Sgt Joch

Deluxe version ordered. The 4 year wait is almost over.

very nice, I also see an amphibious landing, presumably for the USMC module? The attack from Turkey is interesting, I presume that would be for the NATO forces not in IRAQ (i.e. Canada, Germany, Netherlands) ?

can we get more description or photos of the mousepad and map, to decide if I will splurge the extra $ 15.

I would not be surprised if there was a flap at one point, just remember the heat Microsoft received when stories came out that the 9/11 hijackers had been playing Flight Simulator . All you need is one (terrorist, criminal, white supremacist, psycho) who carries out a (bombing, crime spree, hate crime, school shooting) who plays CMSF regularly and the media will circle BFC like a pack of Hyenas. Of course, it will mean a lot of free publicity. Who is it who said: "I don't care what they print about me, as long as they spell my name right"?

its an odd purchase. The MIG 31 is an obsolescent cold war era, high speed, high altitude fighter originally designed to intercept U.S. strategic bombers. Given the other problems of the Syrian Air force, including poor pilot training, it would have a very limited lifespan against IAF or NATO fighters in any conflict. It does not carry bombs, so could not be used in a internal security or CAS role. They could be fronting for Iran or Russia may have made a particularly sweet offer to Syria just to unload them.

I'm guessing each additional module will unlock other months. Does that mean CMSF + 3 expansion pack before we have access to the whole year?

sad, but it's inevitable that newer hardware and software will stop supporting older games. One more reason to hang on to my 7900 and XP though.

JK, yes, any bozo can stand in the middle of the street and fire a AK-47, but it takes cunning and some military skill to design these "traps". It reminds me of the city fighting I read about...Hue, Ortona, Stalingrad. Wars may change, but the basics of MOUT, which is basically siege warfare does'nt. I'm sure some evil scenario designers will put similar situations in CMSF. It must be nerve wracking for the troops involved though.

U.S. units have been fighting for a week to clear out Baquba of insurgent units. this article shows the ingenuity shown by the insurgents in turning entire city blocks into IED booby traps.

"Arabs at War" is the only book on the subject. Arab armies are not good at mobile warfare. The biggest reason is the centralized top down leadership. Junior officers show little initiative and wait for orders. They are at their best when they follow detailed, carefully rehearsed plans, like the crossing of the Suez canal in '73. The only or most successful mobile operations were those waged by the Iraqi army against Iran in 1988. The Iraqi generals designed operations that minimize their weaknesses. They first formed elite units with the best officers and men. They then designed limited operations lasting no more than 48 hours so every part could be carefully choreographed and everyone would have detailed orders to follow. Against Iran, it work like a charm. 5 operations lead to 5 overwhelming victory, which lead Iran to accept peace. The Iraqis did try mobile defence against the Iranians but it was a blunt approach. Iraqi units did not maneuver and only did frontal asaults. So generals would try to position units on the flank of any perceived Iranian attack so the inevitable Iraqi frontal assault would go in on the flank of the Iranian attack. Of course, that only worked if the units were prepositioned before the attack. They were hoping to use a similar approach against the allied forces in 1991, but of course, they were overwhelmed by events. The strength of arab armies is supply and engineering, so they will build up good static defences. In the Syrian case, mobile defence would be next to impossible, their armored units would be wiped out from the air before they even got close and the survivors would be cleaned up by tanks and ATGM's. Their best strategy would be to use their special forces/commando units to setup ambushes in key positions and inflict maximum casualties on the attacker.

Bring our pixeltruppens home!

100,000 is good for a wargame, especially for CMBO, CMBB, CMAK which only appealed to the niche wargamer market since they were mostly only marketed online and did not have flashy graphics, parts of it, I presume the impressive flamethrower graphics, were based on DX 5! :eek: At an average of $ 40 a pop, that would be $ 4 million, so the $ 2 million is not out of line and includes, I presume, salaries for the BFC team who still had to pay for rent, groceries (and Steve's camo uniform fetish ) over the past 4 years.

very nice! I like the animation of the individual soldiers changing mags to reload in the "firefight" video.

nice photos Jippo, what is that tank at the bottom? It looks like a T-62 or T-72, but it's hard to make out from this angle.

what type of body armour is that VIP wearing? (Def Sec Gates in Baghdad yesterday).

Interesting most players are picking the Syrians. I like and will play both sides, but I see I won't have any problems finding opponents when I want to play the U.S. side and kick some Syrian ass!

With this in mind would any one care to speculate in a bit more detail on the make-up of a Syrian unit which might be able to give a Stryker company, maybe with some armour support, a reasonable match in a non-MOUT setting, other than a pure ambush. Apologies, my knowledge of post WW2 formations and equipment is rather limited, but I'm keen to read what the cream of the Syrian army might be able to offer. Hoping somebody knowledgeable will take the time; thanks in advance. </font>

I didn't know IDF was that old! :eek: </font>

I got that. I am just curious as to the "don't deserve" comment. Why? </font>

BFC has stated repeatedly that there will be no IDF module since they don't think there will be a market for it. I also presume they think it is too controversial. Personally, I think a IDF module would be a natural fit for CMSF and I would much rather have that than a "European" module.

Soviet technology at it's best, that's what happens when vehicles are designed by communist party officials.

The other thing I find really impressive in this shot and the one I posted above is the amount of detail in the bushes in the foreground. I wonder if they cause a big fps hit or if Charles has found some sneaky coding shortcuts.

the graphics are improving all the time...

well speaking just in game terms, I find the M10 much more useful than 75 sherman. The M10 give you one-shot/one-kill capability against any german tanks, including Tigers/Panthers out to 500-600 meters, if setup in a good firing position. 500-600 meters is usually the limit of your effective LOS in a typical CMAK Italy/NWE scenario. The 75 Sherman can hold his own against Mark IV's but struggles to kill Tigers/Panthers at ranges over 200 meters. One shot from a Mark IV/Panther/Tiger will kill either a M10 or 75 Sherman, so the Sherman's better armour protection offers no practical advantage.

The terrain is coming along really well, you can see dust stirred up by the explosion, a telephone pole, debris (tires, barrels)...