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I thought a waypoint pause for the vehicle would allow dismounting. Although the crux is ensuring the pause is long enough for the entire dismount to occur. Given the 15 second steps in the pause command, it needs 30 seconds. I could be mis-remembering all this. Regards, Ken

Nice. And a few more words to meet the 10 character limit. Ken

Hmmm, or, just re-balance the game by giving the enemy more armor! Thanks, Ken

Gents, I'm in the midst of TF Thunder. SPOILERS!!!! The 8th battle, Objective Normandy, has a victory condition issue. I do not know if it is a scenario design oversight or a flaw in CMSF. My blue forces had advanced through the Syrian defences (nicely sited, BTW). The final objectives were phase line Normandy, the Pump house and the other concrete building (oops, bad memory this morning). My men had gained the pump house and I had a platoon advancing towards the other building, literally yards away, when the game ended with 45 minutes remaining. In the post-game victory condition screen I was denied points for gaining objectives. Now, it is true that I had not gained those objectives BECAUSE THE GAME ENDED TOO SOON! Had it contined for even one more turn I would have gained them. If the scenario has a terrain objectives, let's not have the scenario terminate early. If this is a CMSF issue, then the victory points should be assumed to have been awarded to the side causing the enemy to surrender. NEXT POINT: In game 9 of the campaign there is an objective titled "Capture Compound". There are two multi-story buildings in the compound. The building further away from the compound entrance has multiple door errors. Meaning, there is a central hall with two wings off of it. The southern wing has two buildings abutting each other. Neither has a door. They cannot be entered. Kind of tough to clear a building without a door. So, please ensure doors are located such that buildings, which are objectives, can be entered. Regards, Ken

excellent...

Gents, Like the title asks, I cannot fire the coax on my Bradleys and I want to know if any of you have found a reliable way to do so. Oh, I'm aware of the "run the 25mm out of ammo and then the coax will fire" solution. Thanks, Ken

Moon, Thanks. I just tested and there is another difference: the "Target" unit will use grenade launchers at range, the "Target Light" will not. (At least, not in my test.) The rate of fire was approximately 1/2 with "Target Light". I can confirm the Bradley 25mm explosions do NOT cause friendly casualties. I can also confirm that the Bradley will NOT FIRE ITS COAX if it can fire its 25mm cannon. So, any chance of ever gaining control of that coax? Or, is all that 7.62mm ammo meant for ballast? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, it'll use the coax after it runs out of 25mm ammo. Is that what BF.C wants? Regards, Ken

Hmm, I'll test the friendly fire issue with Bradleys. I thought all explosives potentially caused casualties. But the overarching issue remains: why is the coax prohibited from firing by itself? (For a squad with no anti-tank weaponry, what is the difference between "Target" and "Target Light"?) Regards, Ken

You're on the right track. I want machinegun only, main gun, special weapon. Each step includes the previous step. In CMBO et al., there were no such thing as ATGM's. Hence, CMx2 opens up a new venue. In CMx2 WWII what will I do with my M3's? I've got MG's, a 37 and a 75. (Hey, I'm all for a TacAI which will let 'er rip when my survival is threatened!) Right now, I just forgot that I saddled an HQ unit with a Javelin. I wasn't happy when they area fired it into my objective building. Target vice Target Light. By the way, what the heck does Target Light do that Target does not (or vice versa) when using a line squad? Why have the two commands? Yes, I'd love to see a "Fire Special" command. Think of flame tanks armed with main guns, mg's AND flamethrowers. That command would be usefuel. (Pun intended.) Seriously, why can I not use only MG's? Why do missiles HAVE to be launched? Regards, Ken

I just finished a scenario. I was moving 2 companies on foot through a protected zone. I used a bunch of "Quicks". At one point there was some light, ineffective, incoming fire. Later, I noticed some casualties. After several turns I discovered WHY I had casualties: they were in a minefield. That was several turns worth of trying to MOVE them away from the incoming fire. Had I known that one of the 38 squads or teams in my force was taking hits, I could've done something...LIKE STOP! In short, I had NO knowledge of this. If my team leader was good, he would've stopped. But, since I am Battalion HQ, Company HQ, Platoon HQ and Squad HQ, I should've known about the casualties MUCH SOONER. This is not a Battalion/Company commander game. The platoons don't move themselves, nor do the squads. If I am acting as a small unit leader, I should get the same information as a small unit leader. Thanks, Ken

Well, why would you only want to use the coax on an Abrams? Or T-72? Given a scenario victory condition which limits damage to a building, the coax is a much better tool. The 25mm will damage the building. As well, the friendly fire modelling would be affected. Currently small arms friendly fire is ignored. (I'm fine with this; it seems like the best/easiest way to model small unit fire coordination issues.) I can area fire a trench line while another unit assaults it. I need to use area fire because the contact will disappear immediately, causeing my support unit to cease fire. High explosives are not immune to the friendly fire coding. Explosives from my units will cause my other units to gain casualties. Okay, those are two examples. What if I want to spray down a suspected area but don't want to use up my 25mm ammo on unknown area firing? In short, in this game and this GAME ENGINE, why are there significant inconsistencies in unit control? Regards, Ken (An aside: reading one of the biographies on Creighton Abrams when one anecdote stood out. Remember, Abrams was one of Patton's battalion commanders and actually led the attack into Bastogne, among his many other battlefield accomplishments. Anyway, as Army Chief of Staff he was in Germany with one of the U.S. armored divisions. They took their best tank crew and gave him a ride through their qualification tactical course, knocking down tank targets, etc., and roaring through it. They had the best marksmenship and lowest time. Abrams was grossly disappointed. He told them to do it again, but this time to pretend a Soviet was behind every bush, every wall, every window, waiting to pop them with an RPG. They crept forward, hosing down every piece of cover with coax and TC machinegun fire. The book might've been "Thunderbolt".)

How do I get the Bradley to only fire its coax? Still interesting... Ken

Interesting....

Gents, Forgive me for resurrecting this issue, however, it seems so much gets lost in the flood. Right now there is some inconsistency in the effects and orders for various units. The best example is the Bradley, although other units are also affected. Given two Bradleys, one with TOW missiles, one without. Both Bradleys can be ordered to "Target" (red) the enemy. They will both show RED target lines. However, the TOW capable Bradley will fire its TOW missiles while the other uses its 25mm cannon. Same order, same units, different results. Or, to prevent the firing of the TOW missiles, the player has to order "Target Light" (yellow) for that Bradley while the other Bradley cannot Target Light but must Target. In that case you get the same exact weapon system from identical units but only through different interfaces. This is quite inconsistent. A solution would be to blank out the red Target button if that capability is no longer available. In the case of the Bradley, once both TOW missiles are fired it cannot Target, but can only Target Light. A better solution would be "Target Light" to include only machineguns/rifle ammo. "Target" would include explosives, such as grenades, M203's, M19's, autocannon, etc. Finally, limited salvo weapons such as TOW's and Javelins would require a specific "Fire Special Weapon" command, or somesuch. Regardless, right now there is an inconsistency in commands and user interface. It seems that fixing it before CMx2 goes much further would be in the best interest of the series. Finally, another inconistency: vehicle crewmembers in good health are blue. Wounded do not show as yellow - like the other wounded in the game show - but, rather, they show as RED. The KIA/Heavy Wounded (or otherwise unable to fulfill their duty) crewmembers do not show as RED - like all the other game units show - but, rather, they are shown as absent. The simple solution would be to change the crewmember status colors to be aligned with all those others in the game. Thanks, Ken

Hmmm, having unit icons flashing yellow if some casualties are taken? Say, for several seconds after the event? That way I could pause and tighten in to see what it is. Ken

Resurrected, hopefully for inclusion...

Agreed: the AAR screen is tough to decipher.

Two responses: does that mean no one else ever runs into a seemingly good door that cannot be opened and causes men to run around? Ken

Pvt. Ryan, That is a good work-around. I'm embarrassed to say the thought of a desktop shortcut through the labrynthian Vista folder protocol hadn't even occurred to me. Of course, my call to BF.C to tweak the interface stands. (Stunningly, Stardoc also failed to include a delete option in their game "Sins of a Solar Empire". Perhaps this is the beginning of a poor trend?) No game-user should have to exit the game's interface to create, load, or delete savepoints. My .02, for free. Thanks, Ken

...are 593 too many. I reflexively hit "Save" after every command phase and replay phase. That way I can undo some of the uncommanded features. Plus, when the odd thing happens I have a copy I can send to BF.C, should there be any interest. However, having 594 save game files points up the dramatic flaw in the menu: a lack of a "Delete" option. I'm using Vista, which tends to hide files quite well. Rather than digging through my folders, it'd be MUCH easier to select the missing "Delete". As well, a multiple selection option would be good. And while I'm tossing out ideas, instead of "Previous" and "Next" being the only paging options, how about adding a sidebar button to scroll with? A simple click and drag. Ahh. I won't even mention being able to sort the savegames by date or time instead of name. Thanks, Ken

It also seems that the staring at an assigned sector behavior is a bit too robotic. Example: order a squad to face a particular direction. Every man does so with their spotting "pie wedge" (the blue wedge showing facing on the green dot) stays totally focused in the same direction. No one looks around. No one scans. They stare. A bit of gazing around may do wonders for situational awareness. Just my .02. Thanks, Ken

Elvis, Ahh, that's what I'd thought as well, but no, no more offboard assets. The scenario gives you one module of 81mm support; that was used up prior to the message appearing. With no vehicle in sight, I double-checked my arty; no change to the out of ammo 81mm module. Thanks, Ken

I have had a similar situation. Units, in good order, in a woods area. Two infantry squads. After the game, I found a BMP sitting within 15 meters of BOTH infantry units. The BMP had gone unspotted in its location for approximately 10 turns. I shrugged it off as a one-time glitch. It may be a one-off occurrance, or this could be the tip of a small programming error. If there's interest, I may be able to dig up an old savegame. Regards, Ken

Gents, I'm playing the 7th scenario in the TF Thunder campaign. Spoiler * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I have already received the second platoon as reinforcements. Each platoon of dismounts has occupied their respective trench objectives. Still, the scenario continues... There are about 20 minutes left. I received a message, "Reinforcements have arrived", or somesuch. It was annotated as a Fire Support Vehicle. In this scenario it is impossible to miss an extra vehicle. The Fire Support Vehicle is not on the map, nor was it on the map. How can the game state that I've received a reinforcement when I haven't? Savegame is available. Note: this type of missing reinforcement has occurred before in different scenarios. Thoughts? Regards, Ken

Gents, It seems that there is another undocumented feature which needs attention: blocked doors. Placing waypoints in front of the door you want your squad/team to use is a very good workaround for some of the pathfinding issues. Using that technique it is rare for my troops to go where I don't expect. However, sometimes they go off in bizarre directions. Usually, after closely zooming into the door they refused to enter, I am able to find some nearby rubble. It could be collapsed building rubble, wall rubble, or scenario placed rubble (pallets, garbage cans, etc.) Regardless of the source, it seems that the doors are rendered INOPERABLE by the game engine. If I order a unit to enter a building through that door, they cannot. Instead they run around the building to the nearest usable door. My luck being what it is, that runaround results in many red circles. Argh. So, if CMx2 determines that a door does not work, it should be shown in the user interface. I would prefer a big red "x" across it, although others may desire a different graphic. Whatever is used should be plainly visible. Thoughts? Regards, Ken