Glubokii Boy

I'm working on a scenario using this map. Lots of possibilities with this...😀

Upping the Ghz on your cpu will give you big improvements to your fps!

Very playable.  No problem at all.  Also I was testing so had every German unit (vehicles and infantry) moving at the same time.  There was also some shooting by both sides. 
I can see where it may take some time to load a turn that has a lot of action.  However (IMO) a slow load time just indicates a lot of cool stuff worthy of screenshots is about to happen.  If it encourages a few players to buy faster rigs then you did them a favor.  Everybody's happy......... 
Check this one out.  Looking down from the second floor through a damaged wall.

 
Same tank, street level. 

I added a German pioneer company and a company of Tiger tanks.  For the Soviets I added a rifle battalion (-) and a company of IS-2 tanks.  I then started a game by double clicking on all German units and gave them a movement order to the east (Soviet) side of the map.  My FPS averaged about 17 with shadows off.  With shadows on the FPS went down as low as 9 for several seconds with every German unit on the move.  I really couldn't tell a difference how the graphics looked and the camera moved just fine.  My PC is about 5 years old:  i7-4790K, 4GHz, GTX970.  If it makes you happy to add to the map I vote you add to the map.  
The buildings are very well done and provide tactical challenges.  I was concerned there might be some door entry problems because of elevation changes but have not found any after about 15 minutes of play. 
Below are a few screenshots.  I'll add some more screenshots in the CMRT screenshot thread.  Very nice map. 

 


  

 

Hello...I have finished the map...I will provide a link down below if anyone would like to download it and use it in their own scenarios or in H2H games...
The map in the editor

 
As mentioned at the start of this thread one of the main features of this map will be a number of 'blocks' that consist of multiple single tile
buildings combined together to build up the towns main housing complexes...These combinations of buildings will form nice fighting possitions that will allow
for full freedom of movement inside the buildings as all of them have fully funtioning internal door on every floor and in every direction. My goal here is to
try and make these buildings somewhat harder to suppres from the outside as there are so many different locations in them...with the ability to repossition within them quickly..
Some of these blocks seen from the editor...

 
And in game...

 
appart from these 'blocks' the map contains a large number of other rubbled buildings as well as a complete factory district with two decent sized factories
that also will allow for some form of movement inside them.
The map is by no means huge but it is very detailed and i contains a lot of 'stuff'...
some more pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Given the high level of detail and the many rubbled buildings and flavoured objects etc...The map will be somewhat demanding on your computer i belive.
If you do decide to download this map and give it a try...Please make a short comment in this thread and tell me if your FPS performance is acceptable of if it is to demanding for your ,machine.
If the majority of people are seeing acceptable FPS i may very well decide to expand the map a fair bit...perhaps makining it usable for a static campaign or somewhat larger scenarios that would provide more room for manouver.
Also...What do you think about these kinds of buildings ? Do they provide some nice oppertunities and tactical challanges or do you considder them to be more of an waisted effort and not something that i should include in future maps...
A link to the map:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/55n385af4jloslg/Rebels in Odessa MAP.btt?dl=0

Any feedback will be apprisiated (good or bad), thanks...
Hopefully the map will work fine for you and be cool to play on...If FPS are low try to toggle shadows off and see if that helps...

Things are moving forward 😎....The 'block houses' are in place and functioning as intended...Some more work needed on the smaller buildings but given the current progress...The map WILL be released next week for anyone that would like to take it for a spin....A few final prewiew pic of those blocks...
 


 
 

 

 


 
 
 
 

 

From the CMFR Cutting Room Floor. Any time there was a BFC switch over to another project, I'd try out something weird with the included tools. You may have seen a version of this in CMCW, which was an adaptation of this original concept. The idea is to have a visual to track the campaign over, with choices depicted "on map" for the campaign portion.
This is simply a map that is zoomed way out to cover an operational area. Houses are towns, large buildings are urban areas, factories are industrial areas, and so on. The scale has been exploded to represent a potential campaign level view. The player would have a small unit representing their force on-map. I suppose you could have more than one unit, t depict multiple combat groups, but that is untested. Enemy forces would probably be tied to the scenario, but there may be some area for creativity there.
The campaign script has two potential decisions per branch. That could be a choice between any number of scenarios - a choice between attacking one of two towns, etc. Something like this could used as a makeshift operational map. This concept could then be used (in whole or portion) to create branching battles on an "operational map" made from a standard map...but scaled up. I like the idea of using the entire map for this one, as it would keep a sense of progression (or not). Like CMMC, but without any extra engine stuff, and everything is tracked via the campaign script. It gives a graphic progression to the text-based campaign we currently have.
My idea was to have a few new flavor objects for the towns and smaller trees, but it can be done with what we have (and maybe a 2D mod or two). I suppose there should be some standard for what the 3D stuff means (2 small barns= town, 4 large buildings= city, etc). It's getting the practical stuff on-map, then making sure it doesn't look like a dog's breakfast in 3D.
The "operational map" where the high-level branching choices are is below - this map being for the area covered by Operation Spring Awakening. It was too much of a slog for a campaign, but the operational map remains. If you have CMFR, you will see some maps destined for this idea.
In practical terms - The choice to the player would be "take the road to Deg, or take the road to Enying", then the player will move their campaign operational map Schwimmwagen/Jeep, etc. to that "town" on the map (or any choice trigger terrain), which will be linked to that battle as the next battle in the campaign in the campaign script. I the map attached, the Germans start at the west (just because of the current map rotation - really north), heading east (south, geographically) to Simontornya or Cece.
The attached example is far too large, and was intended to be split into smaller sections. Doing something of this size would be unmanageable to make a campaign script for if the battles were numerous. Each operational sub-map would be its own campaign, with 6 or so branches. That's probably 12 sub-maps, which can be easily made from Master Maps, QB maps, etc.
If I get any free time to cipher it out, I'll attach a script example for the branching for the first round using this map, and maybe others may wish to test the idea out on their own ideas. I have a few of my own, but they need a fair amount of time to percolate.
Images, looking west to east. Hungary, Lake Balaton region.


 

Many thanks ! 😎

The mini-campaign Alarmeinheiten has been posted at the FGM Scenario Depot III.  Link below.
 https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-red-thunder/cm-red-thunder-campaigns/cmrt-mini-campaign-alarmeinheiten/
From the Scenario Depot description:
It is late World War Two on the Eastern front.  You command a German alarm unit (alarmeinheiten) and are tasked to counter and destroy multiple Soviet breakthroughs in order to hold the front line.  Your alarm unit will maneuver in multiple battles on a 13.5 square kilometer map while protecting rear area logistics from partisans.  Decide if you want to command units of mostly common German vehicles or a more exotic mix of German vehicles to include some limited, rare and unique vehicles.  Make decisions on how you will employ your limited resources to hold the line.  Will you call up a weakened reserve unit or maybe an SS unit specializing in anti-partisan operations?   Should you rely on vehicles from the battalion repair shop?  The battalion aid station contains weakened, unfit, low morale troops.  Maybe these troops could form a blocking force while the alarm unit struck the flank of the latest breakthrough?  There are a handful of Luftwaffe security troops at the airfield that you might use somewhere.   These are all your decisions to make Commander.    As you look up from the map board and radios in your command track the sound of combat comes from the east. Which of the four avenues of approach is it this time………? Good luck!

To me...This statement looks the most intresting i think...😎
"Add new equipment or modify the capabilities of any item in a database from WWII to the modern era"
 

The vibes i'm getting from this interview is that CM2 is indeed nearing its end...No more larger game-engine updates, no more major editor updates but rather...
"adding a host of “niceities” "
And the "having at least one Module"   comment kind of sounds like these three modules will be the last ones...After these three have been delivered...
CM2 is finished as far as BFC goes....
any battlepacks and such can (and probably will) be made by 'partners'...
Hopefully this means that CM3 is not all that far away 😎...two years ??? 😊
 

The vibes i'm getting from this interview is that CM2 is indeed nearing its end...No more larger game-engine updates, no more major editor updates but rather...
"adding a host of “niceities” "
And the "having at least one Module"   comment kind of sounds like these three modules will be the last ones...After these three have been delivered...
CM2 is finished as far as BFC goes....
any battlepacks and such can (and probably will) be made by 'partners'...
Hopefully this means that CM3 is not all that far away 😎...two years ??? 😊
 

The vibes i'm getting from this interview is that CM2 is indeed nearing its end...No more larger game-engine updates, no more major editor updates but rather...
"adding a host of “niceities” "
And the "having at least one Module"   comment kind of sounds like these three modules will be the last ones...After these three have been delivered...
CM2 is finished as far as BFC goes....
any battlepacks and such can (and probably will) be made by 'partners'...
Hopefully this means that CM3 is not all that far away 😎...two years ??? 😊
 

I don't think they would 😎...
If or when CM3 arrives it will most likely be a VERY limited scoped game (battle for Normandy v3  with US army and german army only).
Thats nice for normandy lovers but perhaps not as much for other people...I belive that most CM-players will keep playing CM2 for years even after CM3 has been released.
 
 
 

Even though you can sort of work your way around the lack of a linear (or zone) area target command i still think this would be a nice addition to the target commands....to limit micro-manageing somewhat 😎...
The AI already has this feature (sort of) via the area-fire order.
And with regards to RT-play...What works or does not works in RT really does nothing to help the guys that prefer to play WEGO...
A linear areatarget command...Thumbs up from me 😊 

Yaaaaas!

PM sent.  I just finished updating everything (as far as I know). 
Just have to compile the scenarios.  Unless some unexpected problem is found it will be off to Bootie soon after the compilation.  

Campaign briefing:
On the 16th of march 1944 a Fieseler Storch with SS-Gruppenführer Herbert-Otto Gille, the commanding officer of 5. SS-Panzer Division "Wiking" and his adjutant SS-Hauptsturmführer Westphal on board landed inside the town of Kovel. 
Kovel was just about to be surrounded by soviet units, many of them from the 47th army, your main adversary.
Kovel with the German garrison: 5000 soldiers and civilians inside it, was completely surrounded by the Red Army on the 19th of march 1944. 
Gille would be a major morale boost for the Kovel garrison and even though some would criticize Gille for not being at his divisional HQ outside Kovel during the battle his confidence in his officers abilities convinced him it was the right thing to do, besides that Hitler had declared Kovel a "Fester Platz" and had ordered Gille to get into Kovel and hold the city at all costs.
 

No problem Fredrik! Best wishes to you and once the mod is released, you can download it and maybe make a scenario or map.
Maybe your BFC pm mailbox is all full?

Okay, the CMSF2-Afghanistan 'All in One' is now ready for release.
The modpack itself is a further refinement of the 'initial beta' released back in April & is, at its most basic, a merger between CMA & @Zveroboy1's SF2 Afghanistan work.
Changes mostly involve further tweaks of the CMA terrain to better fit with CMSF2, @Mord's original CMA & CMSF portraits as well as various ISIF tags have been added to the UI, the Soundscape is being upgraded to v1.6 (thanks to @waclaw's HQS 4.0), the uniform mix has been altered, (@Oleksandr's uniforms are now the ones often activated by the [mountains] tag), bridges & highways have been tweaked, @Pete Wenman's rural stone walls have been added & a new lowlands background is being used (sourced with the help of @Erwin).
The marsh to water & rudimentary dutch ANA mods have been deleted as they're no longer needed & @Zveroboy1's green ANP pick-ups are now activated by tag [anppu].
 
In terms of content, I've collated all CMSF & CMSF2 Afghanistan scenarios & campaigns I could find (including a few french ones, now translated, thanks to help by @CMFDR).
The SF2 stuff, by @Zveroboy1 & @puje, has been left almost entirely untouched however the CMSF scenarios & campaigns (including @dragonwynn's 'Heart of Darkness') have all been given a lick of paint... mostly by the simple method of swapping marsh into water tiles.
I've also converted the eight CMA quick battle maps by @Stagler for use with CMSF2 & the 'All in One'.
In total, there's two campaigns (19 scenarios between them), 37 single scenarios* & the 8 quick battle maps.
I was hoping to make some original stuff this year but that'll have to wait for another time.
Anyhow, here's the download link (I advise adding the modpack to an empty mod folder only)...
https://www.mediafire.com/file/s7ignwwd9fo8aue/zzzzCMSF2-Afghanistan.7z/file
... and here's the eye candy...











*About a third of these are by @Combatintman

A very powerful 'tool' to make a scenario more or less difficult is...
ELEVATION ! 😎
Some of the most experienced map designers,  George MC and Seinfeld Rules, comes to mind among others that are able to use this 'tool' brilliantly...
Having defensive possitions cleverly placed in reverse slope possitions to make them difficult for an attacker to get to.
A reverse slop possition does not neccesarely have to be on the back side of a large hill or crest...Even minor elevation changes can create oppertunities  for a reverse slope possition and as a map designer you will be able to decide from WHAT RANGE an attacker will be able to engage that possition...Should it be 30 meters ?, 150 meters ? or maybe 400 meters ?
Using the elevation tool in the map editor you as the designer can decide this and thereby adjusting the difficulty level of the scenario both with regards to the attacker as well as the defender...Dependant on how these elevation changes are  designed and used....
With enough skill in the use of elevation i bet you could design a map that is completally empty...With no terrainfeature at all other then elevation changes that is more difficult to attack compared to even a heavely fortified map... that lack these elevation tweaks...
The trick is to have these elevation tweaks look natural and at the same time provide the defender with good oppertunities for some nice defensive possitions as well as provide the attacker with some...options...as how to attack on this map...should he attack straight over the reverse slope possition ? or could he possibly manouver around them and not neccesarely have to attack over them but rather attack them from the flank...
If a mapdesigner manges to get these elevation changes to work in such a way and still look more or less natural it improves the enjoyment one gets from playing on the map...greately ! imo...compared to playing on a more or less flat map regardless of how well the map is 'painted' with other terrain types and features...
In short 😊...Clever use of elevation when designing a map...YES !!! i like it...
And as i  said at the start...Elevation can have a very significant impact on difficulty both on the attach as well as on the defence...
 
 

Hello...
I've been wanting to make a very detailed rubbled city map for CM for quite some time and now and finally the project is moving forward. 😎
One features i wanted to try out was to make sort of city blocks that would allow for some more variaty in the gameplay compared to just using regular buildings. The map will have a number of these 'blocks' that consist of...for the most part...one tile modular buildings of various hights and  damage combined together will full acess to each 'room' via more or less  a complete set of functioning internal doors and rubbled walls. These blocks will provide a large variaty of fighting- and fallback possitions for the defending forces as well as many choises for the attacker as well as he moves into them.
Besides these blocks the 'factory district' will have a pair of rather large factories that simularely uses a mix of smaller buildings combined with high and low walls...to build a combat location to fight for. (get your flamethrowers fueled up 😊)...
Blocks, factories and....A lot of rubbled buildings...It is one ruined town ! 🤕...
The map will also make liberal use of flavoured objects to include 'some flavour'.
A scenario is in the making but i will released the map first as it becomes finished...probably next week.
The scenario will be called - Rebels in Odessa - and will be a fictional scenario in with the player will be comanding the russians trying to clear the city of Odessa from Ukranian seperatists (partisan) supported by german rearguard units that failed to escape the russian encirclement.
 The scenario will take somewhat longer to complete...
Some WIP pictures...
Moving in to town



 
Wiewing the factory district in the far.

Factory district up closer




more pics..

 

looking down town

More suburbs

Rebels

and russians

 

Oh yeah, doing that  . It's what's allowing troops (if they want) to flank well south without getting shot up. I'll let you know when I've got the scenario done (could be today) and you can have a gander, but I've worked with maps since I was a teenager (back then we used stone, not paper <LMAO>) both professionally and for fun (getting lost in the boonies is fun??? 😳 Hey, I warned you  ) so maybe that's why my favourite part of this is map making. Good advice though - many thanks  .

My view is that if you are trying to force something then generally the premise of the scenario or the tactical situation you have created is flawed.  If that German force is pretty important to the integrity of the whole scenario and the opposition knows where it is and can approach it without too much trouble then give your head a wobble and think about other ways to crack the problem - maybe even redefine the problem.  I find that in nine cases out of ten, you can have a solution that doesn't involve jerking around with triggers and area fire or other such unnecessarily complex jiggery pokery.  Defenders in my battles are generally set with an ambush order of whatever meterage and then either a timed or triggered bug out order to the next position.  Many of my defenders have no orders at all.  The Tac AI should be able to handle most situations for a relatively static defending force realistically enough.  If it can't - like I said -  you have problems with how this scenario is orchestrated. 

The AI areafire option might be somewhat tricky to use in this particular situation i think...With this command they will do as told...areafire 😎...at whatever possition you specify...But what if the player decides to place his troops in a slightely different possition ? If you make the AI areafire location 'to big' with 'to few' troops doing the shooting it will not be very effective.
It might be better to have your german AI trops on HIDE until the player advances close enough for the AI germans to actually see them and then have them switch to ACTIVE using a  triggerzone placed accordingly.