Buzz

Interesting. Alan8325, you make some good suggestions on how cyber may be a CM game factor. Thanks. Erwin, Sounds like your experience of cyberwar goes deeper than the next CM game. I am sure our military is preparing as best they can but no one can prepare for everything.. but you must try if you want to win. I do not think most ordinary civilian folks have considered how destructive a substantial cyber attack will be on their "routine." Just look at what goes down in "Natural Disasters" where people lack power, water, sanitation, money, and transportation for a few days. Of course this is not expected to be simulated in CMSF2 and should not be.

Hi Agusto. Thanks again for the MOUT scenario. I am going a bit slow in it as there is a lot happening on the front end of this one! Lots of big BANGs real soon. Nothing weird has happened and no game breakers. Blue does not have a lot of room to maneuver up front so I amy need to take some time to figure it out. Never been to Vienna before so need to get my bearings. Thanks again.

The death of CMSF greatly exaggerated! Thanks Blimey... "On the road again - Just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is making music with my friends And I can't wait to get on the road again. On the road again Goin' places that I've never been. Seein' things that I may never see again....":D

Was not expecting a Road to Baghdad Mod! Sure looks good. DL and will fire it up tonight with USMC RTB1 Az Zubayr. Thanks you Blimey!

Thanks for the hard work Combatintman. I will be looking for it ASAP. I am doing much better now that I am taking a slower methodical approach in Habibollah Kalay. Having a blast too!

Yes I think 2015 is the time setting. Erwin, I see your point but I doubt major players don't have Counter Cyber Measures available to thwart / block attacks at least global threats. Honestly I don't know but the recent NK threats are being discounted in the US media as so much bluster but few are considering it may not be a nuke that slips past or it may be in the form of a NK cyberattack on US infrastructure. Of course that is outside CM: Shock Force 2 simulation requirements but a tactical battlefield cyberattack simulation could be included. How I don't know but thought I should mention it.

Reflecting on North Korea’s cyber terrorism capabilities I was wondering how this might be simulated in "CM: Shock Force 2". SNIP: from 2011 Experts explained that hackers working in perfect cooperation and being led by a coherent command system are much more dangerous than individual hackers and that North Korea’s hackers carry out operations from China and other third countries, which also adds to difficulties in uncovering their activities. An expert on IT security pointed out, “North Korea’s ability is no less than that of China or Iran, which are both powerful nations when it comes to waging cyber war.”

Thanks Combatintman, I am just getting back to my Habibollah Kalay play from too much work. I agree with snake eye your good CMSF scenarios are a real challenge yet a pleasure to play.

Another Wish List item would be an Auto Save option in Turn based and Real Time. This way you can assure yourself that after the 30 minutes of micro management ... before you click GO... you don't forget to save the 30 minutes of micro management. WOuld be especially helpful after a couple of Pints of Lemonade in a Late Night CM battle:)

SlowMotion, Per Moon "CM: Shock Force 2. Our return to modern warfare is long overdue! Given how close Shock Force 1 was at predicting a conventional conflict in Syria, we're a little nervous about choosing a topic this time around. Especially because we've chosen to simulate a full spectrum conventional conflict between NATO and Russia in the Ukraine. This gives players a rich tactical environment to explore with the most advanced militaries the world has ever seen. ..." I am sure BFC is going to have modern warfare air support plane/helicopter and drones. Assuming CM: Shock Force 2 arrives late 2013 they will have the latest normally used equipment and I suspect we will see much more modern equipment it the Modules to follow.

I may have missed some but did a quick scan and here is what I have from the postings. Hope this is helps. Updated "CM: Shock Force 2" Wish List. PART ONE: Drones: aerial reconnaissance and attack systems. QB Remove restrictions and expand objectives. Port a CMBN like QB system to CMSF2 but allow cherry picking Frames per second display option. UI option that allows select different Z folders to load at start up different mod themes rather than physically moving files in the Z folder to change mods. "Flypast" ability to watch replays of airstrikes form a realistic angle and height close to what the pilot would see. Picture overlay for the scenario editor for mapmaking. Assault building option to make the squad adopt realistic room clearing techniques, without micro-managing all the waypoints and targeting instructions. Damage modeling to vehicles with damage decals. Greater waypoint granularity with more action spots. Grenades and WP to be on acquisition list. Area fire using similar template to artillery (point linear and area) with relative movement to the firer. Convoy ability to allow lead vehicle to be followed with correct spacing. Ability to select a playlist of music for game background with a hotkey ability to mute and/or increase decrease the volume of the playlist. Option to acquire equipment from vehicles in the scenario editor. Shock wave/bubble effect of large explosions. Organize formations hotkey at set-up to get the right units with the right HQ etc. Greater throw grenades specificity - throw smoke or frags. Some more items I thought about today. A listing of the .wavs / .bmps and their corresponding units / weapons to aid in modding. Air defense systems: fixed, short-range, self-propelled,hand-held anti-aircraft systems. Friendly fire, anti-air missile mishaps. Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C³I): simulate jamming, systems failing replaced by mobile phones, etc. GPS unavailable due to the war zone being blacked out. Cyber Attack with corresponding infrastructure impacts. Naval simulation: ports, shipping of patrol boats, logistical targeting and impact. Local ethnic minorities units "extremists" with little discipline and/or respect for the laws of war. PART TWO: Real Time 1 minute playback from any unit's perspective while on pause. A Record / Playback ability allowing the entire scenario to be viewed from any unit's perspective. Precision guided artillery and mortar munitions like Krasnopol, Excalibur, GMLRS, PGMM (120mm mortar), etc. A campaign scripting system for user-made content, so we can avoid the dedicated mission just to choose campaign branches. Battle scripting system for more dynamic battles against the AI, especially attacks. Obstacles, roadblocks, booby-traps, fougasse, etc. More realistic handling of night vision; degrades around light sources like flares, fires, or insufficient ambient light. ROF like artillery, maximum, medium, slow etc, which could be overidden if a threat target appeared? "Militia" a semi regular force better than combatants or fighters on a par with reserves but with a possible mix of red and blue weapons for great for Red v Red scenarios. Multi processor support... 64-bit Windows version and the unlimited ability to use as much memory for CMSF2. More realistic close air support options / control. Ground commander calls for CAS get greater feedback on what hits the box. UI feedback to see exactly which type of ordnance is available, rather than just "light", "medium" and "heavy". Real-time intelligence gathering from aircraft including UAVs giving some form of LOS and communicating through the Command and Control system. Ground to Air fire… aircraft come on station, AAA acquires its target, fires. Aircraft either immediately goes off station and the FAC has to call it in again, or the aircraft is destroyed depending upon the skill levels. UAVs air support for Intel or Strike / type of ordinance, with limited time allowed on station. Multiple points of LOS generation from vehicles. Larger maps give more room to maneuver around the maximum ranges of modern weapons systems. Half-meter increments in elevation. Damage modeling for vehicles. Engineers with unmanned ground combat vehicles to disarm roadside bombs. Texture Quality hotkey (like the 3D Model Quality hotkey) to adjust on the fly. Graphics 'sweet spot slider' that tells you your FPS and recommended setting for speed or quality or balance. More flexibility to attach units to different HQ's: either in the scenario design, or during the set-up phase. Greater detailed modeling of vehicle, terrain physics and modeling water. Enhanced acquire and put back abilities. Chemical Weapons capability and NBC suits. Operational and logistics planning Enhanced UI options of a tree like structure of icons of units with casualty feedback and camera autofocus for RT play. An operational window. Vehicle command "wait for infantry action". Greater Target Smoke control. -------- Thanks for your suggestions guys. It never hurts to ask BFC for what we enjoy

Hi agusto. Started the scenario but work called and have not gone past the 1st 2 moves. Looks like very concentrated MOUT mashup but I need to have the time to play it and will give you feed back. Thanks for the CMSF Scenario.

Thanks guys. I am happy to see more great suggestions for the wish list. Been at work / off game stuff for the last week so will ave to read to catch up. Keep the great suggestions for the wish list coming.

Afraid you are correct on the Mali situation. News reports are that many of the folks that were in Libya fighting (Ansar Dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) came back to Mali with more "training" and better weapons, turned on the Tuareg and took over the North and brought Sharia Law to Mali. Same folks have stated France is going to suffer in Mali and in France for their interventions. Liberate the hostages safely and and then let the combatants battle it out. Taking small children hostage is reprehensible. Although I understand you questioning of the Mali Mod timing, I would not withdraw it. It may give those interested a better sense of the what is happening in Mali.

My goodness Agusto! You must have a MOUT tattoo somewhere:)

Intense small infantry actions (with minor mech) are sometimes very easy to play at BEST and AA, etc and very challenging as well as satisfying. I really enjoy watching the Modern Mech GO BIG and BOOM and the ATGM fireworks but it can be a challenge for an average player like myself. Blimey your MALI MOD has legs in the real world. Will give plenty of current scenario material for the game. My thoughts & hopes are with the French forces to safely free the remaining hostages. *A French hostage was executed by al-Qaida's North African branch in retaliation for France's military intervention in northern Mali, according to an announcement in a Mauritanian-based website, which is frequently used by the Islamic extremist group. A total of six French hostages are currently being held by the al-Qaida chapter, and a seventh is being held by MUJAO, a splinter group also allied with al-Qaida. Eight more, including a family with small children, were grabbed in Nigeria and Cameroon by local terror cells that are believed to have ties to the al-Qaida fighters in Mali, bringing to 15 the total number of French citizens currently being held in the region. the French Defense Ministry detailed the latest military developments in the Mali campaign, saying about 460 French troops on Sunday wrapped up a five-day operation against suspected jihadist fighters near the town of Gao. During the sweep, the troops faced "harassment" including traps and weapons fire on several occasions as they advanced – and responded by firing from cannon and helicopter gunships that left about 15 "terrorists" dead, the ministry said in a statement. Eight rebel pickup trucks were also destroyed, it said.*

I'd buy 3:D Will get the CM: Shock Force 2 Wish List up to date in the next few days so no scrolling though pages of good suggestions. As a side note I caught part of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Aerial Drones in America. Pretty amazing what will be in our own USA skies in 2015. On the positive side FAA has not approved use of non lethal weapons systems on "security drones" pepper spray, flash bang, bean bag shotguns, taser, etc. for domestic use;) I am sure BFC will have at least surveillance drones in CM: Shock Force 2.

Restarted. Cleared everything to the Nahr-e-Boghra Canal with no losses! Methodically working my way up the map when I have play time. Good challenge Combatintman. Thanks,

I think those who like to Thunder Run might want to download Euroscape version 1.0 by Dpabrams to get ready for Sir George's large map that is mech heavy. Modern warfare, especially mech heavy modern warfare just seems to fit better in Euroscape, IMO

Thanks Agusto. Just downloaded your Battle of Vienna. Will test it out tomorrow. I promise not to bomb your house

Blimey... "Welcome to Mali" music is a great intro! Used your Mali Mod - v1.0, your Irregulars Mod, Harry Crofton's African terrain and your French forces mod to depict the a small infantry only conflict in Mali village. Very nice! Thanks Blimey. Plenty more fun to be had in Bamako.

Birdstike's USMC 310toYuma is a great scenario. Wish List CMSF2 - a Texture Quality hotkey (like the 3D Model Quality hotkey) to adjust on the fly? Or maybe an AI/ Graphics 'sweet spot slider' that tells you your FPS and recommended setting for speed or quality? Of course the end user could over rule the AI but with this feedback you know what is recommended to do for speed vs quality or a balance. With a 'sweet spot slider' you could easily see you MOD impact. If the FPS hit you take for the 5 GBs of Mods you stuffed up your Z you can slim things down.

Back in country and now on to Mali:) Thanks Blimey

I need to update the itemized CMSF2 Wish List just in case we missed something like particle beam weapons;) No, I really hope folks are enjoying the wish chatter for CMSF2. Some good suggestions for our return to modern warfare.

Why just one:)