Alan8325

I believe that there was something in those old explanatory posts that said that LOS fidelity would improve over time as computing power improves. Perhaps it would happen at around the same time as multi-core support or something. I definitely am one who hopes it gets better!

If I did that I would end up playing so conservatively that every scenario would need a 10 hour time limit for me to inch along.

New high-resolution textures can be created by 3rd-party mods and I wouldn't be surprised if some pop up for the trucks and shilka. This is the last module for CM:SF so unfortunately there will be no French units in Syria. Who knows who will show up for CMSF2 however. I believe vehicle damage graphics are on the to-do list for future CM games, but I don't know if it will make it into Normandy or not. I'm guessing not that one, but maybe the next one.

It at least causes suppression now and some casualties. I've played around with large ordnace hitting vehicles in the editor, as well as watch secondary explosions, and it's better now than in v1.21, but still unrealistic IMHO. Ah well..baby steps.

Troops on floors separate from the one where ordnance is exploding seem to usually be pretty safe in CMSF, regardless of the size of the explosion. I don't know if it's realistic or not, but you can hit the roof of a structure with several 155mm artillery shells and the troops inside will be mostly fine, but as soon as a single shell hits the ground right next to a wall, you see several casualties and lots of suppression. It's not new in v1.30.

Winning all the time is easy! First, start the the scenario, save, and then immediately hit cease-fire and this will show you all of the enemy positions. Take note of where all the most dangerous bad guys are, like ATGMs, then reload the setup save and use artillery to blast those positions with pre-planned strikes. As you progress through the scenario (playing in RT), make sure you save the game just before issuing every order so you can take it back if you want. The more different saves you have, the better so you can go further back in time if you need to. Also, feel free to hit cease-fire at any time to see where enemy movement is and to check damage. I don't really play like this but you really can scale the difficulty WAY up or down in this game.

Yeah, it would be nice if programmable rounds could be used differently depending on the type and location of the target, but I don't know if this might be hard to program. Detonation needs to be delayed to be effective against vehicles and buildings but it also can still work against infantry in the open, just not quite as well. So if KETF can have only one default behavior that is used all the time in the game then I guess the current one is correct.

I've played around with the CV9035s and KETF rounds in the game a little bit and it appears that the rounds DO airburst, but they are consistently about 35m behind the target. Try it yourself and issue a target order to an area of ground and you should see that some rounds will actually hit the ground before or at the target, but some will travel further and airburst. This setting makes sense for buildings and soft-skinned vehicles, as you would want the round to actually impact the target, but against infantry targets in the open the airburst should be set for the distance of the target.

I've played around with the KETF in the game a little bit and it appears that they DO airburst, but it is consistently about 35m behind the target. Try it yourself and issue a target order to an area of ground and you should see that some rounds will actually hit the ground before or at the target, but some will travel further and airburst. I'll post this again in the v1.30 bugs thread.

I guess it would depend on whether the campaign designer puts two scenarios together with the idea that there is no time in-between for forces to reassemble. What happens in Battle 2 if NO units in Battle 1 get to the exit objectives until the very end of the battle, like if you could have sent the tanks to exit first, but decide to keep them behind to exit with the infantry? Then do you get no units for the next battle until 45 min in? Or maybe 45 min are deducted from the time to complete Battle 2.

What's even more wierd is that the MG4 squad has two anti-tank members, and when you split the squad, the two-man team has one of the anti-tank guys but it's the one without the panzerfaust, yet when you split out an assault team, the assault team (3 men) includes the guy with the panzerfaust. Splitting out a two-man AT team has both AT members in it. For the MG3 squad, splitting out an assault team leaves the panzerfaust with the support team (with MG3).

What type of 5.56 rounds are used by modern western militaries? Are they armor piercing? I don't know how modern 5.56 AP rounds would stand up to the "bulletproof" glass equipped on 50 year-old BRDMs, or even if any of this is modeled in CMSF.

The Wiesel is very lightly armored, has only 2 crew members to spot targets and its optics are not that advanced. It does have good firepower and small size though, so in an offensive role I would use it primarily as an area-fire weapon, since that doesn't require the vehicle crew to spot targets themselves. You locate targets with infantry dismounts and then when there is an area that needs blasting with 20mm you move the weisel out of its protective hole and do an area fire on the target. Its small size can help maneuverability in urban areas as well. In defense I would use it like any other vehicle in a hull down position overlooking an avenue of approach.

I'm sure that since all the modules are released for CMSF, we will see many more 3rd-party campaigns that make use of multiple modules. I think Task Force Thunder is the only U.S. Army campaign I've played, but I'd definitely like to play another good one. It would be especially cool if it uses material from other modules, such as Syrian Airborne and T-90s (Marines), U.S. light infantry (British) and/or Shilkas and Syrian air support (NATO). I'd work on one myself if I had loads of time on my hands. I'd have lots of editor studying to do in the beginning!

When a BRDM is "unbuttoned" it simply has the armor plates that would go over the front windows in the raised position, exposing the windows and the guys inside. Are you sure they didn't look like this? Perhaps those windows are susceptible to 5.56 penetration. Still seems odd that one would open up with his rifle giving away his position though, when a teammate has a panzerfaust.

Mine went about the same way and I also went around the right side and through the building. *************Spoiler Warning**************** But in the beginning I had some immobilized Fenneks from the numerous AGS-17s around the map. Their wheels got chewed up pretty fast but they were being shot at at a range of around 900m, leading the AGS-17s to use up most of their ammo in mostly inaccurate bursts. One Leopard also took an AT-3 hit but only had minor damage to external components and tracks.

Do you think the accuracy of high-ROF weapons such as the Marder cannon and 23mm zsu might be overmodeled?

Nice guide! I look forward to playing the RED vs BLUE campaign that you guys are working on. I believe all Syrian special forces units (the guys in the black uniforms, not airborne) have night vision. This was as of version 1.21 though, I haven't checked in v1.30.

Explosive weapon hits to vehicles now cause some damage and suppression to nearby infantry (which is not mentioned in the 1.30 features list), but very large ones like JDAMs making direct hits still do not do realistic damage to surrounding infantry. Big improvements all around though, and I'm having fun just starting the "Back on Tracks" campaign!

This video shows some launches of Eryx, some with tripod and some without, but it doesn't show the tripod setup or how long it takes. Hopefully in the game it takes takes little time to simulate the ability to fire it without the tripod.

Always pick the FO. You will notice that the time to call in a strike goes down when he's in an observer vehicle compared to on foot or in another vehicle. I believe that this is the only advantage that observer and recon vehicles give you in the game. I have yet to notice spotting advantages. The device on the top of the mast in the Warrior observation vehicle is the Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-packable_Surveillance_and_Target_Acquisition_Radar It should realistically help spot vehicles but I don't believe that this is modeled in the game. With that said though, the Wiki page says the device detects targets out to 30km, yet there is no mention of a minimum range. Considering CM maps are generally not more than 2km across, I suppose there could be a minimum range that makes it not relevant to CM.

I think an MMG on a fallen friendly unit that is not deployed can be acquired through buddy aid, but one that is deployed and 'abandoned' cannot be remanned by anybody. I have yet to test this though. It would be cool if abandoned MGs can be remanned in CM Normandy because MGs were bigger beasts on the battlefield at that time.

Heh. That's what I meant to say.

I play in RT and pause frequently to issue orders and reassess the battlefield. It's gamey in that it takes away the reflexes aspect of a fluid battlefield, but then again so does Wego, right?