benpark

Bloody hell! Don't let the harsh arbitrary and un backed-up poor criticism of that "player" put you off deigning something in the future. Especially since others have said they enjoyed it. Just put him on your ignore list - I just did...

+1  THIS.  @benpark.  The community needs scenario designers and you are one of the best, most knowledgeable designers.  The occasional negative comment when not backed up by thoughtful, constructive criticism should be kept in perspective.  Thank you for your hundreds (maybe thousands?) of hours of great scenario design.      

That's the title of the first S.L.O.D. module.
I like the ring of that acronym- Almost as nice a ring as C.H.U.D. was back in ye olden times.

Adding those 'bells and whistles' is no small matter. 
Going from CM:SF1 to CM:SF2 is kinda like leaving home driving a V8 and having it turn into a turbo/supercharged W16 when you hit the highway! 
It really is quite a lot more powerful. 

They're using SS runes and the idiots who follow them use dirt-ass Neo Nazi rock to celebrate them, the only cover they deserve is how they're giving the bots who slurp up Russian propaganda an inch to turn into a mile. 

No fascists please, this is a civilised forum. 

Trusting the AI to setup anything more complex than infantry is a fools errand IMHO. 
I have to say the newer games feel so much more powerful than CM:SF1 & CM:A, with creative use of snowballing and exit zones you can create some really convincing stuff (effectively recycling AI Groups for re-use during a longer scenario).  I'm still getting my head around the wonders that can be worked with triggers. 
PS - @benpark  Every time I see that Berlin map in editor view, I feel like I need a little lie down in sympathy! 

I am fully aware of that method (and have indeed used it- see the Aachen campaign, at the very least- variable setups are used).
What I was describing is hand placing the units, then saving as a variable plan.  That’s not set up zone reliant.
This allows precise placement and facing, unlike the random, painted zone method.
 

I am fully aware of that method (and have indeed used it- see the Aachen campaign, at the very least- variable setups are used).
What I was describing is hand placing the units, then saving as a variable plan.  That’s not set up zone reliant.
This allows precise placement and facing, unlike the random, painted zone method.
 

Variable set up is going to be somewhat random if that is route a scenario maker goes in.
I do already have an outstanding “would be great to see” list entry for multiple AI plans for setup which would allow the scenario designer to have multiple, hand placed unit set ups that would be randomly loaded, as with the other parts of the plan. I think this might be a bit trickier than it first seems so I don’t know if it is in the cards, but this has been a long term desire of mine for the Editor as well. 
CMRT is indeed getting a module, which is currently underway. 
 

I am fully aware of that method (and have indeed used it- see the Aachen campaign, at the very least- variable setups are used).
What I was describing is hand placing the units, then saving as a variable plan.  That’s not set up zone reliant.
This allows precise placement and facing, unlike the random, painted zone method.
 

I am fully aware of that method (and have indeed used it- see the Aachen campaign, at the very least- variable setups are used).
What I was describing is hand placing the units, then saving as a variable plan.  That’s not set up zone reliant.
This allows precise placement and facing, unlike the random, painted zone method.
 

Well, I only dropped a few hundred independent buildings on there.

It will go well with your orange hair.

Lol! can ya smell the immersion now swee'pea?
I am so happy that my ~1000 man hours of mapmaking is paying off as intended!

Surely the only funky unit worth having is James Brown's Funky JBs

Tomb of the Panzerwaffe: The Defeat of the Sixth SS Panzer Army in Hungary 1945 (Isaev, Kolomiet) sets the amount of "Stummel' half-tracks in the 2nd Regiment/1st Battalion, Pz. Div./Pz. Gren. Reg.) at 12 (on paper), page 106.

If I hold my breath much longer, I'll turn purple! 

I used to be a tabletop gamer.  Recall the first time I fired up CM1, the loading music, throwing Shermans down the road towards occupied positions.  Sensational.  Even dabbled again in tabletop long after that, whatever rules (and there were bloody loads from the more action movie style Flames of War to the 25 tables of Battlefront WWII) the club was playing with scenery that was at best dire compared to even CM1.  Spent lots of $$$, HOURS of time painting just to have ONE reasonable sized Armored Infantry Company with support, then there was the time to set up, and again, play against who (especially as the scourge of 40K and the now defunct Warhammer spread).  
Gave up in the end, settled on CM for all my wargaming fix and happier for it.  What a long way CM has come since then.  For any of the faults folks might find with CM (I still find myself screaming, albeit less now (just luck of the draw) "Cheating AI" when the ONLY guy in my squad that gets taken out is the damn leader and a tank almost instantly spots and whacks my (I thought) perfectly set up and hidden AT ambush) even the worst of the odd anomalies still leaves the game light years ahead of even the best table top options (6 to hit, 3 to save blah blah blah mechanics) plus, outstanding terrain and a TO&E for all the modules that would cost thousands of dollars to collect, paint and store.  Makes me shudder to think.  With the quality of CMFB and CMBS (never thought I'd enjoy modern, though ATGMs still annoy the hell out of me!) I don't even find myself modding these days, well, not AS much.  More than a few times though, being retired, I've fired up a quick game at 10pm only to find the sun peaking through the blinds at 7am, just after the "bloody cheating AI ;)" zapped the FO team, and who gets takes out, yes the bloody observer!!!
Looking forward to the patches.

The cautionary tale of another such venture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brydon

 

Amazing.
I wouldn't redo the roads at this point- the buildings will also need to be redone, which will be a cascade of horror for you. 
Almost there.

Helmet mixing probably not work, as the source soldiers from any given branch- aside from officers, generally- use the same headgear model within a formation. You would need the rag-tagging done at the code level for that. It would be great to see this allowed, but it would be extra graphic real estate better used elsewhwere, I expect.

Model swapping is simply renaming the pertinent model files with the name of the file you intend on replacing (back up the old one!), and adapting the texture with the new name. So you should take the model you like, then rename it with the FJ model you want to replace.
You would probably want the gear, helmet, etc. swapped as well. So take note in the Editor of what they look like when seeing what models are your target for swapping.
I do this constantly to test different ideas.

While in the Nvidia control panel, be sure "FXAA" is set to "off". Using FXAA will result in blurry text every time, in my experience. Standard anti-aliasing (at any amount) works fine.
This link is helpful for going through the various graphics options (if using the Nvidia panel)-
http://www.tweakguides.com/NVFORCE_1.html

Yeah, any kind of wargaming is all about imagination. That's it always amazes me when some posters gripe about CM's graphics. They just don't know how good they have it.
MIchael