Machor

Nicaragua and North Korea have publicly recognized Crimea as Russian territory: "КНДР поддержала присоединение Крыма" https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2014/12/30/109048-kndr-podderzhala-prisoedinenie-kryma "Северная Корея считает «полностью оправданным» присоединение Крыма к России, заявил глава департамента печати и информации МИД КНДР Чжон Дон Хак в интервью ТАСС. ... Единственной страной, официально признавшей Крым частью России, является Никарагуа. Референдум о независимости, по итогам которого Крым вошел в состав РФ, признали Афганистан, Венесуэла, Куба и Сирия."

There are eight countries that recognize Crimea as a part of Russia, these being Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Crimea

Taiwanese schoolchildren have truly outdone the Japanese with the whole Nazi thing - were they going for a Tiger I with that cardboard tank? "Taiwan 'Nazi rally' school principal resigns" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38437876 "The principal of a Taiwanese school whose students held a mock Nazi rally for a Christmas parade has resigned. Cheng Hsiao-ming, head of the Kuang Fu High School in Hsinchu, said he took "full responsibility" and apologised. Friday's "rally" featured a parade of swastika banners and a cardboard tank carrying one student performing a Nazi salute."

To clarify this post: I see nothing bizarre in people trying to develop sex robots. What I do find bizarre is that there's an international conference devoted to the subject, and it took place for the SECOND time this year. Academics are truly the blue bloods of our times: "Sex robots: Experts debate the rise of the love droids" http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38389862 "Would you have sex with a robot? Would you marry one? Would a robot have the right to say no to such a union? These were just a few of the questions being asked at the second Love and Sex with Robots conference hastily rearranged at Goldsmiths University in London after the government in Malaysia - the original location - banned it. It has proved controversial, not only to countries with conservative views. There were no representatives from the sex industry in attendance and no sex robots on display, leading some to question the point of the event."

Recently came across a VICE News special and realized that what's going on in Ukraine is a low-intensity conflict, not a 'ceasefire' by any stretch of the term. There's some great footage related to CMBS and video footage of Op UNIFER that @Rinaldi had introduced in a separate thread, as well as some commentary on the exercises as @IICptMillerII had asked for in that thread: "Ukraine: Canada’s Proxy War" https://video.vice.com/en_ca/video/on-the-frontlines-of-ukraines-proxy-war-between-the-west-and-russia/57bb3cf440f990b3503a564a?latest=1

A cozy, welcoming place for fine dining: NKVD... "Soviet 'NKVD' restaurant name triggers Moscow row" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38302972 "A Moscow restaurant calling itself "NKVD" - a chilling echo of the Stalin-era communist terror - drew social media protests and the big sign outside has now been taken down. ... The restaurant sports a big portrait of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. ... The barman strongly defended the "NKVD" name. "I really hope we put it back. Why not? People ask us why NKVD, but why not? It's NKVD and not Gestapo," he said. ... One Russian Facebook user, called Therese Philosophe, gave details of four Soviet terror victims who had lived at the address where the restaurant now stands."

I think BFC should make it possible to purchase $52 crates of artillery ammunition to use against your opponent in QB. Better yet, they should sell CM to an industry giant, who should turn it into a mobile MMORPG: "Combat Mission: The Hobbit." "Man spends stolen $1m on Game of War" http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38290186 "A man went on a $1m (£800,000) spending spree on the Game of War app after stealing $4.8m from his employer. Kevin Lee Co, 45, from Sacramento, California, pleaded guilty to fraudulently using company credit cards to steal the money. Court documents reveal Mr Co spent about $1m of the embezzled funds on Game of War, one of the world's highest grossing mobile games. Players buy gold and other in-game credits to help build their empires. ... It is estimated players spent $550 on average last year on Game of War, which has featured singer Mariah Carey and model Kate Upton in its adverts. That was double the next highest grossing mobile game, and largely came from buying $52 crates of gold, according to data analysts Slice Intelligence."

I went back and looked closer at Figure 8 from the article that TFO linked to - that IS an Abrams that's been totally wasted by a 155 mm shell. The proof is the right taillight [Do tankers call them that?] - compare: Abrams: M48: M60: The taillight in Figure 8 can only be that of an Abrams - it's the only tank among the above that has its taillights mounted above the tracks.

That's me playing Combat Flight Simulator 2.

Could WW1 barrage nets make a comeback as anti-UAV nets? Ideas, ideas...

Just linking to Panzer's post here FYI: I do agree that some camo work - sky blue or ghost grey - could reduce the chance of spotting, but the engineering window here has to count every single gram. That being said, experience in the field against an industrial nation could change priorities.

I'm purely guessing here, but I think the white colour is the colour of the plastic the parts are molded from, and camouflaging them is not worth the return versus the performance loss resulting from the extra weight of the paint.

So, after playing CMFI for some time by now, I switched back to CMFB and upgraded to v1.02. I set up a tiny QB with a 30 minute time limit. Come the 29th minute, I'm in control of both objectives on the map, though the AI (with a 70% point bonus and its force picked by me) is making a big push for the minor objective. No worries - 60 more seconds, and I'll have my total victory. EXCEPT - the game did not end after 60 seconds! The timer turned red, and I had to go on for two more minutes before I claimed my total victory - I didn't know how long I would have to go on before the game ended. I did have two MMGs working full-time during those two minutes, and may have broken the AI's back - or it may have been random timing. This is the first time I'm encountering such a feature after hundreds of hours spent playing QBs in CMFB, CMFI, CMBS, CMRT, and CMA. Did I somehow manage to avoid triggering it all that time, or is it a new feature?

@HerrTom Even though the article mentions only the M113, M557, and M48 in the text, if you look closely at the pictures, they had equipment more relevant to CMBS as well. As far as I can tell with my identification skills, Figure 2 is a Bradley, Figure 3 is a BMP, and Figures 4, 5, and 7 are T-72s. I'm 99% sure Figure 8 is an Abrams.

@HerrTom I've been humbled after reading the article (and seeing the pictures) that the Forward Observer linked to. Regular old HE can wreck an MBT even without a direct hit. @TheForwardObserver Greatly appreciate the article! I'll quote the study results for those who may not have time to read through the article: "Artillery Lethality Myths. Because the databases in force-on-force simulations/models have not accurately portrayed the effects of artillery fires for a number of years, several myths have arisen. The SAE results dispell the following five myths. Myth #1—It requires a direct hit with an artillery round to damage or destroy an armored vehicle. Not true; 155-mm rounds that impact within 30 meters cause considerable damage (Figure 5). Air bursts using VT or dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) can strip away communications, sights, vision blocks and anything stored on the outside of the vehicle. These air bursts are especially effective against soft targets such as multiple-rocket launchers (MRLs). (See Figure 6.) Myth #2—It takes 50 artillery rounds to destroy or damage a tank. Not true. It takes one round (Figure 7). If an artillery battalion engages an armored formation (54 rounds), more than one tank will be destroyed or damaged. Myth #3—Artillery cannot engage moving targets. It is difficult, but it can be done. The issue is not lethality, but the tactics, techniques and procedures to hit the moving target. Units must train to shift fires. Myth #4—Modern armor cannot be defeated by artillery. Tanks are designed to kill tanks, and most of the armor is designed to protect against direct fire. HE rounds with VT or delayed fuze and DPICM are very capable of defeating “modern” armor (Figure 8). Myth #5—Armored vehicles can button up and drive through artillery fire. Yes, they can. But as soon as they button up, their ability to see is reduced by approximately 40 percent. And as they drive through the artillery fire, there is a high probability they will have mobility and firepower damage or that the formation will change its direction of attack. The results are delay and suppression of armor."

The first time I read/played through John F. Antal's Armor Attacks: The Tank Platoon, I decided to stand my ground with my Abrams platoon under artillery bombardment, until my Abrams took a direct 152 mm hit and I was KIA. I remember being quite surprised about that - in particular since the book is marketed as a pedagogic tool, so I would not expect it to include situations that would be considered outliers. The author is a retired armour colonel. On the other hand, I have no doubts about the outcome of a direct hit by the 2S4's 130 kg shell. That's almost the same as a direct hit by a Ju 87 - and we know those did the job.

My bad for not being clear - I was referring to the 2S4 Tyulpan and its 240 mm laser-guided shell.

Warhammer 40K comes to CMBS...

There's obviously nothing amusing about this news, but I was shocked that it's even more disturbing than what I thought from the title. Truly The Brothers Karamazov material: "Ukraine teacher 'tried to sell girl aged 13 for $10,000'" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38064527 "Police in eastern Ukraine have arrested a teacher accused of trying to sell a 13-year-old girl for $10,000 (£8,035). The girl was living at a boarding school in the Kharkiv region for orphans and children from broken homes. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov reported the case on Facebook, with photos of the 52-year-old teacher and girl. He said police had been monitoring them for four months. Mr Avakov said the buyer hinted that the girl's organs would be removed. The buyer inquired about the girl's health and paid the teacher 1,000 hryvnia (£31; $39) for photos of the girl and her medical records, Mr Avakov said. Ukrainian media have named the suspect as Galina Kovalenko. She teaches the Ukrainian and Russian languages, and literature, and has more than 20 years' teaching experience, they report."

Mr. Hilter agrees...

It would be interesting to hear the opinion of someone who has experience with both CM and TacOps (see http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=115&Itemid=165 ). I've wanted to try TacOps since it came out back when I was in college, but somehow never got to it.

This is why things get tricky without frequency data. I usually go with the top definition, which in this case has 216 thumbs up vs. 78 down, but of course those responses are self-selected, and we also don't get any info on their demographics. The point though is that Pericles wasn't inventing a new Chinese character with his 'b/w'

You know, the gold way to do this would be to set up real-game situations in hot-seat mode, record examples of TacAI behaviour, and then argue how the new controls would allow us to modify them. You would, of course, need to test for varying experience and morale levels as well. In the meantime, I'll be paying attention to this in my own games, and will record and post here if I come across a good example. [Though the recordings will feature the beautiful Italian Fall. ]

@sburke @John Kettler Thank you for the links! The CBSA handbook would be a must-read for anyone going to prison. And now for today's bizarre news: "'Monkey attack' on girl sparks deadly clan clashes in Libya" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38049950 "Clan fighting has left at least 20 people dead in the south Libyan town of Sabha after an incident with a monkey, according to local reports. A pet monkey reportedly assaulted a schoolgirl, leading her family to seek revenge. Three men were killed along with the animal in initial clashes. Days of fighting followed between the Awlad Suleiman and Guedadfa clans. Casualties may be greater as the death toll is reportedly for the Awlad Suleiman group only. Reports also suggest tanks, rockets, mortars and other heavy weapons were used in the fighting, in which at least 50 people were also wounded. ... Some reports say the monkey may have pulled off the girl's headscarf as well as scratching and biting her."

@HerrTom You need to come up with more gaming contexts for these controls - for the time being, I'm only able to see where I could use 'move priority' and 'fire priority.' For example, you've mentioned 'smoke,' but how much smoke will realistically build in something like 15 seconds? (As I now better understand the context you had in mind.) What could you do with 'take cover' that you can't currently do with 'hunt?' Keeping in mind that something like 'column' is now on the way for vehicles, how would you use 'column,' 'line,' and 'covertly?' @rooibos My point was that BFC will certainly avoid introducing more micromanagement unless a very strong case can be presented to them.