Erwin

Lovely.  Note that the challenger files are both jpgs.  No mod.
Also noticed that the Churchill mod says "White" bit it's "Snowy".  Is one version missing?

A "Wait in Ambush, Shoot, then Displace to Another Location" order would be very helpful for snipers, and any unit waiting to ambush something.
A complete revamp of the "Acquire" process so that any unit could exchange weapons and ammo with any adjacent unit - up to a reasonable amount of course and with a time delay - like when one sets up a crew weapon.  (ie: Do away with the clickfest "Split into Teams, Mount Vehicle, Acquire, Dismount and Rejoin Original Squad" process.)
A "Scout Order" - one can simply click on a target location and the scout team uses an AI routine to carefully scout towards it while maintaining self-preservation.  (Currently, scouting is a virtual suicide mission - at least in WEGO.)
 

Unless things have changed, Engineers can only detect mines, and if they sit on them long enuff can "mark" them to make them a little safer to move through (slowly).  But, the mines are never "cleared".

The emphasis on "conventional war".  That is rather like the generals who expected horse cavalry to still be useful in WW1.

The emphasis on "conventional war".  That is rather like the generals who expected horse cavalry to still be useful in WW1.

Looks good.  Am wondering if your rubbled terrain can be used in modern titles like CMSF etc.  One usually ends up with devastated towns in the modern titles.  But, they don't look anything as good as yours.  

From WSJ:  https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/putin-death-rumor-carlson-interview-5c58a974?mod=latest_headlines
"Over the past few months, a Russian political scientist named Valery Solovei has stoked a global frenzy with a sensational claim: that Vladmir Putin died last year and today is represented in public by a body double. The Kremlin’s elite, Solovei tells his half-million online followers, controls the double and has stuffed Putin’s body in a freezer. 
Then on Thursday, journalist Tucker Carlson aired a two-hour interview with Putin. Solovei shrugged it off as a sham. Carlson, he said, interviewed Putin’s doppelgänger, who will now be passed off as real to millions of viewers in the West. “Putin is dead, irreversibly dead, he will not rise again, he will stay in the freezer,” Solovei said in a broadcast earlier this week."
Well, that explains the weird TC interview...  Of course we are more technologically advanced and have a walking zombie as President...

Agreed - although there may be a few outliers where either thru luck or designer genius, the game is balanced - but that is v rare. 
Also...  The best designers can also create very challenging AI oppo that may be tougher than a human.  The reason is that a designer knows the map intimately and can create ambush opportunities that are very subtle and not easily seen by a human playing the game for the first time.  Eg:  We have all come across situations where an enemy can fire at us, but for reasons of CM2 terrain quirks we cannot see or shoot at the enemy.  During his playtesting and using terrain manipulation a designer can exploit this.  But, a new player will be unlikely to spot this sort of thing.  

With the advent of Cyberwar, and new forms of warfare tech, that is no longer a given.  It is a worry that we have become like the mighty Persian army which came up against the upstart Greeks.  

Agreed - although there may be a few outliers where either thru luck or designer genius, the game is balanced - but that is v rare. 
Also...  The best designers can also create very challenging AI oppo that may be tougher than a human.  The reason is that a designer knows the map intimately and can create ambush opportunities that are very subtle and not easily seen by a human playing the game for the first time.  Eg:  We have all come across situations where an enemy can fire at us, but for reasons of CM2 terrain quirks we cannot see or shoot at the enemy.  During his playtesting and using terrain manipulation a designer can exploit this.  But, a new player will be unlikely to spot this sort of thing.  

BF have always pooh poohed chances of early war or NA as apparently those theaters didn't sell well.  But, maybe if increasing numbers of our voices asking for those keep rising...

Of course.  There should be something for everybody.  But vs AI is likely the majority is all I meant.

A challenge in CM2 is that even if one has (say) a battalion of troops occupying a location, a single cowering enemy hidden someplace in that location can deny you the victory of "occupying" the objective.  CM1 handled this much better as (IIRC) it looked at the percentage of forces in a location and allocated victory in that more reasonable way.

BF have always pooh poohed chances of early war or NA as apparently those theaters didn't sell well.  But, maybe if increasing numbers of our voices asking for those keep rising...

BF have always pooh poohed chances of early war or NA as apparently those theaters didn't sell well.  But, maybe if increasing numbers of our voices asking for those keep rising...

So what I'm hearing is that means that North Africa is in the pipeline...!!!  Yay!!   
 

So... you are youngster newcomer to the game.  Welcome. 
 
 

So... you are youngster newcomer to the game.  Welcome. 
 
 

Last I heard, BFC was not going to go back to Early War as (presumably) they thought Early War to be less marketable.  That was a huge disappointment to many of us.  Has there been another BFC statement that they are now considering Early War?

Sadly, having taken a more detailed look, these are really not my cup of tea. Although you have done a reasonable job with the maps. Basing them on PS really does expose what it for what it is; a childish shoot 'em up dressed up to look like WW2.
I'm not sure which was the biggest insult to my intelligence. The SS arriving on Utah Beach in tanks on D-day, or Best being dominated by a church on a rocky escarpment. Ho hum.

Glad this is still in progress.  Sad you had such a frustrating time with this.

I found a comprehensive chart of German arty stats in my old CMBN files dated November 2011. 
 
 
 
 
 
GERMAN LIGHT/MEDIUM ARTILLERY
81mm Mortar
120mm Mortar
75mm Inf Gun
150mm Inf Gun
75mm Howitzer
105mm Howitzer
150mm Howitzer
Barrels
2
2
2
2
4
4
4
HE Rounds
100
60
70
50
140
140
120
Smoke Rounds
8
0
20
10
40
40
40
FAO Response Time (mins)
Normal
6
6
8
8
8
8
8
TRP
3
3
4
4
5
5
5
HQ Response Time (mins)
Normal
8
8
13
13
13
13
13
TRP
4
4
8
8
9
9
9
Mission
Harassrnds/min
p/Barrel
3.3
2.1
1.8
0.9
1.8
1.3
0.9
p/Unit
6.7
4.1
3.6
1.8
7.2
5.4
3.6
Max
15min
15min
20min
18min
20min
26min
34min
Shortrnds/min
p/Barrel
10.0
4.0
2.7
1.4
2.7
2.0
1.3
p/Unit
20.0
8.0
5.4
2.7
10.8
8.1
5.4
Max
5min
8min
13min
19min
13min
17min
22min
Mediumrnds/min
p/Barrel
20.0
5.0
4.4
2.2
4.4
3.2
2.1
p/Unit
40.0
10.0
8.8
4.3
17.5
12.7
8.4
Max
2.5mins
5mins
8min
12min
8min
11min
14min
Heavyrnds/min
p/Barrel
25.0
5.0
4.4
2.2
4.4
3.2
2.1
p/Unit
50.0
10.0
8.8
4.3
17.5
12.7
8.4
Max
2min
5min
8min
12min
8min
11min
14min
Duration
Quick
p/barrel
4-7
3-4
2-3
2-3
2-3
2-3
2-3
Short
p/barrel
11-16
8-11
5-10
5-8
5-10
5-10
5-8
Medium
p/barrel
27-32
14-17
11-16
8-11
11-16
9-14
8-11
Long
p/barrel
41-53
23-30
20-28
15-18
22-28
19-24
15-18
Maximum
p/barrel
100
60
70
50
140
140
120
                    GERMAN HEAVY ARTILLERY
210mm Howitzer
170mm Gun
159mm Nbwfr
215mm Nbwfr
280mm Nbwfr
301mm Nbwfr
88mm Flak
Barrels
4
4
6x6
6x5
6x5
6x5
4
HE Rounds
80
100
180
150
108
108
80
Smoke Rounds
0
0
72
0
0
0
0
FAO Response Time (mins)
Normal
21
12
12
12
12
12
12
TRP
17
9
9
9
9
9
9
HQ Response Time (mins)
Normal
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
TRP
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Mission
Harassrnds/min
p/Barrel
0.2
0.4
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.6
1.1
p/Unit
0.9
1.6
5.8
4.5
3.6
3.6
4.2
Max
89min
62min
31min
33min
30min
30min
19min
Shortrnds/min
p/Barrel
0.3
0.6
1.5
1.1
0.9
0.9
1.6
p/Unit
1.4
2.4
8.8
6.8
5.4
5.4
6.3
Max
59min
41min
21min
22min
20min
20min
13min
Mediumrnds/min
p/Barrel
0.6
1.3
4.4
3.4
2.7
2.7
3.0
p/Unit
2.5
5.1
26.3
20.5
16.2
16.2
11.9
Max
32min
20min
7min
7min
7min
7min
7min
Heavyrnds/min
p/Barrel
0.6
1.3
4.4
3.4
2.7
2.7
3.0
p/Unit
2.5
5.1
26.3
20.5
16.2
16.2
11.9
Max
32min
20min
7min
7min
7min
7min
7min
Duration
Quick
p/barrel
1
1
6
6
6
6
2
Short
p/barrel
    36
        Medium
p/barrel
    36-72
        Long
p/barrel
    72
        Maximum
p/barrel
80
100
180
150
108
108
80
NOTES:
MISSION = RATE OF FIRE
· p/barrel = rounds fired per min per single barrel at selected rate of fire i.e. Harass
· p/unit = rounds fired per complete unit i.e. all barrels in action
· Max = time to expend all rounds when firing all barrels at selected rate of fire
· Apart from 81mm Mortar then all other weapons appear to have the same rate of fire for Medium and Heavy... Maybe further testing needed
DURATION = TOTAL ROUNDS PER MISSION
· p/barrel = rounds fired per barrel over duration of mission. Nebelwerfers fire by multiples of its salvo.
 
Here is a much briefer US Arty chart dated the same:
CMBN US Artillery Characteristics
Rate of fire is 1 round per x seconds.
Duration is in rounds, or minutes if m suffix.
 
US 60mm M2 mortar onmap
Mission:             Harass     |     Light      |     Medium     |     Heavy
Rate of fire:          18       |       6        |       3        |       2
Duration:         Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M  
Rounds:           6    7    7m  |  3    20   30  |  3    19   24  |  3    16
 
US 81mm M1 mortar onmap
Mission:             Harass     |     Light      |     Medium     |     Heavy
Rate of fire:          18       |       6        |       3        |       2
Duration:         Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M  
Rounds:           5    10   15  |  6    10   28  |  3    10   25  |  6    12   22+
 
US 105mm M2A1 Howitzer
Mission:             Harass     |     Light      |     Medium     |     Heavy
Rate of fire:        46-48      |     28-32      |     16-19      |     10-12
Duration:         Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M   |  Q    S    M  
Rounds:           3    6    14  |  2    7    12  |  3    6    12  |  2    6    12

Always great to see a nicely painted Tiger. 
 

After reading through the forums of my favourite beer and pretzel Advance Tactics Gold (ATG) I read that it was possible to edit a save game, once edited, it becomes a new scenario.
Another post confirmed that it could be used for a strategic layer for a campaign. So I got to work on a CMFI campaign system.
So I started the game (the latest Phoenix beta version).
You can manually patch your Advanced Tactics game to the latest Open Beta Phoenix Version.
Note this is the patch for the MATRIX version! For the Steam version you'll need to enable the Steam Open Beta in the Steam interface (right click on the game in your library list and click Properties>Betas)
Now for you Matrix players:
https://www.vrdesigns.net/openbeta/Adva ... 40_061.zip
I started a new Phoenix Random game, once the scenario was created, I selected edit and began editing the Sub Formation files (STF's) and creating new ones.
So far this is the fruits of my labours.
 


In the screenie above there's a graphic for a German F.O. if anyone can get me one of an British/Commonwealth would be helpful.
Paratroopers:

Fighters: (not my graphics, credit to Ormand in the matrix forums).


Staff:


I began to build the TOE's straight out of CMFI, these will be the building blocks for any CM campaign.
In the ATG scenario editor, new units will be companys and HQ's will be Bn HQ's.
So I began with a British Reinforced Infantry Battalion (Brit R.I.B.)
3 x companies.
I've bungled all the squad and HQ teams as "rifles" so it easier to manage and easier to count the "Headcount" for CM scenarios.
There's enough slots to add LMG teams etc...

Inf Plt:

2 x Machinegun Plt:

Carrier Plt (recon)

2 x Anti tank plt:

Mortar Plt:

Poineer Plt:

 
Recce Plt motor rifle Bn

 
AA Troop 40mm

 
Recce Squadron (recce regiment).

 
Heavy A.T. Troop Armoured Bn

 
Inf Plt (Motor Rifle Bn)

 
Motor Rifle Company

 
Engineer Company

 
Infantry Company (Reinforced Inf BN)

There's a lot of work to get through still, each new weapon has to be given in game research data and production costs, which regime can/cannot research each weapon.
Then each tank type will also have to be done.
 
 

Wow.  Looking forward to this improved mod.