RockinHarry

Commonwealth:
INFORMATION
Equivalent to Situation in SMEAC format
INTENTION
Broadly equivalent to Mission in SMEAC format
METHOD
Equivalent to Execution in SMEAC format
ADMINISTRATION
Same as Administration in SMEAC format
INTERCOMMUNICATION
Equivalent to Command & Signals in SMEAC format
Example towards the bottom of the link here:
http://www.pegasusarchive.org/normandy/war_3rdBde.htm
Some stuff about the planning processes of the US, Germans and Red Army here:
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a227390.pdf
Similar on the US modern approach and the German WW2 approach with the outline headings here:
http://www.intelros.ru/pdf/JFQ/57/26.pdf
Somebody will probably be able to dig up a better German example but I couldn't find one in a hurry.
Italians - no idea but the general trend for these things is pretty much the same across the piece.

True, but Brabant, Gelderland and Limburg also have quite a few windmills. Interesting find indeed.

Also in Hainaut, and basically in the whole Flanders historical region.
Now there might a few windmills in the Ardennes and Alsace, can't prove their existence by a pic though.

I thought I came up with this joke, but, this being the internet and all...

 

You seem to be under the impression that BF has no contact with folks in the military.  You are... well way off.  Quite a few of the beta testers have done service and Steve has a whole other set of contacts.  In addition your own observations for example on the issue of AAVs has been countered on your other post by no less than someone who served in armor.  CM is designed with some very severe limitations mostly caused by the sheer size of action spots and a wish to not kill the player with micro managing.  A few of us have commented about the problem of troops going prone for example in wheatfields.  Makes it really hard to use actual tactics there.
If you want a really realistic game that conforms to actual battlefield experience I suggest you go dig a trench in your yard.  Then move to some other yard and do the same thing again.  Do that a lot over the next month or so then open the game and fight one battle and start over. (that is a joke ) 
Seriously I do understand some of your frustrations, many of us do.  There are limits though as to what can be done in the engine and while BF continually looks for ways to enhance it, their priority list of items doesn't likely match yours (or mine for that matter )

Way back when I tried my hand at some Herman Goering Division inuform mods, I discovered the wet look accidentally by saturation and vibrancy, and tried it on the shoulders and arms, mainly. It was fairly easy to do, IIRC, but the problem was getting all the gear, weapons, and helmets to have a wet sheen. Couldn’t pull it off to look right, but did use the darkening technique for oil stains on tanker uniforms. Looking forward to seeing your stuff, Ben. I bet you nailed it!

Yes, that's perfect.
One would imagine a mod like this would encompass pretty much...everything. Maybe stick to most common vehicles.
I'll dig around in a few days for the infantry stuff. It warn't nothing too fancy, but it got the job done.
 

exemple

it's a good idea and a success the effect is believable
me it is the effect of the rain on the landscape that interests me and it's the season to do this kind of observation
it's been two weeks since I look at the wet road and the road with traces of wheels on the side of the road and especially the puddles
The difficulty of having a brilliant and transparent effect
there is mud on the road
something like that could be a starting point

Oh! I have an almost full set of [rain] tagged infantry for CMBN finished (in my "experiments" folder), I think. I did some graphic tests on the vehicles as well, but just initial stages.
I set this aside due to RT work, but maybe we can get a "rain" tag set going collectively? I'm going to be swamped with "official" work, but I'll kick in the infantry for a title or two.

I generally feel with Bulletpoint concerning the pine trees. Currently we can only "improve" by use of adding bocage and bushes to the forest interiors (see Kaunitz "improvement suggestions" thread), as well as adding bumps to the terrrain mesh to increases density and cutting LOS/LOF. Modding also helps by making bocage look like parts of pine trees. Examples below show crushed and fallen trees in a pine forest by adding bocage objects, as well as other stuff from the flavor objects collection. While the flavors do nothing for cover and concealment actually, they improve the scenery greatly IMHO. It´s still WIP (CMBN), but will be released to public later this year. Adaption to CMFB will follow.

Low bocage flavor object put at the bottom of single pine trees. I also made a custom ground tile set for pine tree forests.

Some pine tree flavor objects with some damage from shrapnel on the bark texture. Low bocage (true terrain type, not flavor object) with leaves/branches swapped for the pine type, serve as fallen trees and branches.




 

To illustrate Combatintman's answer above, here's an excerpt from the Canadian wartime manual "Infantry Training, Part I: The Infantry Battalion (Ottawa, H.M. Stationery Office, 1944)."

 
Edit:
And even more! Company Commander's verbal orders in various tactical situations. 

Orders for machine gun units | Wartime Canada

Now that´s something to my liking!  I´ll see how I can get it combined with my animation file mod.

Didn´t take me much work to make invisible floating unit icons for all CMX2 WW2 series games (CMBN; CMFI; CMRT and CMFB). Although I do neither have CMFI nor CMRT, I was able to pull required file names and folder structure info from the demoes or icon mods over at CMMODS III. For anybody like giving it a try, here´s the link (check the incl. readme for more detailed info). The archive contains seperate files to be unpacked into corresponding games data/z folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1o7jbvfduvqgugr/RHZ CMX2 WW2 Invisible Floating Unit icons Full Package.rar?dl=0

I was honestly a bit annoyed by CM's rendition of the Germans firing their LMG's with one hand on the barrel, so I saw that US soldiers in the modern games seemed to hold the M240 closer to what a German GPMG should be.
So I swapped some files and voilà:


 
Here's the download link:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/vb8xtrx2j0mciau/mg42_anims.rar/file
Install it by unzipping it into the Z folder inside your data folder. Create it if you don't have one.
It should work for all CM2 games.
Let the spirit of the MACHINE GUN be with you.
 

Barbarossa 1941 remains one my all time favourites. France/Lowlands 1940.... just take my money! 
On a more realistical sight I´d be glad to see the CW/1945 module for CMFB coming more sooner than later. Op Blackcock, Infatuate or Veritable anybody? 
Not really much interested in middle east or africa scenarios, no matter what time period but with regard to post WW2 settings I as well like to see a Fulda Gap setting, or something the like in the 1950 to 1980ies in europe.

I think the game engine is geared more towards mobile, fluid tactical actions and far less to model combat across extensively fortified areas. When it comes to cover in buildings, they´re well suited to provide cover vs small arms, but when it comes to more or less heavy HE, every human person with sense of survival either would leave entirely, or seek the deepest of underground protection. We´ve no underground protection in the game and we neither have deep spider holes and slit trenches, or the sort with bits of overhead cover to protect from tree bursts and the like. Log bunkers is the best you can use in the game as substitute. Unless BFC is able to deal with the FOW issues when it comes to anything that is dug into the terrain mesh, only some further abtractions would be feasible. One example taken from CMBB would be sewer movement that takes units out of the 3D space entirely. IIRC BFC does not want to abstract things in those ways anymore and prefers to keep modeling everything in the given 3D space. So with regard to artillery/HE effectiveness in the game, I think it´s not really that far off. It´s just the means of real protection from it missing in the games.

Didn´t take me much work to make invisible floating unit icons for all CMX2 WW2 series games (CMBN; CMFI; CMRT and CMFB). Although I do neither have CMFI nor CMRT, I was able to pull required file names and folder structure info from the demoes or icon mods over at CMMODS III. For anybody like giving it a try, here´s the link (check the incl. readme for more detailed info). The archive contains seperate files to be unpacked into corresponding games data/z folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1o7jbvfduvqgugr/RHZ CMX2 WW2 Invisible Floating Unit icons Full Package.rar?dl=0

Yes I think it´s due to the tank gunner/commander beeing able to continually keeping the target in sight in the open. Once infantry in buildings dive down to prone, the gunner looses sight instantly and quits firing. Looks like the AI finds using HE for targets in the open more effective and I think it is. Most the time you get couple of kills immediately as opposed to inaccurate sprays of MG fire, yielding mostly suppression and fewer kills. Amount of onboard HE ammo also makes the AI reluctant to use it when rather scarce. In real life, most HE was used to get infantry going and then to be cut down with MG fire. Probably all of this is taken into consideration for the TacAI decisions to some point. My own tactics is mostly area firing HE on a building which I know contains enemy infantry and keeping friendlies at the safety distance same time.

If you need somebody testing a particular file (with particular situation) of yours, just let me know. I´ve time ATM. 

Well, there are a couple things, which you are already aware and noted:
First: 1-2 Crew members inside Opened-Topped SP will have one or two crew members in prone position (instead of sitting), but I don't think it effects spotting. Second; I'm not sure, but I noticed some troops go from prone to kneel about every 10 seconds or so (but not sure if that was the case before the Mod, but I still like it)...In any case, overall I like the popping up-down stances in many animations (firing, re-loading, etc), because for me it represents the more fluent body motions that RL troops would take in any given moment (when firing or ducking in-out in a quick self-preservation moment when shot at, etc), which in turn can slightly reduce casualties. 
Other then that, I don't really notice any gameplay issues...
Thou, I wonder about the stock 'Cower' to your Mod 'Cower'. Your Mod will have troops Cower in the exact location he is facing, and that is Ok if being facing the enemy front (less exposure along with FOW), but if the enemy is on his flank, then more of the body will be exposed, this compared to the stock 'Cower' that gives a 360 degree 'Curling up in a Ball effect (about same protection all around...which I believe is what CM has intended). I'm also wondering how CM models the 'Cower' animation...Does it have the same cover properties as 'Prone' (and we don't know), or does 'Cower' have its own cover properties (I guess, IanL, would know').
Anyways, it doesn't matter to me, because I really like the Mod 'Cower' over the Stock 'Cower, especially for the FOW effect.
I was going to Playtest each and every Mod at one point last year and give you some results, but I was just happy enough to throw it into Z Folder and be done with it.

I´m using mostly covered arcs and let the AI do most the time, although I target directly from time to time as well. Direct targeting is still possible, particularly on single large targets. Without seeing enemy floating icons it takes just a little bit longer to get the targeting tool "snap" on the desired target. If you´re seasoned player, you´re not loosing much comfort here IMHO. Upper screen triangles are unaffected as said.
ATM I´m (test) playing my full personal mod package (no tracers, no enemy floating icons, medic-cower-reload & idle stance animations mod) and I like the largely increased FOW on enemy forces, as well as the added confusion added through lack of certain visual clues. I also like the (slightly) decreased kill and spotting rates on both sides infantry due to the animation file mods. Overally it adds more immersion and realism to me and off course it´s my personal preference. I´m also always playing in Iron skills mode.

Yes and as we speak of configurable options, anybody can switch things on or off to their liking. Thus far I came to mod my "version" of CM to my personal desires in the following ways:
1. Buddy Aid/Medic stance animation changed to a simple prone (to avoid completely unnecessary medic casualties) CMMODs III
2. Cowering animation changed to something less suspicious (idle prone). (More/better FOW, as indication for enemy and friendly units suppression state should rather be expressed by their inability to move or shoot and not by showing a fetal curl). CMMODs III
3. Changing infantry animation for rifle mag or belt reload to either full prone or next lower footprint stance. (reducing infantry vulnerability situation, when it neither spots, nor shoots at the enemy). Unreleased mod.
Another unreleased animation mod changes idle non moving infantry to always kneel, with exception when having/using binocs (leaders in most cases). 
4. Removing tracers for above mentioned reasons. Would be nice if it could be refined to a different than all or nothing state (only certain units/weapon systems using tracer rounds). The file to be unrared to data/z works for all CMX2 games I think:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/90clyc4vn4r5qdz/no tracer.rar?dl=0
5. Just experimented with icons some and these files also using alpha layers lead to the following file set (icons invisible). Should work in CMFB and CMBN. US and germans only. Contacts and shared icons are not affected. From USA and german sub folders unrar the file you want invisible icons. IE if you´re playing US and like german opponent icons becoming invisible, unpack invisible.rar in german sub folder. 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwwrx17842offty/no icons.rar?dl=0

Maybe some of you like to experiment with the files, so it is less of theory to talk about. 

Contains invisible floating unit icons for standard CMBN + CW forces. Unpack into data/z folder.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bqq3xoi2p8rr6hs/Z_CMBN No Icons.rar?dl=0
This is not really a full mod. I consider this as experimental toolset for selectively replacing any existing FLOATING UNIT ICONS with invisible ones in CMBN (incl. CW forces). The main idea was to make enemy floating unit icons invisible, while the same time preserving the friendly ones (for quick access and overview), but also to add additional FOW while removing the possible distraction from enemy floating unit icons possibly covering larger parts of the game map. ALT+I does the same, but it´s all or nothing.
ALL floating unit icons for german, US and CW can be replaced with invisible substitute icons. To achieve invisibility, alpha layers were made opaque by filling in all black with Photoshop and saved in 32Bit BMP alpha layer format (the standard).
The folders contain all the invisible floating unit icons unpacked by default and a RAR packed file contains these as backup additionally. So if the mod rar file (Z_CMBN No Icons.rar) is unpacked straight into your data/z folder, EVERY floating unit icon in the game is replaced by invisible ones. Now the purpose is to selectively remove those icons you don´t want to be seen in the game from the sub folders. In example if you play as the US player vs. a german opponent, just delete those files from the friendly "USA" folder and leave the (invisible) "german" opponent ones in, if you don´t want to see german floating unit icons. This leaves any original or modded USA unit icons visible, while making german ones invisible. Also delete the files labeled "icon blue..." (used for US and CW) from the "shared" folder and leave the german ones (icon red...) as is.
The two files from the "contacts" folder should be deleted, as these are needed for friendly FOW purposes. A packed backup file is always present in every sub folder. The backups contain the invisible floating unit icons. Original floating unit icons, as well as modded ones remain untouched off course.
Note: Off course you need to switch floating unit icons ingame to ON (ALT+I). While the floating unit icon graphics are invisible, the actual icon objects are still physically present and if needed you can click/activate them as usual if clicking slightly above a unit in 3D space. Game manual: "Over the center mass of the units they represent"
Another interesting use would be to just delete the files containing "fow" (fog of war) in filename, while preserving every other file in a subfolder. The "fow" files are contained in "british", "german" and "usa" folders. What happens in game is that just the "generic silhouette + question mark" icons pop up occasionally, indicating something has changed among the enemy force. Game manual: "Unknown or previously spotted but now out of sight units, as well as pure sound contacts, are shown with a generic silhouette and a question mark."
I haven´t tested all SKILL LEVEL modes, so it might be possible that some of the above mentioned procedures need to be adapted or changed in order for the particular SKILL MODES handling of floating unit icons works the way you want. I usually play in IRON.
RockinHarry
Edit: Also works fine with CMFB. Ignore British folder or delete it.

+1. The "fetal curl" has always turned me off esthetically. And calling it something else, like "taking cover" would be an improvement too. Save the curl for units that are broken.
Michael