NEW SCENARIO - Cry Havoc!

[George MC]

Background

Early yesterday morning, taking advantage of the recent bad weather, an enemy mechanised unit, estimated to be approximately a reinforced company (multiple BMPs supported by at least one M72 tank platoon), launched a surprise attack that captured the undefended village of ABOU DAU and cut Highway 12 our MSR.

A detachment from the battalion scout platoon - call sign 'Hawkeye' - was sent to make contact and verify the exact location and make-up of the enemy mech unit. Contact was made but the scout detachment was destroyed in the process...

You are the commander (call sign "Wardog 1") of Team "Wardog" (mech heavy) which consists of one M1 tank platoon (Panzer 3), and three Bradley IFV platoons (Dog 1 to 3).

Battalion has tasked you to advance to contact with the enemy mechanised units defending ABOU DAU. On contact you are to develop the situation as you deem appropriate with a view to destroying the enemy units located in ABOU DAU, then secure the village and Highway 12 against any further enemy attacks.

Rules of engagement: The farms and villages in the area are, as far as we know still occupied - do not target or destroy a building unless you receive hostile fire and can positively ID enemy units in the building.

It is 0345Hrs. You have one hour to prepare your FRAGO and brief your platoon leaders.

Playing the Scenario

This has a largish map (about 1.2 x 1.6Km) so it’ll take a while to load (about five minutes).

Best played H2H or Blue Vs Red AI (Three plans). There are Red Vs Blue AI Plans (two) but it does not play out all that well due to TAC AI restrictions e.g. Blue infantry acquiring Javelins etc.

Just made a slight tweak to one of the Blue objectives. Thanks to Wiggum for picking that one up. Revised version (v02) now uploaded. Grab it at CMODS

[ April 13, 2008, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: George Mc ]

[Darkmage]

Really enjoying it so far, about 50 minutes and have taken the 1st 2 objectives, just about the mount up and move to the next 2. So far resistance has been light, apart from a few BMPs which I've managed to pick off at long range with my M1s on overwatch on the hills to the rear.

[Wiggum]

Wow, great work again George Mc !

But what is with "OBJ MARY" ?

It is not on the Tactical Map and not in the Briefing but on the Map.

What have i to do with "OBJ MARY" ?

[George MC]

Hi Wiggum!

Oh crap - my bad... Sorry about that. Obj Mary was an old objective. I had meant to change that, had amended the briefings and map but not changed the map!

I've just uploaded a revised version. I wanted to use that Blue obj slot for something else, which was why I had started the changes. Now that change is complete in v2.

With the version you are playing just go ahead and take it You'll get points for it.

My apologies for the confusion. I seem to be good at that bit!

Cheers fur noo

George

[George MC]

Originally posted by Darkmage:

Really enjoying it so far, about 50 minutes and have taken the 1st 2 objectives, just about the mount up and move to the next 2. So far resistance has been light, apart from a few BMPs which I've managed to pick off at long range with my M1s on overwatch on the hills to the rear.

Hi Darkmage

Good going

Good luck with the rest of it - be keen to hear how you get on?

Cheers fur noo

George

[Darkmage]

George, just finished it now.

very good mission, lost a few bradleys at the beginning of the counter attack in the confusion before I could move troops to respond. My abrams on the ridge definitely helped ID incoming armour as well. A very good tense mission as you have to balance pushing forward to your objectives with securing your flanks etc and making sure you have all round security. Enjoyed the scale of it to as I haven't played that many large battles.

[George MC]

Hi Darkmage

Nice one

Well done on securing your victory. Looks like you watched your flanks and secured your objectives.

There are three Red AI plans so anyone playing this can have a totally different experience from yourself as the AI plans are different in their execution

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for playing it out.

Cheers fur noo

George

[the Fighting Seabee]

GeorgeMC,

I played your mission. It's pretty damn cool. I finished with a draw my first time, but I got kinda lazy toward the end (tired).

The mission was realistic and fun. The map design is outstanding. Everyone should play this scenario.

Thanks!

[George MC]

Hi Fighting Seabee

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for taking the time to play it and your feedback.

Cheers fur noo

George

[Schmoly War]

Im playing a H2H pbem game of this with me as the syrians. Ill try and post fraps of this much later!

[George MC]

Hi Schmoly War

Look forward to your AAR

Good Luck!

Cheers fur noo

George

[Rokossovski]

I haven't played the scenario itself yet, but I've studied the map, and it's really, really well done.

[Mishga]

George, do you mind if I download the scenario and see how you done the briefings and maps?

I know it's a bit of a cheek but I really lack the skills to polish up my scenarios to your level.

Or of you can help me with how to implant the maps for the briefings that would be ace too!

[George MC]

Originally posted by Mishga:

George, do you mind if I download the scenario and see how you done the briefings and maps?

I know it's a bit of a cheek but I really lack the skills to polish up my scenarios to your level.

Or of you can help me with how to implant the maps for the briefings that would be ace too!

Hi Mishga

Aye nae bother - download away

You can check out the scenario design manual (link in my sig) which has info on finishing off scenarios. It was originally done for the beta testers when we were just starting out making scenarios so it's just a wee bit out of date with the fine detail but the basic elements of scenario construction are there.

I'm happy to give you a hand with finishing of scenarios, you can drop me an email (address in my profile)if you like.

Cheers fur noo

George

ps I'm out and about the next ten days or so with work so you might not get an immediate response till I get back latter on next week.

[Mishga]

George,

That link was invaluable. It allowed me to polish my scenarios up no end. Cheers!! I even played about with a paint package to make the pics look like hastily taken combat photos etc etc.

I would be honoured if you would check out my scenarios at CMMODS.com and give me your feedback as your the best designer here. Any inspiration is welcome.

[JohnO]

Best designer, cough, cough, wiping the coffee off the table top not to take anything away from George but webwing as well makes very good scenarios/campaigns and others out there. Hell I'm trying to get up to their level

[ChrisND]

Gave this a whirl last week, and loved it.

SPOILER!!!

I had two strokes of luck. A roughly company-sized of Syrian dismounts attempted to move from OBJ Mary to OBJ Nicole, and I had a Bradley covering the muddy river bed between them at close range. Much carnage ensued. They basically lost a company of Syrians vs. a few of my 25mm rounds.

I dismounted my infantry right at the beginning, like I always do, and walked them across the map with the vehicles following. Purely by luck, a few Javelin teams had reached the other end of the map overlooking the spot where the Syrian reinforcements arrived and were in place when they popped in. They completely slaughtered the tanks.

Losses: 1 Abrams (The AT-13 in the very back of the map waited for it to expose a flank and then fired. Very devious!) and five men.

[George MC]

Hi Normal Dude

Your one luck boy

Many thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed it. I've played this out a few times myself, but with several AI plans what works one time might not work the next

Cheers fur noo

George

[JP76er]

I have a few questions. I have no military background at all, but I've played war games for awhile, especially Shock Force. Everything was going well until the T72s started appearing. They were taking shots at my M1s without the M1s spotting them. I had them in good over watch positions & in good cover. My tanks would engage any infantry that popped up, but it was like no-seeums for the T72s. It seemed like about 75% of the time, it took two Javelins to take out any T72. Are the Syrian T72s really superior to the Abrams and the Javelins? My tanks would take several hits from stationary T72s & pop smoke if I was lucky. All 4 were knocked out. It also seemed to take two or three shots from the M1s to make a kill, even on the BMPs. I would click on the individual tanks & the T72s would not light up as being seen & with no fire from the Abrams. I also checked as two T72s engaged one Abrams. They were firing on the M1 but the M1 didn't even show that it was spotting the T72s. They also took out 3 Bradleys while the T72s moved into position to fire at them. The Bradleys could see them the whole time but only one fired twice with it's TOWs & those both did no damage. Not sure what I was doing wrong & would appreciate any input. As far as clearing out the objectives in buildings, everything worked well.

[TheVulture]

I'm in the early stages of this scenario (just wandered into my first minfield and killed my first RPG team). I've only seen two enemy units so far (RPG, BDRM-2 IIRC) and they've both been facing the wrong way - backs to the US force. The RPG guys refused to turn around even when I started shooting at them (failed to get a screenshot) and spent about two minutes with their backs to me before I got into their trench and killed them.

I'm guessing this isn't the intended behaviour

Is this one of those 'map has become corrupted in some way' things that other people have had that screws with unit facings?

CMSF v 1.08 and Cry Havoc v02.

[George MC]

Hi Vulture

I'll check that out. The facings should all be correct and as far as I know there should be no corupption i.e. the map was not made in another build, then converted but built in 1.08

JP67er

That's odd as normally the T72s appear and die as the M1s spot em and engage long before the T72s get a bead on em. In saying that there can be lot's going on so maybe, just maybe the M1s are not seeing the T72s in cover who then get a chance for a first shot. At the ranges on this map a T72 hitting an M1 will do damage if not KO it. Do you have any save game files? Be interested to see what gives as my own experiences of the scenario don't echo yours (although I have successfully lost M1s in this to the T72s!) so I'd be keen to see what is going on. I would have thought that the Javelins would at least take out a BMP first hit, although again **** happens and could be a Javelin hist and does not damage, rare I would have thought but possible..

[Peach Operations]

Hi hi, I got a draw. *embarrassed look*

I really liked all the covered approaches, and the delaying-type behavior the enemy uses at the nearest objectives. It's too bad you have to trigger the enemy withdrawal based on a set time. Still, I was slow enough getting started that a decent proportion probably got away (though some didn't).

As for me, I need to stop letting my forces get spread out -- I often try to bypass or outflank objectives in this game, and wind up violating the principle of mass. And I need to give Javelins to dismounted squads if I'm going to let them operate apart from their vehicles. And I need to stop getting lazy at the end. And a bunch of other things. But I still like your scenario.

[Peach Operations]

Played it again. Forced Syrian surrender this time. This scenario seems to reward you for advancing rapidly -- you can take out the T72s piecemeal and stop the enemy from falling back if you move quickly.

As for the M1s having trouble in this scenario, I think some of it -- not sure -- might be that they're hitting trees. I've seen more than one instance in the game where the round hit something well short of its target (although it's hard to say whether it was hitting the ground or a tree). The trees in this scenario do sometimes make it hard to spot opposing vehicles.

I also had Javelins in this scenario have trouble -- dunno if that was reactive armor or trees (or both?) Pretty sure I saw some missing reactive blocks, though..

[George MC]

Hi Peach Operations

Well done mate - hit em hard and hit em fast. Good effort Mind though there are several Red AI plans - four if I mind and all very different

The T72s in this scenario (I just checked) are top of the range boys so although not a toe on toe match for the M1 are still pretty tough foes. As to Javelins these boys can and will survive several hits because yes they have reactive armour. I would have thought the BMP3 though would have been toast, badly burnt toast at that if hit by a Javelin.

I also checked the facing and does look like a few Red units were facing the wrong way, so I've corrected that and uploaded the revised version. Just a couple of units so only a minor change.

Thanks again for your feedback

Cheers fur noo

George

[JP76er]

I'll go & load the latest version & play again. The part on the trees being in the way, I was wondering the same thing. Is the engine on Shock Force intelligent enough to realize when you are shooting through a tree or trees? That could be part of my error, especially with the Bradleys. With the TOW being wire guided, the AI won't let loose a TOW because it's path is blocked. Can anyone tell me how to find a good hull down position in wooded & rough terrain? I'm wondering if the T72s are doing that & picking off my Abrams because they are not in as good as cover as I believed. Thanks ahead for any input. It's really a fun scenario, so I'm off to the revised version & play again.

Thanks!

Originally posted by George Mc:

Hi Vulture

I'll check that out. The facings should all be correct and as far as I know there should be no corupption i.e. the map was not made in another build, then converted but built in 1.08

JP67er

That's odd as normally the T72s appear and die as the M1s spot em and engage long before the T72s get a bead on em. In saying that there can be lot's going on so maybe, just maybe the M1s are not seeing the T72s in cover who then get a chance for a first shot. At the ranges on this map a T72 hitting an M1 will do damage if not KO it. Do you have any save game files? Be interested to see what gives as my own experiences of the scenario don't echo yours (although I have successfully lost M1s in this to the T72s!) so I'd be keen to see what is going on. I would have thought that the Javelins would at least take out a BMP first hit, although again **** happens and could be a Javelin hist and does not damage, rare I would have thought but possible..