Ryujin

Well, that's why its a good idea to keep those 4 M1A1 FEPs in good condition. I lost 2 over the campaign and one had seen better days, but if you look after them, they're invaluable throughout the campaign. You get to avoid moments like that. However, successfully linking with the Army will have some benefits for the last few missions.

There are a few more levels. Use M136s, I killed two of the tanks with those, especially at short range with a top attack from a building. It won't be easy but I think it can be done. Kiowa FFAR will not kill tanks, but the .50 does OK against BMPs.

********SOPOILERIFIC!!**************** The linkup is not the last level... if I remeber from way back when I played it, you just might have to do it old skool and use some M136s/LAWs. They still work fine. Plus don't you get more than two javelin rounds out of all those recon strykers? Don't you get an M1 too? The irony is I have a ton of pics from that link up mission because I was going to do an AAR. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4114340754_03ff2432d2_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2662/4114339364_7909a8ebf1_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2517/4113570857_6b5f98d0cd_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2791/4114340630_e71eef46af_o.jpg Was just sitting in my fraps folder for exactly one year from today! talk about a crazy coincidence. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2679/4114333160_837abca256_o.jpg

To hopefully clarify, KIAs are collected from the battlefield and their ammo is redistributed. KIAs (brown circles) are not in anyway "brought back to life" by "buddy aid". In the case of a KIA it is a much faster collection of the body. As Steve said, WIAs (red circles) have much longer medical aid administered and are evacuated, which greatly improves their odds of surviving their wounds.

I guess it depends on how careful and how much info is being sent to the FDC. I don't have any experience with this, but from what I understand the shortest call you could make (for the US anyway) is using laser polar and leaving most of it up to the FDC for first round fire for effect. I really don't know what the fastest and most ideal stuff would be for the FDC/tubes side of it. If the FDC knows where you are, you could locate the target via "laser polar" and get within 10m (range to within 10m and direction in mils from you). You could basically point your laser at stationary target, get the range, and give a call with the minimum input like: FDC, this is FO, fire for effect, laser polar, over (FDC reads back) Direction 1225 , Distance 840, over (FDC reads back) 1 BMP in the open, over (FDC reads back) Once approved, the FDC would respond: MTO, battery callsign, 4 rounds HE quick in effect, target number AB0001, over (FO reads back) And hopefully they hit it (this requires nice GPS and lasers on the FO's part and previous communication about the FO's location). If the FDC is good and the tubes know where they are, it could be pretty fast (not 2 minutes fast probably). I'm sure without GPS and lasers it's a mess, not to mention if the FO wants to make a huge call covering tons of details.

tyrspawn, don't forget the Russian tanks shoot ATGMs. The newer ones can arguably outrange the M1 or challenger, but that's where optics and firecontrol also come in to actually find and hit targets. The Javelin is good to 2,500m. The effective range of your M2/Mk16 is also greatly effected by whether it is hooked up to FCS like the CROWS. And while we're on the topic of accuracy, we need optics (generally speaking M145s) on the M249s/M240s. Not to mention getting rid of the old style SAWs the US forces have. Oh and 'target smoke' for 40mm smoke from underbarrel grenade launchers. And maybe some canister rounds for the M1s? But, I digress. Would be nice if we could mod the game, those models look extremely easy to make and then the trick would just be coding it in.

As everyone has been trying to tell you, your artillery bug seems to just be an issue with loading 1.20 saves in 1.21. (for campaigns loading from the "auto" mission start save will work fine) GSX, 1.21 works fine and is well worth it, go ahead and upgrade after you've finished any inprogress 1.20 missions.

Bigduke, there most have been something going on other than the skill of your troops. I've got response times of about 3 minutes for organic mortars out of veteran RG FOs, but under ideal comms and chain of command. So 6 minutes means there is something else going on. Did you have at least "small green plus" comms with the mortars? By the way, I did have my FOs and their HQ in their BMPs since i just did a quick test mission, which may have help comms? I did another test of ideal conditions, elite SF FOs standing next to their HQ. They also had excellent equipment, I don't know if that effects comms. The mortars were also elite I guess. So under 2:30 to send, a little under a minute from then for the first spotting round to hit. They bracketed it with the second and called fire for effect long before the 6 minutes were up. So I'm sure it's not skill, high skill units with ideal comms seem to be quite fast. So it might be something with the radio equipment or maybe the mortar skill, I don't know. Of course TRPs and telephone wire would help mitigate that (I'd like TRPs at least, they don't seem to hard to do, but I could see an issue with how it seems you guys set up area targets).

first keep in mind the HUGE effective range of your TOW and javelin missiles. I actually kept most of my force between the village area and the start. I have one TOW stryker in a hull down position covering a lot of the left low ground and a hull down TOW stryker on the right covering most of the high ground. Remember to bring them back in cover to reload. I put javelin teams in the village and covering any dead ground (areas my TOW strykers cannot see, but that offer an approach for the enemy). I use one scout team to hit the phase lines very slowly, using their styker at a minimum for transport, usually keeping it hidden. The key is really just recon, spot the armor before it spots you and either let it walk into a TOW/javelin killzone or hit it with AH-64s (CAS is good for dead ground on the far side of the map). Should be a piece of cake if you make them come to you and fight you on your terms, where you have the advantage. Also try to set up your ATGM ambushes so you don't have to engage too many tanks at once. If you set up your killzones carefully, it should be a turkey shoot and you shouldn't even take any fire, much less any casualties.

Move is sort of a non combat "march". The guys have their weapons hanging from the sling and move casually, the main benefit being move does not tire them at all, even if your going 2km. Though currently all of the movement in safe areas is still done with quick as there is basically no penalty, so move's advantage is pretty useless, short of going a km or so, your guys won't be that tired if they just jog. Your guys are harder to spot and spot better the slower they are going, so yes, there is some advantage to it in that regard. But hunt works better for that anyway.

The fast could possibly be a little faster, but the main thing as I think someone else might have mentioned, is the ability to give a fast move order to pinned US squad with a good leader and have them get up and haul *** under heavy fire. Great for those moments when if it would be better if your squad was somewhere not in the LOS of that tank... sort of a "get there ASAP no matter what" order. I never tried that with the Syrians though.

Not everything is on their end, those probably were not organic mortars, see my test with veteran Republican guard FO/HQ calling organic mortars, 3.5 minutes for the first spotting round to fall with the FOs. It doesn't matter how good your SF FO is if he has to deal with non-organic firesupport, then you get a bunch of other things mucking it up. Syrians aren't exactly the same as Russians, it's not so much the mortars as the chain of command, SOP, and radios. You can always try calling emergency fire, except then you probably couldn't hit the ground if it wasn't for gravity. Unfortunately, there are no Target Reference Points, which would be the fastest way, especially when defending.

Manual for the base game is on the site http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&book_id=2&Itemid=223 Manuals for the modules are on their respective sites I skimmed through the manual for a sec, funny quote that is ironically true ingame. "For example, a F-16 wouldn't drop a 2500lb bunker buster on a squad or a truck"

To give an example of what Dietrich is talking about: (ignore my copy paste mess up in paint) Here's a pic of some TO&E, note the company 60mm mortars, battalion 120mm mortars, and the brigade howitzers that I add separate to the battalion TO&E. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4102089446_be50b6e8a9_o.jpg When I select a company FO, notice he has access to the 60mm mortars in the rifle companies with a big green plus for excellent comms/access. The battalion 120mms have a large yellow plus, because they are not from his company, but he has to get them from the battalion level. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/4101334285_e5c5e9dfe0_o.jpg In this next pic you can see the brigade 105mms with small yellow plus, as he has to go way up to the brigade level to wrangle some 105mm fire. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/4102089432_2a625637aa_o.jpg Notice how comms deteriorate when I select a random HMMWV, not FOs http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4102105278_66df2ff4d6_o.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4102105286_ce13d5f62e_o.jpg I hope that helps explain some of what is going on with the communications, for syrians the difference in communications between organic assets and others is much more exaggerated. For example only really FO's can get to assets above the battalion level. If I throw in a battalion and some separate howitzers, only the observers, not even the battalion commander, have comms with the howitzers. EDIT Quick test: veteran Syrian battalion HQ calling battalion level mortars 4 minutes to send firemission under a minute then for the mortars to start spotting veteran Syrian battalion FO calling battalion level mortars 3 minutes to send firemission under a minute for the mortars to start spotting

Integral(organic) mortars are mortars that are under the direct command of the formation in question. For example a republican guard battalion might include several mortars, these mortars are for "personal use" by the battalion and being part of the battalion, can be called in much faster, since the FO/commander does not have to get access to say divisional artillery, less talking and approval is needed to use them. Veterancy also speeds on calling the artillery and the number of spotting rounds, a skilled FO can call in a firemission faster and more accurately. I wonder if AI FOs can now call unit targets on moving vehicles? That being they see you vehicles approaching and start calling in the firemission and by the time you get to the fa r side of the open area they might be ready to start adjusting rounds on. Do you see spotting rounds or do they just come raing down, no adjust? If there are no spotting rounds, it's preplanned and the mission maker guessed what you would do and timed it.

Yes, I had a LAR team slow move onto a roof and orientate to face something I wanted observed without them standing up or stopping hiding. Haven't used it anywhere else yet though.

It's a fine line between killing it fast and not having any AT left. Plastering a BTR with 3 AT4s at point blank range might be effective, but a bit awkward if the next thing that comes along is a T-62. Come to think of it, I wonder if "Target Light" would help? Though that doesn't change their reaction on contact. It would be nice if high skill/high moral units would try to not use too much overkill. If they see a BTR at 75m and they aren't under fire, a well aimed ambush shot rather than unloading everything on it. Where as if its a T-72 or if they're under fire I'd rather they made it dead ASAP. I don't know how they have things set up, but a little conditional logic could help.

@costard: True, but probably extremely unlikely, especially since they are wearing the vest and thus not mentally conditioned in the quite the same way as someone from WWII who is expecting much worse results from a chest hit. My theory anyway. @Cuirassier: Not the newer ESAPIs, in that video posted earlier you can see that guy get hit at pretty short range in the chest by a SVD and then get up and stay in the fight. The new ESAPIs are certified to 7.62x63mm armor piercing, which is more punch than the 7.62x54R. Clip about that incident:

Your right, though most are gas, not recoil operated. What I was trying to say is that it's not like being hit by a truck or something, by all means its a very hard kick, but odds are you'll still be in the fight. The guy in the video was probably hit by a hunting/sniper rifle, so something around 7.62x51 or 54.

Because you said "ballistic vest" I'm going to assume your not to familier with the stuff and start from the beginning. Modern body armor is based around large hard armor plates placed in pockets on the vest, generally over the vital organs on the front and back (and sometimes the sides). This can be supplemented with soft Kevlar armor in the vest itself, usually no "tougher" than NIJ Level II or IIa, its meant for shrapnel and can stop 9mm. The soft armor also enhances the effectiveness of the armor plates by providing backing.The BUFOR units in CMSF have armor with plates and soft armor. The plates are the key components of the armor, generally constructed of ceramic (which means they can crack from being dropped or shot). In the case of the US armor, ESAPI plates are used, which are NIJ Level IV, protection up to 7.62 x 63mm M2 armor piercing rounds. I'm not familer with how they perform under real conditions or with the British armor, but the ESAPI should provide protection from every Syrian round short of Russian .50. As far as being able to fight after being hit, keep in mind that when you fire a rifle, the recoil is the opposite and equal force imparted to the bullet. Obviously it's much more focused with the bullet, but while you may get a very nasty bruise and maybe a fracture, I think in most cases someone who was hit could keep fighting, especially with a hit from 7.62x39 or 5.45x39. The plate and soft armor backing is designed to distribute the force. None of the Syrians seem to have armor, SF included, that looks like a load bearing vest. USMC MTV: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Modular_Tactical_Vest_components.jpg

No, but some times Chuck's Syrian cousin, Abdul Norris shows up. Buildings don't fall on Abdul, he just pushes them down when the walls get in the way of his AK fire. I think it's just when the mission maker turns the motivation way up, but I don't know how they survive so much... maybe all the sane opposition surrenders or runs before it get's to collapsing buildings? Or the squad is so motivated that a 500lb bomb "tis but a flesh wound!". You only need one arm to spray with an AK... maybe "fanatical" means high as a kite on injected adrenalin? THAT causes so crazy combat situations, insurgents high on stuff like that have been known to shrug off several center mass hits or a lost limb like it was nothing. It would explain some of that pathfinding too...

As I believe was mentioned before, a lot of those things in the series were later refuted. I'll certainly agree it doesn't help the US military and since there are so many US troops compared to other coalition forces, any way you look at it they'll be responsible for the most "incidents". I don't know if US troops are actually a bigger hazard to civilians (I'd think not), but what people perceive, not the truth, is what matters with something like this.

I actually find this thread interesting, since I have had the opposite problem to the thread starter, I played the CMx1 games and they were neat and stuff, but had less idea of what to do there and felt too abstracted I didn't get a good feel for the battle, since a lot of CMx1 was behind the scenes and in your head. CMx1 also felt more gamey and probablity based (which I'm sure CMSF is also to a lesser degree, but it was very pronounced boardgame feel to it). CM:SF on the other hand just clicks, probably because I know modern equipment and tactics like how the CMx1 people know WW2, so the ATGMs, insurgents, and so on make tactical sense for me. Unlike CMx1 it feels like I can use much more real world tactics to their full effect and develop a plan to crush the enemy. I also prefer the more "fuzzy" and less board game approach to things. I agree with steve that CMSF is more of a sim than a wargame, to quote Leto "For those die hard gamers that want rules, probabilities and pure tactical game play, not pure realistic game play, this game is not for you". That right there is probably what separates it at a gameplay level, being more realistic there are a lot less hard and fast rules and probabilities for situations. You deal with imperfect information that you have to quickly utilize on a possibly a real time basis (I personally think realtime is the best mode for CMSF). In CMx1 it sounds like every 60 seconds people would carefully stop time, examine the situation and determine the probabilities of hits and which tank can price who's armor and calculate it out. With less abstraction in CMSF you get a more realistic command experince (as will probably be CM:N). From what I hear it seems many people's problems with the difficulty of the game stem from that CMx1 tactical mindset.

Actually, yes, the Bradley can and has taken RPG hits (I've heard of cases where bradleys shrugged off multiple RPGs without serious damage). With ERA it should be pretty safe from single warhead rounds and have at least some protection vs tandem warheads. With a Bradley A2/A3 with ERA you have a LOT more survivability, even if the vehicle is knocked out, compared to a BMP/M113 (since you use the term "gavin", which is really an incorrect term for the M113, I assume your one of those people). I believe the front armor (with out any extras) can stop not 20mm, but 30mm (according to FAS.org). Protection, schmotection is easy to say when you don't have to ride in it. Then you might appreciate a little extra schmotection on the BMP if it comes under fire from well... almost anything bigger than 7.62. However, you shouldn't be relying on armor and the nice optics and weapons go a long way in improving survivability. Is the Bradley perfect? Of course not, it certainly has it's flaws. But those extra ten tons of weight do have a purpose is what I'm trying to say, it has a record of killing MBTs and decent survivability. Since it falls under more of a fighting vehicle than a mobility vehicle like the BMP/M113, you can't completely compare the two. Firepower and protection is a much bigger factor on the M2.

At least in the case of the Bradley, I think it's actually up to around 20mm protection on the front arc. You also have a larger turret, bigger engine, and ERA. Weight is exchange for extra functionality as a weapons platform and improved survivability. Yes, it carts 7 dismounts to the battlefield, but when you get there with a Bradley, your more likely to spot the enemy, effectively engage them, and hopefully survive. At least in CMSF there is a HUGE difference in the combat performance. BMPs cart the infantry to the battle and can be employed carefully as some extra fire support for the infatry, but they have no survivability and poor optics, meaning they can only be carefully employed in relatively safe situations. A platoon of Bradley on the other hand is a force to be reckoned with, from my play experience at least they provide a formidable tool against anything short of ATGMs or MBTs (although they can ambush MBTs effectively). The extra 10 tons get you "light tank" functionalty ontop of it being a battlefield taxi. It's much like comparing a T-55 to an M1A1. Yes, their both tanks with cannons and have exactly the same "basic functionality", but I'd rather have something a bit less rusty than a T-55, the extra weight on the M1A1 is all technology and armor.