LongLeftFlank

Sorry to have misled you. They are positive points awarded to the AI side if you blow the objective; ergo, effectively negative to the player for victory determination. But my briefings are wordy enough already so I didn't bother explaining the reality. WW is not designed to play H2H; RED forces would need a 50% haircut to make it remotely balanced.

Well Abu Sayyaf missed me yesterday, although I have been to Bohol twice. Their intended target may have been the ShangLa Mactan over in Cebu. Scum. But it looks like the Phil.gov was on the ball this time.... Raw material for a CMSF scenario too, altho doing dense jungle is tricky. Airstrikes against suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists continued in Barangay Napo in Inabanga, Bohol, until close to midnight on Tuesday. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/888530/suspected-abus-soldiers-clash-in-bohol-9-killed At least nine people were killed on Tuesday in a gun battle between government troops and suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Bohol province, far from the terrorists’ southern jungle bases and in a region where the US government had warned the gunmen might carry out kidnappings. Five Abu Sayyaf bandits, three soldiers and a policeman were killed in the gun battle in the mountain village of Napo, Inabanga town.... the gunmen had arrived aboard three fast boats. The bandits entered Inabanga, 71 kilometers from Tagbilaran City, going upriver toward Napo on Monday night.... residents of Napo reported the presence of the armed men to the police, who immediately sent officers and soldiers to the area. Dela Rosa said the intruders took cover in three houses as the firefight broke out. The firefight started around 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday and was still raging late in the afternoon. The Philippine Air Force joined the fray in the afternoon, dropping bombs on the gunmen’s location. As of 4:40 p.m., nine bombs had hit the area, shaking the ground as they exploded. The more than 60 bandits had either been forced out or killed in the two houses and the others were holed up and surrounded by government forces in the third house, Dela Rosa said. If it is proven that the gunmen were from Abu Sayyaf, it may be the bandit group’s first known attempt to carry out ransom kidnappings deep into the heartland of Central Visayas, far from its jungle lairs in the southern provinces of Sulu and Basilan

Well thanks anyway brother, for calling me out of CM hypersleep. But be advised: I could abruptly vanish once work ramps up again. Agree 110% on asymmetrical warfare being the best scale for infantry actions at CM scale (armour fighting is a different beast, but has never held much appeal for me in my 40 years of wargaming - to me, they are gun platforms). That's why my top-10 wishlist changes for the next iteration of the engine all have to do with terrain, and improving the AI's / TACAI's use of same.

Nope, air support parameters are not moddable afaik. It is possible the quality of equipment (Poor - Excellent) has an effect but I haven't inquired closely. What a hilarious little outcast tribe we make here btw, babbling and cackling at each other over minutiae of recreating sideshow battles, using a 10 year old video wargame pretty much nobody plays. My wife has no clue I spend this kind of time on this. My little girl is more perceptive, but is pretty much hardwired not to like guns. Wargaming practitioners are entering dotage. And good riddance! says society to we bookish white men, piously replaying in cardboard the actions of our endlessly more practical forefathers. Heck, history itself is rapidly being consigned to the dustbin of, well, history.... A boggy, soggy, squitchy picture truly, enough to drive a nervous man distracted. Yet was there a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what that marvellous painting meant.

"Light" air support. I didn't provide Javs and TOWs either air or ground mounted as ROE was pretty restricted vs building targets. In 2004 they were generally used to flatten suspected VBIEDs.

Ha ha, thanks again but I'm set. Will wait for the upgrade then buy the whole back 9. I could also simply reskin a BRDM which has an actual HMG turret, but its armor is also worse than Humvee, so unclear the gunner is better protected.

@Erwin yes, I will give the AI plans sone work re banzai charges and probably move the static ambushes around a bit. Again focus on replayability. Many thanks again to my elite corps of playtesters.

Nice paper from the Small Wars Journal treats of this stuff: http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/innovation-in-integration-task-force-iron-ranger-and-village-stability-operations-in-afghan "[Bernard Fall] losing control of an area indicates that you are being out-governed, not outfought. The government that fails to provide for its population, particularly the essential desire for order and respect for property, cannot be considered legitimate.... Any determined assault on lightly armed police causes their collapse as effective security forces, as exemplified in the Iraqi cities Fallujah, Baghdad, Ramadi, Samarra, and Tikrit in 2004. This type of atmosphere creates the incentive for other armed groups to compete for the ability to define order on terms different from the government.... Legitimate governments enlist militias reluctantly as it is perceived as a sign of the state’s weakness, and a poor precedent for the rule of law. States voluntarily ceding their monopoly of the legitimate use of violence are often afraid of opening Pandora’s box.

Nope, not correlated. Mongolians, Innuit and Norwegians are as stubborn and ornery as they come. And don't get me started on Scotsmen! ?

Oh, me too bro. The spooks act like this is all black magic hush hush stuff, sources and methods etc. When all it really is is good (or bad) business development, with armed militias in place of lawyers.... My work projects here in Asia (heck, in Quebec for that matter) have to deal with all the exact same stuff, other than - so far! - thugs with guns. All politics is indeed local...

I don't own the Brit or NATO modules (or CMBS). Does the Nyala guntruck turret offer the gunner noticeably better protection from SAF (small arms) in-game than the Humvee? Lack of a true guntruck is going to be a hassle for my Ramadi scenarios starting in 2005 when the Marines were finally fully uparmoured. I may try to reskin a BRDM but their armour is complete rubbish.

... This is all part of the weird backdrop of counterinsurgencies, which doesn't appear on any battle maps and is rarely visible to the grunts or even the commanders. A lot of the same Sopranos stuff went on in Vietnam and in the 1900s Philippines. Local warlords don't like outsiders messing with their 'businesses' and governance, whether it's big white guys or Commie/Islamist zealots. And they have the guns and thugs to make their displeasure felt to either. Their disunity and provincialism though can be their undoing; these guys have rivals and hereditary enemies who are happy to make common cause with the newcomers - temporarily. So it goes....

Coalition for Iraqi National Unity, a supposedly pro-Baghdad party (that still exists btw, although like all other parties it's just a platform for a specific clan or sheikh). I didn't see value in delving into that in the briefing as the historical section is lengthy enough. But there's a specific reason they decided to begin shooting at Coalition forces - and specifically the regional commander - at this particular time. The coalition had been arresting "terrorist smugglers and financiers" but this group included the leading clans of Anbar who had been smuggling for generations.

Another wishlist item for the next iteration of the engine is ability to toggle between RT and WeGo modes during non H2H play.

Many thanks for the great feedback, gents. I won't be able to nose through it for a week though. Erwin, DEVIL SIX indeed has fairly long stretches of inactivity if it sits tight, especially with AI plan 3 where the JTJ fighter group goes after the Marines instead. So if they are safe, focus on the Marine force; they have a tough challenge too, to get across the map in relatively light vehicles. The mech QRF will likely arrive too late to do any more than finish up an attack already underway. The AI Banzai charges are *very* hard to get rid of because of the annoying 2 speeds of the CMSF AI - it pretty much exclusively either runs or crawls (exhausting in high heat), making no use at all of tactical cover.

One minor suggestion based on your screenies: set weather conditions to overcast to make the atmosphere grimmer....

Are suicide vests powerful enough to knock out military vehicles (if the bomber isn't sitting in them)? I honestly don't know the answer.

Ok @Sgt.Squarehead and @Erwin I have emailed the scenario to you. Good hunting and many thanks!

Not yet. That annoying work thing y'know. But I'll try to get it to you cuz I'm off on holiday all Holy Week, sans laptop....

By the way, there's an astonishing "red pill" backstory to the US campaign in Anbar that really ought to be told someday, and which continues today. It is a fit-for-HBO drama of Sopranos-meets-TE Lawrence infighting among leading clans and their sheikhs, who were alternatively courted and attacked by Saddam, the Americans, al Qaeda, the Shiite dominated Baghdad government and later, ISIS. On the other hand, all the would-be puppet masters lost control of the strings at times.

Ok, anyone up for playtesting this over the weekend? With all the AI variations, it ought to be good for a few replays. I am optimizing for RT and present players a satisfying challenge and firefight in a single sitting (40-50 mins game time, with additional "lulls" in the firing abstracted and not on clock).

Briefing map done, briefing nearly done. Here's an excerpt: SITUATION: FRIENDLY FORCES 1. FORCES. At start you stand in the boots of Col Connor, DEVIL SIX, and his Army PSD squad, 15 rifles. You are riding with unarmed (Spy) Anbar officials who need protection from their countrymen. More usefully, 3 Arab speaking CIA contractors from Triple Canopy also happened to be riding along. These guys are elite ex-SF operators and very handy in a fight, but they also aren't bulletproof. 2. POSITION. Per SOP, units don't normally abandon disabled vehicles (al Jazeera loves to film them being torched by jubilant mobs). So the PSD has dismounted and formed a tight 360 perimeter to ID and suppress incoming while keeping nearby buildings and alleys scanned for threats, especially keyholding RPGs. a. Most of your group's firepower is in the two armed humvees. Be ready to reman them if gunners get hit. b. There aren't enough dismounts to sweep all the adjacent houses and alleys before the QRF arrives. But if you linger in the open eventually the snipers will hit you. No perfect choices here. .... a. Even 18 months after the invasion (OIF-1), Marine and Army tactical comms still aren't seamless. But word is LTC Kennedy's column (BASTARD SIX) is en route from the hospital (about 1km north). ETA unclear, but he'll arrive on the far side of the big mosque. Listen for shooting. Marine Cobra gunships are also inbound. (Hopefully those bubbas know an Army Humvee when they see one). b. QRFs have already rolled out from Combat Outpost: (G/2/4 Marines) plus 1/16th Army Infantry COLD STEEL Bradleys. But there is heavy fire coming from the Ag Center OP (off map), out of sight about 400 meters east along MICHIGAN, so they could be hung up there some time. .... It's half past noon, face melting heat (42 deg Celsius / 122 Fahrenheit). Summer in Ramadi .... COMMANDER'S INTENT 1. OBSERVE. [COL Buck Connor] "A lot of bad guys moving around out there, more than we've seen since April. That, plus the second ambush behind us (off map) makes this a 'closed ambush', a planned op with some brains behind it. Has some new talent come in from Fallujah maybe? I told Bremer that leaving that nest of scumbags there is bad news." 2. ORIENT. "This isn't the usual hit-and-run job. The closed ambush is holding DEVIL SIX in place, so they can follow on with some kind of complex attack, either on us or the QRFs, or both. Is this a planned hit on the US area commander? even a kidnap attempt?" [Connor glances at the Anbar officials, but they look terrified, not complicit] 3. DECIDE. "Well anyway, it's on. We're exposed here, but displacing is as risky as staying. With RPGs all around, a thunder run in Humvees is suicide. Can we Alamo into a building and hold it? But then we lose our MGs and vehicles." "The wild card is that Paul Kennedy's Marines are (reportedly) close by and riding down from the north, not the usual QRF east-west route along MICHIGAN. Wonder if the enemy reckoned on that?" 4. ACT. Your call, DEVIL SIX. "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

The latter. Though if you want high replay value you can vary the placement of high threat units like RPGs. May do that for WW

I am pretty sure multiple units can get (randomly) assigned the same square regardless of how many of each. Also, if you select an AI destination square in the rear of a building the TacAI will still have the unit move to the front of the building. Also, my SOP is to have AI units Advance (quick) to ground level with one order then Hide. The next order has them Assault (slow) to upper floors or rooftops (don't paint squares, or they'll try to change buildings!). That way they can sometimes get the drop on an enemy across the street.

.... Things are starting to whir and hum now with WICKED WEDNESDAY. I have 3 distinct AI plans, and have also 'overlapped' the arrivals of both sides' mobile forces, so you can get everything from a desperate Alamo fight by DEVIL SIX to a 'mad minute' when two groups run head on into each other. Replayability should be high. I may also release a variant version which has US Army forces stand in for Marines, so those who own only the base game can sample a little Ramadi hell....