Homo ferricus

Not sure if anybody else caught this, but it would seem like it's a pretty big deal. Wikileaks recently released a bunch of classified documents about the war in Afghanistan 04-09. Interesting material includes: and even references to what Intel has been gathered on Osama Bin Laden. but not much In any case, there are links to the classified military documents that were leaked in the article. It was an interesting read to me and no doubt it will be to others who find themselves following the war closely.

Can we at least get bones for that?

I'd have to agree with you, here. A while back I posted a strange incident I had with an Abrams on Allah's Fist, quoting myself here: link to that thread: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=90171&highlight=ferricus

I've always tried to work up the inspiration and dedication it would take to create a beauty like this. I have no doubt that this gem will truly be a legendary map in the CMSF community, thank you! As long as we find a way to run it without 4 frames per second

We should be able to pressure BFC into a premature release if we organize a mass suicide in the case they don't meet a community-sanctioned deadline. Either they will be compelled to finish and release the game in a hurry, or they'll let us die and get a bunch of publicity--either way, we will be martyrs in the wargaming community.

Could it be that humans inherently want more and more despite what they get, and will forever tend to comparing the now to the past? Dare I post a Billy Joel lyric? "The good ol' days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems" Bring on the Joel flaming, I deserve it...

I can agree--to an extent--that CMX1 hit a "sweet-spot" between abstraction and simulation that produced convincingly realistic outcomes on the battlefield. A balance was achieved between explicitly indicating to the player what was happening on the graphical interface, and leaving other aspects of the combat to the player's imagination, i.e. troop dispersion, close combat, house-to-house fighting, etc. The early Combat Mission games walked a line at a near-perfect threshold between the player and the game, IMO. Now that many of those things are explicitly modeled (everything form troop dispersion to the physical area of individual trees vs. "forest tiles"), I do in fact sometimes get the sensation that CMX2 has wandered part-way into the "uncanny valley"; trying so hard to be realistic that it ends up being less convincing than CMX1, but as other posters have mentioned: A) Some of the errors that explicit 1:1 representation produces nonetheless adds to the complexity and unpredictability of combat in CMX2 which helps to add tension and excitement (and, admittedly in many cases, frustration) It is not a game-breaker, it just takes the right attitude; many will balk at this statement, outraged that the end-user must compensate for the perceived failings of the engine with their imaginations and whatnot, but seriously--this is a game! These frustrating issues exist, and the only way to bypass them is to consider them one more tactical challenge. In any case, that's probably why many CMX1 lovers can't stand CMX2; they used to imagine their Airborne squad busting into the house and methodically sweeping through rooms, having dramatic doorway to doorway exchanges, diving behind flipped tables and couches, hugging walls for cover and drawing their Kabars. That mental simulation is stolen from them now that they watch their pixeltruppen tactlessly running into a house and having awkward and not very convincingly realistic 1:1 struggles against the house's occupiers. For some people, the "magic" is gone, others can enjoy CMX2 and praise its leaps and bounds forward from the old system.

We don't take KIYN-dly ta yer type 'round here.

I too would like to voice my estrangement with BFC's inability to satisfy my insatiable desires for a functioning Repository (with upgraded interface and features), CM:N, CM:A, CM:NATO, and everything else that has the letter "C" immediately followed by the letter "M". I will join the boycott; I will not purchase any BFC products until I have the physical capability to buy them, nor will I attempt to play any BFC games until my computer has booted-up.

Alex, I'd like to shamelessly ask which camo/outfit/infantry mods you are using.

Sorry gents, Norway should be Denmark in that post.

Right, given the plot. But I surmise that there is a larger group of players who would prefer playing with German kit/nationality vs. Danish or Norwegian kit/nationality or something, considering that you guys could have just as easily implied that Copenhagen or Oslo were hit rather than Berlin perhaps Denmark would be a bigger target for extremists? Considering they have combat troops fighting in the more contested provinces* of Afghanistan, participated in the Iraq invasion, and the Muhammad comic a couple years back. *Danes are mainly in Helmand/Kandahar, whereas Germans are mainly in the *relatively* safer Northern provinces. It must be acknowledged that Germany has a considerably larger contingent in Afghanistan than Denmark (4,280 vs. 740, according to the ISAF website), but also note that Norway has suffered higher casualties in proportion to it's population than any other nation there.

I still say it would be more plausible to have replaced Germany with Denmark or something... Well, it's not like it's that unrealistic, and besides, people would rather play with the German kit I guess.

McCormick should be sentenced to driving in a down-armored humvee, outfitted excessively with decorations and symbols of the UK and America, from Mosul to Basrah with nothing but that piece of garbage with him. Followed by a tour of beautiful Korengal Valley, and safaris in Helmand and Kandahar. Let's see how confident he is in his "bomb detector".

Sounds like you need to refresh his jar's fluids.

I'm willing to give my life and freedom to Emrys in the event of potential bone-giving, just to help nudge things along. Of course, we all know what eventually happens to slave masters.... SPOILERS * * * * * * * The vast majority of them got rich, very very rich. While most slaves ended up dieing horrible deaths after being overworked, or killed in subsequent escape attempts. What was I talking about, again?

I'll give you my first-born son for a bone. please?

Do Marine Abrams really have roof mounted ATGM jammers in the game? I've never noticed anything like that.

Oh yes, I assure you I know enough about the Gulf war and Medina Ridge etc. etc. In fact I don't believe I ever contested that the crew should have been killed or a catastrophic penetration should have occurred. In my last post, I tried to emphasize that the fantastical issue (for me) in the situation was that a crew sitting in the tight confines of a tank that is totally blacked-out, with a couple of their comrades bleeding all over them, one not responsive, were able to systematically return fire and destroy each and every last enemy tank, one-by-one. The first question is, how on earth could they do that if all the tank's sighting systems are catastrophically damaged? And I mean everything--optics, targeting, FCS, thermals, and so on. Acquiring targets should have been impossible, especially considering the way the tanks suspension constantly rocked back and forth with the impact of incoming rounds. And the second question, how could the crew (I believe it was veteran) possibly have the composure to act like they did, let alone destroyed sighting systems and all. From what I've heard IRL, Abrams crews are much more likely to bail out or abandon a tank far before damage as catastrophic as this occurs. But then again, bailing out may have been suicidal... In which case, I could understand staying in the tank and freaking out and doing a whoooole lotta talking to god, but the way the crew prevailed and destroyed the enemy in this scenario seemed a bit off.

Yeah, but after 50 some-odd shots to the same part of armor? From 200-300 meters away no less. I'd like to see a real-life test of that. As for crew survivability--it's great and all but it still seems to me nothing short of miraculous that a crew in what had become essentially a blacked-out tank (in all definitions of the word), taking a shell every couple seconds, sometimes multiple hits simultaneously, with one crew member incapacitated and another wounded, would be able to effectively return fire and wipe out damn near a whole friggin' tank battalion.

That reminds me of a strange incident I had with an Abrams. I believe it was on Allah's Fist, and I had a recent build of the game (maybe 1.08 or something). In any case, long story short--I had an Abrams on top of a hill, that when cresting said hill, instantly spotted almost a dozen t-62s and t-72s, 200-300 meters away. This Abrams took (if i remember right) about 30 hits of main cannon rounds to its front, not including the 15 or so ricochets. This thing was so f**ked up that when I had the camera near it, I couldn't even hear the engine running. Crew had a casualty (red marker) and an injury (yellow marker). I can't even remember all the devices that were busted, but the sights, FCS, thermals, optics, targeting etc. were all FUBAR. BUT, somehow, with its tracks and engine shot out, as well as virtually all means it has of spotting and engaging the enemy, with one dead crew member and another wounded--while being the center of attention to the 10 or so enemy tanks and receiving consistent pounding, this Abrams was able to systematically knock out each Syrian tank, almost as if they weren't kicking the Abrams' ass. I thought that was strange.

I'm truly very sorry, but it's hard to take the DPCU pattern very seriously, despite how effective/ineffective it may have been proven to be. I mean, look at it! It looks like wallpaper for an infants room...

Pretty much.

or, "Thanks for the 3rd degree burns on my face, the bleeding out the eyes, ears, and nose is also a bonus".

Right, thanks for the explanation Steve. You know, I actually like the fact that rare and inexplicable outliers do occur, all you need is a little imagination to figure why such an event would happen. After all, war is chaotic, (especially on the tactical scale) it doesn't follow formulas, strange things can and will happen.