Vanir Ausf B

I have not been able to reproduce this so please post the save game file.

Looks like self-preservation. At that range the M1 crew was no doubt terrified of the BMP's reputation for catastrophic explosion.

Most if not all US infantry units have thermal sights, although IIRC not every individual soldier. I don't recall the exact breakdown. Presently, the only Russian infantry equipped with thermal are late model ATGM teams, specifically AT-4c and AT-14 (and maybe AT-13, I don't recall at the moment).

I have previously stated my support for non-LWR versions of US vehicles, but that question will be of lesser importance when/if some issues involving the behavior of LWR-equipped vehicles get ironed out.

Also, Covered Arc + Hide = Ambush command.

Black Sea treats listed penetration numbers as maximum possible penetration, so the average after ERA penetration for PG-7VR is less than 650mm (and also note that some sources list max after ERA penetration of only 600mm). M1A1 HA side turret armor was 510-570mm RHAe. M1A2 SEPv2 armor is speculative but 600-650mm is reasonable. Our assumption is that PG-7VR is what the SEPv2 side armor upgrades were intended to defeat and that they should do that at least most of the time.

Known issue.

I don't know, but I suspect it is intended as a means of representing the fire control system or something similar. Russian tanks are not all the same either. T-90AMs fire faster than T-72s.

Dedicated recce formations often suffer a fish out of water problem in Combat Mission because what we call recon in the game is really movement to contact. The type of proper reconnaissance these units are intended for would in reality be done before the game started and is therefore outside the CM scope, although there are possible exceptions such as a meeting engagement on a very large map where the forces start widely separated from each other. In a typical CM game where the opposing forces are expected to make contact within the first few minutes they are typically pressed into service as the tip of the spear but in reality they would usually have been re-tasked with something more appropriate to their role as they are meant to observer and report and not fight unless they have to. In Black Sea recon units generally have more advance optics and sensors than other unit types which can be a major benefit in some situations, although the inability for vehicles with mast mounted sensors to go turret down limits them.

"Skill levels" are nominally a difficulty setting but since the rules apply to both sides that is a misnomer. They are actually realism settings. I play on Iron exclusively because it's the most realistic, not because it's more difficult. In fact some people find Iron easier than Elite although for me they are about the same.

I suppose. If you are in the habit of watching the replay while zoomed out in order to see all your units but with one of your units selected for some reason. I personally never do this so it's no extra clicking for me. If I have a friendly unit selected during replay it is to see something specific to that unit only (status or what enemy units he has spotted) or to watch that unit at ground level locked on. But to each their own

I cross posted it in the Russian Representation in CMBS thread.

It's because the soldier who is carrying the laser designator doesn't have line of sight to the building, even though at least one other member of the team does. You can tell because the target line is grey. If you try to call in a strike on the rubble tile next to the building the option for precision strike is there. I also was able to get a precision strike on the building by moving the observer team into the same action spot as the sniper. The target line was still grey but at least the laser designator guy had LOS. That doesn't mean it will work that way if you try it since the exact placement of soldiers within an action spot is partially random but you get the idea.

The Blitz Ladder QB results to date: Medium QB Russian victories:11 US victories:9 1 draw Large QB Russian victories:4 US victories:3 http://www.theblitz.org/scenarios/combat-mission-black-sea/c-quick-battle-battle-size-medium/b-15.htm?action=scenario&id=11085 http://www.theblitz.org/scenarios/combat-mission-black-sea/d-quick-battle-battle-size-large/b-15.htm?action=scenario&id=11086

Workaround: When player 1 gets file 002 back from player 2 and loads the PBEM save file, whatever setup zone he is in will be the one he is in every time he loads that save so long as he does not exit the program (exiting and restarting the program will occasionally result in a different zone). However, after loading then Quiting the 002 PBEM file player 1 can switch the setup zone he will be assigned next time he loads file 002 as follows: 1) Click on Quick Battle at the main menu 2) Switch the attacker and defender services, e.g. if it is set to Waffen SS attacking and US Army defending switch it to the other way around. It doesn't seem to matter what the specific services are or if they match the ones in the PBEM, only that they are reversed from the present default. Other settings in the QB setup screen seem to be irrelevant. 3) Hit OK --> select map (any map will do) --> select attacker or defender (doesn't matter which) --> select one player turn based --> advance to unit purchase screen 4) Once you see the unit purchase screen you don't need to go any further. Hit cancel to return to the QB setup menu. 5) Go to main menu --> saved games --> load PBEM file 002 6) purchase your units and proceed to setup. When the game starts you will be in the opposite setup zone as the last time.

No need. There is a work-around that allows your to "fix" the bug without restarting. When player 1 gets file 002 back from player 2 and loads the PBEM save file, whatever setup zone he is in will be the one he is in every time he loads that save so long as he does not exit the program (exiting and restarting the program will occasionally result in a different zone). However, after loading then Quiting the 002 PBEM file player 1 can switch the setup zone he will be assigned next time he loads file 002 as follows: 1) Click on Quick Battle at the main menu 2) Switch the attacker and defender services, e.g. if it is set to Waffen SS attacking and US Army defending switch it to the other way around. It doesn't seem to matter what the specific services are or if they match the ones in the PBEM, only that they are reversed from the present default. Other settings in the QB setup screen seem to be irrelevant. 3) Hit OK --> select map (any map will do) --> select attacker or defender (doesn't matter which) --> select one player turn based --> advance to unit purchase screen 4) Once you see the unit purchase screen you don't need to go any further. Hit cancel to return to the QB setup menu. 5) Go to main menu --> saved games --> load PBEM file 002 6) purchase your units and proceed to setup. When the game starts you will be in the opposite setup zone as the last time.

I can't tell if the target is a unit the observer has spotted or is an area of ground. If it is not a spotted enemy unit it is probably because of low light conditions. If this isn't a PBEM post the save game file and I will look at it.

There have been no patches released for CMBN since this issue was reported in December. It also affects Commonwealth Stuarts and Crusader AA vehicles. In QBs you can work around it by purchasing formations since it only affects vehicles chosen from the Individual Vehicles list.

As has been discussed previously, Abrams side turret armor is presently set too high in the game and will hopefully get fixed in 1.04. This rarely affects PG-7VR since it wouldn't penetrate the ERA+armor anyways. It does sometimes affect AT-13 penetration and possibly 30mm APDS. AT-14, AT-15 and 125mm sabot will go through anyways. Side hull armor is accurate as are all other areas to the best of my knowledge. The Abrams (and Bradley) do not have LWRs in reality. There have been plans to outfit them with such for 20 years but budget cuts and a lack of immediate need have prevented that. Current plans are to wait for the Quick Kill APS. However, there are off the shelf options available now and it appears BFC has assumed those are used similarly to the Trophy APS. I would personally like to see versions of the Abrams and Bradley without LWRs in the next module. Vehicles with LWRs should not be auto-rotating their hulls towards the threat. This is not an issue specific to the Abrams but it does affect the Abrams more than Russian tanks since it's front armor facing matter more. I am sure spotting will be given a second look. Tweaks may be made but I would not expect major changes. The US military has spent vast sums of money to unsure they "own the night" and it shows. T-90 side hull armor tops out at around 60mm thick. That should be enough to stop up to 12.7mm and even 14.5 at longer ranges but 25mm APFSDS will penetrate up to 100mm at 3000 meters so there you go. M829A4 has entered service in the US Army as of July, IIRC. Russian tanks in-game use 3BM-60 Svinets-2 APFSDS. Penetration is probably round 700-730mm RHAe although I don't know what numbers BFC actually uses. Bottom line is it penetrates the Abrams where it should and doesn't where it shouldn't. All Russian small arms have day/night sights in the game so I don't know where the idea that they don't have sights comes from. If/when VDV are introduced I suspect we will see a smattering of more advanced thermal-type optics outside of ATGM teams.

Hide them or keyhole them, as c3K mentioned. In addition to that, limit their exposure time by giving them Target Briefly orders while paused at waypoints. With a careful combination of Covered Arc, Pause and Target Briefly most tanks can stop, pop and move again within 5 seconds.

I am pretty sure all the CMx2 game require OpenGL 2.0, not 3.0.

That is good to know, Weedman, thanks. That suggests there might not be a bug at all, or it may be a minor one, pending my night test at 3.5km. That does however make me curious as to how the ground search radar is able to penetrate multi-spectral smoke. My guess is that smoke screens are relatively thin compared to a rainstorm or fog bank.

I only tested at 2km since that is the size of my test range map, currently. And frankly engagements over 2km are rare and I've never seen one at over 3km. But I will extend my map and retest at 3.5km at night and if it fails I will add that to my report.

Infantry can have night vision sights on their weapons AND helmet-mounted night vision devices, the former being much more common than the latter particularly with non-US forces. The night vision icon in the UI only represents weapon sights. There is no indicator in the UI that a unit has helmet-mounted NV, so the only way to know is to look at them in low light conditions to see if the individual soldiers have them on the soldier model. In general, nearly all US units have both, Russians have weapon sights but not helmet-mounted except for recon which have both and Ukrainians have neither except for recon which have weapon sights. US NV also tends to be better than Russian since some of their weapon sights are thermal while Russians are all light intensifying except for AT-4c, and AT-14 ATGM teams which have thermal sights on the launchers.

The 1D26 LLDR also has a thermal sight, but again I don't know if it has been adapted into service. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1D26_laser_designator-range_finder_with_1PN79M-3_thermal_imaging_sight_at_Engineering_Technologies_2012.jpg