badipaddress

The 30 point hinds only have ammo for their .50cal MGs, probably still a bit cheaper than they should be but really only annoying more than actually useful

I'm going to let the action play out in a larger chunk before posting again. Probably when my big push gets underway. In the meantime, here's an overview for those interested:

The enemy may have more armor and/or lighter vehicles near the Asten objective. No hard spots -- just some iffy intel. Also, despite the casualties I've inflicted so far, I could still be outnumbered by a fair stretch.

On the far left, German screen units return to their positions to intercept the revived enemy push there. As the HMG team starts to set up, an American spotting round lands nearby. That was fast!

 
Disturbingly, US artillery also now appears to be hunting for the Germans on the northern marsh road. This could be very, very bad...

 
As if to complete the minor chord, US infantry strength grows in the push on the main road.

 
With German units in the farm area forced to hide by the Rooster Gang, German HMG units are redeployed to hopefully interdict the Americans from the flank before the hiding Germans are revealed to RG fangs. 3rd company's mortar support is also able to send in some light interdicting fire.

 
Until next time...

The 'display distance' is set within CM's code. It supposedly tries to take into account how much memory may be needed by the display and other details. Unfortunately there is no direct setting that affects this and you can't get it to draw out much further than what you probably see already. Supposedly the '3D Model Quality' and '3D Texture Quality' MIGHT have a small effect with settings toward 'Balanced' (less quality), but you can get a number of opinions as to what setting is better.
Yes, you can force CM to utilize the discrete GPU by creating a 'profile' within the discrete GPU's control panel for 3D settings (I know that is true of Nvidia and I assume it is probably true of AMD too). This isn't the game's fault. The drivers, between Intel and the discrete GPU, determine when the discrete GPU is needed. If the game isn't a major title and it doesn't start out with some significant 3D display calls, then it may get 'skipped' by the drivers and assumed to only need the integrated video for mostly 2D purposes.

This is still in the game, by the way. Was glancing at the Syrian TOE and you can basically get a swarm of Hinds for free. Would have to house rule it so someone doesn't lamely spam you with nonstop air attacks.
You can see the error by the way as the Hind F is listed as 742 points, whereas the Hind D is a whopping... 30.

For 30 points it should be a moderately armed air balloon.

I extracted the scenarios to get a quick look at them/read the  briefings. They look good! I think I’ll jump in tonight.

Hello hello ! 
 
i'm Bartimeus(active on the FGM forum) and i created a Red vs Red campaign which can be download on the scenario deposit of the FGM : https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-shock-force-2-2/cm-shock-force-2-campaigns/cmsf2-campaign-to-al-hell-and-back-operation-orpheus/ 
 
It's my first try at scenario and campaign creation. It's a  Red vs Red campaign, you command Syrian guard troops against unconv troops. The campaign span on 5 missions, all must be win in order to process to the next one. BMP-3 are very powerful but they will not be replace if destroy. You must find the balance between speed and force preservation. 
Background story :  
To Al-Hell and back : operation ORPHEUS
A rebel movement lead by a formation named Luwa El-Mumtaz(LEM) was causing turmoil north of the country since months.  Local forces suffer defection and desertion lead LEM to became a real threat to national integrity.The 30th Guard Division, which your battalion is a part of, was send to stop the rebellion.The 8th of may the division was engage in heavy combat in the north when the general Harith Abdullahi Farouq, commanding officer of the 30th Guard Divison, received a phone call from the president chief of staff himself. He was to immediately assemble a task force and send it to Al-Hell on the coast and retrieve a VIP from the government, code name EURYDICE.Your battalion, the third, was the only one available for this mission, you are in charge of breaking through enemy line, extract EURYDICE and bring it back into safe territory further south. The operation received the code name ORPHEUS.
Ammo shouldn’t be a problem, but the further you go, the harder it will be to replace casualties, especially the BMP-3. 
 
Have fun, hope you enjoy it and all feedback are more than welcome(it's my first shot, so I'm sure I have room for improvement, your feedback will be very helpful for that) 
 
Bartimeus

The older Gambler did not win today.

1 KingTiger und 3 Sherman zerstort
 

The wounded HQ Hetzer links up, while friendly infantry, escaping artillery, finds itself also joining the attack.

What can I say Capt, you have a real flare for clear, well presented graphics any second grader would be envious of 😁.

A much closer game against the AI as compared to the H2H attempt, mainly because the AI just stopped advancing in the objective buidlings despite still considerable combat power, allowing the SAA to prevent their US control.

MINUTE 11
We are going to be cease firing in this one... I would pull out of this sector.  I came in with the wrong force for the terrain, and Ian is positioned too well for me to make a dent.  Can't seem to find the angles and I am getting hit by units that I can't spot in return.  It was the perfect storm.  All that would happen if we continue is that I would lose everything, and though that would be fun to see I'm sure for you, would not be enjoyable for me.   
This turn I lost a BMP-3.. I could have sworn this vehicle was masked as it drove behind the ridge... damn...

But the kicker was this one...the T-62 (1975) was hit, by I think the same ATGM team that killed its mate... double damn.


So congrats to Ian, he played an outstanding and perfect game... I never was able to take advantage of any weakness, but I didn't see any.

Doug, thanks for the post, I always love talking tactics.   
I understand how the Russian system works, but I am not commanding a Regimental attack here, this is a Company (+) Probe.  Even they use Recon Pull (see the NTC OPFOR, Soviet Forward Detachments, Russian Reconnaissance, etc.)... I believe, regardless of the force commanded, that it is always a good idea to know your enemy's positions, strength, and intent prior to committing to any option for attack.  By the way Doug, I have conducted Command Push in a couple of my AARs, (see Wittmann's Demise and the CMRT BETA AAR for a couple examples).  In both of those actions though, I had good covered terrain within which to operate, in the terrain this fight is occurring on any avenue is potentially deadly to me from anywhere if I move out into unscouted terrain.  
Echelon tactics do not apply to this situation, I am facing a formation with a potentially similar sized force and far superior equipment... also I know the T-72 is capable, but is it comparable to a Western tank?  I think not, they need to be committed with care and at the right moment to be effective.

MINUTE 5
2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon failed to throw smoke.. and they did not move s ordered.  That's okay actually.. I'm going to keep them where they are as it gives me a trip wire in case Ian sends some dismounts over the top.

The light armor started to pull back, and my first BMP also pulled back into a hull down position.  

The light armor continued to reverse, and a new contact appeared moving as indicated.  It actually stopped just a little in front of the position shown.

Final positions. 
I actually expect Ian to send a dismounted team over the top.. to defend against this, the 1st Squad (Platoon Leader) will be moving to get eyes on the top of the ridge.  

I also have 3rd Squad overwatching.. this squad is about 250 meters from the ridge 2nd Squad is on.

In the 1st Platoon/A Company zone, the BMP and T-62 fired off their smoke grenades as the infantry continued to move forward.  I will be speeding up the two squads in the rear a bit as they are moving way too slow.

On Star Hill Ian started firing an artillery mission on my AT-13 teams.  This must be pre-planned, as there were no spotting rounds.  The right side team takes two casualties... I will be trying to pull both teams out of the impact zone next turn as quickly as possible.  I am an idiot for setting up there as it is such an obvious piece of key terrain. 

MINUTE 1
..and we are finally under way.  No action this turn, so sorry @c3k, no gifs showing stuff blowing up yet.   
In order to ascertain whether there are any of Ian's units in the far left of Snake Ridge, I send 2nd Platoon to reconnoiter this area...

They were still on their way at turn end, and the following image illustrates their routes.. the small arrows indicate dismounted infantry taking a peek over the lip of each ridge line.  Only two BMPs are in this area now as the third was held back to overwatch the movement.  The last BMP will join them next turn.

On Star Hill I am deploying two AT-13 teams and the AT-13 Platoon HQ.  One team will crawl over the nearest crest in order to look down on the initial objective (North East Farm), one will be kept in reserve.  The HQ team will crawl over the opposite crest in order to get eyes on the other side of the valley.  The truck will return to the SP.


1st Platoon is moving dismounted toward the nearest crest overlooking the North East Farm Objective. 

They are being overwatched by the rest of A Company.

ENEMY
I finally did an analysis of what Ian could bring to the fight... he can potentially field a platoon of tanks, plus a few extra tanks if he sacrificed infantry.  If he went full Mechanized, then I can expect about a Company of infantry, give or take, depending on the number of tanks he bought, the type of tanks, and whether he bought any support units.  
I think with this terrain I would have gone armor heavy , so worse case I will expect to see a Tank Heavy Company Team in front of me  with up to 6 or 7 tanks.  I expect Leopard C2s as the Leopard 2A6Ms are very expensive, about 200 points more than the C2s, however they are much more capable, so its a trade off.  
If he decided not to go with LAVs or the Nyala APC then he could buy a lot more infantry and support assets, ATGM and artillery, maybe even some air... but then he would have no flexibility, so I expect to  see most of his infantry with either LAVs or the Nyala... but that will impact the amount of support units and numbers of infantry he can bring to the party.
I actually expect our forces to be close in size... though his will be far superior in capability.  However it shakes out its going to be interesting.

Even though the other BETA AAR is still going on, I expect it will end very soon.  I had already promised to take IanL on in a second game to fill the time, so here 'tis.  I hope it fills the time left until release.
BACKGROUND
A NATO attack is in progress and they are making massive gains.  In an attempt to slow them down high command has decided that a spoiling attack is required.  We are the tip of that spear.  Our task is to Probe into the assigned sector on the flank of the NATO attack and determine the strength of the Canadian flank security force in front of us and if possible, destroy it or force it to withdraw.  Our force will not be reinforced unless successful, so if we fail, another unit will become the spearhead for the main attack.
Hopefully that will suffice to set the stage for what we are doing in this action.  Ian and I are playing a Quick Battle (QB) Medium Probe, with me as the Syrians on the attack, force selection for both sides was Mixed (Infantry, Mech Infantry, and Armor are all okay to purchase) with no restrictions set for either side. 
I do not expect an easy time of it, as the Canadians are tough and Ian is no slouch tactically.  He even uses some of the same movement techniques I use so I expect this to be a hard struggle
ORDER OF BATTLE
My purchases:



MAIN BODY
This element will be my main combat element in this action.  They will be tasked with capturing early objectives, ascertaining enemy strength and capabilities, and recovering the enemy Order of Battle.  
A Company Mechanized Infantry on BMP-2s 
Company HQ Element Tanks are intended for anti-infantry support ZSU-23-4 is mainly for AA support, but also is intended to be used in an anti-infantry role
1st Platoon Will have one AT-13 team attached
2nd Platoon Will have one AT-13 team attached
COMBAT SUPPORT 
120mm Mortar Battery with FO Also purchased four TRPs
 AT 13 Platoon One of the two sections will be assigned to the Main Body, one AT team per platoon Note:  truck was purchased specially to carry the remaining section and the HQ element
AT 14 Platoon One of the two sections will be assigned to the Reserve, both AT teams in the Mech Infantry platoon Note:  truck was purchased specially to carry the remaining section and the HQ element
RESERVE - This force will be husbanded until needed, or until I can identify the main enemy positions
Airborne Mechanized Infantry Platoon on BMP-3s Will have one complete AT-14 section attached
Tank Platoon on T-72M1 TURMS-T Technology Note:  These tanks feature the TURMS-T computerised fire control system by Galileo Avionica.  It will be interesting to see how that helps in action.

Quoted  from wargamer.com:
 the game will include three campaigns and 15 standalone scenarios West Germany between 1979 and 1982  between the US and Soviet forces The game primarily centres on the Fulda Gap  the first of the game’s campaigns follows US forces [...] Players take command of two US regiments to stop a Soviet invasion of Europe and can play the campaign in either 1982 or 1979 The second campaign, playing as the Soviets, traces the opening 48 hours of a fictional USSR invasion of West Germany The final campaign gives you command of a US Army Company Team, simulating battle in the US National Training Center The game also includes 15 standalone scenarios set in the US V and VII Corps sectors of West Germany, involving different-scaled battles, from platoon- to battalion-level historically accurate equipment and weapons effects, alongside a suite of era-appropriate tanks and vehicles – including the M48, M60 series of tanks, and T64 – alongside a range of US and Soviet aircraft, such as the F-4 Phantom and Mig-23/27

Back to the topic
In a modern mechanized warfare, an IFV should be the backbone of an infantry squad. I remember The Operational Arts of War (TOAW) gives BMP-1’s anti-personal value at 9, BMP-2’s AP at 22, in the comparison an Infantry squad is at 7. There is a tremendous difference on the Firepower between a vehicle and footman.  
That’s how an operational wargame describe the battlefield. I know it is very hard to translate this into CM, because CM is a tactical game, it’s about details. A general staff at Division level cares about if he has 3:1 numerical advantage on the attacking axis, a battalion commander has much more things to worry about, he may have a 3:1 advantage but most of his troops' sight are blocked by trees will do him no good.    So in CMSF, troubled by spotting and communication, BMPs don’t stand a chance against NATO tanks. But they still have teeth to bite NATO soft target. Hide them from enemy’s LOS, let the infantry do the spotting and share the information. Move forward, area fire, retreat back to safe harbor in 15 seconds (before Javelin can get a good lock)
 
Yes, it is very annoying. Especially in urban fight.  The dumb gunner will bravely expose himself to small arms fire, he will not back to turret until he takes a 7.62mm  
 
I agree on most of the part, BMP-1/2 are just a part of Soviet machine, so they have to be put in "the big picture"
Talking about Soviet's Doctrine, nothing advertise a 60's-70's Soviet Doc better than A.A Sidorenko 's book " The Offensive" . Just image an age that a Soviet regiment commander has four tactical nukes at his disposal.  (he don't need his boss'  authorization to approve where he want to throw the nukes at), and then the whole concept of BMP make sense. It is designed to be used in NBC environment.
Well, a regular APC can be fit with NBC protection. But to reduce unnecessary exposure , it is need to reduce the deployment of AT weapon, so Soviet put AT weapon on the battlefield taxi design.  Tanks have good characteristics for a NBC environment but they are too heavy. In a tactical nukes exchange, many bridges will be destroyed. the Engineer/pontoon units will have difficulty time to pass through contamination zone. so a small river could block the whole tank formation until the engineer units can catch up. In order to address this problem, the "battlefield taxi" has to add amphibious ability to control the other side of river bank. And now we got BMP-1s.

Solution 1 works as it is advertised 
 
Here is a edited scenario, I put one Recon Co. (bmp) and one Tank Co. on the map.
WEGO mode, Iron difficulty 
Pic 1
beginning of the game, no one knows what is on the other side

 
Pic 2
Recon Inf disembark and moving forward

 
Pic 3
Beginning of the turn. Recon Inf under heavy fire immediately. They can ID couple M1A2 on the other side of the map. the Recon Plt leader, who is sitting in the BMP 10m behind, begin to yell in the radio about enemy contact

 
Pic 4
50s into the first turn, Recon Company commander got the report from his plt leader, he begin to distribute the information, first he tell this to his commanding vehicle crews. 

 
 
Pic 5
at the same time, the Tank Company commander still knew nothing.

 
Pic 6
but in less than 5 seconds, he saw the Recon Co. commander waving hand and yelling at him. then He got the update that there are a lot of enemy on the other side

 
Pic 7
when 1st min ends, the 1st plt of the Tank Company still don't have a clue.

 
Pic 8 
But his commander's warning get through radio net at 2:43 
 
 
 
Pic 9
one of Plt leader's subordinate quickly got the update from him

 
Pic 10
the other one is a slow boy, he has hard time to understand what's going on.

 
 
Anyway, by the end of Min 4, every Syria units on the map got the news . "American Tanks are coming!"

Or you can concentrate them, keep them out of line of sight and use them to strike at the tip of the enemy force or, better yet, flank.
If you are playing against Blue Force, you are just asking for trouble if you place them in hull down and prepared positions.
If you are playing against Red Force, prepared positions are OK, but don't rely on them to spot for them self.
With the way how Syrian C2 functions (different formations won't share data, sub-ordinate units wait to share data, then info-dump with outdated data), it can be really frustrating to use them.

I've never seen them referred to as the RAF before. 

I don't play any CM via Steam (yet), but no, I don't have any such issues with Steam for other games.  It doesn't load until I ask it to for one thing.

There appear to be a few issues TBH:
I know at least one other 'in-house' designer has looked at this and made at least some of the fixes, possibly all of them, but things kind of ground to a halt at that point as far as I can tell.
Don't get me wrong, the campaign is playable, but it's kind of frustrating as it currently stands. 

Courtesy of Usually Hapless, details here: