Not quite the update folks are waiting for

After an announced maintenance period, a minor update was deployed for the Armored Warfare servers. No real news on the past due 0.19 overhaul.

I saw it in a mo....er, TV show once, Jericho (2006)

Way back in September 2006, a short lived TV series first aired on CBS called Jericho. A mere ten minutes into the very first episode, Denver, Colorado is destroyed by a nuclear device and I knew this was going to be one of my favorite programmes, for as long as it was on the air.

The premise of the story was simple enough, the modern day United States suffers from a limited nuclear attack and the residents of the small town of Jericho, Kansas try to continue living their lives in this new post-apocalyptic age. However, what really made the show popular was the ordinary, everyday people and their interactions with each other, the great mystery of what really happened, with why and who was behind it all.

Skeet Ulrich would play Jake Green, one of the principal characters in the series. Jake was a interesting character, an anti-hero who returns home and his life soon changes in a direction he didn't expect. Lennie James, through the character of Robert Hawkins, would bring an essence of mystery to Jericho, after moving there with his family in the very first episode. The show also featured many other fantastic acting talent from Kenneth Mitchell, Pamela Reed and veteran actor Gerald McRaney.

The show itself would have a rough broadcast life, first airing on September 2006, then entered an unusual hiatus period two months later to February 2007. Episodes would run to May 2007, then CBS decided not to renew for a second season. Almost immediately, a "save the show" campaign began, which promoted CBS to reunite the cast and release a short, seven episode Season Two, running from February to March 2008.

In my opinion, it was a real shame, since Jericho had a very good cast and strong writing, but CBS didn't seem to know exactly what to do with the series.

So, after that bitter trip down memory lane, what does this have to do with a tank or some other armored fighting vehicle? Well, there was one in the series, for a few episodes in brief.

Season one, episode fifteen (or sixteen, depending on if one counts the first episode being viewed in two parts or one) was titled "Semper Fidelis" and introduced the people of Jericho to a group of outsiders, a detachment of United States Marines (who turned out not to be for real), who just happen to be traveling with a M1A1 Abrams tank.

In reality, the tank wasn't what it appeared to be. 

Owned and leased by Armytrucks Inc, it's a visually modified (also known as vismod) Vickers-Armstrong FV 4201 Chieftain. One giveaway is that it only has six wheels per side, a real Abrams has seven, another is the "V" shaped feature on the upper glacis plate, around the driver's hatch, the real Abrams doesn't have that.

A little known fact that it is very difficult to secure a real Abrams tank for use in movies and television programs. First, the script of the movie/show has to be approved (specifically, by not casting the U.S. Armed Forces in a negative light or performing questionable/unbecoming, onscreen actions), then everyone involved, from the cast, visitors and production teams have to be thoroughly vetted by the process of intense security background checks. Not to mention, security for shooting locations (interior and exterior), storage areas, the list goes on. 

It's actually cheaper and easier just to get a replica to perform the part.....

....especially if you are going to destroy it in it's last, onscreen appearance (A CGI model was used in the first episode of the short Season Two, titled "Reconstruction." It was an Abrams versus train showdown, the Abrams lost).

The complete Jericho series is available from Amazon.com

Nothing to report

In Armored Warfare, I am still just plugging away with the tier VIII Ariete and tier VI Leopard 2AV. With no announcement about the pending/delayed release of Update 0.19, there isn't really much else to say, nor new and interesting video to upload.

Missing the target

It would seem that Update 0.19 is not going to make it in time for the February deadline, as previously discussed and announced by the Armored Warfare team. Read the conversation on the forums about this very topic and see if you can catch the comment that spills the "unofficial beans."

Time to freshen up the joint!

I have been contemplating on updating the look for this blog for quite some time now, so here it is.

I have never admitted to being a great artist, but the new images capture the spirit, the very essence of what I was looking for, despite the lack of fine details. As much as I will miss my old, quickly thrown together T-62 Soviet/Russian tank and game logos header from days gone by, I thought the time was right to make a few visual changes. Also, the background image....

.... has be changed to complement the new header.

I believe this blog has evolved into something more than just me talking about armored vehicular combat in games, because I have dabbled with a few stalled short stories and covered some real life examples in movies and other places. I have even bigger, more ambitious plans down the road, if I can get the cooperation from key people at certain locations.

Who knows where this whole adventure will take me, besides beyond the realm of the virtual?

Comments and questions are always welcome.

Desert Chieftain

For the most part, I like to play in the upper tiers in Armored Warfare and spend the majority of my time in PvE (since PvP is mostly an empty wasteland and Global Operations has an elusive, sporadic population at best). As of right now, I don't have very many premiums below tier VI (my own benchmark of where the upper tiers begin) and I am not currently grinding out any new vehicle lines, but I do on occasion drop down and see what's going on with new and less experienced players.

Unlike some, I am not playing in the mid to low tiers to "pad my stats" nor horde in on some easy action, I am genuinely curious to see how possible "future stars" of the game are getting on with things, like being self orientated with the current selection of maps and how they handle their vehicles. Some of them show great promise and I hope they stick with the game, perhaps even crossing over into PvP, when it becomes more viable for competitive play in the future.

As for using the Chieftain Mk. VI into this foray, I wanted to roll out in a vehicle that I actually liked from the mid to low tiers and I have a long, comfortable history with this British icon. Plus, earning a modest amount of credits and reputation for taking a sightseeing tour is always a good thing.

The downside is I had to use the built in video recorder bundled with the Armored Warfare client, GeForce ShadowPlay has been having some issues....

That abandoned feeling

Armored Warfare these days has the very same feel to it as this picture of a shot up and abandoned Chieftain tank in the Imber Live Firing Area, on the Salisbury Plain of England.

Anyone who logs into the North America server at any time of day will have a very tough time getting into a player versus player match. No, let's call it nearly impossible, unless a group of players can communicate and coordinate on the forums for a rendezvous ingame with enough people to make battles in agreed tiers.

One of the most recent events that has added to this situation is the controversy surrounding the departure Obsidian Entertainment from the Armored Warfare project and my.com/mail.ru assuming future development responsibilities. More to the point, the exact details of who, what, where, when and why from both sides, has been the unanswered question for players who have been sitting on the fence to just finally leave altogether.

A surprising number of bloggers, YouTubers and forum posting players have made notice about how they feel about this situation, spreading their feeling of distrust in my.com/mail.ru and left on not-so-pleasant terms. Others have been outright banned for sharing/leaking what is considered to be confidential information (ie: the recent Reddit post and a few others).

However, this pales in comparison in what some might agree with the first nail in the coffin....

A year ago, a new word was floating around on the Armored Warfare forums, SIMM. Skill Influenced Match Making was designed to place statistically above average players on teams that were then filled out with average to below average teammates, for player versus player battles. The theory was that if both teams would be skill statistically balanced, it would give both sides a more level field chance at winning.

Some highly skilled, well above average players discovered that the system didn't work in their favor, since their statistics were started a downward trend. They weren't winning battles like they believed they should and started to complain about how "carrying their teams" solo was impossible. Of course, they were ridiculed of how since they claimed to be such professionals at the game, they shouldn't be losing more than usual.

After a long, back and forth debate on the forums, many of those players left, stating they were personally "punished" by the system (some were able to manipulate SIMM by staying in high-skill stacked platoons, a known force modifier that was explained as the thinly disguised "playing with friends" excuse, but this was noticed, posted and discussed at length on the forums).

Quite a few of these above average players had come over from World of Tanks and one of the repeated requests/demands there was the introduction of skill based matchmaking, which was delivered to them in Armored Warfare. In essence, they got what the wanted, but didn't like the results of the AW system and returned to WOT, where the still-in-place random matchmaker and all their old tricks still worked in their favor.

With SIMM turned off, many players moved on to the next scapegoat for the plummeting PvP population, PvE.

Despite all the claims that people play online games for the competitiveness of matching wits and tactics against other human players and teams, this isn't the whole truth. Some just can't accept that other people like the idea of a story based, singleplayer/co-operative progression mode. These players have been labeled from "casuals" to "play4funs" and a few other choice titles in between. They avoid playing in the PvP arena, but have been known to venture into that environment out of curiosity or a few rewarding payouts.

Another one of these groups are known as "burnouts," having playing countless hours in World of Tanks and/or War Thunder, where neither title offers a PvE experience. They are tired of being outplayed and out skilled, also known as "farmed", by better solo players, platoons or even entire teams. Despite their best efforts (granted, some don't have any desire to learn the game in the same scope as the "better players"), they just can't get the satisfaction of consistent winning, from a variety of reasons (the better players always shoot down their explanations on the forums as "excuses" or use the tired and unoriginal catch phrase of "get gud."

So, even with all of the disinterest from one crowd and the other baring scars of ridicule and insults, these players still want to partake in an armored vehicle combat game and the PvE portion of Armored Warfare gives them what they are looking for, in a much less toxic, nearly elitist absent environment.

Once again, I look at the wrecked and almost forgotten Chieftain tank at the top of this page. I see a vehicle that could very well be saved, but that would come at the high price of time, money and resources. Then I look at the state of Armored Warfare and take note of an abandoned PvP mode and a barely hanging on PvE alternative with a skeleton population.

Both images bring out a certain sad feeling from me.

Now....the day of....

....the big announcement. While it doesn't answer some of the most pressing questions (namely, what were the circumstances and details behind the Obsidian Entertainment and my.com/mail.ru split, something that I doubt will ever come to light, for various reasons), it does cover the questions concerning the change in mechanics experienced and reported from both regional versions of the PTS and a glimpse into the future plans for Armored Warfare.

Read about it here.

The day before....

....the big announcement. On this Thursday, February 16th, Silentstalker, a content manager on the Armored Warfare forums, made this statement, "We'll be publishing something about the future of AW tomorrow."

Will the big news finally come on Friday, February 17th, nearly a full week after Obsidian Entertainment parted ways with my.com/mail.ru on the Armored Warfare project or will there be some untimely delay? I certainly hope not.

Could the announcement have the other side of the whole story, to counter the infamous Reddit post and the kitsuga.com hosted, two part exposé here and there? I have this funny feeling the answer will be no, since Obsidian participated in an interview through eurogamer.net and not too sure what more there is to say on this matter, if it would be even listened to at this point (if my.com/mail.ru did release their version of events, I think it would mirror Obsidian's comments).

So, what will the announcement be? If I had to guess, it will be one of three possible scenarios. The first and best case outcome is that it will be business as usual and the revision being tested, as seen on either the NA/EU PTS or the slightly better version on the RU PTS will become Update 0.19 (unless the rumored "final" version is used instead), including all the Balance 2.0 features and changes being implemented.

Worst case will be some fluff piece, well worded but without any real substance and vague beyond the point of confusion and credibility (I seriously doubt this will happen, but it is worth mentioning, just in case....).

And finally, a middle of the road release. This scenario would be discussion about how some features, as planned, will be either removed and/or reworked to better suit the vision that my.com/mail.ru want for the game, including other revisions to the compensation package under Obsidian's watch.

Honestly, I have no idea which way things will go, since I am just another player in the game and not privy to insider information, nor willing to make stuff up for fame and fortune.

However, depending on what is and isn't said tomorrow, will strongly determine if this passionate player sticks around or leaves to explore other environments.

Lackluster Leopard

Somebody told me once the a player's mood could be gauged on what's observed as they play agame. Perhaps this is true, since when I created, uploaded and watched this video of using my Leopard 2AV in a recent Armored Warfare battle, I could tell my heart just wasn't into the action taking place.

Have a look and tell me what you see?

Rewards and Random Ramblings

Armored Warfare paid out the ingame rewards for this past Super Brawl event, I logged in today and collected mine. The Platinum Crates didn't really give up anything too spectacular in the way of prizes, but ever little bit helps. Then, I knocked out a battle in my Ariete, Leopard 2AV and premium Chieftain Mk. VI and called it good.

The fallout continues with Obsidian Entertainment parting ways with Armored Warfare. I have spent some time reading through the posted articles at various sites outside my.com/mail.ru's sphere of influence and I am left with a very incomplete picture of what truly happened. Although some speculative comments do lend an interpretive sense of truth, I would like to see/hear both sides of the story and find my own truth out of this mess. However, the longer my.com/mail.ru takes to deliver an announcement or statement, any effective damage control (if it's not already past that point) will lack serious credibility, in the eyes of those who have read and spread these "leak" links.

That is assuming an announcement or statement is even going to be presented.

In the meantime, I will stick to my new plan of playing enough battles to move up the reputation bar with the tier VIII Ariete and tier VI Leopard 2AV. If my positive mood holds, I might even queue in a premium vehicle for a sortie or two. Perhaps, enter the odd forum contest and possible ingame event, if I think the effort will be worth my time.

I am finding it rather hard to maintain a positive attitude and the desire to really play Armored Warfare in these uncertain times. However, it is the type of game I want to really play right now.

I am just done with World of Tanks and War Thunder Ground Forces, so returning to either one isn't a negotiable option for me. Although both of these titles have armored fighting vehicles, it's the era for which the action takes place (among a great many other things) and as I have stated elsewhere, I want more modern times, or even the near future.

Right now, the only other free-to-play game that fits that bill is Final Fire. Despite that fact there isn't an English language option, I have dabbled with it and have found this Chinese only game to be decent alternative for me. However, to get involved with any populated PvP battles (it doesn't offer a PvE mode), I have to stay up pretty late or get up very early in the morning to get a match.

At any rate, I will continue to slug it out with my Italian and German Heavy Iron in Armored Warfare, waiting on the next word on what is planned/going to happen next.

Into the unknown

With official word on the future direction of Armored Warfare from my.com a little slow in coming, I have decided to work under the mindset that all the work that Obsidian had accomplished, before their departure from the game, is going ahead and will be implemented.

Having said that, all of my goals for vehicle progression, in light of the previously announced changes and compensation notices, have been met and now I have come to the conclusion to scale back my activities.

First, I will continue on with the tier VIII Ariete Italian Main Battle Tank and take my time towards the next in line, Challenger 2. Since the Ariete was only planned to be a side step vehicle, removed from the main line of progression in the next update, staying the course to next asset will not effect possible incoming changes elsewhere.

Besides, knocking out the first battle of the day and collecting the bonuses from such action should be enough to not contribute to gameplay burnout, something that has set in very recently.

The second vehicle I will be causally playing will be the tier VI Leopard 2AV. I allowed progression to stall on this line quite some time ago and like the Ariete, picking up where I left off won't have any ripple effect on the planned changes. I miss playing with this Cat and figured that now is as good a time as any to push up towards another vehicle I have been denying myself....

My way forward, for now

It has been over twenty four hours since the bombshell announcement was made concerning the departure of Obsidian Entertainment from Armored Warfare and the discussion continues. 

I am not going to add any speculation to the conversation, instead, I asked some pretty hard, but simple questions on the future of Armored Warfare, none have been answered at this time. That's fine.

Instead, I am going to proceed forward with the mindset that all of the announced changes from this series of articles will still take place, unless a new official word comes down, saying something different.

The last part of my progression plan was to put the dealer tree version of the Centauro 120 into my garage. Although I already own the premium version of this very same vehicle, with the compensation changes (that is, if that is still in the works) goes through, I will receive a transformed tier IX Tank Destroyer (to match the same premium version).

With uncertain times ahead, I used some banked up Global Reputation and credits to make it happen.

A change in leadership

In the wee hours of Saturday morning (in the western world anyways), a thunderous announcement was made about the departure of Obsidian Entertainment from Armored Warfare. My.com is slated to take over the reigns for planning and development from here on out.

Read more here.

Super Brawl, Round One

With less than half a day to go before Round One of Armored Warfare's Super Brawl comes to a close, here is my final contribution score from the time I could make available during this event.

Not enough to break into the Top 100 on either team, but considering I was only knocking out between five to seven battles daily, it could have been much worse.

Still, if the original post is correct, I am eligible to collect some modest rewards for my limited time efforts.

Catalyst

The first indicator that something was about to happen was when the local FM radio station that Major Colton Wayne was listening to suddenly went off the air, midway through an old country song he was enjoying. The exploding Abrams tank near to him confirmed that the attack had gotten underway.

Less than an hour before, everything was postcard peaceful. Spring Creek barely let out a gurgle into the night air as it slowly drifted by the banks. The calm and clear sky revealed all the stars that could be seen by the naked, human eye. Major Wayne thought, if things were under much better circumstances, this would be an almost perfect setting to bring a "lady friend" to.

All along the south bank, preparations had been made and triple checked for whatever was to come and crews had settled in to their night routines. Some would catch any sleep the night would afford them, others would keep watch and be ready to wake those from their sleep, straight into action.

Major Wayne wasn't even close to being tired, something was gnawing at his gut, like knowing a surprise party had been planned, just not knowing the conditions it was going to be sprung on him. However, he believed he had taken certain safeguards to dull the effect of such a surprise.

Modern combat, both with men and machine, had evolved with a heavy reliance on technology with the attempt to give one side an edge over each other. One of those breakthroughs happened well over a hundred years ago, when the first British Mark I tanks rolled across the landscape at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in France. From those modest beginnings of breaking the stalemate of trench warfare to the advanced armored fighting system that was the very Abrams tank he was sitting in now, Major Wayne knew that much had been dismissed and forgotten in man's race to embrace the new and cutting edge of doing things.

A slight smile formed on his lips as he reviewed one of those "old school" lessons he refused to forget: communications. In this age of wireless and satellite voice and data transmissions systems, folks can become literally paralyzed when they cease to function, as designed. The redundancy of a wired system or even pen and paper messages for that matter, has become a lost art. However, Major Wayne strongly impressed on anyone he commanded to learn and develop satisfactory proficiency in these "ancient" arts.

He turned his head to the left and looked down. He stared at three headsets for the cabled field phones that were installed, shortly after the defensive positions were plotted by map and compass techniques, then confirmed by Global Positioning System satellites. The red phone was a direct line to the forward position on the north side of the bridges that crossed Spring Creek. The blue phone was to reach out to the tip of the west flank, the green phone was for the east. If the opposing force should use an effective frequency jammer, these systems with their buried, insulated cables should be enough to maintain communications for a static, defense operation.

As he reached up to his helmet, Major Wayne clicked on a red light and looked down at the black and white map of the local area. Despite President Bill Clinton issuing the statement of the United States government discontinuing its use of Selective Availability in regards to GPS way back in May of 2000, he always had doubts this feature could always be reactivated in a time of crisis or conflict. He was also briefed on high possibility of enemy unit deployment of regional GPS denial capabilities, something he had been a part of in past and better funded operations. Just like those field phones, map and compass classes were taught and tested on a very regular basis in his command.

At 0155 hours, the radio died and the timeless voice of Johnny Cash went silent. 

Slowly lowering the map he was just studying, Major Wayne clicked off his red helmet light as the first shots were fired and one of his Abrams tanks exploded from the unseen impact.

Go Centauro Go!

With the exact date of when the 0.19 Update for Armored Warfare is scheduled to be released being a closely guarded secret, I have been quietly grinding out one of my progression plans. 

My scheme was to bank up more than enough Free Reputation and merely finish off the tier V ERC-90 F4, skip through the Centauro B1 (play at least one battle, make the most of the Compensation plan for the next update) and slide into the currently tier VII Centauro 120.

However, with the surprise announcement of Happy Hours, I was able to play out the ERC-90 F4, albeit with an accelerated pace (and a big thanks to my real life family, for giving me the time to do so) and take the Centauro B1 out for it's first spin.

Today, I received news that my professional life might start taking up a lot more of my time, if a certain event takes place. Should that happen, playing Armored Warfare will be cut down considerably, so I had better tie up any loose ends in terms of progress that I want to achieve, with the time I still have that's free to do so.

Nevertheless, with an experiment that started with the tier IV LAV-300, to breaking down and purchasing the premium, currently tier VII Centauro 120 Wolf and seriously looking forward to the yet-unreleased LAV-105, I am having a lot of fun with wheeled tank destroyers.

With only seasonal paint, an experienced commander and untrained crew, here is the first battle in my brand new and total-lack-of-upgrades Centauro B1....

Humble

The sound of naturally running water, like a slow river or babbling brook, can have one of two physiological effects on a person. Most times, it is a calming, soothing experience that has been known to invoke relaxation and even put some people into a meditative state. For Major Colton Wayne, the other effect was kicking in, the growing stronger urge to go to the bathroom, thanks to too much coffee during the briefing.

As he sat in the turret with the commander's hatch open, he reviewed the objectives, as planned. Operation: Humble Hold had a forward platoon from his Company sitting on the north side of the Eastex Freeway bridges over Spring Creek, just to the left of his current location in Humble, Texas. If radio communications hold, they will report back any first contact information, such as identification and strength. If the odds are in Wayne's favor, he will hear a young and no doubt, excited voice yelling "Lightfoot," giving them the go ahead to advance and engage.  

However, should comms go down for any reason, a green flare shot from the forward position will signal the same message and Major Wayne will lead the reserves from their southern bank positions and cross the bridge, supporting the attack.


The words "Lost Cause" or a red flare will bring about a different course of action. Anything and everything that is capable of shooting from the south bank will open up and cover the platoon as they retreat back across the bridge. Then, preset explosive charges will bring the bridges crashing into the creek, effectively removing Interstate 69 and Highway 59 as routes into northern Houston.

Major Wayne knew to the west, stationed in Spring, Texas, Blue Company was charged with the same task, but with the bridges for Riley Fuzzel Road and State Highway 99, locally known as the Grand Parkway. To the east, in Atascocita, Red Company would repeat the procedure, with the FM 1960 Bridge over Lake Houston and West Lake Houston Bridge. All three units would rendezvous at the Sam Houston Parkway and await further orders.

His bladder couldn't take the strain any more and Major Wayne was forced to exit the Abrams tank. He climbed down and wandered over to a large bush and relived himself. With communications and electronic surveillance running into sporadic interference, the eyes and ears of this operation relied on "boots and the ground" recon. A slow process to collect information and relaying that back to the powers that be to make the big decisions, doubled again to get the right orders out to the field commanders if the electronics continue to be unreliable.

As he finished and climbed back up into the turret, he thought the plan looked good on paper as most plans do, until the shooting starts. The question was who would shoot first?

Houston

When Major Colton Wayne woke up that one morning, five days ago, he had no idea the rest of the week was going to go straight to pot.

It all started with a phone call, that woke him from a dream he would love to get back to, someday. He was told to report to barracks for a urgent briefing, which of course, eliminated any remnants of sleep he might have been experiencing up to that point. Bypassing the usual shower, shave and morning coffee rituals, he dressed himself, nearly stumbling down the stairs in the process and left.

Upon arrival, he was whisked away to the briefing, held in a very crowed quonset, standing room only. A map of Texas was pined up on a cork wall divider with a big red, felt pen X over Houston. As the briefing got under way, all the details became clear. Seems the folks in Washington wanted that city, among a few others, to be brought back into the fractured Union. It also turns out that task was contracted out to the New England Minutemen, patriots only in their self proclaimed title, since they would offer their mothers up to the highest bidder. At least, that's how the rumors went.

The mission was simple: facilitate the delivery of assistance to the City of Houston and any other areas that requested the same. Vague on purpose, to allow "freedom of action" to objectives that could be crafted, once fresh, local intelligence was acquired.

Due to the Minutemen's overland route to Texas, somebody thought up the brilliant plan to take a sea route, from Savannah to Houston, to avoid any....unnecessary engagements. Major Wayne didn't like that idea very much, but kept quiet about it. More time in the field is more money, especially when it prolongs any combat and casualties.

All in all, it took just over five hours to load all the vehicles that needed to be transported by flatbed trailer and truck, the ammunition and supplies for both man and machine for seven days of operations. The general consensus this mission shouldn't take that long.

Once all of the final departure arrangements were confirmed, the convoy took a five and a half hour drive south east to the the Port of Savannah, plus another lost count of hours to unload the trucks and load the ships.

The brilliant nautical route took almost four days, over double what it would have taken to do by land, with breaks and refueling. The news during the voyage was grimmer by the day, tens of thousands of civilians in the surrounding areas were misplace by the action, local forces were just barely hanging on and most cries for help were just going unheard. It appeared the international community didn't want to get involved with what was labeled "an internal matter."

The Port of Houston was a sight to be seen in Major Wayne's eye, he hated the being on the water. Drowning wasn't a pleasant thought, nor the motion sickness it produced in his stomach and the sooner he was "feet dry," the better. The port was operating like it was business as usual, so off loading the ships felt like it took no time at all.

Major Wayne was now ready to roll out, his Abrams crew was primed, the fuel tank was topped off and the ammunition was just waiting to be fired.

Super Brawl

Welcome to another Mercenary Showdown in Armored Warfare, this time, it takes place in the USA. Select either the Fighting Falcons from Atlanta or the New England Minutemen and collect the rewards, more details here.

I picked my side already.

The Great Reveal

So, Armored Warfare unveiled their plans for a Western (for the NA/EU regions) Public Test Server. I have no comments to make myself on this issue, but feel free to read what others have to say here.

On a slightly happier note, another weekend special, albeit limited in content.

Well, it will be mostly Canadian!

Interesting article posted on the Armored Warfare front page about the LAV-105, read here.

The boiled-down summary;  Cadillac Gage (now known as Textron Marine & Land Systems) fabricated and installed a two man turret, based off the Stingray Light Tank (which is also manufactured by them) on a Canadian licensed built Swiss MOWAG Piranha 8x8 chassis (known as the Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle) from General Motors Diesel Division (later renamed GM Defense, then subsequently purchased by General Dynamics Land Systems).

At some point in the future, depending on tier and price (if it is not made into a reward vehicle, lord help me), I am seriously considering getting one of these.

What would Omar say?

In preparation for one of the changes announced for Balance 2.0, I had been grinding out the progress on my tier V BMD-2 for the current tier VI M2 Bradley IFV. As written and planned, the Bradley, named for the famed American General Omar Bradley, is being removed from tier VI and a new tier VIII M3A2 Bradley is being introduced. What will happen to those that have the Bradley when the big switch comes? I will find out, first hand.

No sooner had I completed the last battle with the BMD-2, I turned around and acquired it's replacement. A commander swap (I think Rashid Al-Atassi works well for me in these vehicles), a retrofit install (the Mk II Experimental Propellant) and a quick splash of paint, I was good to go, I hoped.

Now, this isn't my first go-around in a Bradley, I played with it many years ago, in another title. The Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942 updated all of the World War II technology up to a more modern standard ( released back in 2004, so let's put it in the era of the Iraq War). Although I used the Soviet/Russian T-72 MBT the most, I did have a few tracked adventures in this American IFV.

Let's see if the fun can be carried forward through the years....