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Holman

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Posts posted by Holman

    Marking Mines in CMSF2

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 2

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Vet 0369 said:

    OK, the PDF manual doesn't have anything on the specifics of marking mines. I read that you have to have either engineers, pioneers, or blast teams do a slow movement through a mine field to detect the mines, but I have some questions:

    1} Does the unit have to stop at each location, or can you give it a number of Slow waypoints?

    2} There is a "Mark Mines" command in the movement section, but it's always gray. What does it do, and how do you use it?

    3} The encyclopedia states that the M1132 Stryker detects mines, and moves them off hard pavement and debris with a plow, but the in game M1132 doesn't have a plow.

    4] Can a mine field be deactivated by anything other than high explosives?

    Any help is welcome.

    1) Since detecting mines often requires several turns (i.e. it's not automatic), a series of waypoints will probably miss them.

    2) "Mark Mines" only becomes active when a unit capable of marking mines is on or adjacent to a detected mine square. 

    3) Right under the vehicle description it says "Note: The specialized engineering capabilities of this vehicle are not currently simulated."  Currently, only foot engineer types can mark mines.

    4) There is no reliable way to eliminate a minefield in the game.  Marking them makes it somewhat safer to pass through (do it slowly), but they can still go off.  Even the trick of artillery bombardment on a minefield might leave some active.

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    Marking Mines?

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 2

    Posted

    They try, but under battlefield conditions (and over the course of a few minutes rather than an hour) it's probably easy to miss some threats.

    I feel sure that I once did a test where I ran vehicles over marked and unmarked AT mines.  Vehicles with a "slow" move order did notably better through marked AT mines, although it's still possible to lose them.

    I also seem to recall that mines can have an effect on adjacent tiles, so clearing a one-tile lane isn't good enough if there is a line of mined tiles.

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    Mission Terrain Oddity

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 2

    Posted

    Just something I noticed:

    I have been happily playing the first mission of the Task Force Thunder campaign, restarting a couple of times to try different openings, and yesterday I noticed something weird.

    I had started a new campaign, then (I forget why) quit out to main menu and started again (turn-based, Iron mode like always).  This time, however, I noticed right from the beginning that all of the trenches were in the wrong place.  If you're an old CM hand, you know exactly how the trenches in that first mission are laid out,  but this time I could see that they were all at a weird diagonal from the usual setup, a series of parallel diagonal lines (like "/////") across the map rather than the usual pattern.

    At first I wondered whether this was some new variable setup added by engine upgrades, but it quickly became clear that it was just a messy glitch.  Units also seemed to be out of place.

    I exited out of the game (to desktop, not to main menu) and started the campaign again.  This time all was as expected, and I have been playing with no further issues.

    Anyone else ever notice anything like this?  I report it just because it might be a new issue.

    0

    Marking Mines?

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 2

    Posted

    And the Mark Mines move order is only available when the engineers have actually detected mines.  That is, the move menu is not a magic mine detector in itself.

    Sometimes engineers have to sit in place for three or more minutes before adjacent mines are even detected (and thus available to be marked).

    0

    Best order for building entry

    in Combat Mission Shock Force 2

    Posted

    Often a simple Hunt will give the enemy the opportunity to gun down your troops as they enter the doorway.  The rest will hug the ground outside and be easy prey.

    I haven't downloaded the new demo, but in my view the best CMx2 way to enter a building known or suspected of containing enemies is to Fast/Quick move to the outside wall.  At that waypoint, give a 10 or 20 second pause along with a Area Target order aimed inside the building.  Then set a Quick waypoint into the building itself, applying a new Facing order (which will serve as a cease fire, although units will of course fire on their own if they spot more enemies).

    This will have the effect of rushing the building exterior and then pouring fire (and, crucially, hand grenades) inside through windows and doors before entering.  It's even better if you can time it so that another squad or team provides suppressing fire up to about 5 or 10 seconds before your entry team arrives at the outside wall.

    Obviously this method is expensive in terms of ammo and grenades, but it's the safest way to get inside.  You have decide whether the expense is worth it.

    1

    The state of CMSF2

    in Combat Mission - General Discussion

    Posted

    Such great news!  $35 armed and loaded.

    Quick idle question:

    I own all the original CMSF content as DVD-ROMs from Battlefront.  Will the upgrade be like a patch to those installations, or will it (as I'm guessing) be a Big Bundle download in the style of the recent Engine 4.0 CM releases?

     

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    The patch?

    in Combat Mission - General Discussion

    Posted

    I've made the point several times, but for me the 4.0 issue is experienced troops leaving cover and running when (in previous engines) they would instead briefly cower, simulating just keeping their heads down.

    I've had fresh elite and crack British paras run out of heavy buildings when they came under rifle or very distant MG fire for less than a minute.  Something has definitely changed.

    3

    Let there be light

    in Combat Mission Final Blitzkrieg

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Warts 'n' all said:

    Although you can toggle as described by Holman. The guys on the ground in the winter of '44/45 couldn't do it, so I don't either. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment.

    The enhanced brightness doesn't increase detection distance or anything else.  It's purely cosmetic.  It merely helps the player better see what your troops have already seen.

    1

    Ken Burns Vietnam

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    I've watched the first 8 episodes with my kids, and they're riveted (both the 13-y.o. who loves history and the 10-y.o. who doesn't).

    One terrific structural element is jumping forward to late 60's details that reflect themes developing earlier.  For example, discussion of French colonial dismissal of Indochina's culture will shift to an American veteran of 1967 talking about how little he understood and how much he hated the rural Vietnamese with whom he had no way to communicate. It breaks historical continuity, but it's thematically very powerful.

    The interviews are very strong. I'm sure this is the first time I've seen ARVN, VC, and NVA veterans talking about their experience in ways that feel personal rather than just "military-historical." And of course the American interviews are very powerfully affecting.

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