Sandokan

Our review
 
https://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/2020/09/combat-mission-shock-force-2.html

Since Combat Mission has launched on Steam, many people have been thrilled with its arrival as well as the possibilities it offers, including improved MP support. However, it seems there is a group/segment bent on reducing their overall rank/score. One major negative review managed to garner 28 awards (not too subtle) . So, to give Battlefront a helping hand, everyone here needs to leave a positive review to help counteract those efforts.

A little user made app called "Who's Turn is it?" does an awesome job of managing your PBEM games. It's as easy as pie with that app. 

Jeez, I hoped to be first. 😀

MOUT operations in CMx2 titles have always been pretty bloody if not executed without exceptional care. I can not make a statement regarding your specific situation, but what i ve observed in the couple of years playing CMx2 is that clearing a building occupied by hostile forces is
Best avoided if possible If avoiding clearing the building is impossible, destroy the building or its occupants using heavy fire power (tanks, aircraft artillery, what ever you' ve got). If destroying the building or it's occupants using heavy fire power is not possible, prepare it for infantry clearing by first spending a couple of turns suppressing it's occupants using at least a 3:1 force ratio and the target or target light command. RPGs and the like are wonderful tools for convincing an enemy in a building to leave it. After preparing the building for assault, keep suppressing it with a target-light command and a 2:1 force ratio an send a 1:1 force ratio troop into the building, carefully. Use the pause command and suppress each room with the assault element using target-briefly for at least 10 seconds before entering (this also leads to some grenade throwing, etc). If possible, send the assault element into the building using demo charges by blowing in a wall that has no windows and from the top most floor possible (because hand grenades work best if thrown from an upper to a lower floor). If heavy resistance is encountered in a room, retreat and try to destroy or at least suppress the enemy using your over-watch element from the outside. Using above listed steps, MOUT against an inferior force as the Syrians in CMSF2 can usually be done relative casualty free. Fighting an equal enemy such as the Russians in CMBS, on the other hand, will always cause you some losses, there is no way around it. Just accept it and keep pushing forward towards your mission objectives.

This scenario I have played three times as the Ukrainians, doing three different defense plans.  Two of scenarios ended in brutal street fighting and close quarter battles. 
 
One plan was the fall back to the victory zones in the city, repeatedly ambushing the Russian forces in street to street fighting. That one turned out fairly well in the end with solid victory but the casualties were high (but acceptable in regards to victory conditions) for the Ukrainians.
 
Next, I tried a 'Hold the Line' type of defence.  It went well until the second wave showed up and then I got slammed as the mass firepower of the second way decimate the defenders and the Russians pulled off a win.
 
The third try turned out super sweet.  Basic premise of that defense was mobile anti armor teams pushed out from the city and in essence, continually ambushed the Russian armor in the hedgerows and trees..  That resulted in a Total Victory and surprisingly minimal casualties for me.  It worked very well, keeping the Russians out of the town (though Russian infantry did make it up to the edge of town)
 
This is an outstanding scenario for learning and perfecting defensive tactics and force placement.  The map is generous enough in size to allow pretty much any defensive plan to be attempted.  
 
The terrain will be a curse to you for long fields of fire, making this for the most part, a close to medium range fight,  Try as I might with different layouts, it is nearly impossible for long range ATGMs shots due to the wooded windbreak lines of trees and the rolling nature of the ground.  The older ATGMs of the Ukrainians are adequate when vehicles are in the open but very nearly miss every time when shot through even a thin row of trees, making most ATGM shot 500 metres of less the norm for this scenario.
 
That said, with small anti-armor teams (RPG-7s) using the terrain to max advantage, one can make the terrain a nightmare for the Russians to push through.
 
I will avoid spoilers but will offer up one very significant piece of advice - Target arcs are your very best friend for this scenario to control your fire and set the engagement ranges when it benefits you.  The Russians are not a overwhelming force but the sheer firepower they have will result in them tearing your forces to pieces at range if your forces engage haphazardly.
 
Finally, a big shout out to Pete Wenman (the designer) for this wonderful scenario.   It is everything a great defensive scenario has to rivet someone like me to play again and again.  It is such a nail biter that 55 minutes seems like an eternity when the Russians bring their firepower to bear on you.  But it is possible to win and win big if your defensive chops are up to the job.

Is it just me or does that link not work anymore?
Is this it:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/707916676

It can be viewed at this link
I'll critique Chris's play once I get a chance to watch it myself.   
 

1. Blitzkrieg: 1939-40 
WWII Early war
Poland
France
(also Finland)

The UK has the ONS office for national statistics and they are doing work on trying to get an accurate picture of what is really happening. It is politically independent. 
The image from the BBC shows 2015 vs 2020.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51979654

Well, it took longer than expected to put this together, but better late than never, right?

My basic plan at this stage is to initially make an attack by fire from the berm, driving them up the ramps into positions where they will be hull down and able to engage the enemy static tanks and fortifications. Meanwhile, the breach team will move to the berm opening and begin looking for mines. 1st Platoon of A Company will be first through the breach.

My Fire Support Team calls in the Shadow UAV. Hopefully, this will enable us to ID enemy tanks and strongpoints before my tanks go up the berm. Even against an inferior force, every advantage helps.

Worryingly, one of my tanks bogs down in the sand. Fortunately, it eventually frees itself. The Strykers are not faring any better, the soft sand reducing their speed.

Already my UAV bears fruit, spotting two static tanks and enemy infantry in their trenches.

3rd tank of 1st Platoon makes a daring dash across the berm opening, beelining for the furthermost berm ramp.

The MGS platoon begins moving up. I intend to use them to shoot up the fort through the berm opening as I make my attack.

The UAV spots some destroyed bunker tanks, victims of the aerial campaign.

Shifting its attention to the enemy positions straddling the highway, a few minutes of observation reveals enemy bunkers.

3rd Platoon of A Company arrives, and I order them to join the queue of vehicles forming up behind the breach. It's time for the tanks to go over the top.




The carnage is wonderful to behold. The tanks of 1st Platoon methodically engage and destroy the tanks and bunkers that they spot.

Astoundingly, enemy troops are already fleeing into the desert.

The breach team moves up, sniffing for mines.

My tanks are having trouble spotting the static tanks in their battle positions, so I call in precision fire missions from my artillery to do the job instead.


With the tanks and bunkers that are spotted being destroyed, my tanks now engage the enemy infantry in their trenches, bombarding them with HE and hosing them down with their co-axial machine guns.





What I expected soon transpires: Syrian T-55s (mobile ones) are spotted moving up at the far end of the wadi. However, they fail to make use of the concealment offered by the wadi and are quickly knocked out by the tanks on the berm.


To try and spot the remaining enemy static tanks, I unbutton my tanks. This swiftly draws a hail of machine gun fire from the trenches, and two heavy DShK machine guns also open up from the watchtowers of the fort. I immediately task one tank each to the offending HMGs.

2nd Platoon of A Company arrives, along with the last of my artillery support.


More T-55s trickle along the wadi, meeting the same fate as their comrades. One almost makes it to the trenches.

Almost.


Precision 155mm rounds come in, frustratingly landing in a perfect straddle around the southernmost static tank. Meanwhile, Syrian troops continue to flee in twos and threes into the desert.

I call a harassing fire from the 155s down on the trenches either side of the highway, keeping the pressure on.

My precision rounds are finally able to hit something, achieving a perfect double tap on one of the static tanks.

At long last, the breach team spots a patch of mines and begins clearing.

Yet more T-55s filter in and are wiped out.

An entire tank company now lies in twisted, burning ruins.




While this is going on, Syrians continue to flee their trenches in ones and twos, which unfortunately sends them out of the frying pan and into the fire

The next precision shoot once again performs a perfect straddle of the southernmost static tank. I need to kill this tank, and my tanks are seemingly unable to spot it.

The patch of mines is partially cleared.


Airburst rounds begin to burst over the Syrian trenches, for now coming in at a slow, steady pace. Just enough to keep the infantry that hasn't already fled nice and rattled.

The last of my precision rounds are once again defeated by this blasted (or rather, un-blasted) static tank. I have no choice now but to lead the assault with my tanks, instead of leaving them on the berm as I had previously planned. The tanks will go through the breach first, as I am confident that they will be able to safely engage any static enemy tanks that decide to open fire. The Strykers will follow shortly after and make their assault on the fort.

More intact static tanks lie in wait on the north side of the fort too, their deep fighting positions allowing them to escape the ire of my Abrams.

Moving up to the berm opening, 3rd tank spots one of the dug-in tanks and engages it.

As the tanks line up, the MGS' move into position. Bunching up like this dangerous, but I'm confident that for now, we are safe.



Meanwhile, I am putting my fire plan into action. I will be pounding the fort with two 155mm sections, one section placing its fire across the whole fort complex and the second section targeting the barracks building. Judging from the amount of Syrians that I've seen fleeing into the desert, I am confident that there aren't many men left in the trenches astride the highway. Consequently, those trenches will only receive fire from the remaining 155mm section. When my units can get eyes on, I will be hitting the trenches north of the fort with the 120mm mortars.



155mm shells rain on the fort and trenches.


Syrian conscripts flee the terrifying barrage and are mown down.

The time has come, 1st Platoon of B Company inching their way through the minefield.

Amazingly, no mines are set off and the tanks are safely through.

As the tanks spread out and push towards the trenches, the breach team makes one last effort to spot more mines.

The fort continues to suffer.

There is a nearly catastrophic friendly fire incident, as an MGS spots enemy infantry and in his zeal, shoots an Abrams in the back. Luckily, it only fires a HE shell and the damage to the Abrams is minor.

It is now 1st Platoon of A Company's turn to risk the minefield. Two Strykers manage to squeeze through . . .



While all of this is going on, the 120mm battalion mortars pepper the trenches north of the fort. Chaos ensues as Syrians flee the field and are mown down.

The other half of 1st Platoon traverse the minefield safely.


Their fields of fire now safely clear, the MGS platoon starts firing on the fort HQ.


The two Abrams attacking down the highway continue to hunt for the southern static enemy tank, inching ever closer. The other two Abrams take up position in front of the fort HQ, watching the northern trenches just in case any of the other static tanks try to be heroic.


1st Platoon begins their assault on the fort. I have decided that I do not want to push my luck with the minefield any more. Thus, I will assault the fort with only 1st Platoon. This is risky, but throughout the battle, the enemy troops have been fleeing at the slightest provocation. I judge that the enemy is severely rattled. As long as I handle 1st Platoon carefully, they should be able to take the fort.

At long last, the Abrams spot the dug-in enemy tank, and it is obliterated at virtually point-blank range.

The commander and loader unbutton and mow down more fleeing Syrians.

Fireteams of 1st Platoon hurl themselves forward, as the rest of the platoon lay down suppressive fire on suspected enemy positions. Fire from enemy RPG and machine gun teams within the fort is taken as the fireteams close with the trenches.


The rest of the platoon closes in.


The platoon occupies the trenches, trampling over mangled corpse piles that are all that remains of the previous occupants.



The tanks close in and begin blazing away with their machine guns.

A DShK HMG in the middle of the fort tries to take a crack at one of my tank commanders but is quickly taken out.

A Syrian squad attempts to flee and is swiftly cut to pieces.


3rd Squad of 1st Platoon tries to flank around through a hole blasted in the fortress wall, but are stopped by a squad of Syrians hunkered down in the fort HQ. However, the return fire of my troops is effective and the Syrians either run or surrender.



A fireteam from 2nd Squad dashes through the gate into the fort, making for one of the gatehouses, taking heavy fire all the way. A Syrian team in the gatehouse tries to spring a point-blank ambush but are immediately gunned down by the intrepid team. The team begin to take heavy fire from all angles and are pinned down.

The question of how to save this fireteam is swiftly answered, as the Syrians surrender. I am rewarded with a total victory! Despite some mistakes and missteps, this is probably the best outcome that I could have wished for, with no casualties or vehicle losses whatsoever.
There are actually a surprising amount of Syrian units still left in the field, with several teams in the fort and a few left in the northern trenches. Some of the static tanks have also survived the carnage, their deep fighting positions shielding them from the ire of the Abrams on the berm. However, this cuts both ways as their contribution to the battle was . . . minimal, to say the least. Not a single enemy tank, static or otherwise, did so much as fire a shot throughout the entire battle. But then, I can't say that I didn't expect that. The optics of the T-54/T-55 series aren't fantastic at the best of times, and at night, against the most modern, most powerful main battle tanks in the world? The outcome never really was in doubt.
So, as mentioned this is the absolute best outcome that I could possibly have got. However, some mistakes were made. For starters, I failed to adequately sweep the minefield. Fortuna was kind to me in this instance, and the few vehicles that I risked got through unscathed. But the minefield prevented the ingress of my remaining Stryker platoons. If the enemy in the fort had been less badly shaken, the one platoon that did go through would likely have had a very bad time of it. Unfortunately there was very little I could actually do about this, as my breach team were sitting on the minefield for virtually the entire battle, and still only managed to spot one measly patch of mines.
Secondly, the timing of my fire support left something to be desired. Ideally, my men should have been dismounting from their Strykers just as the last shells were impacting the fort and trenches. However, due to the slow passage through the minefield, the barrage ended long before that. This accounts for the surprisingly stiff resistance that I received from the Syrians still inside the fort.
I failed to keep track of the enemy infantry. What I should have done was keep a tally of the enemy infantry fleeing the trenches and spotted within the fort. This way, I would have known that the trenches astride the highway were unoccupied when the time came to make my assault, and the 155mm battery could have been used elsewhere. I also would have had a decent estimate of enemy troops within the fort itself, as opposed to the big fat question mark that was the answer to that question as I closed in.
Lastly, timing in general. I had one hour with which to complete this mission, and I used up every minute. I spent too long trying to clear the minefield, spent too long sitting on the berm shooting up fleeing Syrians and spent too long waiting for fire support to come in. The end result was that my final assault was made with dangerous haste. I'm not sure what I could have done to improve this, beyond simply more experience with the game and more thorough planning.
I'll try to keep some of these lessons in mind as I go forward. For now though, on to mission two! Stay tuned!

Right, let's get cracking.

Our first mission is a nice simple one. The invasion of Syria is beginning and TF Thunder is leading the charge. Our target is an old fortress watching the Syria-Iraq border. My forces for this mission are a mech-heavy company team from my battlegroup.

Our mission is to occupy the barracks and HQ building of the border fort and to secure the border crossing by destroying the Syrian forces garrisoning the crossing point.
The enemy is a reserve infantry battalion, dug in and supported by static T-55/T-54 tanks. The enemy positions have little to no depth, companies in line and platoons in line. They have mined the only crossing point. The battalion is lightly armed and likely to be poorly trained and led. Their tanks are a serious threat to my Strykers but pose little threat to my tanks. The mines will need to be cleared and the Syrian tanks will need to be eliminated or neutralised before I make my assault on the fort.

The AO is roughly 1km x 1km and the terrain is not complex, a flat desert dominated by a few key terrain features.

Most important is the border berm, running north-south. This completely blocks movement and (obviously) provides concealment. The only opening lies south of my start line where a highway cuts through the berm and as previously mentioned, has been mined by the Syrians. Luckily for me, however, some kind souls have built ramps sloping up my side of the berm. This turns a previously onerous obstacle into a ready-made hull-down firing position with excellent sightlines and fields of fire. This is an advantage that I will be making great use of.

The fort dominates the Syrian position. The buildings provide cover and concealment for infantry and provide clear sightlines across the entirety of the Syrian half of the AO. The buildings are likely to be occupied by Syrian HQ units and rifle squads. Care will have to be taken when occupying this objective, as while the Syrian reservists are no match for my riflemen in a firefight, they may be able to inflict casualties by lying in wait inside the buildings and setting point-blank ambushes. Much of my fire will have to be concentrated on this objective.

Behind the Syrian positions, a dry Wadi leads north-west to south-east. This could provide shelter from observation and direct fires. The Wadi would be a decent place for a quick reaction force to reinforce the Syrian positions. It will have to be placed under observation as I make my attack.

The conditions are fine, with clear weather, warm temperature, dry ground and a light wind coming from the west. Helpfully, the Syrians are also being hit by a moderate E-warfare effort.

My troops consist of A Company (a Stryker rifle company), reinforced by an armoured platoon from B Company. On the field at deployment, I have 1st Platoon of A Company, 1st Platoon of B Company, the Mobile Gun System Platoon and the Company HQ Platoon. The Company HQ Platoon has a breach team of engineers for clearing the mines at the berm opening. The 2nd and 3rd Platoons of A Company will gradually reinforce, arriving in approximately ten and twenty minutes, respectively. Our fire support is extensive. Along with the two 120mm mortar sections (two tubes to a section) of the battalion artillery, we will have an entire 155mm howitzer battery (three two-gun sections) available when they have completed their counter-battery missions. Also available to me is an RQ-7B Shadow UAV for observation.
I have a powerful force, my fire support is extensive, the terrain gives me a great advantage and my enemy is of poor quality. If I keep things simple and sensible, there should be no question of victory.
The next instalment will be much sooner than this one was, as I have already played the mission, taken my screenshots and made my notes. Watch this space!

This thread is an offshoot of the Co-op AAR that @IanL and I have ongoing in the CMFS 2 forum.  In that game we tested a set of realism rules we called the Hard Cat Rules.
Well I have been doing a lot of talking about perhaps adding some rule additions to that basic set and got some great feedback and ideas along the way.  What follows are my extended rules, my intent was to maintain ease of use, and the basic rules fit on one standard page, so they can easily be printed out and referred to during play.  My main goal was to create the feeling of Command and Control without overwhelming the players with spreadsheets or writing stuff down (like my previous attempt).  
I am looking for feedback and suggestions with these, if you think they are too complex tell me why.. if they don't make sense to you  let me know, etc.
Here are the basic rules - a formatted PDF Version available at this link This PDF includes all of the latest additions (version 2H) - UPDATED 01JUN22
Click the image to see full size.

The following Advanced or Optional Rules also fit on one page, they are on page two of the PDF linked above. 

Click the image to see full size.
 

This may belong in an already open thread, in which case my apologies for starting an unnecessary one, but I am pressed for time at the moment and can't spend a lot here yet. But I did want to bring friends and colleagues up to date.
On December 20th. I suffered a fall which fractured my upper right arm and had to spend the next three months in a nursing facility more or less incommunicado. I only arrived back home Monday and am scrambling to pick up where I left off. I had for instance 751 emails waiting for me which I have so far only managed to put a small dent in.
Anyway, expect to hear more from me in the future. For some inexplicable reason, I missed you guys.

Michael

I’ve no idea how many are reading this but I’ll give some background to what you’re seeing.
First of all, this is created using new software that I wanted to try. Making this comic took almost three months which is about the same time per page as my previous ones. I was concerned about the learning curve when switching software but it was less effort than I expected. There were a few shortcomings, like very few onomatopoeia, and one's ability to manipulate them wasn’t as advanced as my usual software. However, the ability to change the dimensions and shapes of each panel on the fly was huge. Previously I had to go on to separate custom software to re-size the individual panels on a page and they had to be four sized, and right-angle parallelograms. With the software I used here, I could almost make any shape. This afforded much more flexibility in terms of layout, as well as reducing reader boredom through panel layout repetition.
Second, I wanted to give the perspective of a single squad in combat. Some films, and a number of books, have taken a much more focused view of battle, personalizing it. Rather than making it that of one man, I thought a squad might be interesting. There are few grand overheads, because a squad would have none. There are few explanations of what is going on everywhere else in the battle (and it was a fair sized one) because again, a squad would have little such information. If you’re confused what is going on where, then you’re in the boots of Gorokhov and his men: aware of a wider engagement around you, following where you are led, and only certain of what you’re doing and the ground you’re running on.
Finally, since this is a special edition, the look itself of the graphics is different. You won’t find many speech bubbles here, and no comic half-tone dots. I wanted this to look less like a comic and more like a graphic novel.

Since a lot of people have more reading time than usual right now, Osprey is giving away 5 free eBooks a week for the next 4 weeks.
Take a look here

I've got an idea.  Let's NOT trust scientists & doctors who ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. Let's trust Fox news, who've done a stellar job of brainwashing people into being very unsafe (recent poll showed only 38% of Fox watchers thought virus was serious).  Let's trust the average Joe.  Like we do on climate change in america, where the scientists are all liars but folks making money off fossil fuels somehow have no reason to lie.  Oh, and basic biology is not based on evolution,  just ask the average joe.  And the earth is 6000 years old.  Just ask Joe.  And average Joe wants to know who is to blame for this!  F--k average joe, he is an idiot.
This is not complicated to understand -- we must slow the infection RATE.  Italy has over 4000 dead w 627 dying in a single day this week and US is around a week behind them in getting our infection started.  No one in this thread so far has mentioned "flattening the curve", which is the most basic requirement for understanding what is happening:  The death rate for covid is less than 1%.  UNTIL YOU RUN OUT OF VENTILATORS THEN IT'S 3-5%.  That's 10 million in america alone.  We must keep the number of life-threatening cases below the number of respirators we have available, or 1% becomes 5%.  Italian doctors have to decide who to save because they have more dying folks than life saving machines.
But here I see mostly conspiracy theory and unsubstantiated internet drive (w some welcome and notable exceptions).  
By the way, do y'all know where the Spanish Flu actually started?  Kansas, USA, army base had the first verified case, though where it actually 'started' is unknown.
 

we don't yet know what is happening now as this disease has only been here since late November.  The Epidemic of 1918 circled the globe 3x due to reinfection in a world nowhere near as connected as ours.  They didn't even really know what a virus was and their world was already totally disrupted by the war.  This won't be the same for sure.  However to say we are over reacting (and I'm not referring to those idiots buying 100 rolls of toilet paper) by getting people to socially disconnect in order to give our health care system a chance to handle the influx of folks is just wrong.  Think about it - old folks, pregnant women, cancer patients etc etc can't go near a hospital as they could easily die from this.  Respirators are already in short supply with little ability to ramp up to meet demand if the number s rise too quickly.  Yes there is a severe economic cost we are going to pay, no question. The real question though is are we willing to take action and take the economic hit in order to take care of folks, to make sure our healthcare system can manage this?  You ready to risk your parents?  Mine are in their 80s with preexisting respiratory issues.  This WILL kill them.
As to whether to believe that guy - what qualifies him to make that statement?  He has no real expertise, he isn't known in any circles as an expert or viruses or epidemics.  You can get 1% of scientists to say climate change isn't real...so you gonna say you aren't sure whether you believe that 1% versus the 99%?  That dude just spun a bunch of crap with no real facts, WHY would you believe him?
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-03-11/1918-flu-epidemic-coronavirus

In the course of dozen playthroughs and experiments with Blender/CM2 Tools (http://community.battlefront.com/topic/118928-combat-mission-modding-tools/) several assets were created which I want to share with the community:
Big Cargo Ship

 
BF109

 
Radar Station

 
Downed Blackhawk

 
Fire Truck

 
Ambulance

 
Barricade + optional Smoke/Burn Stash (Wreck, an invisible alternative is created by 37MM)

 
Barricade (three sizes)

 
Humvee V3 Woodland (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V3 Desert (Randomized Gear)

 
Humvee V2 Geardo Desert (Permanent Full Gear) 

 
AFRICAN UNCON (now also including conventional African Forces conversion by 37MM, original work by MikeyD) 

 
Falklands War Scorpion, Scimitar, and Argentinian LVTP-7 conversion

 
Makeshift VBIED

 
Humvee Wreck

 
Uncaged M2 Stryker

 
Marines to Army Special Forces or Navy SEALS conversion skins (including work of mjkerner, Combatinfman, Blimey)

 
BMP1/2 to BMD1/2 conversion (with corrected hatches)

 
Desert KAMAZ Skin

 
Marines frankensteined Armored MTVR Skin

 
New Syrian Special Forces and Woodland vehicles (based on the work of various modders)

 
Syrian Winter Mod (just terrain and partial "winterization" of vehicles, created for a Hasrabit Campaign playthrough)

 
PK Pickup to PK UAZ conversion

 
Russian Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
US Army & Marines Woodland Forces (original work Euroscape + various modders)

 
All these mods and many more can be found in this Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
Credits to modders, 3D-Artists, and Battlefront.
For better quality footage and more information about 3D custom models check out the recent videos & descpriptions here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeK7fSyoEE8aorVLlVfNcAQ
The custom flavor objects have a "crate1" box placed into their center. Click it to interact with its placing. Zoom into the model if difficult. There are some FOV issues with bigger flavor objects can perhaps fixed by making the original "crate1" box bigger in Blender/CM2tools. Combine flavor objects with "visible/invisible" wreck objects to give them obstacle characteristics.
Good free library of 3D models you could use for importing. .max does not work with Blender. There are others.
http://www.cadnav.com/
Tutorials on Blender and CM2Tools can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkbTOSIrNV0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVAMaELSao&feature=youtu.be
The main intent was to explore the possibilities of this method. As I see this as accomplished I´ll step back now and hope it will motivate others to get into it. Prior getting into custom CM models I had absolute zero experience in 3D modelling, Blender or whatever but found my way into it in a short period of time and once you figure out the specifics it is not that difficult. Give it a try.  Anyone interested in custom CM models can reach out on Discord.
Happy wargaming.

How did he put up with Patton assaulting an American servicemen or Bradley's childish temper tantrums all the time? He was mindful of the fact he was the boss of all these men and that he had to be responsible for his staff, which meant among many things that he had to be fair. Montgomery was an arrogant egomaniac but can you find a General for me in all of history who wasn't? Compared to the equally boisterous qualities of many of his equally famous peers Montgomery was not all that much worse in either the social or professional sense. 
The Press was a major factor back in 1940 and you had to factor it in since the war effort was a taxpayer funded thing directed by civilian governments in London and Washington. Montgomery pandered shamelessly to inflate his importance to be sure but plenty of his stardom was in fact promoted by Churchill who was rather well known for demanding his Generals prioritize the British Empire's prestige over sound strategy. Montgomery was the media's poster child for British Generalship during the war but for good reason. He was reassuring, charming, and confident and that counted for quite a lot, not only to the press but also to subordinate staff looking for their boss to set an example. 
He was a star baby, no less than the other big actors trying to grab the spotlight of the war, MacArthur, Patton, Bradley, Clark, yes even the German Generals Rommel, Guderian, Manstein etc. These guys didn't become Generals for being modest that's for sure. Which is a shame because in fact the best Generals on both sides of the war are frequently the ones you didn't hear all that much about. Eisenhower could only underline the value of guys like Simpson, Patch, Gerow, Truscott in a report while the war was winding down while i'm not sure the British even thanked Auchinleck or Wavell or Leese. 
Today's pop media has done very little to deflate the drama around any of the war's biggest personalities like Patton or Montgomery, in some ways its made things worse by asking honestly silly questions like "who's strategy was better" when strategy wasn't up to them. 
EDIT: To add, probably the angriest Eisenhower ever got was over the recalcitrance of an Admiral who wasn't even under his command, French Admiral Jean Darlan and his foot dragging over surrendering Vichy North Africa. Poor Ike actually yelled that he "needed a good assassin" at one point openly to his staff while smoking whole packs of Camels from the isolation of Gibraltar while what seemed like Darlan's ego was putting the entire invasion at risk. In the end ironically Darlan was assassinated but the crisis had passed by then. This event was not a proud moment for the Supreme Allied Commander who appeared to have lost his nerve, but such was the nature of the Invasion of North Africa that the Americans were totally new at all of this and there were problems top-to-bottom. Even Eisenhower had things to learn after all...

I've joked before that BFC must have a limited list of (ahem) 'popular' wars to cover. The world is full of conflict but there's little sales potential in producing a 1979 China vs Vietnam war title or one covering the 1974 Cyprus invasion. In the past Steve had previously shown an interest in the modern Chinese army but there simply isn't a marketable 'counterfactual history' to set such a title in. I suggested the Chinese invasion of Taiwan but that got poopooed. WWII North Africa would naturally be on any short list of legitimate contenders.
Wild speculation, just knowing how BFC thinks, I'd guess a North Africa title would start at Operation Torch with a Kassarine Pass campaign included. Modules would bring in the Brits and take the timeline up to the Sicily invasion. And EVERYONE would complain because it doesn't include El Alamein.

I talk about moving through Open Terrain in this blog post:  Platoon Scouts

As the gents above have said, recon is the key.. that and Masked Terrain Movement ... even most open terrain has dips and rises that yo can take advantage of.

Good luck.  

Hi Doug:  Any film scored by the highly talented Hans Zimmer can raise the hairs on the back of your neck.  In addition, if you are troubled by loud sudden sounds films like Dunkirk may be troubling.  
Do you have the same aversion to horror films btw?  Most of their effect is through sudden, unexpected loud sounds.
A suggestion is to wait to get the DVD and watch with the volume turned down.
Speaking of war films I just saw "Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan".  Not nearly as good as Apocalypse Now or Platoon etc. but good enuff and interesting as it deals with an ANZAC action similar to "We were soldiers once, and young..."

Guys
This thread will be used for me to advise you of updates and latest uploads to the aforementioned areas.
Its an ongoing process that Im working through but a quick update for this first post is....
The Scenario Depot III : Ive totally redesigned this and am working on fixing thumbnails so that the grid format looks good.  When uploading scenarios be sure to use a square image (any size) for your featured image.

The CM Mod Warehouse : A huge task that Im still plodding away at. Im tidying up all the downloads from the previous site and have also got a HDD full of mods from the mists of time that will eventually all get uploaded also.
The Proving Grounds II : This site is dead but I am going to work on it to turn TPGII into something new... possibly a challenge site or something along those lines... still to be decided.
Any updates I carry out or content uploaded you will be notified about in this thread.  
Thats all for now.
Thanks
Bootie

This is a superb video contrasting common depictions in war movies of how infantry carried their weapons against real period sources and photographic evidence. Has lots of useful pictures, including squad movement through drainage ditches in Normandy, British infantry in assault configuration complete with T-handled full size shovels, GIs advancing, Germans in city fighting and the famous BoB StG44 equipped SS moving past burning US halftrack, plus images and text from German, US and British manuals and even training film. Also describes several sites where excellent information on particulars of weapon handling in WW II are covered. Not only is this information helpful for skins and terrain info, , not to mention potential VO chrome via German command to get down, but I believe it could be fed into the soldier animations. Might be interesting to explore animations for prisoner handling upon capture, too. Have read the GIs commonly cut the belt of prisoners, so they'd have to use their hands to hold up their pants, greatly limiting opportunities for mischief!
 
Regards,

John Kettler