Eddie Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Vin, I'm glad You did not misunderstood anything I wrote in my post at 04:01 AM. After I submitted my reply and took a good look at what I wrote I realised You could take it the wrong way and think that I was making fun of You. This was, and is absolutely not the case but I'm sure this clear to You. It is the words that You have chosen, and indeed the kind of humor in the three posts You gave in a row yesterday that were very entertaining. For me anyway. The way Phantom Captain and You are playing this mission is very different. This has become an interesting situation for me because Phantom Captain seems to be doing really well, and You made some decisions early on in the mission which have resulted in problems which should determine the outcome of Your battle. So this makes me wonder how big the difference will be once both battles have ended and results could be compared. Maybe this will give us/me some better insight or extra information regarding the parameters which also determine the outcome of a mission. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Phantom Captain - I'll try to curb my optimism, these hornets seem like they have come from multiple nests. The Mujahideen are now coming in from the area on the edge of the map furthest right to the Safe House (referenced from your screenshot). They were coming in from Objective Anna for awhile too. They are in the hills by and above most of the roads. There are a total of three technicals I have sighted and three trucks. In the briefing 100 Mujahideen are mentioned, it could be about 150 though. Much of the map is still covered in the fog of war and they are just everywhere. That's about as much as I can tell you about what I have come up against. Eddie - I didn't think you were making fun of me at all, I make the way I write about things funny at my own expense sometimes. It will be good getting more insight about scripting/adjusting parameters on these missions and that can also carry over to CMBN or CMSF. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Turns 27-38: The BMPs arrived at turn 30, one of them destroyed a truck that was across from it. I only moved them a short distance down the road to keep them from being destroyed. The BTR squads I sent into the hills to deal with the rpg squads that destroyed the BTRs have been decimated by Mujahideen that are very well concealed, at least one is a sniper. I then had to send a squad from the BMPs to the hill overlooking the road where the BTRs were destroyed to assist the remaining BTR squad. If I move the BMPs past the roadblock they will most likely be destroyed, yet if I leave them there I will never be able to retake any ground. If I commit more men to take care of the Mujahideen on the hill by the roadblock there will be more casualties. I'm running out of time too, I wanted to be able to take some other objectives. The only one I have is Katarina. The Mujahideen occupy the Safe House and everywhere else. I ordered a mortar attack on the Head Office - and it missed:rolleyes:. There is very little shooting though you hear an occasional sniper rifle (accompanied by the sound one of my men getting hit), the command and observer squads are behind a hill at the insertion point hiding. The rest of the men are behind the hill at Katarina. I hope the tank gets here soon, I need it's help badly. I have also seen a 4th truck leaving the gates at Samti Deposit. I hope it drives past the area where my BMP is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 It's good to read one of Your BMP's got one of the trucks. I expected that the BTR squads You send to the mujahedeen in the hills would get it, but not this hard. Did You try to outflank the mujahedeen or did You move straight at them? There is way how to deal with the mujahedeen at the roadblock which will cause less casualties. If You would like to know how don't hesitate to ask. I understand You have become cautious to move the BMP's toward the roadblock because if they are lost too that will make it very difficult to achieve any objective except for Katarina. As if things are not bad enough already the mortar attack on the head office missed too. If You don't mind me asking, why did You order the mortars to fire on the head office? The reason why the fighting is less intense now is because the mujahedeen have no more targets to fire upon since all Your men are hiding, and they seem to have what they want. But as I understand the mujahedeen still manage to snipe one of Your men here and there. I hope You will be safe in the places You are hiding untill the tank arives so You can try to organise something like an offensive and regain some ground. If You can do this You could still manage to achieve some of the objectives. Try to keep an eye on enemy movement though, because it may look like nothing is happening but You can't know for sure. If You manage to destroy the fourth truck that should be good for the endresult. But only if some of the other objectives are achieved as well. Things are looking bad but it is still possible to get something out of the situation you are in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Originally I had my men crawl straight toward the Mujahideen position near the BTRs from the opposite side of the hill further in on the crest (hard for me to describe the exact approach), they couldn't walk there or they would be shot and they wouldn't move when given the hunt command. One entire squad was wiped out and another has two left. As they crawled across the hill they were exposed and were fired at by maybe a recoilless rifle (I couldn't tell) there was just a large explosion in the side of the ridge and the men got killed. I flanked with the men that were left and that is where I'm at now. There is also an additional squad from the BMP headed to that position, although they are sticking to the side of the hill that is on the edge of the map to avoid being exposed to the opposite side. It is high up enough that the Mujahideen near the Safe House would have a good view of them if they did that. I find myself moving the camera down to eye level a lot more to study the terrain so that I maintain cover when I'm plotting out moves, which I should have been doing since the beginning. I ordered a mortar strike on the head office in hopes I could wipe out the Mujahideen garrison in the buildings as a prep for attack. I had assumed my soldiers would have eliminated the Mujahideen in the hills by then and the BMPs would be taking back the Safe House, but it didn't happen that way. My forward observers and Capt are in hiding so I can't really call any more strikes until I resolve the situation with getting the BMPs over the bridge. There is a technical by the Safe House that is armed with a recoiless rifle, that is an additional big concern and it has gone into hiding. I actually saw some Mujahideen just walking around the Safe House leisurely and walking out to the insertion point too, this is the first time I have witnessed this in this game. The one strolling to the insertion point was quickly shot. I guess they feel pretty secure at this point. I hope the tank gets here before it's too late to do any good. I have also seen Mujahideen run directly past my men in the hills overlooking the road where the trucks are. I have five men there with basically no ammo. A couple Mujahideen ran by them in full view without firing, and without my men firing. The next turn I ordered the men to fire at those Mujahideen and one Mujahideen was killed and the other ran away. I'm still very interested in playing this one out, though my time over the next few days will be more limited. I've been trying to refrain from asking for advice so that you can see how it is for a player to stumble through this without knowing exactly what to do and what the results could be. Maybe once I'm done you could point out my mistakes, though the way I have played this entire mission might just be one big mistake. I have found that no matter how much I study tactics or play this game, it always finds a way to throw me a situation I'm not prepared for and I have to cope with it, sink or swim. But then that is what makes it a good simulation and exciting to play. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Captain Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Update, Ok I am at the 25 minute left mark. I have taken casualties now indeed. The Marines have 1 KIA and 1 WIA. The bulk of my casualties were taken in the two 112th squads which have now flushed out the Mujahideen ambush on the ridge overlooking the road. They stumbled upon two RPG teams and an HQ. The did nullify the threat but in doing so have taken 1 KIA and 4 WIA. Their sacrifice did allow my armored vehicles to pass the road block intact and make it across the bridge where they have just now arrived. I hope they can resupply the Marines. I called another mission on the safe house with the mortars too as my 1st platoon of Marines were completely out of ammo and I had to have them hide to avoid getting shot. The artillery has demolished the safe house but I was able to extract the squad up by the wall back over the ridge without any casualties during the artillery strike. 2nd platoon is still in the same position, they still have ammo and they are still putting fire on the safe house and any Mujahideen attacking towards it. My SU-22 has been strafing the area between Anna and the Safe House constantly. I can't see what he is shooting at but he has made about four runs with his MGs. The last run he dropped a huge explosive on something back by Anna but I can't see what he targeted or if he hit anything. Sure makes me feel better though knowing he is spotting and attacking targets. One of my BTRs with the 73mm gun knocked out one of the technicals (the one with the recoiless) as he was making his escape along the road heading away from the safe house. Next is to resupply the Marines and get the rest of the 112th dismounted and into the fight and hopefully recapture the Safe House. Not sure how this is going to end up. I have armored vehicle support up now with a couple fresh squads of the 112th ready for action. I still have the T-62 in route which could really be the game changer for the end. Hopefully he shows up soon, I really need him!! I haven't taken any objective so far as the Safe House is still in enemy hands after being recaptured by the Muj but with this new artillery strike I don't think there is much alive in there. I have taken 7-8 casualties so far and have inflicted major casualties on the Mujahideen which should help me out. Can't wait to get back and see how this is going to end. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Captain Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 P.S. Left you a five star rating and comment on this one too! Seriously, please keep making CMA content. You are really really good at these and they are extremely enjoyable. I REALLY love CMA for the theater and the units involved. The community needs more of these!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Vin, so even crawling toward the mujahedeen resulted in some units lost because of one large explosion from unknown origin. How can it be that even when You are doing everything to avoid the enemy spotting Your units they still manage to do so, and hit them. It is very wise to let the BMP squad advance on the other side of the hill so the mujahedeen near The safe house wont spot them. The distance from The safe house to the hill next to the road is long but I think they could hit Your men just as well. I understand the mortarstrike now, it was in fact a left over of earlier plans. The walking mujahedeen could be the result of the many orders I gave them. I think they could be tired but I'm not 100% sure of this. And You saw some mujahedeen running past Your men without firing on them? I did not order them to do so when creating the AI-plan. I understand You want to play the mission the way You want to, as this keeps things more interesting. And if You ever want to give the mission a second try You will probably remember what to do, and what not to do. I think You will not give the AI will a second chance to do the damage they did in the past few days. And I agree, this game can be very difficult. The field of battle is deadly but this makes it a real challenge too. Phantom Captain, thank You very much for Your rating and the comment You left! I understand You have taken some casualties around turn 25 at The safe house and the hill where the mujahedeen planned an ambush. I have played parts of this mission very often to see how certain AI orders turned out. I never managed to get to turn 25 without any casualties. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's very hard. You have made good use of the mortars to make sure there are no mujahedeen left at The safe house, the building collapsed so I'm sure there will be no one left there. This also gave You the chance to retreat the squad hiding near the wall back to the ridge. Good work, because I know that if any squad is near these walls or at The safe house itself retreating toward Katarina without casualties is not a easy thing to do. The SU-22 M dropped something causing a huge explosion but You could not see what? I'm pretty sure this would be a technical with some kind of weapon mounted on it. The spot where Your BTR destroyed one of the technicals is about the same spot where one of my BMP's exchanged fire with a tecnical with a recoiless gun mounted on it, my BMP lost. Since You managed to get all the BTR's safely across the bridge recapturing The safe house should be possible. And with the arrival of the BMP's and the tank You could even manage to achieve all objectives. As long as You keep Your casualties low in the coming turns I know You will surely be victorious. I sure would like to know how things turned out for You. I think the theater and the units in CMA can be used really well for missions that simulate unconventional warfare, and this creates some special kind of atmosphere. To me it makes this game a very enjoyable one. In time I will surely create another mission like this one for CMA but first I'm going to change a few things in Battlegroup Ivanov. After that is done I'm going to take a look and see if I can create a nice tankbattle for CMBN or CMSF. But I will make more missions for CMA, and Stagler also mentioned last week that he was working on one. So there defenitly will come more missions for CMA. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 The squad was crawling on the hill above the roadblock and was near the ridge line (I thought they were far enough in to have cover - I was wrong), they were already being shot at because of this and I tried to move them away but they were hit from the side before they could get away and I think it might have been that the technical at the safe house sighted them. Then they came under sniper fire from the front, I couldn't see who shot at them but what I heard sounded like a Dragunov or some other type of sniper rifle. I didn't realize that you could influence the AI parameters on that level, I thought the squad level AI would just take over even if attacking at that area wasn't specified. My own way of playing didn't get me too far, if I wasn't posting my results on the forums, I think I would be tempted to redo some turns for some trial and error to find the best approach or post for advice. I'm playing on Iron level and I haven't redone any turns. I started playing like that recently to provide more of a challenge and because I got sick of re-plotting my moves in campaigns constantly to get better results and that has carried over to battles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 If I had to play this mission without knowing what was coming at me, and where the mujahedeen where lying in ambush I would not have done much better as You did. I'm sure I would be redoing some turns because without this it would become very difficult to achieve any objective with no or very few casualties in this one. And I'm pretty sure there will be no player that manages to destroy the trucks and technicals, capture and occupy The safe house without any casualties and getting all BTR's across the bridge in his or her first try without loading saved games. Or the player must have played the mission before so he or she knows when certain things are going to happen. And I understand exactly what You mean regarding the campaigns, and that is why I stopped with the first campaign in the seventh battle. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Turns 39 through -5 The gods of war have smiled upon me this night, and spared me the humiliation of defeat ... the mission has finished as ... a Draw. I still want to post a couple videos of key moments of the end of this mission but don't have time right now. I called a mortar smoke strike on the hill, I couldn't kill all the Mujahideen and was running out of time. My tank decided it didn't like the direction I plotted for him through the roadblock and presented his broadside - and the technical's recoiless destroyed him. I got one BMP through successfully and it became the key player in the rest of the battle. The other BMP became frozen after I ordered the observer squad from the UAZ to enter it. The observer squad icon appeared in the BMP as transparent unlike the other crew icons. I also could no longer see the squads stats or move it out of the BMP. So because of this bug it was effectively removed from the combat; as if things have not been hard enough on me in this mission. Once again the Soviet APC has proved to be an invaluable asset in battle for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Hit the max, here's the last AAR. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 To clarify some of what I said in the post above since I can no longer edit it, the mortar smoke strike was on the Hill above the roadblock and the technical with the recoilless was behind the Safe House. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 . I don't know if it was the gods of war that smiled upon You last night or the way I handled the parameters for terrain- and unit objectives. Either way, I think the result was not as bad as You thought it would be. If the tank was not destroyed You might even have achieved a minor victory. The mujahedeen had almost three times the number of KIA You did (47 against 17), and twice as much WIA (50 against 23). They had lost 7 vehicles against the 3 APC's of You. This means You got most of their trucks. The mujahedeen managed to get 92 points for terrain- and unit objectives, You got 73 points. So if the objectives were they only factor that would calculate victory or defeat You would not have made it. But fortunatly this is not the case because the BMP saved the day for You, as did the BTR in Hamid's attack on Hill 412. Well done! Now You've ended the mission with the result You got did You think I applied the parameters for terrain- and unit objectives in a good way or not. I would like to know this because if You think it is any good I will continue using such parameters in future missions. If You think it is no good I will take this in consideration and might try to make use of the parameters in a different way. I would really apreciate it if You would let me know what You think. And thank You very much for the links to the AAR's, Your reports of the way things were going as You advanced through the mission and ofcourse the entertainment You gave. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Yeah I think it was more the way you handled the terrain parameters and unit objectives and the fact that I managed to get a BMP across the bridge than the "gods of war" rofl. I managed to land a mortar strike on the head office area so that helped increase the amount of casualties for the Mujahideen in addition to the BMP. I think the parameters for terrain and units were handled in a good way. I expected a Major Defeat because of not occupying all the objectives and all my losses. I was suprised by the end result of the mission. I think you should stick with the parameters you have set for future missions. This will provide the player with a chance to raise the score, if all the objectives have not been occupied by the end of the scenario. You're welcome for the AARs and reports, I hope my feedback is a help to you with future mission design. It is rare for me to provide this much attention and feedback for a scenario, but this was just very well done and kept me in suspense until the end. Thank you once again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 So the mortarstrike which was actually a left over of the earlier plans still had its purpose by increasing Your opponents casualties. For me it's amazing to see how things turn out in CMA when a mission is being played. Very often there seems to be something going on which seems to be unimportant, but later on it turns out to be the opposite. Your feedback is definitly helping me for making missions in the future. I have applied the same kind of parameters when I was working on Battlegroup Ivanov last, and this evening. Since You like the parameters used in my last mission I will leave things as they are right now. I think they are allright too and it will give any player a better change of being victorious when playing this mission. I understand You normally don't provide this much attention on one scenario, but I really appreciate You did it. Imagine what would happen on these forums if every player would give feedback the way You did on every mission they liked. Anyway, I'm glad You enjoyed playing the mission untill the end, and You are welcome. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 That particular mortar strike (which was the last one) was called for the sole purpose of creating casualties (not to prep for assault), at the point it was called in I knew I had no chance to reach the Head Office. Glad you appreciated the feedback and to see you are putting those parameters to good use in the revision of Battlegroup Ivanov. Yeah that would be great if more players created very detailed AARs. Here are some videos from the last segment of this mission. My First BMP makes it over the bridge and has to face off against a technical behind the Safe House. This video just shows the exchange of fire between the two and not the destruction of the technical. It didn't blow up, the Mujahideen just bailed out, not that exciting. I was expecting my BMP to be destroyed (but it survived the rest of the mission) and this would have ruined my chances of achieving further objectives. Video: My BMP finally reaches Objective Anna and attacks a technical at point-blank range. Video: The BMP is trying to hold position at Objective Anna in the final minutes of the game and is shot at by Mujahideen in the Woods. The last mortar strike mentioned above takes place on the Head Office in the background. Video: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Hi Vin, so I got it wrong with the mortarstrike then. The reason why You called in the mortarstrike on the head office makes perfect sence to me. My revision of Battlegroup Ivanov got out of hand somewhat and I made much more changes then I intended originally. I spend more than three hours on improving the map alone. At the time I submitted the file I thought the map was finished. But when I saw it in 3D preview a few days back I realised there were a number of things that could, and should be improved. Meanwhile most aspects of the mission have been changed, more or less . Unit experience, the AI plan, the briefing etc. It will take some more time to finish the job but I'm almost there. I just need to test and check certain things and adjust forces somewhat. And then it should be ready. I watched all the videos You made of this mission. You were lucky to get away with the RPG that hit Your APC in the video You named BMP close call. If it was destroyed I think You would have lost the mission. Thanks again for providing the links to Your videos. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Hi Eddie, it's good you made a new and improved version of Ivanov, it will give everyone who played before a different experience. It's amazing how much work can go into creating/refining a scenario and map. You're welcome for the videos and I was extremely lucky that RPG didn't take out that BMP. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Captain Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Hey Eddie, Sorry I haven't posted my progress in a bit, life has been super busy the past week and I haven't had a chance to sit down and finish the battle. I have 20 minutes to go, I believe. No worries though, as soon as I'm done I'll update and post my results and how the last 20 minutes plays out. I'll also post my end game screen. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Hi Phantom Captain, that's allright. Life has been busy for me too so I understand. Hmm, I wonder how You will do the last part of the mission. If I am right You came a long way without to much casualties. So I think it should be possible for You to achieve most if not all of the objectives. I'm looking forward to see the results and ofcourse Your end game screen. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Captain Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Ok, finished! Soviet Major Victory. I'm not happy though as I got really sloppy at the end. I did not expect much to any resistance at Anna when I got there but I was seriously mistaken. There were still a bunch of insurgents there that wound up giving me 2 KIA and 4 more WIA right at the end. Drat!! Lucky I had everything up and ready to support and my BMP and T-62 came up and finished off the bastards quick like. Game ended with four minutes still on the clock. All my forces were at the edge of Anna and no one had come close to entering the compound yet. I wound up with 6 KIA and 11 WIA where if I had been a bit more careful at the end I could have been around 4 KIA and only 7 WIA. Might have given me a bit better score but not sure if those numbers even would have come under the parameter. More later! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 Congratulations! And You're not happy with the result because the mujahedeen managed to inflict some casualties at Anna? I would not worry about that, you did great! I have never achieved a better result in any Combat Mission mission then a major victory as far as I can remember. Is it possible one can do any better, like overwhelming victory? Hm, come to think of it; I think there will be such a thing, but I never managed to get it. The parameters for casualties on the player side are indeed pretty tight, but I think this was necesarry so the AI had something of a chance to score some points there. Anyway, It seems to me like these parameters did not hurt You at all. Thanks for posting Your AAR and Your feedback, it is the best score I have seen! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I'm reposting this original battle file with permission from Eddie, it was removed from the repository. The Samti deposit raid http://www.gamefront.com/files/21093733/The+Samti+deposit+raid.rar 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I'm reposting this original battle file with permission from Eddie, it was removed from the repository. The Samti deposit raid http://www.gamefront.com/files/21093733/The+Samti+deposit+raid.rar I am interested in this scenario. Where can I find it? It is playable H2H. Thanks in advance 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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