handihoc

Just finished 8. Blast of a mission, got a Total Victory in the end, but a great fight. Won with eight minutes to spare. In the last few minutes, though, my frame rate was down to zero at times. Really punished my pc. Yes, I think the Syrian tanks come in a little too late. My boys were set up and ready for them - they only managed to take out one Bradley, and were otherwise toasted within 20 seconds. Really, to have any chance, Syrian armour needs to be able to arrive undetected and take up ambush positions. The problem I have now is that something got corrupted in the save, and I can't advance to the next mission. The only way I can do it is to play mission 8 all over again from the beginning, which is a bit of a pain. Don't know if I have the patience to do that just at the moment - it's such a big long battle, I was really looking forward to charging on to the next one, and finishing the campaign. Some great touches in there. Such as ******Spoiler Alert!!!**** I don't want to give away too much, but there are some buildings that are not quite what they appear to be. It was several turns before I realised that. Nice one! Had me fooled. (I'm assuming you know what I'm referring to, bardosy??)

I really like the first screenshot. The detail is incredible, wood grain on the pallets, rust and markings on the drums, gaps between the stones on the wall, dry weeds between the sandbags, density of the foliage . . . I rarely get to appreciate closeups like that when I'm playing, I'm too intent on the action. But it's more evidence of the care and attention to detail that has gone into creating CMSF, which I'd wager, like me, most players miss.

Finally completed mission 7. What a massive struggle! Got a total victory, but only after reverting to saves several times. Still had 26 men dead (one entire squad wiped out by a mis-aimed F15 bomb) and 6 vehicles destroyed. The Syrians were just fanatical- and extremely devious - in their defence. Bloody hell, I'm exhausted. Time for a cuppa.

Regarding fps, yes, dense urban terrain is a killer, along with a mass of units both vehicle and inf. I find generally I get a very smooth 30-45fps, sometimes higher, in small rural engagements, but in high density urban it can drop to 10 and below. 10 is still smooth enough to not be a major problem, anything below 7 for an extended period is a killjoy. Of course, I can change graphics settings to improve it, but I love the eye candy and don't want it reduced if I can possibly help it.

Seem to be a lot of testicles going spare around here.

Very nice indeed. Now you've done Muddy Waters, though, how about a Howling Wolf, Big Bill Broonzie or John Lee Hooker mod? Maybe even a Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee? That'd be cool.

I find, once it gets significantly lower than 10, it becomes a pain. But if the scenario's worth it I'll persevere. Currently playing mission 7 of the Task Force Narwick campaign. At times (particularly once the field fills with smoke) the FR drops to about 5. Very jerky, but the battle is so good I can just about live with it. On the whole, though, I want the action to be smooth and real. I've got a powerful Core 2 Duo pc, but it sometimes struggles to handle CMSF, and I'm convinced that shouldn't happen. I have zero knowledge of programming, but I feel this could be more optimally coded to take advantage of the twin processors. I know BF tried this and found it didn't produce the desired result, but I live in hope . . .

There's no update yet. Bardosy's waiting for feedback on the full campaign so as to make all necessary changes in one swoop. The current version is highly recommended, though v challenging in places. It's on CMODS. Get it now and have fun, or postpone the fun and wait a couple of weeks. Whichever you choose, I think you'll be fully rewarded.

It's gotta be a restart. Damn difficult this one. Enemies everywhere. I'm thinking patience may be the better part of valour here. Going to go in very very slowly while pounding the town with every available air and artillery asset provided. Anybody else completed 7?

Yes, this one sure is a toughie. I've taken severe damage. Had to revert to saves more than once, even though I'd promised myself not to do that any more. It's ATGM hell out there! I think I may need to restart and try out a whole different strategy. The enemy has such damned good LOS from hidden positions. Very deadly.

Don't know why that's happening. It sounds like a bug, yes. But it IS possible to get total victory in this battle. Hard, but possible. And, as I said, in the update a minor victory will be enough to move you forward. To get the CW factory points I think (not totally sure) you have to occupy the building where the CW designation is. [ March 09, 2008, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: handihoc ]

I bought the game when it was released. It's been much improved with updates, especially the latest. The vehicle damage modelling is spectacular, it's true. In battle you see bits flying off as the vehicle takes hits. It'd be great to see that in CMSF. Graphically fabulous, though with limited variation in terms of landscape - Russia very similar to W Europe, not a lot of variation in trees/foliage etc. It's a great game overall, very atmospheric. Some of the gameplay can still be a bit niggling, though - it annoys me that heavy vehicles just knock over trees with impunity, never even bothering to go around them. Reminds me of that monster in Lost, that you never see, just see the jungle shaking and tumbling. The trees then disappear, as if by magic. Seems like a lazy programmer's way around pathfinding issues. And there can be a lot of micro-management involved in getting inf to pick up and use appropriate weapons. There were problems with multiplay - don't know if that's been sorted. And you still can't enter buildings. When SF arrived, I found myself abandoning TOW. There's something grittier and more real about SF. I had great fun with TOW, and will probably go back at some point, but SF is the one I turn to instinctively and get the fullest immersion factor from - at least for now. [ March 08, 2008, 02:25 AM: Message edited by: handihoc ]

Mission 6 is easier - though you can still get caught out in the early stages if you're not careful. It's a really good battle, but you've got more than adequate forces at your command to see it through. I'm about to start 7. By all reports it's a b***** [ March 08, 2008, 09:07 AM: Message edited by: handihoc ]

Point targeting also works (usually) and is best for those buildings where you know the enemy is waiting. I used General ordnance. I don't think Personnel is all that effective against buildings, but not sure. I also find the TOWs on the Bradleys are particularly effective, as well as Javelins and of course, the M1A1s. Follow those with a twin inf + Brad assault (one blasting through the nearest compound wall - take a couple of Brads with you to backup your squads- the other going in carefully through the first entrance.) Smoke's useful too, as there are still some atgms and rpgs about. At the same time you can send a couple of M1A1's and Brads to deal with the Scud site. Leave a couple of Brads and the snipers overwatching the village, to take out anything that tries to come out of there. When all that's done there's only the storage site, which you should still be able to demolish with remaining artillery, tanks and missiles. At that point I got a surrender and Total Victory. Good luck, CB et al!

Mission 5: CW factory and Scud site etc - The author, bardosy, has changed it for a future update, making a minor victory a win so you can progress to the next mission. It'll be released soon, when he's taken into account feedback for the whole campaign and made any other relevant changes. I had to play it twice to win, but actually, second time is relatively easy. You already know the enemy positions - simply go for total demolition: blast the buildings/locations with heavy weapons, missiles, artillery etc. Then mop up survivors with your inf and Brads. It works a treat.

It's quite a big mission, yes, but I found handling two separate companies of troops tactically very interesting and great fun. The map size, or rather, the amount of buildings and units towards the end, did make the game lag quite a bit in the latter stages. I didn't think it was too large, though. I played in WEGO and got Total Victory, but in RT you can still pause whenever you like to catch your breath and rethink. The battle that follows is smaller, in terms of troops, and blisteringly good.

Love the sound of that. A few missions to get through first, but I'l be there asap.

bardosy, from my point of view you shouldn't make the scenarios any easier, just because 1.07 provides a tougher opponent. I'm really enjoying the challenge of these missions. The fact that they are tough is what spurs me to keep fighting. I'm winning, but at a cost, and in a way that obliges me to think carefully about my tactics and about the loss of individual men under my command. That's what I really like. I've never been in a combat zone (apart from when I was married) but as an authentic representation of real life combat, I totally believe we should be made to fight for every inch of territory. After all, regardless of motive/politics/ideologies etc, this game is about a sovereign nation defending itself against more powerful invaders. We shouldn't expect to find it easy.

Finished mission 5. Very hard - but that's not in any way a bad thing. Very enjoyable. An excellent scenario! I took relatively heavy losses and only scored a minor victory, which means having to do it again. I agree with Seabee that a minor victory is a victory, and should automatically move the player on to the next mission. Don't feel it needs more time, though. I had a blast playing this. The balance is just right. Great mix of room to room and open air fighting. I made the decision to play through without reverting to saves or restarts, which is why I only got minor victory (I think). Much more realistic this way, having to continue despite your losses. Some squads were virtually wiped out (17 dead in total), others got rattled and refused to move after a couple of particularly hairy encounters. Some great ambushes by the Syrians. Deadly snipers, atgms, and hidden squads. Very well positioned. I loved it, but having to play it again after a victory is a bit annoying.

Stunning. I love the detail of the muddy tires, and how old and battered the Russkie afvs look. This game is in a state of continual transformation. Incredible stuff.

And we need directionable smoke on the battlefield - for units, that is. So they can launch smoke in any direction, not just facing. Oh yeah, and adjustable waypoints.

Number five is very tough. I'm really struggling. I'm trying to play a full scenario without restarting or reverting to an earlier save due to losses, and this one is putting me to the test. A way to go yet, but some great firefights and a couple of incidents that, thought they didn't go according to plan, felt very real in the heat of the moment. For instance, an assault squad blasted through a compound wall, ran for cover in a building, spotted an enemy tank side on, unwisely took an opportunity shot with inf ATs, missed, tank swung its turret and. . . very painful. Shouldn't have happened, but I can imagine, in the heat of battle, an over-zealous squad leader making that decision, and living long enough to regret it. I think you've done a great job with this campaign, bardosy. Updating it with just a few little tweaks will make it a classic.

You (or was it Paper Tiger?) made a relevant point somewhere else - can't find it now, about playing without restarting, for maximum realism. This made me think. Yes, I'm claiming Total Victory, but sometimes (not always) it's after having had to restart because I'd taken big punishment in the early stages of a battle. In the real world, we don't get to make that choice. From now on I'm going to make a note of that, and see how far I can get by playing right through without reverting to restart or earlier saves. It'll change things a lot - particularly in the opening minutes, which is where I usually find I make the biggest mistakes.

bardosy - yes, it would be a good idea to do something to stiffen the resistance in the later stages so that the Syrian armour does make an appearance. Maybe more hidden ATGMs? It's a great battle, but slightly anti-climactic at the end. It needs something to worry those Abrams. Having said that, it's just struck me that although I'm crowing about Total Victories here and elsewhere, the truth is that I usually get a Total Victory after having restarted. ie, in the early stages of several battles I've taken punishment and had to restart, then gone on to Total Victory, which is slightly unrealistic. Without the restart, I'd probably have had less to boast about.

Yes, but I was referring in an earlier post to the camouflage they're wearing in some of the footage. It really changes their profile in the field, and it'd be a welcome addition to CMSF. And Mikey D, I still can't afford a full suit of armour.