handihoc

Yes, the great thing is that I enjoy it enough to want to play again and again even though I'm getting pasted. That's one of the signs of a well-designed battle. It's also made me very aware of caution - sometimes I've a tendency to push forward too hard here and there, and this is one scenario that punishes you very severely for that! You've given plenty of time for careful manouevres, and that's something I'm now taking more advantage of. It'll be a while before I can finish it as I have a busy week ahead, and it is a long battle. But I will definitely debrief later.

Wow, I am really having a whale of a time in this mission! Masses of atmosphere, lots to think about in terms of managing men and ammo, bringing up supplies etc. I've had my butt well and truly kicked a couple of times and had to start again from the beginning, which does make me wonder if it's a tad too difficult. At Iron level wego (my preference) the enemy AI does play a very effective game - loads of particularly nasty ambushes and surprises, and their aim tends to be quite deadly. But it really is great fun - I congratulate you on creating such an epic and deeply involving battle. I'll report back when I've completed and follow up on whether I think the difficulty should be adjusted or not.

I'm half an hour (gametime) in and loving it so far. For obvious reasons it brings to mind Normandy, which helps slake our thirst as we wait for that title to arrive (well, my thirst, anyway!). Lovely, very detailed map. I've got the Syrope mod installed, so that adds to the European feel. Having some great little skirmishes (and a couple of very nasty encounters!). Too early to give a comprehensive review, but it certainly bodes well so far for anyone interested in infantry based operations.

Yes, I can see the value of that, but there is no smoke for the first 30 minutes (apart from grenades, which are not really up to the job at this stage.

Just started the newest version. I always loved this battle, and always found it very tough indeed - in fact, always got beaten. This looks even tougher! But great fun. I'm totally determined to beat it, but my initial strategy has so far proven to be pitifully inadequate. That's one very cool mosque design, too.

Great shots, Alex, hcrof and Drescher. Alex, high explosives will cause 'friendly' fire - that includes tank rounds, air attacks, grenades etc. Small arms don't.

I raised this some time ago and in the process discovered, more or less by accident, that with Jackals, wmiks etc, if you give a Dismount order, then hit Backspace, then give standard Movement orders, your guys will do whatever you want in that turn with no delays.

Elmar, can't find the Gen Kill music mod. Where is it, what's it's title?

Nor me. . .

Gen Kill mod? Didn't know there was one, but I'll grabe that right now. Great series.

I recommend it very highly. I would say it's a drama that is far closer to documentary than Hurt Locker. Given that it was written by a Rolling Stone journo embedded with a US Marine recon company, it's about as close to the real thing as a tv drama is likely to get. Another one I'd recommend is Occupation, a British TV (BBC, I think) drama series about the Brits in Iraq.

I'd add Generation Kill to that short list, Michael (though my experience of military life is, admittedly, nil, so I can only go by what I see and read).

Well, here's a pretty definitive assessment: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/sep/15/the-hurt-locker-another-view It's by a former British Royal Engineer bomb disposal expert, who is somewhat less than impressed. From my point of view, I think I made the mistake of looking for a documentary rather than accepting it for the piece of Hollywood entertainment - albeit a powerful one - that it actually is.

Those guys in the desert, I think they were British contractors and/or bounty hunters, not special forces (they shouted about their prisoners being worth, I think, half a million dollars). But that raises another point. When the US guy took the sniper rifle, he took out an enemy on the run hundres of metres away, running laterally ACROSS his line of vision. Is it likely he would have hit him at that distance, when the guy was running? And why was that guy lying out there in the open, anyway?

Yeah, they did. I meant to say 'stock war movie cliche' character (have edited original post now), because that kind've man on the edge character just keeps turning up in even the best of war movies, from Platoon to Full Metal Jacket et al, going way back, I guess, to John Wayne and many other fifties/sixties WWII movies. So I'm wondering if that is Hollywood (albeit, edgy, punchy Hollywood at its best) or can these characters exist/survive/remain in uniform in a real contemporary western army in a real contemporary war zone?

Just a little bit off topic but . . . anybody seen it? I just did and thought it was pretty damn fine film-making, and relentlessly tense from start to finish. But, is there anyone who can comment on how authentic it really is? For example: ********SPOILER ALERT********* * * * * Isn't the character of Staff Sergeant James something of a stock war movie cliche? And would a staff sergeant really lead just two men on a foolhardy mission into darkened Baghdad backstreets in search of a bomber or bombers, knowing the risks? And would his men follow him? I found it stretched the imagination a little that US soldiers would be that undisciplined.

Heh! I've had the same thing happen many a time! Interesting to note, the smoke plumes seem to be blowing in different directions. Never noticed that before. I like the greenery, and camo, too. Assume that's Syrope and one of the Euro camo mods?

Tasteful.

Cool one, Mikey. V nice indeed.

It's preparation for disclosure. NASA has for decades been concealing evidence of alien presence in our solar system, structures on the moon, 'sky' elevators thousands of miles high etc etc. It's easy to find on the web, and every word is true. Plainly, BF are in on it and have been given the go-ahead by the US gov to 'leak' a little piece of evidence in preparation for the earth-shaking revelation that is to come.

Court-marital ??

I've killed tanks with artillery in that mission. They do need to be parked, though. You have to time it in the hope/anticipation that once they've stopped, they won't move again before the barrage hits. Get it right and it can be very effective.

You are not the first, and I would wager definitely not the last, to arrive at that conclusion! Oh, the times I've discovered the game to be broken beyond repair, only later to realise that my brain was simply sozzled.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6740025.ece Anybody got privileged info on this?

If nothing else, could we just have Rustman's random dude on a pedal bike from time to time?