JulianJ

Hi all,
@Liveloadhas reworked the scenario. I haven't played it all the way through but I just wanted to give it the thumbs up so far. I've had several nasty surprises! Not a cakewalk by any means.
LL's remix is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uozlq764am6vqw0/Al Hawl SF2 - Liveload Remix.btt?dl=0
I will do a proper review when I have finished but unfortunately due to RL events that may not be for a while.

Crucially I think the video highlights the fact that combat in both World Wars tended to be clearly divided between "movement" and "non-movement" states. It was pretty novel to fight and move at the same time and for the most part it sounds like it was limited to dedicated Assault/Shock troops. 
I think for the most part most infantrymen in most armies were pretty unwilling or unable (or both) to engage in the sort of tactical footwork and evasion that we picture today and anchor on...modern portrayals of today's infantry or police SWAT teams. Training and standards were actually really uneven throughout the war, sometimes even among units in the same Army or branch even. We today have access to news, games, movies, books etc of a weight and ease of reach unfathomable in an age where many towns had only a telegraph station if that. Sure a lot would become evident pretty quickly at a front, but this among other factors is probably why the divide between experienced and green troops was so sharp and why veterans were such gold. 
I think this is worth considering when playing CM by the way. Lots of guys, new and old, post here all the time about why they're taking heavy casualties in scenarios and blame it on the game's formation keeping or AI or etc. It really isn't those things, it's just that their picture of infantry in WW2 has been "poisoned" by depictions of SWAT teams and special forces, etc without any context. 

Because it is the internet.  Extreme responses are a requirement for participation according to the fine print.

In the case of the Limeys, you can expect them to be able to make a decent cup of tea.
The Italians are masters of the "Surrender en Masse".
And the Septics will bribe every woman within 50 miles with silk stockings for a bit of how's yer father.

Counselling is available: Dial 0800 FokkeredUpGamer.   If it's any consolation to you, the local council lent us a shed to store gardening equipment a while back. The only three of us left in the group are geeky hoarders - one day the council is going to inherit dozens of 20+ year old games, a floor-to-ceiling stack of obscure art magazines, and a dismantled kitchen!

The Oplot's ability to kill Russian tanks in the Ukraine, all the way from Thailand, is truly remarkable. 
 

True, but the former is also an awesome aid in achieving the later.....

The server space for external users to host pictures is limited on the site.
I recommend Flickr (which gives you 1000 pictures capacity for free) or imgur, which does not impose limits but does compress pictures causing a moderate reduction in quality, or google photos, which if you follow their size limits will not restrict how many you can upload.

JulianJ,
Sounds wonderful. Be sure to have beer! If the game's simple, just add pretzels! Also, please post pics. Am not up to speed on fortified manors.
Regards,
John Kettler

@Liveload  I fully appreciate that the Syrians are defending their country, and Brit flippancy doesn't always travel.
As I said, I just took "Typical" for everything and upgraded a couple of sniper teams, 1 Observer team, and the sole 120 mm mortar (to Veteran - they seem to be significantly more accurate than the 82mms).  So everyone is green or conscript.
Howver, while some of the Syrian army is highly effective: the Tiger Forces and the 4th Division, I stand by my observations about a good deal of the Syrian Army. Not out of prejudice - it  is a conscript army and very different to highly professional NATO forces. Look at the photos - most of them have no body armour, not even a steel helmet. I wouldn't go into battle like that, let alone without kevlar+ceramic plates, eye protection (I met a Brit ex-Squaddie a couple of months ago who caught an IED in Afghanistan - he showed me a pic: his face was a mess but the protective eyewear saved his sight, you could see where he was wearing it cos it was fine and the rest was all bloody - it ws like a white eyemask amid red).  The Syrian army has taken horrendous casualties and probably "All the best men are dead" type of thing.
How motivated would anyone here be to fight without decent protection?
So I think BF are very realistic in simulating what we would call "poor quality troops" and they would call "staying alive to come home" people. I have also read several accounts  of westerners fighting with the Kurdish forces in Syria, and while the Kurds are clearly very heavily motivated they still have discipline problems, unprofessionalism/individualism and of course a lack of every sort of support and logistics which NATO (and I assume the Russians) take for granted.

I have been critical of BF  a few times in the past but my most recent battle - still continuing - gave me a vivid insight into fighting with non-NATO forces, i.e. The Syrian Army.
Mission Blunderable - We are having a big bite of the sh*t sandwich and the Uncons/Terrorists are kicking our butt.
to Battlefront: Well done!   Explains a lot of things - the game is robust enough to replicate what I have seen in Youtube videos etc, and explains a lot of the behaviour of the ill-equipped and not well motivated Syrian army.
Basically, I've been fighting in CMBS and SF2 with well equipped, ammo'd up and professional soldiers.  I have developed a method, which involves plenty of support fire. Even if my men get in trouble, they should be able to hang on long enough for me to plaster the enemy with direct fire, mortars, arty or airstrikes.
When I have watched vids etc of Syrian (or Afghan, etc) soldiers, with their mismatched uniforms - or T shirts and jeans,  lack of protection - even old fashioned steel helmets, and desultory support fires: I wondered why they did this.  Soldiers bimbling along in group, with no-one watching the rear would get an almighty rollicking from the nearest NCO in the British Army.
Find, Fix and Destroy
is the motto of the British infantry.  My Syrian version is Find, Freak and Flee.
I am doing a QB SYrians v. Uncons.  I took nearly everything as "Typical" which was a horrible mistake as nearly everyone is Green or Conscript...they cannot hit anything! Various old junky tanks.
My tanks have been blown away by ATGMs. Which they should have spotted.  I set up my mortars on overwatch for direct fire (I have taken to heart @DougPhresh's professional advice that a little fire support immediately is better than heavier stuff much later or may not arrive) but we have so little ammo that I can only muster a desultory fire by using Ctrl+J.
I have a massive 107mm rocket stonk coming down on where I think the enemy is. May arrive the week after next.
I am going to have to rethink my tactics with these troops. The one clever move - I sent a recon vehicle across a river to a huge mesa on the right of the battlefield, with a sniper team and an observer team (who got unfortunately whacked on the way). The snipers are in position to look for the enemy.  But they don't have a radio!  I never thought to check.
I am going to have to adopt different approaches if I am to succeed. Shows how much I have been relying on the quality of troops and equipment. It's pleasing, in a masochistic sort of way.
 

@Liveload  I fully appreciate that the Syrians are defending their country, and Brit flippancy doesn't always travel.
As I said, I just took "Typical" for everything and upgraded a couple of sniper teams, 1 Observer team, and the sole 120 mm mortar (to Veteran - they seem to be significantly more accurate than the 82mms).  So everyone is green or conscript.
Howver, while some of the Syrian army is highly effective: the Tiger Forces and the 4th Division, I stand by my observations about a good deal of the Syrian Army. Not out of prejudice - it  is a conscript army and very different to highly professional NATO forces. Look at the photos - most of them have no body armour, not even a steel helmet. I wouldn't go into battle like that, let alone without kevlar+ceramic plates, eye protection (I met a Brit ex-Squaddie a couple of months ago who caught an IED in Afghanistan - he showed me a pic: his face was a mess but the protective eyewear saved his sight, you could see where he was wearing it cos it was fine and the rest was all bloody - it ws like a white eyemask amid red).  The Syrian army has taken horrendous casualties and probably "All the best men are dead" type of thing.
How motivated would anyone here be to fight without decent protection?
So I think BF are very realistic in simulating what we would call "poor quality troops" and they would call "staying alive to come home" people. I have also read several accounts  of westerners fighting with the Kurdish forces in Syria, and while the Kurds are clearly very heavily motivated they still have discipline problems, unprofessionalism/individualism and of course a lack of every sort of support and logistics which NATO (and I assume the Russians) take for granted.

Yeah, I've been having a great experience with 4.02, so far.
I went into playing the SAA with Warsaw Pact combined arms tactics, after finishing the CM:BS UKR campaign. The layered cake of artillery, tanks, ifvs/apcs and infantry, all at once, seems to be the way to go. You can't expect a NATO level of individual competence, so using NATO tactics is disastrous. In a way, this parallels a real world problem for the SAA -- few officers are trained on the intended tactics.
Whenever I play a Soviet-style army, I usually spend 75% of my time arranging my perfect 5 minute battle. So, all artillery, vehicles and infantry is standing-by to for a simultaneous avalanche on the enemy's line. Best way to use low-experience troops that can't be expected stay frosty after first blood.
Recon is important, but you lack Western Optics. So, you have to probe the line with scouts and scout cars, before the 5 minute battle. I use these probes a as a litmus test -- if a BRDM-2 is burning, you know not to go there. Areas of the enemy line that don't immediately destroy your scouts, can be considered schwerpunkts. These are the prime targets for your breakthrough. 
I believe the modern-day SAA is actually quite good at these tactics, after years of bloody field training. You can take a look at how they operate in Idlib. Spend months on probing attacks, but spend a couple of days breaking through pincers.
 

@Liveload  I fully appreciate that the Syrians are defending their country, and Brit flippancy doesn't always travel.
As I said, I just took "Typical" for everything and upgraded a couple of sniper teams, 1 Observer team, and the sole 120 mm mortar (to Veteran - they seem to be significantly more accurate than the 82mms).  So everyone is green or conscript.
Howver, while some of the Syrian army is highly effective: the Tiger Forces and the 4th Division, I stand by my observations about a good deal of the Syrian Army. Not out of prejudice - it  is a conscript army and very different to highly professional NATO forces. Look at the photos - most of them have no body armour, not even a steel helmet. I wouldn't go into battle like that, let alone without kevlar+ceramic plates, eye protection (I met a Brit ex-Squaddie a couple of months ago who caught an IED in Afghanistan - he showed me a pic: his face was a mess but the protective eyewear saved his sight, you could see where he was wearing it cos it was fine and the rest was all bloody - it ws like a white eyemask amid red).  The Syrian army has taken horrendous casualties and probably "All the best men are dead" type of thing.
How motivated would anyone here be to fight without decent protection?
So I think BF are very realistic in simulating what we would call "poor quality troops" and they would call "staying alive to come home" people. I have also read several accounts  of westerners fighting with the Kurdish forces in Syria, and while the Kurds are clearly very heavily motivated they still have discipline problems, unprofessionalism/individualism and of course a lack of every sort of support and logistics which NATO (and I assume the Russians) take for granted.

@Liveload  I fully appreciate that the Syrians are defending their country, and Brit flippancy doesn't always travel.
As I said, I just took "Typical" for everything and upgraded a couple of sniper teams, 1 Observer team, and the sole 120 mm mortar (to Veteran - they seem to be significantly more accurate than the 82mms).  So everyone is green or conscript.
Howver, while some of the Syrian army is highly effective: the Tiger Forces and the 4th Division, I stand by my observations about a good deal of the Syrian Army. Not out of prejudice - it  is a conscript army and very different to highly professional NATO forces. Look at the photos - most of them have no body armour, not even a steel helmet. I wouldn't go into battle like that, let alone without kevlar+ceramic plates, eye protection (I met a Brit ex-Squaddie a couple of months ago who caught an IED in Afghanistan - he showed me a pic: his face was a mess but the protective eyewear saved his sight, you could see where he was wearing it cos it was fine and the rest was all bloody - it ws like a white eyemask amid red).  The Syrian army has taken horrendous casualties and probably "All the best men are dead" type of thing.
How motivated would anyone here be to fight without decent protection?
So I think BF are very realistic in simulating what we would call "poor quality troops" and they would call "staying alive to come home" people. I have also read several accounts  of westerners fighting with the Kurdish forces in Syria, and while the Kurds are clearly very heavily motivated they still have discipline problems, unprofessionalism/individualism and of course a lack of every sort of support and logistics which NATO (and I assume the Russians) take for granted.

I have been critical of BF  a few times in the past but my most recent battle - still continuing - gave me a vivid insight into fighting with non-NATO forces, i.e. The Syrian Army.
Mission Blunderable - We are having a big bite of the sh*t sandwich and the Uncons/Terrorists are kicking our butt.
to Battlefront: Well done!   Explains a lot of things - the game is robust enough to replicate what I have seen in Youtube videos etc, and explains a lot of the behaviour of the ill-equipped and not well motivated Syrian army.
Basically, I've been fighting in CMBS and SF2 with well equipped, ammo'd up and professional soldiers.  I have developed a method, which involves plenty of support fire. Even if my men get in trouble, they should be able to hang on long enough for me to plaster the enemy with direct fire, mortars, arty or airstrikes.
When I have watched vids etc of Syrian (or Afghan, etc) soldiers, with their mismatched uniforms - or T shirts and jeans,  lack of protection - even old fashioned steel helmets, and desultory support fires: I wondered why they did this.  Soldiers bimbling along in group, with no-one watching the rear would get an almighty rollicking from the nearest NCO in the British Army.
Find, Fix and Destroy
is the motto of the British infantry.  My Syrian version is Find, Freak and Flee.
I am doing a QB SYrians v. Uncons.  I took nearly everything as "Typical" which was a horrible mistake as nearly everyone is Green or Conscript...they cannot hit anything! Various old junky tanks.
My tanks have been blown away by ATGMs. Which they should have spotted.  I set up my mortars on overwatch for direct fire (I have taken to heart @DougPhresh's professional advice that a little fire support immediately is better than heavier stuff much later or may not arrive) but we have so little ammo that I can only muster a desultory fire by using Ctrl+J.
I have a massive 107mm rocket stonk coming down on where I think the enemy is. May arrive the week after next.
I am going to have to rethink my tactics with these troops. The one clever move - I sent a recon vehicle across a river to a huge mesa on the right of the battlefield, with a sniper team and an observer team (who got unfortunately whacked on the way). The snipers are in position to look for the enemy.  But they don't have a radio!  I never thought to check.
I am going to have to adopt different approaches if I am to succeed. Shows how much I have been relying on the quality of troops and equipment. It's pleasing, in a masochistic sort of way.
 

I have been critical of BF  a few times in the past but my most recent battle - still continuing - gave me a vivid insight into fighting with non-NATO forces, i.e. The Syrian Army.
Mission Blunderable - We are having a big bite of the sh*t sandwich and the Uncons/Terrorists are kicking our butt.
to Battlefront: Well done!   Explains a lot of things - the game is robust enough to replicate what I have seen in Youtube videos etc, and explains a lot of the behaviour of the ill-equipped and not well motivated Syrian army.
Basically, I've been fighting in CMBS and SF2 with well equipped, ammo'd up and professional soldiers.  I have developed a method, which involves plenty of support fire. Even if my men get in trouble, they should be able to hang on long enough for me to plaster the enemy with direct fire, mortars, arty or airstrikes.
When I have watched vids etc of Syrian (or Afghan, etc) soldiers, with their mismatched uniforms - or T shirts and jeans,  lack of protection - even old fashioned steel helmets, and desultory support fires: I wondered why they did this.  Soldiers bimbling along in group, with no-one watching the rear would get an almighty rollicking from the nearest NCO in the British Army.
Find, Fix and Destroy
is the motto of the British infantry.  My Syrian version is Find, Freak and Flee.
I am doing a QB SYrians v. Uncons.  I took nearly everything as "Typical" which was a horrible mistake as nearly everyone is Green or Conscript...they cannot hit anything! Various old junky tanks.
My tanks have been blown away by ATGMs. Which they should have spotted.  I set up my mortars on overwatch for direct fire (I have taken to heart @DougPhresh's professional advice that a little fire support immediately is better than heavier stuff much later or may not arrive) but we have so little ammo that I can only muster a desultory fire by using Ctrl+J.
I have a massive 107mm rocket stonk coming down on where I think the enemy is. May arrive the week after next.
I am going to have to rethink my tactics with these troops. The one clever move - I sent a recon vehicle across a river to a huge mesa on the right of the battlefield, with a sniper team and an observer team (who got unfortunately whacked on the way). The snipers are in position to look for the enemy.  But they don't have a radio!  I never thought to check.
I am going to have to adopt different approaches if I am to succeed. Shows how much I have been relying on the quality of troops and equipment. It's pleasing, in a masochistic sort of way.
 

So, c'mon.....How about:
Seems a shame to stick to just a couple of cop shows! 

UULLTTTIIMMMMAAAATTTTEEE POWWWWEEEERRRRR!!!

Ahh thanks, that means we can now perform CM's first (rudimentary) Helicopter-borne Air assaults...
 

You are correct, I just tested tagged models to be sure and it does work!

With regard to the cover aspect of flavour objects (specifically hard cover), I have spent some time running tests. Placing a wall, building or defensive work inside a flavour object does not appear to result in the flavour object taking on the cover aspects of the object. So much so that I believe that code governing hard cover is hard-coded into those particular objects and it is probably identified by the name of the .mdr file (for example only bunker.mdr will have the hard cover properties of a bunker). Any cover and concealment properties that may be experienced with flavour objects are governed by the soft cover code that apply to terrain & doodads (i.e. number of objects in an action square). Naturally I could be wrong about all this too, I'd be interested to see any tests that challenge my present deductions, or cast a better light on this.

 

I want pre orders or a special pack that grants you more time to play. A special bonus day each week where no one bothers you. Hey if you are gonna wish, wish big!

First of all, get well soon!  With regard to german tank parking habits (in buildings), well...there actually weren´t any at all. More of the opposite. Risks are way too high for throwing tracks or get immobed in other ways. So it was not just discouraged to attempt something like this, a concerned unit commander could also see the court martial pretty fast!  But I think what you refer to is the germans late in war and while lacking fuel and hauling means just had to make use of their otherwise left behind immobilized armor. I read about that rather oftenly particularly for the last half year of the war. They oftentimes figured this to be the better alternative instead of just blowing things up that they can´t take with them (for repair).

If you're working in Photoshop go to 'Channels' under the 'Window' tab.
You will see the art broken into Red/Green/Blue channels.
For the game's 'mountain' horizon art there's an added Alpha channel that's used to knockout the background and let the game's sky be seen.
Its simple enough to create the knockout channel.  Make a black and while  piece of art for the knockout, Control-C copy it. Then go to 'Channels', select 'New Channel' and control-P paste your knockout art into it.

Weathering and bullet-holes are easy - that's  just painting on the .bmp. I did try to bend a stovepipe, but it didn't work out well, but I suspect now it is a solvable problem.