Actually that was a sacrifice borne of necessity. It is, as it should be, damn near impossible to stop a train with a few lucky hits from a brace of .303s. I thought about putting Beaufighters in this mission so they could hammer it with 20mm cannons - but they aren't player flyable - or Blennies, but I don't want to overuse these as most players don't fly them.

So I thought, why not give the player a dilemma. If they are lucky and can get enough rounds on target to slow or stop the train, great, but if not, what will they do? Just turn back to base and let the khaki wallas worry about it? Or make the ultimate sacrifice?

H

Missions 12-14, S-tag +3, are now up.

http://www.box.com/s/79qsxei5k0bzc0e4jyyx

Instead of the usual screenies or vid, I thought I'd post the mission briefings for these missions to give people an idea of just how many different player flyable sorties and land based conflicts are built into these three mission files. If you were to fly every individual sortie in just these three mission files, it adds up to 16 sorties. With an average of 5 different player flyables in every mission, the mission set to date includes around 70 flyable sorties, each with its own individual briefings, primary and secondary targets, and accompanying challenges. It is a much more varied and intense player experience than is possible in an offline scripted campaign following a single point of view.

Seelowe 12: Sept 25 morning, S-tag +3

In yesterday's fighting the RAF lost 97 more fighters leaving only 440. The SE England airfields of 11 Group, Bomber and Coastal Command were cratered ruins, and once more the threat of collapse, which had receded in early September, was looming. The Luftwaffe had lost another 71 fighters and 142 bombers. Few of the final 2nd wave German reinforcements made it through the British naval and air blockade of Folkestone. Despite stubborn resistance by the 1st and 2nd Canadian divisions overnight, the German XXXXI Army Corps, with the 10th Panzer as its spearhead, captured intact one of the two bridges over the River Stour at Kingston, and troops are pouring across. However, in the early morning, the British VII Corp committed its 1st Armoured strategic reserve, comprising Valentine and Cruiser tanks, on the left flank of the German salient. The German supply line to Kingston is stretched tight, and the British mean to cut its throat. They have been met by the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Regiment, comprising mounted troops, flak battalion and a Stug batterie.

RAF Spits
Our engineers at Kingston were killed trying to mine the southern bridge, and now the enemy has crossed to the Western bank of the Stour and has flanked our defences. Bomber Command has been given the job of destroying both bridges. 64 Sq is down to its last 4 machines. You will fly a combat air patrol over Kingston in advance of the raid, and engage any Luftwaffe fighters in the area. Volunteers from the 1st and 2nd Canadian Division are holding their positions on the ground, and will do so throughout the bomber attack. Pray for them.

RAF Hurris
Our engineers at Kingston were killed trying to mine the southern bridge, and now the enemy has crossed to the Western bank of the Stour and has flanked our defences. Bomber Command has been given the job of destroying both bridges. 111 Squadron will escort the bombers. Volunteers from the 1st and 2nd Canadian Division are holding their positions, and will do so throughout your attack. Pray for them.

Luftwaffe Hawkinge
Flying for Erpro 210 you will take off from Hawkinge and fly N-NW to Elham. An enemy column of tanks and vehicles is headed East toward Selstead where a surprise British armoured attack has been met by Leibstandarte SS Stugs. Our tanks have the upper hand but the arrival of the extra enemy force could tip the balance. When you have destroyed the column, you are free to engage targets of opportunity, both land and air.

Luftwaffe Kingston
Our troops have captured a crossing at Kingston. Fighting is still intense but it is vital we get as many men and machines across as possible today, with the gates of Canterbury wide open! Patrol the airspace over Kingston to deter any enemy aircraft. You are free to engage targets of opportunity on the ground, particularly gun emplacements, but your priority is air defence.

Luftwaffe Elham
Flying for LG2 you will proceed N-NE to Elham. An enemy column of tanks and vehicles is headed East toward Selstead where a surprise British armoured attack has been met by Leibstandarte SS Stugs. Our tanks have the upper hand but the arrival of enemy aircraft could tip the balance. Keep the airspace clear.


Seelow 13: Sept 25 early afternoon, S-tag +3

The German supply situation is critical. Despite three days of fighting the only port which has been captured is Folkestone, which can only support 150 tonnes an hour of supplies at full capacity. The actual rate of offloading is currently 90 tonnes, due to constant air and artillery bombardment. Transport Fleet C, transporting critical infantry, panzer, staff and corps troops and supplies was intercepted and fewer than 20% of the ships made it to port. Of the two destroyer flotillas from Cherbourg and four torpedo boat flotillas available to escort the convoys at on S-tag minus 1, only 4 destroyers and one torpedo boat flotilla remain. The decoy action of the morning however was successful in luring away heavy ships from the British Home Fleet, and the light cruisers Emden, Nurnberg, and Koln have now turned back toward Norwegian ports to evade British pursuit. Transport Fleet E is now approaching the Dover coast. It is transporting the first echelons of the 6th Mountain Division, 8th and 28th infantry, a company from Panzer Battalion D and staff and corp troops of the VIII and X army corps, plus vital fuel and ammunition. If it does not dock and unload successfully at Folkestone, the invasion cannot be sustained.

RAF Manston defend
Scramble! RDF is showing a large German convoy approaching Dover, with strong air cover including both fighters and fighter bombers. Ships of the Royal Navy 18th Destroyer Flotilla are approaching the convoy from the north and may already be engaged. It is critical 64 and 54 Squadrons provide cover against bomber or dive bomber attack for this destroyer flotilla. Our bombers and the navy boys will take care of the convoy - your job is to protect our ships.

RAF Attack
RDF is showing a large German convoy approaching Dover, with strong air cover including both fighters and fighter bombers. Ships of the Royal Navy 18th Destroyer Flotilla are approaching the convoy from the north and may already be engaged. It is critical that we drive away the heavy fighter escort that is covering the convoy, so that our bombers can get through. Over the next three hours we will be throwing everything we have available at this convoy, and Jerry will do his utmost to protect it. If we send it to the bottom today, we just might turn the tide on the whole invasion.

RAF bomb
RDF is showing a large German convoy approaching Dover, with strong air cover including both fighters and fighter bombers. Ships of the Royal Navy 18th Destroyer Flotilla are approaching the convoy from the north and may already be engaged. It is critical that we hit it, and hit it hard. Over the next three hours we will be throwing everything we have available at this convoy, and Jerry will do his utmost to protect it. If we send it to the bottom today, we just might turn the tide on the whole invasion.

Luftwaffe Hawkinge cover
Our supply situation is desperate and the prospect of further bad weather means our convoys must cross during broad daylight. A large supply convoy is currently off the coast of Dover and will inevitably come under air or naval attack. It is transporting the first echelons of the 6th Mountain Division, 8th and 28th infantry, a company from Panzer Battalion D and staff and corp troops of the VIII and X army corps, plus vital fuel and ammunition. Fly immediately to Dover and patrol above the convoy. It must get through! Our bombers have been assigned to attack any British naval shipping sighted in the area. These ships may also be heavily escorted but you are NOT to leave this convoy unprotected in order to engage aircraft which do not directly threaten the convoy! Is that understood?

Luftwaffe Erpro Dover
Our supply situation is desperate and the prospect of further bad weather means our convoys must cross during broad daylight. A large supply convoy is currently off the coast of Dover and will inevitably come under air or naval attack. It is transporting the first echelons of the 6th Mountain Division, 8th and 28th infantry, a company from Panzer Battalion D and staff and corp troops of the VIII and X army corps, plus vital fuel and ammunition. Fly immediately to Dover and patrol above the convoy. Your primary objective is to protect the convoy against air attack but If you identify a threat from British naval forces approaching from the north, you will attack with cannons and bombs and then return to convoy protection duty. The convoy must get through!

LW bomber
Our supply situation is desperate and the prospect of further bad weather means our convoys must cross during broad daylight. A large supply convoy is currently off the coast of Dover and will inevitably come under air or naval attack. It is transporting the first echelons of the 6th Mountain Division, 8th and 28th infantry, a company from Panzer Battalion D and staff and corp troops of the VIII and X army corps, plus vital fuel and ammunition. Fly immediately to Dover and patrol above the convoy. Your primary objective is to protect the convoy against attack from British naval forces which our Freya radar indicates may be approaching from the north. Your Ju88 is armed with armour piercing bombs. Send any Royal Navy ships to the bottom!

Seelowe 14: Sept 25 late afternoon, S-tag +3

Following concerted British air and sea attack throughout the afternoon, 87% of shipping in Transport Fleet E was lost, along with 3 destroyers and 15 torpedo boats. In the air, the RAF has so far lost 23 aircraft today, to 13 Luftwaffe. The British armoured thrust at Selstead was successful, and the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler has been cut off from Folkestone and is making a fighting withdrawal north toward Denton, pursued by the British 1st Armoured and elements of the NZ Division. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd Canadian succeeded in re-establishing control over the River Stour crossings at Kingston and is reinforcing for an early morning counter-attack against the 10th Panzer and troops of the Germany XXXXI Army Corps. An estimated 30,000 German troops are now caught in this pocket. The German VII Army Corps and 8th Panzer has succeeded in penetrating to the streets of Dover, and fighting is taking place from house to house, within sight of the Port. In the West, the 7th Flieger Division has withdrawn to Hythe township and is digging in. In the East intense fighting continues near Manston, with Kampfgruppe Bauer reporting their light mortars are within range of the airfield. A Fuhrer Conference has been convened for 0500 Sept 26 to review the situation. 80,000 men are now ashore in England, with supplies to last two to three days at best.


RAF Manston
The airfield is under direct attack from German troops! Get your machine in the air! Strafe enemy troops and vehicles once airborne, and land at Ramsgate when you are out of ammunition. Well, what are you waiting for? GET ONE UP!!

RAF Recon
The OSS has reported German troops massing just outside Denton. They have so far identified elements of the German XXXXI and XIII Army Corps. We need a more exact count of enemy troops and tanks at Denton. You will take your Tiger Moth aircraft in and attempt to photograph the German encampment. You can expect heavy AAA in the area, don't hang about. Get in, evaluate the situation, and get out. You will land at Canterbury to make your report.

RAF strafe
The 1st Armoured has Jerry on the run! Our tanks are pursuing German armoured columns north on the road between Folkestone and Denton. Try to stall their retreat and allow our armour to catch up, by strafing the German columns. Your secondary objective is to identify and attack any German positions in or around the town of Denton. The OSS has reported a convoy of German wounded in ambulances and trucks is heading south from the fighting at Kingston, toward Denton also. You are not to attack any medical vehicles, so make sure you have good visual recognition before commencing your attack.

Luftwaffe Hawkinge
Those peacocks in the SS have been given a shower and a shave by the Tommies and our troops at Selstead and Kingston have now been cut off from Folkestone. A major push is planned for tomorrow to break their encirclement, but for tonight they have been ordered to dig in at Denton, about 5 minutes flying north of Hawkinge. Cover their retreat and patrol the area over Denton.

Luftwaffe Erpro Manston
The paratroops of Kampfgruppe Bauer have reported they are close to capturing Manston! If we can secure Manston airfield we will have two Luftwaffe bases on British soil and total control of the skies over Kent. The Bf109s of JG26 and troops from Kampfgruppe Mendle are already preparing to fly into Manston as soon as it has been secured. You will fly immediately to Manston. Your primary objective is to destroy any enemy AAA or anti tank emplacements you can identify. Your secondary objective is to attack enemy aircraft on the ground, or in the air.

I've just had a run in Mission 14. The action at Manston as i was trying to take off was marvelous. It really was a joy to fly. Thanks again HeinKill...you really are doing a great job here. I've flown them all several times over in several different roles ... brilliant

Thanks for the kind words. They make it worthwhile. That mission took about two hours to write, create and populate, then about five hours to fine tune, with two land battles to coordinate, a convoy of ambulances that wouldn't follow waypoints and 5 flyable sorties...

But I've topped a thousand downloads of the various CoD mission packs now, so it's good to hear from people who are enjoying them...

H

A little taste of what the missions of Day 5 of Operation Sealion will bring...

September 26, S-tag +4, 1230 hrs GMT

Elements of the 10th Panzer and Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler have fought their way out of the Denton Pocket. Rather than retreating South toward the main German force at Folkestone, they have taken British forces by surprise and escaped north toward Canterbury. The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions were in the process of reinforcing their southern front, and German armour was able to drive through a gap in British lines at Gorsely Wood. Panzer IIs and IIIs of the 10th Panzer and Stugs of the Leibstandarte SSAH, backed by motorised troops of the XXXXI Army Corps, have radioed to Berlin that they have captured the Canterbury train station and are pushing on the center of the city. They are however, totally cut off from German supply lines. In an act of bluff and bravado, Adolf Hitler broadcasts to the British people, "Germany wants peace with Britain," he thunders, "But your leaders have brought war to the very streets of English villages and cities, and the German flag now flies from the spires of Canterbury Cathedral. London is next! The nations of Britain and Germany are not natural enemies. I call on Britain to surrender and avoid an inevitable and terrible fate!" After a conference with Churchill, Dowding orders all remaining 11 Group squadrons withdrawn north to preserve them for the defence of London. Churchill convenes an emergency session of the War Cabinet.

Erpro 210 over Canterbury




Chieftains and AT guns at the train station are overwhelmed




64 Squadron fights back



10th Panzer closes on the city center

How do you have your graphics set up? Your screenshots always seem to have much more "depth" than mine do. Everything of mine is in sharp focus, is there a setting to fix this to look more like yours.

It's funny you say that. The other day I was taking screenshots for my ongoing AAR of the Sealion campaign.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3492251/5.html

I was thinking myself, how cool it is that in the ground shots, the foreground is blurred, while the mid and far objects are in focus. See the grass/weeds here:



But I don't use any special settings, this is stock CoD. Some of the photos I give a simple edge blur in post production, but for example the one above was not one of those.

H

Missions 15-17 now available for download. These missions feature ongoing land warfare, large scale air conflicts, and Canterbury populated with Cathedral, vehicles and trains.

http://www.box.com/s/er8cx7x66d06ei7hy3h8

September 26, S-tag +4, 1230 hrs GMT

Elements of the 10th Panzer and Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler have fought their way out of the Denton Pocket. Rather than retreating South toward the main German force at Folkestone, they have taken British forces by surprise and escaped north toward Canterbury. The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions were in the process of reinforcing their southern front, and German armour was able to drive through a gap in British lines at Gorsely Wood. Panzer IIs and IIIs of the 10th Panzer and Stugs of the Leibstandarte SSAH, backed by motorised troops of the XXXXI Army Corps, have radioed to Berlin that they have captured the Canterbury train station and are pushing on the center of the city. They are however, totally cut off from German supply lines. In an act of bluff and bravado, Adolf Hitler broadcasts to the British people, "Germany wants peace with Britain," he thunders, "But your leaders have brought war to the high streets of English villages and cities, and the German flag now flies from the spires of Canterbury Cathedral! London is next! The nations of Britain and Germany are not natural enemies. I call on Britain to surrender and avoid an inevitable and terrible fate!" After a conference with Churchill, Dowding orders all remaining 11 Group squadrons withdrawn north to preserve them for the defence of London. Churchill convenes an emergency session of the War Cabinet.

Mission 15: Breakout from the Denton pocket. German armour, expected to try to fight south and rejoin the main German force at Folkestone, pushes north on Canterbury instead. Missions feature CAP, ground attack and the first raids by Corpo Aero Italiano during the invasion.



Mission 16: German tanks reach the center of Canterbury and the Cathedral. The largest air battle of the invasion to date takes place. Germany throws all available units, including Italian fighters, into the effort to protect the forces attacking Canterbury. The depleted RAF responds with all available 11 Group units while inadequate British forces try to hold back the German armour.



Mission 17: German armour captures the Canterbury train station, and troops dig in for the night beside the River Stour. The Royal Navy begins direct naval bombardment of Folkestone. Flyable sorties include RAF recon and CAP, while Luftwaffe sorties include CAP, shipping attack and a dramatic escape from behind the lines, by captured Tiger Moth.

Ahh, wasn't thinking of post-production editing, as I'm a complete PS neophyte. I especially love #1, #2, #6, & #7 from the Sept 26 description. I thought your game looked like that, I'd go buy a 7970 (or whatever that newest card is) in SLI if I could get the game to look like that, haha.

A little AAR from the mission pack...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmuDi2F60-8