Gen Von Television

This small detachment of the 6th Independent Fallschirmjäger Regiment is going to relax at Ouistreham for the evening, maybe playing at the Casino if it's still open, and they'll come back through Benouville 'round midnight to report back to their unit further South. Finally an evening leave and some fun: so little they know! The set is ready and the show has been rehearsed so many times. Get ready for the upcoming ASL Pegasus Bridge battles and campaign conversions, coming soon to the Repository!

5th of June 1944, at dusk Benouville Calvados, France

Japanzer, I certainly appreciate your efforts here and thank you very much! I've just converted the file you've created, but the results in this case are less than acceptable: i.e. the roads with trees are converted in a wooded area, the composite house blocks are created as single buildings, etc. Of course this tool may be helpful to create a general layout for the map, so that you can start refining it, but the fact you are obliged to assemble and stitch together the export files for larger maps would be difficult, I deem. Besides the degree of work to adapt all the details (including all elevations) to the new CMX2 engine is so extensive, I believe we would be much better off starting from blank maps... So IMO it may be helpful for maps that are completely visible in the CMX1 editor (so you do not have to delve into copy/paste obscure codes in the created files risking messy errors), but anyhow you should expect a very long and attentive work to correct the imported map to the CMX2 standards, and that may amount to import even some errors that would be longer to correct than to just place the correct tiles and objects on an empty space... S!

At this moment I'm working on a conversion of the campaign (never published) I made in AK ETO from the ASL PB module. I did actually made available just one battle @ Proving Grounds and now on Scenario Depot II. Still working on the map. Maybe we should assemble all our efforts for creating it, play testing, etc. What do you think?

Thanks again Japanzer: I just sent you the materials... Actually as you will see in the files I did send you, it appears as if the import operation was left unfinished, but still I did see the cursor move (slowly) and in the end a panel pop up to signal the conclusion... I'm not sure it's a case of 'sleeping' time for the PC. Besides, the whole layout for the map seems to be there, but re-sized down! I renamed the Conduct Mappin1.csv to About_Time.csv. Let us know! S!

I was just thinking to do the same... Thanks!

Interesting stuff Gents! I need an advice on how to make a W road Bridge crossing one 100 m wide canal: if I place two 'segments' they stay under water! Maybe this has been discussed already, but I cannot find the solution: in the CMX1 editor it was simply a matter of placing that single length bridge segment one after the other, but here it seems I cannot control the elevation of the bridge segments. The only way I can keep the bridge afloat is to squeeze the canal so that the single spanned bridge can cross it since the longer road bridge is 56 m only... Any help/hint would be much appreciated! TIA

OK it finished the conversion, but... # the size doesn't fit at all: the original map is 1120*1600 m, while the converted map (I set the same size in CMBN editor) leaves a lot of space right and down empty, apparently resizing the populated map to something like 3/4 or even 1/2 # none of the streets are fully reproduced, but just some fragments here and there # big complex assembled buildings are replaced by single large houses # hedges are converted into trees and there are too many around # no bridges # title and properties are not imported and the converted map is still named as <Conduct Mappin1.csv> Well, the main layout is all right, but given the fact the size is wrong it would be difficult to adjust things, since you'll have to reposition everything, so it would much wiser to start from blank and rebuild the map entirely. I can't say if it's a case with this specific map, it's dimensions, or what else... The conversion was made from AK ETO that contains Mod textures, but the editor is an AK standard, I'm sure. I wasn't able to grab any screenshot of the editor: tried to use Irfanview unsuccessfully...

Actually this is *M*A*G*I*C*!!! Very funny to see the pointer moving by itself! Japanzer, you're Genius!

Thanks a lot Japanzer: I will check the 'old' version and let you know! どうもありがとう, Dōmo arigatō

Thanks slysniper, for CMETO I even made a campaign using that same map, starting with the assault on the Pegasus Bridge and ending with the arrivals of the 1st Special Service Brigade and the mopping up of the Germans with overwhelming firepower coming with the armored columns from the beaches. All credits should go to the ASL developers, since I just converted their scenery to the CMX1 format. Sure it will be interesting to see how the new CMX2 engine would handle that battle: for example I remember reading about the capture of an AT gun early on by the paras just near the bridge who used it as their own field artillery, and even shoot some rounds at the water tower where a German sniper was located across the canal in front of the Castle that at the time was used as a maternity hospital; in fact the hospital was evacuated and occupied by German troops, and a couple of the gun rounds went through its walls, so that the Nazi propaganda later declared the Red Devils as war criminals shooting infants with a gun! I still have not touched the CMBN Editor, so it will take sometime to familiarize with the new system: from what I gather the troops can now use captured guns, isn't it? As for the absence of the Commandos, just adding a green beret to some units in the British OoB would be OK, at least for the battles in Normandy: I believe their weaponry and uniforms at that moment were very close to the standard units, if not their organization tables. Later on the Commandos were more likely equipped as the Paras as for uniforms and equipments...

Lord Lovat's 1st Special Service Brigade was a brigade of the British Army comprising Nos 3, 4, 6 and 45 (RM) Commandos in Normandy. The Royal Marines also had the 4th Special Service Brigade in Normandy with 41, 47 and 48 RM Commandos.

I actually made a conversion from DeLuxeASL Pegasus Bridge module's scenario 'It's About Time!' depicting the arrival of the Commandos to the Orne bridges held by the Red Devils, and made it work with the modded AK to ETO: now I'm trying to convert that map I so painfully made in detail in CMX1 to use it in the CMX2 editor and rebuild the OB and I'm very eager to see the results, but unluckily the brilliant MOD Conduct Mappin: BOBBAK to BN script is giving me an error, but eventually I will make it by hand if I cannot solve that problem: that map was a faithful reproduction of the module's map based on original aerial photo reconnaissance material, with some added details I gathered by reading first hand accounts from the combatants, and it can be used for different battles and a whole campaign too, as I did before.

Now I see what you mean: this MOD will take the US soldiers helmets out! Sure it would be better if only the British paratroopers could be affected, and even better if just some of them! Are there more than one paratrooper's helmet? (i.e. one with netting and another without?)

My mistake! Yes, the SAS had the sand beret in North Africa and Italy as well as the tankers black, but later on they adopted the red/maroon (paratroopers') one in the ETO (actually they were ordered to use the AB one), even if some veterans still kept their sand ones. Only in 1957 the SAS officially adopted the beige one.

That would be super! I still have to check the CW OB: would it be possible to apply the green beret to some specific troops? Not the Airborne ones? Later in war the Commandos actually used almost the same equipment and uniforms of the Paras (Dennison smokes, Sten guns, etc.) but in Normandy I believe they were equipped with the common Army issues (except the SAS that already had the Paras' but Green Berets!)...

Have a look (Royal Marines, this one): Other samples are here.

This is excellent Mord! Thanks a lot... But why call it British Commandos while they actually are the Red Devils? I now expect, if you please, the actual green beret commandos!

Hi Japanzer, and thanks so much for your efforts! This is a brilliant idea, but apparently I get one error when using the ImportToCMx2.uws as follows: No corresponding IFB at line 484 ENDIF I did download your tools from The Repository just last night, so I believe they should be the latest update? I cannot see any of your attachments in this thread! Apparently the exporting script worked, but generated a file named <Conduct Mappin1.csv> and not the battle file name: I left it that way. BTW when you are exporting and the editor is switched to the main screen from the map mode, you have to actually press the Parameters button, isn't it? TIA

@ sburke: are you hinting that the AI is biased towards whatever is under its control regarding LOS and such? That would be unfair! The sniper has got a scope on his rifle, isn't it? Possibly that would give him an advantage towards the opponent concerning the timing of seeing the target... BTW, I had fun reading and watching your AAR...

To me the main tactical point about the 'bocage' it isn't it was impassable (at least for the infantry), but that it is a perfect ambush environment where the men can find perfect cover and concealment, and proper supporting fields of fire to support each other. 'Till now I've played on good maps with many hedges' holes for the infantry to move through, but it's true at some point you have the impression that this barrier is a bit too overplayed.

This kraut thing... is growing on me!

The highlight of units to show those who can spot the enemy is OK, and wouldn't clutter anything at all if at the same time you can see i.e. a black floating icon for the squads out of C2.

Again I underscore that IMO the C2 as it is depicted in the GUI is a bit clumsy and not efficient: I believe to use the floating icons instead of the connecting rods may be a good choice to depict if a unit is in contact with his commanding unit, or if it's out of range; if I double click on an HQ unit (or single click on its floating icon) all its dependent units highlight as well, so it's just a case of color coding their floating icons to depict their C2 state. The [?] markers have been always present in CM games, but now they are a bit overwhelming and confusing since sometime you may run to fight one of them, only to discover that this marker is present only for the unit selected, since all other units have already cleared that spot (so user wise it's again a matter of clicking away all the nearby units to check if that spot is actually still a [?] marker or if it is cleared already): I understand it is a more realistic way to represent the mechanics of spotting and identifying enemy units on the battlefield, but I believe it as a bit overworked; I've seen a tank surrounded by his own infantry units still hunting plenty of those markers even if all the grunts few meters away knew already those spots to be clear. It's just a case of either implementing the communications between units, and no matter if they belong to different units, or to reevaluate the point of view of the player economizing on mouse clicks.

I agree Humburg, these elements alone may not be so important, but added immersion and suggest more realism to the whole game play. I also find a bit confusing the command button for unbutton... err, this words play was not meant, but it may contribute to clarify (or confuse further) things; also it's not instantaneous as it was in CMX1 (if I remember correctly): there you were able to instantly check if the tank was unbuttoned, or if you did order it to button up, and vice-versa. At least we want that instant head pop-up or button up graphic option to check if the command was given or not...