Kohlbie

I don't know what a Syrian commander would do in this situation - the campaign covers a very short time span, just over 24 hours in 14 missions, and the situation is emerging rapidly. My best guess if that the depleted battalions would go into action as long as they were combat effective in such a high stakes throw of the die so I'm favouring that option. I guess I could do a deep dive into what happened in the battles for the Golan Heights to see what they did but I'm not taking this rework that seriously. 
As for the point of doing so so late in the campaign - I can't do it earlier because each company only sees action twice before these final four and would be a waste if it were done earlier. I don't think the BMP Mech Inf company B will be combat effective after Jameelah though. Both their missions are potentially tough ones but I have no doubt some will complete these without any effort or substantial casualties - the game is already very old and your skill levels are much higher than when the campaign was first devised.
It's almost certainly going to be 'no disbanding' at this point though.
Tumah is going to take a bit longer to get ready as I'm not happy with that enormous enclosed compound to the north of the entry position - it's artificial and could be improved further to make it more defensible. I'm not planning on anything massively ambitious with the revision though.

I will be reducing the defending force considerably too so the balance of forces will be more in your favour than the 1:3 you faced in the original. (That seemed to be my preferred attack-defence force ratio back in the early days of CMSF1 rather then 3:1 that is the norm.) Now it will be much closer to 1:1. Of course, the numbers are not the whole story as the firepower ratios are in your favour.
Plus there are a lot of new tools provided to the player in the shape of temporarily assigned assets that were not in CMSF. They're brutal when used properly.
And there will be proper AI this time around too.
But if playtesting makes the mission even more implausible, adding a second company to your OB is not an issue. I'll do what needs to be done to make sure the player enjoys a favourable firepower ratio.

Super cool to see so much CM content (I only have to wait to the end of the month, right?). I'm hoping CMFB and CMD will come to Steam at the same time as from BFC, since its a touch more convenient.
If we're spotting for  future titles, I would love to see more east front, either stalingrad and related offensives and a Kursk title. Or maybe even that time the germans encountered T-34s and KVs for the first time on the drive to Leningrad.
And if we want to get more granular, may fav terrain upgrade would be to add basements, some way or other (eg the Hapless Rattenkrieg map has basement like structures which could work with some extra fudges).
Cheers 

I hadn't read that it was a community favourite myself but that's interesting. I thought Red v Red was niche. I'll try to keep it as close to the original as possible without changing too much. But some changes are inevitable because the game engine has changed so much. For example, in the original opener, the rocket artillery pretty much won the game for you causing large numbers of casualties and breaking the Conscripts with POOR morale.  It was devastating and so I placed two companies of infantry in the village so that there was something left for you to fight. Now, the rocket artillery hardly makes an impact on the defenders causing a small number (single digits) of casualties and morale is eroded by one or two levels. So there's only one company in the village now and that's quite a significant change just there.
There are some things that are missing from the old engine that are important in the remake, like friendly fire at night which used to be a real issue in the Hasrabit 'Strong Stand' mission - you needed to shepherd your conscripts onto the battlefield very carefully or they'd start firing on each other and that was spectacular. That's no longer a factor in the new engine. Also buildings seem to provide much better cover for their inhabitants than before. But the positives FAR outweigh the negatives - the point is that CMx1 Dinas will not be quite the same as CMx2 Dinas. Hopefully it will be just as good if not better (otherwise what's the point?). So I can keep the rocket artillery in Petani and preserve some of the shock and awe that I was aiming for in the original. It means I'll be relying on better AI plans to make the defence more effective instead of numbers. 'He who defends everything defends nothing' is trumped by 'just add more and more troops to defend everything.'
 
As for why I prefer the Syrian theatre, well, that's hard to say precisely. I like both chocolate cake and carrot cake and all things being equal, I'd rather eat carrot cake. I just know that when I come back to this theatre after playing WW2, I no longer feel that  something is missing from the experience. What that is is not easy to define. But one thing that stands out is C2 when you're playing BLUE. I also really enjoy the helicopter sounds - it just sounds incredibly immersive when one is active - and really scary if it's not yours.

Well, this will probably surprise you but I've made up a new core unit file for Dinas and have imported the new units into the first few missions and started play-testing them. I am going to focus on getting THIS finished before I do anything else, or at least that's my intention for the time being Why the change?
Hasrabit is the oldest of all my campaigns and there's an enormous amount of work involved in updating it. For example:
Almost every mission has an AI attack and quite a few of these missions are meeting engagements which, as you would expect, are probably the hardest to pull off. The maps were very outdated and basically were 'Normandy in Syria' because, whether I like it or not, I really wanted WW2 with CMx1 and was trying to make it all feel as 'familiar' as possible*. The maps are green with LOTS of trees. The original OBs were the CMx1 OBs which are different from the CMx2 OBs for the same formations so both side's unitrs need to be repbought, replaced and regrouped. The AI placement is non-existent with units just plonked down in a place where they have good LoS but no protection and are easy to spot and kill. The AI that IS there is abysmal and sometimes doesn't even follow through to capture all the objectives - a small number of AI groups with large numbers of units, sometimes two+ platoons, just have three large order zones painted with some times on them. Sure, the AI does its best with that but I really didn't know much about the system when I made this and it shows. Anyway, Dinas is mainly all player attacks against fixed defensive positions with only one AI attack mission in the 14-mission campaign and that's MUCH easier to manage and rework. Quite a few of the maps need to be reforested (not deforested) as orchards and that's what I've been doing these last few days. Most of the maps are ready and a small number are pretty much done already with new OBs imported and placed for both sides except for new AI plans. I've reworked some compounds because I've grown more familiar with Syrian residential blocks which are small compounds so I've integrated those in Suib and Sabatani.
With the exception of Petani, the opener, I've also elected to keep the maps largely as is unlike Hasrabit. Sure, compounds will be improved and orchards will be pretty ubiquitous in each mission  but otherwise, I'm trying to keep it as close to the original as possible. I extended the east map edges to give the player a larger entry zone for Suib and SAM Hill yesterday and it allowed me to add a new compound to make it more interesting. Dinas's set up zones are probably the weakest thing about the campaign so this work is really needed and largely done. But otherwise, it will be more or less the same.
I updated some of Dina's original maps for USMC Gung Ho! a long time ago, in particular Flintstones (Petani), Detectives (Sabatani) and Bridges (Farmers). While Flintstones is being expanded even further to make it all look and feel new, I've decided to use the original versions of Sabatani and Farmers instead so they might feel similar to some who have played Gung Ho! but are much, MUCH smaller and less built up.
So there we have it. Hasrabit is not abandoned, just delayed while I get Dinas working. Instead, i'm going to try and stick to my 'one company with support' per mission so that battles are manageable on real time without pausing (that's how I play) so no 2-3 companies of mech infantry missions. Yikes!!! There were only 2 - Sagger Point and Dinas itself so maybe Dinas might have 2 but Sagger only 1 with support.
 
* This attitude absolutely all changed after I was asked to do the NATO campaigns for CMSF and by then, I LOVED the Syrian theatre and still do, probably more than I do WW2 now funnily enough.

I think the areas you're describing in some of the earlier missions are not orchards but woods. At least that's what they appear to be in Google Earth. You must surely have them in Normandy too
Neuville can definitely be changed though because that's a big orchard and not a wood but don't worry, I can do this myself.
Hell in the Hedgerows, Orchard Hill and Breakthrough - Stalemate can't be changed without doing the AI placement and plans all over again. I tried replacing the orchards and units that could see through the old, un-Norman orchards couldn't anymore. That's a LOT of work. It'll get done at some point though as now you've pointed it out to me, I want the maps to be as authentic as the editor will let me.
 
EDIT to add:
Neuville is done. it looks good too. It actually helps the defenders as well. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.

I'm not sure what to do about this. I tried having the StuGs advance one action spot to the bocage line at the start of the mission and they don't poke through. Good, but they can't spot diddly either. The one in the east gets spotted pretty much instantly - I drove a buttoned up Sherman into the field and as soon as it entered, it spotted the StuG behind the bocage and started firing. Of course, the StuG couldn't see anything at all and took three hits (ineffective except to close the hatches further reducing their chances to spot).
We had the opposite on the east flank where nobody could see anybody else so the StuG is completely ineffective and safe.
So, what to do? I think I'll just leave it as is because at least they can do something even if it looks weird.

A combination of cancer treatment, and then needing to buy a new PC, means that I have built up a backlog of stuff to play. But, I will certainly buy this at sometime. Having been to Kleve for a meal once, and seeing how lovely it is, I might feel a pang of guilt if I have to pound it to bits. Ho hum. 

I actually do slip in some small terrain undulations to break up LoS because the real world is not generally billiard table flat (except perhaps for beaches). I've been doing that as long as I've been making maps for this game  Check out Beau Guillot for a good example - Google Earth shows flat terrain but as you can see, there are plenty of small dips.

+1 for that, Steve. 

There were originally ten missions in Hasrabit. But I added a new opener which is staying so right now there are eleven.
However, I've got a possible two extra missions as well at Adan Airfield, one of which is already finished and tested but the second of which would require me to make up a whole new AI attack which can be a lot of work. I'm humming and hawing over including this short series because scripting AI attacks can be fun if you're in the right frame of mind so we'll see.
I'm also considering removing the Heavy Metal mission as it's a strange one and too similar to what I have already done in the earlier Hill 142 mission. It may require too much work to update. But again, we'll see.
There are so many AI meeting engagements in this campaign and they're the hardest to make challenging. It was not much work when the AI was simply move group 1 to A, then B, then C and just co-ordinating these groups but now there are up to sixteen of them with triggers as well. It gives much better results but is commensurable to the effort put in by the designer. (I haven't used that word in a long time)

All the campaigns I made for the disk were tested by some beta testers before the release so these kinds of mistakes were caught. In fact it was great having them because they used to catch things like flavour objects out of place, in the middle of the road etc. However, Hasrabit and Dinas, both large campaigns were not and were tested all by myself. I seem to recall a similar mistake in Dinas when it was released where there was some tank sitting in the middle of the map. I used to have what I called a 'Finished' folder where I moved missions that had all the checks performed and the artwork done before transferring. I missed that this time around probably because I was in a hurry to get finished. There's a kind of fatigue that sets in when you have a very large project under development and the desire to get it finished leads to some cut corners at the end. My bad.
So the lesson is to take my time and make sure nothing like that slips through the last checks next time. Hasrabit is not as big a project as Montebourg (in fact, Road to Montebourg is one of the biggest I made after Road to Dinas) but I will start this process again with that.

As I said elsewhere, I have been a bit stumped as to how to proceed with this. My initial plan was not to change too much so that it was still Hasrabit but the problem is that it is such an old campaign that that is no longer possible. This campaign was made way back with the earliest versions of the first CMSF engine and I was still learning the craft of scenario design. Some of the AI work was abysmal and many of the maps were basically ASL-inspired, especially the compounds. And so many trees!
As you can see from the screenshots I've already posted, I've spent quite a bit of time updating the maps so that they are much more 'modern' with realistic compounds and villages, much more like you'll find in USMC Gung Ho! But I have been struggling to find a  way to make The Guards Counterattack mission workable. I tried toning down the AI attack and that worked - a bit. The problem is that the map is too small and in the time the AI has, it can wipe out everything and occupy all the best positions so that any counterattack is going to be a tough and bloody affair for the player, regardless of the superiority of his equipment and training.
The AI also attacks with two mech companies (previously three) with tanks in support and they absolutely murder the defensive forces even without the somewhat generous artillery support. The notion of removing one mech company didn't appeal to me at all as I want to keep as much of the old as possible. So, what to do?
Well, the solution is quite simple - I need to extend the RED map edge considerably further so that the AI has much further to go. This also allows me to add a second, frontal defensive line to the  map and have the first mech company dismount to attack that line while the second waits and then goes after the back line. This appears to work very well indeed and means that the AI will still be fighting in front of the ridge when your Guards arrive. Perfect. Not only that but it's fun to play again as it's not OTT difficult.
Obviously, that means this is going to take a bit longer to get finished but it's back on track. It is also re-inspiring me and giving me some fresh ideas about how to develop future missions in the campaign.

I'm going to take a bit more time with this one. It's currently an evening project as I'm back to work properly next week and so can't devote so much time to it again. But this is what I'm focusing on for now.
After this particular revision is done, I think it will have to be something all-new, at least from the mission design side - I have a folder of maps from the Canadian campaign ready to adapt for such a project. I think Retribution would be a good idea - basically Red v UNCONs and eventually BLUE if/when there's a NATO intervention. This is a dream at the moment though but I like the idea of doing something 'new' rather than just updating what I've already done.

@Kohlbie Thanks for letting us all know so quickly. And @Paper Tiger for the prompt action.

Aaaw crap! There's always something that slips through the last check. I have no idea how that got past - I must have re-imported these units after all the testing as I played the vanilla version several times without any issues. It's funny because they're not in the variant which is almost exactly the same. That's game breaker for sure but I guess you'll have a fairly easy run at this particular mission.
I have deleted these units and will get a fresh compilation up later today after I've run through everything else again. Thanks for letting me know.
 
And thanks for the feedback on the first three missions.
 
A new version with the tanks removed is now up. I've had a look through most of the other missions and there are no irregularities that I can see.

Hey Paper Tiger. Just started the deployment phase on La Grand Hameau and for some reason I have a wild platoon of Shermans on the map, behind the objective (see image). They are the 746th Tank Battalion HQ tank, the A Company HQ tank, and my surviving tanks of 1st platoon A company from the previous mission.
Stray Shermans aside, the first three missions played really well. Silence The Guns was a fun, snappy romp, and the changes in experience/motivation on Beu Guillot didn't make the mission particularly harder but certainly more satisfying than the original experience I had were the Germans just crumbled and ran almost immediately. Ecoqueneauville was also a noticeably improved experience. The AI moving and reacting to me coming up the main road felt a lot more natural than them just sitting around like lemmings. Good stuff! 

Yes. Absolutely. The 'feedback' I got from watching that was incredibly helpful. I was actually embarrassed when he flunked the Scottish Corridor mission and went onto the Green path. That will definitely influence the remake. I want people to be able to win if they devise a good plan.
I have a hope that one day he'll do The Khabour Trail, the Canadian campaign I made for the CMSF NATO module (the first one). That's the campaign I'm most proud of.
I had a look at the revision that was made for CMSF2 and it looks almost identical with very little changed (probably because of the way I do the AI in my campaigns. It must have freaked them out when they realised they'd either have to do it all from scratch or try to fathom out how to update that so it still is pretty much my baby.