Petrus58

Soviet side:

Hello again, with the release of Fire and Rubble I have been working a lot on adapting existing mods to the new module. That includes the great GUI mod by Juju who has sadly ended support for it.
I have added or adapted weapon icons from other iterations of Juju's mods, as well as branches, ranks, etc. However I will tell you that I have made some changes to it that suit my preference more, so you may have to dig into the files to revert to default.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/crldjajbpj56z3n/Juju%27s_Red_Thunder_UI_F%26R_fix.rar/file

I might buy it. I'm fascinated by everything Prussian, during the 18th, 19th and 20th century. Poor East Prussia.

Interesting, but not sure what to expect. I've downloaded the kindle sample.

A few were picture requests- There's an M44 in the top picture (center), and the other two are Soviet winter (with the random mix of Ushanka and helmet).
There's a good deal of visual variety for the infantry, always at the service of showing things that could be a characteristic of the unit ("military" versus "standard" appearance for Volkssturm), and for breaking up visual repetition over large formations (Soviet winter helmet/Ushanka- also for greatcoat models).
 

Glorious March to Victory Post #13 - "The Song of Small German Town 1980"
So on the very next turn Bil has offered ceasefire...we have playing together for a long time.  We have decided to do the final debrief at the same time, so I will wait for Bil to catch up a bit.
But I could not leave the second to last turn hanging because it represents this battle so well:
You remember the stand off on the Red Knoll at the end of turn 31...well here is how it played out:

My T62 got off the first shot and it was a killer (note the now-deaf-est Soviet Pl HQ in the ETO circled)
Then this happens:

Seriously, this is like the freakin ending of Reservoir Dogs at this point.  BTW I found out later, that M60 is immobilized by my heroic second squad.
So here we are at what is essentially End Game:

I will leave you to speculate as where things landed....
I can tell you that the fight over this non-descript little town in West Germany created so many pixel heroes in less than an hour.  I hope you have enjoyed it a fraction of as much as it was to play.
 

Glorious March to Victory Post #12 - "We Try Harder" (25-31)
So based on observation, I am seeing quite a few "likes" (thank you btw) but few comments, which tells me that I am probably telling you all something that Bil has already posted.  So for fear of getting left behind in the narrative I am just going to pull you all the way to where we are as of today.
I want to say up front that no matter how this ends, this is a really good game.  This is one for the books.  You can tell when everything feels so finely balanced and you and your opponent are fencing on a tightrope.  every PBEM turn gets the heartrate up!  
When I left you things were not looking so good for the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union.  But like the superior communist system, Soviets know how and when to pick themselves up and get back to it.

So not much but re-positioning in Turn 25 as I scramble to re-establish a parameter up on the ridge, Bil pulled back so that all proceeds.  The only interesting thing happens here near the end of the turn.  Looky here comrade the corrupt capitalist system thinks that they are so clever...looks like Bil is taking the deep left option after all.

The next turn I immediately start repositioning my remaining T64 on the left in order to form a blocking position on my left (that poor BMP got nailed by a second Cobra before I scared it off).  Bil could try and hide in the that wood line but we are past that now, he is going to try and roll me up (more on my logic later).  Meanwhile back on what is now called Red Knoll:

My intent here is to establish a hard point and pull Bils forces in, this time however, I am pushing infantry up front.  Note that an ATGM duel is forming up with that M150 and a BMP on the right here.

Which we win.  That should be about 4 out of 6 M150s killed.  Another sign of a really good game is the emergence of all the micro-dramas.  Here there are literally a hundred small stories all unfolding simultaneously, here is one:

So that brave little infantry squad breaks out of that tree line and sees a M60 monster...do they run and hide...nope they open up like it is the last thing they will ever do (and literally is).  Those are both the RPG 18 and RPG 7 firing simultaneously right at the turns end.  Finally on back on the Hwy:

So yep, pretty much as I expected this is an attempted roll up...oh Bil, you tired foolish old man, did you think I would leave the door open?  So here I am re-positioning another T64 and BMP to bottle up that Hwy ploy.  Onto Turn 28 and things start to turn:

My brave little squad misses, and then die in a hail of glory but they spook the crap out of those M60s, who promptly back off buying time for my T62s.  You can see here another T62 I snuck up from the village in the woods, so I have got a pretty good bead on this.

Meanwhile back on the Hwy, Bil's M60 here get spooked by a lone Recon Pl HQ and I start hunting that T64 forward.  I am starting to feel a bit like we are getting back up and then this happens:

Back in the center, Bil still has some armor with eyes on the objective (note: he is still pounding that nearly-empty suburb like it slept with his wife).  My poor immobilized T64 nails this M60 in a single blistering 125mm of bad-love.
Onto Turn 29.

 So on this turn is a positioning turn on the Red Knoll and Hwy, Bill has brought up at least one M60 to reinforce up here, so a lot of micro-drama potential.  And on the other side:

The bottleneck force is shaping up nicely..so the stage is set for another showdown.  
Turn 30 and things start to click:

It starts with this showdown at near-point-blank range.  The M60 fires first but (I like to think my little infantry squad (now all heroes of the Soviet Union) killed the crew commander and rattled that tank so badly that..) it misses.  My T62 does not, because cold steel runs in Soviet veins

Ok, now this is a Balls Game!  Back in the center:
 
DPICM, the last refuge of the desperate (seriously I think we may have overloaded on arty, and of course EW makes most of mine near useless).  But again Bil doubles down on that lone squad and MG team (who have taken a single casualty after all this)  A hint for anyone who plays Bil...he has problems with artillery.
But all is not good news:

This one hurt but it is a straight up "war happens moment so deal with it".  I start to push that T64 up a bit to try and snipe that M60 and he gets killed...gotta admit that one hurt.
Turn 31 and we are nearly caught up.

So up on the Red Knoll, Bil is stubbornly pushing with his 3 M60s (counting the dead one, that is a full third of his armor)  A second squad wins the Hero of the Soviet Union here by fearlessly opening up on two M60s and here they get an RPG 7 off before also being chopped up.

Which hits but I have no sight on the tank so I can only hope it at least rattled them up a bit.  The back on the Hwy:

My other T64, cooly drops that M60 like first period French (swear to god if I had all T64s this game would be over by now).  Back on Red Knoll the turn ends with this: 
Both barrels are lined up and loaded.  This screenshot pretty much captures this entire freakin game!
Ok, my assessment with 9 mins left on the clock.  So, Bil is seriously considering ceasefire right now cause even int guys can do math.  My force on the objective is still very solid with the better part of an infantry Coy and 2 x T62s (I sent the other one back), so the odds of him taking it (which were never great given his force) are low.  He could try a gamey sneak in the last minute of the game but I doubt it.  
So his problem here is one of points.  The US get points for cutting me down past 50% but they need to keep their own force above 50% and based on losses so far he has to be concerned about that buffer.  I am definitely closer (I may be below 50% right now) but even-losses at this point would be fatal to the US side.  And in the last 4 minutes I have lost a single T64 and BMP to at least 3 x M60s and an M150.   By my math Bils armor is precariously down to 50% (and I suspect at least one tank is gun-killed)...and I still have a lot of those nasty BMPs on the board who can all kill Bil's...well, anything.  
Regardless, even if we ended it now, I think this game is a Draw (at least right now).  In reality both forces are at a standstill (even if the US side has not realized it yet) in what has been a see-saw battle that has left me with scars and some therapy requirements.  The Blood-Red Dice still will roll, so we will see.
Capt's AAR Battle Theme Song
 

The Nineteenth & Twentieth Minutes
“The important thing in strategy is to suppress the enemy's useful actions but allow his useless actions”
A Book of Five Rings - Miyomoto Musashi

Starting to get HOT... this is a long one.. so buckle up!!  
These two minutes of action unfold a lot of important developments for this battle.  On my right, 2nd Platoon/s tanks made it to the low ground that composes the Short Option...

...one of them gets a spot on Warren's star killer BMP-1P in the treeline across the map and after some back and forth missed shots it finally lands one... damn fine shooting for a vanilla M-60A1 on the move.

 
One of 3rd Platoon's M-150s spots and fires at the T-64A that was beaten up by 1st Platoon's Tank Section 2 last turn (and again in these turns) as it withdrew through the woods into the open ground... the M-150 does hit with its TOW.. but the T-64 shrugged off even that blow.  However.. I would be surprised if any of Warren'e two surviving T-64As have a working gun now.  


 
On my left Warren is indeed up to something, the action was preceded by an artillery strike on the the woods in this area.  Sadly the only casualty was the Scout team that was calling in my Cluster mission... isn't that the way it always works?

...initially three BMP-1s and two T-62s broke cover.

The 2nd Platoon leader team fired a Dragon at one of the BMPs.. which missed long.


The BMP then oriented on the 2nd platoon Leader's M113, which was caught too far forward and put one gun round through it's front armor... killing the vehicle and it's crew.


 
After reloading, 2nd PL's Dragon gunner took aim at the T-62 traveling with the BMP and succeeded in killing it.  FYI, the Dragon firing animation is still a work in progress, so I am keeping zoomed out from it.  Hopefully losing this tank will make Warren pause or change his tack towards my Scout teams.

Remember that my units on my far left were originally meant as a decoy.. and hopefully his attack will orient itself on them and away from my main combat power. 
 
By the end of the twentieth minute there were five T-62s (including the dead one) and five BMP-1s identified... so I think at least two Platoons of tanks and two platoons of BMPs.  I suspect these BMPs do not contain any infantry, so this is probably meant as an armored raid into my rear.  That's how I see it at this point in the game anyway.

I have started moving 1st Platoon's Tank Section 1 across the map to hopefully hit his attacking force in the flank, or better.. the rear.  It'll take a few minutes for them to get into a position where they can begin hunting.

 
Back on my right, Warren has pushed at least one T-62 forward to blunt my tanks coming up the stream route.  Spotted by the same M-60A1 that just took out the BMP, with this result:


So to recap... if Warren pushes towards my Scout teams on my far left.. then that suits me.  It's less fire power for him to devote to blunting my tank movement on my right. 

My scouts and M-150s (which are withdrawing as fast as they can) will transition into a Delay operation now.
 
Final bit of action... on my right, 1st Platoon's 2nd Tank Section (tank 1/7) took a penetrating hit from the T-64B across the valley (should be the final undamaged T-64 on the map).  The M-60 suffers one casualty and minor damage.  Damn... well hopefully I can pull it out of the line before it gets hit again.

March to Glorious Victory Post #8 - Riddles in the Dark (Turn 18)
Well only a single turn to report, again apologies but we are kinda busy.  I am new to the whole game development thing but I believe it is call "the crunch", so named I believe for the sound our bones make when Steve swings his bat if we fail to meet deadlines.  Regardless, the war continues:

So my push up the center continues, I am just getting my infantry forward to sweep those woods, particularly on the right because I am starting to see movement.  I  couple M113s and at least one M150 are shuffling around up there, I expect Bil has caught on to the fact that the bulk of my combat power is at his midriff.    I am also going to push those recon assets on my far right forward to start seeing if I can't bag a few of his scout teams.  I am worried about armor on that ridge, as I still see a couple ? icons but if I know Bil he will hold them back.  My bet is that Bil is going to try and bottle my forces up coming out of that treeline.  In other news, my fire mission is finally starting to fall on that treeline which may provide some cover.  I have to admit that I have not used arty well in this game.  Part of the problem is I agreed to EW for the Blue side...never do this, as it means really long spotter-wait times. 
On the upside I still have good Eyes, so I know Bil can't get too aggressive up there.  Things were moving apace when suddenly:

Well looky here!  That frisky old mule looks like he has decided to try to change the shape of the battle.  So that is the lead tank of an M60 platoon that Bil [aside:  I have known the guy for almost 20 years and I still have no idea why he uses only one "l" in his first name...the human heart is truly a mystery] is pushing on my far left.  Bold move.  If he can get armor up into that far treeline on my left he could theoretically make life difficult for the center push...but he has to get there first:

Here the Eyes on my right are kicking in.  Both T64s and that lone BMP (the one who has killed at least one M150) have got clear eyes on Bil's route:

Ouch, that was the BMP btw:

So here you can see the situation better.  At the end of the turn there is a 125mm sabot round coming at that second M60, the other T64 and BMP are reloading.  In the town I am moving 2 x T62s around the village to get them covering that approach, the third is covering the village on the other side.  I am going to keep pushing the center but now have a BMP and a T-62 taking positions to reinforce the cover on that far right flank.  I am also continuing to push dismounted infantry into the objective, going to spread them out and cover any approaches from the wood line.  Next 120 seconds are going to be very interesting, stay tuned.

Eleventh & Twelfth Minutes – “…damn your eyes.”
 
“There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry.”
George Armstrong Custer
 
Minute 11:
This might have been a pivotal turn and Warren must be reeling... his email simply said, “…damn your eyes”.  Warren is a pretty confident guy, but it could be that I am getting under his skin now.
Planned moves for this turn…
Tank Section 1 was moving to the rear slightly to improve their Hull Down status to the T-64Bs near NAI3 Tank Section 2 was moving forward to aggressively interdict the enemy vehicles near NAI2.. note that at the end of the last turn I had one BMP-1P spotted on this flank and this was the only enemy vehicle identified on this flank. Note the identified enemy units important for this turn’s resolution. Also note that the T-64B tagged in the following image, is NOT the same one I beat up on last turn.  I ordered my M-60s to ignore that one and concentrate on this second tank further back in the tree line.
For each of the following overall images, the firing unit is circled in white, the target is circled in yellow.

Tank Section 1 – 1/9: 
At the end of last turn this tank left a round in the air, and this turn it connected with a BMP-1…


Kill #1
 
Tank Section 1 – 1/8: 
Manually targeted the T-64B in the tree line… first round was a penetration but several HEAT rounds later this T-64B was knocked out.  Tough bastards.
Note that in this image, a T-64A has been spotted on Warren’s left flank (my right).


Kill #2
 
Tank Section 2 – 1/5: 
The T-64A was moving laterally in front of the treeline… it was an easy two rounds into its flank.



Kill #3
Note the BMP-1P in the background of the above image…
 
Tank Section 2 – 1/6: 
At the end of the turn, this tank finally killed the last of the Recon Platoon BMPs that was on this flank (this was the BMP that killed my M-150 last turn).  It took two rounds to kill it... a third set it alight.


Kill #4
Note the knocked out T-64A in the background.

 
Finally at the end of the eleventh minute, my 1st platoon’s recon scouts spotted a platoon of T-62s… this will be his final reinforcement.  These are located just beyond the overpass and behind the line of BMP-1s overwatching the infantry swarming toward the town.

 
 
Minute 12:
No images this turn… but in the twelfth minute Tank Section 2 (1/5 and 1/6) spot two more T-64As in the trees near the one destroyed last turn next to the BMP-1P… they hit them both several times (one received a gun hit), no penetrations and both were alive at the end of the turn, but they had both moved back and away from the line.. one or both of these tanks might be severely damaged and will be engaged again next turn.
 I've been building to this.for a while, but now... 
...Warren’s left flank is open.

I came across this link on youtube for LOTS of mods ( 1,16gb ) for CMSF all in one download.
I don`t know who to credit, but thanks!!!!
Just put the downloaded Z in the data folder and enjoy.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/n56sb91lc893e3f/z.7z

Little bit late for the current game at 1986, but this track really caught the cold war (& Thatcher Years) vibe, for me anyway:
 

“Here, across death’s other river, the Tartar horsemen shake their spears.”
T.S. Eliot
 
This BETA game is being played against Warren (The_Capt), and we are very familiar with each other’s style, strengths and weaknesses as we’ve been playing CM against each other for close to 20 years now.
CM Cold War was our brainchild and has been on our wargame design table, off and on, for eight years now, but now it is a real thing.  You’re welcome.    With that said it is only fitting that Warren and I play in this BETA AAR.  We haven’t played in public since our original CMBN BETA AAR, Not your Father’s Combat Mission. 
I hope you enjoy the ride, and welcome to the COLD WAR!!

Sidebar!  I strictly use the Movie Mode when I play so all of my screenshots use that feature.  I don't mean it to insult anybody, but I just think the game looks better.
Meeting Engagement at Dolbach Heights, 1980
When Warren and I laid out the design for this game we wanted it to be primarily and ultimately a sandbox for experimentation and reflection.  A tool to test the tactical theories that were prevalent at that time.  Time… yes, we also wanted to be able to examine the different sides from different time perspectives, and this release, the base game in the CM Cold War series, contains the years 1979 to 1982.  We also only cover the months March to October, mainly so we didn’t have to generate winter textures and models which would have been one feature too many.
This particular scenario is one that Warren and I threw together that we thought would be fun to play and show off.  The map is from the US Campaign and when you play that you will see this map eventually.  I will start my METT-T analysis in my next post, but for now, sit back, enjoy the existence of this game, and don’t go away!
Bil

CONTENTS:
METT-T Analysis MISSION ENEMY TERRAIN TROOPS / TIME Tentative Plan The Action: First Three Minutes! Fourth Minute - First Contact! Fifth Minute - Return of the Blood Board! Sixth & Seventh Minutes Eighth Minute - One Meter Too Many Eighth Minute - BDA & Some Movements Ninth Minute Tenth Minute Eleventh & Twelfth Minutes - "...damn your eyes." Thirteenth Minute - The Board is Set Fourteenth Minute - Spoiling Attack Plan Fifteenth through Seventeenth Minutes Eighteenth Minute - Relearning Old Lessons Nineteenth & Twentieth Minutes Twenty-First & Twenty-Second Minutes - Beyond Here, There be Dragons Twenty-Third & Twenty-Fourth Minutes - Saga of Tank Section 1

This is something I threw together in my own time. Please remember that this is from a beta build of the game and is subject to change. 

Not sure how much of an interest there will be, but I decided to share some faction mods I have made over the last month or so in case anyone wanted to use them. Not everything is completed in full, but are near a state of completion that I am happy with. I may make some tweaks/adjustments as time goes on, or if any major issues pop up. 
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hnuj6bmyst5n6kg/AABYp29_jC7l2uOSzuwRUuSea?dl=0
The above drop box link contains individual downloads for the following:
Britain
-British Woodland DPM Uniforms
-British Mixed Uniforms (Several variants of mixed S95 Woodland/Desert DPM Uniforms) 
Canada
-Canadian Woodland CADPAT TW Uniforms
-Canadian Mixed Uniforms (Several variants of mixed CADPAT TW/AR Uniforms)
Netherlands
-Dutch Woodland DPM Uniforms 
Germany
-German Woodland Flecktarn Uniforms
Russia
-Russian Faction ca. 2008 (or as close as I could get it) modeled after the war in Georgia. Conscript units wear mixed VSR/Flora uniforms, whereas regulars are primarily in Flora. Weapons have been visually changed in some instances, ex: AKM swapped for AK-74 model. Helmets are updated to the SSh-68.
Iran
-Iranian Faction modeled after resource pictures I could find online. Units are wearing Iranian DPM. Load Bearing equipment is featured in a US DCU pattern that I frequently saw Iranian troops wearing online. AK family has been replaced with G3 rifles. PKM has been (mostly) replaced by the MG3. All vehicles have been painted a uniform sand/desert tan color. I was going to try and replicate some vehicle patterns I found online but I was never really satisfied with how they came out. After thinking about it, I may leave them untouched, as it paints them in a more generic light and doesn't force them to specifically be Iranian; they could be any kind of make-believe faction you can think of. 
Notes:
-Regarding the Brits, Canadians, Dutch and Germans there are two sets for each camo type (woodland/mixed): one set that is clean and one set that is dirty. That way you can pick and choose which you would prefer. 
-In relation to the above, you only need to choose one of the options (Clean OR Dirty, not both) for each faction and drop that folder into your 'Z' folder to use. 
-Regarding the Russians, US Army & USMC, I did not alter the vehicle colors. There are a few mods (Euroscape) that come to mind that will give the vehicles more of a European paintjob. I would download those currently to complete the overall look.
-Most folders in each download will have a section titled "PSD". These are the photoshop file types that I used while editing. If you have photoshop or a program that can accept .PSD files you can open them up and make any changes you'd like. 
Known Issues: 
-Russian Faction currently does not exhibit any changes to the SF units. I have a few ideas here for what I want to do in the future but this will require some more experimentation. 
-Iranian MG3's that are setup via tripod are currently sunken into the ground. Have not been able to figure this one out yet.
-Iranian G3 rifles that replace the grenadier rifles do not have an underslung grenade launcher. Pretend they're just shooting rifle grenades!
-Any instance where a weapon swap has been performed (AKM to G3 for instance) is purely cosmetic. The G3 will still use the same ammo type from whatever rifle it is replacing; equally so, the magazine sizes will also stay the same. There is nothing that can be done about this on my end. 
-The Editor Logo for the Iranian Faction correctly displays the Iranian Flag button, but the text still reads "Syrian Army".
-The Editor Logo for the Russian Faction displays both the Syrian Flag and the text reads "Syrian Army".
-Some of the weapon icons in the squad overview have black backgrounds, I forgot to alpha channel these out and only just noticed today. Not game breaking by any means but I will see about fixing it up later on if/when I make further adjustments. 
-The Russian faction is still currently using Arabic voices. 
Pictures:

 British Troops in Mixed DPM 
 

German Troops in Flecktarn
 

Canadian Troops in CADPAT TW
 

Russian Conscripts in VSR/Flora
 

Russian Regulars in Flora
 

Iranian Conscripts
 

Iranian Regulars
 

More Iranian Regulars w/BMP-1
 
Huge thank you to mjkerner who, about this time last year, walked me through how to begin changing/editing the base game files. Modding has brought me just as much enjoyment as playing the game and I would not have been able to do it without him. 
 
Again, hopefully these will be useful to someone and help mix things up a bit. That's all I have for now!

This might interest those with a Normandy interest...
https://www.soldiersofshropshire.co.uk/events/
(Virtual) Lecture Series 2021: “75 Years On – Shropshire Soldiers on D-Day” – David Thornycroft, 29th January 2021, 7 – 8pm
UK Time
https://www.soldiersofshropshire.co.uk/events/?event=EVENT606167
 
 
Not sure if there is a ticket limit but let's give the guys some support...
P.s. No UK VAT or taxes have to be paid to take part.. (All from Europe and the World Welcome...)
😈
 
 

Going out on a limb here, but I don't imagine many of the UK folk on this forum voted for the fiasco aka Brexit.  To do so you would likely be incapable of playing a game like CM, but also you would be unlikely to be interested in history.

The only issue is people making an issue out of people looking at things from different perspectives, half-full vs half-empty.
Some people will like CM above all other things
Some people will dislike CM above all other things.
Some think perceived delays regarding videogames launch dates are enough to get worked up about.
Some think videogames are never enough get worked up about.
Than there are people so get worked up about others standing on the other side of the spectrum.  
--
In essence what you say is that there are more games than CM and that for some players CM has gotten stale and or had enough about that. I for one can fully understand that. I was playing CMSF back in 2007 or so. It is not a 'new' game and plenty will have burned out on it or just played enough of the game and have moved on. (Edit: although it might be new for quite some people discovering it through Steam).
Although I always keep coming back to CMx2 and have recently been playing much more PBEMs because IMO it's just the best game for the subject (and I have various other games and tried to like for example Graviteam and Armored Brigade; but I personally can't recommend them). So, for me yes is the best game in the genre and is alone with regards to the quality of play I get from it.
Your mileage might vary, but I don't see the issue with that I have such an opinion.
Besides not everyone has the same social norms. Some may be more allergic to perceived complaining, while others might be more allergic to perceived downplaying.
You can decide to end your issue right now. I for one don't care that people stopped caring about CM. 
The forum is for sure less active than years ago, but years ago CMx2 was a new game. I guess with CMx3 it will be more busy again, as there are new things to discuss 😉
 
 

This approach doesn't seem very helpful at all. 
In terms of BF decision making, it seems to make sense. 
Fix the problem behaviour for fleeing under bombardment - affects all titles.
Releast a major module that has been promised and was near completion. 
Prioritise potential major new business opportunity that will mean more security/better long term ability to develop (Develop CM 3 - ditto) . If this means a delay to CMRT, but means more certainty that BF will be around for the foreseeable, that is something I am happy to accept - aren't you? 
 
Also, with a very small team, real life is likely to impact them hard if something goes wrong (Elvis has made a few references to various team members being impacted) . Speaking personally, without being directly affected, Covid has been an utter nightmare for me, affecting my ability to do day-to-day stuff. 
They have tried to give forecasts, but by their own admission they regret this for many reasons (R2V being much more challenging, MoD project, etc). So holding them to past forecasts seems mean to me. 
It is in their interests to get product out of the door. Decision making in BF will be with the objective of making it sustainable/profitable. We can see CMRT is making progress. 
Ultimately I think almost everyone here agrees with/understands BF decisions, and are looking forward to new product as and when it is ready. 
 

Great wee vid showing T-34/85s being driven hard - they’re a lot smokier than I’d have thought!
Makes a change from the more common sedate 10km/h round in circles you normally see. 
 

One of my all time favorite maps is the CMBS Demo map from Black Sea with its rolling hills and detailed village. It features in at least two of the scenarios in that game.
I have converted it to work in Red Thunder. This wasn't easy, I have tried a few times before and it would never load. This time I deleted all the buildings in CMBS and then manually replaced them all after getting it to load in CMRT. A few extra tweaks were needed but not much. Kudos to its original author. This is Map 260 from Black Sea, (basically the meeting engagement version of the CMBS Demo map). AI plans are rudimentary but functional. 
 

Town-Hills Meet 260.zip

Okay folks - it's the weekend (still) and now that all the drama is over we can get back to driving tanks through hedges ... and of course today remembering the guys that did it for real.
Go here to get the read me pdf file (please) 
Then here and here for the two zip archives. (Hint - if you just want to get started without any faff then download the read me, grab the first zip file and you'll be playing in no time.)
Once it's been out for a few days and nobody has complained that it's broken their rig I'll get in touch with @Bootie to upload it to the warehouse, 'cos he probably hasn't got anywhere near enough to do ...

Now try to play this at iron, at ground level, with no spotting icons ... everything will soon suck!

I made these two SS-helmets to complement Lucky Strike's nice helmet pack, which I use with EZjax's excellent camo-peas uniforms. I use them in Final Blitzkrieg, but I imagine they will work in Normandy etc. You can probably add the camo-peas tag if you want too and increase their frequency by using multiple numbered copies.
I made them by taking the plain snow helmets, then taking parts of EZjax's uniforms to lay over the top, then tweaking to fit etc, so the color tones should match well.
 
DOWNLOAD LINK TO ZIP FILE (1.7MB)