Ithikial_AU

A bit of a self plug here. The changing light conditions is actually a factor in one the scenarios I made. http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/combat-mission-battle-for-normandy/cm-battles-for-normandy/mg-joes-bridge/ It's likely more of an issue for WW2 titles when there isn't any night vision option available. That being said, does anyone know if there is a scripted light conditions/time determined in the modern family titles where troops will 'auto-equip' their night vision gear and vice versa?

300 foxholes plus other assorted fortifications placed. Plenty of places for the German defenders to hide. I think that about covers it.

Must admit I miss the berets from CMBO days. Any chance you will post to CMMODS?

That would be Marco's UI mod. Brings the UI in some respects back to the CM1 days with more information for each weapon. Can be a touch time consuming up front to set up yourself but if you want some help with ranges etc then this one is for you. http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?page_id=5#search/text=marco The other big UI mod for the WW2 titles is JuJu's but they don't be default include range information.

Thanks for the plug. Yes the flails show up from virtually the start. Given one of the pathways the campaign can go down you'll also have some fun with many of the Hobart Funnies found in the Vehicle Pack in one of the scenarios.

Can you flick me your version of Carl's Frag file? Dloading from the link above it just turns my screen to 'green.'

Sorry for digging up this thread from the grave and I realise some of the key members haven't been around for a while. I just discovered using Barbico's shaders that (for some unknown reason) I finally manage to get soft shadows in the CM engine even when not in WM mode! Rather than just squarely dark blobs. I've never been able to achieve that even though I've always used 'top of the line' GTX X80 cards from Nvidia. I downloaded Carl's version from the link above as well since I liked his screen shots, but unfortunately when I switch to war movie mode with this file in my z folder it just turns to sceen brown. Am I missing something? Do I need to turn certain parts of Carl's file on/off before using? Do you delete all of Barbico's files and just add the one frag file into your z folder instead? @Bil Hardenberger @Bootie I see you at least some point managed to get it to work. Do you still use it/have a working copy? Cheers

Okay that just looks like the top of Batman's head. :P

Idea... 1) Deploy the forces on the ground floors 2) Select troops you wish to occupy second stories and group them together. (Assuming HMG's etc to provide overwatch). 3) Set up an AI order to move as soon as the battle starts. The order is for this group is three fold; a) to 'move' to the same action squares, 2) deploy on top floors, and 3) face towards the enemy. 4) Let them sit there and shoot for the rest of the fight/set engagement ranges etc as per normal. Just ensure the buildings have windows facing the appropiate direction. That way they will move upstairs but will have no door to move through to occupy the balcony. Can't help players manually positioning forces on balconiesduring deployment. The problem is the AI may move fireteams around in an odd manner initially to occupy action squares away from where they are initially deployed (rather than just climing the stairs in the same building). Shouldn't too much a problem if the order is given arly enough so this 'cheat' won't disrput the flow of the battle with the player. Multiple AI groups could be assigned in this manner for different areas of the map to ensure the troops don't wander off too much - but that does reduce the number of AI groups available overall.

@LongLeftFlank and other St Lo fans.... *cough* *cough*

One thing I've picked up reading first hand solider accounts (particularly from the western Allies perspective) is that every sudden rifle shot firing from an ambush seems to be a sniper. There's no mention in these accounts if these soldiers followed up and found the 'sniper' and scoped rifle or even confirming the bullet impact was exerienced before hearing the shot signifying very long range. Many of the nations also didn't really have unique and dedicated sniper rifles like modern militaries. The Germans with their scoped K98's, the Commonwealth with their scoped Lee Enfields. More a designated marksman. In terms of an infantry only affair, it would be a good investigation for some historian to look into claims of coming under fire from a sniper rather than some regular rifleman waiting in ambush. When you're on the receiving it's really not the front of your mind when the bullet zips over your head. :) It's sort of like every rifle shot must be a 'sniper' like every German tank was a 'Tiger.'

If it's any help... The briefing templates from some of the BF games were released on the repository years ago. These were transferred over to CMMODS. If you have some basic skills with photoshop or other programs that open .psd files it will save you some work in prepping breifing graphics. http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?page_id=5#search/text=Briefing Trying to find the balance for victory points can also be a bit of a challenge. I created a simply excel file that lets you test different combinations of victory point assignments, and potential points gained by players on both sides so you can 'game out' your scenarios. http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?p=4236 Hope that helps. :)

Beautiful. :)

On my blue moon wishlist for sure. More options for soundfiles and varied explosion textures based on the cause (for example direct shot vs indirect) would be a nice cosmetic bump up for the CM games. Going back to the OP.... Just my opinion. The problem with Nebelwefers is they are incredibly unbalanced for the majority of the map and force sizes we play with 99% of the time. Should that mean they have no place in the CM TOE? No, but like 'rare' vehicles they won't (and shouldn't) show up in many scenarios. I remember playing the Commonwealth Campaign from CMBN-CW where a mission had the infamous moaning minnies. The Germans were able to use them to shell the British deployment zone with a pre-planned bombardment. The result ended up effectively wiping out a company of my troops before I'd even set off. That turned into an immediate 'save scum' situation since there was no point in me trying to push ahead in the scenario or the campaign when you take a hit. Then in the back of my mind I know that there are limited forces for the rest of the campaign. When I made 'Lions of Carpiquet' I ran directly into the 'Nebelwerfer' problem as a designer. Historically, the 12 SS used Nebelwerfers on the Canadians who took the village. Actually a crude equivilent that was more like an early form of napalm rather than high explosive. I didn't want to ignore this part of Operation Windor's history but was well aware of the problems of giving the AI access to such a potent weapon during a pre-set bombardment. The solution (minor spoilers) was to mark the area I wanted the AI to try to destroy with off map support slightly in front and away from the Canadian/player deployment. By default the Nebelwefers will always scatter over a wide area regardless and this meant only a fraction would seriously hit the Canadian player unless he was really silly leaving his dug in defensive positions to charge Panthers with infantry. You still got the 'cinematic' effect without the possible lop sided hit to scenario balance. Tips/Rules I've come up along the way with off map support (as a designer): - 'Nebelwerfer trick' as above. - Use the heavier support options only for larger and/or heavy hard cover maps. (155mm 'Long Toms' are not assigned to a platoon trying to take a lone farmhouse). - Manage AI and Player off map ammo very carefully. - Don't be scared (in an AI battle) to have the enemy forces come onto the map from reserve timed to coincide with the end of a player prebombardment. I use this 'gamey trick' in Lion's of Carpiquet for the opening mission where the player is instructed to use all of their off map support to reflect the final stages of a carpet barrage from 30 odd artillery battalions. Historically the Germans sheltered in stone basements which are not modeled in game. It takes lots of testing and careful timing but as a designer you'll know how many troops you'll have to go up against the player at all times. Unfortunately you can't take off map support away from a player after a preset time in game. ie 'use it or lose it.' So a level of trust between designer and player will need to exist here. - Give the player warning in the briefing if they are going to be shelled on turn one. Have his troops set to hide intially so they don't stick their heads up as much. Hope that helps.

Cheers Steve.

I thought that was what I was trying to achieve with the initial ticket. But yes no chance I can access the old account attached to the other email address. If having the serials is enough though for CMSF2...

Looks nice. :) To ask the obvious, why not wait until Rome to Victory is released given the time frame? Ensure correct date and TOE for Sept 1944 are used etc.

Possibly having some trouble. Lodged a helpdesk ticket the other week since all my CMSF1 orders (with the exception of the NATO module) were not being listed on the 'My Orders' page on the new website. Helpdesk Ticket ID: 20040855 No issue confirming all the serial numbers etc as I still had the old physical discs. I understand these older orders are now linked to the correct account but they are still not showing up on the 'My Orders' page. Is this type of fix only required behind the scenes so to speak? Just a tad concerned that it may cause some issues when it came time to purchase the upgrade bundle. Cheers

Cheers @HerrTom Judging by the timed 'ping' I get every night in my Dropbox folder I share with IanL, I'm guessing the script he wrote to record daily weather patterns across Ukraine is still running. If the CMBS timeframe expands out to cover 2017-18 winter and autum period we'll be covered. If anyone is interested. (Current CMBS timeframe only) http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/?p=5228

Yep, and the ability to import the state of the map after a battle (including wrecked vehicles if possible) would be great. I'm thinking like the CMBB days.

For what it's worth, for some long term thinking and on the assumption CM3 isn't going to be something completly different is scale/scope. When the time comes it would be great to have the ability to import CM2 era scenarios into CM3. (Even if this was a part process that still required editing in the CM3 editor). The amount of time and effort it's taken scenario designers to build something in CM2 compared to the CM1 days jumped heavily. There's also some real cracking scenarios/maps out there that would be great to keep alive in future iterations of the game. Not to mention letting the designers focus on new sceanrio ideas rather than rebuilding from scratch what's already been done before.

Re-login process pretty smooth. My first few attempts hit bump in the road since no emails to confirm password reset were coming through. Other than that, all good. Looking forward to CMSF2.

Looks like@BletchleyGeek beat me to it but here is the phone version for what it's worth.

Congrats. Even Australia's infamous tin can and string internet seems to receiving the new site. :P Main page looks a bit bland on my mobile phone (android) as it's just a lot of text on a black background. Functions well it's lacking any pics or the logo. No probs on desktop.

Probably, but would that be enough to prevent it being looked into on it's own? Not suggesting the existing "Wire Fence" is replaced - Even if the existing assets for the wire fence are used but the height and it's properties are changed to prevent infantry from crossing the action square it would probably be enough and increase the tactical challenges map makers/scenario designers can add to maps. I'm sure there will be a modder or two our there who will try to get the graphics right down the line (like what happened with the existing graphics issue with default NS and EW ploughed fields).