Peter Cairns

The is or was also a term called "ultra", which i know about because my father in law had that clearance, as an RAF translator in German during the Cuban missile crisis. This also ment that he was on two occations given a gun and acted as part of the guard when there were exchanges of "spies" in Berlin. He always laughs at this because clearance or not, as he'd never been tarined for combat if anything had gone wrong he'd have been bloody useless. He once told me his plan was to stay close to the edge, and at the first shot, he was ging head first over the side in to the water. As to Johns sad trawl of the net to prove that the "Black Watch" are a special forces unit, well thats just another example of his logic, as the quote says' " If you torture a fact long enough it will admit to anything". Oh and as to the comment that the "Scots are Nuts", well as a scot, I'll back that 100%. Peter.

If Green is Blue and yellow, will we be able to have "Green on Green", if the follow up module contains the Italians. On a more serious note, can we have US troops with soviet equipment, or will the main unit stats be able to emulate this without a National element. It would be interesting to see US troops comming out of a BMP, or "iraqi's" out fo a Stryker. Peter.

Whats the Stryker MC B.? Peter.

Never been to Iraq and the only Iraqi's I know left under Saddam, but in general, I don't think the US or anyone else will ever be accepted in Iraq. The best we can hope for is that with a year or so, the Government will be confident or strong enough and have a strong enough army to let us get out. Interestingly, from the point of view of it's own popularity and survival, it may be in the interests of the government to be seen to be pushing us out. That might make it look strong, but if it is Shia dominated and looks like it might be broadly pro Iranian that won't go down well in Washington. Equally if it is strong and Shia, the sunni's won't be happy, and post US/UK involvement it might decisde to queel the Sunni triangle the Saddam way, making the US look like it has installed a brutal regeme. Again if a strong government emerges in the centre, it will go down like a lead ballon with the Kurds, who have still in no way given up their desire for their own state. At present that has been muted because the current guarentor of their security, the US, doesn't want it, but if the US was to leave, all that could change. I don't think any of this is political, and it doesn't matter if you supported the war or not. For me the whole idea of things getting better is missing the point, as at best we will get an "Egypt", a corrupt, brutal, pro western,semi democracy, and at worse Somalia mark 2, with a mini iran, a new Saddam type junta, or a new lebanon in the middle. In short if you think it will be "better" when we win over the hearts and minds, either forget it, or teach kindergarden kids to fire guns, because when they are old enough ,guess where they will be going..... Peter.

NG cavscout, I can see what your getting at but I am not sure about it. As in other areas I would allow something similiar but on an AI basis. What would happen is that on certain occasions crew would partcially or fully disembark, but not under player control. For example if a Hummer came under fire the crew might "Bug out" for cover but then reman the vehicle later, alternatively when a convoy stopped , co-drivers might get out to provide cover etc. I'd prefer this to using them as spotters etc, as like may of the "possible" uses for crews etc, it could be easily become unrealistic or "gamey". An AI solution might even be only "graphic", with the appearance of crew outside vehicles having no real effect on performance, but rather just "Eye Candy". Prior to combat I'd quite like to see crew on and outside of vehicles, in a sort of "resting Mode". This "resting" mode is something thats been mentioned before by a few (well ok just me...), as a possible addition for surprise style special forces missions, where one side started at a lower level of readiness or awareness. From Steves recent post on troop stats I don't think "Awareness" will be in although "training" and "experience" will both have an impact. Peter.

Well there are obvious ways round this and even explainations. "Soldier, how did those guys down their get all those trenches and bunkers"? "Eh they are the ones we dug last week sir, that they kicked us out of yesterday, Sir" In terme od QB's I see no reason why the available fortifications for the attacker can't be different or even have different costs. So only "quickly" layed mines, and no bunkers or pillboxes for attackers, and trenches at tripple cost. Oh and what about attacking units that start in foxholes having their fitness reduced by one level to handicap them for having just dug in.... Just some thoughts. Peter.

Kyrtz, Good article, I'd always know that there is a type of parasite that takes over ants brains and makes them climb to the top of grass, which is then eaten by sheep and that the parasite then completes it's lifecycle in the sheeps guts, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. However there is a much more sinister type of mind control that infects the internet, which you can describe as a type of primative brain. This virus infects otherwise rational discussion forums with paranoid ranting, which is so irratating that it forces the rational part of the forum in to a severe reaction to destroy it. This reaction itself causes the whole forum to be distorted and bent off course in the direction of the virus, away from it's original purpose. Unfortunately there is no known cure for this form of infection, other than desensitiesing the parts of the forum so that they ingnore the initial virus attack. I for one will do my best to in future minimise reaction to "KettlerJ" when ever an infection occurs. Peter.

Good idea it makes sense to me. Peter.

flamingknives, Your dead right on the drugs one, stockpiling for what they expected and couldn't produce themselves is pretty consistant. As too injection marks well I'll give you two theories, one on the pretext of giving immunisations they may well have given them some kind of sedative or even poison before the event, but that only means that the method was slightly different not a conspiracy. The second and I think more probable are that they were just immunisation marks and probably not that recent. I took a look at the UK foreign office advice for travellers. FCO Travel Advice. Looks like you need plenty of jabs to me. As to the credentials of the Guatamalan doctor much of it is based on well it's hardly the centre of world medicine is it. Again when one guy is out of step with everyone else it tends to be the one that's wrong. Unless you live in Johns "Chicken little" world.... Peter.

Okay got you, I can see why it was down to the FAC... Peter.

Yet another priceless piece of nonsense John. Most if not all of the "evidence" cited can be put down to the obvious and almost routine confusion you see at any Disaster. From New Orleans too the Tsunami the deathtoll starts low, rises and then falls back. That the initial reported death toll, in an isolated community in a third world country, should be wrong isn't unusall it's to be expected. This is based yet again on a few accounts that don't fit in with the overwhelming majority view, woven in to a huge conspiracy. Was stuff stolen from the dead by locals, some of then high ranking? Yes. Were some people forced to take what killed them? Yes. Were some bodies marked or dragged when they were brought back to be counted? Yes. They were recovered from the bush by untrained people for gods sake, what do you expect, unless you lift them with "Gravity Belts". Did the US military handle the recovery poorly, yes. A week to take back the bodies from Johnstown isn't great using C-131's, but it just took the Brittish Army ten days to bring three bodies back from Iraq and they used a C-17. Hey john maybe secretly 100's of Brittish troops are dieing in Iraq and we're not being told. As to the Black Watch or the SAS being involved in hunting people down, TOTAL BULL****...... Yet again, as I say, you take a few loose accounts from people on the margins and build a house of cards that goes against the vast body of other evidence. Were nasty things done with LSD and the like in the sixties, sure but as too all this secret state and mind control zombies rubbish. Look at almost any account by survivers of a close up gun crime, be it a mugging or an execuition, and you get the same " Emotionless Zombie" account. Is this because there are armies of mind controlled gun touting assaisins walking our street? No. It's because people who think they are about to die are struck with fear, and give distorted accounts afterwards. People in car crashes often say that it felt as if time was slowing down. Is this because.... A) In that situstion adrenaline kicks in and your senses are heightened, or Cloaked UFO's use invisible time distorting gravity beams to try to save peoples lives. Interviews with mass murders or serial killers often include accounts from police about the cold stairing emotionless eyes, of people who had up to then led apparently normal lives. Psychologists almost unaminiously agree ( the exception being the handful that, like you, think know the truth about the mind control conspiracy), that it is caused by the interviewers perception of the subject being altered by the knowledge of what he has done. No great mystery, no great conspiracy. Peter.

Martin Krejcirik, So your saying that the A-10 thought that the targets he was attacking had been preidentified by the FAC, or that the FAC had cleared him to hit anything in that area that he could see. Peter.

Steve, What about having the tutorial scenario, as a "Blue on Blue" live fire excercise or something, where all you have to do is move your unit from one end of the map to another. You would therefore be prewarned when and where the Airstrikes? artillery were going to hit, and have to avoid them. Peter.

Dogface, Where does the "R" come from, or is Babra a girl you know..... reposting this as it's far awy now... 1) Either China manufactures the "civil crisis" (a), or it reacts to a genuine political turmoil (. 2) The Army is split over unification (a), or It tries to put down a Civilian unification movement (. 3) China crosses in force largely unopposed along the West Coast (a), or it has to Fight ashore against the Taiwanese army in and around Taipei. 4) Indonesia, Korea and Japan, come to Taiwans aid as allies (a), or stay on the sidelines and call it an internal Chinese matter (. 5) The US responds quickly before the Chinese are intrenched with access to all it's bases (a), or the US response is slow and it is restricted to mostly carrier airpower to dislodge a prepared Chinese force (. You can I suppose answer this two ways ( oh and of course you can put in reasons for your decisions not just 5 letters), one is which you think is the most likely or realistic, and the other is (what I would say is the most important one) which would make the best game. Peter.

Seems tough on the FAC, I mean if he didn't have absolute confirmation from the ground that it was safe, what was the A-10 pilot doing making an attack. Though as I don't know the specifics maybe there was more to it than that. I suppose the biggest likelyhood of a type 1 error in CM:SF would be underestimating the dispersal zone of something like a cluster bomb and having your own guys to close. Given that these things can cover large areas and that much of this is new to people what about a introductory AI VAI scenario come film, thatgive players an idea of just what the effects of artillery and airpower can be. I know the first couple of CMBB scenarios I tried with Russian rockets when I got the delay wrong, I nearly wiped out half my lead force, and the first time I got a company of Russian infantry caught by the improved air attack in CMBB as opposed to CMBB ( I think it was Stukas) I was stunned by the damage. Some way to show us the lethality of these things other than trial and error, which to be honest is an unrealistic way to find out, would be helpful. Peter.

Dogface, Don't say that about kettler you fool, you'll be tracked down and killed by elite Units of the US and UK military. I critcised them a while back and they tracked me down and killed me. Iif it hadn't been for Alien Genetic Re-animation I wouldn't be here today.... But I am not supposed to be talking about this so keep it quiet. There I go messing up my own thread again. Peter.

Okay so the count so far is, B,B,A,B,B 3votes. B,A,B,B,B 1 vote. Peter.

Tiredboots , It will pass..... It never has before. Peter.

Steve, This seems to suggest what I had hoped for in that when you have realistic CAS with delys etc., and relative spotting, then "friendly fire" when it happens, will be the players "fault" rather than the AI's, because you will have brought the strike in either too close, or in the wrong place. Peter.

FAI, this is a pretty good over view, wouldn't treat it as gospel, but not much seems to be at odds with what you'd find elsewhere, though why I am putting in to my own Taiwan thread I don't know.... Global Security, North Korea. Anyway what are your swers to 1 to 5. Peter.

Steve, sounds about right. Peter

My experience of the Souths troops tends to be from the few I've met and with people who were in Vietnam who saw them ( probably less than a dozen all tolled). Generally people said they were pretty damned good, so I don't think that you can judge a whole army by the quality of conscripts in basic tarining, any more than you can right off the US Marine Corp, by watching Idaho National Guardsmen on there first excercise. As to thye fanatical North, sure like the Russains, and indeed the Iraqi's, they put on a good parade, and those set piece military excercises look impressive, but that doesn't mean they can fight a modern integrated combined arms battle. If they try ( as they seem to be geared towards) too defeat the south with the tactics of the last korean conflict, then the Souths defences which are designed to deal with exactly that will make mince meat of them. Peter.

The issue for me, and I think this is where there is a "New" element to an old topic, is what you will be able to do with any "saved" video, and whether it will be just a replay like other games, or will you be able to do other things with it. Given that podcasting, multimedia and home digital movies are big and growing, making any system compatable with these would seem to me to open up new avenues that would make the game more attractive. Peter.

Steve, On the issue of fitness and condition, Firstly can you clarify whta exactly the differences will be between them ( same as CMAK or different). Secondly, how (if at all) will you deal with the fact that US troops tend to carry heavier loads ( ammo, armour, electronics etc) that others like the Iraqi's or probably the Syrians, especially militia. In addition there is the issue of adapting to the heat or general climate, which probably was less of a feature in previous wars. Will US troops move slower or tire quicker than the Syrians. Peter.

My moneys on the south, in the fifty years since the last korean conflict weapons and tactics have moved on hugely, but the norths tactics haven't. If you had a the best troop s from the American civil war and five to one advantage in 1914, they'd still be wiped out by HMG's in no mans land. A cluster bomb will kill or maim everyone exposed in it's dispersal zone, and if thats a platoon of US troops it will be fifty, and if it's a Battalion of North Korean it will be five hundred. Peter.