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Spend the $5, and BACK IT UP! Save it in a file you can remember. Burn it to a disk. Add it to your external hard-drive archive. Ensure your network server has a copy. Stick on the thumb-drive on your key fob. C'mon, it's 2009; digital memory is cheap. $5 is cheaper yet. Then patch it and play it. Your call after that. (v1.21 is heads and shoulders above the pre-v1.10 game.) Ken

FWIW, I bought the deluxe... The mousepad is sitting next to me right now. Your call on how much a mousepad is worth to you. The map is, um, not useful for any game related purpose. My vote would be for the basic version (unless you want BF.C to record a better bottom line, then go for deluxe. Help 'em out if you want.) As for the modules, are you kidding me? How could that even be a question? Get them. Enjoy, Ken

Bigduke6, Regarding the "air bottle" for thermal sights, it is probably a thermos containing liquid nitrogen. Once you turn on the thermal sight, it must be cooled by the boiling off nitrogen before it will gain sensitivity. This is how the SA-7 works. The amount of liquid nitrogen is only good for, very roughly, 15 minutes, assuming no leaks. Oh, there's no turning it off after it's been turned on. So you'd better be sure you want to use your thermals. (This is why you can't use these sights to scan; the 15 minute use it or lose it period is quite a crippler.) Ken

Pandur, Your experience with assault mirrors mine - when I assault a building with enemy waiting to ambush me. And only if I haven't suppressed the building and smoked it first. If I TARGET LIGHT the building I'm going into and have buddies TARGET LIGHT the adjacent building (if any) and then assault, it works very well. Regards, Ken

hcrof and John Kettler, Thanks. I was, when I posted, thinking only of CM style units; the front troops. Yes, any type of soft, rear echelon (or just not armored) target would be vulnerable if not dug in. John Kettler, Very good information. The blast effects are quite impressive. I do have one little nit to pick regarding the fragmentation effect you list of the D-30 shell effecting 800m2. Those fragments would be heavier (due to shell vs. rocket shell wall thickness) than a 122 rocket. Therefore, wouldn't it stand to reason that the rocket fragmentation effective area would be reduced? Throw in my back of the envelope calculation of 1300m2 per incoming rocket and there are large "safe" areas. (And by "safe" I mean "world-rocking, eardrum rupturing, nausea inducing, splinter and rock filled, dust choked" kind of safe. ) Basically, not assured of being shredded by fragments. All that leaves out submunitions. Thanks for the links. With all that info, it reinforces my belief that artillery effectiveness is somewhat undermodelled in CMSF. That may be on purpose, to balance the accuracy and speed of artillery response. I still think, especially based on what you posted, that a couple 155 rounds impacting on a building roof should be dramatically more effective in game. Shrug. Thanks, Ken

Bigduke6, Nice suggestions. Ken

Hmmm, 720 122mm shells in a grid: 1,000m x 1,000m = 1,000,000m2 / 720 shells = 1388m2/shell 1388^.5= 37.25m So, one shell per 37 meter square. No knowledge here, but was it really that effective to have one impact every 120 feet? Or, is that just against unarmored units caught moving? (I'm still trying to get my 155mm shells which hit buildings (small 3 story buildings) have an effect on the 14.5mm machineguns on the 3rd floor. I guess artillery can't go through roofs. Oh, did I write a thread about that?) On topic: I have found Blue artillery strikes on tanks to cause kills. I have not tried this in v1.21. Ken

I'm using an icon mod right now which adds to the game (for me). I would prefer if BF.C could code the icons so they are moddable on a unit basis. That way, you could get the exact icons you prefer. For example, instead of having the same icon for ALL tanks, the icon for a Pz V should have a different game code than a Pz IV. Out of the box the icon could just be a generic tank, but since the two units are different, their icons could be modded separately. I would prefer the Pz V unit have a tank symbol with a "V" on it, the IV would have a "IV". In a similar manner I could then tell the difference between a Luftwaffe infantry squad and an SMG armed Heer squad by glancing at their modified icons. This could not be done if the icons are not initially coded to be separate for each unit type. (The mod I'm using cannot differentiate between MMG and HMG. Yet, the military symbology for that exists - an arrow with one crossbar vs. an arrow with 2 crossbars. Similar issues exist for all other weaponry. The icons are coded to cover groups of units, not individual types.) Ken

Of the four ammo bars, which of the 40mm grenade icons represent Heavy, Medium, or Light? Oh, did someone just mention "User Interface"? Ken

The following is part of a previous post: Well, THAT'S a major bone! CM:SF2 out by the holidays next year. Woot. I only have another year left to totally conquer/defend Syria. Must get cracking... Thanks for the update. Ken

Ah, yes, I do ASSAULT. That would be a hair more than HUNT (which should really be "TIRE UNTIL CONTACT THEN FREEZE", but there's already a thread about that). So, in order of use: QUICK, ASSAULT, HUNT, SLOW, all the rest. (I only use MOVE while getting my troops from the barracks to the classroom; no one likes PME.) Ken

phil stanbridge, Yes, it does. I ran tests over a year ago in which I took standard US squads and I had some of them ACQUIRE ammo from Strykers until their cups runneth over. Then I QUICKED and FASTED them over a "track" I'd set up. The guys with bulging rucks had a noticable decrease in their endurance. The game compensated for the load they were carrying by tiring them more rapidly. Regards, Ken

+1 to this. Great idea. I could ACQUIRE multiple times to gain the ammo I want, but I won't be burdened with hundreds of unwanted rounds. Regards, Ken

I ran tests over a year ago. Encumbrance makes a difference. The laden troops keep up with unladen troops until they tire. The laden troops tire sooner, based on the weight they're carrying. Once tired, they can no longer attain the same FAST or QUICK that unladen troops can; the buttons get blanked out. FWIW, I think FAST should be faster. I also think MOVE should not be a saunter. MOVE seems to be a totally non-tactical movement option which greatly increases unit vulnerability with no increase in spotting or reaction ability. In fact, I think MOVE is less tactically suitable than the way I've seen many units approach the chow hall. My .02. I only ever use QUICK with the occasional HUNT and the extremely rare SLOW thrown in only once a fortnight, just to make sure it works.

Lomir, Thank you for the excellent explanation. That all makes sense. The obvious need is to expand the ammo description to something beyond the basic bore diameter. Perhaps in v1.22. Thanks, Ken P.S. From where did you get this information?

Gents, First, thanks for the patch. The best visible feature is the dust kicked up by incoming. Thanks for the work. Onto the oddity: I opened "UK The 2nd Eleven" (sic?) and noted an oddity. One, and only one, of the FV432's had an enormous loadout of 40mm HDAP ammo. It had 320 rounds. No vehicle had a grenade launcher. No UK unit had a grenade launcher. The FV432 was a 7.62mm armed variant. Additionally, the section being transported inside was able to grab ALL 320 rounds. That seems, um, like a lot. I know the game limits loadouts based on carrying ability. But 320 rounds seems a bit over the top. Finally, even though the section grabbed all 320 rounds, their ammo bar did NOT change. Pictures.... This shows the FV432 at setup. Note the ammo box which clearly shows 320 rounds of HDAP. Next, let's look at the section and see what options they have under ACQUIRE: Finally, let's look at the same section after grabbing ALL the HDAP. This is minor, but may indicate something more insidious. I have NOT taken the time to see if that section acts as if it has 320 HDAP rounds. Thanks, Ken

Use Fraps for a screenshot. I have no information that could help your situation.

Indeed. For my next trick, I have connected the dots and have determined the next two BF.C release dates. Not to be selfish, I will share the information with everyone. The big one, CM:N, will be released on <ring, ring>... Excuse me while I answer the phone. "Hmm, yes, this is Ken...What? Steve? Sure, go ahead... You can do that to my hard-drive? Remote scripting hidden on CMSF? A demonstration of that ability? My God! Stop! Okay, okay, I'll agree... Bye." Sorry. Where were we? Oh yes, release date for CM:N. Umm, I seem to've lost my notes. It'll be released when it's done. Ken

Please don't forget the ROE. Forces involved in Afghanistan have to pay villagers/farmers for damage to fields, irrigation, walls, crops, etc., incurred when leaving the roads. Think what it's like for exercises in Germany. So, the benefit of tracked vehicles would be the ability to leave the road; the cost is monetary damage and enraged locals. (Who cares if your village elder just got some cash after your wall was knocked over? You still need the wall and have to rebuild it.) Otherwise, your tracked vehicle is just as road-bound as a wheeled vehicle. No mobility advantage (due to ROE) and all the disadvantages of tracked (maintenance, cost, speed, reliability, etc.). This vehicle question cannot be looked at in a vacuum which just discusses automotive engineering pro's and con's or military advantage/disadvantages. The ROE's are critical. They are put in place due to the strategy. Ken

Okay, this is NOT official...but let's connect the dots. We all want the latest and greatest. Check. Battlefront has admitted a v1.21 patch is in the works. Check. CM:N, CM:Afghanistan, and all other CM:x's are taking too long. BF.C MUST release something. Check. November 11th is Veteran's Day here in the U.S. Check. There is a "mysterious" global forum announcement about server maintenance on November 11th. Check. In order to ready their servers for the massive user assault once v1.21 is posted, and to actually post v1.21, BF.C will need to "down" their servers. Check. Said patch, v1.21, will fix EVERYTHING and include EVERY user's wants and desires. Check. Oh, yeah. November 11th... Ken

Ditto on the videos: lurked and enjoyed! Thanks! Ken

SSG Grymm, I remember a post, quite a while back, by a Marine Sergeant who was actually IN the unit portrayed in "Generation Kill". He refuted many of the scenes and actions shown in the movie. His post, somewhat detailed, aligns with your view that if "Generation Kill" accurately described real events there would be wholesale courts martials, investigations, and a need to remedy the lack of professionalism in that unit and the Marine Corps. It's Hollywood fiction dressed up against a background of true events. Propaganda at its finest. Regards, Ken

Blah, blah, blah. CM:N this, CM:N that. It's all just a lot of talk. Now, I've heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. Hmmm, a screenshot would be just the thing!! Ken

CM:N will be released...the next time June 6th falls on a Monday.

Hey, has anyone else noticed that BF.C will keep with tradition and make CM:N a BLACK & WHITE game??? I bet the next module will be "Combat Mission: Technicolor". Yep. A module to play in color... Cool Picture. Thanks.