New Campaign - Forging Steel

[George MC]

Hi BlackMoria

Hey well done That's an impressive result. Your tactics were spot on, and how well you do in the first one does make life easier, or harder in Battle 2. I must admit I had thought that no-one would get far in the first mission to the extent you did! Still there should be stuff for your main attack to chew up. The recon effort should give you some info in the next mission.

Re the NAIs - yes there are multiple AI plans and differant NAIs are held in the differant plans. I put more NAIs to account for dummy positions, duff intel etc hence not all have enemy units in their locale.

Possible spoiler for mission 2 ahead

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#The reason you may not have spotted the enemy or them you is I think they are set to hide and only some enemy units are set to enagage. The idea being to leave enough stuff on map to make Mission 2, err unexpected

Thanks for the comments guys - great to see and read.

Cheers fur noo

George

[BlackMoria]

Just finished up Company Attack.

My base plan was to push one platoon along the second W-E highway north of the main highway and sweep into the near objective from the high ground to the north. The tank platoon and remaining infantry platoon went an a wide sweeping left hook to the north to seize the high ground and then sweep down on the far objective from the N.

I advanced cautiously and encountered almost no resistance. I picked up the pace and used covered approaches. When a ATGM missed a M2, I traced the source to a ridge in the distant SE. I liberally scoured the ridgeline with mortars and 155mm arty and cautiously resumed the attack.

No further fire from the ridge. Shortly, I was on the high ground overlooking both objectives. I opted to stage the assaults, taking and consolidating the near objective first, which fell without much of a fight.

Armor was sighted near the back edge of the of the map and after a short and brutal firefight, 3 enemy tanks and 1 BMP were burning.

I launched the left hook assault into the far objective with my armor on overwatch and a platoon of M2s and infantry as the assault force. Infantry were found near the objective but were dealt with quickly.

I pressed through the objective and went for the back edge of the map.

Barely a hour has elapsed and I had a platoon in defensive positions in each objective area, and my tanks on high ground overlooking both objectives and beyond.

I opted to cease fire and got a Total Victory with only 4 WIA for my losses.

The next scenario was the re-supply. George: Am I supposed to ceasefire through this one or is something supposed to happen?

Having a blast! Great campaign so far.

[handihoc]

Damn!

I've had to stop playing the campaign as I've hit the Very Big Map Bug (game won't save very big maps. When trying to save it locks up and also corrupts previous save). I'm pretty sure this is being looked into, from posts on the Tech Forum, so with luck it'll be fixed for Brits and v1.12.

Pity. I love huge maps, and this was a great one. I was really enjoying Mission 2. Even playing the same map twice, there was sufficient variation to make it a lot of fun. I hope to get back onto it before too long.

[BlackMoria]

I finally finished the Forged Steel campaign.

Hats off to George for making a interesting and engaging campaign based on what a company combat team could do in 24 hours of non-stop combat operations.

The last scenario - Bridgehead at Norburg was especially intense and enjoyable for me as it allowed me to flex my defensive operations muscles (most campaigns and scenarios have blue on the offensive). Give the determination and forces of the Syrian attackers, this scenario demands that you bring your 'A' game or expect to take heavy casualties. I was up to the task and stopped the Syrian onslaught cold with minimal losses.

Anyhow, this is the outcome of my campaign. Frankly, I was amazed by how well I did.

Blue Total Losses: 10 KIA, 11 WIA, 2 IFVs

Red Total Losses: 533 KIA, 91 WIA, 35 Tanks, 57 IFVs

The results might imply the Syrians are pushovers but they most assuredly are not! The Syrians have top of the line equipment and are above average.

A great campaign for those who want to experience recon and counter recon battles, hasty attacks and defensive battles in a not overly long campaign that is filled with many intense moments and surprises.

I look forward to your future campaigns, George.

[Paul Green]

Hi George,

I just want to say that your Forging Steel campain is done very well..

I'm in the first mission yet but getting a lot of fun already.. Nice job.!

Also, I'd like to thank you for the great scenario design tutorial..

Very helpful and informative for noobs like myself.! Thanks..

Cheers,

Paul.

[George MC]

Hi Blackmoria

Many thanks for your feedback - glad you found the campaign such a blast. I must say I'm well impressed with your result. I had thought perhaps I had pitched the actions at just a bit too a high a level of challenge for Blue, but you've just gone and proved me wrong Weel done that man!

After this campaign I've an idea for a Brit one when the module comes along - armoured based again, this time following a Brit Battlegroup through a 24Hr period... Watch this space

Cheers fur noo

George

[George MC]

Hi George,

I just want to say that your Forging Steel campain is done very well..

I'm in the first mission yet but getting a lot of fun already.. Nice job.!

Also, I'd like to thank you for the great scenario design tutorial..

Very helpful and informative for noobs like myself.! Thanks..

Cheers,

Paul.

Hi Paul

Thanks for that Glad you are enjoying the opening action. Be keen to hear how you get on with it.

Re the tutorial - glad you've found it such use. It was done originally for Beta testers to assist in making scenarios. Glad it's still doing the job. Let us know how ya get on with Forging Steel?

Cheers fur noo

George

[jhdeerslayer]

The first 2 battles have been fun.......Not sure about the third....

Has anyone else had a "Fatal error run out of memory" crash? I got one after the second battle had completed and the 3rd battle was loading. I did get to save the game. I have not tried to open it. Yes, I am patched to v 11.

I did manage to get through the Marine campaign that shipped w/ the game. Before version 11, my machine crashed in the middle of the Poh (sp?) scenario. I never could finish it. Unfortunately, in my last go at that campaign, I picked the wrong fork because I never got the Poh battle.

I have a Nividia 7800 gs card w/ the latest drivers.

Yes I had the same issue between 1 and 2 and just restarted and played from the Save. I finished the first mission with Minor victory and this is George's usual great work. I enjoyed this nail bitter and looking forward to the next one. I have 2G of RAM and a 9800GTX+ myself.

[blow56]

Can't seem to open these. How do they work?

[BlackMoria]

Can't seem to open these. How do they work?

Rars are file compression files, similar to .zip files. You need WinRAR or some other software that can read and unpack .RAR files. Just google RAR and they is a variety of them.

I suggest downloading a trial version of WinRAR and using that to unpack the RAR archive file.

[permanent666]

i would recommend ALZip it is freeware

[blow56]

Got the .rar unpacker - thanks for that. Played through the first few missions and my impressions are - good maps, good idea, good forces, but the balance is off. I can see why you are doing it, but the fact is that either you provide more air or arty support, or - and this is probably more realistic - up the Intel level for Blue. At the moment, Blue knows nothing at all, which is challenging to the point of suicide in the first mission. If you have air supremacy (or even just superiority) you should have sat, overflight and UAV intel that tells you something of enemy dispositions. No force commander will bumble into a blank canvas, it just isn't done. If you keep the canvas blank, then the second US doctrine will come into force - recce by fire. You hit every suspected position with artillery and air strikes right from the off and see what stirs.

Sending boots on the ground in to get shot at is a last, desperate option. Especially since your force Victory conditions require conservation of ammo and casualties.

It is, in many cases, not enough to get eyes-on the NAIs. I actually managed to get people TOUCH all the NAIs but one - I even got the phase line on the Threat map edge - while destroying around six APCs and at least four tanks and still got a Minor Defeat, which was galling.

Still playing, though, so the first rule of a good scenario is solid - keep the interest.

PS Splendid use of minefields, which I tend not to use in scenarios since there is no sure, casualty-free way of negating them using Engineers. Walked straight into one, just as I thought I was safe ...

[George MC]

Cheers blow56

I appreciate your remarks about intel etc. But if I did that the first scenario would be pretty bland. In fact you could play the whole thing with blasting any enemy with air or arty assests. The scenario is based on a fictional situation - more NTC type stuff than a 'for real' type situation. I think in the opening brief I set the scene for why things are as they are. I'm away from my PC at the moment so can't check on the actual brief. I've made this tough but if you do get a minor defeat you do get to go fight another scenario, which is slightly easier.

Still as long as I have you hooked - be keen to hear how it plays out for you

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He! Glad you liked the minefields

[BlackMoria]

Hmmm. Not sure what to make of that outcome. I suspect you either didn't get 'eyes on' (or killed) enough Syrian units. I know you get points for 'touch' on the NAI but that is only part of the total victory calculations, so I suspect you didn't eyeball enough of the enemy. I could be wrong there but the number of vehicles you killed is under half of what is there on map, so did you 'see' the others vehicles and infantry postions?

As for intel - I agree in part. Sometimes you get a good 'picture' of the enemy in your area. Sometimes, due to all sorts of factors, the picture is not accurate at all or just plain wrong. Why are the intel guys the butt of jokes and other negative comments? Because, intel gathering is more art than science.

Believe it or not, sometimes you do go blind into situations because the information doesn't reach you in time or the intel spooks come up empty on the real important questions and talk in generalities.

If intel was the panacea that some believe it is, Bin Laden would be either dead or in a US prison long ago....

Edit: There were minefields in the first scenario? :eek: I must of lucked out and missed them all as I had no idea.

[blow56]

I don't get this 'eyes-on' thing everyone seems obsessed with. The criteria for victory condition areas such as the NAI are Touch, Preserve or Occupy. No points for watching them - so you have to get a unit on the green. The other VC, presumably, is to inflict X% damage on the enemy which you can do if you see them. Of course, the designer has, quite properly, made a lot of them Hidden and you won't see them until they are forced to move, or shoot at a target. So, short of providing them with something to hit, which endangers the other part of the VC, which is preserving your own force, you have to flush them out with fire.

It is a cunning first scenario, but IMHO could still benefit from a 10 or 20% Blue initial Intel report. Intel is not a panacea, but battlefield intel is better than the intel I think Blackmoria refers to, which is CIA intel. The CIA could not find a bull's arse in a small stall with a bright light shining on it.

And the minefields are mentioned in the briefing, as is the enemy artillery, which also forces caution. Be glad you never experienced the mines with a four-man Scout troop. I hate mines in CMSF because no decent way has been found to counter them - even Engineers lose casualties tackling them.

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Just be careful of those handy ditches, perfect cover for getting close to the NAIs. The enemy have thought of that, too. Of course you do get to kill enemy in the end, when an armoured formation erupts, for no apparent reason, in a suicide rush right into the open and along the main highway from the Threat map edge area. Almost contemptibly easy to pick them off and no seeming reason for the Threat to perform such an action other than to provide a target-rich environment.

[George MC]

There are points allocated for spotting various Red units, so you get points for touching the NAIs and you also get points for spotting enemy units. Most of the Red stuff is set to stay quiet in the first battle (to reflect the fact they have clocked this is only a recce mission).

I had set the Blue intel to about 10/20% so you should see at the start of the scenario some Red Icons giving you a hint of where they are. I’ve just been re-reading ‘Thunder Run’ and the main comment that struck me about when they were planning the second run was how little they actually knew. It was commented on by all the officers, at Task Force, Regiment through to platoon Cos who little intel they actually had. In effect they were attacking into an information void. At one stage the Task Force commander had to move heaven and earth to get a recce drone to fly over their planned route just to get some info.

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Re the Red counter attack – not all the AI plans in use have this. I stuck in a wide ball Red counter attack just to throw the Blue player a wide ball. Most of the time you might just get the Red armour (some of it) nosing forward to covered positions in an attempt to snipe at any over confident Blue armour. So yes the attack is a bit odd but it’s only one option out of three other possible AI Plans – looks like you pulled it in your play.

Cheers fur noo

George

[jhdeerslayer]

Just finished this George and really enjoyed it. Thanks!

[George MC]

Hi Jhdeerslayer

Thanks for your comment - glad you enjoyed it

[George MC]

Forging Steel has just made a 1000 downloads!! - many thanks to all those who played it, playing it and shortly to play it. Great wee boot up the scenario making motivational arse

Cheers fur noo

George

[George MC]

A few of you have posted comments about the scenario in the repository. Due to a limit in the number of posts you can make I can't reply - so I'll do that here.

[George MC]

For the chap who is getting the 'out of memory' responses. Could you post exactly what you are getting an when you are getting it so I can check it out please?

Cheers fur noo

George

[Mikkey]

I try it again and after first mission loading second mission and in 29% game crash with out of memory message. Save game is ok.

[George MC]

I try it again and after first mission loading second mission and in 29% game crash with out of memory message. Save game is ok.

You can still load up from your save game? I've found that you might get the crash when loading from one campaign game to the next, but you can load from the save game OK.

[Frankster65]

I try it again and after first mission loading second mission and in 29% game crash with out of memory message. Save game is ok.

Reboot your computer. Be sure that CMSF and the scenario you want to run are the first things you do with the computer. That seems to fix things regarding "out of memory" error with my machine if and when I get them which is seldom.

[snake_eye]

That might have something to do with patch 1.20. I never had that message, but after loading a save game (not yours, Georges) after having applied the patch. I have being unable to load it, either after a restarting.

I did not have that message on saved games done after the patch.

Cheers