Buzz

What was fascinating to me was the "golden hour" has become the "golden 10 minutes" on the Modern Battlefield! Everything is fast in Modern.

Right now, my tactical approach is... roll Panzers vorwarts, and crush everything in my path….. Bottom line: Abrams alone, or dispersed are fairly lethal. In wide open terrain, in pairs, they border on invincible. I like the sound of it.... a satisfying sound of success

“I got him,” the gunner responded. “Do it.” “On the way.” “Cha-changk!” Yeah... Black Sea & Modern is going to be a whole new world of warp speed entertainment “Cha-changk!”

Congratulations Chris. This is a tremendous amount of work and sure to be an invaluable resource for folks wanting to learn Modern CM.

If you are keeping track, that is: 14 M1A2 SEP 15 Bradley This is nuts. Very tough nuts to crack Bil! That is a big bag of Modern Mayhem heading your way. If you pull this rabbit out of a hat ... just put Emperor in front of your name Good Luck and Good Hunting.

Have you ever wondered how Modern "Black Sea" buddy aid is different than WWII? Check out BBC Science Hour today on "Trauma medicine." It is an hour long program but, IMO, well worth a listen. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fphy0 If you are interested in how ATLS was started, protocols developed and taught in the 70s... how UK MERT teams train and operate in extremely stressful battlefield trauma situations.... much of this is and more is covered in this radio program. It takes a very special mind / skill set to negotiate advanced 'buddy aid'. I know how difficult this work is. I salute these "buddies". Soldier animations of 'buddy aid' = delivering immediate battlefield first aid, is probably an overlooked part of CM gaming for most of us. I know CM is a game but I find myself very reluctant to remove any pixel soldier giving buddy aid in a scenario. I kind of think how would this buddy feel seeing his buddy injured next to him. The note in the CM 3.0 Engine Manual on 'medic' - 'buddy aid'. "Incapacitated (red base) soldiers who have not received “buddy aid” (i.e. disappeared) by the end of the game have a 25% chance of becoming KIA in the finally tally. Dead soldiers (brown soldier base) can also receive “Buddy Aid” (by moving a friendly soldier close to the location), but all it does is reclaim their ammo and weapons, if possible. “Aid” to dead soldiers is pretty quick." I am thankful this important part of the battlefield is represented in CM.

sfhand "....is it safe to assume there is no 3.1 patch for CMFI due to upcoming content release?" "Right now my time is completely absorbed with Black Sea. When that gets out I'll swing back around to look at a patch for Fortress Italy. ChrisND" Don't 'forgot'this is heading our way too "We have not officially ended development on CMBN content. Besides future Upgrades, which are a sure thing, we are still thinking about doing various Packs. However, for now we're focusing on a few other areas. Getting back to some questions about future content for Red Thunder and Fortress Italy. We are planning more content for both of these as well. Next up for both will be Modules to carry the theaters to the end of the war. We do not have timeframes yet for either one... Steve" "We had planned on showing you a couple of shots of what we've been working on alongside of CM Black Sea. Some last minute glitches made that not really possible with the amount of time we had left. So you're going to have to deal with a slightly-better-than-coal-in-your-stocking bone for this year. Here it 'tis! Development on the Ardennes (name not determined yet) Family is well along. In fact, we intend to start early testing of the game in a few weeks. What will the game include? I'm so glad you asked! The Base Game includes US Army, German Heer, and German Waffen SS forces covering the timeframe of October through January. This includes Fall and Winter weather, terrain, vehicle textures, and uniforms. It also includes new vehicles and TO&E, as well as more subtle things which set the tone for the latest war period we've yet covered with CMx2. Some new vehicles to play with: M24 Chaffee M36 Jackson Jagdtiger Flammpanzer 38(t) There's others too, but off the top of my head that's what I have for you right now. Though for sure there are some other fun ones (cough --- Sturmtiger --- cough) that will make their debut this time around. We are planning two Modules for the Ardennes game: Module 1 = Commonwealth + Luftwaffe Forces Module 2 = extending the timeframe to the end of the war ...Steve" So... Caution: Speculation ahead... CMBN future Upgrades, possibly various Packs, Combat Mission Black Sea about to rocket CM gaming into New Modern, An Ardennes Game + Two Modules and..... Two Modules to carry the Red Thunder and Fortress Italy theaters to the end of the war. 2015 is fresh and CM gaming is looking healthy

Sounds good to me.... beats MOP4 suits and ZEDS

Hoping the New Year brings wisdom in the real world to never use nukes in any manner. Reading the the medical response literature through the prism of emergency response per governments is a long slow torture in a bad dream for civilians. Per Chris, "You can simulate an NBC environment right now pretty well... Welcome to the dark ages." Not my cup of ZED entertainment

Partial lunar eclipse on Aug 7 2017 3:52 PM UTC in Ukraine ... I will bet is in the next module I suspect dawn/dusk times, and night illumination will impact what folks w/o the right kit can see and kill!

A 4100m kill is a really, really long range kill vs WWII. Was messing around in CMFI last PM on a Mark Ezra QB Tunisia map with German / British ACs. These units had trouble reaching beyond 1km. Still plenty of fun but no where near 4.1km!

"...what can be seen can be killed....." Drones may reveal the battlefield as never before... then what was unseen... unknowingly becomes a doornail waiting for the unseen hammer

Excellent advice MikeyD. I would add setting aside a designated amount of practice time / 'toy box' time .... for throwing together quick little scenarios. It is easy to get distracted or frustrated and then the enemy 'intimidation' slows or halts learning new skills. I am still learning but hope to get some small scenario skills ready for a test in Black Sea.... n' slap dat AI b_tch around a bit

"".... 3 PLTs of Abrams on map now, and stand to get a fourth if needed...." Smells like Victory "....Note that his decisions combine personal interaction with the battlefield with decisions affecting his entire force. This is typical of a front-line tactical commander, and something fascinating that CM is able to present in perspective....." One of the more absorbing aspects of CM gaming. Playing 'Modern' in Black Sea these decisions will have copious consequences quickly. Looking forward to the narrative about to develop pnzrldr. You and Bil are doing a great job with the battle.

Remember watching ATGMs fly across a 2-3km battlefield on CMSF. It was George McEwan's NATO Tactical Vignette 98–5 ‘Steelers’ @ 1.5 years ago. CMSF @ 2007 can manage these ranges w/o problem. I expect Black Sea to give us more +. "The slightest advantage/leverage gets magnified and the lethality is unforgiving." In that case... you had better be ready to.... ATTACK!

"...So, on the fifth or so post following this one we should see some real mayhem....." This must be the modern pandemonium before the real mayhem Excellent post on the boys pnzrldr. If you go fishing, have a cold one for Brytva 21 CM fans going to have their own Black Sea fishing rodeo ... real soon.... can't wait!

'NATO TV 98-5 Steelers' by George McEwan is a fine map but so much more.... "scenario comes in three different ‘flavours..." Have a Blast ... or more than a few RCMP

I think this is the answer.... "3- we implemented this system retroactively for all 3.0 Engine Upgrade purchases! Your store download for that purchase now points to a full master installer, including all of the content for Normandy, updated to v3.11. If you ever need to reinstall, that's the only thing you need. And, as per 1- above, this download will always remain up to date in the future." But as Moon noted.... If you are up to 3.11 now you don't need to update & install again. "No, you don't need to do anything. All it would do is replace the exact same files. But, if, in the future, you find that you want to re-install, or install on a new PC, then the one-step installer is all you'll need."

Very Cool Martin Happy Holidays

"We must keep some purity, shouldn't we?" Yes... Innocence and Righteousness must Rule

Substantial suggestion MikeyD. I hope to learn the art of crafting small scenarios in Modern. Hope others join in the fun casue CMBS is going to Rock! Fire me up Scotty

Could be a prequel to a new episode? "...Whatever lies ahead of us isn't good, but the Kremlin is the one that gets to decide how bad it is going to be. Let's all hope some fresh thinking penetrates Putin's inner circle and injects some realism into their planning." Steve Based on early reports see below… the injection has not taken effect just yet. Baneman "....most of what he's predicting is BAD...." In light of what is coming out of the Motehrland, the predictios may be more correct then many want them to be. Snips from our annual bear hug

"..... Life for the average person becomes Hellish. The less power and tradition of the rule of law, the more Hellish it becomes. Russia in the 1990s was a horror show in most urban areas. The criminal gangs of the 1980s obtained official power throughout the 1990s and are, to no small extent, the government that Russia has today. In a collapse situation it will go back to street wars and, absent a MAJOR change in Russian character, the dominate ones will become the new government power. Ugh, this sucks. Steve ".....The Muslim majority pieces of the Caucuses....." Dan ".... tanks on the streets of Moscow firing on the Parliament building...." MikeyD Where do I hang the Christmas Lights Actually I was thinking pretty much what Dan suggested combined with the criminal gangs horror show in most urban areas.... but had not considered tanks on the streets of Moscow but maybe I should? Tractor time and then to check what Man of The Year #15 is fabricating ... ugh.. reporting to the public in his yearly Kremlin Cuddle Hug. I susepect it will include US / EU sanctions are evil and combined with Ukraine.... is to balme for all the Motherland troubles. I did not realize that Man of The Year #15 legally has till 2024 before he must step down... unless he changes the laws.

Another thought.... the 4K option. Expensive now but will come down in price over the next year.

Steve, "....The population has been seen as an ATM for hand picked people....." Segments the population may ... wake up... and forcefully resist the hands of "hand picked" plutocrats from picking their pockets. Powers that be help them if they do. Steve, "... Ukraine is in the process of filing a lawsuit in international courts against Russia. One report said they are going to ask for $3 TRILLION in damages. "And please, no Rubles!"