Blazing 88's

Making scenarios in CMx2 is harder than it was in CMx1 days. The bar has been raised considerably imho. It is a lot of work. A month for a scenario minimum in my case. Heck, I play very little. Design takes up most of my time. After havong made my first stock scenario in RT I was so excited. I made a lot more post release. I skipped BS and dedicated my time to beef up content for RT. Now I am making stock stuff for Bulge. I consider it a privilege. Doing what I can to make games likes this (of which there are very few) feasable. It is great to get feedback and perhaps even some appreciation. But I will make stuff and release anyways. Because I want this game to last.

I am reading your comments Umlaut, but even with that I am not sure I know what you are looking for.

I am pretty certain you know I appreciate your work and have given you feedback. It is frankly appreciated, but the nature of scenarios (length of time before the player actually gets around to completing) and the fact that only a small percentage of the community even participates in the forum means by default feedback will be very limited.

PBEM campaigns is not a supported way to play   My number one feature request - see my sig

This scenario covers the following action (as recorded by von Plato in his history of 5th Panzer Division) in the closing stages of Operation Bagration. Smorgon is on the main rail line from Minsk to Vilnius – hence it was strategically vital for allowing Germans to bring units into action. They were low on fuel/transport so railways were a vital component for keeping armies supplied and flow of reinforcements/moving units etc. The Soviets had just cut the rail line. 5th Panzer Division under the command of Major -General Karl Decker (His General Staff Officer or Ia was Lieutenant-Colonel Anton Detlev von Plato) or at least what was left of it, was concentrated into one group for a last gasp attack.
 
"Early on 6 July an armored group with I./ Pz. Gren. Rgt.14 and I./ Pz. Gren. Rgt. 13 and Pz.Rgt. 31 is formed under Colonel Lippert. The II./ Pz. Gren. Rgt.14 takes Sakowice and II. / Pz. 13 the section west of it on the road of advance. The armored group moves out at about 11.00 am. After short, heavy fighting the enemy is thrown north of Sakowice. The armored group thrusts above Krasne Osinowka until just before the railway, southwest of Smorgon, nearly 10 km deep. Then our power is exhausted at Osinowka - Bialkoszcyna as the enemy throws new armored units against us." 
 
The scenario covers later part of this attack i.e. the armoured kampfgruppe's thrust to Osinowka - Bialkoszcyna. By this stage in the fighting 5th Panzer had been in continuous heavy combat since 27th June, moving to and fro across a huge area. By the evening of the 5th July it had endured several cycles of full on combat. By the 6th July and was starting to show signs of strain and this final throw of the diec was to be it's last major offensive and combat cycle during Operation Bagration. Many of the panzergrenadier companies were down to 35 men. Their armoured strength had gone from 70 Panzer V Panthers and 55 Panzer IVs to a recorded strength on the evening of the 5th July of 25 Panthers and 25 PzIVs.
 
From a CM perspective such heavy casualties mean it's possible to simulate this without having hundreds of units on the map. Correspondingly the map is huge - 3km wide x 4.5km deep. The map is based on a contemporary Russian map of the area. What it highlights is this area was at least fairly suitable for a large scale armoured attack. It's one of the few areas in this part that's not bog and wood infested - being mostly rolling terrain with patches of wood but generally fairly open sight lines. The down side is several rivers/streams run across the terrain which mean the Germans had to attack across these natural barriers. The attack did make headway but the Soviets managed to very quickly push armoured units (from the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps and 3rd Guards Mech Corps under General Oslikovski) into the area. These are the attacks that halt the tired and run down 5th Panzer.
 
Playing the Scenario This scenario was originally designed to be played first and foremost from the perspective of the German side against the Soviet AI. It is playable head to head (H2H) but has not been playtested for balance in this regard. I suspect it’ll be a tough one for the German player – so if playing H2H let the less experienced player take the Soviets.   When playing this do so with the mindset you are playing a min campaign. Due to the size of map and tactical challenges you’ll need to tackle this as a linked series of actions rather than one decisive action.  
It's now available for download at the following links:
 
Scenario Depot III
 
The Repository
 
The image below is taken looking north. It shows the first water barrier a mainly marshy/boggy stream. Behind is a low ridge and rolling terrain. The village ahead is KARAVAI
 

 
Another shot - this time looking east across the German line of attack.
 

 
This is further north. It's the small hamlet of LIAUKI about 700m south of OSINOWKA.
 

 
Another full scale view of the map. Again looking north.
 

 
From the Soviet side of the hill. T34s from 3rd Guards Mech Corps counterattack the German armoured spearhead. This view is looking south towards LIAUKI/CHADAKI
 

oh gawd the friggin Buggles....  I had tickets to see Yes in the round at MSG in 1980...then Anderson and Wakeman left and instead I was treated to this bastardized performance by this crap pile that was performing music by Yes.

Whatchyoo talkin' about, Willis? The 80's had some great music! It just depends on the genre.
 

 

 
 
Mord.

Practical is the real word for this decision. making it less than a minute just makes it impractical.

Just be grateful you have RT for those of you that cannot stand a minute of time without complete control.

As a leader of real units, you hardly have any control. So a minute time frame to give new orders is still way to much god like power in truth.

But a minute adds just enough out of control situations to make it fun.

Leave a good thing alone

leave the time as is - 60 seconds
no shorter
cheers

I'd've thought that having some branching based on varied conditions and not limited to binary decisions, possibly even including dialog boxes and or dynamic force assignments (without having to workaround with "decision scenarios") would have been easier to code in than AI script branching, and they've seemed interested in that direction of improvement in the past. It's not beyond hope.

CMFI gets some love like it goes to Tunisia ?

Anything short of that might not get my interest.

When I'm not being a nuisance on here or stacking mad loot from modding competitions, I'm making stuff.
 
I have been working on reworking some of the Red Thunder Master Maps into very large QB maps for CMBS.
 
v1.0 of this pack has three maps, an attack, assault, and meet on Radzymin Master Map 2. Each has an AI plan for both sides and functioning objectives, but would probably be better for versus play. I will do more plans for each map, and eventually convert all Radzymin Master Maps to CMBS.
Credits to the Master Map goes to BF Company.
 
I cant post screens because Im on my laptop and they look gash, but Ill try to at the weekend when I am back with my high spec machine.
 
Download Link v1.0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1mey2x2m8h7itzd/SG_QB_Maps.7z?dl=0
 
 
Enjoy.
 

Holy nostalgia boys! I remember those SPI games!  One of my faves was called "Patrol" which recreated section sized actions (individual soldiers) and each soldier had a name and specific weapon.  Very cool.  What was some of your fave SPI games?  I also enjoyed games like Afrika Korps, SL/ASL of course, Richtofens War (with the expansion card deck so your planes could now do maneuvers in combat), Diplomacy although I think they were all Avalon Hill.
 
I remember at Military College in the early 80's a small group of us would stay up late watching SCTV every night and laughing our a$$es off, much to the chagrin of the study-aholics

OMG you guys are getting near and dear to my heart....yeah SCTV was pure genius with its cast of characters...Johnny LaRue, Sammy Maudlin, Lola Heatherington, Bobby & Skip Bitman, Dr. Tongue...on and on.  Thanks to You Tube you can still watch many episodes

Chappy, they should also probably watch some Canadian cultural documentaries like Trailer Park Boys and The Great White North with Bob and Doug McKenzie, and of course listening to Rush.  That's how I became an honorary Canadian.

Checking in.
 
p.s. never realized how distinctive Canadian accents were until I smoked my way through several series of 'Trailer Park Boys'!

I recreated the core file and core units and have placed all forces in each scenario of the campaign. I have tested it through 3 battles and everything seems to be working fine. So I will try and upload again and hopefully all will be good. This turned out to be a real adventure.
 
The campaign consists of 8 total battles of which the player will play in 7 depending on the chosen path you take.
 
Here is a short list of the changes made based on testers suggestions and comments:
 
Added some replacement squads as reinforcements for losses obtained during each battle. This should add a better balance.
Gave players additional setup zones space in most scenarios for those who like to place their own forces. I tried to group the player forces together in their associated companies, platoons and squads for easier placement.
Reworked some AI issues (especially the last battle which had some bugged AI) for most scenarios to add a better challenge.
Added some additional detail to the maps
 
Once again all the previous details still apply. I feel the story is unique so it is important to read all the briefings and designer notes (The story). It is imperative to keep Capt. Koval alive.
 
Any additional comments or suggestions are welcome as I am trying to improve my skills at scenario and campaign creation. But most importantly I just want each who give it a try to enjoy and have fun with it.
 
Thanks
Mike
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5kv03skb2c180a4/Shadow%20of%20the%20Motherland.zip?dl=0

We have read that in the late winter of '42 German high command decided to take their offensive south and a collision at Stalingrad. Case Blue was preceded by the Second Battle of Kharkov, a Soviet offensive within NE Ukraine. The objective was to capture Kharkov and surrounding road and rail network. This operation - also know as the Izium bridgehead - ended badly for the Soviets. Their attack was cut off by a classic mobile envelopment mid-May '42.

At this point was a change in Case Blue warranted by the Germans or not?

1) focus on the south and Stalingrad as planned
2) change plans and strike towards Moscow
3) change plans and go on the strategic defensive for '42 and into '43.

Please don't kill me for hindsight, but I would op for 3 and try to wear the Soviets
down to a point were a peace would settle on the lines established after the winter '41-42.
Through negotiation, a new boundary would be straightened to avoid salients. I read Rommel
envisioned a North Africa defense based on extensive mines supported tactically by assault guns and operationally by Panzer Divisions so as repeat the Kharkov experience up and down the front. So would begin an arms race.

I believe Rommel also supported a German focus on one type of assault gun and one type of tank to simplify what we now call the "supply chain". Gee - what would those be?

Another thought while reading about the battle was the nature of the fighting.
Ferocious. Selecting this campaign as the first CMx2 installment would not have been too
out of line. Perhaps it is too closely associated with Stalingrad. In any event, the battle
makes for a great read and study. It combines static and mobile warfare with both sides
in pretty good condition and looking for a fight to end the war.

Kevin

The timeline '42 to early '43 is the one i'm looking forward to more then  anything...
 
Kharkow, case blue, operation Uranus, winterstorm, operation saturn and so on and so on....Many intresting scenarios can be made here...both historical and fictional...
 
 
some ' what if ' scenarios i'm looking forward to playing-/ trying to make at other dates will be during the '41 timeframe
 
- Prepared, Well lead, well equiped russians at the start of Barbarossa...(that means...no paranoid Stalin having killed every capable officer before the war)
 
- Germans prepared and equiped  for winter warfare during the fall/winter of '41 giving the germans a better chans to succed with operation Typhooon and actually fight for Moscow... 

About the Scenario
This scenario recreates one of Lt. Otto Carius' engagements made famous in his book 'Tigers in the Mud' on page 166 'The Ambush'.
 
The scenario map size is around 2.9km x 3.4km. Both sides have around a company+. You have around 01hr 40 Minutes (+0-15 minutes variable time). However it’s unlikely, playing against the AI that you’ll need all this time, although playing H2H it might be useful. Playing the ScenarioThis scenario was originally designed to be played first and foremost from the perspective of the German side against the Soviet AI. It is playable head to head (H2H) but has not been playtested for balance in this regard. I suspect it’ll be a tough one for the German player – so if playing H2H let the less experienced player take the Soviets. It is also playable Soviet Vs German AI - given the tactical situation and the game engine limitations of the AI - the German AI struggles with the situation. Still if you want to blow up Hitlerite Bandit Tigers – knock yersel out! AI PlansThere are three distinct Soviet AI plans and one German AI plan – thus allowing some level of re-playability. Those who want the true historical ‘feel’ then play Soviet AI Plan 1. It is the closest to how the Soviets reacted in the actual action. To access AI Plan 1, open this scenario in the editor and ‘switch off’ whatever other Red AI Plans you don’t want to play. It won’t affect FOW unless you take a peek at the other info. About the Action
On the 22nd July 1944 Tigers of 2 Company (under the temporary command of Lt. Carius) from schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502  ambushed the spearhead of the Soviet 5th Tank Corps, the tip of 4th Shock Army’s spear, which had just cleanly broken through Army Group North’s defences. What is arguably unique about this action was the initial bold attack made by Carius and Kerscher into the village which was occupied by T34s from 41st Tank Brigade, made destroying a number of them.
 
Subsequent debate focuses on the exact kill tally - claimed by Carius in his book - in and around the village, the subsequent 'ambush' of the remainder of the Soviet tank unit some km east, and the part played by a nearby German Stug battery or batteries. The debate around the facts of this event I'll set aside for now but if you are interested there is a Historical Action PDF contained in the zip file that outlines the facts behind the engagement and subsequent research and opinion.
 
To Play
You can grab it from the repository or the Scenario Depot in a zip file (which contains the scenario game file, historical action PDF with sources and a master tactical map to help orientate yourself).
 
As always I'd appreciate any feedback etc. If you can post any comments etc in this thread that would be hugely appreciated ta!
 
Enjoy!
 
The Battlefield
 
You can find the real world place (Malinova or Malinovka) in Google earth at the kmz file attached below.
 

 
This image shows the view looking west towards the village of Malinova/Malinovka. In Carius' account Kerscher's and Carius' Tigers engaged twenty Soviet tanks (T34s and IS-2s). They quickly destroyed 2 T-34's and one IS-2, (according to Carius' memoirs). Some remaining tanks were destroyed in the village, others were forced out into the field to the southeast of the road (foreground as you see in the above image above). As the attack was taking place, Carius and Kerscher were joined by Nienstedt as well as some assault guns coming from the north. Most Russian tanks were destroyed, but a few did escape. 
 

 
Close up view of part of the village of Malinova/Malinovka.
 

 

 

 

 
Carius and Kerscher charge into the village to engage the waiting Soviet armour.
Carius at Malinava Historical Background.pdf

Probably be Red Thunder then for me, but I would have loved it to be based around the 1941/1942 .. I just find it more interesting to play around with the early war stuff where the armour isnt too powerful.

A France 1940 or Desert 1941/42 would also be great!

These are [tagged] ss totenkopf 3rd division skins.

There are:

infantry
smocks
helmet
boots
ponchos
crew
armed inf
armed engineers (not sure if these will work as I think they were tagged already)


Scenario use

Put the 'tot inf.txt' file into your 'documents/battlefront/red thunder/game files' directory. In the scenario editor open 'import mod tags' and select the 'tot inf' file.


CMBN use

Should you want to use these skins in CMBN you will need to rename ALL files by removing the [tot-inf] tag and adding in '_ss' after the word 'german in the file name'.


Download

If you want them just send me an empty PM with 'Tot-inf' as the subject and I'll get back to you with the dropbox link. Don't be shy, I work from home so am around a lot.



Quick pics

The Shadow of the Motherland campaign is released. After making adjustments and recomendations from play testers and refining and detailing the maps and narrative I am releasing the campaign to the public.
 
This campaign is a narrative driven campaign similar to my CMRT The Cross of Iron and CMBN In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow. It follows a young Ukrainian Captain, Demitry Koval, of the 79th Airmobile Brigade as he leads his men through a series of missions during the Ukrainian Civil War against Pro-Russian separatists. It is a story of modern war and the tough personal trials that soldiers face while underfire.
 
It is very important that you read all of the Designer Notes  well as the Mission Briefings as these drive the storyline. It is imperative that Captain Koval be kept alive or the campaign will end.
 
Simply download from the link below and place the .cam file in the BS campaign directory and place the mod folder in your data/z directory.
 
Many thanks for those who tested the campaign for me and I hope that this version is relatively issue free. Let me know through this thread of any further issues or suggestions and I will revise.
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5kv03skb2c180a4/Shadow%20of%20the%20Motherland.zip?dl=0
Here is the dropbox link

Hopefully a lot sooner than that since I don't have any interest in a Bulge or any late 44 to end of WWII time periods for that matter. I am hoping they crank these out quickly so the earlier war time periods 40-43, Kursk, Barbarossa, North Africa, France '40 can get some love faster at some point down the road. 
 
CMBS does not help this process however, as it will be getting modules that will take up time BFC's time as well (these however, I do look forward to getting).

Well i like both but if I have to choose it is North Africa for me.

Can anyone in the "know" comment on if there will be a game made for the Pacific theater? How about the early Blitzkrieg years? Or early North Africa?
 
CM2 pretty much has mid 43 to end of the war covered in terms of equipment and theaters.
 
Thanks!!