Ivan Zaitzev

A bit discouraging to know that some things are still wip, was hoping for the module to be almost ready after all this time.

Captain Black,
Let me tell you just how badly things can turn out if you don't do what MOS:96B2P suggested. Was playing CMBN (don't recall the scenario and might've been a QB vs AI), but I had to get my force across a pretty substantial swath of plowed ground in order to reach the Main Objective. My 2 LT, a man of aggression but too few brains, took it upon himself to start shooting for no apparent reason after my force had left cover and while most of it was completely exposed as dawn started to break. The resulting counter fire was so devastating the only choice I had was to quit the game, for my force was in ruins and incapable of continuing to advance. Simply put, I have walked in your shoes and learned a hard lesson in the process. 
Regards,
John Kettler
 

db_zero,

The site called easy39th has some great stuff under Research: FMs, TMs, Catalogs and Pamphlets. Grog goodness!

Regards,

John Kettler

This TV series is overall well done, thought provoking, moving, even entrancing at times. The show is called Night Swallows and is in Russian with English subtitles here in the US. The Germans called the members of Stalin's secretly assembled Night Aviation Bomber Regiment die Nacht Hexxen (Night Witches) because of the misery and bedevilment the unprecedented in the Red Air Force female crews inflicted. The Germans dubbed their fragile looking Polikarpov Po-2/U-2 (no, not that kind) biplanes "sewing machines" because of their characteristic engine sounds. Reading a proper book on these amazing ladies (unless you consider flying 1000 missions unremarkable) has long been on my to do list, and watching this has reminded me afresh. Courage, cowardice, devotion to duty, shirking same, careerism, loyalty and betrayal are all on display. The show is about Russia at war, the Party at war, the Russian people at war, the clash between Communism and deep Russian Orthodox religious beliefs. Above all, it is about these young women, operating in a man's world, doing the riskiest of flying, yet remaining women with hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies, strength and fragility,  throughout. And overarching it all are  Russia herself and the Russian soul.  There are some wonderful toys (way too many Landser armed with MP38/40s, a common problem in western war dramas, too) and also "forest brothers" AKA Spetsnaz! 

Should say, too, that I got to see a real Po-2 in Night Swallow configuration at Paul Allen's Flying Heritage & Armor Museum in Everett, Washington a few years back. That museum also has the only flying Il-2 on the planet. Amazon Prime offers a free 30-day trial. Might want to jump on that!

Image Credit: Flickr via Wikimedia Commons
 
Regards,
John Kettler

Could we have an update on this? Do we get Moroccan Goumiers with their amazing uniforms?

Could we have an update on this? Do we get Moroccan Goumiers with their amazing uniforms?

At the moment I'm testing Mosul Pt.2 for myself in CM:SF and the same thing that you are for @MOS:96B2P in CM:BS, for CM:A the only thing that I'm actively working on right now is the big map with the river valley.
I got really stuck with the third mission for Abdul Gul's War.....He's up to three understrength Mujahideen platoons by this stage and is negotiating to buy some recoilless rifles with the money from the bank robbery.  I want to set up a straight(ish) fight to contrast with all the sneaking around from the first two, but his force is still pretty fragile, my last attempt was too complex, the one before too unwieldy, I'll get it right eventually, or I won't.

Test scenario. RUS Recon HQ that has 6 people shows up as having just 3 people. What's affected is unit interface for the adversary after surrender. The map is ok - it shows 6. RUS interface is OK as well - shows correct number of soldiers. No mods here.

z_test.btt

1st reply here gets it. Activates via steam.
The Long Dark is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies -- only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster. 

I haven't tried to find any websites on the subject, but forty years or so ago I was collecting books and magazines devoted to it. I no longer have them in my possession, but one title sticks out in my memory: Panzer Colors. If you try searching under that name, you might come up with something.
Michael

I tried following my own advice and immediately came up with this:
https://www.amazon.com/Panzer-Colors-Camouflage-German-1939-1945/dp/0897470575 
There are apparently three volumes, so depending on how much you are willing to spend, you could get quite a lot of information. And Squadron/Signal usually does a pretty good job with this sort of thing.
Michael

Ivan Zaitsev,
George Bradford,  founder of  the. amazing AFV  News, wrote the   below classic, which. is  theater specific but excellent.

https://www.amazon.com/Armour-Camouflage-Markings-Africa-1940-43/dp/0853681015
Scribd  has. many back issues of AFV-G2, a magazine founded by. Jim Steuard,  a  former American. tanker. and ordnance grog so hardcore he. towed a Nebelwerfer behind his  station. wagon when he moved to. California!   Every issue had a super detailed camouflage and markings article, of which  many  were WW II German. As if that wasn't enough, each article had a paint chip carefully matched to the best available info on the actual paint, together with exact instructions  on how to mix it using Floquil paint.

I detest WoT, but the blogs and videos can be quite useful.

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2015/02/24/german-camouflage-and-tactical-markings-part-i-by-agarestretiak/

https://mistertretiakpresents.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/world-war-2-german-camouflage-and-tactical-markings-part-2/

FoW doesn't float my boat, either, and the armored attacks look ludicrous, but this  article is really good and the bibliography juicy.

https://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=2118

There's lots more to be had, but these should prove useful.

Regards,
John Kettler

 

A copy of this fortuitously fell into my hands almost 40 years ago that had the markings for both the German and British vehicles in North Africa complete with paint chips. I relied on it when I painted my 1/285th. miniatures and they turned out just fine. I still had my copy up until three years ago when it went out with my library in The Big Clean Out. The instructions for Floquil were a life saver.
Michael

For CMBS they even had some streamings of early content, that was great. Now we don't even get a screenshot.

Maybe a little late, but have a look at the “Motorbuch Verlag“. They have various books re to your topic. In German, though.

You can add that yourself! 
As you know I've been following the various threads discussing alternative campaign concepts and thought I might try something very small along similar lines, perhaps a company of DRA infantry assigned to secure a critical sector of the highway, something like that.....I already had an extended version of the basic map (the road network connects in the north), but like most of the default maps it's not terribly Afghan looking so I decided to have a play around.
As I said, I'd already connected up the northern bridge (which is actually a ford now) with the road leading north out of the old town/village/whatever, I then stripped the map right back.....I've remodelled the contours (it's actually still on-going) to open up alternative routes along the various valleys, the foliage is being replaced based on what I'm seeing in photos from the Korengal (& elsewhere, I'm trying to make this map as broadly representative and useable as possible).  I've also completely redistributed the settlement pattern, there are now quite a lot more buildings on the map and the compounds in particular are total fortresses, so making friends with the local Tribals might be a good idea.
Here's a view of the most complete section along the highway to give you a broader overview of the new terrain (this is the bit I'm currently working on):

PS - I got a bit creative with the final compound in the former town/village/whatever area, so we now have a mosque:

More baldness on the far side of the highway.....Haven't touched that bit yet. 

Some views from my remodelled version of 'QB Afghan M-R sno_21', the big map with the highway and the river valley:
The village has moved slightly.....As seen here from the mine across the valley:

It's small, but it's quite tightly packed in there:

And they have some lovely gardens:

On the flat ground by the river (where the village used to be) we now have several farming compounds (still one more to build in this area on the left) and associated fields and some warehousing/industrial buildings (the new hill village is just visible top left):

The current baldness of the valley on the right is a bit embarrassing (I took out all the original foliage & almost all of the flavour objects), but those familiar with the original may note that the contours are subtly different, allowing some slightly more interesting routing for small infantry units. 
All subject to change as constant tweaking and revision takes place across the whole map.....Slow process, but it makes a pleasant change from the claustrophobic streets of Mosul. 
Comments from anyone who's been to Afghanistan would be very welcome, I'm basing my work on images from the Korengal Valley.

My first attempt at an all original map is underway, 'Fragmentistan Airport':

So far I've mapped in the contours (which don't exactly show up brilliantly here, trust me there really are some) and laid out the runways and main taxiways and just because it's fun, I built the main terminal building:

Loads more to do before this one is ready for a visit from an Air Assault Battalion. 

The tools are at a point where you can import a vehicle and modify some parts. I have not fully figured out how wheels and tracks work, but the rest can be played with. 

Anyone interested in testing a special version of the mdr plugins that supports vehicles?

I get up so many times to drink water that I don't really need a timer. But yes, I have read at least a story of a gamer girl dying because of this. But it might even happen to you if you work 8 hours in an office.

In nearly 18 years of CM, I've never had quite this situation develop, but it was funny.
After heroically destroying 3 Su-76M's with the Schreck and grenades, this landser and his partner shot it out with some Soviet crewmen.  His partner went down, but they got all the crew.
When the schreck tried to displace, he bumped into a Soviet ATR gunner.
Fritz was quick on the draw and fired twice, but missed.  He tried to hook it around the corner of the building, but the ATR gunner put a big slug in him.

What's the latest on the forthcoming patch? It seems a bit strange that we are halfway through the fourteenth month since 4.0 was released and we have still had absolutely nothing....

Sucks to see the soldiers of a NATO ally being blasted by probably the only truly progressive group in the mess of Syria.  Erdogan is making sure he deserves a special place in hell.