Glubokii Boy

I would bet that it is the problem with the AI behavior and not the outsourcing of the modules that is causing these endless delays...
It's difficult to playtest a scenario if you do not have a working/finished gameengine to test them on...

Ahhha...
That's the working title for CM3 Barbarossa ! 😁

I would bet that it is the problem with the AI behavior and not the outsourcing of the modules that is causing these endless delays...
It's difficult to playtest a scenario if you do not have a working/finished gameengine to test them on...

IIRC...
The idea to provide master maps with the games is a post CMBN and CMFI addition...atleast as far as the basegames goes when it comes to these titles...

I wounder how windows (openings) are treated...Surely the shot could pass through a window every now and then and  explode inside of the building rather then aginst the outer wall...
Is this modeled or kind of abstracted. If it is abstracted maybe  thats whats happening here...An explotion inside the building ?
 

I wounder how windows (openings) are treated...Surely the shot could pass through a window every now and then and  explode inside of the building rather then aginst the outer wall...
Is this modeled or kind of abstracted. If it is abstracted maybe  thats whats happening here...An explotion inside the building ?
 

Superb description of the action...along with some very nice pics...
Good stuff ! ☺️
As i was reading through this last episode i was thinking...hit that place with arty ! ...and indeed,  in the last post,  i see its on its way. nice ! 
Your opponent has lost alot of AFVs so far...

DOWN THE MSR
After the violent exchange, a momentary calm comes over the battlefield. A few enemy crewmen are seen fleeing away from the carnage, and there are a few pops and bangs from cooking off ammunition. I wait a turn or two to make sure there are no late surprises. When its clear there aren’t Task Force Miller begins to cautiously creep forward again.
Some of the tanks that were covering the infantry clearing the woods on NAI 1 are repositioned to move up and help cover the move on NAI 11.

The calm persists as infantry from 2nd platoon cautiously approach the buildings on NAI 11 and begin to enter and clear them.

The infantry clear the buildings without incident, discovering the corpses of what looks like an enemy infantry squad deployed in a scout role.
On the other side of the MSR, the situation is repeated. Infantry from 1st platoon clear the remaining buildings on NAI 3, discovering only corpses and the two burned out BMP-2’s.

The final T-72 in the reverse slope killsack is destroyed. That makes 10 tanks, an entire tank company. There don’t appear to be any other fortifications or enemy units in the area.

Back at NAI 1, the infantry are slowly making their way through the woods, trying to avoid making contact with the enemy dug in there. On the left, there is a small opening in the tree cover, looking down slope into a clearing. There are a lot of vehicle sound contacts in this clearing. I decide to move a tank over to help cover the infantry and spot for enemy vehicles.

This quickly pays off. Just a few moments after the tank gets in position, a BMP-2 is spotted. The Abrams fires, destroying the spotted BMP-2.

A second BMP that was unspotted but unfortunately positioned between my tank and its spotted target is killed when the sabot first passes through it on its way to its intended target. The vehicle itself remains unspotted, but a plume of smoke begins to rise into the sky, marking its location.

A team of infantry from 3rd platoon, currently making their way through the woods over to the position the tank has taken, set up in a shallow trench next to the Abrams and immediately spot another BMP-2 in the clearing.

The AT-4 flies true and hits the BMP-2, destroying it. The crew of the stricken vehicle bails out and are quickly greeted by a hail of bullets. Also spotted are some foxholes with a lone enemy infantryman crawling next to them.

As suspected, this entire area looks like a fortified hornets nest. For now, I’m trying to stay along the periphery and engage opportunity targets as they appear, while trying to avoid getting sucked into a slug match in the woods.
I spoke too soon. The infantry spot another BMP-2 and attempt to engage it with the Javelin. However, this time the enemy sees me as well, and the BMP fires first. Casualties are caused, including the javelin gunner.

This is an example of how deadly close range forest fighting such as this can be, and something I’m trying to avoid. My tank, mere meters away from this infantry team, cannot see the enemy BMP. Sight line geometry in environments like this are a nightmare.
I quickly pull the infantry back, trying to disengage from the situation. The entire platoon is able to move away without drawing any fire, though the team in the woods next to the tank takes an additional casualty and is pinned down.

To help cover 3rd platoon by NAI 1, NAI 11 is reinforced with more infantry from 2nd platoon, as well as some tanks and Bradleys.

NAI 11 provides good lines of sight across NAI 1, and forward along the MSR.


The goal will be to use NAI 11 as another forward base of fire as I advance further down the MSR towards the bridge objectives. If any enemy units in the woods on NAI 1 decide to make a break for it or try to flank my units as they advance on the bridges, NAI 11 should be able to spot and interdict them.
Back on NAI 3, 1st platoon moves forward and clears the woods to their front. The road leading up to NAI 5 climbs in elevation, and has a ditch running along it. I place some infantry teams in the ditch to provide overwatch, armed with a javelin. From their position, they can see the bridge objectives, which appear to be clear of the enemy and obstacles.

Scout team 1 moves up in its Bradley to get a better view into the back of NAI 1. The team dismounts and sets up on a berm, covered by their Cavalry Fighting Vehicle just behind them.

Moments after setting up at the berm, the scouts spot a BMP-2.

However, the BMP has also spotted the scouts Bradley, and the Bradley has not spotted the BMP. The javelin takes around 20 seconds or so to acquire a good lock on a target before the missile can be fired. In that time, the BMP-2 is able to fire an AT-5a at the Bradley.

The enemy missile zips overhead and hits the Bradley, destroying it instantly, though both crewmembers survive and bail out.

A few seconds later, the javelin is fired and the BMP-2 is destroyed. The 1:1 trade of vehicles is a bad one, especially for cavalry scouts who are generally supposed to avoid engagement if possible.
After the BMP is destroyed and no further contacts are spotted, I decide to push out the perimeter around NAI 11. Two tanks, the Company XO and 2nd platoons platoon leader, bound forward in a pair.

They establish overwatch positions along a lightly wooded berm that can directly observe both bridge objectives, as well as the far side down the MSR. Nothing is spotted either on the Bridges or on the far side.

With this area looking clear, more vehicles are moved up to expand the perimeter of NAI 11 and prepare an initial push for the Bridge objectives.
Back on the right at NAI 1, the bulk of 3rd platoon (infantry) are disengaging from the woods and moving across a field to an assembly area. There they will remount their Bradley’s and be moved forward to assist in the capture of the Bridge objectives. However, there are still unrecovered casualties from A Team, 3rd Squad. To help recover the casualties, B Team moves up to the shallow trench. Number 3 tank from 1st platoon is still in position trying to provide cover to the pinned down infantry.

As soon as B Team arrives, they take fire from a BMP. 30mm HE rounds tear through the foliage and explode around the team, causing another casualty. A SAW gunner equipped with the teams AT-4 stands up through the withering incoming fire and takes aim.

This act of bravery is rewarded. He fires his AT-4, and his aim is true. The BMP-2 is hit and destroyed.

With this BMP-2 destroyed, all incoming fire ceases. After making sure the coast is clear, 3rd squad begins the task of recovering its casualties.

The casualties are recovered, and the infantry and tank fall back away from NAI 1. As they clear the area, a fire mission is called down on the NAI. The mission will be a steady rate of fire for a long time (7-10 minutes) to keep anyone left in the woods pinned down.

 

This thread is an offshoot of the Co-op AAR that @IanL and I have ongoing in the CMFS 2 forum.  In that game we tested a set of realism rules we called the Hard Cat Rules.
Well I have been doing a lot of talking about perhaps adding some rule additions to that basic set and got some great feedback and ideas along the way.  What follows are my extended rules, my intent was to maintain ease of use, and the basic rules fit on one standard page, so they can easily be printed out and referred to during play.  My main goal was to create the feeling of Command and Control without overwhelming the players with spreadsheets or writing stuff down (like my previous attempt).  
I am looking for feedback and suggestions with these, if you think they are too complex tell me why.. if they don't make sense to you  let me know, etc.
Here are the basic rules - a formatted PDF Version available at this link This PDF includes all of the latest additions (version 2H) - UPDATED 01JUN22
Click the image to see full size.

The following Advanced or Optional Rules also fit on one page, they are on page two of the PDF linked above. 

Click the image to see full size.
 

Hello...
Some kind of rules like these will be intresting to try...😎
One question that comes to mind though...especially with regards to the WW2 games...
Will not 'special teams'...like machineguns, AT, engineers etc run a risk of being penalized when it comes to areafire, targetarc and multiple movementpaths...
The player may decide to 'assign' such company, battalion assets to move along the with the various regular infantry platoons...
Even if the player decides to group (assign) the teams to certain platoons...they will still not be asigned to these platoons as far as the gameengine goes...
And might end up far out of C2 of their organic HQ...and that organic HQ may be far from having LOS to intended target are...
The platoon HQ that the player have 'assigned' these teams to may very well have LOS to the needed area...but that does not help the teams as these are still assigned to their organic HQs...
This could sort of limit the usefulness/flexibility of these teams...could it not ?
IRL such teams could be temporarely asigned to a different platoon HQ as needed...
This is not possible in game...
 
Thanks for sharing these ideas 😁

Holy smoke 😲...
A nice example of the beauty of playing WEGO...
I bet that turn had you jumping and twisting in your chair...going from slight panic to a sence of reliefe and maybe a degree of satisfaction...
All without being able to intervine during the playback...
A turn to remember i'm sure 😎

Holy smoke 😲...
A nice example of the beauty of playing WEGO...
I bet that turn had you jumping and twisting in your chair...going from slight panic to a sence of reliefe and maybe a degree of satisfaction...
All without being able to intervine during the playback...
A turn to remember i'm sure 😎

Holy smoke 😲...
A nice example of the beauty of playing WEGO...
I bet that turn had you jumping and twisting in your chair...going from slight panic to a sence of reliefe and maybe a degree of satisfaction...
All without being able to intervine during the playback...
A turn to remember i'm sure 😎

Combat Mission Shock Force 2 PBEM AAR
MSR Titan
By IICptMillerII

INTRODUCTION
 
This is an after action report (AAR) of a play by email (PBEM) battle I recently concluded. The battle is in Combat Mission Shock Force 2 and features a combined arms task force attacking down a major highway against a near-peer opposing force (OpFor).
The map is taken from the first mission of the excellent campaign “Forging Steel” by GeorgeMC. All credit goes to him for designing the superb map. I have modified the BluFor and OpFor, as well as their respective objectives, but otherwise the map remains untouched.
This AAR features several mods. Chief among them are:
Veins Smoke and Effects mod Drakenlords Fire mod Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA) by myself playing the OpFor US 3rd Infantry Division Multicam uniforms by myself A number of the graphics used in this AAR (mainly the maps and task force layout) are large image files and are best viewed in full size, with the ability to fully zoom in on them.
All sprites of vehicles and soldier models used in the map and task force layout graphics are taken from the game “Armored Brigade” by Matrix Games and are slightly tweaked by me. All credit goes to the artists who created these sprites.
 
MISSION
Task Force Miller is ordered to assault down Highway 3, named Main Supply Route (MSR) Titan, in order to allow follow on forces to continue the attack.
Mission Specific Tasks:
Secure Bridges 31 and 32. Destroy any enemy forces in the vicinity of MSR Titan Do not suffer more than 30% casualties Desired End State:
MSR Titan, to include Bridges 31 and 32 secured and not directly threatened by the enemy. Task Force Miller combat effective and capable of conducting follow-on operations.
 

 
ENEMY
S2 (Intel) indicates the enemy is present in battalion size and are made up of elements from the 16th Guards Tank Division. Specifically, elements of the 47th Guards Tank Regiment appear to be deployed to our front. S2 anticipates a mix of dismounted and mechanized infantry (mounted in BMP-2s) in battalion (-) strength supported by at least one company of T-72AV tanks. It is anticipated that at least one additional company of tanks, maybe more, could be present on the battlefield, possibly as a quick reaction force (QRF).
The enemy is well equipped, well led, and well trained. They are expected to stand and fight and will not give ground easily. Entrenched enemy units not immediately threatening the MSR should be bypassed or be destroyed with indirect fires.
The T-72AV is a very capable tank and is well crewed. It is capable of frontally penetrating our M1A1’s at combat ranges. It is not a threat to be taken lightly.
Additionally, enemy infantry may be equipped with the AT-14 Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). This weapon can easily destroy our M2 and M3 Bradley/Cavalry fighting vehicles and can severely damage, disable, and even destroy our M1A1’s.
 

 
TERRAIN AND WEATHER
The weather is overcast, though rain is not expected. The Air Force has assured us that the weather will not impede their ability to support the task force.
The landscape is a mildly arid temperate climate. The dominating terrain features are Hill 113, and the gorge that runs North-South, crossing under MSR Titan at Bridge 32. The gently hilled terrain is a mix of grassland, agriculture, and light forest. The forested areas are not expected to prohibit tracked vehicles, though caution should still be used if passing through.
MSR Titan runs East-West along the 2240 Easting. It crosses two obstacles, unnamed gorges, at Bridges 31 and 32.
Several settlements of varying size are scattered through the area of operations. Only one is named, Kronenburg. The rest are designated by named areas of interest (NAIs). The most significant of these are likely to be NAI’s 5, 8, 9 and 12. These are larger settlements located closest to the MSR.
 

 
TROOPS
Task Force Miller is a combined arms task force composed primarily of two companies, one mechanized infantry and one armored. The armor company is Alpha Company equipped with M1A1HC Abrams tanks. The mechanized infantry company is Charlie Company riding in M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV). Neither the tanks nor BFVs are equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA) packages, so they are more vulnerable to HEAT rounds, specifically modern tandem HEAT warheads. These units come from 1st Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment. The parent division is the 3rd Infantry Division.
Also attached is 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 5-7th Cavalry. The scouts operate the M3A3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV).
Supporting Fires:
The task force’s Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC) is assigned to the headquarters element of Alpha Company, and rides in a Humvee. Charlie Company has its Fire Support Officer (FSO) in its Bradley Fire Support vehicle (BFIST), part of C Company’s headquarters.
We have been given priority fires for the following assets
Battery A, 1-41st Field Artillery. x6 155mm Paladin self-propelled guns 1 flight of AH-64D Apache Gunships (2 helicopters) Armed with: 30mm HEDP x1000 70mm HE Rockets x38 AGM-114 Hellfire x8 1 flight of A-10C Thunderbolt II’s (2 fixed wing aircraft) Armed with: 30mm APDU x1350 500lb bomb x4 AGM-65 Maverick x4  

 
TIME

The time is 0830. Task Force Miller has 2 hours to accomplish its objectives.
 
INITIAL SCHEME OF MANEUVER 
The initial scheme of maneuver, illustrated by this map, is as follows:

 
Cavalry Scouts (White)
Scout team 3 will advance to NAI 2 and establish overwatch positions North-East to screen the task force’s left flank. Scout team 1 (dismounted) will observe to it’s North-East to provide another set of eyes from a different location to spot any threats that immediately appear as the task force deploys.  
Tanks (Red)
3rd platoon will advance down the MSR and establish hull down overwatch positions that will allow observation down the entirety of the MSR and its immediate surroundings. 2nd platoon will advance forward into hull down positions and establish a base of fire position to cover the infantry 1st platoon will advance forward directly in front of NAI 1 in order to directly observe and engage any threats spotted there and allow the infantry to move up, dismount and begin sweeping the NAI.  
Infantry (Blue)
For now, all infantry platoons will remain mounted and stationary in defilade as the tanks and scouts move forward to their initial positions. Once the tanks/scouts are in position, the platoons will fan out and deploy against their respective initial objectives. 1st platoon is tasked with clearing any discovered threats in the immediate vicinity of MSR Titan. 2nd platoon is effectively the reserve element and will respond to developing threats as needed. 3rd platoon is tasked with sweeping NAI 2 if the enemy is discovered there.  
Preparatory Fires
1 section of 155mms (2 guns) will fire a light mission against NAI 1 to suppress any enemy forces deployed there that could threaten the initial deployment of the task force. The remaining 2 sections of the battery will be on call for fires.

hello...
I don't know if you know about this thread...If not it might provide you with some intresting reading...
Hopefully this will be atleast somewhat related to your questions...
 

In many scenarios i think the inflexibility of the AI might also be a limiting factor when it comes to  the players freedom to choose how, where and  what to attack or defend.
I have a feeling that the designers often needs to 'guide' the player forward (using objectives, timings and such) in order for the AI plans to function properly. The AI is very limited to what degree they may react to events taking place on the battle field and to allow the AI to provide the best possible challange the player freedom may at times need to be restricted.
The skill of the scenario designers a constantly improving though and new tricks a technics are found how to maximize the current game engine ☺️
 
 

Thanks, Elvis....for more frequent postings. 😎

I know this has been mentioned and discussed 58-ish times before but a little reminder every now and then nerver hurts 😉
As mentioned above...mapdesign is usually a rather lenthy process. Especially with larger, huge maps. Not only with regards to the elevation but also 'the painting of the terrain'
I agree that the time-commitment to produce a high quality map is probably one of the reasons for the limited number of scenarios being made. There are ways to improve this though. As mentioned before...
 
Please BFC give us a copy, rotate, paste feature to the map designer. Combine this with a way to import/export (load/save) designated mapsections.
 
If we as the mapdesigners could load something like 20, 30 or more different farm complexes,  simular number of small villages, river/stream sections with appropiate vegitation, different kinds of forrest sections, urban sections etc, etc and rotate these as desired, place them on the map and if neccesary edit them further ones in place.
The time require to design those larger maps would be seriuosly reduced.

I know this has been mentioned and discussed 58-ish times before but a little reminder every now and then nerver hurts 😉
As mentioned above...mapdesign is usually a rather lenthy process. Especially with larger, huge maps. Not only with regards to the elevation but also 'the painting of the terrain'
I agree that the time-commitment to produce a high quality map is probably one of the reasons for the limited number of scenarios being made. There are ways to improve this though. As mentioned before...
 
Please BFC give us a copy, rotate, paste feature to the map designer. Combine this with a way to import/export (load/save) designated mapsections.
 
If we as the mapdesigners could load something like 20, 30 or more different farm complexes,  simular number of small villages, river/stream sections with appropiate vegitation, different kinds of forrest sections, urban sections etc, etc and rotate these as desired, place them on the map and if neccesary edit them further ones in place.
The time require to design those larger maps would be seriuosly reduced.

I may not be all that found of the way that the briefing designing currently works in CM but i'm affraid i'm on the other side of the fence here...
I do NOT want a narrower/simpler way to design the briefings...Simpler, YES, but narrower (less options, less graphpics) most certainly NOT.
I think that a very well done briefing kind of adds to the immersion of the scenario. It would do even more so if additional functions could be made avalaiable imo.
 
Some problems i see with the current setup is first and foremost the limited resolution for the graphical sections. The maps, pictures or whatever else you would like to include here are limited to a very low resolution. It can be hard to design detailed maps and pictures within these restriction. 
Using the 'stock graphics' for the briefing pictures seems to be rather tricky to do. I have never tried it myself but i have read a number of post asking about how this is done...
The briefings are currently limited to a max of 3 pictures. This is a fairly low number.

How to change this...

First and foremeost...up the resolution. Secondly...SCRAP the entire current set-up ! and redo the way that the briefing screens are done from scratch...
What i would like to see is this...
Skip the 4 different sections that currently makes up the briefing screen...The text-section and the 3 map(pictures)-sections. The briefing screen should be made up of ONE section ! And one section only.
This ONE section should...If it is at all possible...allow for a wider variaty of file types to be used compared to the current version that only allows for a text file to be used in the text-section and picture files to be used in the picture-sections.
In this ONE section all the briefing information should be displayed on a number of pages (each using the 'full screen') to include both text and pictures. Each seperate file would represent ONE page in this new briefing screen.
These files should be doable using the most common text- and graphic editing programs.
The result could be something like this..
Maybe the first page(file) will be a 'cover picture' for the scenario, file(page) 2 and 3 will be textfiles, page 4 will be a map (or perhaps several maps), page 5 and 6 will be recon pictures
and page 7 and 8 will be additional text files only...
Something like this will give the designer full flexibility when it comes to how much work he wants to put into the creation of the scenario briefing. 
The simplest and fastest option would be to simply includy a number of text-files made with notepad (or whatever textprogram the designer desires) to make a text only briefing....Quick and simple ! 
On the other hand if the designer are willing to commit a bit more time to the briefing he could include things like picturesfiles that resembles RL briefing documents (both modern and WW2 time frames)
He could include detailed maps, various pictures like air-, satelite recon. Maybe pictures of specific persons that plays a significant part in the scenario.
For example in a shockforce 2 scenario in wich the goal is to kill/capture a terrorist leader/WIP... the briefing could include an actual picture of this guy. I think that would be rather 'cool'
Lots of stuff like this could be included in the briefing and would increase the level of immersion imo.
If the designer wanted he could also include a small encyclopedia with picture and text describing the features and capabilities of likely enemy equipment that the player may encounter during the scenario.
I think that especially someone who does not play all that much or often can have a hard time keeping track of all the different equipment in the various games. Having this rundown of the most likely opposition in any particular
scenario would be highely apprisiated i belive.
If the designers 'favorite' text and graphic editing program could be used to design these briefing pages and then upload them to the mission editor i don't think that it would neccesarely take...all that long...to design really cool briefing screens.

I know this has been mentioned and discussed 58-ish times before but a little reminder every now and then nerver hurts 😉
As mentioned above...mapdesign is usually a rather lenthy process. Especially with larger, huge maps. Not only with regards to the elevation but also 'the painting of the terrain'
I agree that the time-commitment to produce a high quality map is probably one of the reasons for the limited number of scenarios being made. There are ways to improve this though. As mentioned before...
 
Please BFC give us a copy, rotate, paste feature to the map designer. Combine this with a way to import/export (load/save) designated mapsections.
 
If we as the mapdesigners could load something like 20, 30 or more different farm complexes,  simular number of small villages, river/stream sections with appropiate vegitation, different kinds of forrest sections, urban sections etc, etc and rotate these as desired, place them on the map and if neccesary edit them further ones in place.
The time require to design those larger maps would be seriuosly reduced.

No it cannot. The QB system strips out any forces that might be left. Only forces you choose from the QB system will be available and they will be setup as per the AI plan.
 
Sure but also highly unlikely to ever be coded.
What you can do though is create a scenario with no friendly forces but a full AI controlled force and save that and then edit it yourself to create an attacking force of your choosing and then play it.

The flamthrowers can indeed be tricky to use but they are one of those units that can bring great satisfaction ones they do work...
"ooohh, YES !!!!" 

In thoose somewhat larger/ more compex scenarios that includes multiple terrian, multiple destroy and perhaps also casulty/amno level objectives it can be quite tricky to get the scoring right...the player may fail in securing some terrain objectives that is pretty vital but still score - full point - in all the others...friendly, enemy casualties...killed the right enemy unit and keept the right friendly units alive etc...resulting in a draw or maybe a minor victory...but they still failed to secure all the terrainobjectives for the mission. Kind of the primary objective...a skilled designer usually manages to get the scoring pretty much right to be able to handle every possible outcome...but this could get pretty tricky to do at times.
What if the objectives could be classified as primary and secondary objectives...and the game end-screen could include success or failure for both of these...?
For example...securing the terrain will be the PRIMARY objective for the scenario and maintaining a low casulty level will be the SECONDARY objective...
Both of these sets of objectives can be a succes or failure individually...
Terrainobjectives seccured...primary objective achived.
Casulties to high...secondary objective is a failure...
In another scenario some terrain objectives may be classified as primary objectives and other, less important, as secondary objectives...
If the primary objective is achived the mission will be considdered atleast a win (at various levels dependant on the result of the secondary objectives...).
If the primary objective fails...the mission will be at best a fail (or maybe a draw)...dependant on the result of the secondary objectives...

Yes, yes, yes...give it to me !!!! 😁
This is something i would really like also...some kind of timer...
Do this for XX minutes...wait at this waypoint for XX minutes...the gameclock and triggers that we have now don't allow for this since there is no way of knowing excatelly when each AI order will be carried out as far as the gameclock goes...a certain AI order may be triggered at min 23 or at min 31 for example...the usefullnes of the gameclock as a timer is therefore limited...
I agree with the sgt...please BFC...give us a timer...