jamxo

I’m always quite interested in this topic. I try to do the same but find in game my commanders get hit painfully often. I’ve seen people mention that at the part of the engagement we join on the typical CM battlefield most commanders in real life would have buttoned up - any truth to that? And was there standard operation procedure which differed between the various nations in WW2? As far as I recall British tank commanders were encouraged to stay turned out as much as possible (and this led to lots of sniper casualties in Normandy) Back on topic excited for the next few turns. Your armour on the hill must be itching to load some AP rounds

Popcorn at the ready...

WW2 is my main area of interest, but yes I own all the modern titles and had alot of fun in the Highland Games campaign earlier this year : H&E is definitely on my 'to play' list, but gaming time a little limited at the moment! Hope to get round to it next year - it looks epic.

Making my way through the various WW2 era screenshot threads. Just started the Broken Shields campaign and loving the landscape and atmosphere of the snowy map. Some of my reserve force waiting to be called into action:

One of the things I'm enjoying most about it! Also making me appreciate how when you view the maps at ground level the game engine actually does a great job portraying realistic landscapes (considering it's age now!) - hats off to the map designer too.

Also chiming in to say how great this is and that I'm eagerly reading along. The slow methodical build up in the snow is so atmospheric and you are doing a fantastic job documenting it all with some stellar screenshots and descriptions.

Thanks both! Like I mentioned in the CMBN screenshot thread, it is mostly thanks to modders and ReShade I can get things looking extra nice Enjoying the cold bleak atmosphere in CMFB very much.

Ambush in the snow...

Well I work as a photographer in real life so glad to hear some of that eye for composition carries across haha! I'm using Reshade 4.8.2. (no explicit reason why that exact version, think it was just the last one I installed at a point where I ended up happy with the settings.) These are are the shaders/filters I have set up The key ones are: - UI mask applies this just to the game image, not the UI strip at the bottom - Cinetools LUT has awesome presets and control over the colours, can really tweak your ideal realistic or war movie look - Sharpen really gives the textures a pop and makes things look more detailed. - Border and DOF is set to hotkeys so can easily toggle on/off as I'm playing if I want to take a screen shot. Have attached my preset settings file below although not entirely sure if that helps! Jam-CM-Day.ini

I would say it is 95% thanks to the incredible work of the modders, like you can see on Aris's AA halftrack (just absurd detail really) or Lucky Strikes' borderline photorealistic foliage - my ReShade settings just give it that extra pop. Mainly some sharpening bring out the detail in the textures, bit of extra AA to smooth out the picture, tweaking the tones and most importantly in my opinion the colours, and then finishing things off with some grain/depth of field when taking screenshots. The only problem is it gets so addictive flying around looking for little vignettes or cool details its slower than ever to play!

First day of Operation Market Garden; US airborne secure drop zones and eliminate enemy flak units... (From Mission 2 of the Road to Nijmegen campaign, using plenty of mods and ReShade which really elevates my enjoyment of this timeless classic of a game. So many great little details amongst the chaos.)

Partisans patrolling...

Reshade is basically a lightweight graphics program you can install to run over a game (almost like Steam Overlay or Fraps) which can change/improve the visuals by adding various graphics filters/post processing effects. It’s relatively simple to install and combined with some of the amazing mods out there can really help to improve Combat Missions visuals quite a bit. My own preset improves the anti aliasing, sharpness, contrast and tones and most importantly for my enjoyment tweaks the colours to make things look a bit more gritty. There’s a good instruction PDF here if you scroll down the thread or on YouTube some instructions:

Two man UK sniper team equipped with an AT launcher each, set to hide in an isolated farm far to my left flank. After taking out both tanks they effortlessly picked off the dazed crew trying to crawl away. I think someone has earned a medal in this particular engagement...

In the last year I really enjoyed slowly slogging through the Scottish Corridor campaign in CMBN set during Operation Epsom. I say slog because it’s wet, muddy and the SS you face are tenacious and dug in. But I had an absolute blast even if it can be tough going. I think the campaign maker @Paper Tiger is one of the best, the maps are beautiful and realistic looking and the enemy positions and AI plans keep you on your toes. There’s a nice mix of forces, attack and defence and manageable battle sizes. Adding to my enjoyment of playing the campaign, was watching after each mission to see how Double Vision did in his epic video AAR series on YouTube >

Reshade is a game changer!

Happy to help in a small way with a great team effort, and thanks to @kohlenklau for asking me to get involved and being generally enthusiastic

Two missions done in the Highland Games campaign and really enjoying it so thanks again all for the recommendation!

Really enjoying CMSF2, two missions into the Highland Games campaign. After playing CMBN for the last few months fighting and manoeuvring in the desert feels very fast paced and exciting, not to mention how great it feels taking out a tank from across a huge map with a Javelin launcher..

Interesting thought. My other theory was maybe because CM:BN has probably has the most vegetation and I have quite a few mods installed, maybe my performance ‘bubble’ is decreased compared to the other games. I’ll try a fresh unmodded install and see if it expands the tree sway so I have an idea of what is causing it. Thanks for your replies and input regardless! It’s ultimately a minor issue and doesn’t impact my enjoyment of the game.

It’s strange because they sway fine in other titles like SF2 and Fortress Italy, but in CMBN there is barely any movement (and my computer is plenty powerful enough). Maybe I’ll try reinstalling CMBN.

Thanks all, I'll grab those campaigns too, and cheers for reminding me @mjkerner about the campaign extractor, I have that already so a nice option to play around with some individual scenarios. I'll start with some NATO campaigns first and then I guess move to some of the Red V Red ones roleplaying as the situation once the NATO forces start to withdraw. I have to say as someone who has always been really interested in WWII military history (and therefore loved and only focussed on CM WWII titles since the original CM Beyond Overlord demo was released) I finding SF2 a real thrill, everything is so fluid and fast paced and the tactical possibilities seem endless (maybe even more so after the last few months mainly fighting in Normandy bocage!) So many interesting vehicles too. On a side note: Getting into a whole new CM title and seeing how many campaigns and scenarios there are to explore, then realising I haven't even touched Black Sea, and what with Cold War and Fire and Rubble on the way, sheeesh I feel like I'm going to be enjoying this series for decades to come haha

Thanks both, I guess I’ll give Highland Games a go then, and thanks for the tip with regards saving before it splits.

Hi all, Would appreciate if anyone has recommendations on what order to tackle the campaigns in CMSF2 (I guess in terms of difficulty, but also interested if there is a good narrative order as the fictional invasion unfolds). Just to note I'm a long time user of the WW2 titles so I'm familiar and sufficiently advanced with CM gameplay and general planning/combat tactics, but basically new to the modern era titles. After rewatching Restrepo this weekend thought I'd delve in, and have successfully completed the training campaign and a bunch of single scenarios to start to familiarise myself with all this high tech gear.. Thanks!