New scenario: Colombia COIN (Under Construction)
Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2025 3:40 pm
It’s been a long time since I last worked on creating scenarios in CMO (Command: Modern Operations). Back in my early attempts—mostly failed ones—the game has evolved significantly, especially in terms of LUA programming. Now that I’ve rediscovered it, I’ve become engrossed in designing a simple scenario—or at least that’s what I thought.
But then, I discovered that I could use HTML and program windows with buttons, and things started getting complicated.
What is the scenario about?
The year is 2002, and the fight against the FARC-EP in Colombia is at its peak. Near the Ecuadorian border, there’s a FOB guarded by only a small contingent of troops. From their sanctuaries in Ecuador, the FARC launches an offensive into the area. The player’s mission is to reinforce the FOB, provide air support, organize reconnaissance missions to locate targets, and plan patrols. These patrols may engage FARC-EP soldiers, destroy cocaine fields, laboratories, or depots, and locate enemy camps and logistical centers.
The player must fully manage the CMO cargo system to send soldiers, ammunition, and even spare parts from Bogotá to repair damaged air units.
Simulating aerial operations isn’t a problem in CMO, but ground operations? Well, we all know that’s not its strong suit. So, how will we represent those ground battles and reconnaissance operations? The answer: Abstraction, LUA, and HTML.
Here we have the Interface that will allow us to manage our FOB. It is activated through a special decision.
In this main window, we can view the data about our base: how many soldiers we have, how many men are available to form reconnaissance teams, how many heavy machine guns, mortars, and munitions are available. We’ll also see a series of messages that will alert us to different situations—for example, if the FOB perimeter is unsecured or if we’re running low on a specific type of ammunition.
If we look at the lower part of the window, we’ll see several buttons: "Recon," "Patrol," "Intel," "Control," and "Map."
A map? What’s that?
Well, it’s exactly that—a map that shows the different zones into which the region is divided. I’ve added a color layer: red if it’s controlled by the FARC, and green if it’s controlled by Colombia. Naturally, as control changes, the map updates dynamically.
And here we have the windows to control our Patrols and Reconnaissance Missions.
The scenario isn’t finished yet—it still has a long way to go, but I’m not too far from releasing a first version. I’ll gradually explain how various systems work, such as aircraft breakdowns and repairs, reconnaissance missions, patrols, the MEDEVAC system, the enemy AI, and more.
But then, I discovered that I could use HTML and program windows with buttons, and things started getting complicated.
What is the scenario about?
The year is 2002, and the fight against the FARC-EP in Colombia is at its peak. Near the Ecuadorian border, there’s a FOB guarded by only a small contingent of troops. From their sanctuaries in Ecuador, the FARC launches an offensive into the area. The player’s mission is to reinforce the FOB, provide air support, organize reconnaissance missions to locate targets, and plan patrols. These patrols may engage FARC-EP soldiers, destroy cocaine fields, laboratories, or depots, and locate enemy camps and logistical centers.
The player must fully manage the CMO cargo system to send soldiers, ammunition, and even spare parts from Bogotá to repair damaged air units.
Simulating aerial operations isn’t a problem in CMO, but ground operations? Well, we all know that’s not its strong suit. So, how will we represent those ground battles and reconnaissance operations? The answer: Abstraction, LUA, and HTML.
Here we have the Interface that will allow us to manage our FOB. It is activated through a special decision.
In this main window, we can view the data about our base: how many soldiers we have, how many men are available to form reconnaissance teams, how many heavy machine guns, mortars, and munitions are available. We’ll also see a series of messages that will alert us to different situations—for example, if the FOB perimeter is unsecured or if we’re running low on a specific type of ammunition.
If we look at the lower part of the window, we’ll see several buttons: "Recon," "Patrol," "Intel," "Control," and "Map."
A map? What’s that?
Well, it’s exactly that—a map that shows the different zones into which the region is divided. I’ve added a color layer: red if it’s controlled by the FARC, and green if it’s controlled by Colombia. Naturally, as control changes, the map updates dynamically.
And here we have the windows to control our Patrols and Reconnaissance Missions.
The scenario isn’t finished yet—it still has a long way to go, but I’m not too far from releasing a first version. I’ll gradually explain how various systems work, such as aircraft breakdowns and repairs, reconnaissance missions, patrols, the MEDEVAC system, the enemy AI, and more.