panzermartin

Thanks Louch heh...yeah the parking lot came out a little too perfect, especialy compared to the primitive stadium nearby I will soon upload an updated version with AI for both the Red and Blue side. Unless I make seperate vs AI versions it probably still be a cakewalk since the force balance was initialy for a 2p match.

LOL..we can make the complete Syrian Football league series You have done incredible work with the buildings. From what I can see infantry will be able to use the roofs/seats, while in my version is not possible. Your team must be playing in premier division also..Mine is conference the most

Actually keep this great engine and slowly bring back all these little things we loved from CMx1. optional hit text(though getting used to its absence), kill track, purchasable units in QBs or more rational autopick.

Yes, bring it back! Really informative about what worked and what didnt work too.

Along wih strength and faith my favourite maps/battles. Well done.

I'll second that, would be quite useful when making these repeative city blocks and concetrate on more dominate map features. That would solve the diagonal pain in the a** roads/highways too. And erase, yes..much simpler than the current system. I hate placing of doodads too. Pretty primitive to push them around the map.

Ah..thanks, havent noticed!

Ok this is my first try in map making, it will definetely need some playtesting. Meeting engagement around a soccer field intended for 2 players, however I have made AI plans for both sides but force balance is 2p orientated. Basically I put all my effort in the map and added an objective and opposing mechanized forces..if anyone wishes to make a more decent scenario out of this he'd be welcome. Available for playtesting here: http://www.mediafire.com/?6amozmcyzem (Updated V1.00 with better AI for both Sides) [ August 15, 2007, 07:07 AM: Message edited by: panzermartin ]

Right now, only friendly vehicles can provide cover from enemy LOF, the enemy ones, even when destroyed/burning are not. While I understand the purpose of this while vehicles are still acive (friendly fire), its a bit unrealsitic and very gamey at times, when an enemy can shoot you easily through his destroyed tanks while your own fire is blocked and vice versa. Would be nice if all destroyed vehicles regardless of side could block LOF.

No no, it happens in perfectly clear weather too. Theses caps are from "Strength and Faith" scenario. Its like invisible objects blocking LOS on parts of a street, possibly related to nearby walls, or it could be that bug with data left from objects already removed in the editor you mentioned. It not like los is restricted to 20m radius, one unit can have perfectly los for 200m all along the middle of the street but at some certain spots with no apparent reason the target tool is greyed out. Maybe LOS grids with wall tiles in them are affected.

Here is the LOS blocking effect, perhaps generated by nearby walls. How does the Target tool work? I had to move the whole squad away from the walls and in the middle of the street to target the tank. They got slaughtered as a result. How can you sneak up from corners if it is required to expose the whole squad to get LOS?

Some more sizable doodads like Dumpsters, old abandoned buses/trucks perhaps. What I'd like to see are more textures for buildings and more special types like shops, hotels, kiosks, banks, garages, industrial types etc. What we already have is great and flexible but there is still need for some more color and variation I believe. Also, some grafiti and commercials on walls would be nice.

Well I removed the walls from some parts of the map in "Strength and Faith" and LOS problems were almost null. No blocked los in the middle of the streets, much more normal spotting. Even pathfinding seemed better. It seems like walls are causing much more trouble than just shooting through them.

flying carpet squad..LOL

Are you sure there is no assault option for syrians? I have used it repeatedly.

Thats strange that bugs can be scenario related. The particular map is filled with walls everywhere. Almost all the streets are surrounded by walls. Since walls are buggy maybe they have an invisible effect on nearby streets as well, blocking LOS and paths the same way they have invisible holes?

In "strength and faith"(nice map), a considerably heavy scenario for instance I have noticed numerous bugs: -Infantry squad spotting a tank only when 10m close. When I walked them 20m away the tank become a "?". Once I moved them closer the tank reappeared. At the same time 100m away another squad was perfectly able to keep an eye on the tank all this period even thought the tank was behind a wall. The same tank could not be spotted by another unbuttoned T72 8m close, no matter what I did. Cover/arc/face everything. It stood there for minutes without noticing another tank under his nose. The enemy tank was completely idle, neither moving/spotting anything(was undamaged) -LOS tool blocked on perfectly straight and flat streets. -On the same map I ordered a BMP to move down an empty road. Instead it went through a wall a building a second building another wall and exited to the back street on the other side of the building block. It was WEIRD. I hesitated to touch it again, I was terrified from what I saw I havent noticed so many abnormalities in smaller scenarios. That one is lagging so it could be the system bogging down and screwing the game calculations. Time is set to dawn/dusk, can this make things more complicated in Los/Lof?

I have the suspicion that most bugs occur as the size of battles increases. Is it possible that TacAi and Los/Lof are messed up as system resources are chewed up and are unable to properly keep track of everything?

TOW avoids modelling squad behaviour by giving you control over individual soldiers. Not a perfect soluton but with all the TacAi problems it could have some use in CMSF.

Infantry is a bit messed up right now. While armor battles are ok, infantry managing is hell. Formations could help a bit but I'm expecting more improvements in the TacAI and no additional baby sitting. I was glad to see that with 1.02 men run for cover when art falls on them for instance. COH might be a "shallow RTS" but you can position a squad pretty easily behind cover, along a wall or pack them behind a car. CMSF is not terrible in this (TacAi use of cover in trenches and shell holes is wonderful) but most of the time your men "just dont get it".

Money CAN sometimes buy stuff Strykers are outfitted with optics that are far superior to what some joe can see with his bare eyes, or with binoculars. The thermals help out a huge amount, allowing them to see at night and through smoke. They can also use the zoom in the camera to get a fairly high resolution closeup of things of interest. Vehicles equipped with FS3 can see things AND have them identified by heat sig out to 5km at night and 10km during the day. It's amazing stuff and it does give an edge. The Syrian stuff, on the other hand, is generally outfitted with nothing but WWII style vision blocks. On top of that, Soviet design philosophies over the years have consistently downplayed the importance of crew comfort and crew situational awareness. There are blind spots sometimes, ergonomically difficult to use devices in others. In other words, they not only lack fancy gizmos, but they also lack the basics for the old Mk 1 Eyeball. Steve </font>

What is frustrating about CMSF is that all units seem so loose and sleepy that nothing guarantess that a good position or a cover arc or even good coms will ensure that things will work as intended. In CMx1 I was more or less certain of the reactions of a tank or infantry. They would fire once the target was in sight or in their cover arc. Now, I have witnessed units spotting enemies at 50m and waiting for 30sec to fire or not firing at all, even when ordered to do so. Sometimes it must be that Los/Lof grid again because I had a squad pointing at a Bradley with the RPG, the target in clear los (as the tool indicated) and for a 1-2 minutes they didnt fire. ONCE the brad reversed they somehow fired the RPG at it (moved out of the blind spot?) BMPs are completely blind and lazy too. I think they even need some help to cross the street cause they might crash on a tank passing by or smth. Even unbuttoned they cant see a thing. And they dont want to fire their ATGMs. Ok, its a pretty old vehicle but I would expect a bit more responsive behaviour. I know this is more realistic than the absolute and predictable behaviour of CMx1 but it end ups to be frustrating. And there is an unrealsitic workaround if your unit cant see and refuses to fire on enemy vehicle. Just area fire behind its supposed location. Isnt this gamey? LOS problems are not limited to the wall thing. You can never be sure that the tank overlooking the street will effectively counter any threat because it seems that even perfectly flat streets have blind spots where los/lof is not possible. Los/Lof and loose TacAI behaviour make infantry battles nightmerish too. PS.I'm not giving up yet because along with the bugs I slowly discover the hard work that has been put in this game and have started to appreciate it.

lol..this is a straight rip off from some cheap metal concert. Smokes and then the band appears out of nowhere. Well BMPS cant see a thing anyway. In the same scenario I had the commander exposed for a better view and he couldnt spot a stryker 5m in front of him. How can a buttoned up stryker see better than a human?

I dont see ricochets on tanks or broken shells. No matter what the round is, shells always seem to explode even the non damaging hits. I havent seen a penetrating round that doesnt cause explosion either. With the right angle even a HEAT round can bounch of a sloped armor, right? What about sabot, and ap? I miss that daaaang CMx1 sound too

Oh yes..I played that as US. I lost 2/3 of my Strykers within the first seconds.