Sequoia

Here are things we know. Perhaps something is news to you perhaps not. If it is news then you can thank me . The next module will have at least the British and Canadian armies from June to August 1944. It will have the Waffen SS. It will have German Airborne. It will have King Tigers. It will have the Jpz V It will have UI improvements. Anything else is just a maybe at this point.

Okay, I'm going to play Mr Optimist and speculate that they will find a third party-likely in Russia- to do the Bagration game (for which the German side has most of the work done already) and get the initial game out before the end of 2013. Maybe I'm smoking something, but that's my prediction (which admittedly is based on very little evidence).

I don't know the official answer since it's been widespread with all armies since WWI but I hazard to guess besides being lighter, it's also cheaper and gives more options on loading and unloading.

Steve has said both the SS and FJ will be included with the Commonwealth module.

Hey, thanks! I didn't think of looking under armor. I looked under the MEU I think it's called and saw AAVs only there.

Another vehicle I can't find in the scenario editor though it's in the manual. This is the command version of the USMC AAV-7a1, the AAVC-7a1. I've look at all the hqs and I can't find it. Is this another vehicle that never actually made it into the game? Thanks

The CMBO database pdf which I downloaded from the Repository must be wrong about the Achilles then. Interesting. That's why I love these forums. Once upon a time there were these excell spreadsheets of when weapons appeared and fell out of use for all three cmx1 games. Would any one still happen to have those?

No it won't be. We want the blog back with updates all the time! Seriously though, they have been rather close of late. Hopefully they're just busy preparing for some big announcement soon. I can dream can't I?

The Crusader AA is Elmar B's favorite too but I don't think we'll be seeing it, or any Flakpanzers, quad aa halftracks, or any flak guns period until a good on map aa system gets worked in. The tea leaves seem to indicate this will come after fire is in so I'm guessing this will not happen in the Commonwealth module. What do your tea leaves say?

According to the CMBO database the Achilles doesn't appear until Jan '45 so we won't be seeing it until the Bulge game Commonwealth module. . The rearward facing Archer appears in Oct '44. Not sure where that will fit in.

Got the Wasp in there at the end along with the Challenger as vehicles that may or may not fit into the June to August timeframe. The CMBO database says August but I don't know how accurate that is. Of course it also depends on if fire makes it into the game in time for the module. I'd much rather be in a Churchill Croc than a Wasp myself.

I know it's been 10 years since CMBO came out and views change, but I'm surprised at the amount of things Battlefront included in CMX1 that they apparently feel is no longer a good idea to include in CMX2. Yes we have things now that CMX1 didn't, but to not want to include fire because it may be used in gamey ways is surprising. PS. I had an idea. With the flexible victory conditions we have now, it seems like it wouldn't be difficult to implement something that could penalize a player for starting fires.

There is no fire in the game as of now. There has been informal talk by Battlefront of perhaps having flamethrowers and perhaps fire added in the Commonwealth module but nothing confirmed. P.S. I suppose if you have flamethrowers you have to have fire on buildings, fields etc too.

Yes I know, I have still LOTS of things I haven't tried in the base game, and calling it the Commonwealth Module may be a misnomer etc. But I looked at vehicles available in CMBO during the June to August time frame and came up with this list. I give it here to start a discussion of what we might be seeing in the first module. In this list I am making the big assumption that we will have flamethrowers by then: Stuart V Sherman II Sherman IIc Firefly Sherman III Sherman V Sherman Vc Firefly Cromwell IV Cromwell VI Cromwell VII Cromwell VIII Churchill VI Churchill VII Churchill VIII Centaur IV Wolverine Sexton Churchill AVRE M5 Halftrack Universal Carrier Universal Carrier with Bren mg Universal Carrier with Vickers mg Damlier AC Humber Scout car Churchill Crocodile FT Jeep Jeep with MG Truck and maybe a Staghound armored car or two though this was not in CMBO. Also maybe as they were just introduced in August are the Challenger tank and the Wasp flametrower vehicle. Battlefront went into much more detail with early, mid and late variations in CMBN than they did in CMBO so we may see more variations again. You'll notice most of these will require entirely new models. My understanding is model construction takes longer for CMX2 than CMX1. For the Germans the word has been to expect the King Tiger, maybe both variations and the Jagdpanzer V. All in all a lot of content and work for the module. Fortunately, there's plenty to keep us busy until then thanks to the scenario and campaign makers.

Sometimes other sound mods conflict. Sometimes it's necessary to put a z folder within the z folder when this happens.

It's a minor point if at all, but I notice there are no Wespe, Hummel, or M-12 batteries available as off map artillery, probably since we have the same calibre guns available as towed and the in game effect would be the same. BUT in CMSF we did have the M-777 and the Palidin as different type artillery though they had identical calibres. Perhaps if these units were added (the Battlepack module?) as in game vehicles they would then also be available as off map as well. Still it seems like a small thing to add them sooner just as off map. I wonder though should off map self propelled artillery have any real in game difference to the towed versions?

Well it's a good thing it wasn't Steve's estimate because you have to take his estimate and multiply it by pi.

Moon once mentioned a couple of years ago they might have a Russian Team work on the East Front games so with a third team working it could come out sooner. Still I wouldn't expect the Ostfront before 2013.

It's in the manual as the M1A2sa Tusk but the website says it's the M1A1sa. All I can find for TUSK Abrams is the M1A2 SEP tusk in the HBCT MOUT combined arms battallion.

Who knows, maybe we'll see them in CMSF II. I'm curious if they will set CMSF II in 2008 to save work because they've done all the home work for that year already, or try and keep it current to what ever year it's released incorporating the changes Armies have made since 2008, which would probably be more popular. If we see CMSF II before 2014 I'd be pleasantly surprised.

Just curious what these countries armies use for general transport. Thanks

GMT published the original Down in Flames card game so there is a indirect relation to Battlefront.

Interesting stuff, thanks. If I may change the subject a bit and ask about the PzIIL Luchs/Lynx. According to the Achtung Panzer website it was issued to the 116th Pz Div and so should have come up against the Americans. Can any one verify this or did only the SS divisions have it if even them in June to Aug '44?

I think it would be useful to have a 88 in an ambush situation and then be able to pull it out and away before it's hit with indirect arty. Likewise on a big map as the defender having an 88 as a reserve and then moving it towards the allied line of approach would be good to have too.

I hope we get them with the "Battlepack" if not sooner. I think part of the delay is the travel mode on the big guns could be quite a bit different then the deploy mode, requiring a different model to be constructed. I don't think its necessary to have animations of the entire breakdown, though some might be put off by a magic morph from one state to the other.