Some early impressions

[El Hombre]

So I installed, upgraded, crashed a million times, and finally switched to my mac laptop. Anyway, CMSF is working.

I went through the training and three missions of the main campaign, and here are some of the nagging issues that I have. Maybe someone would like to comment on them (I'm not discussing the good stuff, there's a lot of it).

First of all, in large enough maps such as the airbase one (mission #3 I think) it'd be really good to have a visual indicator telling me "hey, this unit over there is under fire". I know, I should be playing turn-based and I'm not (which is something I'll fix right away).

Second, speaking of the airfield map, it would be good to have feedback on the accomplished objectives. There's a short audio/text notice when you do something, but it would be good to be able to refer to it at any time. In the airfield map, I thought I'd secured the special forces building. After all, I had 5 squads in the building, and they'd criss-crossed it many many times, up and down. I played the mission twice and twice I had a minor victory due to not securing that building.

Third, it would be good to know how one should blow up a building. Again in the airbase map, how the hell do you blow up the massive special forces building? By the time I get there my MGS are out of 105mm ammo (or almost out) and the mortars and apaches can't bring that thing down.

The briefing says to destroy it though. How do I do that?

Fourth, as was said in many other posts, the AI has many problems (as in all games), but the one I find most frustrating is how easily the AI abandons a pinned squad. When a team dismounts from a stryker under fire, the first thing the stryker does is run away instead of providing covering fire. It makes it really tough to assault buildings by driving up to them and using the stryker as support as well as defensive position.

Funnily enough, I have been quite happy with the behavior of the assault teams right outside and inside buildings. It's tough going and keeping casualties under 20% is next to impossible, but that's the cost of urban fighting (and of course it's tough to model all the additional US capabilities such as breaching charges, flashbangs, etc... but I think somehow the US teams should be strengthened inside buildings).

[birdstrike]

For larger battles I use the top-down view to keep track of the overall situation. And if the action gets too comfusing, you can always hit ESC and pause the game to look around or give orders.

If a stryker withdraws it usually means there is something bigger and badder out there which can take it out, like a tank or an enemy RPG. Given the alternative of the stryker being blown up right next to your squad, it's not the worst thing. You can try using smoke or generally keep it away from anything more powerful than a BTR.

[Jethro21]

I love my Strykers, especially the 40mm grenade launcher for supressing hard points.