New file at the Repository: Battlegroup Ivanov V 1.1. (2011-08-10)

[Erwin]

I agree it's best to not change the difficulty level as the skills of players can vary. At most you could produce a different version that is easier. But, some of us (at least) like a hard challenge as that is the best way to learn and improve.

Am still bogged down in CMBN, but am looking forward to the new CMA (and CMSF) battles.

[Vin]

Thanks, I appreciate it. The distance the tanks engaged in was relatively long, roughly half the length of the map. My tanks were able to knock out the enemy tanks at the same distance with some one shot frontal hits too, when they moved into the small zone my tanks occupied and had cover in. Good cover and elevation was a factor for the tank gunners on both sides too. I look forward to playing the CMBN mission next after I have finished this one. One of the squads I was going to use as commandos got caught coming down the hill from the backyard trying to cross over. They sighted tanks that were not seen previously and were fired on. The majority of the company was still on the hill and fired back at the tanks, destroying one but the other two got away. There was a salvo of AT missles (many missed, most likely due in part that they weren't deployed). I'm going to post some of this encounter in my AAR videos. Most of this group is now across the way in a trench on hill 232 and is readying to attack some other positions on Hill 232. Their AT missles have been spent so I will just have to use them to capture more ground not to counter the armor. I will detail the rest in my AAR that I hope to have posted by Thursday night.

[Eddie]

I placed some of my tanks that were to provide overview for units that were advancing on the other side of the river just behind the highest level in the terrain so they only thing that could be seen by the enemy was their turrets. The T-54 B's did fire on my tanks but most shots bounced off, others penetrated the armor but did not knock out the tank right away. In these cases my crews disembarked to get back in their tanks later and then I drove them, unless they were immobilized, to safe positions. In most cases shots fired by my tanks knocked out the enemy tanks in one shot, but there were also some shots that bounced off. I agree that the angles of the shots, the elevation in the terrain and the skills of the gunners are of great importance in the outcome of these engagements.

It must have been a real shock for the "commando-squad" to detect these tanks and the fact that they were caught by them. The video of this encounter is something I would really like to see. So you managed to get some of these "commando's" in a trench on hill 232? Did they encounter any HMG-fire when moving to this position?

I will be watching this forum for the rest of your AAR, I'm looking forward to that video of the commando's.:cool:

[Eddie]

I agree it's best to not change the difficulty level as the skills of players can vary. At most you could produce a different version that is easier. But, some of us (at least) like a hard challenge as that is the best way to learn and improve.

I agree with your agreement. And you're absolutely right that a "light version" of missions could be produced. Kind of weird that I never tought of this option, its so obvious. But I will continue making missions the way I'm doing it now since the majority of reactions are positiv.

[Vin]

I employed the same tactic but I moved the tanks out of hull down position because they were not able to sight the tanks I wanted to destroy, the infantry had already sighted those enemy tanks across from Ibrahim. There were some shots that bounced off my tanks or just disabled them, but there were a couple single frontal hits that destroyed my tanks, which took me off guard. I'm going to correct myself from an earlier post, when I was creating videos last night I saw the tank engagement distance was roughly 1/3 of the map distance not 1/2, still a good distance though. Yes, the "commandos" did get a good shock. I will put a video of that encounter in my AAR. I sent only one squad down to do some scouting, I had no idea what I was in for so I wanted to be cautious. The company from the Backyard was fired upon almost continously by HMGs from the front and sometimes the right. Thankfully the fire was inaccurate and there weren't any casualties from it. They managed to destroy the HMG squad occupying a small trench on Hill 232 but it took a long time just to get there. The commando role I wanted them to take has been somewhat reduced because of their lack of AT missles. The AAR won't be up until late tonight, I have a lot of videos to upload and writing to do.

[Eddie]

I get it on the tanks now. You practically did the same thing I did but apperently I had more luck when my armor was hit.

If the squad was under HMG fire when they crossed the river, things did go the way they were intended when I placed the HMG in the trench. I thought that maybe the orders for the HMG-crews were somehow messed up. I did not think that any squad that was send across the river could make it that far without taking any casualties from the HMG's.

You just take all the time you need with the AAR and the video's, I will be checking things tommorow.

[Eddie]

Vin, I forgot to ask. Why do you keep writing Ibrahim? I checked the map in the editor and when I click on the red spot of the landmark the village is called Ikasim? Or did I call Ikasim Ibrahim in the briefing?:confused:

[Vin]

Lol I apologize, it's not you, either my eyes or brain (or both) are going bad. It has been Ikashim since the first build of the mission in both the briefing and the location name on the map.

Battlegroup Ivanov 1.1 AAR Part 2 - the Second 30 minutes

A Company Infantry - Left Flank

A Company infantry is advancing across the river to attack the Left Flank. Machine gun and Grenade Launcher teams have taken position on hill parallel to the Left Flank position providing cover for the advancing squads. A BMP was destroyed across from the Left Flank trenches while trying to provide cover for the advancing infantry. That did not stop the assault however and A Company pushed ahead. There have been close quarters gun battles in the trenches, some still ongoing. It is treacherous ground as the fog of war can keep the enemy covered until the last minute sometimes.

Some squads from A company enter the Left Flank trenches. The BDF across from them had been previously covered by fog of war. Casualties are taken when the Soviet squads do not react quickly enough in this point blank exchange.

Video:

About 20 minutes into this section a BDF observer called artillery strikes on the hill across from the left flank. The Battalion HQ squad takes 2 casualties from this, airburst rounds are being used and roughly 14 Soviets die on the hill. The Battalion and Company HQs are eventually moved to the front trenches of the Left Flank without incurring any more KIA. The forward observer manages to elude the artillery moving from place to place and still maintains a position on the hill after all the artillery fire. The artillery has forced me to move all the HMG and Grenade Teams off the hill and into the front trenches of the Left Flank. At the end of the game hour the majority of the front trench of the Left Flank is occupied by the Soviets. Squads are being sent to the back trenches of the Left Flank.

B Company Infantry - Backyard/Hill 232

A B Company "Commando" Squad scouts ahead for the enemy. They are running down the hill when 3 BDF tanks uncover fog of war and engage them. There are also enemy HMGs firing on them from a couple positions on Hill 232.

Video:

At the same time the scout squad is being fired on by the tanks, the AT-7 teams fire on the exposed tanks.

Video:

The rest of B Company is in position around them. The rest of B Company manages to avoid taking casualties from the tanks on the road. One tank is destroyed as shown in the video, the other two cross Hill 232 and one is destroyed by Soviet tanks near Ikashim.

B Company slowly make their way down the Hill across the river after the tanks are out of sight. They are fired on by HMGs on both sides of Hill 232. Most of the fire is inaccurate and there are no casualties but a lot of close calls where rounds are seen hitting the ground close to the men. The small trench on Hill 232 directly across the river has been suppressed by a Grenade Launcher team as the rest of B Company tries to cross. A mortar strike is ordered on that trench as well. At the end of the Section this trench has been take. The majority of B company are exhausted from crossing the hills, they've had to duck a lot of HMG fire and have been very lucky. I hope to use them to take over Hill 232 and most likely will not be able to use them as shock troops to attack the armor from the back.

A Company Infantry/All Armor Platoons - Ikashim/Right Flank/Center

What I first envisioned as a Soviet Blitzkrieg has become a deadly game of cat and mouse. Only my tanks have become the mice. We are limited to the cover of Ikashim. All areas outside the cover zone of the Ikashim are a deathtrap for Soviet armor. I'm preserving my remaining tanks by keeping them within that zone until I find an opening. I have used artillery and air strikes to get at those tanks in difficult locations with some limited success. The Soviets have deployed infantry via BMP in Ikashim. There were several casualties taken during close quarters gun battles when entering the buildings on the outskirts of Ikashim. A BDF tank behind a building in the front of Ikashim was destroyed by Soviet tanks who leveled the building exposing the tank. I have 4 Squads in the city and they are beginning a sweep of the entire place.

An artillery strike is called on a BDF tank that has been difficult to destroy for the Soviet tanks. This tank had already destroyed one tank and disabled another, so it was a relief to see it annihilated. There is also an artillery strike that has been called on one of the Command Centers that can be seen in the background. After several strikes the building was reduced to rubble.

Video:

The enemy tank positions on the outskirts of Ikashim had a great overall view of the area. One of the Soviet tanks takes a frontal hit and is destroyed by a BDF tank covered by fog of war.

Video:

This BDF tank was yet another that had great cover and an excellent firing position. This crew's luck ran out when a Soviet Hind gunship sighted them and sent an AT missile their way.

Video:

The center has had several artillery strikes called on it. I plan to send teams from A Company on the Left Flank to do the job if I can get them there. The Right Flank has been particularly difficult. Many BDF are still in the trenches despite all my armor. Any infantry that have tried to move in on them from various positions have been killed. Snipers and RPG troops are making any advance costly. I already called in artillery strikes on this area but they didn't do enough, it is time for more, too many casualties were taken here. There is a lone tank in the corner behind a hill on the far right side of the map facing Ikashim parallel to the Right Flank trenches. It seems like it is blind, I sent a BMP to flank it but when the BMP reached the tank it was immobilized by an RPG, luckily it was right in front of a destroyed BDF tank so the BMP has cover from the back. It still has not been destroyed by the end of this section.

After playing 60 of 90 minutes, the overall casualty count:

Soviets - 217 OK, 52 KIA, 23WIA, 3 MIA, 5 Tanks lost and 2 Disabled, 1 BMP lost and 1 Disabled

BDF - 276 OK, 87 KIA, 47 WIA, 9 MIA, 7 Tanks lost

[Eddie]

No need to apologize! And it seems I might have some eye, and/or mental problem(s) too since I wrote in my reply yesterday that the village was called Ikasim instead of Ikashim which totally ads to the confusion.

A Company Infantry - Left flank

A Company infantry is advancing across the river to attack the Left Flank. Machine gun and Grenade Launcher teams have taken position on hill parallel to the Left Flank position providing cover for the advancing squads. A BMP was destroyed across from the Left Flank trenches while trying to provide cover for the advancing infantry. That did not stop the assault however and A Company pushed ahead. There have been close quarters gun battles in the trenches, some still ongoing. It is treacherous ground as the fog of war can keep the enemy covered until the last minute sometimes.

When You send the infantry across the river you had already called in a artillerystrike on the left flank for preparation, at least that is what I recall from one of your previous AAR's. As you experienced in the close quarter fighting the trenches provide plenty of room for some BDF units to survive any bombardment and stil easily manage to ambush your units as they enter the trenches. Clearing these trenches is indeed a tricky thing because you only detect the BDF after the already opened fire on your units.

The units firing at each other in the trenches were practically stumbling over each other so no wonder some of your troops were shot.

About 20 minutes into this section a BDF observer called artillery strikes on the hill across from the left flank. The Battalion HQ squad takes 2 casualties from this, airburst rounds are being used and roughly 14 Soviets die on the hill. The Battalion and Company HQs are eventually moved to the front trenches of the Left Flank without incurring any more KIA. The forward observer manages to elude the artillery moving from place to place and still maintains a position on the hill after all the artillery fire. The artillery has forced me to move all the HMG and Grenade Teams off the hill and into the front trenches of the Left Flank. At the end of the game hour the majority of the front trench of the Left Flank is occupied by the Soviets. Squads are being sent to the back trenches of the Left Flank.

Yes, the AI did call in artillery every time I tested or played the mission on that spot and managed to always hit their targets unless I was cheating (loading previously saved games some minutes before the bombardment and letting my units quickly move from the hill toward the river on the right). I hated those airburst rounds knowing that I had m some of commanding units there and could do nothing to save them (unless I cheated). But the 14 casualties you took on the hill by enemy artillery is a lot. But in the end you managed to occupy the front trenches of the left flank, then you will secure this objective for sure at the end of the mission.

B Company Infantry - Backyard/Hill 232

A B Company "Commando" Squad scouts ahead for the enemy. They are running down the hill when 3 BDF tanks uncover fog of war and engage them. There are also enemy HMGs firing on them from a couple positions on Hill 232.

Ha, now that was some nice footage of the ATGM hitting the T-54 B. And the T-54 B's quickly repsonded to the infantry running down the hill. Some of them were lucky to get away the way they did. I think you have the "eliminate red cross" mod installed because your units must have taken casualties from the explosion caused by the tank firing on them, but I did no see a red cross when they fell to the ground.

At the same time the scout squad is being fired on by the tanks, the AT-7 teams fire on the exposed tanks.

So the ATGM hitting the T-54 B I saw in the first clip was fired by the ATGM-team in the second clip. Ha, that was even better footage of a tank getting hit by such a weapon. To bad the other (first) ATGM hit nothing but the dirt in front of the tanks.

The rest of B Company is in position around them. The rest of B Company manages to avoid taking casualties from the tanks on the road. One tank is destroyed as shown in the video, the other two cross Hill 232 and one is destroyed by Soviet tanks near Ikashim.

You knew the tanks were heading toward Ikashim and you did get one of them. Good job!

B Company slowly make their way down the Hill across the river after the tanks are out of sight. They are fired on by HMGs on both sides of Hill 232. Most of the fire is inaccurate and there are no casualties but a lot of close calls where rounds are seen hitting the ground close to the men. The small trench on Hill 232 directly across the river has been suppressed by a Grenade Launcher team as the rest of B Company tries to cross. A mortar strike is ordered on that trench as well. At the end of the Section this trench has been take. The majority of B company are exhausted from crossing the hills, they've had to duck a lot of HMG fire and have been very lucky. I hope to use them to take over Hill 232 and most likely will not be able to use them as shock troops to attack the armor from the back.

Its nice to read you are using B Company for additional tasks succesfully. But I am surprised about the lack of succes of the HMG's firing on them. I thought that two HMG's would be sufficient to keep B company from crossing the river and taking the trench with the HMG on hill 232, but clearly I made a mistake. Since you managed to get B Company on hill 232 with little casualties you can indeed make a surprise attack in the enemy's rear. I'm interested how your plans with B company will work out since I did not think they would get so far in such numbers. Well done!

A Company Infantry/All Armor Platoons - Ikashim/Right Flank/Center

What I first envisioned as a Soviet Blitzkrieg has become a deadly game of cat and mouse. Only my tanks have become the mice. We are limited to the cover of Ikashim. All areas outside the cover zone of the Ikashim are a deathtrap for Soviet armor. I'm preserving my remaining tanks by keeping them within that zone until I find an opening. I have used artillery and air strikes to get at those tanks in difficult locations with some limited success. The Soviets have deployed infantry via BMP in Ikashim. There were several casualties taken during close quarters gun battles when entering the buildings on the outskirts of Ikashim. A BDF tank behind a building in the front of Ikashim was destroyed by Soviet tanks who leveled the building exposing the tank. I have 4 Squads in the city and they are beginning a sweep of the entire place.

Ha, I knew this would happen. There you are in front of Ikashim thinking where can I send my armor without (more of) them being damaged or knocked out. There is a death trap for soviet armor indeed, and in your case (and I think in everybody's case) I succeeded in my evil plans for the player to make his armor his a more or less worthless asset of his battlegroup. Any BDF tank positioned in a difficult location that is destroyed by artillery or airstrikes is one less to care about, and that's a good thing. And if you alreay deployed infantry and APC/AIFV's inside Ikashim the you will manage to get this objective as well despite of the casualties you took. And you just leveled an entire building just to get the one BDF tank? The owners of the building wont like you for doing that and General Massad will probably call in the media so he can use this event as propaganda against the evil soviets, well if the BDF wins the battle ofcourse. The 4 squads sweeping Ikashim sound good to me, I doubt that they will be running into to big surprises.

An artillery strike is called on a BDF tank that has been difficult to destroy for the Soviet tanks. This tank had already destroyed one tank and disabled another, so it was a relief to see it annihilated. There is also an artillery strike that has been called on one of the Command Centers that can be seen in the background. After several strikes the building was reduced to rubble.

Ha, the explosion caused a crater deep enough for the entire tank to drown in it. If it had not been destroyed it probably would not have a clear view of the battlefield anymore and would be forces to leave its prepared position.

The enemy tank positions on the outskirts of Ikashim had a great overall view of the area. One of the Soviet tanks takes a frontal hit and is destroyed by a BDF tank covered by fog of war.

Yes, the soviet tank took a direct hit indeed but at least it did fire on some target before it was knocked out. Very nice clip!

This BDF tank was yet another that had great cover and an excellent firing position. This crew's luck ran out when a Soviet Hind gunship sighted them and sent an AT missile their way.

The BDF tanks had good cover in most cases but against a hovering gunship above the field of battle good cover is worth nothing as your video clearly shows. I always look at the missiles homing in on their targets from all different angles. I really like to see the flash of of the missiles engine thats flying trough the sky to kill its pray. Absolutely great stuff.

The center has had several artillery strikes called on it. I plan to send teams from A Company on the Left Flank to do the job if I can get them there. The Right Flank has been particularly difficult. Many BDF are still in the trenches despite all my armor. Any infantry that have tried to move in on them from various positions have been killed. Snipers and RPG troops are making any advance costly. I already called in artillery strikes on this area but they didn't do enough, it is time for more, too many casualties were taken here. There is a lone tank in the corner behind a hill on the far right side of the map facing Ikashim parallel to the Right Flank trenches. It seems like it is blind, I sent a BMP to flank it but when the BMP reached the tank it was immobilized by an RPG, luckily it was right in front of a destroyed BDF tank so the BMP has cover from the back. It still has not been destroyed by the end of this section.

Sending in A Company from the left flank to the Center is a good idea, but remember the left flank must be occupied at the end of the mission. Yes, the right flank is the most difficult part of the entire map. I recall Schultz saying he wanted revenge on the right flank one day, but I don't know if he ever got his revenge. The way the trenches are situated make it a tough objective to take even with support of artillery strikes. I took some heavy losses in infantry in this area too. I think the tank you mean is waiting for safer circumstances to get to its destination, and it could be its sights have been damaged or so. Hopefully the BMP will survive the mission but there are an awfull lot of RPG's surrounding it waiting for a chance to finish it.

After playing 60 of 90 minutes, the overall casualty count:

Soviets - 217 OK, 52 KIA, 23WIA, 3 MIA, 5 Tanks lost and 2 Disabled, 1 BMP lost and 1 Disabled BDF - 276 OK, 87 KIA, 47 WIA, 9 MIA, 7 Tanks lost

The soviets are paying a high price for their capture of Badakshan. If the casualty count were the only factor to decide the outcome of this battle you would win by a narrow margine. But there are the terrain- and unit objectives that could spoil your victory. It looks like the outcome of the battle could go either way, but stil I think you will get a minor victory unless you are going to do crazy things.

I really enjoyed reading your AAR and have watched your video's with great plessure. Thanks a lot! Oh and by the way, I have uploaded my mission for CMBN. It is called Kampfgruppe Rohrbach.rar. I was so concentrated on putting the right file in the right location etc. I overlooked the title, typical.

[Vin]

Thanks for the comments, this has been another tough yet enjoyable mission. I have a self made eliminate red cross mod actually, I just replaced the graphic with a completely transparent one. I never put it on the repository, I figured people wouldn't want it because that marker was requested to be in the game, but then I saw a mod that did just that in the repository recently. The ATGM teams had a hard time, when the tanks were first sighted, they weren't even deployed. I think this affected their accuracy a bit. The first machine gun on hill 232 was suppressed by mortar and grenade area fire so that made B company's chances better. The HMG round were landing very close, I guess the accuracy just drops off after a certain range. Hopefully General Massad won't be speaking to anyone once I level the second command building with artillery. The Right Flank is going to be hit hard by artillery as well. I'm glad you enjoyed the videos and AAR, you're welcome and thank you, I'll be back to playing again this week. The last AAR will most likely come the following week. This last half hour is going to be intense. I downloaded Kampfgruppe Rohrbach and have left feedback for that mission on its post on the forum.

[Eddie]

I have a self made eliminate red cross mod actually, I just replaced the graphic with a completely transparent one.

With these mods I always wonder, how do they do that, and then wish that I could do such things.:cool:

The ATGM teams had a hard time, when the tanks were first sighted, they weren't even deployed. I think this affected their accuracy a bit.

I had the ATGM teams deployed already when the tanks came in their sights and got the same result you did, more or less; two misses and one hit if I remember correctly.

The first machine gun on hill 232 was suppressed by mortar and grenade area fire so that made B company's chances better.

I did not think any player would use mortarfire on the MG positions on hill 232 since the trenches at the Left, Center and Right flank are objectives that need to be captured and they are filled with infantry which are a real threat to the players infantry and armor. I used all artillery rounds I had on these trenches and the BDF armor and still was ambushed which caused high losses on my infantry.

The HMG round were landing very close, I guess the accuracy just drops off after a certain range.

Just as in real life.

Hopefully General Massad won't be speaking to anyone once I level the second command building with artillery.

Ha, you are assuming general Massad himself is commanding his forces on the field of battle from this command center. This is something that will become known only if a positiv identification can be made after the command building is captured, and if its occupants are still recognizable.

The last AAR will most likely come the following week. This last half hour is going to be intense.

I'm looking forward to your last AAR and I will be checking this forum regularly to see if it is there. But I understand that it is done when it is done, so I will be waiting for it patiently.

I downloaded Kampfgruppe Rohrbach and have left feedback for that mission on its post on the forum.

I have already reacted on your feedback and I hope you will enjoy the mission once you get to play it.

[Vin]

Just wanted to let you know I finished Battlegroup Ivanov on Sunday. The mission was Draw, seems like that's the best I can do at Iron Level so far. I pulled myself out of a Minor Defeat, so I'll take what I can get. It's most likely going to take me until the end of the week (though hopefully not that long) to get the full AAR with videos out. The last 38 minutes (yes, it went into overtime) were brutal. Thanks again, this is my first CMA mission against conventional forces and it was quite a challenge against an enemy with similar force composition and weapons.

[Eddie]

Just wanted to let you know I finished Battlegroup Ivanov on Sunday. The mission was Draw, seems like that's the best I can do at Iron Level so far. I pulled myself out of a Minor Defeat, so I'll take what I can get. It's most likely going to take me until the end of the week (though hopefully not that long) to get the full AAR with videos out. The last 38 minutes (yes, it went into overtime) were brutal. Thanks again, this is my first CMA mission against conventional forces and it was quite a challenge against an enemy with similar force composition and weapons.

Playing on iron level I think you really did a good job and this is the second time you managed to prevent defeat at the last moment. I'm looking forward to your final AAR with the videos. There's no need to thank me for this CMA mission and I'm glad you experienced the mission as quit a challenge.

[Vin]

Battlegroup Ivanov 1.1 AAR Part 3 - the Last 30 minutes plus 8 minutes overtime

Mostly during the last part of this mission the majority of the Soviet soldiers had a condition of exhausted or fatigued. There was no way to use APCs to carry them to their objectives without them getting destroyed by BDF Tanks and so they had to move on foot to capture their objectives. There were a couple chances I took with my APCs in the beginning of this 38 minute section that wound up turning bad that are mentioned below, after that I didn't move any APCs or Tanks out of cover. I didn't want my score to be affected by losing too much armor and there were a couple instances where the BDF Tanks entered the Soviet kill zone, in which the Soviet Tank crews (and me) were only too happy to pulverize them.

A Company Infantry - Left Flank

A Company fought its way to the inner trenches of the Left Flank, there were a number of skirmishes in the trenches, mostly at close range. My goal was to navigate through the inner trenches to the command center. That goal was never realized because of the heavy enemy presence in this area. There was no armor to support the assault this deep in the trenches, so the infantry had to bear the brunt of the job. There is a trench branching from the Left Flank, bordering Minefield YZ19 and leading to the command center, the seven A Company Squads I sent got up to the beginning of that trench but could not go past it. This is one of the skirmishes that took place in the effort to reach that position.

Video:

The A Company soldiers became bogged down in firefights and took too many losses. I let them defend against attacks at that point and didn't push them to gain any more ground to avoid further casualties.

B Company Infantry - Hill 232

The BDF heavy machine gunner in the trenches on the highest part of Hill 232 was firing steadily at the B Company soldiers attempting to cross into the woods on the lower part where the three buildings are located (one is a two-story building). I observed that at some angles the heavy machine gunner was firing into the dirt, but when he changed position to fire close to the woods, the fire was more accurate - two casualties were taken. Artillery strikes were called on that position twice and failed to eliminate the HMG team. The rest of B Company escaped through the cover of the woods to assault the two-story building at the edge of the woods. There was a brief firefight on the way in with a BDF soldier on the roof of the connected one story building, then this two-story building and the one attached became a stronghold for B Company. B Company was able to use this position to attack the BDF soldiers in the trenches outside of the buildings. A Soviet sniper in the one-story building takes full advantage his spot:

Video:

There were also soldiers in the adjoined two-story building on both floors, but a great deal of action took place in this single-floor building. There were several casualties sustained to the Soviet soldiers in the building but they had a superior position and good cover.

Video:

Several Soviet soldiers were killed trying to take the trench across from the other single floor building on that section of Hill 232. After that I didn't try to move any members of B Company out of the building. Most were exhausted and I didn't want the Company to sustain more casualties, they had fulfilled their "commando" role somewhat by launching an assault from the back of Hill 232. Even though I had called artillery strikes on the bunkers and trenches at the highest point on Hill 232 I didn't want to risk taking that position with an HMG team still alive up there. I had no more artillery available at that time and the Gunships were grounded with no ammo left.

A Company Infantry/All Armor Platoons - Ikashim/Right Flank/Center

I took a chance and sent a BTR to the Center Trench, though it pulled up behind a trench bunker as cover from the Tanks - it was quickly disabled and then destroyed by BDF soldiers in the trenches. A BMP was also sent from the Right Flank to the Left Flank using cover and traveling down the left edge of the map, I thought it's speed would help it evade the Tanks and eventually reach and capture the Command Center farthest from the trenches. I knew I was taking a huge chance with this move as it would have to cross Minefield YZ19 and stay clear of the BDF Tanks. The BMP reached the edge of the map on the Left Flank and crossed over some rough ground which slowed it down, a BDF Tank took it out with one shot and all hope of capturing this objective quickly went with it, although later I tried to get some A Company squads to capture this objective by moving through the Left Flank trenches.

Securing Ikashim was relatively difficult. There was a Tank at the edge of village limits in a courtyard. It proved to be unapproachable in two separate instances where I lost RPG soldiers that were trying to maneuver into position to take a shot at it. The Tank also caused Soviet casualties in a building that the Soviets occupied close to it. I gave up on that approach and had a Soviet platoon leader in that building send in an artillery strike which eventually destroyed the Tank. Ikashim was occupied by the Soviets but still not secured, there was still a BDF Tank crew member in the Objective zone and that is what kept me from securing it. It was the same on the Right Flank, only one man left in the trenches there prevented me from securing. I wanted to see why I had lost these positions and checked after the game had ended.

On the Right Flank there were many skirmishes with the BDF armor that tried to advance. Also two Squads of Soviet soldiers (one of them had a sniper) were sent to that position to clear out the trenches. The sniper was able to get several KIA and as the squads moved through the trenches more BDF soldiers were exposed from the fog of war. They were killed by the Soviet armor and snipers. With 17 minutes left (before going into overtime) BDF Tanks decided to cross over into the Soviet Tank kill zone. Unfortunately a bunch of vengeful Soviet Tank crews were waiting for a chance to get some payback.

Video:

It was good to see the BDF Tanks moving to attack the Soviet side for a change, rather than waiting for the Soviets to move into their kill zone. I wanted the Soviet armor to stay put so that they wouldn't be easy targets and to deal with any potential BDF advances like this. There were plenty of Tanks and BMPs around to quickly dispatch any armor crossing over to this area.

This BDF Tank crew decided to take some ground when the game went into overtime. They got a rude awakening from the Soviet Tanks that were waiting for them.

Video:

A detachment of six squads from A Company was sent to the Center on foot. The Center had been pounded hard by a previous artillery strike and only had a few BDF soldiers left. The exhausted Soviet squads had little opposition left once they reached the Center trenches. The Center was quickly overwhelmed by the flanking detachment from A Company. It had become an easy mark because of its relatively isolated position from other BDF strong points.

During the last five minutes before I hit overtime I witnessed a mass exodus of BDF soldiers from their trenches, they were running toward the Soviet locations on both sides of the map. The Soviets had established good defensive positions in the Center, Flanks, Ikashim and Hill 232, so the BDF were not able to take more ground.

The Infantry became the primary objective takers for me in this mission as opposed to your previous ones. At a certain point using armor became a liability (even though there was an abundance of it) and it was only to play a very limited role in the rest of game, being used to counter the BDF armor and not spearhead the main attack as I had hoped it would. This resulted in a much greater challenge and forced a different, tougher style of playing. At times it reminded me of a WWI battle with all the trench fighting when the advance of the armor was ground to a halt. The fight between the armor on both sides resulted in a stalemate where eventually neither side could move far from its safety zone without being destroyed, practically negating the typical tactics that would be used by a Soviet Motorized Infantry Company supported by armor.

After playing 98 minutes, the overall casualty count:

Soviets - 170 OK, 72 KIA, 49 WIA, 4 MIA, 5 Tanks Lost, 2 Disabled, 4 Armor Lost

BDF - 178 OK, 128 KIA, 93 WIA, 20 MIA, 12 Tanks Lost

[Vin]

AAR Part 4

[Eddie]

Battlegroup Ivanov 1.1 AAR Part 3 - the Last 30 minutes plus 8 minutes overtime

Mostly during the last part of this mission the majority of the Soviet soldiers had a condition of exhausted or fatigued. There was no way to use APCs to carry them to their objectives without them getting destroyed by BDF Tanks and so they had to move on foot to capture their objectives. There were a couple chances I took with my APCs in the beginning of this 38 minute section that wound up turning bad that are mentioned below, after that I didn't move any APCs or Tanks out of cover. I didn't want my score to be affected by losing too much armor and there were a couple instances where the BDF Tanks entered the Soviet kill zone, in which the Soviet Tank crews (and me) were only too happy to pulverize them.

Because of the size of the map and the impossibility to use the APC's to transport your units I can understand why the soldiers were exhausted or fatigued at a certain point in the mission. I think you made a good decision to keep your tanks and APC's where they were because if you had lost more of them you would have certainly lost the battle as there are unit-objectives. And as I understand the BDF tanks moved into a death trap you setup for them, very clever.

A Company fought its way to the inner trenches of the Left Flank, there were a number of skirmishes in the trenches, mostly at close range. My goal was to navigate through the inner trenches to the command center. That goal was never realized because of the heavy enemy presence in this area. There was no armor to support the assault this deep in the trenches, so the infantry had to bear the brunt of the job. There is a trench branching from the Left Flank, bordering Minefield YZ19 and leading to the command center, the seven A Company Squads I sent got up to the beginning of that trench but could not go past it. This is one of the skirmishes that took place in the effort to reach that position.

I advanced to about the same point you did in the trenches. My units came under fire from the enemy's mortars and I had to withdraw them for a while but could easily move back into the position I occupied before. From there I did the same thing you did and just let the infantry stay where they were to defend the ground captured. I watched your video and if I counted correctly your units took out three of the defending forces in the trenches without taking any casualties. And I really liked the crackling of machinegunfire and explosions in the background.

B Company Infantry - Hill 232

The BDF heavy machine gunner in the trenches on the highest part of Hill 232 was firing steadily at the B Company soldiers attempting to cross into the woods on the lower part where the three buildings are located (one is a two-story building). I observed that at some angles the heavy machine gunner was firing into the dirt, but when he changed position to fire close to the woods, the fire was more accurate - two casualties were taken. Artillery strikes were called on that position twice and failed to eliminate the HMG team. The rest of B Company escaped through the cover of the woods to assault the two-story building at the edge of the woods. There was a brief firefight on the way in with a BDF soldier on the roof of the connected one story building, then this two-story building and the one attached became a stronghold for B Company. B Company was able to use this position to attack the BDF soldiers in the trenches outside of the buildings.

I'm glad to read the HMG gunner was doing the best he could to keep your forces from advancing toward the three buildings. When you posted your AAR of the first hour some weeks ago I thought that I left a huge gap in the defensive lines of the BDF which would allow the player to easily move toward Hill 232 without being engaged. Your decision to let B-Company cross the river and to try and attack the BDF from the back turned out to be a good one. You managed to get B-Company in a safe position and engage the BDF from there, well done! I liked the video with the sniper taking out his two targets, but the video with the soldier throwing a handgrenade toward the trench I liked even more, this was some excellent combatfootage!

Several Soviet soldiers were killed trying to take the trench across from the other single floor building on that section of Hill 232. After that I didn't try to move any members of B Company out of the building. Most were exhausted and I didn't want the Company to sustain more casualties, they had fulfilled their "commando" role somewhat by launching an assault from the back of Hill 232. Even though I had called artillery strikes on the bunkers and trenches at the highest point on Hill 232 I didn't want to risk taking that position with an HMG team still alive up there. I had no more artillery available at that time and the Gunships were grounded with no ammo left.

I think you were right to give B-Company a break as they served you well. Their mission was to cover the road toward Ikashim with their ATGM's but you gave them the extra task of capturing the buildings near the road on Hill 232 and attack the BDF trenhces from the back. So I think the survivors of that company deserved to just hold out in the buildings until the battle ended.

A Company Infantry/All Armor Platoons - Ikashim/Right Flank/Center

I took a chance and sent a BTR to the Center Trench, though it pulled up behind a trench bunker as cover from the Tanks - it was quickly disabled and then destroyed by BDF soldiers in the trenches. A BMP was also sent from the Right Flank to the Left Flank using cover and traveling down the left edge of the map, I thought it's speed would help it evade the Tanks and eventually reach and capture the Command Center farthest from the trenches. I knew I was taking a huge chance with this move as it would have to cross Minefield YZ19 and stay clear of the BDF Tanks. The BMP reached the edge of the map on the Left Flank and crossed over some rough ground which slowed it down, a BDF Tank took it out with one shot and all hope of capturing this objective quickly went with it, although later I tried to get some A Company squads to capture this objective by moving through the Left Flank trenches.

So even after one hour had expired the BDF units still had the spirit to engage your BTR and managed to disable and destroy it. And you certainly did take a huge chance with the BMP. I think it was a brave move but, just as you thought yourself, without to much chance of succes. If the rough ground would not have been there the BMP could even have made it to the command center but unfortunatly it did not. So you took two chances and unfortunatly both failed, this makes perfectly clear that the BDF was really well prepared for an invasion from the USSR in this valley.

Securing Ikashim was relatively difficult. There was a Tank at the edge of village limits in a courtyard. It proved to be unapproachable in two separate instances where I lost RPG soldiers that were trying to maneuver into position to take a shot at it. The Tank also caused Soviet casualties in a building that the Soviets occupied close to it. I gave up on that approach and had a Soviet platoon leader in that building send in an artillery strike which eventually destroyed the Tank. Ikashim was occupied by the Soviets but still not secured, there was still a BDF Tank crew member in the Objective zone and that is what kept me from securing it. It was the same on the Right Flank, only one man left in the trenches there prevented me from securing. I wanted to see why I had lost these positions and checked after the game had ended.

Yes, the tank is positioned in such a way that it is rather difficult to get a shot at it with your tanks as it will most probably hit and destroy your armor first. This indeed leaves the player with the possibilty to send in RPG soldiers which you did, but in the end this turned out to be an impossible task for them. To bombard the tank with your artillery is the same thing I did but I ordered the artillerystrike before entering Ikashim with commanding units of A-Company when they detected the tank on their approach of Objective Center. There are so many places for the BDF units to hide in Ikashim and the Right flank so it is very difficult to detect them all and secure the objectives. But you did manage to take out all defenders on the Right flank except for the one you mentioned which prevented you from securing that objective. Ha, if that's not frustrating I don't know what is. The same goes ofcourse for the lone BDF tankcrew member who was hiding in some remote corner.

On the Right Flank there were many skirmishes with the BDF armor that tried to advance. Also two Squads of Soviet soldiers (one of them had a sniper) were sent to that position to clear out the trenches. The sniper was able to get several KIA and as the squads moved through the trenches more BDF soldiers were exposed from the fog of war. They were killed by the Soviet armor and snipers. With 17 minutes left (before going into overtime) BDF Tanks decided to cross over into the Soviet Tank kill zone. Unfortunately a bunch of vengeful Soviet Tank crews were waiting for a chance to get some payback.

It is nice to read the BDF armor did its best to execute their orders which resulted in some interesting combatsituations. In the first version of the mission I found it to easy to destroy the BDF armor in the early stages of the mission. And again your sniper turned out to be a valuable unit to detect BDF units in the trenches and take them out, well together with armor and other snipers. I think the BDF High Command decided some 17 minutes before the battle ended to try and finish off any Soviet armored units that were occupying their land and send their tanks forward. But this time things had turned around and they became targets. The video showing the advance of the BDF armor which then was destroyed by Soviet armor was the best video I have seen from this battle. Really nice!

It was good to see the BDF Tanks moving to attack the Soviet side for a change, rather than waiting for the Soviets to move into their kill zone. I wanted the Soviet armor to stay put so that they wouldn't be easy targets and to deal with any potential BDF advances like this. There were plenty of Tanks and BMPs around to quickly dispatch any armor crossing over to this area.

In the first version of this mission the BDF tanks were also moving toward this side of the map but they just moved on without waiting and defending for such a long time. In this version they stay put to prevent the player from advancing untill they counterattack which gives the player the chance to take out BDF armor. But if the player has no armor left in this area or has positioned them in such a way so they don't cover that part of the map who knows what could happen. I know this situation would not be very likely to occur but one can never know...

This BDF Tank crew decided to take some ground when the game went into overtime. They got a rude awakening from the Soviet Tanks that were waiting for them.

I liked this video even better then the other one which showed a BDF tank being destroyed by Soviet armor!:cool:

A detachment of six squads from A Company was sent to the Center on foot. The Center had been pounded hard by a previous artillery strike and only had a few BDF soldiers left. The exhausted Soviet squads had little opposition left once they reached the Center trenches. The Center was quickly overwhelmed by the flanking detachment from A Company. It had become an easy mark because of its relatively isolated position from other BDF strong points.

The Center is indeed relatively easy to capture if it is prepared with artillerystrikes. And you are right, the Center is somewhat isolated from other BDF strongpoints which is why there were not to much BDF units hiding in the trenches.

During the last five minutes before I hit overtime I witnessed a mass exodus of BDF soldiers from their trenches, they were running toward the Soviet locations on both sides of the map. The Soviets had established good defensive positions in the Center, Flanks, Ikashim and Hill 232, so the BDF were not able to take more ground.

An exodus you say? I figured the player might have some units isolated on the field of battle which could become targets for BDF units if they were coming from all sides. It made little sence for the BDF units to stay where they were since the trenches from which they are counterattacking are no objectives for either side. One can never know what happens in case of an unexpected counterattack even if it is conducted without any armor and is executed by infantry only.

The Infantry became the primary objective takers for me in this mission as opposed to your previous ones. At a certain point using armor became a liability (even though there was an abundance of it) and it was only to play a very limited role in the rest of game, being used to counter the BDF armor and not spearhead the main attack as I had hoped it would. This resulted in a much greater challenge and forced a different, tougher style of playing. At times it reminded me of a WWI battle with all the trench fighting when the advance of the armor was ground to a halt. The fight between the armor on both sides resulted in a stalemate where eventually neither side could move far from its safety zone without being destroyed, practically negating the typical tactics that would be used by a Soviet Motorized Infantry Company supported by armor.

Originally I did not intend to create this mission to let the infantry take the objectives. I wanted to create a mission in which infantry and armor would advance together and support each other. But during playtesting I noticed the armor had very little room to manouvre and this was kind of interesting also, so I left everything as it was without the intention to make things tougher or more challenging. It was just the way things turned out once the defenders were positioned. But I prepared their positions with great care, especially the BDF armor. And it is funny you say the mission reminded you of a WWI battle with trenchfighting. A few years ago I watched some documentary about the situation in Nagorno karabach in Azerbaidjzan (I don't if I spelled this correctly but I think you know what I mean). The documentary showed the way trenches were build and how far they stretched. The ground the trenches covered was largely a wide and open space which was covered with ATGM-teams, infantry, artillery and tanks that where placed in prepared positions. Any advance by armored units would be extremely dangerous and I used this as a basis for the defensive positions I made in this mission.

After playing 98 minutes, the overall casualty count:

Soviets - 170 OK, 72 KIA, 49 WIA, 4 MIA, 5 Tanks Lost, 2 Disabled, 4 Armor Lost

BDF - 178 OK, 128 KIA, 93 WIA, 20 MIA, 12 Tanks Lost

I think this is a good score taking into account the deathtrap waiting for the Soviets. I will take a closer look at the AAR's which are presented at the end of the mission to see the exact results. Thanks for your extensive and very detailed AAR, and ofcourse all the videos you made available on Youtube. It was really funny and interesting to read your battlefieldreports and to see your combatfootage!

[Eddie]

I will take a closer look at the AAR's which are presented at the end of the mission to see the exact results.

I just took a closer look and saw that you managed to secure objective Center, destroyed unit objectives 1,3, 4 and 6 completely, unit objective 5 apperently was partly destroyed and you failed to destroy unit objective 2. You also managed to achieve the parameters for enemy casualties and for friendly condition. You had a total of 73 points and the BDF had a total of 70 points, who by the way failed on all objectives: ground, targets and parameters. Since you scored three points more then the computerplayer (73 vs 70) I think you have won this mission by a very narrow margine, despite the software calculating a draw. I think you did a great job on this tough mission, congratulations!

[Vin]

"And I really liked the crackling of machinegun fire and explosions in the background."

I implemented a mod from CMSF that makes the all the ambient background noise silent, so when you hear those sounds in the background, hell really is breaking loose.

The sniper in the video actually takes out three BDF soldiers in a row. I was unsuccessful in getting the camera to move smoothly to different window angles, so I had to settle for that limited view. Glad you liked that other one, I was debating whether to show the action from close-up or at a wide angle, I wanted to show the troops shooting in the two-floor building as well in that video but it would have made everything too small to see clearly.

In B Company everyone was exhausted or fatigued, definitely not in shape to scale the highest point of Hill 232 under fire. I noticed after the game there were still some BDF units at the highest point of Hill 232, trying to take that area would have decimated B Company so I'm glad I decided to leave them where they were.

On the Right Flank and in Ikashim it appeared that both these objectives were clear of BDF units. I thought I had these objectives captured and really wish I had sent some scouts to confirm it. There were still some spots at both objectives that would have left those scouts open to fire from enemy tanks and infantry so I hesitated.

It was good you had the BDF Tanks stop and take up defensive positions in this 1.1 version. I remember when I played the first version, they moved right into the sights of a platoon of Soviet tanks I had moved across the bridge, that first group of BDF Tanks was destroyed within about a minute - I was playing real-time too.

I wanted to show more of the background in the videos with the armor, there were many more tanks in the area than could be seen in the videos. From the beginning of the battle, I wanted the Tanks and APCs to work together in a large group, the videos show some of the few times they got to do this. Thanks for the compliments.

So the infantry advance by the BDF was triggered in the battle, I wasn't sure if it was scripted or the Tactical AI just decided to make a move to capture objectives close to the end. It seemed like an "exodus" lol, they all just came out of the fog of war at once, it was kind of unnerving, but I already had my infantry in position to deal with it.

It's good you did some research about Nagorno-Karabakh, modeling the defensive positions in the game after real ones worked out well. It made a Blitzkrieg-type action totally impossible and it was a truly intimidating network of defenses, when Soviet Tanks advanced it was like shooting fish in a barrel for the BDF. After the start of the battle when I saw how many RPG and Sniper teams came out of the fog of war in the trenches, I knew I was in for real trouble.

Thanks for your comments on the AAR and I'm glad you enjoyed it and the videos. I wonder if I had played Veteran level it would had made a difference in how the mission was scored, whether it would have been more lenient and given a minor victory, but probably not. Thanks for the congratulations too and the time you put into refining this mission. For the amount of time I spent on the battle, it was practically like playing a campaign.

[Erwin]

Do many/all of the sound mods from CMSF work with CMA (and vice versa)?

Also wondering about some of the Soviet-built vehicles and Mujahideen "uniforms".

[Vin]

Do many/all of the sound mods from CMSF work with CMA (and vice versa)?

Also wondering about some of the Soviet-built vehicles and Mujahideen "uniforms".

Parts of CMSF sound mods would work with CMA and vice versa. The one I used to silence the ambient background noise is from Mord, I think I might have had to unpack the .brz and rename the sound file names to match the CMA ones. You could take AK-74 sounds and sounds from other Soviet small arms from CMSF mods and use them in CMA but that would also require unpacking the .brz files. I'm using AKD's sound mod 1.2 (found in the CMSF repository section) and it is made to be compatible with CMA. I would highly recommend using it. So some mods will work without having to be altered and some won't, you may have to do some experimenting to find the right combination for you. I also use some of Vein's CMBN mods - tracers, skies, explosion and gun muzzle flash mods in CMSF and CMA so I can confirm they work. Some of the Soviet vehicle mods may be compatible with CMSF but I have yet to try many of them out. I use a tank skin from CMA that was altered for CMSF (the T55 T62 MEGA MOD Package), that is in the CMSF repository.

Here is a link that shows Mujahideen imported to CMSF (that you may have seen): http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=94252&page=3

So it is possible, although as far as I know a mod like this might not be allowed to be posted for download as Battlefront has a policy of not allowing users to mix game content, though if you own CMA and CMSF you might be able to create one for your own use.

[Erwin]

Oh thanks, Vin. I have some of those. I forgot.

Are the brz file small arms sounds named for the weapon so you know which sounds to rename?

Sometimes I think I spend more time buggering around with mods, mixing and matching than I do playing the games.

[Vin]

You're welcome and yes, the small arms sounds are named for the weapon in most cases I think. In cases where the sound is shared between two similar weapons used by opposing sides (such as the SMG sound in CMBN) they may not be. I'm the same way with the mods I use, it took me awhile to find a combination I could stick with. Don't forget you can put an additonal Z folder inside the one you already have without having to further alter the .brz files. I did this with Veins sound mod - I liked all the sounds in it except for the MG42, I just dropped the separate sound file from Oddball's mod into that 2nd Z folder and it was done.

[Eddie]

The sniper in the video actually takes out three BDF soldiers in a row. I was unsuccessful in getting the camera to move smoothly to different window angles, so I had to settle for that limited view.

I must have been distracted while watching that video because I really thought the sniper hit two targets, but I'm sure you are right it were three. And don't worry about the limited view, it was real fun to watch the clip.

On the Right Flank and in Ikashim it appeared that both these objectives were clear of BDF units. I thought I had these objectives captured and really wish I had sent some scouts to confirm it. There were still some spots at both objectives that would have left those scouts open to fire from enemy tanks and infantry so I hesitated.

I understand your hesitation, you had already suffered enough casualties while capturing the Right flank. I think I would have done the same thing.

It was good you had the BDF Tanks stop and take up defensive positions in this 1.1 version. I remember when I played the first version, they moved right into the sights of a platoon of Soviet tanks I had moved across the bridge, that first group of BDF Tanks was destroyed within about a minute - I was playing real-time too.

If you managed to neutralize all the BDF tanks in the first version even when plaing real-time, this confirms their orders were no good. So I'm glad you also think their orders have improved in the second version.

I wanted to show more of the background in the videos with the armor, there were many more tanks in the area than could be seen in the videos. From the beginning of the battle, I wanted the Tanks and APCs to work together in a large group, the videos show some of the few times they got to do this. Thanks for the compliments.

You are welcome!

So the infantry advance by the BDF was triggered in the battle, I wasn't sure if it was scripted or the Tactical AI just decided to make a move to capture objectives close to the end. It seemed like an "exodus" lol, they all just came out of the fog of war at once, it was kind of unnerving, but I already had my infantry in position to deal with it.

So I did not surprise you with this script in such a way that it caused you any serious problems? D..n, then I failed miserably in my plans...:mad:

It's good you did some research about Nagorno-Karabakh, modeling the defensive positions in the game after real ones worked out well. It made a Blitzkrieg-type action totally impossible and it was a truly intimidating network of defenses, when Soviet Tanks advanced it was like shooting fish in a barrel for the BDF. After the start of the battle when I saw how many RPG and Sniper teams came out of the fog of war in the trenches, I knew I was in for real trouble.

Ha, you have had your share of trouble in this mission allright...

Thanks for your comments on the AAR and I'm glad you enjoyed it and the videos. I wonder if I had played Veteran level it would had made a difference in how the mission was scored, whether it would have been more lenient and given a minor victory, but probably not. Thanks for the congratulations too and the time you put into refining this mission.

You are most welcome, and I did not know that playing on a certain difficultylevel could influence the calculations of the endresult. Anyway I really think you did a good job playing the mission the way you did.

For the amount of time I spent on the battle, it was practically like playing a campaign.

Is this a good or a bad ?

And thanks for sharing the information how to make combinations with mods. Placing an extra Z folder in the Z folder to use sound mods is something I never heard off and I'm going to try this too.

[Vin]

The second shot fired by the sniper where he changes angle and you can see the whole gun with the barrel smoking is right when the second soldier gets hit. I wish I could've captured the entire thing close up, that sniper never missed.

I wasn't able to neutralize all the BDF Tanks in the first version of Battlegroup Ivanov, just that first wave that came up. I stopped playing it after a half hour of playing in real time and wanted to replay it in We-go mode. I read on the forum you were revising it so I decided to wait until 1.1 came out. It was revised to an extent where it seemed new to me when I played the next version.

I wasn't sure if the difficulty level could really influence the calculations of the end result earlier, so I checked the CMA manual just now and couldn't find anything indicating it would influence the end result, though it would be easier for the player to achieve a better score just because on lower difficulty levels you have certain advantages (such as reduced fog of war).

As for the battle seeming like a campaign, that is good. I have said before that I disliked campaigns, but that stems more from the disappointment of putting in months of time and then losing in the end rather than the idea of a campaign itself. Playing this in sections made it seem like a campaign and also there were multiple fronts in the mission and each had unique circumstances to fight under - three separate battles happening simultaneously on the same map made it seem epic.

Using that second Z folder is really useful if you don't feel like dealing with unpacking and repacking mods and it will allow you to override mods in the first Z folder if you have trouble with only using a single Z folder.

[Eddie]

I wasn't able to neutralize all the BDF Tanks in the first version of Battlegroup Ivanov, just that first wave that came up.

I my reply of yesterday I did not mean to say you managed to neutralize all BDF tanks in the first minute but indeed just that first wave. I did not look close enough to see this sentence could also be interpreted as if I meant to say you managed to destroy every BDF tank on the map in one minute.

I wasn't sure if the difficulty level could really influence the calculations of the end result earlier, so I checked the CMA manual just now and couldn't find anything indicating it would influence the end result, though it would be easier for the player to achieve a better score just because on lower difficulty levels you have certain advantages (such as reduced fog of war).

I agree with you on this. Maybe it should be more like taking an educational test, the more difficult it is the harder it should be judged and vice versa which affects the endresults in a certain way.

As for the battle seeming like a campaign, that is good. I have said before that I disliked campaigns, but that stems more from the disappointment of putting in months of time and then losing in the end rather than the idea of a campaign itself. Playing this in sections made it seem like a campaign and also there were multiple fronts in the mission and each had unique circumstances to fight under - three separate battles happening simultaneously on the same map made it seem epic.

I totally get your position on the campaigns. And I think you are right to say there are actually three battles taking place in one mission and this could give you the idea that you are not just playing one mission but some sort of campaign.

Using that second Z folder is really useful if you don't feel like dealing with unpacking and repacking mods and it will allow you to override mods in the first Z folder if you have trouble with only using a single Z folder.

Very usefull and timesparing information, thank you!