The Road To Dinas campaign

[Erwin]

Posted this here since no one seems to be looking in the CMSF1 forums any more:

Finally got to the end of this very impressive but also very frustrating campaign.

FWIW, The Road to Dinas is a superb campaign and very looong (16 missions IIRC) campaign - at least up to mission 13.  But, I started Mission 13 in 2011 and after a dozen tries I gave up in frustration.  A problem with this campaign is that if you take too many losses (and you really don;t know what that might mean) in an earlier mission, you will find that 3, 4, 5 or more missions later you cannot win - and that means the campaign ends.  So...  when that happens one is forced to go back 3, 4 or 5+ missions and replay everything until you do not take too many casualties.  Replaying several missions just so one can advance in the campaign is a major PITA. 

I ended up having to cheat (a lot) just to get through some of the missions since there are several missions that if you lose, the campaign ends.  Normally, I like that aspect as there is a penalty for failure.  But, these are HARD missions and even as a very experienced player I found some of them to be impossible.  

While most of the missions feature very interesting situations and maps, the final 3 or 4 missions were boring by comparison and I just got thru em any way I could and didn't even bother playing the final one.  

Still, if you reckon you are a good and experienced player and getting bored with CMSF challenges, you may really enjoy The Road To Dinas.  This is the CMSF version of the infamous CMBN "Courage and Fortitude" campaign.  (Maybe it's easier to play in CMSF2.)

[JulianJ]

You haven't sold me on this one @Erwin.   I agree a campaign shouldn't be a pushover, but there needs to be balance - maybe one or two easier games in the mix? I play for enjoyment,  not to be feeling  like I am at the dentists.

[Erwin]

Of course I agree with you.  I wasn't trying to sell the campaign just providing feedback that if a player finds CMSF is getting too easy...  Having said that, I would say that at least 10-12 missions were very enjoyable.  It was a few that one HAD to win or get fired which I found very very hard to win and had to cheat at with repeated replays.  However, I also wonder if I do not have a good grasp of how to handle Red forces and Red doctrine.  I have to fight against the habit of acting like Red is like NATO.

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

The Road to Dinas campaign is definitely challenging but never felt unfair to me. Really enjoyed playing it in CMSF2.

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTPkAVvavKY5EPepj5KWlgwJ

I remember somebody reported that there might be core force issues with the dynamic campaign version in CMSF2 so I chose the linear version but can´t confirm wether this issues are indeed present or not.

[Erwin]

5 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

there might be core force issues with the dynamic campaign version

I played the dynamic version (in CMSF1) and yes, it was very hard to maintain enuff effective core forces to complete later missions.  As with CMBN's "Courage and Fortitude" it was a humbling experience and I learned a lot about Red forces.  But, happy to be done with Dinas and getting back to WW2 starting with Mission to Maas. 

 

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

The issues were only reported for CMSF2. Core forces are still present in the linear version what is different that all missions in a row except for being in the different trees. 

[Falcon_the_Slut]

Where can I get this mission impossible campaign?

[Erwin]

http://www.combatmission.lesliesoftware.com/ShockForce/Campaigns/The Road to Dinas.html

More info:

"For those of you who choose to play the dynamic campaign, you will find that the enemy will react to your successes. You may find yourself confronting a superior OrBat or being on the receiving end of enemy air power in a later mission. This is because the most threatened sections of the front will receive the better forces from the enemy High Command. While success is always rewarded, you may find that the less-than-optimal path to the finale is the easier of the two journeys. So don't be surprised if you read in a thread here that someone only faced conscripts in mission 10 while you fought Special Forces or you got hammered by an air strike but they didn't. It just means that they failed to win one of the earlier missions while you won it. Following the optimal path to the finale will give you a much better chance to repair vehicles and equipment damaged during each mission. Failing one or more missions in a single Phase will give you a much reduced chance of repairs in the following missions until you get yourself back on the winning track."

http://www.combatmission.lesliesoftware.com/ShockForce/Campaigns/The Road to Dinas.html

 

[Falcon_the_Slut]

Thank you....but is this for shock force 2 or 1? It seems to be in the shock force 1 category.

[Erwin]

All CMSF1 scenarios and campaigns should work in CMSF2.  You just cannot continue a CMSF1 saved game using CMSF2 (unfortunately).  Some designers are slowly making updates to their CMSF1 work.

[Falcon_the_Slut]

Thanks Erwin