Sequoia

If you use the mod tools by @sbobovyc posted here you can manipulate some of the 3D models in Blender: 
I've tried it myself but I don't have enough experience using Blender or doing any type of 3D modelling work to make anything halfway decent. @Saint_Fuller does however, and graciously made both the ssh-68 helmet and beret for me for the mod. Its also important to note that these models replace existing models, they are not added.
Thanks! I'm still not quite done working on it yet. There are a few odds and ends that need finishing, and I'm still trying to  see if there is any way to make the beret texture less shiny, though so far I haven't had any luck with that. I'm also debating adding roundels to the SLA vehicles. The original SLA vehicles from Arma 1 didn't have any markings, but I thought it could be a cool way to add a bit of flavor. Though adding the roundels is a bit of a headache. I can only add them to flat surfaces on the vehicle textures, otherwise they get warped. This means I cannot add them to the turrets of vehicles, which is where I think they would look the best unfortunately. 

Here are some images of a mod I'm working on. It's a reskin of the Syrian army to look the like the Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA) who were the OpFor from Arma: Armed Assault. It includes 2 model retextures as well, the ssh-68 Soviet helmet, and a green beret for the SLA special forces known as the Especas. The 3D model work was done by @Saint_Fuller.





 

I haven't update my SF1 to SF2. But I don't like the idea of remove Syrian Air Assets. Penny wise and pound-foolish. It is going to be a blow to people who love to play Syrian civil war scenarios.
Modern air battles happen in a very large area. Early warning to detect threat at 500km away. BVR Air to Air missiles and long range SAMs shoot at target 100km away, CAS aircraft drop JDAM 8000 ft above. This is way beyond CM Map's scale.  So why not make off map Air-Defense assets available?
I had this idea when I was playing CMBS. Maybe BFC can add an option called "CAP/Area denial" to both sides just like the EW Strength concept in  CMBS.  This is to simulate something like a F-22 shooting two AIM-120C at your poor Su-25, or a S-400 Battery released several SAM 100km away. When "CAP/Area denial" setting is at high level, there is high possibility the opposite side's Aircraft will get shoot down, or cancel their current task, or be driven off from their current station area  (become temporarily unavailable) 
 

I always thought the family of vehicles looks cool. I think your correct that it can also perfectly serve as a troop carrier, especially the larger and armored Viking variant. Picture of it in use with the NL Marines.

It's those dang perishable skills. Man, you stop modding for a bit and they slip away like sand through your fingers. Luckily though, it doesn't take much to jog the memory back into focus.
I get you. I can't believe how much new stuff I have learned since doing the RT portrait remake. Every mod makes you better!
I am happy you have returned to the fold.
Mord.

I feel your pain Zveroboy!  I made a black keffiyeh for Mord (didn't forget, buddy!) and getting it to match up in the back was a pain. I spent a whole evening trying to get it right. Almost there.  But I wasn't contending  with a pattern, like you are.   Good luck! 
Before:

After:

Well we're talking about CMBN here. I don't know what of any operations they did in that campaign.

With regard to a pack for CMRT. I'd say forget the Hungarians and  Romanians and chose the Finns. I loved them in CMBB. Amount of work is doable and also the terrain/buildings won't cause too much trouble.

A Romanian joke:
Once upon a time an old Romanian man found an old bottle while taking a walk. Opening the bottle a genie emerged . Naturally the genie granted the man three wishes. 
"For my first wish", said the old man, " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my second wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my third wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
A large smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Tell me" said the genie, why did you wish for the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times?
The old man replied. "For the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times, it must cross Russia five times! "
 
 

A Romanian joke:
Once upon a time an old Romanian man found an old bottle while taking a walk. Opening the bottle a genie emerged . Naturally the genie granted the man three wishes. 
"For my first wish", said the old man, " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my second wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my third wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
A large smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Tell me" said the genie, why did you wish for the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times?
The old man replied. "For the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times, it must cross Russia five times! "
 
 

You're right, I was ignorant about Starstreak. I shouldn't have assumed otherwise. I love all the things I learn from these forums.

This is one of the main reasons why I like CM so much, its fidelity to reality in all respects. There are plenty of games that bend and break the rules of reality on purpose for the supposed benefit of gameplay. I'm glad CM does not do this and that there are no plans to do this in the future.
As I'm sure you know, there are basically two levels to an air defense network. Long range, high altitude, and short range, low altitude. Long range assets include systems like the US Patriot missile and the Russian BUK and KUB. These are well outside the scope of CM.
Short range assets are like the ones you've already listed, MANPADS, AAA, etc. There are plenty of NATO attack aircraft that have weapon systems that have to be employed within the range of these air defense assets. The A-10's gun for example, any aircraft with unguided rockets, etc. Where I definitely agree with you is when you are dealing with an aircraft like an F-16 for example dropping a JDAM on a target. Those can be accurately dropped from 30,000 feet, miles away from the battlefield, thus well outside any SHORAD. My guess as to why SHORAD can still engage aircraft using these types of weapons is that modeling the appropriate behavior would take a lot of time and work for a somewhat negligible effect in game. 
There is also a pretty big grey area with helicopters. This is just an anecdote from me, so I have no idea if this is the actual case, but I have observed both in BS and SF2 that when you assign an Apache to a 'Heavy' mission that favors the Hellfires, it is not readily engaged by SHORAD assets. However, if you assign the Apache to a 'Medium' or 'Light' mission in which it has to strafe, it is readily engaged by SHORAD. I was playing a scenario in which I had an Apache shot down by a AAA technical because I had it set to a strafe mission. I called the other Apache in using the 'Heavy' tasking and it never received any fire despite launching 6 of its 8 Hellfires at targets. I've noticed this in multiple instances in both SF2 and BS. Again, this is anecdote so it does not count as objective evidence, but based on my experience it seems that the Apaches "pop-up attack" behavior (staying at tree top level so that targeting it is extremely difficult) is modeled. 
All that being said, I think the behavior as it is currently is not broken or outside reality. It would be nice to see it refined, but personally there are plenty of other things I would like to see tweaked/developed before time was spent on how aircraft and AA operate. If and when the behavior is tweaked in the future, I think the SOP will still be largely the same. Once AA assets have been identified, its best to neutralize them before liberally using air units.

Talibans work in progress.

Yes we all know it's gone, and as I understand it, it's not coming back, but is there any plan in the works to release all the file to CMMODS/Scenario depot?
Thanks
 

A Romanian joke:
Once upon a time an old Romanian man found an old bottle while taking a walk. Opening the bottle a genie emerged . Naturally the genie granted the man three wishes. 
"For my first wish", said the old man, " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my second wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
"For my third wish" , said the old man,  " I wish for the Chinese Army to invaded Romania."
"It shall be done," said the genie.
A large smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Tell me" said the genie, why did you wish for the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times?
The old man replied. "For the Chinese Army to invade Romania three times, it must cross Russia five times! "
 
 

Remember it's easier to ask for forgiveness than receive permission so just post something Mike.

Throughout the past wargamers all over the world (the groggy, semi-groggy and non-groggy alike) have gathered on December 24th, in a far corner of the internet, to await the arrival of Santa Steve. It is a storied tradition that has been passed from father to son, and son to another son, and that son to his imaginary friend, Jim. For what? at least four years now? So, it's time-honored. Like drunken derelicts in a Mexican whorehouse, a whiskey, beer, (or in Emrys' case, egg nog spiked with ex-lax) in hand, they jostle excitedly to be the first to sight the legendary WaffenKringle of the Great Northern East. For they know, with his arrival come tidings of war and what shape that war will take in the following year. It's the kinda joy that brings a tear to a grown man's eye and divorce papers from that same guy's wife.
However, this December an old friend from the desert landed in a LZ that normally would be abuzz with the cries of "BONES! BONES! BONES!" This friend had lost ten years, and gained ten pounds, and looked like a million bucks! Seemingly sated and awash in desert badassery most have turned their attention to blowing the crap out of Syrian crewed T-72s or RPGing a Leopard or three. So, it begs the question, with our old friend to keep us knee deep in cordite and the WaffenKringle elves busy as only WaffenKringle elves can be, will Santa Steve ride tomorrow night? Will all the good little wargamers gather in the hopes that Santa Steve soon will be here? Or will it be the year without a Santa Steve? I for one hope to spy him drudging out of the snowy wilderness, brain-in-a-jar in hand, the pockets of his coveralls packed to the brim with CM news and wargaming goodness. But regardless as to whether it happens or not, I am thankful our stockings were stuffed early with SF2. It was a great ending to a very dry year! Here's to killing it in 2019; Russian winters and Brazilian waxings in North Italia!
Merry Christmas, Fellas!!
 

 
 
 

 
 
Mord.
 
P.S. A year ago yesterday. Wow. We made it!!!
 
http://community.battlefront.com/topic/126131-the-night-before-cm-mas/?tab=comments#comment-1731593

The other day I uploaded my old "Allah's Army" sound mod for SF & SF2. It's been long locked away in the Repos, so I figured I'd give new people access to it on CMMODs. Well, in the readme I wrote this: "This my old SF1 mod of insurgent fighters screaming Allahu Akbars and other phrases. They are edited and numbered so to be heard throughout various situations and orders. As SF1 and 2 do not have Syrian voice files for vehicle hits (like the other titles) I had to make due. There should be enough sprinkled among the voice files to increase the ambience and add some flavor to your experience." Which meant that the mod was and had always been a compromise on what I was aiming for vs the reality of what the game would allow me to do. I bent it the best I could to fit my vision.
So, anyway I'd noticed, that NO country had the vehicle hit voice files in SF. However, those files were in every game since BN, including SF II. I have a tendency to go in forty different directions when I am dicking with mods, so, I scribbled a quick note in my modding note pad, "Check and see if Syrian sounds were implemented".  A few days went by and I decided to take up my note's challenge. So, I took all the US "hit" folders, copied them over and then renamed all the files to their Syrian counterparts (that way if they worked I'd hear American voices coming from Syrians and there'd be no mistakes). I created a bunch of silent vehicle files so I'd have a nice quiet map, and then set up a test. Below takes place after my tests.
My hunch was that BF implemented the files for the US, Brits, and NATO (minus the Dutch) because these files have been in existence since CMBO. Not having any Arabic speakers on hand they just couldn't make anything new for the Syrians. I thought maybe the code was still there though, all it needed was something to point to. HOT DAMN. I WAS RIGHT!!! I am going to redo the Allah's Army mod for SF II shortly. As you can see from the vid, the mod FINALLY works in the way I'd originally intended. Almost ten years and my artistic vision comes to fruition! I am BEYOND STOKED!
ALLAHU AKBAR!!!!!
 
Mord.

 

Maybe I'm a heretic but I prefer game families to be centered on a subject and to have that subject "fleshed out' as much as possible with what happened historically rather than enable a "sandbox mode" of stuff from other theaters and timeframes. I know CMSF and Black Sea are not historical but they do have a subject of a certain time or place. I'm not a 100% stickler to this rule as I enjoy what modders have done with various games and I think accommodating modders  to some extent can be valuable, but with adding Black Sea vehicles, where does one draw the line as to what to add? I'd just rather see more c.2008 material if anything.

Maybe I'm a heretic but I prefer game families to be centered on a subject and to have that subject "fleshed out' as much as possible with what happened historically rather than enable a "sandbox mode" of stuff from other theaters and timeframes. I know CMSF and Black Sea are not historical but they do have a subject of a certain time or place. I'm not a 100% stickler to this rule as I enjoy what modders have done with various games and I think accommodating modders  to some extent can be valuable, but with adding Black Sea vehicles, where does one draw the line as to what to add? I'd just rather see more c.2008 material if anything.

I just love that Battlefront has been around for 18 years (since release of CMBO, I know they were around before developing it)  and continues to produce the Combat Mission line when they could have done other things, probably for more money. I have never been in combat but nothing else comes close to providing the, to me, realistic immersion that Combat Mission has.   Perhaps the dogfight sims would but I don't play those. I prefer time to think, which may be unrealistic I suppose. The shooters certainly do not provide the realism to me.

Please let's not turn this thread into another Suvorov discussion either. We've had those before.

I just love that Battlefront has been around for 18 years (since release of CMBO, I know they were around before developing it)  and continues to produce the Combat Mission line when they could have done other things, probably for more money. I have never been in combat but nothing else comes close to providing the, to me, realistic immersion that Combat Mission has.   Perhaps the dogfight sims would but I don't play those. I prefer time to think, which may be unrealistic I suppose. The shooters certainly do not provide the realism to me.

Your 2nd item is a paraphrase of the rule I was referring to.

Please let's not turn this thread into another Suvorov discussion either. We've had those before.