Paper Tiger

As well as reassuring folks that I'm not taking a break on this project again, posting updates serves to keep me actively working on this. If I didn't post my progress, I'd probably take a break from it and 'forget' for a few weeks. I REALLY want to get this finished preferably by the end of the year but as long as I keep working on it, it will get finished either on time or a bit later. Having said that, there probably will be a short break in updates from tomorrow for a day or two for obvious reasons.
Predictably, I couldn't leave Neuville alone. I've already made some small but important changes to the German forces that will make them a little bit more effective. The defending force is TINY as well so I can assign each unit to its own AI group with some to spare so it would be foolish not to take advantage of the new tools to make the defence more responsive to the player's moves. That's the point of making this revision after all.

I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
 
EDIT to add:
Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
 
EDIT to add:
Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

As it happens, that's an option I was considering. The StuGs get spotted instantly by Shermans anyway so not much would really be lost. 

I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
 
EDIT to add:
Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

As it happens, that's an option I was considering. The StuGs get spotted instantly by Shermans anyway so not much would really be lost. 

I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
 
EDIT to add:
Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

I'm not sure what to do about this. I tried having the StuGs advance one action spot to the bocage line at the start of the mission and they don't poke through. Good, but they can't spot diddly either. The one in the east gets spotted pretty much instantly - I drove a buttoned up Sherman into the field and as soon as it entered, it spotted the StuG behind the bocage and started firing. Of course, the StuG couldn't see anything at all and took three hits (ineffective except to close the hatches further reducing their chances to spot).
We had the opposite on the east flank where nobody could see anybody else so the StuG is completely ineffective and safe.
So, what to do? I think I'll just leave it as is because at least they can do something even if it looks weird.

I'm not sure what to do about this. I tried having the StuGs advance one action spot to the bocage line at the start of the mission and they don't poke through. Good, but they can't spot diddly either. The one in the east gets spotted pretty much instantly - I drove a buttoned up Sherman into the field and as soon as it entered, it spotted the StuG behind the bocage and started firing. Of course, the StuG couldn't see anything at all and took three hits (ineffective except to close the hatches further reducing their chances to spot).
We had the opposite on the east flank where nobody could see anybody else so the StuG is completely ineffective and safe.
So, what to do? I think I'll just leave it as is because at least they can do something even if it looks weird.

That's a very interesting detail. If you tell me which maps you want changed, let me know and I'll see what I can do. If you've decompiled the campaign, you can take a look at the orchards in the later missions and tell me if they're better. They're already remade like the orchards in The Scottish Corridor and improved further. But there's one which I won't redo and that's Orchard Hill - ironically and I'll tell you why.
The reason is because changing the trees in the orchard blocked existing LoS and changing it would mean redoing the AI entirely and I just couldn't do all that work over again. It's a change that needs to be made before you do the AI. I spent ages finding good LoS for defending units not just for plan A but for plan B too and so I undid the changes when I saw that LoS was blocked.
But otherwise,  yes, I'm very happy to make the changes you recommend. If I have time, yes, I will redo the AI for the Le Ham series of missions but not just now.

I actually do slip in some small terrain undulations to break up LoS because the real world is not generally billiard table flat (except perhaps for beaches). I've been doing that as long as I've been making maps for this game  Check out Beau Guillot for a good example - Google Earth shows flat terrain but as you can see, there are plenty of small dips.

I actually do slip in some small terrain undulations to break up LoS because the real world is not generally billiard table flat (except perhaps for beaches). I've been doing that as long as I've been making maps for this game  Check out Beau Guillot for a good example - Google Earth shows flat terrain but as you can see, there are plenty of small dips.

I actually do slip in some small terrain undulations to break up LoS because the real world is not generally billiard table flat (except perhaps for beaches). I've been doing that as long as I've been making maps for this game  Check out Beau Guillot for a good example - Google Earth shows flat terrain but as you can see, there are plenty of small dips.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

The thought did cross my mind briefly a while ago though. If they did want it as an extra, I'd be very happy for that to happen but I'm not pushing for it. It needs both the Market Garden and Vehicle Pack content to play so I can understand why that might not be appealing for them. 
The same will go for the revision of the Scottish Corridor that will come along some time in the future - it's going to need Market Garden and the Vehicle pack to work. I REALLY want a flamethrower tank or two in one or two of these missions as they were present in the real operation and there's no way that I'm redoing it without one. (Or at least trying it to see if it's as cool as I think it will be. I suspect it will completely destroy any existing balance in these missions but I want to try.)
 
Watching Hapless's Montebourg and Scottish Corridor series is what got me back into this. He did a really good job with his AARs - very professional. My wife was astonished when I pointed out to her that I made the series he was playing.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

Yes. Absolutely. The 'feedback' I got from watching that was incredibly helpful. I was actually embarrassed when he flunked the Scottish Corridor mission and went onto the Green path. That will definitely influence the remake. I want people to be able to win if they devise a good plan.
I have a hope that one day he'll do The Khabour Trail, the Canadian campaign I made for the CMSF NATO module (the first one). That's the campaign I'm most proud of.
I had a look at the revision that was made for CMSF2 and it looks almost identical with very little changed (probably because of the way I do the AI in my campaigns. It must have freaked them out when they realised they'd either have to do it all from scratch or try to fathom out how to update that so it still is pretty much my baby.

The thought did cross my mind briefly a while ago though. If they did want it as an extra, I'd be very happy for that to happen but I'm not pushing for it. It needs both the Market Garden and Vehicle Pack content to play so I can understand why that might not be appealing for them. 
The same will go for the revision of the Scottish Corridor that will come along some time in the future - it's going to need Market Garden and the Vehicle pack to work. I REALLY want a flamethrower tank or two in one or two of these missions as they were present in the real operation and there's no way that I'm redoing it without one. (Or at least trying it to see if it's as cool as I think it will be. I suspect it will completely destroy any existing balance in these missions but I want to try.)
 
Watching Hapless's Montebourg and Scottish Corridor series is what got me back into this. He did a really good job with his AARs - very professional. My wife was astonished when I pointed out to her that I made the series he was playing.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battle-for-normandy-campaigns/the-road-to-montebourg-revised-for-v4-0/
Don't worry, this won't overwrite or otherwise delete the original campaign that came on the disk. IIt's a completely different file. This is substantially different from the vanilla campaign and the number of changes made is huge but the most important one to note is that you will need both the Market Garden module and the Vehicle Pack to play this.
 
Other important highlights are that the 2/8 INF core units are now mostly Green with High morale which means you'll need to manage them more carefully in a firefight.
All-new AI plans using triggers and most of the tricks that came with later versions of the game.
Flamethrowers are included in some missions.
Some maps have been revised, most notably the map for Turnbull's Stand which veterans of the original campaign will probably notice quite quickly.
A 'new' mission has been added although those of you who found and played the earlier revised version that was uploaded to BFC's old Scenario Depot will recognise it. The campaign has a prelude phase consisting of the new mission and then the old campaign opener Beau Guillot. You should notice quite a few changes made to that mission as well - some extra help to make up for the drop in experience.
There is air support in quite a few missions now and less artillery, at least the bigger guns anyway.
 
Anyway, let's post this and then I'll see what needs to be 'fixed' or not in good time. This is an old campaign so i'm not expecting a ton of feedback for it for quite a while but let me know and I'll fix things. Now I'm taking a break from CMBN. I haven't quite decided what comes next - finishing Hasrabit or a new version of Gung Ho! for the German forces. Later, I'll get to work on the two Scottish campaigns I'd mentioned elswhere.
 
Have a Happy New year.

There were originally ten missions in Hasrabit. But I added a new opener which is staying so right now there are eleven.
However, I've got a possible two extra missions as well at Adan Airfield, one of which is already finished and tested but the second of which would require me to make up a whole new AI attack which can be a lot of work. I'm humming and hawing over including this short series because scripting AI attacks can be fun if you're in the right frame of mind so we'll see.
I'm also considering removing the Heavy Metal mission as it's a strange one and too similar to what I have already done in the earlier Hill 142 mission. It may require too much work to update. But again, we'll see.
There are so many AI meeting engagements in this campaign and they're the hardest to make challenging. It was not much work when the AI was simply move group 1 to A, then B, then C and just co-ordinating these groups but now there are up to sixteen of them with triggers as well. It gives much better results but is commensurable to the effort put in by the designer. (I haven't used that word in a long time)

All the campaigns I made for the disk were tested by some beta testers before the release so these kinds of mistakes were caught. In fact it was great having them because they used to catch things like flavour objects out of place, in the middle of the road etc. However, Hasrabit and Dinas, both large campaigns were not and were tested all by myself. I seem to recall a similar mistake in Dinas when it was released where there was some tank sitting in the middle of the map. I used to have what I called a 'Finished' folder where I moved missions that had all the checks performed and the artwork done before transferring. I missed that this time around probably because I was in a hurry to get finished. There's a kind of fatigue that sets in when you have a very large project under development and the desire to get it finished leads to some cut corners at the end. My bad.
So the lesson is to take my time and make sure nothing like that slips through the last checks next time. Hasrabit is not as big a project as Montebourg (in fact, Road to Montebourg is one of the biggest I made after Road to Dinas) but I will start this process again with that.

All the campaigns I made for the disk were tested by some beta testers before the release so these kinds of mistakes were caught. In fact it was great having them because they used to catch things like flavour objects out of place, in the middle of the road etc. However, Hasrabit and Dinas, both large campaigns were not and were tested all by myself. I seem to recall a similar mistake in Dinas when it was released where there was some tank sitting in the middle of the map. I used to have what I called a 'Finished' folder where I moved missions that had all the checks performed and the artwork done before transferring. I missed that this time around probably because I was in a hurry to get finished. There's a kind of fatigue that sets in when you have a very large project under development and the desire to get it finished leads to some cut corners at the end. My bad.
So the lesson is to take my time and make sure nothing like that slips through the last checks next time. Hasrabit is not as big a project as Montebourg (in fact, Road to Montebourg is one of the biggest I made after Road to Dinas) but I will start this process again with that.

There were originally ten missions in Hasrabit. But I added a new opener which is staying so right now there are eleven.
However, I've got a possible two extra missions as well at Adan Airfield, one of which is already finished and tested but the second of which would require me to make up a whole new AI attack which can be a lot of work. I'm humming and hawing over including this short series because scripting AI attacks can be fun if you're in the right frame of mind so we'll see.
I'm also considering removing the Heavy Metal mission as it's a strange one and too similar to what I have already done in the earlier Hill 142 mission. It may require too much work to update. But again, we'll see.
There are so many AI meeting engagements in this campaign and they're the hardest to make challenging. It was not much work when the AI was simply move group 1 to A, then B, then C and just co-ordinating these groups but now there are up to sixteen of them with triggers as well. It gives much better results but is commensurable to the effort put in by the designer. (I haven't used that word in a long time)

Aaaw crap! There's always something that slips through the last check. I have no idea how that got past - I must have re-imported these units after all the testing as I played the vanilla version several times without any issues. It's funny because they're not in the variant which is almost exactly the same. That's game breaker for sure but I guess you'll have a fairly easy run at this particular mission.
I have deleted these units and will get a fresh compilation up later today after I've run through everything else again. Thanks for letting me know.
 
And thanks for the feedback on the first three missions.
 
A new version with the tanks removed is now up. I've had a look through most of the other missions and there are no irregularities that I can see.