New campaign - USMC Gung Ho! available

[Paper Tiger]

Okay, that's it uploaded. The picture failed to load but I don't care about that too much at this point.

https://www.thefewgoodmen.com/tsd3/cm-shock-force-2-2/cm-shock-force-2-campaigns/cmsf2-usmc-gung-ho/

This is a six mission campaign featuring Bravo Company of 1st Battalion 8th Marines. I should mention that it's a rework of my much earlier CMSF1 campaign of the same name but it's so reworked that it's really an all-new campaign that takes advantage of all the CMSF2 features. You'll need the NATO module to play this as the Syrian Airborne features in one of the missions. Sorry about that but I guess most folks reading here already have the full Monty.

It's designed primarily to have fun with one of the most unique factions in the game, the USMC, a light infantry formation that punches far above its weight even without the air support that you'll have in these missions. It should also be quite challenging but not too challenging. Mission 3 - CAAT among the Pigeons is intended to be very easy, to allow you to let rip with a rather unique formation within the MEU. 

I look forward to hearing how you get on. Perhaps you can tell me how many kills HITMAN got in your campaign? You're not beta testing this - I've already played this myself but that's a potential issue, it's been tested by one player with a particular play style and skill set. I try to break these missions but I'm not as creative about that as some of you will be  If you find any typos, let me know. I've been scanning the texts these last couple of days and can't see any but that's likely fatigue. Unless something egregious is found, you should be safe to complete a campaign before a revision comes up. I'm hoping that won't necessary but I've done this before and it can always be improved.

With the exception of CAAT among the Pigeons, each mission has several AI plans to give the campaign replayablity. So, if there's enough interest in it, I will return to this to make a new version featuring the German Gebirgsjagers which look like they'd be a blast to play with as well and not need much work to be done beyond making a core unit file and importing the units into each mission. And finally, I want to make a Brit forces Light Infantry version but that will need more work to do.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Paper Tiger

[Paper Tiger]

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Work on the German version is already under way. Core units are done and I've started playing around with the opener. Let's just say that it looks, feels and plays very differently from the USMC version. The USMC really is a beast with large platoons and enormous firepower. The Jaegers are much lighter but their artillery... (rubs hands) this is going to be a blast to develop.

I'm going to have to rename these missions with more German style names. Gung Ho! was inspired by the HBO series, Generation Kill and I recall one episode where they were talking about Betty and Wilma so it all sprang from there. Doing German football players seems more than a bit lame but I know absolutely NOTHING about popular German culture. The missions' and objectives' names in Gung Ho! were a real nostalgia trip for me because we grew up with a lot of US TV on the BBC and ITV in the 70s and 80s. Starsky and Hutch, Kojak and The Rockford Files were the coolest things on Brit TV for a while. Even my dad loved them. Some tips from folks with German upbringing in a similar period might help with the authenticity.  

Edited April 3, 2023 by Paper Tiger

[Sunbather]

This is absolutely great! I love your scenarios and campaigns Paper Tiger! And it is awesome to see that you put out content again!

Of course, I just bought the biggest bundle of Normandy, so I'll be busy with that for a while. But I am already looking forward to playing Gung Ho! (personally I find the Brits more unique than the USMC though)

I might chime in when it comes to German TV folklore but unfortunately I am too young for the 70ies and even the 80ies (ouch!).

[Paper Tiger]

Aye, that Normandy bundle is going to take you quite a long time to get through but perhaps all three intended versions of this campaign will have been completed and tweaked by the time you're ready to play them. There will definitely be a Brit version as I'm Scottish. They're so laid back when calling in artillery - it's like asking for a taxi and the operator is too laid back to give a fig. "Hello, Fire Mission. Out"

I did a bit of reading on German pop culture and it appears it is a bit of a weakness and Germans are aware of it. I really don't want to do German football players for objectives in every mission but there's not much else to work with. I'm going to guess that many of the media references that I use in USMC will be very familiar to most Germans though - who doesn't know the Flintstones? The High Chaparral, probably not.

At least for the British version, I can work in a few Red Dwarf references. Perhaps Germans know that show? It sounds like it would appeal to their sense of humour so maybe I could have some cross over between the three campaigns.

[Halmbarte]

For the Germans, go with Kulture: Characters from German operas, German composers, German writers...

For amusement value include Austrian figures of the same in with the German ones.  

H 

[Paper Tiger]

So, Wagnerian and Goethe characters? Maybe the names of some Brahms lieder? Wow, really resting on the laurels of past glory there, aren't we? But what a glorious past! 

Okay, thanks for that. That's certainly better than using German football players. I guess some LotR characters might work too as Peter Jackson's LotR MUST have been pretty popular in Germany. And what about Kirk, Spock and Bones? I remember some German singer (Nina?) mentioning Kirk in a song from the 80s (99 Red Balloons) and we were surprised to hear 'Captain Kirk', probably the most iconic leader for at least one generation so a Star Trek TOS reference might work too?

[Halmbarte]

German metal bands would work too... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:German_heavy_metal_musical_groups

Intent of mission: Clear objectives Stahlmann, Compressorhead, & Klabautamann. Rally and hold objective Pink Cream 69 against enemy counter attack. 

[Paper Tiger]

Don't encourage me.  Michael Schenker was a huge influence on my guitar style (mainly from his UFO days though) whose impact was only superseded by Eddie Van Halen's. I could put in a couple of German metal bands but Scorpions has to be one. Sounds like a good fit for the Bridges mission.

[MeatEtr]

On 4/3/2023 at 4:59 AM, Paper Tiger said:

I'm going to have to rename these missions with more German style names. Gung Ho! was inspired by the HBO series, Generation Kill and I recall one episode where they were talking about Betty and Wilma so it all sprang from there.  

I remember that show, I recall it being better than expected. For anyone interested check it out here! Might have to rewatch this one.

 

[Wooly Woolridge]

Just played the first mission, and i think the scale was just about right, although i think that 5% loss condition is extremely brutal.

You essentially have an understrength company assaulting urban terrain against an understrength battalion. Considering i very much had to get stuck in and engage in pretty brutal firefights, that 5% loss figure seems pretty hopeless unless you sacrifice score elsewhere.

It's not like i took heavy losses, but stray RPG shots accounted for at least 6 men and that alone is nearly at the 5% mark for that force iirc. Either way, was still pretty fun and the next mission seems like an interesting nut to crack.

[Paper Tiger]

Thanks for the feedback. It all helps me to improve things and I'm glad to read you're enjoying it. That's the most important thing.

A couple of points. There's only one Reserve Infantry company with a platoon of tanks in that mission. The actual force ratio is almost 1:1 with regards to raw manpower, with REDFor having 12 more men in total. Those USMC squads are almost twice as big as a Syrian squad. The USMC have much better equipment, training and have a number of vehicles, artillery and a F-18 Hornet in support. In playtesting, three USMC platoons was overkill. (Indeed, I'm finding the force mismatch between Blue and Red even worse with the Gebirgsjagers - I thought I would need all three platoons to make up for the reduced manpower but, boy, can those guys dish it out. And their artillery is awesome. Three NATO platoons is too much for any sort of challenge to be present in the mission.)

Which brings me to point 2. Perhaps it's not obvious from the briefing or the tac map but about half the village buildings are not part of the Preserve objectives and so you can blow up quite a lot of **** without any loss of points. Since the likely result is an enemy surrender, you'll get 250vps for the objectives and a further 100vp for keeping your casualties low and that more than offsets the vps the enemy gets for killing your troops. I earned that bonus almost every time during playtesting because I don't care nearly so much for the Preserve awards. There's an interesting psychological consideration employing them because some folks think they're must haves to get the win - that they should NOT destroy any buildings. You can win the mission very comfortably without ANY of them. The enemy only get points for killing your troops so getting in and contesting the VP locations and killing the enemy while keeping the casualties to a minimum is one way to win. It is possible to win and get all the points but I didn't do that very often.

But, of course, DON'T blow up the mosque. That gives the RedFor an award which is hard to offset without the Preserve awards. A lot of thought went into those victory conditions.  

 

EDIT to add:

I see that's your first post. That's a W-A-Y better post than my first post on these boards -(a lame joke that nobody noticed.) Thanks for the feedback and I appreciate you signing up to provide it. Good luck with mission 2.

Edited April 19, 2023 by Paper Tiger

[quakerparrot67]

On 4/4/2023 at 6:14 AM, Halmbarte said:

For the Germans, go with Kulture: Characters from German operas, German composers, German writers...

For amusement value include Austrian figures of the same in with the German ones.  

H 

i was thinking maybe' names of 'krautrock' (70s experimental rock) bands -   'can',  'neu',  'kraftwerk', etc, but not sure how well known, even in de.

 

cheers,

rob

Edited April 19, 2023 by quakerparrot67

[jspec]

Hey thanks for making this!

I'm getting back into CM after haven't not played for a while, and am having trouble getting this campaign to show up in-game.

High likelihood of user error here, but I've placed it where the other campaigns are located (...Documents\Battlefront\Combat Mission\Shock Force 2\Game Files\Campaigns) but when I go into the game menu this one doesn't show up.

Built a new machine earlier in the year and reinstalled a few CM games, all installed the 'game files' folder in the documents folder, except CMBN which installed it in the  actual Combat Mission Battle for Normandy folder I installed the game to.

Not sure if that means anything really, just grasping at straws. I copied my 'game files' folder from the documents to the main CMSF2 folder to see if that did anything but no luck.

Thanks

 

[MOS:96B2P]

On 5/4/2023 at 6:57 PM, jspec said:

Hey thanks for making this!

I'm getting back into CM after haven't not played for a while, and am having trouble getting this campaign to show up in-game.

High likelihood of user error here, but I've placed it where the other campaigns are located (...Documents\Battlefront\Combat Mission\Shock Force 2\Game Files\Campaigns) but when I go into the game menu this one doesn't show up.

Built a new machine earlier in the year and reinstalled a few CM games, all installed the 'game files' folder in the documents folder, except CMBN which installed it in the  actual Combat Mission Battle for Normandy folder I installed the game to.

Not sure if that means anything really, just grasping at straws. I copied my 'game files' folder from the documents to the main CMSF2 folder to see if that did anything but no luck.

Thanks

 

Do you have the NATO module installed?  Paging @Paper Tiger

[jspec]

Thanks, yes I have it installed (just checked and can start playing one of the NATO single battles).

[37mm]

On 5/5/2023 at 12:57 AM, jspec said:

Hey thanks for making this!

I'm getting back into CM after haven't not played for a while, and am having trouble getting this campaign to show up in-game.

High likelihood of user error here, but I've placed it where the other campaigns are located (...Documents\Battlefront\Combat Mission\Shock Force 2\Game Files\Campaigns) but when I go into the game menu this one doesn't show up.

Built a new machine earlier in the year and reinstalled a few CM games, all installed the 'game files' folder in the documents folder, except CMBN which installed it in the  actual Combat Mission Battle for Normandy folder I installed the game to.

Not sure if that means anything really, just grasping at straws. I copied my 'game files' folder from the documents to the main CMSF2 folder to see if that did anything but no luck.

Thanks

 

Are you patched up?

Not sure which patch @Paper Tiger is on but I have the latest & see the new Gung-Ho! campaign fine.

[jspec]

That was it! Could swear I was patched, but turns out somehow I had managed to patch the patch to it's own game folder inside the actual game folder (as in ..\Combat Mission Shock Force 2\Combat Mission Shock Force 2).

Thanks a lot, thought it was user error just needed a little help figuring out what it was.

 

[Paper Tiger]

I see this situation has been resolved. Sorry, I've been very busy with both work  and AoW4 this past week.

Hope you enjoy the campaign. I've yet to hear from anyone who has completed it or at least any feedback on the final three missions.

[37mm]

It's taken me awhile to try this one out but I finally got around to playing the first mission...

 

[Paper Tiger]

Ah, you have no idea how much that is appreciated.  Thanks for posting that. You have re-inspired me to get back to work on this with more enthusiasm so that all that hard work doesn't just go down a black hole. 

Your opening is almost identical to mine but I am much more aggressive with my Humvees than you and much less aggressive with the AAVs (They're carrying so much valuable ammo). I tend to hit the northern yard HARD with heavy artillery and send 1st platoon into the town from the north yard while 2nd platoon and the engineers go in like you did. If you clear out the north yard, the Syrians in the centre usually surrender more quickly.

There are several AI plans in that mission and two of them will give you quite a different experience so your video and my post won't spoil much for others

If you record yourself playing the next mission, I'll be curious to see how you approach that one.

[37mm]

11 hours ago, Paper Tiger said:

I tend to hit the northern yard HARD with heavy artillery and send 1st platoon into the town from the north yard while 2nd platoon and the engineers go in like you did. If you clear out the north yard, the Syrians in the centre usually surrender more quickly.

I've still got 80+ heavy artillery shells (as well as the four precision rounds) & I've a feeling I'm going to need those for the next scenario, which I started last night...

[Combatintman]

46 minutes ago, 37mm said:

I've still got 80+ heavy artillery shells (as well as the four precision rounds) & I've a feeling I'm going to need those for the next scenario, which I started last night...

As is abundantly clear from the screenshots 

[37mm]

5 hours ago, Combatintman said:

As is abundantly clear from the screenshots 

Here's four more from scenario two...

[Chainsaw]

Started playing this campaign, is good fun. Love playing Marines as you have so much different units to experience.

I did take to much casualties which will hurt me in the future for sure... 

[ng cavscout]

On 4/4/2023 at 11:23 PM, Paper Tiger said:

Don't encourage me.  Michael Schenker was a huge influence on my guitar style (mainly from his UFO days though) whose impact was only superseded by Eddie Van Halen's. I could put in a couple of German metal bands but Scorpions has to be one. Sounds like a good fit for the Bridges mission.

You should include David Hasselhoff and his songs/albums.