Javolenus

Hi Sergei and thanks for this. I have problems with small size and dark colour of digits. Would prefer larger digits and/or brighter colours (green, to match overall GUI design?). I've got no experience modding this particular game, so wouldn't know where to start. Just thought I'd raise the issues. In general, I find all ingame text a bit small. I agree, would be good to hear a little more radio traffic on the ether.

Mmm, thanks for the replies - at least now I know. Basically, I'd agree with Phil.

Hi There, And first off, many thanks to all modders for great work. I've only been playing CMSF a couple of weeks but the mods really do add depth. Well, I've got a few issues with the GUI and I wondered if anyone out there could tackle them in a mod? If not, then the following can just be viewed as feedback from a new player (novice!): 1. Clock - can this be made more noticeable? I have real difficulty making out what time it is in-game. 2. Compass - could this have N, S, E, W added? A bit picky, but thought I'd ask. 3. Is it possible to add some kind of map references? Probably not, but again, just thought I'd ask. 4. Any way to automaticaly log your own casulaty figures in-game, without having to select the ceasefire option? 5. Any chance of more radio chatter for ambience? Some excellent mods for this already, but wondered if A) the audio files could be lengthened in order to avoid repetition and any British radio chatter? Well, these are just first impressions, and maybe it isn't worth worrying about. But I thought I'd at least raise the issues, just in case. And thanks again for excellent mod work.

Hi There, Been playing CMSF a couple of weeks. Great game. The best. Got a question: Ammo - how do you replenish a vehicle's ammo? I had a Brit Scimitar run dry. I sent its crew to a nearby AV and instructed them to AQUIRE ammo and then got them back in their Scimitar - but the GUI was still showing the Scimitar as dry. What did I do wrong? Many thanks for help - and apologies if this covered elsewhere.

I just want to agree with the comments above. I want to win by applying realistic tactics. For me, the 'sim' aspect of the game is the attraction, although, having never been in the Army, let alone in action, I've no idea how accurate the game really is. But, in a computer environment, it seems to me that novices can at least get an idea of tactical doctrine and how to apply it. I look on it as learning something new.

That's a really good point about having an in-game SITREP. For example, I'd like it if I got some kind of message telling me if a guy or vehicle had been hit. OK, you can get the info by using your eyes or by selecting the 'Ceasefire' menu option to check on casualties, but, unless I've missed something, there are no SITREP functions.

Many thanks to all you guys for these posts. I learned a great deal and can see where I made mistakes: 1. I moved my vehicles closer to buildings than I needed to in order to suppress them. 2. I overused main armoury on my Scimitars when I could have used Target Light to good effect. 3. I mis-used my Engineers, using them to assault buildings, rather than blast through walls - didn't even know you could do that! 4. While concentrating on the flanks, I neglected to occupy a tall central building, which may have offered good visibility. 5. I mis-used my off-map fire support by 'overcooking' a couple of targets, instead of precision-shelling half a dozen or so. This left my howitzers 'dry' when I still needed them. 6. I didn't see the long buildings as tactical opportunities (the 'rat traps' mentioned above) but as tactical dangers to avoid. 7. I tended to think positionally rather than tactically, and so missed details like LOS etc. 8. I also concentrated on Recce, as (playing on 'Veteran') all I had were Question Marks over possible enemy positions, rather than positive contacts. But these recce missions used up time without gaining results. 9. I didn't even think about mines! 10. Although I got spotters onto roofs, they were obviously the wrong roofs, as these teams provided no extra info and had limited LOS. My basic strategy was to occupy the Border Post and the Checkpoint, launching further attacks from these strongpoints, which, being at opposite ends of the compound, should cause the enemy trouble. Anyway, thanks again. I'll replay the scenario and try to incorporate what I've learned in this thread.

Many thanks for the responses - lots of good stuff to disgest. The book recommendation is also welcome and I'll check it out. The Target Light option and Blast option (for Engineers) are things I've yet to experiment with, so it's good to learn something about them here. Really useful answers - thanks again!

Hi There, I'm fairly new to CMSF but am hooked on the game. I immediately started playing the Brit campaign and scored a reasonably good victory on the first battle (see my post - New to CMSF Two Questions). Since then, I've had lots of good advice from the community and have also started reading US Army field manuals for extra guidance. I decided to start the Brit campaign again. Here's what happened in the first battle, second time round: 1. I reached the Alpha line and fanned out my Scimitars in a 'V' formation to spray suppressive fire across the compound. I kept my Inf. mounted but out of harm's way. When the first wave of reinforcements arrived, I occupied the Border Post with C2 and AT units. 2. I Sent a high-speed recce party up the right flank to the Checkpoint. After spraying with fire, I occupied the building with C2, AT and Sniper units. 3. I filtered some Scimitars and Mounted Inf. up the right flank to the Checkpoint and then occupied the structures near the Pre-Fabs. This was my attempt at a recce but I discovered virtually nothing. 4. When the second lot of reinforcements arrived, I mounted an attack on my left flank, focused on the 3 buildings in front of the Barracks complex. After suppressive fire, I occupied these buildings, using smoke to mask Inf. deployment. 5. Up to this point, I had almost no positive enemy contacts - only question marks. I didn't know what to do next. I seemed to be in control of half the complex, but assaulting the remaining buildings looked risky - lots of 'Kill Zones'. And so I called in off-map gunnery and blasted the Barracks and Admin block. I also called in gunnery on the Pre-Fabs but the shells all fell short. 6. At one point, I lost a vehicle to a (presumed) RPG but the crew bailed out. I sent a Scimitar over to shield the crew from fire and, moving both Scimitar and crewmen together, slowly got my pixeltruppen to the safety of the Checkpoint. 7. When the time limit was reached, I'd scored 692 points - a Major Victory. But I'd suffered 5 KIA, 4 WIA, 1 MIA and lost 1 AV. Also, I failed to find the document cache. My main disappointment was taking the casualties. But I was also frustrated that, although I had spotters, AT and snipers on roofs, in buildings, and even hiding behind terrain features, I lacked any hard info. on the enemy. Also, it was a shame that the Pre-Fabs survived, despite the fire mission. All my casualties occurred during the movement phase and I feel like I lost concetration a few times regarding covering fire and spotting 'Kill Zones'. Well, I was just wondering how other folks deal with this scenario? Has anyone managed to win without any casualties? I'd be interested to hear other plans of attack. Having read some US Army manuals, I tried to implement the following concepts: controlling the tempo of the battle, switching the focus of attack to unbalance the enemy. And after advice from comm. members, I also tried to mix caution with audacity, and to minimise casualties. Despite mounting several recces - both mounted and dismounted, I got very little concrete info re. enemy strength and unit types. In the end, the off-map gunnery saved me. Any feedback welcomed, as I'd like to learn and improve.

That's really good advice about using smoke. I never really thought about using it at night, but now I'm going to try it. Very neat. Thanks a lot - I appreciate the help.

Hi there and many thanks for this reply. That's excellent advice and I'll take it onboard. I think you made a very good point about balancing caution and agression - something I'll watch out for in the future.

Hi Phil, Sounds like you did better at the crossroads than me. I made a real mess of it, but now realise that the key to the position is the high ground that covers the approaches to the crossroads and the 1st bridge. I made some elementary mistakes and lost too many men. Having learned some stuff from you guys and also from US Army literature, I'm gonna start the Brit campaign again and apply what I've learned.

Hi Seabee and many thanks for the response - I really appreciate it. I had no military training and was a bit of a hippy in my youth, but as I got older I got interested in historical stuff as well as military stuff. I played a lot of chess, which taught me to think in terms of objectives, and although I played some strategy PC games, nothing in my experience compares to this current game. I'll definitely take all your suggestions onboard, and I am currently reading some US Army field manuals, in order to improve my knowledge and also to give me a working vocabulary for military concepts. I like the idea of researching some concepts and then trying them out in the game. If I can achieve the scenario objectives while keeping casualties to an absolute minimum, then I'll feel rewarded.

Hi Phil, I only just started playing the game. So far, I always continue missions until the time is up. I've been playing on 'Veteran' setting. Here's what I did on the first Brit scenario: 1. Two Scimitars on the road, the rest spread out on either flank. The remaining units held back. I sent the central two Scimitars up the road as far as the abandoned cars then stopped. From the first off, these two are pumping lead into the two small buildings leading into the compound. But I don't want to demolish these buildings, just clear them out. The flankers speed up to the Alpha line, pouring small arms fire into those first two buildings. The remaining units move up and take post behind the two central Scimitars. When I'm satisfied the first two buildings are clear, I put a spotter and AT guy on the roofs. When my first reinforcements arrive, I put C2 units in these buildings. 2. I fan out the Scimitars to dish out long-range suppressive fire across the compound. I keep them in an arc just in front of those first two little buildings that lead into the compound, which I now occupy. When I get Inf. reinforcements, I keep them mounted, but keep their vehicles out of harm's way, using the my two occupied buildings as cover. 3. I send a couple of Scimitars plus a C2 unit speeding up the right flank towards the checkpoint at the far end of the compound. Using various buildings as cover from the Barracks, these vehicles pump lead into the checkpoint and also the storage complex. At this stage I'm just using suppressive fire against suspected enemy positions, while aiming to occupy buildings at both ends of the complex. Eventually, I get the C2 unit into the checkpoint. And after the storage buildings have been raked, I send the Inf. vehicles up the right flank, with the aim of occupying the storage buildings. After the Inf. vehicles spray each storage building, I dismount the Inf. and occupy these buildings (making sure that the Inf. only have to cross a couple of metres from vehicle to doorway). I now control the whole right-hand half of the complex. By now, the enemy is pretty much bottled up in the Barracks and nearby buildings. I use a couple of Scimitars to suppress the Pre-Fab Buildings behind the Barracks. I keep switching positions, scared that if I keep the Scimitars in one spot for too long, they'll get hit. 4. With spotters in place I call in fire support on the Barracks and give it a good plastering. Meanwhile, more reinforcements have arrived and I switch my attention to the left-hand side of the complex. There's a group of 3 buildings in front of the Barracks and that's my next target. Same story: long-range suppressive fire, followed by close-up fire from Inf. vehicles, followed by Inf. occupation of buildings. Meanwhile, the Barracks is being plastered by fire support and the Pre-Fab Buildings are still being raked. 5. While keeping up the pressure, I move my Inf. units into any adjacent buildings, hoping to find the various scenario objectives. While gaining some success, I don't find everything. By now the time limit is almost up. I've taken only a couple of casualties - 2 KIA and a few more wounded. It's taken a lot of time and patience, and I deliberately avoided an assault on the barracks, and I have failed to find the secret documents or whatever. Nevertheless, when the scenario is over I've gained a major victory. Well, that was basically how it was for me. I got comparatively few positive enemy contacts - just lots of Question Marks everywhere. I found the scenario quite tense but tried to be patient. I think I took some risks and probably broke some golden rules, but I got no military training or background, so I just played this like I'd play chess. I didn't keep any units back for the next mission, but concentrated on achieving what I could in the given scenario. I was scared that I'd run out of ammo, so tended to 'Clear Target' every so often, keeping some units firing while others rested. That said, I think some units did run dry. I guess that, in general, I felt that my main assets were speed and firepower. I moved my vehicles around on 'Quick' or 'Fast' mode. And kept my Inf. mounted, ready for quick deployment. I deliberately tried to get a presence at both ends of the compound, in order to unbalance the enemy, as well as improve my spotting. I then 'joined hands' by occupying the long storage complex. I was wary of tackling the Barracks and opted to flatten it with off-map firepower.

Hi MikeyD, That's an interesting point - I'll certainly act on this advice. What I'm discovering about this game is that you can't treat it casually - which is great, because I've been getting bored and restless with PC gaming recently. But this battlefield sim is a challenge and I guess I'm still at the bottom of a learning curve. Thanks again for the feedback.

Hi Chainsaw, That's good advice and at this stage I sure need it. I've been playing the 3rd scenario in the Brit campaign and trying to apply what I've learned from you guys. I still got some work to do because, although my infantry causalties are now lower, I'm losing vehicles! But this is a fascinating game and I'm determined to improve my performance. I think I need to be even more cautious and not look for quick results - I guess it's like a game of chess: you gradually improve your position until a win becomes inevitable. Thanks again for the feedback - much appreciated.

Hi hcrof, That's great feedback - many thanks indeed. I definitely need more time, knowledge and practice in order to get familiar with the modern battlefield environment. I'll check out your link. I'm grateful for the info re. infantry doctrine and acceptable casualty figures, as I'm a novice who just stumbled on this game by accident and got interested. I don't know, but maybe the mission briefings should include info on acceptable casualties, in order to give newcomers an idea of what's expected? Well, that's just a thought. But I'm finding the game very absorbing - especially as it seems more like a simulation than traditional PC game.

Hi Yossarian - and thanks for this. I'll check out the drivers and hoprfully that will fix the problem. Thanks again.

Hi There, I'm new to CMSF - been playing for a week or so. It's great - really impressed and hooked. I got two basic questions: 1. Is there a specific doctrine on deploying infantry? If you keep them mounted in vehicles and those vehicles get destroyed, then you lose manpower. If you dismount the infantry they usually get slotted in half a second. I realise that different scenarios call for different approaches, but was just wondering what the 'correct' military doctrine on this is? 2. Having bought the game and worked through the training scenario, I began playing with British Forces. I set the level to 'Veteran' and played the first two Brit scenarios. I scored major victories in each, with 2 KIA in the first scenario and 23 KIA plus 6 vehicles destroyed in the second scenario. As a newcomer - both to this specific game and to tactical games in general, I just wondered if this was a good performance or nothing special? I mean, do the missions get harder? I thought I'd try a modded scenario and installed Birdstrike's Paradise Road. This seemed quite a bit harder than the first two default scenarios mentioned above (couldn't finish Paradise Road because of technical troubles - probably need to update my graphics drivers). And so I just wanted to ask: is it better to play modded scenarios for a more challenging game? Or should I play through the whole Brit campaign first, in order to learn the ropes? Would welcome some feedback on this. Finally, just a big thank you to the modders - I started installing various game-enhancing mods and they really make a difference.

Hi There, I'm new to CMSF and have been playing a couple of weeks. Very impressed with the game generally, but have encountered two weird problems: 1. I have both British Forces and Marines modules installed. But on two occasions over the last few days, the British module has 'disappeared' from the game and I've had to reinstall it, in order to get the game to work. Just to clarify: this module just 'disappears' from the GUI, as if the game can't find it, but all the files are still in the root directory. When I reinstall the module everything is fine - until the next time this happens. 2. I've got a brand-new PC (3 gig of RAM, 6000+ processor, 3GHz) and the game seems to run fine. But when I tried to play Birdstrike's excellent Paradise Road scenario, the game froze halfway through. I kept going back to earlier save games, but the same thing happened everytime - the game just gridlocks. And so I had to give up. I went back to playing the default campaign and everything was fine. And so, the above problems are not major troubles - but I thought I'd mention them in case there's some simple solution. Thanks in advance for replies and a general Thumbs Up for the game.