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Erwin

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  1. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from LuckyDog in Engine 5 Wishlist   
    From your mouth to BF's ears.  This has been complained about since CM2 was released in 2007.  Ridiculous that a viable CM2 tactic to make your vehicle indestructible is to hide behind a tree.
    Another big issue is that modern ATGM vehicles with telescopic optics and missile launchers are not modeled properly so that in order to fire (say) a TOW, one has to reveal the entire top of the vehicle - making that ATGM vehicle very vulnerable and hence we are unable to use them as in RL.
  2. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from LuckyDog in Fighting In Villages 1979 (UK Army)   
    My recollection from decades ago was being told that the Brits focused on training for carefully aimed shots rather than mass auto fire.  Partly a money-saving strategy due to budget issues and also an attempt to reduce the logistical tail of ammo resupply.  In WW2 it seems that in order to reduce  casualties since Britain was literally running out of men, the Brit way of fighting depended on HMG's and lots of artillery.  Not sure about today, but is this the same for Cold War era?  In the CM game, the original limitations on map sizes means that most scenarios featured short range combat which gave everyone the impression that the SMG was the best weapon.  These days, we are seeing much larger maps so perhaps rifles will regain their RL dominance.  But, this still depends on designers creating situations for longer range firefights, and most CM designers still create situations where one is fighting with shorter range LOS - where the mass fire of SMG's are most useful. 
  3. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from MHW in Engine 5 Wishlist   
    From your mouth to BF's ears.  This has been complained about since CM2 was released in 2007.  Ridiculous that a viable CM2 tactic to make your vehicle indestructible is to hide behind a tree.
    Another big issue is that modern ATGM vehicles with telescopic optics and missile launchers are not modeled properly so that in order to fire (say) a TOW, one has to reveal the entire top of the vehicle - making that ATGM vehicle very vulnerable and hence we are unable to use them as in RL.
  4. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from kohlenklau in CM KOREA 1950 MOD   
    Am very much looking forward to your Korea mod as well as your other amazing early war and NA mods.  I just got back after 8 month travels and unfortunately have so much to catch up on b4 I can focus on playing anything.   But, know that what you are doing is much appreciated by many more than the few who post here.  Have enjoyed playing H2H but my schedule makes it hard to be a reliable/regular oppo.  So, yes, plz cobble some single player... but only when you have time.
    Thank you yet again, Phil.
  5. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from PEB14 in CM KOREA 1950 MOD   
    Am very much looking forward to your Korea mod as well as your other amazing early war and NA mods.  I just got back after 8 month travels and unfortunately have so much to catch up on b4 I can focus on playing anything.   But, know that what you are doing is much appreciated by many more than the few who post here.  Have enjoyed playing H2H but my schedule makes it hard to be a reliable/regular oppo.  So, yes, plz cobble some single player... but only when you have time.
    Thank you yet again, Phil.
  6. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from kohlenklau in CM KOREA 1950 MOD   
    #5 present...
  7. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from PEB14 in Operation "Coup de Main"   
    Thank you, WimO.  I hope this means you will next be designing for the other titles. 
  8. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from Probus in How Hot is Israel Gonna Get?   
    Good pic to demonstrate tank positioning for greatest armor slope. 
     
  9. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from Bagpipe in Game worth buying?   
    Best Computer Wargame
    For wargames played primarily on a computer.
    WINNER: War in the East 2, Slitherine, Ltd.
    Combat Mission Cold War, Slitherine, Ltd.
    Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnaughts, Game-Labs
  10. Like
    Erwin reacted to Holien in How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?   
    Don't count on the UK as a capable military we have serious issues with our finances which have impacted our military. I would suggest America gets closer with Europe who combined have a more capable military than the UK.
  11. Like
    Erwin reacted to 37mm in SF2 'All in One' Released   
    One of my ongoing side projects (aimed, mostly, at the new influx of Steam Players) is to host an 'All in One' for every CM game here.
    CMSF2 has been a bit of a mess on that front with separate modpacks for Syria, Afghanistan as well as old dropboxes of content from SF1 scattered around the place.
    This has now all been brought together under one package... a proper 'All in One'.
    Arguably this 'All in Ones' primary feature is a vast mass of content (361 scenarios* & 31 campaigns) which has been organized into four different categories...
     
    Syria
    The default modpack should be fairly familiar to many consisting of (tweaked) versions of @Kieme(ITA)'s outstanding terrain & buildings mods (I also added a few of @Zveroboy1's Allepo buildings), @MikeyD's horizons, @Pete Wenman's flavour objects, a tweaked version of @Sir Lancelot's realistic Syrians, @Jock Tamson's unconventional & (tweaked) British mods, tweaked versions of @AtlasActual's Canadians & a few bits & pieces from @mjkerner's USMC mods. There are also some .mds fixes by @Kevin2k & @Jace11. Many of the old SF1 vehicle mods by the likes of @Ryujin, @M1A1TC, @Kieme(ITA) & @Marco Bergman will also be quite familiar. @Mord's Marine vehicles have been given [brown] tags & so don't conflict with the US Army vehicles.
    UI mods are provided by @xacto, @SteppenWolf, @Vinnart, @Mord & @MikeyD. Whilst music is a mix from @Blimey & (I believe) @Augusto. The ME effects compliation & ME soundscape (with its expanded dynamic range) & voices by waclaw, @George MC &  @Mord complete the package.
    What might not be familiar is that I have added "rudimentary weathering" to (I believe) every vehicle in the game & used @JMDECC's .psd layers to add dust to every uniform.
    207 user made scenarios & 23 user made campaigns are set in Syria.



    There are three zip files inside the Syrian mod folder labelled Afghanistan, MENA & OPFOR. Unzip ONE of these files to activate that particular regions mods...
     
    Afghanistan
    Users of the (now discontinued) SF2-Afghanistan 'All in one' will be familiar with this mod option. It is in essence a fusion of @Zveroboy1's excellent Afghanistan, Taliban & ANA mods alongside a port of Combat Mission: Afghanistan's terrain & @Bil Hardenberger's Afghanistan trees as well as various doodads from @SeinfeldRules & @Kieme(ITA). The modpack has been tweaked & simplified somewhat from the 2021 version but little has really changed.
    There is now a folder for appropriate text changes (renaming "Syria" into "Afghanistan" for example) however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.
    2 user made campaigns & 44 scenarios have been given an "AFG" prefix to highlight that they are set in Afghanistan.



     
    "Middle East & North Africa" aka "MENA"
    Whilst planning the 'All in One' I was considering updating the old "Road to Bahgdad" mod by @Blimey using primarily the cool DCU uniform mods by @beeron & @Damian45.
    However as I sorted through all the user made scenarios, I came to realize that there were many other Middle Eastern scenarios set in places like Libya, various fictional Middle Eastern kingdoms, various training camps & even a blue on blue battle set in an Egyptian shopping mall.  As such the MENA modpack was born... the best way of describing it is "The Middle East but NOT Syria".
    Terrain & doodads are a port of the old SF1 terrain & (I think) is quite pleasing to the eye (it also looks much sandier than I remembered). @SteppenWolf's UI & music take centre stage here & more of @Zveroboy1's buildings enter the mix. There's a few different vehicles by @M1A1TC, some more voices by @Mord (as well as a different mix of portraits). @JMDECC's .psd's have been used to create alternative red uniforms alongside his Iranian vehicles (although these have also been rudimentarily weathered &, inspired by @IICptMillerII's sandy vehicles, recoloured somewhat).
    There is also a folder for appropriate text changes however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.
    2 user made campiagns & 60 scenarios have been given a "MENA" prefix to highlight that they are not set in Syria.



     
    "Generic OPFOR"
    The old SF1 content creators (and some of the newer SF2 ones) were an adventurous & experimental bunch and, with only one CM game to work with for many years, unsurprisingly made a considerable amount of content set in alternative theatres. There are scenarios set in Europe, in Chechnya, on Artic Islands, nuclear wastelands, Africa, South America, New Zealand, New England, various fictional countries... I think there's a Chinese invasion of the United States & a zombie attack or two.
    To mod all of these places would be impractical to say the least, so I came up with the "Generic OPFOR"... they are everyone & nobody, everywhere & nowhere.
    Terrain is a mix of the old Euroscape & Syrope mods by @dpabrams & @birdstrike respectively as well as their US vehicle mods. @Kevin2k provides the Syrian & British vehicle mods whilst @JMDECC provides the various woodland uniforms. I also added some @Oleksandr uniforms to the mix.
    Yet more of @Zveroboy1's buildings are added to the mix alongside the modern UI mod by @Kinophile. I have no idea where the music tracks are from.
    There is also a folder for appropriate text changes however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.
    4 user made campaigns & 50 scenarios have been given the "OPFOR" prefix to highlight that they are not set in the Middle East.



     
    There's also another two additional folders...
    Extras & Options
    Here you will find various extras which can be activated when needed or desired for example there's a modern version of @RockinHarry's re-animate mods (I used a lot of SF1 animations for the modded stances) designed to keep the pixeltruppens heads down & (possibly) increase their survivability.
    There's the old SF1 marsh & mud to water mods which can be used whilst playing SF1 campaigns which are meant to have water on them (the old content creators did not have access to water so often made do with marsh).
    There's an untagged night effects pack designed for dawn/dusk scenarios (this will also have the added benefit of removing all those sunglasses... your troops will no longer wear shades at sunset) as well as @Kieme(ITA)'s optional HD highway pack (these look good but don't work with every maps highway set-up).
    Modtags
    There's not many but here you will find @Zveroboy1's ANP pick-up, a weathered & desert version of @Chelentano's T-34, the old "Road to Bahgdad" cemetary mod & @Pete Wenman's squalor mod. They're activated automatically.
     
    DOWNLOAD LINKS & INSTALLATION
     
    https://www.mediafire.com/file/hk8tt6jfxv2ro8l/CMSF2_%27All_in_One%27.7z/file
    https://app.mediafire.com/izmk6muctniv5
    Unzip the file & add the "Z for Syria" folder to your games data folder (the folder with the .brz files in it)... that's it.
    For the content, add the campaign .cam files to your games campaign folder & the scenario .btt files to your games scenarios folder... I suggest adding the content to folders which only contain base game scenarios & campaigns.
     
    *I have updated a lot of the old SF1 maps which featured marsh being used as pseudo-water with proper SF2 water however there's nothing much I could do about the campaigns (other than provide the old "marsh to water" mods as an optional extra).
  12. Like
    Erwin reacted to Mr.X in Preview: First FanMade BattlePack for CM Red Thunder   
    At the end there will always be a conflict between historical accuracy and playability in CM due to the compressed character of the fightings. 
    Real fighting at company or batallion level would be an extremely boring thing in a game because of the often endless hours they lasted. 
    The same with reports of (for example) huge numbers of destroyed enemy tanks - in most cases such situations were the result of catastrophic decisions by headquarters or bad misjudgment of leading officers on site - many CM Players would not assess such situations as enyoyable playing.
    So, if in doubt, I will always try to prefer playability instead of pure reality.
    So, what players can expect, is historical correct units, historical correct locations/dates/circumstances and as historical as possible built maps (depending on military maps, areal photos and old pictures). 80% of the officers names and ranks will be correct, too - for some officers I have made short portraits to improve the atmosphere. 
    Fighting itself will be harsh, sometimes with limited options, often with much more tactical options than one will expect with first glance. 
     
    Regards
    Mr.X 
  13. Like
    Erwin reacted to womble in China vs Taiwan please?   
    And an even bigger real estate bubble that will cause direct pain down to quite low levels and to quite a lot of Chinese. Add that the real estate bubble also has an element of being created not just by overoptimism and bad judgement, but by "bad actors" who knew exactly what fraud they were perpetrating (to a greater degree than Japan, I get the impression) and the impact on their society may well go far beyond the pure economic disaster.
    And if Western AD-at-sea is as effective against China's "ustoppable" hypersonic ship killers as Patriot-on-land has proved so far against Russian "unstoppable" hypersonic cruise missiles, it won't matter how many troops there are in the PLA, because the PLAN won't be able to get them ashore, except as floating corpses.
  14. Like
    Erwin reacted to db_zero in China vs Taiwan please?   
    Corruption is one part of larger problems. In the west the move from agrarian to a industrial to an information based economy and society has been a gradual change. There was time to assimilate and absorb the changes. China not so much. It was rapid. There is also a huge demographic shift taking place in China. 
    I've seen estimates that any serious invasion of Taiwan would involve more troops than Operation Overloard and be more difficult. The Allied forces had plenty of practical experience before Overloard-Torch, Sicily, Anzio and seabore landings and operations in the Pacific before undertaking Overloard. The Chinese navy and army lacks that sort of practical experience. I would guess that an amphibious assault the size and scope of Taiwan would be a huge ask for even the US Marine Corps which has the know how and experience to pull something of that scope off.
    China projects a very strong image. The massive victory day parades, the large naval maneuvers, the firing of missiles. That's the image they want to project. What that means in practical terms is anyone's guess. Wars are won by people at the lowest common denominator. In the US and the west in general responsibility and initiative is given at very low levels. In the West the focus is on the individual. It the east its often on the collective.
    I can't say I know just how much individual responsibility and initiative is granted to the lower levels of the Chinese military. Given the political climate and tightly controlled nature of China, I would venture to say its low.
    Much is made of the Chinese economic juggernaut. We've seen this sort of thing before. In the late 70's, 80's Japan was viewed as the existential threat to America. Their manufacturing prowess, fueled by a weak US dollar caused great concern in the US. Then when US dollar got strong, the Japanese used this to start buying up real estate in the US, including some notable landmarks which cause further resentment in the US.
    Then the Japanese real estate and financial bubble burst. You don't hear much about Japans economic prowess anymore and they like China are facing a massive demographic time bomb.
     
  15. Like
    Erwin reacted to drewshotsfan in Bridgehead at Han-sur-Nied, Part 2   
    The Combat Mission Final Blitzkrieg scenario River of Blood, by PanzerMike, using Bil Hardenberger's and A Canadian Cat's excellent C2 Hard Cat Rules v2I
    Human Axis attack vs AI Allied defence
    https://youtu.be/AIogXkOBYcc
  16. Like
    Erwin reacted to kohlenklau in HOW TO MAKE A BIG MOD (TEST DUMMY LOG)   
    I tested the 2 roadblocks as flavor objects with the transparent hedgehogs and it acted odd.
    I now have the 2 different roadblocks in the game as 2 knocked-out trucks (US 6x6 and the Italian Fiat truck).
    They get in the game by the scenario author knowing how the mod works and knowing how to do allied versus allied -or- axis versus axis purchasing.
    They are deployable by the side that "owns" them and when fired upon they give the sound of a truck being hit and can eventually light on fire. They block movement of vehicles.
  17. Like
    Erwin reacted to Bootie in TSD III, TPG II & The CM Mod Warehouse Update area.   
    No its just a long overdue updating... cant believe Ive been running it since 2015!
  18. Like
    Erwin reacted to Aragorn2002 in CMFI Crete 1941 mini-mod project   
    It's all possible. Personally I don't give a damn about what BFC thinks of us, same as I'm sure it will be the other way around. As long as they give us great games and we give them our money it's all good. Works for me. 😛 But I do appreciate they are there, that's for sure. Without them we would have nothing.
    There will always be some bitter taste about what could have been, but will never be. France 1940, North Africa 1941-1943 etc.etc. Beggars can't be chosers, I guess. Personally I accept this because I've got all I ever wanted, but I'm sorry for gifted people like you, who could have made the difference and give us even more if their talents had been appreciated and used. On the other hand the most brilliant mods and scenarios hardly get any attention,as you experienced yourself. Perhaps that's also a reason why BFC doesn't bother to support 'little' mods like France 1940, Finland and Crete.
    But don't underestimate your own efforts and the impact that had on a lot of CM gamers. Stick around, no need to sacrifice time, energy or even health on our behalf. Just help us with your knowledge from time to time. Make something if you feel like it or don't. You're too good a guy to be missed on this forum. Same goes for people like WimO@ and MJKerner@. Don't touch the game for a year or so, if you like, but just stay around. Don't be obsessed with it, but just enjoy it. We still have great times ahead, no matter what comes.
  19. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from laurent 22 in British helmet fitted   
    While the lower helmet looks better after looking at pics of WW2 Brit soldiers it seems that it was normal for it to be a bit higher as one needs to account for the helmet lining.  Looking at Phil's diagrammatic view: https://www.mediafire.com/view/t6ab2axrp1optj4/helmet_british_fitted_2.jpg/file  one can see that the guy's head is almost touching the inside of the helmet with no room for a lining.
     
  20. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from Warts 'n' all in Operation Boston - Objectie La Fiere enters final playtest today   
    Hope you haven't burned out. Your contributions have been much appreciated.  
  21. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from PEB14 in Operation Boston - Objectie La Fiere enters final playtest today   
    Hope you haven't burned out. Your contributions have been much appreciated.  
  22. Upvote
    Erwin got a reaction from Warts 'n' all in Need Some Help with User Created Campaigns   
    An obvious thing to check is do you have all the required modules and are they activated?
  23. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from LongLeftFlank in What WW2 hex wargame/map is best to reuse for the current Ukraine War?   
    I used to playtest for Joe when we worked on wargames for DoD.  But, no have not tested or played this design.  
  24. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from Monty's Mighty Moustache in DAR - Snow For The Hungry AXIS PBEM   
    Yes, this also the challenge I recall facing.  Be interesting to see how you do it.
  25. Like
    Erwin got a reaction from PEB14 in BattlePack SPW lessons scenarios   
    It would still be useful to be able to split off a 2-man scout and not end up with an unsplittable 7-man team which is "unwieldy".
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