Sgt.Squarehead

Units responding to the foot chase 500 block of 14th Street take a slow down.  One subject in custody.  Zone 10 radio clear. 


 

Yesterday I was in the Boston area and had time (but not enough time) to visit the American Heritage Museum.  This is the place where the Littlefield collection ended up after he passed away.  Every vehicle has been meticulously restored.  The best armor collection I have seen...so far.  
 

Here is a shot of the post WWII stuff.  

I'm not really an user of CM Helper, but I downloaded and installed a copy. I got version 1.75 from here (a 'tiny url' that points to a DropBox location for download):
http://bit.ly/cm-helper
I extracted this to its own folder as you have done. Double-click on the 'cmh.exe' file (which doesn't have an unique icon) and NOT the 'CMH.ico' file (which is an icon file that has an image that you may want to select as the icon for CM Helper) and that should launch CM Helper which will display two small windows the first time it is launched (image attached is the main CM Helper window). One is the actual application itself and the other is a small diagnostic window that shows what CM Helper has done to configure itself with the CM games that it finds on your computer.
I'm not sure where the "Windows asks me if I want to allow the program to be added to the computer and I click "Yes"." originates from since I had nothing like that occur on my computer (Windows 7 Pro 64-bit). Is this a different version of Windows (Win 10?) or possibly some sort of security program checking to see if you were intentionally installing a program ? If this is a security program doing the checking, then you may want to look through that program's controls to see how to fully enable CM Helper (in case it is being 'blocked' in some manner).
If you want to launch CM Helper from the desktop, then open up the Windows File Manager, right-click on the 'cmh.exe' file and select 'Create shortcut' from the popup menu. Copy this newly created 'cmh.exe - Shortcut' file to your desktop (it will be a 'generic' icon). Then right-click on this icon and select 'Properties' from the popup menu. In here click on the 'Change Icon' button at the bottom in the middle. In here click on the 'Browse' button and browse to the location for the 'CMH.ico' file and select that. Highlight the image that shows up below and click 'OK', the click 'Apply' and then 'OK' and your icon should now be the one if the icon file instead of something generic.

My first time seeing reactive armor defeat a javelin!

@Sgt.Squarehead  Demo teams clearing a room en-route to a Heist. 

Please don't interpret my comments about the technology as a reflection on the tactics.....They should be taken at face value (if you haven't figured it out, I'm a bit of a Trackhead). 
Had the Red player had access to roof mounted panoramic thermal sights and more modern APFSDS rounds his attack might have gone better, but that does not mean it would have ended very much differently considering the wider picture. 

What sort of thing should we look for?  I'm not seeing anything obvious at first glance. 
 

A lot better I suspect, but those are a uniquely Syrian hybrid.....TBH CM:SF1 & 2 are slightly awkward for modelling Soviet/Russian forces, the more so now the 'T-72M1V (2001)' is gone. 
The T-72AV is hardly a contemporary of the M1A1HC.....A T-72B1 (m.1985), T-72B1 (m.1989) or T-72BA would be more suitable (TBH a T-90 wouldn't be unreasonable). 
The first has a better armoured turret than a T-72AV, but has the same reactive armour.**
The second has better reactive armour too (this one could just about be modelled with the now vanished 'T-72M1V (2001)', although again its turret armour is too weak for a T-72B)**
The third has all of the above and better optics, but still nowhere near as good as a TURMS-T.**
** I haven't looked at the ammunition for each type but I strongly suspect it was improved between the mid eighties and the late nineties. 
PS - A T-80U would be the best of all.....Damn I love those things!   
 

Andy,
LIked the two somewhat scary (ok terrifying in the land case) kite boarding videos and found this much longer one for the gentleman rocketing across the ocean. The hydrofoil board rocks!
 
Regards,
John Kettler

The trooper in question stated with a discernible Cuban accent "say hello to my little friend" 

INVERTED KILLSACK
Moments after the Bradley engages the single ATGM team on Hill 113, a worst case scenario develops. An entire company of T-72AV tanks appear along the ridgeline of Hill 113. My entire force suddenly finds itself in a killsack. Most of my assets are deployed. The infantry are in the process of advancing on and clearing objectives, with their Bradley’s sitting in overwatch positions. Further, most of my tanks are either engaged at point blank range with the remains of the T-72 company on the reverse slope, with their sides and rear facing Hill 113. I only have a handful of tanks in overwatch observing the direction of Hill 113.

This is an extremely dangerous situation. The potential exists here for OpFor to inflict severe casualties on my force in a very short amount of time, and all of this can occur without me being able to properly react. In short, it could all be over for Task Force Miller.

The drama kicks off immediately. CPT Miller’s 66 tank, part of the handful of tanks on overwatch of Hill 113, is fired on by one of the enemy T-72s. A half second later, the 66 tank engages the same T-72 that fired at it. The sabot from the T-72 crashes into the lower glacis plate of the 66 tank, but is defeated.

The T-72 is not so lucky. The sabot from the 66 tank hits and penetrates its target, sending the sabot through the chin of the turret and out the back, detonating the ammo stored in the turret on its way through.
What follows is another short, violent tank duel. The other tanks in overwatch, including 2 tanks on the MSR, engage the threat on Hill 113. Bradley’s, including the infantry company commanders track, engage with TOW missiles. Sabot rounds and ATGMs (TOW’s from the Bradleys, AT-11s from the T-72s, and AT-5a’s from a few BMP-2s) zip past each other.

Despite the excellent gunnery of my tanks and Bradley’s, not all shots find their targets. The T-72s are firing from behind a berm at an elevation advantage, making them tough targets to hit. A number of sabot rounds and TOW missiles miss, and some that hit are defeated by the combined armor and angling of the T-72s.

Casualties are suffered on both sides. I quickly lose an Abrams when an enemy AT-11 tank fired ATGM slams into the top turret of one of my Abrams as it tries to orient itself towards the new threat. The ATGM punches through the soft top turret armor and explodes inside, killing the entire crew.

A moment later, one of the tanks engaged in a knife fight with the enemy T-72s in the reverse slope killsack takes multiple hits to the rear of its turret. It too is quickly destroyed, taking its entire crew with it.

Bradley’s from 3rd platoon in overwatch of their infantry currently clearing the woods of NAI 1 are hit next. One enemy sabot round destroys 2 of them, punching clean through the first Brad and into the second. If there is a silver lining to this, it is that the infantry was already dismounted.

My tanks and Bradley’s quickly increase their return fire, and soon gain fire superiority. A flurry of killing blows follows, and within the next 20 seconds, most of the OpFor T-72 company on Hill 113 has been smashed.

This engagement occurred over the course of roughly 50 seconds. I had no chance to give new orders based on the new threat. All I could do was watch. Luckily for me, I had maintained decent overwatch positions with my reserve tanks, and many of my Bradley’s were in positions that granted them some level of concealment to the threat. The rest all came down to the gunnery skill of my crews and, in the case of my Abrams, their excellent armor that allowed them to survive frontal hits.
This could have been disastrous for my forces. If I had not maintained good overwatch, I could have been stuck waiting an entire minute to react to the new threat on Hill 113. With modern weapons and targeting, as well as it being an entire company of enemy tanks, a minute would have been more than enough time for the T-72s to destroy/cripple most of my soft/vulnerable assets caught in the open. Remember, if I lose more than 30% of my force, I lose the battle.
What saved me from defeat has more to do with basic tactical fundamentals and less to do with equipment or technology (though equipment and technology certainly helps). All elements, while moving through the open, positioned in the open, or overwatching smaller assets like infantry, were in turn being covered themselves. Further, I knew Hill 113 was key terrain based on its near dominating sightlines covering the part of the map my Task Force has to initially deploy across. If I had not had my rearmost tanks oriented towards Hill 113 overwatching the rest of my Task Force, the T-72 attack could have been a complete disaster for me. Additionally, if my opponent had committed his two tank companies at the same time (the company in the reverse slope position, and the company up on Hill 113) he could have overwhelmed my vehicles by catching me in a deadly crossfire. 20 T-72 tanks, firing at me from different directions, elevations, and distances likely would have caused much more damage to my forces.
For now, I’ve managed to keep my Task Force intact. However, these killsack engagements are a sobering reminder of how quickly I can lose my command, and how crucial basic tactical fundamentals are regardless of weapons and technology.

I'm on 5th mission of russian campaign (Crossing the Dniepr), and the US tank from screenshot below basically halted my entire force. It was well hidden between two houses with a perfect view down the road I had to advance. I suspected that crossroad was well guarded, so I first shelled that area with 155mm heavily. I don't know if I hit it then, but that whole area took a lot of damage. After that, I sent a t-90 down the road and it got hit immediately and burst into flames. After that, I used infantry squads to spot it from the flank because I knew the approximate location. 
After pinpointing the exact location, I was able to call in artillery (point target) with my forward observers in church tower (they couldn't see the tank, but i was able to place a target on it). The US tank took several direct 155mm and 203mm hits (visible on screenshots) and all buildings around it were destroyed. I also used all my heavy helicopter ordnance on this guy (none of the guided missles were able to hit it, they all hit the ground or trees 30m away from the tank?!). He still managed to survive somehow.
At this point, I was basically out of heavy air and artillery rounds, so I sent two t-90s in hope they would spot him first, but it turned to catastrophe with both my tanks destroyed without even firing. 
How can this thing survive multiple 203mm rounds? Also, why did all my helicopter guided missles miss (even after artillery destroyed surrounding vegetation and buildings)? Also, briefing mentions precision artillery strikes, but all I have is point/area/linear with general/personell options. Are there guided artillery rounds in this game? Any tips on this situation?

And that, gentlemen, is why storing ammo in your turret ring is not always a brilliant idea! 

Both sides continue to be rock solid.....My men shot their rifles dry, killed a lot of Germans, but nobody on either side did anything dumb. 

Definitely worth the effort.....I particularly like the inset zoomed images. 

After months in the making, I have finally completed my campaign Valleys of Death. It turned our to be quite an ambitious project, with 11 missions!
The campaign revolves around a US Army light infantry company, manning a remote combat outpost in an Afghanistan inspired terrain.
Unlike classic CMSF, which highly favors shock and awe and maneuver warfare, Valleys of Death deals with the issues of small units operating in a clearly defined AO. This means that, like in real life, you will conduct operations on the same map many times, with each mission focusing on different areas and objectives. By the end you will come to know the area very well, and this knowledge is key to defeat the enemy.
Features:
    11 missions     A large 2X2 km map and 2 additional maps     Modern counter-insurgency infantry combat     Heavily inspired by Afghanistan related media (Restrepo, Taking Fire, etc.)     Base game, no modules needed



 
Download from Dropbox
Please let me know ASAP if this link doesn't work! I'm not exactly a Dropbox wizz  

I've been mucking about with one of the classic CM:SF1 maps:


This map is an adaption of LJF-Huge Rural:
http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-shock-force-2/cm-shock-force-add-ons-maps/map-huge-rural/
If the original creator would identify themselves, I'd like to give credit where the vast bulk of it is actually due. 
My version's still a WIP at the moment, but I reckon the blank map should be ready in a couple of days.....There's a 2p only scenario to follow soon thereafter, but that will need some testing before it's ready for general consumption. 
 

I think I've finally finished converting LJF-Huge Rural to CM:SF2.....9km2 (3km x 3km) of sparsely settled rough and arid terrain for you to cheerfully blow to oblivion! 
This is only a conversion of an existing map, so the vast bulk of the credit for this map lies with the original designer.....If anyone could let me know who that actually was, I'd be very grateful?
Anyhow.....I've added a real river, two road and one rail bridges (& thus also, a railway line, obviously).  I've also tried to use a few of the new terrain types here & there to add a bit more variety to what was already an outstanding map:
Blank Map (No AI, No Setup Zones, No Objectives, No Labels.....Nothing!):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cp1dib3sdqq7op8/[Map] Huge Arid Valley.btt?dl=0
Blank Map labelled as Mtope River Valley (A completely fictional area somewhere in the vastness of the African Sahel.....Allegedly home to radical Salamist militants and the jihadists of Al Kebab.  ):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a9uol3jzs9xvvjz/[Map] Mtope Valley.btt?dl=0
Here's a few 'postcards' from some of the valley's bigger settlements:




& one showing a couple of the bridges:

The approach to the bridges isn't as perfect as I'd ideally like, AFAIK because of the slightly elevated island I've placed in the river.....If this bothers you, lowering the islands to water level under the bridges or removing them entirely should sort it out (I do have my reasons for doing it this way). 
Finally.....Have a small bog:

Mostly because I'm just too frazzled after doing all this to come up with anything more imaginative ! 
As ever feel free to use or modify this map in any way that pleases you.....I'm kind of glad to see the back of it TBH! 
Next up.....Bishr (Redux). 
 

Fantas-tic!
Swapping the models won't change the fundamentals of the underlying code, but the visuals changing matters a lot when a soldier is a soldier is a soldier (and all the vital statistics can be set in the Editor).

+1.  Nice map.  Nine square kilometers.  A lot can be done on this map.    

I think I've finally finished converting LJF-Huge Rural to CM:SF2.....9km2 (3km x 3km) of sparsely settled rough and arid terrain for you to cheerfully blow to oblivion! 
This is only a conversion of an existing map, so the vast bulk of the credit for this map lies with the original designer.....If anyone could let me know who that actually was, I'd be very grateful?
Anyhow.....I've added a real river, two road and one rail bridges (& thus also, a railway line, obviously).  I've also tried to use a few of the new terrain types here & there to add a bit more variety to what was already an outstanding map:
Blank Map (No AI, No Setup Zones, No Objectives, No Labels.....Nothing!):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cp1dib3sdqq7op8/[Map] Huge Arid Valley.btt?dl=0
Blank Map labelled as Mtope River Valley (A completely fictional area somewhere in the vastness of the African Sahel.....Allegedly home to radical Salamist militants and the jihadists of Al Kebab.  ):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a9uol3jzs9xvvjz/[Map] Mtope Valley.btt?dl=0
Here's a few 'postcards' from some of the valley's bigger settlements:




& one showing a couple of the bridges:

The approach to the bridges isn't as perfect as I'd ideally like, AFAIK because of the slightly elevated island I've placed in the river.....If this bothers you, lowering the islands to water level under the bridges or removing them entirely should sort it out (I do have my reasons for doing it this way). 
Finally.....Have a small bog:

Mostly because I'm just too frazzled after doing all this to come up with anything more imaginative ! 
As ever feel free to use or modify this map in any way that pleases you.....I'm kind of glad to see the back of it TBH! 
Next up.....Bishr (Redux). 
 

And that, gentlemen, is why storing ammo in your turret ring is not always a brilliant idea! 

INSIDE THE KILLSACK
Two teams of tanks scramble up to either side of the enemy position, creating a killsack. The enemy tanks are stuck. They cannot maneuver or stay still without taking point blank fire from multiple directions.

The next 20 or so seconds see a flurry of action. Number 1 tank is the first to fire, but miraculously the round is deflected by the T-72s ERA.

That luck only lasts a few seconds however. Number 3 tank of first platoon fires from its position on the right, knocking out a T-72. This is quickly followed a moment later by Number 1 tank firing again. This time, luck is on his side. The sabot round rips through 1 T-72 before smashing into a second behind the first, destroying both of them in catastrophic fireballs.

Half a second later, 1st platoons Lieutenant destroys another T-72 just behind the two tanks knocked out by one round. In the span of 15 or so seconds, 5 T-72s have been destroyed, bringing the total number of observed destroyed T-72s to 6. More than half a tank company has been destroyed in under a minute.
However, due to the slight downslope the enemy tanks are on, and the smoke and chaos, there are at least 4 unaccounted for tanks likely still sitting right in front of me. There is also an ill omen. While the knife fight at the killsack is raging, an enemy man-portable ATGM is fired from Hill 113. A Bradley on overwatch is able to spot the gunner and lob a few 25mm rounds his way. Luckily, the ATGM fails to track and crashes harmlessly into the dirt, but its a prelude of something far greater yet to come.