CMBN Campaign: In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow (Revised)

[dragonwynn]

After completing the Seven Days Campaign for CMCW, which is part of a 3 part trilogy following the legacy of Captain Charles Stevens  (In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow CMBN and Fields of Tears CMFB) (and his son Charlie Stevens in Seven Days CMCW), I decided to go and revise In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow. 

It was my first campaign for CM and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I had did an earlier revision but I still left issues unsolved. So this is an attempt to get the campaign up to the standards of the other two hopefully. Below is the information.

In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow
(Revised)

This campaign is a complete revision of my first ever campaign that I created. Being a novice, I made a lot of mistakes, despite the campaign being well received by the community.

So I have gone back and reworked the entire campaign, making what I hope, are some noticeable improvements.

In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow is a semi-historical campaign following the 31st Tank Battalion, part of the 7th Armored Division, through the Battle of Normandy during August of 1944. It is an interactive campaign, the first part of a trilogy that continues with Fields of Tears in CMFB and Seven Days in CMCW.

It follows the legacy of Captain Charles Stevens (In the Fields Where the Poppies Grow and Fields of Tears) and later his son Lieutenant Charlie Stevens (Seven Days) through the trials of war.

In this campaign Captain C. Stevens is in command of A Company, 31st Tank Battalion and he must lead it through the later stages of the Battle of Normandy. Your job is to keep Stevens alive as his loss (2500 points) will effectively end the campaign, and still complete the missions.

About the Campaign:

It is a 10 mission campaign.

In the original you had a command decision to make which was confusing to some players so I eliminated it.

A draw will advance you in all missions.

Mission Tree:

1. The Crossroads

2. When Angels Weep
3. Tiger Tiger
4. The Road
5. The Bridge Over the Eure
6. A View to a Kill
7. Dance with the Devil
8. Bunker Hill
9. Encounter at Loire
10. Chartres

All the missions are from the original campaign, but have been heavily reworked and one renamed due to script issues.

Improvements:

1. All maps have been reworked, especially the annoying roads, and much more micro terrain has been added as well as flavor objects reworked.

2. All mission dates and times are in correct sequence

3. The command structure for all units is now correct as well unit names. The core unit commanders are all named from friends or actual participants.

4. Mission objectives have been updated and expanded and the point system modified for better balance.

5. Mission briefings have been reworked for better detail and there are now tactical maps for each mission as well. To follow the narrative of Captain Stevens, read the designer notes for each mission as I have updated these as well. They give you insight into his experiences.

6. Artwork has been updated for all the missions.

7. I have added a number of additional mods to the mods in the original campaign for better immersion. One not included in the download  but needed for the immersion of this campaign, is Lucky Strikes Hedgerow Hell mod, a must have for CMBN. All the other mods used are included in the download. Just drop into your z folder. All credit goes to the authors of the mods.

8. AI has been reworked as well for hopefully a better challenge.

My goals was to bring this campaign up to the standards of the other campaigns in the trilogy and I hope I have succeeded. In the download you will find the .cam file and the mod folder.

 

As always let me know of any issues and I hope you will find the campaign enjoyable.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/n8exclchbhzupfiokoqg2/h?rlkey=v5t7xumw8235ay0v1084jfztd&dl=0

 

[Vacillator]

Thanks, looks great.  I haven't played the original so this one's on my to-do list.

I can confirm it loads up fine, haven't put Pantherburn in z yet though.

[dragonwynn]

8 minutes ago, Vacillator said:

Thanks, looks great.  I haven't played the original so this one's on my to-do list.

I can confirm it loads up fine, haven't put Pantherburn in z yet though.

Thanks for giving it a try

[thilio]

Thanks for your work. Haven't played the original either.

Edited February 15 by thilio

[WimO]

Have played the original. Thank you for the revised version. Looking forward to checking it out.

[Warts 'n' all]

I'll probably be working my way through "Downfall" for many months. But, I'll certainly give this a go sometime. Thanks for your effort.

[Hilts]

I played most of the original. When you say you have revised the maps does that mean you've got rid of those awful zig-zag roads? If so I'll take another look.

[dragonwynn]

Just now, Hilts said:

I played most of the original. When you say you have revised the maps does that mean you've got rid of those awful zig-zag roads? If so I'll take another look.

Yes I have straightened out nearly all of them lol. It’s bocage country so there are still some winds and turns but most are straightened out. All the maps were quick battle maps I just modified them. They are the same maps from the original I just reworked them.

[Hilts]

I've just taken a look and the map in mission 1 is a vast improvement from the original. Well done and thanks for re-working it all. Will give it another go asap.

[dragonwynn]

7 minutes ago, Hilts said:

I've just taken a look and the map in mission 1 is a vast improvement from the original. Well done and thanks for re-working it all. Will give it another go asap.

Thanks Hilts I hope you enjoy it.

[Phantom Captain]

Awesome!!  I am looking forward to giving this a go now.

I loaded this up before, some time ago and just couldn't get over the ranks being so off, a captain in charge of a platoon??

Anyway, very cool that you have revised it and made some fixes!  I'm enjoying 7 Days so far as well!