Peter Cairns

I remember years ago I was listening to 10cc on headphones , the track was "The things they do for love". I turned round to look at the TV and it was film of B-17's in formation dropping bombs on Hamburg. Odd and slightly thought provoking I thought. I'd go for a classic myself, and you can't beat "O Fortuna", and as far as I am aware, it's out of copyright too. Peter.

I think a key issue is that of TEMPO. In UK terms Tempos refers to fighting the battle on yout terms and forcing the enemy to fight on your terms. if possible on your ground and a time and pace of your choosing. In both GW1and OIF, the US could from the very outset set the tempo. They started the conflict at a time and in a way that they choose, and from there on were able to dictate the pace for most of both conflicts. I get the impression that a lot of people ( and even some at BF) seem to have underestimated the significance of this and assumed it for BF:SF. If we are assuming that the background scenario requires an immediate response, then you cannot assume the level of readiness / preparedness of OIF, or the ability to initiate the conflict when it suits you. A better analogy would be the way in which Nato was wrong footed when the Serbian response to the air attacks in Kosovo, was to start butchering civilians. In that case the obvious response was a ground force, the trouble was, that the ground forces weren't ready and the politicans didn't have the resolve , let alone a contingency plan. If "the **** hits the Fan" in Syria, waiting 9 months till everything is in place isn't an option, so it may well be that all the support and intel that people take for granted might not be there. I don't want to go on about my idea of a Pakistan scenario. but if it was securing Nukes before they went missing in a civil war, waiting till everything was just right just wouldn't be an option, it would be move with what you have and make the bloody best of it. When we get a better idea of the "Syrian Scenario" we will be able to see just how ready the US is, it could quite literally be the furthest west unit in Iraq told to cut a road to Damascus, backed by what we have to spare, Peter.

Yes but not for long.... Peter,

Common the MEXICANS. Peter

Just a couple of points. First I think the syrians may have some capable units but I would question the notion that those of ability who faced the israeli's would have been rewarded. A key issue for authoriatrian regemes is that they are always on the look out for internal threats and this includes their own armed forces. The western notion of advancement through achievement can in some cases (Not necessarily Syria) mark you out for an umarked grave. A ggos example of this ( though I am not claiming to be an expert) would be ARVN. Throughout the vietnam war, the US was frustraited by the poor quality and organisation of their allies. This was in part due to the fact that it was organisied in a deliberately compartmentalised way so that no general could mount a coup. If you get the change, and i would strongly recommend it, read Sheenan's "A Bright shining Lie" which gives a real insight in to the problems that those advaising ARVN had. Peter.

As a historian, if you are any good that is, you'll be aware that history started the second you pressed post and your comments went live.... What SF will be simulating isn't history, but given it's time and geographical setting, very much the making of history. Try remembering or indeed relearning the adage, " People who do not study history make histories mistakes, people who do study history. make new mistakes all of their own". Both recording I would argue simulating as accurately as what is happening ( or possible) now lays the foundation for teaching those in the future what it was really like. Without that history is speculation and self publicity. Peter.

I think the whole issue of what you might term 21st century structure will be an issue. Prefab concrete blocks which have some high strenghth walls and others that are non load bearing. Garages and petrol stations, Warhouses and car showrooms industrial units. Mortorway flyovers and underpasses. Many of these provide good vehicle cover and shoot and scoop opportunities, (things like multi story car parks even good decent protection against light counter battery fir. Peter.

Would the US defend the kurds angainst Turk... In a word No. Post Gulf war one at the same time as the US and the UK were policing the Northern No fly zone from Turkish bases, the Turks were using those bases for opperations against the Kurds. It's a funny old world. As to alternatives, after we get Syria how about a Commonwealth force intervening in Zimbabwa..Module. That would keep the Brits, Aussies, Canucks, and South Africans happy. and it would let you introduce, bush and monsoon weather. Peter.

What about Kosovo, surely if the issue of airpower was so crucial then Nato would have taken out everything with wheels in the first week. As it was after almost a month Serbian Tank losses were only just in to double figures. I don't think we can expect a scenario where the enemy is as accomadating as the Iraqi's and just lines them up in formation in the desert, for you to pick off as you like. Peter.

BFC can't answer because it's Top Secret if they posted they'd have to kill us all. That or go to Jail till they named their source... Peter

The skills thing is a bit gamey for me, it's CM not D&D. Peter.

The Big problem with all the RTS' I've played is that there is NO FEAR. Think about it if in any of these games when someone with an AK let loose at you , you flinched or involuntarily ducked behind cover, we'd be getting close. As it is they are just like paintball, everyone is a hero because nobody gets hurt. A game where as you progressed you got less jumpy would be good, that and determining chance of hit not just on getting your crosshair on him, but whether you were under fire, or had seen a lot of your mates getting wasted. If this was put in , then people would fire less hide more and you would get longer more realistic games, which wouldn't need crutches like ammo everywhere and miracle medical kits. Which is pretty much why I prefer CM. Peter.

Chinese field a nice Auto Grenade launcher that comes in a bipod and buttplate variant, the only one i've seen. Don't know if it will be in, But a Syrian prone in cover, letting off three round bursts as you leave your Stryker, wouldn't be much fun. Peter.

SPLITTERS......... Peter.

Thge first picture is of a 12' model and the second is a real vehicle, Easy really, where would you lot be without us Scots to sort these difficult questions out for you. Peter.

Steve, People have been trying to clean up Northern Pakistan since the British garrisoned the Kyber pass and no one has succeeded yet. As of this week that part of Pakistan is in ruins and people are already pointing the finger at the government ( GWB will probably be giving Musharraff a sympathy call). As you said in your own post , things can change very quickly, and placing your money on the shelf life of a strong man isn't the bet it once was. The Shah, Saddam, Norreaga, Pinnoch, Hoxa, sooner or later something gets them all. Some people aren't happy about his closeness to GWB, or his talks with India over Moslem Kashmer, itself the centre of the earth quake. Like it or not Pakistan is another one of the countries only ever an assasins bullet from an election. Like I say i am happy enough with Syria, but I think given the 2007 setting you would need something pretty spectacular to justify a US force intervening anywhere, so for me real live nukes fills the gap. Peter.

The SHMEL is thermo baric and it's job is to paste the infantry in and around the Abrams, once it's lost it's eyes and ears the Adrams is a 70 tonne cage for the crew. It's not just urban either, in Narrow passes and in boulder fields infantry have a real advantage over armour, the Abrams is no T-55 but look at Soviet armour and mech losses in Afghanistan, which were overwhelmingly in rural and mountainous areas. Oh and my favourite anti armour terrain is thick brush, preferably about 1.5m high with drainage ditches irregation channels raised roads and plenty of soft muddy ground. Peter.

If you get Abrams and I get SHMEL, i'll meet you in a dark alley anytime, Dill. Peter.

Steve, I'd like an answer on the "Carts" issue, It's not the potential of IED's but the fact that cars lining streets or ven fighting in a car park can be a key issue. Other things that you might expect to see are Boats and even in an airport scenario ( getting US national out) the occational 747. Unlike CMBO-AK, large numbers of other vehicles are a much more important factor, as 50 years after WW@ the car is king, and then there are oiltankers and tank transporters, plus commercial vehicles from tractors to JCB's all of which can be put to military use. ( It's unlikely so I wouldn't want it in, but I bet you could roll a Stryker with a JCB). Peter.

I am Okay with Syria as a setting, but given the current situation in Iraq and the politcal fall out from OIF, let alone Katrina, I think it would need to be something spectacular to get the US involved in another major military operation. The one I would have choosen would have been Pakistan. Scenario. In a democratic parliamentary election Islamic party's with Talaban sympathies win a majority and look set to take power. This raises the prospect of people not just sympathetic to Bin Laden, but potentially actually hidding him, taking control of nuclear weapons. The very nightmare scenario that OIF was all about. The Army steps in to prevent the government taking power and a civil war errupts. The UN Security council then agrees to a US lead force ( popular or not they are the only nation that can project anything with punch rapidly), to secure the Nukes and put them under international control. I think it would be more plausable and a better game, but hell Syrias not bad. Peter.

Nice one Abbot, I look forward to the Modd for the "Donkey" and "Elephant" insignia. Peter.

So far I've come across three types of "Political" comment, Anti the scenario;- This tends to be more geoploitical like peoples assessment of the likelyhood of it, I myself have questioned the non inclusion of Israel and turkey, but I don't think that requires editting... AntiAmerican Bias;- This is people who are upset that the focus is on US forces, and that is more a grip than a political thing. Anti American;- This is a we don't like what you are doing in Iraq and we don't like you. So far I've seen only one or two incidences of that and they have been blasted from all side, so i'd tend to say let them say trhere worst and then drown them in the derision they deserve. I tend to think that we can live with the occational nutter, as a reminder that they are still out their and need to be challenged when they speak. Certainly the some of the most violent and vicious comments i've ever seen ( and I've been in the SNP for ten years and have been an elected councillor) were on here during the US election and it was Americans v americans most of the time. Peter.

Well I'll Buy it, and I am Scots.... When playing CMBO I usually play US not British, because well to be honest the british had such crap equipment, ( My dad was a Para in his national service so I like them though). As for CMBB, I love playing that even though there are no Brits in it. I think the game will be the best Sim of it's type on the market ( CM1 is still the best of it's type, although in truth very few people have tried anything similar). I have my doubts about the "Syria" setting, for a number of reasons, but then if in the mid seventies someone had brought out a naval boardgame based on "Britain v Argentina", we'd all have laughed. The thig for me is the ability to do QB's and create scenarios. The pre-built scenarios and the Background are in some respects just the Box. Saying you won't buy it because you don't like the setting is like not buying CMAK, when you had the other two, because you didn't like the cover art. Heres a prediction for you, 1) Almost all of the "not for me brigade" will come back on board and, 2) Given that the beat tester, will be CM regulars with a lot of ability in scenario design, I'll say 72hrs from first Launch the first OIF "historical" Scenarios will be posted. ( Though the uniforms and the like might be still Syrian). Finally though I know I shouldn't as someone who opposed the war and still does, I don't like to see Americans getting killed in Iraq, or what happened in New Orleans, The responsibily for that lies at the top, not with the average Joe on the street. Peter.

Dillweed does that apply to New Orleans... Peter.

What gets me is the the indignation, as if by going down this route BF has deliberately set out to offend them. It reminds me of football crowds here in Scotland, 40,000 fans scream abuse at a player for an hour, and when he gets annoyed and makes a gesture to the crowd, they are suddenly outraged and flood call ins, demanding to know why he wasn't sent off for his behaviour. I can understand people being disappointed that it's not what they wanted, but as to taking it personnally that's just daft. It's like wanting a Bike for christmas and getting a Gameboy, you either say thanks and play the Gameboy, or you jump up and down on the Gameboy screaming " I WANTED A BIKE". Me I am going to make do with the game boy and have fun as steve has told me my bike will be along for my birthday. Peter.