New file at the Repository: Hamid's ataack on Hill 412 v 1.1 (2011-07-02)

[Vin]

The 22-minute mark I was referring to is actually the last 22 minutes, and they are going to be tense, trying to take Hill 412B in a hurry without getting careless and hopefully capture Hamid (though I suspect he has already slipped away). I'll try to make another video or two of some key moments. I'm at the point where I won't be playing campaigns again until I run out of missions or really feel like devoting time to one. I don't play quick battles at all, battle scenarios have become my preference. I'm following the same approach to CMSF and CMBN, there are so many battles to play and different forces to play as that I want to sample them all without being locked into playing a campaign with the same forces time after time. I'm going to replay Battlegroup Ivanov, I started out playing in real time thinking I could handle it (I had been playing a lot of Theatre of War 2 and 3 recently) but there was just too much pausing involved. That's the beauty of wego in CM, being able to play a large battle and actually manage it, playing the action back as many times as I want to, something that has kept me coming back to play it time and time again, over RTS games that had better graphics. Good to hear about the new mission having the same briefing style, it's like the beginning of a story that has yet to be finished with the player writing the final chapter.

[OFPMAN]

Just finished ... great scenario!!!

Lost a BTR and the Jeep, got 9 men killed 19 wounded, but the hills and phase lines were secured.

The Mujahs were denied advancement pass the first line of tranches and I started mopping up the battlefield with the T-72 and the remaining BTR at T -5 minutes, but at the end Mullah Hamid got away with 35 men.

I thought I would have had a Minor Victory, but only managed to get a Small Minor Defeat on WEGO Iron. I thought the victory conditions were a little harsh...but then fighting in Afghanistan is/was harsh...

Looking forward to start Battlegroup Ivanov and your new scenario.

[Eddie]

Vin, I am looking forward to Your new combatvideo(s) and it could be You still can capture Hamid. I don't play any missions at all at the moment, I think I finally have enough understanding of the scenario editor to spend time to make some missions worth the effort. I just saw the first patch is released for CMBN so this will make return me to this title and start the campaign over again. I have not yet seen the list of bugs/problems that were fixed but this patch seems very promissing. I'm planning to take a look at the parameters I used in Battlegroup Ivanov once the mission I'm currently working on is finished. I think I understand this better now, and I want to take a look how much work it will be to place sacks along the trenches. And I agree, one of the beautyfull things in CM is WEGO so one can manage the units very well and look back on the action that happened in the last minute from all angles. Speaking of RTS games with better graphics, the best game I can imagine to be developed would be a hybrid of ToW and CM though I must say for me CMBN comes very close to this. I think You will experience again what You described about the player writing the last chapter in my new mission.

OFPMAN, Thanks! I'm glad You liked the scenario. So You managed to secure the hills and phase lines despite the losses You sustained. Good work! To bad Hamid escaped but I think it is very difficult (maybe impossible) to get him, and still manage to achieve the other objectives (which had priority). It could be victory conditions were a bit harsh because I have some diffculty using the parameters that calculate the outcome of a battle. I don't want to make it to easy, and I don't want to make it to hard for the player. So the result seems to be that a minor victory, a draw and a minor defeat are very close to each other. If You are planning on playing Battlegroup Ivanov then you might want to wait because of the parameters I used in the version You now have. At the time I uploaded this mission my understanding of this aspect of making a mission was less then it is now. As I wrote, I will take a look at his once the mission I am working now is finished.

[Vin]

This is my final AAR, the last 22 minutes of the battle. I have to say I'm satisfied with the outcome of the battle, even though it wasn't a win for me and turned out to be a draw, with the mujahideen surrendering. After watching my soldiers get blown away by snipers, I changed my focus from winning to putting as much hurt on them as possible, and occupying all positions. I have included a video of an earlier turn of Sgt. Tomashov's demise. I was trying to get him back to Hill 412, it was when the first wave of mujahideen started hitting hard. I had my forward observer call in a mortar attack on Hill 412B early on and the BTRs and tank took care of of much of the forces on Hill 412B from a long distance, so when I got there it was deserted. By the time Lt. Ponomarev got to Hill 412B with the tank and other BTR he had to turn around and deal with a second wave of mujahideen trying to take Hill 412 again. The tank was great in spearheading attacks, but the most valuable asset turned out to be the BTRs. They could get places in a hurry that took the tank twice as long to go to and were instrumental in holding and retaking all the victory positions, as well as transporting the troops to occupy the main objectives. Lt. Ponomarev was assisted by the second BTR at Hill 412 and they completely broke the 2nd wave of the mujahideen attack. Col. Bhukharov occupied the trench at 412A, I tried to keep him out of harms way, the Lt. took most of the risks. Both survived, I never dismouted Lt. Ponomarev during the battle. I never found Hamid but I saw serveral command units fleeing the battlefield near the area he was supposed to be in, but didn't have a chance to eliminate them.

Death of Sgt. Tomashov (at a position close to Hill 412A)

After taking Hill 412B, I was alerted by an observer of a second wave mujahideen attack. This is Lt. Ponomarev and crew in the BTR once again saving the position,

Holding Hill 412 against a second wave attack

I had a hard time posting my AAR image, it was too large to upload. Every time I downscaled the image, it was unreadable. I've attached the AAR image as a pdf in a zip file.

[Eddie]

Thanks for Your final and very detailed AAR. So the BTR's were Your best assets despite them having weaker armor and less firepower then the T-55 because of the capability to transport troops and in terms of speed. This shows it is not all about brute force and good protection but speed as well. I believe that in real life A BTR-80 has a top speed of 80 km per hour and a

T-55 48 per hour but I can't remember if this was ofroad or not. The tank therefore should be much slower, this is programmed really well I think. So it is possible to stop all mujahedeen attacks if proper tactics are used, but one can not prevent the loss of troops. Well, the mujahedeen concentrated a lot men and even mortars to achieve their objectives on this mission so it should be a hard fight. It is To bad You could not find Hamid, but one must not forget he is Mullah Hamid so he should be elusive. I saw both videos on Youtube. The music You used in the clip of the death of Sgt. Tomashov was this some hymne from the USSR? It fitted really well to the scene. Every time I wanted to open the pdf-document You put in a zip-file to watch the AAR I was being redirected, but I will keep trying untill I succeed. It's good to read You were satisfied with the outcome of the mission even if it was a draw. I learned to make better use of the parameters which determine the outcome of a battle but I still find this a tricky thing to do, because I do not know how well a player uses his forces. Thanks again for Your feedback on this mission, I really enyoyed reading Your battlereports.:cool:

[Vin]

You're welcome, I was thinking I was going to lose this one because I kept taking casualties, which I know counted heavily against the overall score. I did not expect a Mujahideen surrender, the mission ended with 7 minutes left, I was still ready to go after Hamid. I was redirected when I tried to access my AAR too, but then I logged in to the forum and I was able to access the file. Let me know if you succeed in accessing it, if you can't I'll try to post it another way, though like I said I had a real problem posting an image that fit the max size and was still readable. The Mujahideen sustained heavy casualties compared to me, thanks to the work of the BTRs. The song playing in the background was a Soviet march song, There March the Soldiers. I was listening to it on WinAmp while I played, along with some other WWII era Red Army songs and the 9th company soundtrack. I didn't realize FRAPS could pick up songs being played outside of the game, so it wasn't in there intentionally, but it's good you liked it just the same. I'll hold off on playing Battlegroup Ivanov until you resubmit it and I look forward to playing your last battle before you switch over to CMBN. As much as I like CMBN, I know I'm going to enjoy the Eastern Front module more, that has always been my favorite WWII Theater of War, in addition to the war in the Pacific and Africa.

[Eddie]

I tried opening the pdf file after reading Your reply and now it opened the first time I tried. When I tried earlier today I was logged in as well but no succes in opening the pdf file. You managed to secure the ground objectives indeed, destroyed the mujahedeen pick up, and they lossed a total of 130 men (wounded and killed in action). The mujahedeen failed to achieve any objective. You have won by a margine of twelve points, 95 points for blue against 107 for red. And only 4 men K.I.A. and 11 W.I.A. Good work! I thought I recognised the style of music in Your video. It reminded me of television images I saw in the days of the cold war when the red army was marching a cross red square, and I also heard songs like that in documentaries of the eastern front during WW II. Recently I have seen 9th company too. I really laughed because of the scene with the instructor with the spectacles and the explosives in his hand explaining the dangers of using this material, while it was formed in a particular way by the artistic soldier. I'm doing the best I can to get my new mission done before next week and as things are now this should be no problem. Adjusting certain parameters in Battlegroup Ivanov should not be to much work either, so it could be updated in two weeks or so. Before I will update it I will playtest it and compare results with the current version. I am going to wait and see what reactions will posted on the forum regarding the patch for CMBN before switching. If certain things are not adressed or there are still to many complaints I might wait for the next patch. And You mentioned the Eastern Front module? Does this mean there will be one, if that is so this would be very good news.

[Vin]

Yeah that part with the instructor in 9th company was hilarious, one of the few funny moments in that movie, I plan on watching again soon. I thought I would have more K.I.A than W.I.A. There were many times where the wounded could not get aid because the firefights were too intense and frequent. I never would have done that well without the BTRs, they were a lifesaver, literally. I was expecting them to get hit by rpgs at any minute each time they had to take back or protect a hill, but there were times I made them focus on firing at the AT squads (at least the ones I could see) to quickly eliminate them. I parked the UAZ behind Hill 412 when it first showed up with the BTR and never used it again, lol. I figured it would be quickly shot at and destroyed if I used it for transport. I don't know for a fact if there will be an Eastern Front module, I think it is Battlefront's plan to do one, though maybe a Russian dev team will work on it. I read somewhere in the forum that the plan for modules was: Normandy, Commonwealth, Battle of the Bulge, then Eastern Front.

[Eddie]

Whenever I play a mission in CMA and have vehicles at my disposal I always target RPG's and heavy machineguns first. If they are spotted that is. From all the results I have seen for this mission I think Your score was one of the best. You made good use of Your BTR's. The UAZ can be used for transport if You let it drive fast and preferably behind cover but it remains vulnerable. If I am correct CMA was developped by Snowball from Russia, so You could be right that a Russian team will make the Eastern Front module. If that will be the case one never has to buy another WW II wargame anymore, because together with the other modules You mentioned all major fronts will be covered then.

[Vin]

I'm suprised I got into the ranks of the best scores for that scenario, when I started losing men I thought that would impact my score hard and push me into a loss. The only WWII games I plan on buying in the future are combat mission ones, I have a lot of WWII and pre and post WWII rts games from other publishers, but none of them can really compare to the CMx2 series. Snowball is the Russian dev for CMA, and they may be the ones to do the Eastern Front modules, though that could change. Once the WWII series has been done I'm looking forward to the more modern settings BF will cover. Seeing that new water and bridges in CMBN and the possibilities and improved look it brings for maps in a more modern setting is encouraging. It is a pity it didn't make it into CMSF and CMA. The water tiles and bridges in the CMA campaigns were somewhat crude but functional. I like the way you put low walls on the side of the bridges on your maps, it gives them a better look, rather than some raised dirt mound. The trenches with sandbags were a nice touch as well, making it look more like a fortified area. When applying the water tiles, it makes a jagged edge, kind of ruining the eye candy, but better than not having water at all I guess. It would be great to be able to smooth those jagged lines out, which would make rivers look better but I think it's a limitation of the map editor.

[Eddie]

For me the main reason for not playing missions or campaigns, or creating a mission for CBMN was because of the accuracy of tanks, especially on the move. I have read on the forum that this has been adressed in the patch, tanks don't hit a target at their first shot at 1000+ meters anymore. The Panzer V misses at its first shot, but it will hit its target at the second. A Sherman misses the first two or three shots before hitting their target. Ofcourse this also depends on how skilled crews are. Somebody did these tests with regular crews I believe. I also read that US infantry could hit their targets through buildings (both walls) altough they should not even be able to see their targets. I have not read the latest comments yet on both issues so it could be this information regarding tank accuracy and firing through two walls by US infantry meanwhile has changed by experience from other players. I will be looking in to this on the forum once the new mission is done, and after Battlegroup Ivanov is updated.

The water in CMA does look a bit odd, as if the water is moving in the opposite direction of gravity. Well, at least on side of the river or canal, but to me is a perfect way to create a map that makes playing a mission somewhat more difficult for the player. One can make certain areas on the map non accessible for vehicles, or create a ford to slow things down etc. As I understood there will be a patch for CMA in the future. So it could be the water tiles will be improved to the level of CMBN , but I do'n't think the patch will adress this.

[Vin]

I wasn't even aware of some of these problems, then again I haven't been keeping up with what's going on with CMBN in the forums. I recently installed the new patch and had planned to play a battle with the new version but hadn't gotten around to it yet. Your map design worked as intended, I had to take a longer way to get to objectives which cost me more time trying to get to positions which were being attacked. I remember reading a post on the forum that said BF would not patch the new water or other new features from CMBN into CMA and CMSF. I have to wonder whether the Russian community will ever get a patch update to get the same version as us so scenarios could be traded and translated.

[Eddie]

I also read that features from CMBN will not be implemented in CMSF or CMA. It could be done, but the main reason for BF not to do this is a financial one. They would have to ask people to pay upfront for a patch, and even then it probably would be to expensive. To bad, but we can't have everything and fortunatly we have a lot already in CMSF, CMA and CMBN.

I have no idea which CMA version the Russian community has, but I can imagine there should be a lot of user made missions over there. It would indeed be nice if these scenarios would become available for us but I don't think this will happen.

[Stagler]

It is indeed sad that some new features for CMBN wont be patched into CMA and CMSF. I am especially disappointed about the QB TO&E mechanics not being included.

Anywho, great mission this Eddie. It really was a challenge to get Tomashev back to the hill without him getting slotted for me. Im working on a scenario myself at the moment for CMA, ill put it up when its done.

[Eddie]

Thanks! Good to read that You are working on a mission as well, looking forward to it. The more missions that are made for CMA, the better. After I completed the mission I am currently working on I will try to get some info on a real event/battle that took place during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. If I can find anything interesting I am going to try to create a (semi) historical mission.

[Phantom Captain]

Thanks! Good to read that You are working on a mission as well, looking forward to it. The more missions that are made for CMA, the better. After I completed the mission I am currently working on I will try to get some info on a real event/battle that took place during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. If I can find anything interesting I am going to try to create a (semi) historical mission.

Get The Bear Went Over the Mountain. Great book and it's full of nothing but tactical situations and engagements. You can find it online and download the whole thing for free!

[Eddie]

Thanks for Your tip Phantom Captain. I will download the book and get into it. The mission I'm working on is practically done. Just some few adjustments in the briefing, and then I will run the thing once more. If all goes well, and I'm pretty sure it will, I will upload the mission tommorow.

[Vin]

Some good source material is in this thread. The Bear Went Over the Mountain has a counterpart book, The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War. Check out Schmoly War's posts, all the links are still good.

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=93179&page=2

[Phantom Captain]

Thanks for Your tip Phantom Captain. I will download the book and get into it. The mission I'm working on is practically done. Just some few adjustments in the briefing, and then I will run the thing once more. If all goes well, and I'm pretty sure it will, I will upload the mission tommorow.

No problem! I think you will find lots of great possible scenarios in that book.

And very much looking forward to your next one! I'll for sure play it this weekend and comment as well! Excellent.

[Eddie]

Vin, thanks a lot for the information. I will take a look at it right now.

Phantom Captain, as You can see I now have two books I can look into. But I don't know if both are available for download. I think it should be easier to create a mission if some of the details are described already. Untill now I used my imagination for the most part when creating a mission, and sometimes this leads me into the wrong direction.

I hope You will enjoy the new mission. I just submitted the file and I'm curious if You will like it or not. I am looking forward to Your comments once You have played it.

[Vin]

I'm reposting this original battle file with permission from Eddie, it was removed from the repository.

Hamid's attack on Hill 412 V1.1

http://www.gamefront.com/files/21093730/Hamid's+attack+on+Hill+412+V1.1.rar

[37mm]

This also needs a new link.

[Erwin]

I have the scenarios vs Ai.  Not H2H.

Send me PM and I can send to you.

[Ivan Zaitzev]

Anyone still has this file? I tried messaging Erwin but he can't receive messages?

[Erwin]

Don't know why that's a problem.  Have been receiving PM's regularly from others.  Have now emptied my message folder in case it was full.