MOS:96B2P

Yes, there's a fundamental category error here in the utter failure to distinguish Ukrainians, who are overwhelmingly fighting for their nation and elected government, from Iraqis or Afghans who overwhelmingly defer to their local tribal or religious leaders, who in turn decide which flag to salute, or not.

Dude, ok it is getting weird now.  This is like being on a bus and the guy next to you asks “Do you know about Jesus?”  I am not asking what Trump says he will do?  I am not asking what he wants to do?  I am asking that all things being equal and he winds up in some sort of inverse version of where Biden is right now…what can Trump actually do?
Given his absurd declarations last time compared to what actually got done, we have precedent here.  I think I can safely say that your position is pretty clear and duly noted.  Now I am going to go find another place to sit - and maybe find someone a bit more pragmatic about the whole thing.

Sorry to interrupt the lively discussion about US politics, but I'd want to add my two cents regarding the Avdiivka situation.
Most likely, it will attempt to halt or slow down the current RU attack on the O0542 route. It is the most dangerous RU attack, with the potential to collapse the entire Avdiivka pocket rapidly. If 3rd manages to stop or slow this RU attack down, we could argue that 3rd indeed saved Avdiivka from quick collaps.
 
Most likely, Avdiivka is going to fall because the Russian gliding bombs (UMPK) have not been neutralized yet. Essentially, RU are simply leveling with UMPK UKR strong points that their meat groups encounter. The system works as follows: an RU meat group meets a UKR strong position, dies while the RU command watches it through drones and then RU command orders a bombing of the strong point into oblivion. A fresh RU meat group is then dispatched forward. So, given enough time and bodies, RU will capture the place that once was called Avdiivka. 
 
The situation is advantageous to UKR in Avdiivka. Avdiivka is the most fortified area in UKR. Even with UMPKs, the Koksohim plant and south urban areas are incredibly tough to breach, and RU losses are horrific.
The problem is there is a certain critical vulnerability that RU have found and are trying to exploit now. If they succeed, Avdiivka will fall swiftly. Much faster than it would be otherwise.
Let's discuss the overall situation and then look at my quick map.
RU failed to encircle Avdiivka via Stepove > Orlivka (north axis) and Vodyane > Tonenke (south axis). The assault via Tsarska Ohota (48.11372615890259, 37.77596770282691) toward the major urban area (that pipe infiltration) was originally successful but is now slow and painful. Finally, since the Azov Steel battle, RU want to avoid any major assaults on large plants such as Koksohim.
So, using their standard tactic of persistent pressure by meat groups along the front lines, they discovered the weak spot.

The O0542 road is the primary communication route for the Avdiivka defense sector. Assaulting via Avtobaza and Brevno is the shortest way to reach it. There are not many urban-style buildings in this village-style area. As a result, it provides sufficient concealment for assaulting RU meat groups while providing substantially less cover for UKR defenders against UMPKs.
If UKR manage to neutralize this assault they could hold Avdiivka a lot longer. So, I believe this is the reason UKR commit 3rd assault "to save Avdiivka".

Well first off you may be surprised to learn that we hear all sorts of opinions on the trajectory of the Defender of the Free World - your personal spin is but one of them.  I am still not sure what has changed here.  We already had a Trump admin and what I saw was a lot of his worst impulses blocked, delayed and generally smothered by legal action and good old bureaucratic friction.  Trump still has to deal with the state level governments etc as well.  So in his first incredibly chaotic admin we saw a whole lot of noise and light but little actual substance - kind of the brand.  Jan 6th and COVID were about as close to the cliff face as we saw and then the machine defended itself.
So ok we got your spin on all this - Trump = bad idea.  But what has fundamentally changed in 4 short years that would give Trump supreme dictator powers that he lacked last time?  His own party is just as weak at holding him in check as last time.  Security and armed forces are not entirely onboard.  So what is the big shift that would allow these nightmare scenarios to unfold?
I mean as an outsider “hey look the sky is falling, again…”. I am still not seeing how Trumps political opponents could not conspire to check and pushback any less than his supporters have during the last few years.  We already lived through one Trump-pocolypse.  Finally despite a lot of predictions Ukrainian aid continued to flow - held up in the gears now but also looks like it might get through eventually.  NATO held together and the US appears to agree on China as the threat.  So now Trump gets in and all that goes away?
So it is not “listening to what I want to hear”. It is listening to a lot of voices saying something other than you.  You know, like good balanced critical thinking should be doing?  I do get that it could be bad, very bad.  But you are basically taking about an inevitable slide into another US Civil War and I have to believe that there are some off-ramps and relief valves here.

Increasingly more cities of RF hold actions demanding return of soldiers from war in Ukraine - ISW (msn.com)
In various cities of the Russian Federation, protests by relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers are gaining momentum, despite previous efforts and attempts by the Kremlin to suppress and block any potential development of a broader public movement across the country on the eve of the presidential elections in March, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
On Saturday, February 10, Russian opposition publications SOTA and Mobilization News released footage showing members of the Russian public movement Way Home laying flowers and gathering near monuments in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, and Yekaterinburg. They call for the demobilization of their relatives.
Mobilization News reported that members of the movement also visited the campaign headquarters of the Russian presidential candidate Vladislav Davankov in Moscow and handed over letters to his team urging demobilization.
The Institute for the Study of War also reminded that last week the Russian authorities attempted to censor the protest by members of Way Home near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow and at the adjacent Manezhnaya Square.
"The extent and complexity of the Kremlin’s efforts to limit the rise of relatives’ movements in support of Russian soldiers underscores the Kremlin’s desperation to shut down these movements, particularly ahead of the March 2024 Russian presidential elections," the report said.
On February 3, a protest took place in Moscow organized by the wives of mobilized soldiers to mark 500 days since the start of the partial mobilization declared by Putin in September 2022. The Kremlin subjected the protest to harsh censorship, and some participants were detained by the police.
In mid-January, one of the largest protests in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine occurred in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Demonstrators rallied in support of a local activist accused of "fanning interethnic enmity."
The last significant protests in Russia were after Putin's announcement of the so-called "partial mobilization" in September 2022. At that time, protests occurred in various regions of the Russian Federation. In the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, people were mass-arrested during the rallies.

Sorry guys. I got over excited. ☹️

And the other deputy of Syrskyi became brigade general Mykhailo Drapatyi. He will be responsible for soldiers training.
Epsisode of 9th of May 2014, with his "flying BMP" breaking throw separatists barricades in Mariupol became a one of meme of this war. In that time Drapatyi was in a rank of major and was a commandr of mech.battalion of 72nd brigade. Since 2016 to 2019 he commamded 58th mot.inf. brigade. 
 

Acoording to updated information UKR Su-25, lost on 7th of Feb was shot down on 17th minutes of flight by R-37 long-range AA missle, likely from Su-35. This missile has 200 km of range and speed 6M . Other carriers of this missile are Su-27 and MiG-31BM  
For the lost pilot Vladislav Rykov ("Magic"), this was 385th combat flight.

Sorry to derail the thread with stories from Ukraine...
Not that much news for the folks here, but still interesting:
 

@Aquila-SmartWargames made a U-Tube video.  Very cool Battle Pack. 
 
 

@Aquila-SmartWargames made a U-Tube video.  Very cool Battle Pack. 
 
 

Rule of thumb that I use..
Tank has thermal sights: STAY BUTTONED - do NOT expose the tank commander (TC) NO thermal sights: UNBUTTON - expose the TC

Comet I

I was so glad to get this.
Frank put so much time and love into it and I will enjoy every bit of it for many hours to come.
Hope we can persuade him to create more down the line.

This a USMC  mini campaign designed for the latest version of CMSF 2 and the Marine module. It is semi-historically based on the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 and follows the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and supporting units through four battles in the Jolan District of Fallujah against the insurgency based there. Due the game date being 2008 the weapon load outs may not be historical but I tried to keep it as realistic as possible.
The maps for each battle are cut from a master map I made of the Jolan District (see the thread about this map). It is not to exact scale due to game and system limitations but it gives a good representation of the Jolan District with actual places with in the district.
Campaign Notes:
There are four battles:
1. New Dawn
2. Fubar
3. Facing the Fanatics
4. Get Some
I have included the mods in the download that I used for the campaign and all credit goes to the authors of these mods. I also included actual background information in the opening designer notes about the events that led up to the battle to help set the stage.
The Core Units:
3rd Bn 5th Marines
Lima Company
Kilo Company
India Company
Weapons Company
Recon Platoon
Light Armored Recon Platoon
Scout/Sniper Platoon
Howitzer Battery
Supply Platoon
Support Units
Charlie Company 2nd Tank Battalion
I MEF Engineer Group
Task Force 2-7 ( US Army Mechanized Calvary )
Various air assets
 
Special Notes:
This campaign depicts heavy urban combat and may not appeal to many players. It requires patience and careful planning and orders to be successful. There is a fairly high refit/replenishment factor to help between missions. In the real battle the U.S suffered around 95 casualties. Do not expect to try and maintain this ratio, you will be frustrated. You will take losses depending on your skill level. I spent a good bit of time placing the insurgent defenders to have interlacing lanes of fire to support each other with a fairly sophisticated AI. There are mines and IEDs (use the engineers wisely). You have the firepower advantage so use your armor and support assets effectively to support the Marines.There are a lot of moving pieces to watch as the battles are medium to large in a tight urban environment.
However if you accept it for what it is it will be a fun challenge. I had a blast testing the missions, even when I was losing my Marines.
The download includes the .cam file, the mod folder, the individual scenarios to play without the campaign format and the master map. The map is clean and has a fair amount of flavor objects though I wanted to add a lot more but CPU limits would probably be tasked. I recommend using the included mods with the map for the immersion.. You are free to use it to create your own scenarios, just please give me a little credit when you do.
Here is the link. let me know if you come across any issues: 
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/mvmb5grjat8s8ba1gxjpn/h?rlkey=i9k4oo4fcypxyal05drv77qre&dl=0

+1   In CMCW a simple mine plow for both sides would be a great addition IMO.  During the Cold War many of the rotations at the NTC involved obstacle breaching.  Obstacles and breaching was a significant element of how units trained and thought they would fight.   

I am a coder and 64 bit would be the default for new development. The reason to do 32 bit work would be to support something legacy - either your own code or some specialized library or something.
Yes, more working memory would lead to the ability to support larger maps, more forces. In the modern context more memory available for a 64 big application is somewhat decoupled from graphics performance since that would be handled by the GPU. However CM has traditionally used a lot of CPU power for CM specific work so it is unclear how this would play out in a new architecture. At the time the old engine was made GPUs were not as advanced and BFC wanted to make sure the game could be played without top end GPUs. I imagine the considerations will be different now but how that actually plays out in the design I have no idea. I am not a game developer so I lack any insight in how those choices are / could be made in a modern context. 

Come and get it guys!  I hope everyone enjoys what Frank has created for all of us!
Some more previews...

Exactly one year after the first announcement, the project is now finished. In order to avoid
misunderstandings on the part of the company Battlefront.com, I chose the name CampaignPack 😎.
The pack (as described in former threads) consists of 5 campaigns in which the player is thrown
into the events of the summer of 1944 in the sector of the German Army Group Center.
In total you will play minium 52 single missions, maximum 55 single missions (depending on one
branch). To avoid technical problems, I didn't add any mods to the campaigns. But I can, for example,
highly recommend the excellent work of @JM Stuff, especially his extraordinary mod collection of vehicles
and wrecks 👍
I recently visited the forum regularly to stay in touch with people who wanted to register. However, I have
asked the people at Battlefront.com several times to delete my profile.  This request has not yet been
granted to me, so as a quasi "undead" I will always stop by - but I will no longer take part in any discussions
or answer any questions in the forum. To get in touch with me, please write to me at:
E-Mail: f-s-zbg@web.de.😎
Of course, I can still send the campaign pack to anyone interested.
 
So all I can say is:
It was a great pleasure for me to finish this project and share it with many people.
I hope you have as much fun playing as I did creating it 🙏
 
Best regards
Mr.X 

I see what you did there 👍.

While we wait the modding master to perhaps arise once again, I couldn't help myself.

So here's the first of a few mods of weathered vehicles for the Downfall module. Don't know how many I am going to make, but it certainly won't be all the new Downfall units.
Here's a Dropbox link for the Pershing - but it will only be temporary until the files have become available on https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/cm-mod-warehouse/



 

Hi all, its been a while... in fact so long that I had to create a new account for the Forums... Anywho I started revamping some of my old work so it will play better in Game Engine 4.x and also I am back to creating some new scenarios (some fictional, some semi-historical)... Also redid my Combat Mission Site (haven't touched it in 7 years)... Since I lost touch with all the people that use to playtest for me I ask if you have feedback; Good, Bad, and/or Ugly that you submit that via the Feedback button in the site's menu... I have done extensive testing on the vs. AI battles but, the Head to Heads I have not been able to test... Well I am active again, who knows for how long but I do have a lot of time on my hands and a lot of scenarios/campaigns on the production schedule...  You can check every thing out at Fredrockers Combat Mission Site ... Enjoy

CM3 should start with Cold War! It's the best title to start with in my humble and very selfish opintion, lots of units, long distance engagement, huge maps and lots of fun stuff to play with!
 

Hmm, the map in the link isn't the full version, can you upload it by any chance please?
What you did with the ships is the coolest concept I've ever seen done in these games. Bravo!

The original map was made by @LongLeftFlank of the Ramadi-Government-Center.  I heavily modified it by adding a coastline etc.  I used it in the scenario Coup D'etat. 
https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-shock-force-2-2/cm-shock-force-2-scenarios/coup-detat/
 

 
Later I even added part of an airfield for one of several WIP scenarios.