airport, and now Bear has less than 20 men left...

[bodkin]

As a WEGO player I found this campaign very hard, I've had to do a few save and reloads to make it through, which I don't usually do. To me there should be enough leeway in a mission so that you can still get a victory if you took the wrong option somewhere as long as it wasn't something obviously stupid.

Some of the missions are just not achievable without some casualties which always seems to give the Reds a big points bonus. I'm still on the last mission but I'm tipping this will be a draw as most of the others were, considering I just lost a whole squad which was taken out by a Kornet ATGM.

While I really appreciate all the work and detail I haven't been able to enjoy it so much, as I don't really like micro managing my squads to the finest detail. This is just a bit of feedback from one player so others may find it perfectly balanced and enjoyable.

I did enjoy snitch though.

[ChrisND]

I just played Snitch, and it was the most fun I have ever had playing CMSF! Great job ND!

It started off with my SOF guys getting ambushed, and 2 Humvees of them died instanly from RPGs. The one remaining unit linked up with the informant, and began moving him towards Bear Platoon. Then, suddenly, my SOF guys and the informant were "beseiged" by at least 6 groups of combatants.

Blindly, I my first 2 squads of Bear Platoon to help, only to run into another ambush, where almost an entire squad (including the Bear Platoon leader) was killed.

At this point, I was pretty frustrated, so i went into the briefing again to see if by the grace of god, you had given me some sort of B-52 carpet bombing type air support to level the whole bloody town and be done with it. Thats when I noticed, at the very end, where you said: "for a greater challenge, don't go to the extraction until you have recovered your casualties".

Now, this is a seemingly obvious part of modern combat, but i had never thought about it before. It was brilliant!

I spent the next 45 minutes, not trying to get to the extraction, (the informant was already there, besieged again, only this time with the depleted and bloodied Dog Platoon Humvee crews), but desperately trying to recover my fallen comrades, all the while fighting off combatants from literally all sides.

I am proud to say that I recovered all my fallen men, except one Humvee full of SOF guys, (but it was unreachable and on fire ) .

this lead to the stunning climax, as my last remaining men rushed towards the extraction, seemingly ducking under the 50cal rounds fired from my only 2 remaining Humvee who were covering their escape.

In the end, I lost 5 Humvees, 16 killed and around 25 wounded. it was by far the best scenario i have ever played.

Snitch is definitely my favorite to date. I think you might have ignored something in the briefing, because if you have humvees getting taken out by RPGs then you probably took the town roads, which you were told not to do. Still, if it made for an exciting game, then I guess it was worth it.

That being said, I feel it will get more difficult from here, because Havoc Platoon was cut to peices on the runway, Bushwhacker was almost anihalated in the defence of the airport, and now Bear has less than 20 men left...

That is going to really hurt you soon, because the missions will only get harder. Sorry to say it, but you may find that you will have to start over.

Please let me know how quickly (or slowly) your casualties get replaced as you progress.

[ChrisND]

As a WEGO player I found this campaign very hard, I've had to do a few save and reloads to make it through, which I don't usually do. To me there should be enough leeway in a mission so that you can still get a victory if you took the wrong option somewhere as long as it wasn't something obviously stupid.

Some of the missions are just not achievable without some casualties which always seems to give the Reds a big points bonus.

I played this mostly in WEGO myself. I have been considering lowering the point bonus for casualties to 500 or even 400. One of the basic purposes of the campaign is to show just how damn unforgiving combat is, especially casualty tolerance for the modern American army. Run your squad/platoon the wrong way and get them all cut down, and you will bring a LOT of attention on yourself in theatre and maybe even outside of that. Perhaps the penalty is a bit draconian. On the other hand, I have other people who are finishing missions sustaining a few wounded and zero dead. With that variety of results its hard for me to determine the level of difficulty involved, and it may come down to play style. This campaign definitely prefers that you pay close attention to what each unit is doing, instead of sending them on their way and going elsewhere.

I'm still on the last mission but I'm tipping this will be a draw as most of the others were, considering I just lost a whole squad which was taken out by a Kornet ATGM.

If the enemy has 'slodey things, split your squads up. About the draws, how many objectives were you achieving usually? All of them? Most, some?

[bodkin]

I've always achieved all of the objectives in every mission, I"m just getting draws due to a handful of casualties.

The squad that got wiped out by the Kornet couldn't be split up it was one of those specialist squads with all the marksman and so forth that were covering the advance of the other troops.

Maybe I just don't have the patience to appreciate this campaign yet. I've been playing CM since CMBO so I thought I was a decent player but maybe I'll have to rethink my self imposed status.