GSX

Not dwelling too much on the issue but the whole mission statement for being in Afghanistan in the first place is getting a bit skewed. I believe we are there to 'support the democratically elected Government', which as we now know means supporting a very corrupt government I'm not entirely sure its in our strategic interests to be there, let alone de-stabilise its southern neighbour in the process. That being said, I imagine the Aghanis that are fighting against us see themselves as 'Freedom Fighters' from both the Wests invasion and their corrupt dictatorship government. There is always more than one side to a story after all. I agree with big Duke here. How else does a native force fight a superpower? And even a superpower cant afford to develop a different vehicle for every different situation and so Strykers and the like will have to be used in police actions instead of warfighting. Maybe we should all stay in our bases and let them get on with it, in ten years time nothing will have changed except the fact that a lot of NATO soldiers didnt get ten years older, have kids and enjoy life a bit longer... Im not against the conflice per se but I am against all this floundering around. If were going to do something lets just go and do it!

Id like to add here that although I feel I have the right to criticise what US forces do and have experienced some amazingly stupid stuff around them, I feel very comfortable with them and including any Commonwealth force theres no other nations forces I'd rather serve with.

In defence of the US here, this has happened to all nations forces over the years, from US to Canadians to Dutch and Brits. The nature of infantry means that it often attracts some very disturbed people. We are not all like that though, but admitedly there are always going to be bad elements.

This is both impressive and awesome and no one comes close to the US ability to fight and win a battle anywhere in the world. We all know we can never approach that ability and so it does lead to a lot of jealousy at times from other nations and Im definitely included there.

I suppose losing a track doesnt really matter under those circumstances, where the enemy isnt present.

A Truck perhaps?

Yes but unless you include the Chinese, what does Korea have that Syria doesnt?

Can I ask why this cant be put into the current SF game? You have often said that the CM-2 code is far easier to work with than what came before and that things can be dialed in far more easily. So why is it not possible to dial it into SF?

I think the thing to remember here is that Strykers and many other vehicles aren't designed from the 'ground up' to be anti IED vehicles. They are designed for war fighting. The IED in Afghanistan is becoming more prevalent as the Taleban realise that stand up fighting more often than not gets them killed. Militaries can either use existing vehicles or have two sets, one for war and the other for police actions and who can afford that?

I would go along with this. I have worked with US Air Force, Army and Marines in my time and your Senior NCOs and Officers are very good. What often lets you down is your enlisted cadre, but as you say, they tend to be younger and a lot of them join for differing reasons (College funds etc). A lot of our practices are very different but I do think the end result is the same. However a lot of your ROEs are totally different. Which is OK for you but leads to some confusion when acting jointly.

Well, I dont think Iraq has exactly been the US finest hour either to be honest. I kind of view the whole episode as myopic on the part of both our governments. The fact that we have gotten out of it is a bonus from my point of view. That being said I dont think we [the Brits] have enough troops to do a proper job anywhere right now, including Afghanistan. I think the politicians say, lets do this and its been incumbent on the Armed Forces to just say OK, instead of saying not possible. We have the same 'can do' attitude and at times it becomes silly. Was Basra a failure or is the cause ultimately a joke? And realising this, did the UK commanders make decisions based on keeping UK casualties to a minimum and keeping the local populace onside? I have no answer to that though. The bottom line for me is this, is Iraq and the average Iraqi more secure now than it was in 2002. I dont have an answer to that but I do know that the previous regime while terrible did keep the fundamentalist element under wraps. I dont think Al quaeda operated in iraq before 2003. Still, time will tell.

Well if its going to be this kind of thread! Nice job the US made of getting us all into Iraq and effing up the whole process in the 1st place! Putting over a million Iraqis out of work at a stroke and turning a whole country that might have been initially receptive to you against you. Ive worked a lot of my life with many excellent US personnel, Marines included but your enlisted 'Gene Pool' can really do with some work and the vast majority of people Ive met arent in the military for the same reasons I am. Thats said, Generation Kill does a good job of portraying the humour in between action that exists in a whole lot of militaries. I can tell you tales of the Brit military that go way beyond anything youve ever seen in GK.

Not exactly. What im saying is that you stated that Id definitely be playing this thing by Xmas 2009. Now this kind of gets my hopes up a little as its you saying it. Then you say just after, now your saying march but before April. Im not after an exact date, just an estimation of when I may be able to purchase it. I think its a fair question as after all your the one who keeps moving the goalposts.

Falklands is definitely out, unless you could do an 80's Mod. Its just far too limited.

Well as someone who has spent my entire Summer living in a Southern winter, only to return to winter my answer to your plea has to be a resopunding Nein!

I have to admit to also liking the 1980's idea too. Youd also get much more life out of your modules I think as it would be a true epic with the inclusion of all the differing NATO and Warsaw Pact forces.

Thats irrelevant as the game will be a what if? Maybe the US would have to go to war as China called in its loans?

Reading the comments in other threads I'm assuming the game is no where near finished. As every module for CMSF has been delayed by a long while I'm guessing that CMN will be out a lot later than we all think. Hence thats why with a supposed 7 weeks to go we havent really seen or heard all that much about the game. Best guess for me is Summer 10 for CMN, with an SF NATO module possibly coming out Spring 10.

Well two things really. 2020 isnt that far away in military terms and most of the stuff we have now will be around then. Also, by the time they finish with Normandy, all of its modules, then the Bulge, then Ostfront it will probably be fast approching 2020 anyway. One of the stupid things about CMSF is the weird future past its set in after all, so next time SF arrives maybe it should be set in the future and not the past? Just give China stuff that the Russkies may have sold them. What if games are after all just that.

I would have to agree with most of the above, except the simulation bit. I think a lot of people that have trouble with playing the game (SF) is that lack of information. In CM-1 we have firepower charts and armour values etc. In SF everything is hidden under the hood and so we dont know the armour value of a soldiers body armour compared to a Syrian and we dont know how much punishment a Challenger can take. I think this is off putting to those people that like to play with every piece of information at their fingertips and like to weigh up chances and probablilities and treat the game more like battlefield chess rather than an actual battle situation. Ive never been a QB fan but I imagine not having proper pick and choose QBs also annoys these types of players as 'kit picks' were an awfull big part of their gaming. Still, as Ive said before, if after 2 years the game still isnt for you, wait for something else, its far past the time to stop moaning about it. But, remember that CMN when it comes along isnt going to be CM-1 v 2, its going to be CM-2 Normandy so all of the things you dont like about it are probably still going to form the core gaming experience.

Just a quick thought on the next SF game, if it ever comes to fruition. Dont make it NATO Vs Russia. Make it NATO Vs China and give China everything that they may have in 2020. Forget the normal and think future what ifs.

Ah the memories of B1's in the gulf, a great load out of precision weapons and a massive take off sound to boot. You havent experienced the body penetrating sound until you get to the end of the runway when they take off. However, there are other things that do ground attack, the P-3 even comes to mind here and certainly that was doing its stuff in 2008.

I would take the opposite view here. I think that Sf is a wargame rather than a simulation. For a start a whole lot of the game is pure guess work concerning unit capabilities, armour for instance. Also, infantry is not accurately modelled in its behaviour or immediate actions. If you play around with the game it is immensely fun and in the majority of ways far ahead of cm-1 games. You just have to find the situations that work best for you.

Yes, I totally understand this part but it is you that is providing all the expectation here. You firstly state that the game will definitely be out in 2009 and then casually change this to the game will be ready to go before Xmas but for personal reasons will be delayed until right after it. Then you state that the game features are still being worked on, which leads me to think that theres no way its going to be released right after Xmas. Now, in any of this I didnt really see how you could be pressured by any of us. As I said, I can find something else to do until Normandy and as others have pointed out its no huge deal breaker to wait a few more weeks or months or even years. I just wouldnt mind an honest answer, can I expect it before 01 Apr 09? Or failing that answer just tell me to shut the heck up and it will be done when your all ready. I can then stop getting as giddy as a pre-teen schoolgirl as January approaches, saving up the pocket money miserly doled out by my wife for a game that will not arrive until summer, spend that money on something else and stop being obsessed with ww2.

OK, please dont take this the wrong way. You originally stated that the game would definitely be out in 2009. I understand these things change so this doesnt bother me. However, you changed this to say that the game could be out by Xmas 2009 but that this would be the wrong time to publish it for you. Understandable given the time of year and all. I would imagine that a game that is what, 7 or 8 weeks away from being able to be published would be at the almost ready stage, possibly just going through the campaign testing etc. So given what youve already said above, and what you said before it seems that the game is far from being ready to roll by Xmas. So, can you please answer these question so that I can go back to lurking on CMN. Will this game be ready before 01 Apr 10? Has the campaign etc been tested or is it in testing yet? There are plenty of other ways I can spend my time before a Normandy game comes out but as you were the one promising definites I wouldnt mind a straight answer. If the answer is 'we wont be publishing before Summer 10' then Im a big lad and can take it. Cheers