Sakai007

Hey Wodin!!! I did get you message via e-mail. I have much more time for quick forum posts then an actual thought driven letter, please forgive my latency, but I will get back to you soon. I bought the NATO module first, as I really love getting new stuff for the Red side to use. Red vs Red is one of my favorite fights, this is why I LOVE CM: Afghanistan!!! The Leopard is an excellent tank, very mobile. I would class it as a T-90 with somewhat better armor. Plus, after only having the US and USMC for so long, all the other nations are a blast to play. While I really love using the Brits atm, I think my favorite is still going to be the German Army. The Marder has a real BMP feel to it, and if you want to simulate the modern kit, use the Dutch CV9035s in place of them as that's what the Germans were upgrading to IIRC.

I have had a few days to really get into the Brit module, and I finally learned how to make AI plans. Yeah, the manual tells you how, but it seemed so complex to me for some reason, then I figured out how to set groups in the unit editor just today. I set my first plan into action and it worked like I hoped it would. I may end up posting the scenario just so I can get some feed back, but any ways.... The Brit forces have to be fought in a different way then the other nations. Their IFVs have a big main gun, but no ATGMs. Their tanks are outstanding. The Inf based AT support is limited to AT4s. The Jav teams for a company are plenty capable of owning most armored assaults. The light infantry is very interesting, as their vehicles aren't well protected, but armed to the teeth. I really like the 51mm mortar that every platoon HQ has. Chally 2 Smoke rounds!!!! The AS90 is a force to be reckoned with. I also just learned that the US Army got a new formation with this module, a true light infantry formation. The mission I put together includes some ATGM hummers, 3 Warriors, 6 WMIKs, and two platoons each of US and Brit infantry. They are up against two companies of syrian airborne infantry with a few BMPs as support. I am really in a whole new happy place being able to build AI plans, as before I had to use QB maps to make scenarios, and now I can start from scratch. LoL, I know, I didn't have to wait this long, but I am the type that I just won't know how until it comes to me.

I've spent close to $200 USD on Combat Mission games using the second generation engine (CMBN, CMA, CMSF/Marine/Brit/NATO) and it's been the best money spent in my life gaming wise. Try the demo, as CM isn't everyones cup of tea, but you will know in 10 minutes if you want to buy, and you won't even finish the scenario you're playing before you do, guaranteed!!!!

Probably should have paid a little more attention to what I was doing when I installed. Figured I could add the Brit module to an install w/Marines and NATO patched to 1.32 like nothing, maybe with a 1.32 patch after to get brit up to date. Well!!! I had names of autocannons instead of assault rifles, and german squad names for the british sections!!! LoL!!! So, I did a full re-install, and now it all runs like melted butter!!! I do like some of the more unique aspects of the Brits, like the 50mm mortar HQ squads have, and those little reece type vehicles that are armed to the teeth!!! The AT teams are nice too, twin Javelins and carry 6 rounds, real tank death there!!! I also noticed that almost two full pages of scenarios came with, I will certainly be busy till commonwealth comes out! Feels good to have the WHOLE Combat Mission collection to date, lots of amazing gaming there!!

So I decided to buy some more Combat Mission today to complete the collection. I got CM;Afghanistan last time and I have been sooo very happy with that purchase, so I decided to go all in and FINALLY get the British Forces module for CMSF. I have all the others already, but I skipped the Brits cause no new Syrian units came with, plus the value of the NATO module with three different nations spoke for itself. Well, in 5 min or so, I will have the Brits fighting too!!! Any recommendations for Brit scenarios or campaigns??? Or any special tactics for the British Forces that don't apply to the others???

Yes Erwin, all you have up there is the truth. I also point out that we have the exact same set of fire options that are available in CMSF. Did the calling of arty change so little in 64 years that the variety of fire missions remained the same??? I don't know the particulars of what was and wasn't capable in WWII, so others will have to comment, but it doesn't feel right.

I think the first impression I got from my first run through of the CMBN demo was how deadly arty really is in this game. In CMx1, it was nice to have, but unless you were lucky wouldn't make or break a match. It was best for suppressing enemy infantry so you could move yours into range to throw grenades or gain fire superiority when the barrage lifts by having direct fire on them from multiple units. In CMBN, arty kills, period!!! Don't get me wrong, it suppresses too, but it does kill a lot more then I seem to remember in CMx1. Granted, the 1:1 infantry representation here shows every kill, and if it was that way in CMx1, maybe I would not see so much of a difference, but that's not the case. The 60mm mortar in particular is a nasty little thing, and in the previous series it was almost a joke. Also, most AI plans I've seen tend to call in their opening barrage about 1 minute out from your start point, so if you wait a couple minutes/turns before leaving the start, it misses you completely. This is a non point in defensive scenarios, but in QBs it's hard to walk your men into arty you know is coming just to avoid being 'gamey'. The point of all this is to support Destraex's point above, a strat level where you must dole out arty and shells to units would decrease the amount of shell you can just throw around and also, maybe, relieve some of the pressure off your forces from enemy arty. Really has my imagination running with this idea.

Ahhh, youth at it's finest!!! I am hoping to get one of the two step sons into CM. The oldest loves his plastic army men, and I am slowly introducing him to groghood "No son, that's the M20 Bazooka, not the M1 or M9" lol He really enjoys watching me play CMBN, and liked CMBB too, but being young the graphics of CMx2 really get his imagination going. I got him some old toys I used to have, an SU-100 and a BTR-80. And I took him to an air exhibition at the local airport to see an authentic A6M2 Zero, P-40E Warhawk, F4U-1A Corsair, P-51D Mustang, and a strafer B-25J. He might have had as much fun as I did, and that's not a bad thing at all. Got to meet a man who crewed aboard the Navy version of the B-24, the PB4Y, talking about altimeters that didn't work well while flying 20 feet over the Atlantic!!! Anyways, I think that the most important thing that we as avid war gamers and history buffs alike can do is pass this passion on to the next generation. CM games are the PERFECT medium for this. It was Steel Panthers that got me interested in the ground aspect of WWII, and it will be CM that does it for my future grogs. BTW - I also have a set of 16 month old twin girls!!! I am hoping at least one of them is into WWII stuff, but with girls you never know, but at least the step sons are there for me to vent my teachings to.

it depends on a lot of different factors from my observations during play (no real testing) Actual FOs are better at adjusting missions then a regular HQ, and as we all know the call times can be shortened. I also believe it depends on the type of battery you are calling. Weapons like the 8 inch take a while between barrages, so it's hit or miss there. Most all rocket arty is so bad with adjusting you might as well just cancel and call a new mission.

Yeppers, I am with Bigduke on this one. Even in basic training you are givin instruction on using just about every weapon that might possibly come into your possession. This is Infantry basic in 2005, but the base they use is the same, and the training hasn't changed all that much, only the equipment. I would also agree with the above, for doing advanced engineer type things, ie. dropping a single span of a bridge, then you would need engineers for that. For most work with explosives where the infantry/engineer lines are blurred, I would say they are capable of it.

I agree with you abneo, and to expand on that, I think their ability to teach actual combat tactics is minimal. No game can ever duplicate the stress of being under fire and try to command men who are likewise stressed. The training of the brain to make solid, basic, combat related decisions in a timely manner is the real benefit from games like this. Specific situations in combat will always have different variables then the situations used in training. It like muscle memory in a sense. I remember being trained to move the selector switch on the M4 from safe to semi every single time I raised the rifle to my shoulder. After you have done this 1000 times, you do it without thought. When you have your unit get ambushed in a game, and you respond by sending your soldiers to assault the ambushers 1000 times, it becomes a natural act like breathing. This is the benefit, knowing what to do during high stress encounters from having done it 1000 times already.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us These are my results for the mission. Granted, my difficulty mode is enough to make some laugh. I reasoning is this, it's a game, in real life a single person would never have to command every single fire team if he is the company commander. So, to make up for this overload, I think the spotting shared by all is enough to balance things out. If I could have the spotting like this and with realistic arty call times, I would be all over it. Any ways, I lost more troopers then the other poster, but pulled out a major victory, how is this??? My recon unit really did all the work. They would spot enemy troops with their night vision with a tight fire arc (150 meters or so) and then I would use the FO or the HQ to call in fire while keeping them as suppressed as possible with area fire. I feel the GP-30 launchers were best for this. I lost two men to their opening bombardment, and until they stormed the eagles nest, that was it! I wasn't even aware of the muj being so close to my HQ until grenades landed in the trenches. They fought their butts off, but it wasn't enough, and they were two men from being wiped out. Friendly air took a man as well, but the destruction to the enemy was far worse, they suffered over 300 killed and wounded over all!!!

I just d/l this campaign yesterday, going to start when the twinners take their nap this afternoon. I also have your CMBN campaign waiting so I am not at a loss for gaming in the near future. Really can't wait, all the rave reviews and such, looking forward to it.

I don't know what it is, but the battles in CM:A just seem like a whole lot more fun then the battles I have played in the other games of the CMx2 series. This is probably because CM:A is still pretty new to me, something to kill the time until the Commonwealth module for CMBN. Best money I've spent in a while!!! I really get into these battles, and the balance seems to be spot on, which is most likely a result of the bitter fighting that took place during this war.

Well, we can hope can't we??? I already had any monetary Christmas gifts ear marked for it!

+1 Martyr - I have noticed that if the enemy is at the top of a hill you should aim your units fire an action spot of so below them. Automatic weapons always fire high after the first round, and rockets and rifle grenades that go high aiming at the top of a hill will sail into the great unknown, hopefully hitting the enemy command group far behind the lines

Ouch! Now that is a rough way to lose a Leo! I have lost tanks to about every weapon in the Red arsenal, including the old stand by, the SPG-9! It was an Abrams at that, needless to say I now treat every tank I have like it's a Sherman, and I have done much better. I have been playing a ton of CM:Afghanistan lately, and it really teaches you to be good with your armor and IFV's. I think the Bradley doesn't take a whole lot of damage, but what will kill a Brad will kill a BMP or BMD three times over. And those nasty little RPG-2s the muj use are real killers. It seems to me that the AI of CM:A is soooo much better at asymetric warfare then any other CM game. Those guys don't fire until your in the next room over, and with a Bren gun at that!!! Brutal!

as long as the infantry unit you are trying to load isn't larger then the capacity of the vehicle, they can board it. When you select the infantry, use the move command and place the cursor over the LAV. If it's not a green arrow pointing down, they can't board. If this is the case, spit the squad using the split squad command, and then mount the LAV with a smaller unit. Then load on the ammo, disembark them, and let them rejoin with their parent squad.

Yep, the T-55MV can fire ATGMs out of it's barrel. I believe they are the AT-10 Bastion missiles. Lucky for you, since I think the At-10 can penetrate the frontal armor of the Leo. You must have killed the tank crew and they stopped guiding the missile.

If I am reading this correctly, you have an infantry team in the LAV and can't get the ammo from the LAV to the infantry, is this correct? I think what you need to do is select the infantry squad while in the LAV and use the acquire command. This will give you a list of the available ammo that your team can take from the LAV. If they are not in the LAV, they can't acquire ammo from it, and need to mount the vehicle before they can. The manual explains all of this, but since I am the type to just answer instead of a long story of how u should use the search function, manual, etc. before posting and not answering the question. However, you really should do these things before posting a question that is easily answered by your resources at hand.

In most RTS games like Company of Heroes and the like, yes, this is true. Combat Mission is a whole different kind of animal. Even when played in real time, CM doesn't get any less realistic, it's still CM. When playing H2H, WeGo is the obvious since it's necessary more often then not. But for the single player, I switch between WeGo and RT. If the scenario involves a large amount of units, anything over 2 companies, then I use WeGo in single player. This is mainly so I don't forget any units when I get caught up in the action in a certain part of the map. The very best part of RT is being able to stop your squad from charging that building at the last second when you realize it's a trap and the ambush is about to be sprung. I am 28 and have been playing Combat Mission for 7 years or so.

I am excited for the Jagdpanther!!! That right there is a real beast of a TD. Also, having some 17lbr armed tanks and TD's is going to make for a more even long range contest for the Tiger I and Panther. And, PBEM opponents beware, I will have PIATs in buildings on the defensive

I almost hit some of those wild turkeys the other week driving my buddys Acura in the good old Downeast portion of Maine. Too far away from Turkey day to aim for em then tho!

+1 I want to give you my money BF!!!! Give me an outlet!

LOL, didn't realize how small it was on the forum, will do better next time ::places dunce cap upon his head::