E5K

Well, that's precisely what BF is working on. Untill then CM2 will do nicely. Still haven't seen a game that comes even close to CM.
P.s. NOT looking forward to the agony of waiting for new base games and modules again. 😉
 

Agree and disagree. 
Agree that game needs more healthy criticism instead of permanent worshipping. In many aspects it feels outdated, ancient and cumbersome. 
Some things could be fixed quite easily without much time investment (at least it seems so). E.g. movements command, hunt etc. 
Disagree that modules feel the same. In my opinion they are all quite different and require different playstyle, variable strategies and approach. You can't command your Soviet troops in Red Thunder the same way you manage US troops in CMBS. That's one of the best achievements of Combat Mission: basically it's the same engine, but units properties differ substantially and it makes different game every time. 

All cars are too expensive, not only Mazda cars.

I would certainly give Hammer's Flank a go if I was you. It contains a nice variety in terms of map size, and terrain. Just remember to take as long as you like over the Set-up Phase it's probably the key "turn" of any battle.

Ah. Never heard of that. Thanks. 
 
I guess I qualify now since I just recently retired from 42 year in the military and civilian national defense. Time now to relax and have fun. 
 
Dave 

I would say that Operation Barbarossa was extremely winnable, that Hitler came within a hairsbreadth of winning the war, not just then but the next year, and it was only by the grace of God, and the immense sacrifice of our forebears, including millions of brave Soviet troops, that he didn't.

Not really.
One, obviously quite difficult, option is to set up a fire pattern with multiple FOB‘s and multiple firing batteries. Which is, eh, quite difficult to achieve.
A more practical option: Your FOB, or whoever directs the fire, can adjust the fire by a few meters without causing a big delay or cancellation. I.e., you can order fire on a target and after a few rounds you can set the target about 50m without much of a disruption and then again.
But that‘s not the sort of rolling fire, you asked about. Which lead me to the question, if this rolling fire is within the scope of CM at all. CM is quite micro tactical and your rolling fire requires a lot of pre-planning on higher levels.

Yes I have always thought that RT and FB look and play better than BN.

I put all the turret numeral layers in a layer group and set the group to soft light layer mode. Down at the bottom right is my prototype of a DAK M41 feld mutze.
 

This is a Blender modded PzIVE with custom jerrycan rack made in Tripoli and then some GiMP texture modding to the stub barrel and the vehicle markings: Balkenkreuz, "DAK" palm and "808"

I took a dropper of this color down below but got the above. I blame me. I just don't know what the f I am doing.
 

But here is the Tamiya art work. Whatever.

well, you got me. I will call it adequate for the color. Moving on for some final insignia and weathering and send it to battle!

Thank you @John Kettler
No, I do not have that particular book. I am inundated with numerous other books. In fact I have so many WW2 books that I told my wife that in a few years it will be my new mission to create an Ebay site and sell them all off before I kick the bucket. I have been to estate sales and seen the sad vestiges of a ww2 history buffs cherished books sold for pennies on the dollar. My 2 sons do know of my love for ww2 history but I do not expect them to bow and pray to the books after my demise. The process of selling them will involve a last read or at least a skim and appreciation of what I once held so dear. OK, still hold dear!

And unlike most units it's best to NOT load em up with spare missiles as they will fire the lot very quickly, and then you are helpless.

you can't.  The best you can do and I highly recommend this, with stinger crews is in some scenarios you have a bunch of them, mount half in vehicles so they won't fire.  They will burn through their ammo supply really fast to no real benefit otherwise

Texture pack? Hook us up please! 

You need to enable negative voting because nothing bad could possibly happen if you did that. 😈(sarcasm)
But seriously, I think negative feedback is abused in most places and causes an "echo chamber" effect, not to mention a more toxic environment.  Good choice @BFCElvis.  I would thank an upvote you but...  

That is why.

I'm not seeing a significant difference. On map US mortars integral to the TO&E take 3 minutes to call in. Off map mortars purchased separately take 4 or 5. So its all about battalion chain of command.  Then again I play Warrior and avoid Elite and Iron simply to avoid the extended waits for artillery

According to the manual, area firing is the lowest priority AI task, so everything else should override it. Haven't tested this, mind you.

"It is important to note that the Fire Zone is the lowest priority task for the AI Group. Other tasks, such as moving, unloading, attacking a spotted enemy unit, etc will take priority over shooting randomly at the Fire Zone"

The AI areafire option might be somewhat tricky to use in this particular situation i think...With this command they will do as told...areafire 😎...at whatever possition you specify...But what if the player decides to place his troops in a slightely different possition ? If you make the AI areafire location 'to big' with 'to few' troops doing the shooting it will not be very effective.
It might be better to have your german AI trops on HIDE until the player advances close enough for the AI germans to actually see them and then have them switch to ACTIVE using a  triggerzone placed accordingly.
 
 

I like that somebody pays for this forum and I can put notes here for myself and others.
This thread will be where I puke out all my unit purchasing hacks, tips and tricks.
Maybe nothing new but at least it is written down for folks I am working with on CM projects.
Feel free to add yours as well.
TIP 1
You can purchase teams and stuff from the enemy side. Go to data tab/page of the scenario. Look for
(1) allies vs axis (standard)
(2) axis vs axis
(3) allies vs allies
Select the one you need something from... either allies vs allies or axis vs axis. Then return to the units tab/page and purchase the desired team to the desired HQ. Then go back to normal data page setting. THEN SAVE! 
DRAWBACKS:
the new team speaks the language of the enemy, or one of the enemies but maybe not the enemy in this scenario. So theoretically I can mod American voices and names to German JUST FOR THIS BATTLE. Bulk renaming utility does most of the work. I push a few buttons. Uniforms/Gear can also be modded.
This can help you sneak in a mod via mdr renaming. The physics of the original host vehicle mdr are retained in the game. It LOOKS like a pziiiG with a short 50mm. But everything behaves and results like a Stuart M5a1 with a 37mm for example. You can hexedit the mdr to look for different bmp's than what the allied Stuarts look like. I better explain that...
MDR hex editing to change bmp file name
As we all know, you have a German helmet mdr and it needs like helmet.bmp
For a future mod, my team changed the partisan civilian hat to the helmet mdr and then change art for some helmet.bmp with "OTHER INSIGNIA". It looks great!
BUT there is a problem. Now the Germans need helmet.bmp and they also have "OTHER INSIGNIA"...
You can avoid the German units that need that helmet but that is a half solution.
Here is the better solution.
Open the partisan civilian hat mdr that was renamed from helmet.mdr in the free hexedit program "Notepad++" and search (it is a tool in the menu bar)  among the encrypted characters for English words "helmet", check the count, it is 2 places. 1 is important, it is the bmp file name generic filename. smod_german_helmet. The other helmet is just some internal description by the original file creator. German M43 helmet. That 2nd one can stay the same.
For the filename, CHANGE the t in hemet to a "g" and it is helmeg. It could be another letter. I just picked g.
SAVE AND EXIT.
Then change ALL your "OTHER INSIGNIA" helmets fielnames to be smod_german_helmeg with a "g" and the usual numbering. The same with the normal maps.
It works nice. Now the Germans can use the helmet also with no concerns on waffen-ss versus regular Germans.
TIP 2
 
This is the old scenario maker trick you can learn! You have a leftover higher HQ you don't need or want in your scenario. I retired as an O-5 so I somewhat know the lonely feeling of not a general but no longer a junior officer down in trenches. Anything unwanted for that matter, you can assign reinforcement group R7. Then you set the R7 to show at the 3 hour point. Get it? It never arrives during your battle. This could also apply for campaign use of the core unit. Save some unit from participation. I think...   TIP 3 You can purchase teams and stuff from a different timeframe than your secanrio. Go to data tab/page of the scenario. Tweak the year and the date, go back to units purchase, now the Brazilians are there and you can purchase a tiny 37mm ATG. That early war feel. Then return to the units data/tab. Change back to your scenario date. THEN SAVE! 

@chuckdyke it's true that it looks more like the swim 😁
Yes @Chibot Mk IX I saw your post, your vehicle passed?
here is my solution!

it does not harm the aesthetics too much

This allows you to enjoy the scenario without it being spoiled by this bug which is very difficult to remove !

Who knows.  We figured out something else.  Having similar confusion with the dropbox(es) we use for the Radzy team campaign.  (Man this makes me really miss CM1 - PBEM was so much simpler.) 
Dropbox and some other programs are totally non-intuitive for those of us who think a different way than one of their (presumably) 12 year old programmers brought up on social media and smart phones I guess. 
 

Still, they could have had their Dinner Plate Magazine (DPM-MG) on a turret ring for the commander in combination with the SU152. The 6-pounder is not a bad AT-Gun and quick firing. Nothing beat the HE of a SU152.

Must be an SU152