Introductory Guide for New and Prospective Players

This Guide is intended for players that are ether new to , or are considering buying, Command Modern Operations. My intention in writing this guide is to help you understand what it is you are getting into, and offer some more insight into the game than the product page does, as a game with the price and depth as this one can be intimidating.

This guide is not intended to walk you through the gameplay or tutorials, but instead gives some general detailed information on what to expect and how to get yourself going without getting too overwhelmed. This guide basically assumes that you have already read the product page, looked at the screenshots, and have enough of an interest in the subject matter.

While I have logged over 800 hours in the previous version, Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations, I do not consider myself a total pro at Command. There are still plenty of aspects of this game that I am not completely comfortable with, and there are several scenarios that I won't even attempt yet. I hope that since my experience may be somewhat closer to newer players than the very skilled, perhaps my guide will be somewhat more approachable and an effective primer for the many great guides out there made by the developers and veteran players.


Thanks in advance for reading, I hope this is helpful, and i welcome feedback of all kinds.

NOTE: I do make occasional tweaks and updates to this guide that are noteworthy, so if you want to be notified of when they happen, subscribe to the comments thread at the bottom, as I will always leave a comment when it make a noteworthy addtion.

Prologue: What if I already have CMANO? Should I get CMO?

Yes. Unless you literally cannot afford to, there is no reason for not upgrading to Command: Modern Operations.

CMANO is no longer supported or sold, all the developer effort has gone into CMO.

Until January 1st, 2020, you can get CMO for 50% off if you already own CMANO, so take advantage of that if you haven't already!

1. What is Command: Modern Operations?

Command: Modern Operations is a real-time wargame of, as the title suggests, Modern air and naval warfare. It is also the sequel to Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations.

When they say 'Modern', they mean any time after World War II, so basically the last 70 years or so, as well as the near future, i've seen scenarios go as far as the late 2020s (More on that later).

There are land forces represented, but they are limited. Units that are directly related to air and naval warfare (Air defense sites, airfields, naval bases etc) are represented very well, but not things like tanks. They are mainly meant to be there relative to air and sea power (ex. targets for airstrikes). There have been some limited improvements

CMO is about as realistic as you can get for a commercial product. The capabilties of some units, like the F-22 Raptor for example, required some speculation on the developer's part, as so much is classified. That is why there is a Professional Edition of CMO that the developers have created. "How do I buy this version?" you may ask. My answer is this: Be a defense contractor or a national Defense Department/Ministry. The Pro version is meant for real military people to use as they see fit, and it has capabilites that are limited to those professional customers, meaning the USAF can punch in the real capabilites of the F-22 to use in CMO, but you and I cannot.

There is not necessarily universal agreement on what to call this. Is it a game? A wargame? A simulation? an analytical tool?

I think it is really all of the above and more, but for the sake of simplicity and consistency in this guide, from this point forward I will refer to CMO as a 'game'.

The entire game is played on one 3D map of planet earth, which has been described as "Google Earth-style". It does bear some resemblances to Google Earth, and is smooth and quick to navigate. There is an optional highly detailed view of satellite images as well as several terrain information layers. See section () of the Manual for more information.

The rest of the User Interface (UI) is basically in the style of a generic Windows program, but with arguably more aesthetically pleasing touches. There are aspects of it that are intended to be user friendly,

1.1 The Databases

Really the meat of CMO lies in it's two Databases. They contain all of the units in the game, and there are literally thousands of entries in each Database. New stuff is usually added with each patch. They are so large in fact that it is the reason for there being two. They are divided along the following lines:

Cold War Database (CWDB):

This database contains stuff avalible between the years of 1946 until 1979. Some of you may ask why the 'Cold War' database ends in 1979, when the Cold War didn't end until 1989-91. I will simply quote the developers on this.

From their "Mega FAQ", found here: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=2920

Why was 1979 selected for the end of the Cold War Database rather than 1989?

1979 was in many ways a watershed year with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian Revolution beginning to change superpower dynamics and the Cold War’s end game unknowingly commenced. 1980 would see the Reagan era and the biggest peacetime military build up in history unfolding.
By the time the Cold War ended, much of the hardware was technologically mature and the current setup demonstrates this nicely. Each covers roughly thirty-years, about as long as a professional career in the armed forces of the given periods.
Also, there is platform overlap built into both databases so from a user standpoint when one database ends and the other begins is pretty much irrelevant. Also, ne mother of a database from 1946 to near future is too big for one guy so Paul Bridge cover the 1946-1979 time frame and Ragnar Emsoy covers from 1980 onwards. Mike is working on both databases and is the land combat element expert.

The other database in the game is Database 3000 (DB3000 or DB3K):

This database contains stuff from 1980 until the present day, as well as the near future. There is some overlap between databases, as there were several ships, subs, aircraft and such that were in service during this transition between 1979 and 1980. So you will find some of the same stuff in both databases.

A few other words about the databases before we move to the next section:

In CMO, it is impossible to use stuff from both CWDB and DB3000 in one scenario, one or the other must be used.

Most units have several entries for the same thing. This may seem strange, but it is nessicary. Most vessels and aircraft were in service for quite some time, and went through various upgrades and changes in their service lifes. A well know example would be the Iowa Class Battleships. They have several entries with different years tied to them, representing the upgrades. So the USS Iowa 1983 will be different than USS Iowa 1990.

The databases contain not only real military hardware, but also prototypes and real concept hardware. As an example, here are a few speculative US aircraft in the DB3000 you can use in CMO:

The Aurora Spyplane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(aircraft)

F-117X "Seahawk", an aircraft carrier based version of the F-117 stealth fighter.

F-19A Ghostrider stealth fighter. This was what thought to be 'the secret stealth aircraft' before the F-117 was publically unveiled.

1.2 A Note on the Price

Certainly one thing that can put people off about CMO is the price: $79.99 USD.

Several players have gone into this in detail about this, so I'll be somewhat brief here.

For full disclosure, I did not pay the 79.99 for CMO. Since I already owned a copy of CMANO, I, along with all other previous players, were able to get CMO for 50% off through Jan. 1st 2020. Additonally, I already owned all the previously released Command DLC which carried over into CMO.

Yes, $79.99 is a lot of money to invest on one game. However, once you understand what CMANO is, you will understand why the price is so high.

It may not look like it on the surface, but CMO is has alot of depth. The size and detail of the databases, as well as the free updates and good tech support really means that all things considered, for what you get, 79.99 really is a great deal.

Additionally, CMO has alot of nice new features that are not present in CMANO. I will go into further detail in the next section on that.

Of course if you can get CMO on sale, that is always a plus.

1.3 CMO vs CMANO

While alot of what is in CMO is carried over from CMANO, there are alot of major improvements. I will list some here and provide links to handy information articles from the developers.

-Vastly improved engine: The overall performance of the Command Engine is vastly improved over the previous title. While I'm not knowledgeable enough to explain this in detail, I can say that moving around the map is VERY smooth and fluid, like Google Earth.

-Improved map layers: There is a new optional map layer of highly detailed satelitte images, which are linked to a central server so that you don't need to download vast satellite image data. There are other new useful map layers as well.

NOTE: You do not need to be online to play CMO, you can still functionally play everything while offline, the online aspect is just for the high detailed images.

-Realistic submarine communications: This optional feature simulates realistic lack of contact with submarines under your command. Once one of your subs goes below a certain depth, and you will have no idea where they are or what they are doing. To issue orders, you will have to attempt to summon them to communications depth first.

-An improved, User Friendly, UI: While CMO and CMANO play similarly, the User Interface of CMO has been overhauled to be more user friendly, especially with big colored buttons avaliable for some essential functions.

-Previous DLC exclusive features are now standard: Features that were previously exclusive to certain CMANO DLCs are now Standard in CMO: Aircraft Damage, Improved Cargo Ops, Communcations disruptions, and Future weaponry.

Below are links to informative articles from the developers that tell you more about what is new in CMO.

Command: Modern Operations Interview:
http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=4948

Command: Modern Operations – User interface and experience, Part I
http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=4954

Command: Modern Operations – User interface and experience, Part II
http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=4975

Command: Modern Operations – The grunt’s lot: Improvements to ground operations
http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=4982

Command: Modern Operations – The new simulation & editor features
http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=4990

1.4 World War II Combat?

This comes up alot among people who are new to CMANO. I thought I would try to explain the status regarding this:

The good news:

The Cold War Database does include some World War II ships and planes. Most are stuff that were still in service in the first decade or so after 1945, mainly ships and planes from nations like the US, USSR and UK.

Some stuff was not in service at this time, but were added in based on requests from the community:

There are some Ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). This includes some battleships (no Yamato), aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers. As far as I know, the aircraft selection is limited to A6M Zero, D3A Val, and B5N Kate, and a handful of other land and carrier based aircraft.

You can also find the 1941 Pearl Harbor Battleships, The early war US aircraft Carriers (and a few of thier essential aircraft like the F4F Wildcat and SBD Dauntless), as well as a few German U-Boats.

So there is enough there to just barely recreate some of the early Pacific War naval battles such as Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea and Midway.

There is even this, which is probably one of the main reasons players were asking for IJN assets: http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=2306

Now, the bad news:

This game engine was not built with the intention of recreating WWII naval and air combat. The way the engine stands now, there are limitations. First i will quote from the developer's Mega FAQ:

Are WW2 scenarios possible, like Battle of Midway?

[...]

some things that mattered a lot in WW1/2 but became increasingly irrelevant post-war are not yet modelled. Plunging shell fire easily comes to mind. Another is that the tactical AI (Artificial Intelligence) is unaware of "crossing the T". Diesel subs are always assumed to have a snorkel, which was true only to a limited extend towards the end of the war. Plus some other things.

So, yes, WWII battles are possible, but they arelimited at this stage.

The improvements to the engine in CMO do make WWII combat more doable, especially with improvements in performance and dogfight modelling.

Intriguing suggestions from the developers have indicated that CMO may very well get an expansion for WWII Combat at some stage.

2. The Command DLCs

For starters, all of CMO is one program, with the content that you have not purchased being blocked from you. So if you only own CMO, the other content is still there, you just cant play it.

Command: Modern Operations (CMO), is what can be called 'the base game' This is the one that costs 79.99. It gives you every feature and capability CMO offers.

In the subsequent sections, I will detail the different what the other CMO content is.


Unlike with CMANO, the currently avaliable campaign DLCs are not standalone expansions, meaning you MUST own CMO to play them.

I do not know at this time if there will be future standalone campaigns.

2.1.1 Northern Inferno

Command: Northern Inferno is a campaign that is DLC for CMO.

Scenario List: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4000

The campaign has 15 scenarios, but they are all playable individually.

The Northern Inferno campaign is set in 1975, and depicts a fictional conflict between NATO and the Warsaw Pact in Europe, with you, the player, taking command of different NATO forces at different points of the conflict. You cannot play as the Warsaw Pact in Northern Inferno. What I find interesting about Northern Inferno is that it is set in a period of the Cold War when Soviet naval forces may have had a conventional advantage over NATO naval forces. This was when the Soviets were heavily investing in anti-ship missiles, while NATO countermeasures were not completely ready yet (i.e. the Phalanx CIWS would not be avalible for a few more years)

2.1.2 Chains of War

Command: Chains of War is a campaign DLC for CMO.

Scenario List: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4521

The Chains of War campaign contains 12 scenarios, as well as an additional 4 standalone scenarios that are separate from the campaign. All are playable individually.

The Chains of War campaign is set in 2018, and depicts an escalating conflict in East Asia and the Western Pacific, with China and North Korea on one side, and the United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and Australia on the other. Each scenario in the campaign has you fighting on one side or the other, so if you play the scenarios in order, you will be flipping back and forth.

2.1.3 Shifting Sands

Command: Shifting Sands is a campaign DLC for CMO:

Scenario List I: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4606
Scenario List II: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4621
Scenario List III: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4623

The Shifting sands campaign contains 17 scenarios, which are all playable individually.

This Campaign pack, unlike NI and CoW, is focused and based on historical conflicts, in this case the Arab-Israeli Wars between 1956 and 1982. Another intent behind this campaign is to showcase the changes in modern warfare that were effectively demonstrated in the many clashes between Israel and it's neighbors, chiefly the growth of mIssile technology.

There are 17 scenarios included, 14 of which are historical engagements, with the other three being hypothetical battles that could have happened during the conflicts being depicted. Two of the scenarios are playable from ether side, with the rest being limited to one side.

Most of the scenarios are centered on the period 1967-1973, which encompasses the Six Day War in June 1967, the 'War of Attrition' from 1967 to 1970, and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

2.1.4 The Silent Service

Command: The Silent Service is a Campaign DLC. It's focus is the history of submarine warfare after World War II, from 1950 to the present day. It contains 18 scenarios, ranging in years from 1950 to 2017.

Scenario List I: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4701
Scenario List II: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4718

The 'correct order' of scenarios in this case is not chonologically by date, but rather are listed in ascending order of difficulty (easy to hard).

Throughout the different scenarios, you control, at various points, submarine forces from the following nations:
-The United States of America
-The United Kingdom
-The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Before 1992)
-The Russian Federation (after 1992)
-The Republic of India
Additonally, one scenario has the player command a combined force of NATO submarines from the US, UK, and France.

The campaign has 18 scenarios overall, and they are all playable individually.

2.1.5 Desert Storm

Command: Desert Storm is a Campaign DLC. It's focus is on the 1990-1991 Gulf War between the Iraqi Republic under Saddam Hussein on one side, and a multi-nation coalition led by the US on the other.

Scenario List I: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4899
Scenario List II: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=4906

The Campaign contains 14 historical and hypothetical scenarios set during the period between August 1st, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the end of February 1991, when Kuwait was liberated and Iraqi forces routed. All of the scenarios are playable from only the Coalition or Israel (as applicable)

One thing to note is that unlike Shifting Sands, Desert Storm is not a completely historical pack. While the setting is very much historical, several of the scenarios feature some inclusion of hypothetical elements for gameplay purposes, so if you are expecting precise recreations of the Gulf War, this may somewhat disappoint you.

2.1.6 Kashmir Fire

Command: Kashmir Fire is a Campaign DLC.

Set in 2024, this 15 scenario campaign features a major war between two of the greatest rivals of the modern world: India and Pakistan.

Scenario List: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=5162

After a Skirmish resulting from an India Cross-Border raid against terrorists, the two long standing rivals engage in open warfare. More than once there is a major danger of nuclear weapons use, and eventually both the United States and China join the war, the former on the side of India, the latter joining Pakistan. Major Air and Sea Operations including a carrier battle between US and PRC Flattops.

2.1.7 Red Tide

Command: Red Tide is a Campaign DLC that has 12 Scenarios.

Red Tide is a follow up/successor to Command: Northern Inferno. The latter was a NATO - Warsaw Pact Clash in 1975, mainly in the North Atlantic and Arctic, and was only playable as NATO.

However, Red Tide is set 10 years later in 1985, and this time the NATO-Warsaw Pact war is global with scenarios ranging from the North Atlantic, Norwegian/Barents Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Strait of Gibraltar, Central Pacific, South China Sea and South Atlantic.

Scenario List: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=5257

While the Campaign is mainly played from the NATO side, two scenarios ("Kobayashi Maru" and "End Game") are played from the Soviet perspective.

The following are the Belligerents in this World War III

Blue Force:

NATO:
-All Member States (as of 1985) have forces directly represented in the scenarios except for Iceland, Denmark and Luxembourg. Turkey and Greece only appear in a very limited capacity in the form of Radar sites in the scenario "Kobayashi Maru"

Allies:
Australia
New Zealand
Malaysia
Singapore
Brunei
Japan
The Philippines
Taiwan
Brazil
Chile

Red Force:

Warsaw Pact: Only USSR Forces are represented in the scenarios as the other members' naval and air forces would have been limited to action in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and supporting the land war in Europe.

Allies:
Libya
Vietnam
Cuba
Angola
Algeria

2.1.8 Falklands

Command: Falklands is a Campaign DLC that has 15 Scenarios (13 Campaign and 2 bonus).

Scenario List: https://command.matrixgames.com/?p=5381

As the name suggests, this is an official campaign of the 1982 Falklands War (also know as The South Atlantic War) fought between the UK and Argentina, after the latter's surprise invasion of the Falkland Islands, which to this day are claimed by Argentina (and known as Islas Malvinas to them).

There are 13 historical scenarios of the April-June war, and two bonus scenarios with assets that were unavailable in the real war, chiefly the Carrier HMS Ark Royal, and the never-built original HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier.

Further details forthcoming as I work my way through the DLC

2.1.9 Fail Safe

Command: Fail Safe is a campaign DLC that consists of 12 scenarios.

Scenario List: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12033&t=409234

This campaign features a fictional NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict starting in July 1965, following an incident involving a downed Soviet reconnaissance aircraft in the Arctic. This campaign is during an era in Cold War One when tactical nuclear warfare was still considered a major part of each side's combat doctrine, and when considerable amounts of late 1940s/early 1950s equipment was still in service. The nuclear threshold will be crossed much earlier than in campaigns set later in Cold War One.

Of the twelve scenarios in the campaign, 8 are played from the NATO/Allied side, and 4 are played from the Soviet side. The combat areas range from the North, Western, and Eastern Atlantic, the Norwegian & Barents Seas, The North Pacific & Bering Sea, The Red Sea, and the many seas in and around Indonesia & Malaysia.

2.2.1 Command: LIVE

Command: LIVE: is more conventional DLC.

Each LIVE DLC usually has one scenario depicting a possible clash between opposing military forces in today's world, based on current geopolitical tensions and events. This is most definitely "ripped from the headlines" stuff. As of this writing, there are 13 LIVE DLCs currently available.

They are as follows:

Command LIVE Ep. 1: Old Grudges Never Die
Russia vs Turkey in Syria, Summer 2016

Command LIVE Ep. 2: You Brexit, you Fix It!
Russia vs NATO and other countries in Europe, August 2016
Includes two scenarios, one with a weak NATO response to Russian attack and another with a strong NATO response.

Command LIVE Ep. 3: Spratly Spat
People's Republic of China Vs Multinational 'Task Force Guardian' in the South China Sea, September 2016

Command LIVE Ep. 4: Don of a New Era
Russia Vs NATO and Ukraine, November 2016.
(NOTE: The setup of this scenario involves the sensitive 2016 US Presidential Election. Keep in mind that this was made before Election day and does not comment on ether candidate)

Command LIVE Ep 5: Korean Missile Crisis
United States/South Korea and Russia Vs North Korea, February 2017

Command LIVE Ep. 6: Pole Positions
United States Vs Russia in a secret clash under the Arctic Ice, Summer 2017

Command LIVE Ep. 7: Black Gold Blitz
Saudi Arabia vs Iran, November 2017

Command LIVE Ep. 8: Commonwealth Collision
United Kingdom and India vs Pakistan and China, June 2018

Command LIVE Ep. 9: Kuril Sunrise
Russia vs Japan, October 2018

Command LIVE Ep. 10: The King of the Border
United States and Colombia vs Russia and Venezuela, 2019

Command LIVE Ep. 11: Broken Shield 300
Israel vs Syria, February 2020

Command LIVE Ep. 12: Aegean in Flames
Greece vs Turkey, June 2020

Command LIVE Ep. 13: Sahel Slugfest
France and Chad vs China and Sudan, February 2021

Each LIVE Scenario allows you to play as both sides, with the unusual exception of Episode 5: Korean Missile Crisis. In that one, there are 3 sides (North Korea, Russia, and US/South Korea). You can play as ether Russia or US/South Korea. They are both against North Korea, but are not allies toward each other, and are basically both attacking the same country with little coordination or cooperation.

These scenarios offer not only interesting gameplay, but also offer some educational insight into current military situations around the world. For example, the First LIVE DLC, "Old Grudges Never Die" effectively conveys the tense situation in the skies over Syria, with multiple air forces operating in the same area and not necessarily cooperating. "Korean Missile Crisis" demonstrates the risks as well as the massive firepower and coordination needed to launch a preemptive attack on North Korea's nuclear program.

2.2.2 Command: Showcase

Last Updated 01/09/2024

Command: Showcase is a series of DLC scenarios that,
"will put you in command of the most significant weapons sensors and units in the modern era with new and hypothetical theaters of war."

Showcase #1: Queen Elizabeth

This first Showcase DLC features the Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth operating near the People's Republic of China, with the PRC apparently dispatching significant naval forces in her direction.

Showcase #2: Ford Class

The second Showcase DLC centers around the latest US Super-carrier: USS Gerald R. Ford, and her air wing. Set around a fictional crisis in Angola in 2026, the Ford CSG is dispatched to help the besieged US Embassy and prepare to counter Russian forces in the area. This scenario is unique in that the player can select one of three different air wings for the carrier, with different amounts of F-35Cs and other aircraft.

Showcase #3: Operation Desert Falcon

This Showcase DLC focuses on more recent game-play additions to Command, such as the Multi-Domain Strike Planner, Ops Planner, and Palatalized Munitions. The year is 2027, and an Anti-Western/Colonial faction in Chad has launched a violent coup, threatening French interests in the country. Playing as France, you have to respond with assets as far away as Southern France and the Atlantic coast off Cameroon. You must launch airstrikes as well as organize an evacuation of civilians from a besieged airport.

Showcase #4: Icebreakers

This Showcase DLC features a scenario in Aug. 2025, where the receding polar ice has made the Northern Sea Route, along Russia's Arctic north, much more viable to commercial shipping, with the distance from Shanghai to Copenhagen being considerably shorter. As a result, Russia is trying to assert control over the waters in the Arctic. In response, the US and Canada have jointly organized a naval Freedom of Navigation operation to demonstrate freedom of the seas in the high north. The USN and RCN are sending surface warships to conduct the FONOP, led by a USCG Icebreaker ship to create a corridor through the sea ice. One standout so far is that it seems both side's fleets in this scenario will possess hypersonic Anti-Ship missiles.

2.3 "Which DLC should I get?"

If you want to get some of the DLC as a newer player, here's my recommendiations:

Campaign:

I emphatically recommend Red Tide for newer players as a first purchase.
I found its first 3-5 scenarios to be a good blend of realistic and relatively easy for less experienced players. Only the last scenario in the campaign has a difficulty above 3 (out of 5). For Instance, the first scenario is a pretty simple ASW scenario, while the 2nd is larger, but most of the actions you need to do can be left to the pre-made missions. I wouldn't recommend jumping straight into this campaign though, rather tackle it after you've already got a handle on some of the gameplay.

An alternative first purchase would be Shifting Sands. I say this because:

1) It is a primarily historical content pack, so if you are more interested in real battles than fictional ones, than this one may be better for you.
2) It covers a wider range of technologies than most other DLCs, allowing you to try out different play styles and tactics.
3) Almost all of the scenarios are less than 10 hours in game time, with the longest being 24 hours, allowing you to get right into the action in most cases.
4) Most of the scenarios have difficulty and complexity ratings of 3 or lower, making this somewhat more approachable to newer players.

Lastly, if you have a particular interest or passion for Submarine Warfare, The Silent Service would be a good first purchase.

LIVE:

From the wide array of LIVE DLCs, I would recommend for newer players:

Episode 6: Pole Positions; because it is a slow paced scenario, more detail in section 7.2

Episode 9: Kuril Sunrise; due to its relatively small focus and neat match up.

Episode 13: Sahel Slugfest; due to the distances involved making the flow more slower than some others.

3. What else should I know before load up/purchase the game?

One thing that you will need to play CMO, above all, is.........

PATIENCE

You will probably not get the hang of this in one sitting. You will make mistakes. You will lose battles. Your ships will sink. Your planes will be shot down. Your missile and airstrikes will fail. It is all part of the learning process.

Take your time. You have a pause button for a reason. You can do almost anything while paused. The game will never penalize you for taking your time while paused. Some players spend hours planning things out before even unpausing a scenario at the start.

All Scenarios have a time limit of some kind, but most give you plenty to work with. Most scenarios i have played range from 6 hours to 2 days. They can be shorter or much longer though.

And don't worry, there are plenty of time compression options to speed things up, so you do not need to spend 48 hours to play a 2 day scenario.

Some think that you need to micromanage every detail to win. This is not nessicarily true. To quote the developer's website "Lead, Don't Micromanage". You can individually order your ships and aircraft around, or you can assign them automated missions for them to execute on thier own. The amount of decisions you need to make is partially up to what you want to do.

On that note, let me clarify what is meant by "Scenarios" and "Missions", as some may get confused.

A Scenario is bascially a battle/operation setup that you load to play. You play the game in scenarios.

A Mission is a planned order you give to your units while in a scenario, For example you can assign one of your destroyers to an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) mission in a designated area, or give your bombers a strike mission against an enemy airfield. You make the missions, assign the units to them and other details, and then the units execute the mission automatically.

You will learn more about this as you play.


Finally, the vastly expanded manual is VERY Helpful. You will find it a key resource while playing.

4. Regarding the Tutorials

You should absolutely play the tutorials first. That is what they are there for.

I have not played most of these myself, but I hope to getting around to checking them out myself eventually.

The tutorials are broken down as follows:

Air Warfare:

8 Flight Operations Tutorials

6 Strike Operations Tutorials

1 Tutorial on Electronic Warfare

1 Tutorial on mid-air refueling


8 Submarine Warfare Tutorials

6 Surface Warfare Tutorials

1 Tutorial on Antisubmarine Warfare

1 Tutorial on Cargo Operations

1 Tutorial on Mine Operations


Uncle Mark's Tutorials:

Six tutorials in a variety of combat situations.

5. The Community Scenario Pack

Community make scenarios can be found on the Steam Workshop, as well as the semi-official Community Scenario Pack, which can also be found here:
http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

Many would agree that this is a MUST download for CMO players. Right now there are well over 400 scenarios in the pack. Every CMO player should have this in their game files.

6. Scenarios Part I: The kinds of Scenarios you will encounter

There are several different things that determine what you will experience in a scenario, but I will go over a few of them here.

Many scenarios will make it clear what to expect from the begnining (an air to air scenario vs an Anti-submarine scenario for example).

There is also the Difficulty/Complexity levels. These are determined by the scenario author, and can be seen at the top of the scenario selection window as green bars. Both Difficulty and Complexity are ranked on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most difficult/complex.

Difficulty is roughtly translated as how hard it will be to complete your objectives

Complexity is roughly translated as how many units you have to work with and/or how many different kinds of tasks you have to complete.

This is not an exact measurement, but I think is a good introduction.

Lastly, there are several different kinds of scenarios in terms of the setting, and what it strives to convey. As far as I know, no one has categorized them like this, so the following is completely my own interpretation.

Tutorial Scenarios: Tutorials that are made by players. They usually cover some specific aspect of gameplay, rather than general tutorials. There aren't too many of these outside the official tutorials, but they are out there. You may find them useful.

Exercise Scenarios: These are scenarios that, while they play like regular scenarios, are meant to represent military exercises, ether within a nation's armed forces, or between the armed forces of allied nations.
Example: En Garde, 2013 (in Community Scenario Pack), with the UK going up against France

Historical Sandbox Scenarios: These are scenarios set in a historical conflict but are not recreations of specific operations.
Example: Yankee Team, 1966 (in the Community Scenario Pack), a Vietnam War scenario depicting US Navy strikes on North Vietnam, with random targets and aircraft each time.

Historical Recreation Scenarios: These are somewhat different from Historical Sandbox in that they are usually smaller in scope, and are focused more on recreating a specific operation or battle.
Examples:
Battle of Latakia, 1973 (Standalone Scenario) a depiction of the first battle between ships armed with Anti-Ship Missiles
First Battle of Donetsk Airport, 2014 (in the Community Scenario Pack) is a more recent example from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Fictional Scenarios: Perhaps a small majority of the scenarios would fall under this category. Fictional operations of various types. They usually have some kind of real world context surrounding them, such as with the large variety of Cold War Gone Hot scenarios.

Alternate History Scenarios: These are similar to fictional scenarios, but instead usually have more of a story or narrative to them.
Example: The Fury Series by Bart 'Gunner98' Gauvin (in the Community Scenario Pack) is a whole world war of campaigns, such as Northern Fury, Indian Ocean Fury, Baltic Fury, Caribbean Fury, Mediterranean Fury, and Pacific Fury. It's set in a plot where the USSR did not collapse, and a world war starts in February 1994.

Future Combat Scenarios: I differentiate these from Fictional scenarios because there purpose often focuses on a clash that could happen. Keep in mind that the passage of time could make these scenarios set in the past, but it often does not diminish their purpose. An example would be a scenario made in 2014 that is set in 2016. As it is now 2017, it is technically in the past, but is still intended as a hypothetical future combat scenario.
Examples:
Command: Chains Of War DLC
Command: Kashmir Fire DLC
Command LIVE DLCs.

Adapted Scenarios: These are scenarios adapted from some other fictional source. Often these are novels.
Example: Several scenarios in the Community scenario pack are adapted from the book, The War That Never Was by Michael Palmer, focusing on a NATO-Warsaw Pact clash in 1989.

Novelty Scenarios: There are not many of these, but they are there. These are scenarios that are not meant to be taken too seriously, and are just for fun.
Examples: (all from Community Scenario Pack)
Ancient Armies, Modern Weapons, 2014
Battle of Yavin, 1980
Colier's Halloween Iceland Adventure, 2018

7. Scenarios Part II: Good Scenarios to start with

The Tutorials can only teach you so much. This why you should consider playing your first real scenarios as extensions of the tutorials.

Different scenarios sometimes emphasize different aspects of modern air and naval warfare, so different scenarios with specific focuses are good ways to help you learn.

Here, I will list some scenarios that I have found to be very instructive and helpful. I will only list scenarios that I have personally played and come from across the spectrum of the CMO content.

There are more helpful scenarios out there, I am only listing ones that I have personally found helpful.

For reference, here is a simple key for labeling where each scenario comes from:

Standalone: These scenarios can be found in the list of Standalone Scenarios that come with the CMO Base game

CSP: These scenarios can be found in the Community Scenario Pack, and most probably on the Steam Workshop

NI These scenarios can be found in the Northern Inferno Campaign. They are playable individually.

CoW: These scenarios can be found in the Chains of War DLC

ShSa: These scenarios can be found in the Shifting Sands DLC

SiSer These Scenarios can be found in the Silent Service DLC

DS These scenarios can be found in the Desert Storm DLC

KF These scenarios can be found in the Kashmir Fire DLC

RT These Scenarios can be found in the Red Tide DLC

The Scenarios are listed by category in the next few sections:

7.1 Surface Warfare

Surface Warfare: Ships Vs Ships

-Battle of Chumonchin Chan, 1950 (Standalone)

This is a historical scenario, a recreation of a real engagement during the first year of the Korean War in 1950. You command three ships: An American Light Cruiser, a British Light Cruiser and a British Sloop, against North Korean patrol boats and coastal batteries. Plays like a WWII Battle, but is a good way to practice coordinating more than one ship and using naval guns.

-Battle of Lakatia, 1973 (Standalone)

Another Historical scenario. As said earlier, this is a recreation of the first engagement between opposing naval vessels armed with Anti-Ship Missiles. It occured off the coast of Syria during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. You command the Israeli naval forces against Syrian Missile boats. There are some merchant ships in the area so be careful what you shoot at!

-Grey Ghost from the East Coast, 1975 (NI)

Part of the Northern Inferno Campaign. You command a NATO surface force in the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland against a Soviet Surface force. Cruisers and Destroyers on both sides. You also have a few air assets to help you.

-Red Sea Rumble, 1956 (ShSa)

The first scenario of the Shifting Sands campaign. This is during the 1956 Suez War, where a joint force of Israel, France and the United Kingdom fought Egypt after the latter's nationalization of the Suez Canal. In this historical scenario, you have command of five Royal Navy ships in the Gulf of Suez, which is to the south of the canal, between Egypt proper and the Sinai peninsula. You must engage and destroy any Egyptian vessels you find, as they are hostile to you. The Gulf of Suez is packed with civilian watercraft, so be careful with what you shoot at. This engagement was probably the last proper naval gun battle in history.

-Four Ships near Demon Point, 1988 (CSP)

Created by community designer Mark Gellis. Shortly after the outbreak of a conventional World War III in 1988, instead of being at the center of the action, you are in one of the far flung reaches of the world: The South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, only around 1000 miles from Antarctica. You have command of two US warships, a Knox class frigate and a Farragut class Destroyer, as well as their two helicopters. Your mission is to find and destroy two Soviet warships in the area. Both your group and the Soviets are pretty capable, so whoever gets off the first shots will have a tremendous advantage.

- The 'First Contact' Series (Standalone; 4 Scenarios)

This is a series of four scenarios that depict an opening naval engagement between the Royal Norwegian Navy and Soviet/Russian Ships off the coast of Northern Norway. They are set in four different years: 1957, 1973, 1986 and 2016. They reflect advances in Missile/Torpedo Boat technology throughout the Cold War and Post Cold War periods. You can play as ether side in all scenarios. Each scenario only features light surface forces (Frigates, Old Destroyers, Torpedo Boats, Missile Boats). There are no aircraft or submarines, except for a few ship based helicopters in the 2016 scenario. These scenarios are fun and educational. A good way to try out some Missile Warfare Tactics (except 1957 scenario, which is basically a gun and torpedo battle).

7.2 Submarine and Antisubmarine Warfare

Submarine and Anti-Submarine Warfare:

-Trapped Under Ice, 1999. (Standalone)

This scenario postulates that the 1999 Pristina Airport Standoff in Kosovo escalates to a major confrontation between NATO and the Russian Federation. You have command of a single submarine, USS Hartford, of the Los Angeles Class. You are operating under the Arctic Ice near the North Pole, and have orders to find and sink a Russian Typhoon class nuclear missile Submarine, and it is being escorted by Russian attack submarines that you will have to deal with.

-The Bedford Incident, 1985 (RT)

Based on the Novel and Film of the same name (which I highly recommend), this is the first scenario of the Red Tide campaign. You have command of two NATO ships, Destroyer USS Bedford and Norwegian Frigate Narvik, along with a few P-3 Orions, near the Norwegian Svalbard Islands in the Arctic. Reports of Soviet activity close to the islands send your ships to the area to investigate. Tensions are high due to some recent low level buzzing of Bedford by Soviet attack aircraft. Follow your orders and await developments.

-Opening Moves, 1975. (NI)

The First Scenario of the Northern Inferno Campaign. You have command of NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), consisting of ships from multiple nations in the Alliance, as well as some air assets. You are on alert with the developing crisis, and must find and track Soviet Submarines in the Norwegian Sea. Your orders will change during the course of the scenario.

-Merry Christmas, 1985 (CSP)
Created by Matrix Forum user BeirutDude. This is a relatively simple scenario. In the midst of a fictional Middle East Crisis, WWIII breaks out on Xmas eve 1985 with the Warsaw Pact armies storming into West Germany. Prior to the outbreak of war, survellance units detected a Soviet Victor I submarine headed toward US naval bases on the Atlantic coast. You have a single destroyer and an airfield with a P-3 squadron on hand to find and sink this submarine.

-Ulleungdo Island, 2018 (CSP)
Created by Matrix Forum user BeirutDude. For this fictional scenario, in September 2018 there is an attempted Coup de'tat in North Korea against the Kim Regime. The coup failed, and as a result, civil war has erupted in North Korea. Two days later, a US flagged cargo ship in the Sea of Japan is suddenly attacked by a submarine with torpedoes and sunk. A surviving crew member who served in the US navy reports seeing the perpetrator being North Korean submarine as it surfaced to observe it's target. The reasons for this attack are not clear, but this clearly rogue submarine must be stopped before more merchants are sunk. You have command of a single US destroyer, the Arleigh Burke class USS McCampbell, along with it's two helicopters. You must find, positively identify, and sink this submarine. It will not be easy as you have no support. Japan and South Korea do not want to be involved, and US forces in Japan have been forced to redeploy due to an incoming typhoon. Read your briefing carefully, and this scenario also as somewhat randomized deployment for neutral shipping and the hostile submarine (along with other units), so this is very open to replayability as well as a good challenge.

-Pole Positions, 2017 (LIVE Episode 6)

This cheap DLC actually offers an interesting scenario that isn't too challenging as long as you are patient and have a reasonable understanding of modern submarine warfare. The scenario allows you to play as ether the United States or Russia, and provides you with a full week of time to work with. The situation is that the Russian navy is building a sort of SOSUS array underwater in the Arctic Ocean, and the US does not approve. The US Government approves a secret operation to disrupt the progress on the underwater array via deniable sabotage.

As the US, you must use the submarines attached to you command to complete three tasks: 1) Locate and Identify the three Russian special operations submarines that are working on the underwater array. 2) Examine an underwater Nuclear reactor 3) Enact the plan for sabotage, which involves the use of Navy SEALs and UUVs.

As Russia, you must support the continued construction operations and be on the lookout for any interference.

I've played this as the US and found it a fun and interesting scenario, which I classify as a Cold War II operation.

-Those Who Hunt Goblins, 1973 (CSP)
Created by Matrix Forum user Randomizer. This scenario is set around the Cold War tensions that arose following the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. You have command of a US Carrier Group centered around USS Intrepid, in the vicinity of Bermuda in the Atlantic, as well as land based aircraft on Bermuda and Norfolk NAS. Your orders are to locate and keep track of a suspected pair of Soviet SSBNs (Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarines) operating in the area. You will receive updated orders throughout the scenario as the situation develops. There's more Soviet subs and a Surface group in the area, plus recon planes operating out of Cuba. With the increasing tension in the Mediterranean between Sixth Fleet and Fifth Eskadra, things are about to get explosive.....

This is a little more advanced than the above scenarios, so I consider it a good self-test of ASW operations.

7.3 Anti-Air and Strike Warfare

Anti-Air and Strike Warfare:

-Deter, Detect, Defend, 1962 (CSP)

Created by user 'Randomizer'. In a generic nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962, you are in command of one of the NORAD air defense zones, in this case the Pacific Northwest of the United States, as well as southern British Colombia. With US and Canadian interceptors and Surface to Air Missile batteries avalible to you, you must stop Soviet Bomber attacks on cities and other targets in the area. You get to use conventional and nuclear air to air weapons.

-Red Phoenix - Christmas Day, 1986 (CSP)

Created by user 'Excroat3'. Based on a part of the Larry Bond novel Red Phoneix. You have command of some F-16 fighters already in the air, and must intercept incoming North Korean aircraft heading toward your airbase, Kunsan AB, in South Korea.

-Cross Border Skirmish, 1964 (ShSa)

The second scenario in the Shifting Sands campaign. Before the Six Day War in 1967, Syria owned the Golan Heights. These heights gave Syrian forces the ability to easily rain down artillery fire on northern Israel, particularly farming communities along the border. Syria was also working on an effort to divert water from the Jordan River away from Israeli communities. In this scenario, based on a real engagement, you have command of some Israeli forces in Northern Israel, and are tasked with finding and destroying Syrian Artillery batteries along the border with Israel. You have aircraft from one airbase available, as well as two 155mm artillery batteries with which you can order counter battery fire once you find the Syrian guns. You will also face threats from the Syrian Air Force, and have air-to-air fighters as well as some AAA batteries to face that. This scenario is a little challenging, but it allows you to try out basic aerial recon and launching airstrikes with basic ordinance (iron bombs, rockets, guns, napalm) in a relatively small environment without worrying about SAMs. You will face AAA and air to air missiles though.

-Senkaku Crisis, 2010 (CSP)

Created by Matrix Forum User 'Gaigan'. This scenario presents a situation where, following an incident between a Chinese Ship and Japanese Coast Guard ships, a major battle is fought between Japan and China over the disputed Islands in the East China Sea (Japan calls them the Senkakus, China calls them the Diaoyus). You play as Japan. While you do have some warships at your disposal, this is primarily an air warfare scenario, with some anti-ship operations as well, as your orders are to sink four Chinese destroyers in the area. But you will face Chinese aircraft as well as cruise missiles. This is a good scenario to learn and practice air defense and basic Anti-ship strikes, as well as countering enemy cruise missiles.

-The Fiery October, Reprisal, 1962 (CSP)

Created by Matrix forum user 'MichaelJCuozzo'. This scenario is an alternate history engagement during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Following the real shootdown of a U-2 spyplane piloted by Maj. Rudolph Anderson by an SA-2 missile on Oct. 27th, you have command of several air assets in southern Florida. Intitally you must continue low level recon flights of the MRBMs in Cuba. However, unlike in the actual crisis, you will eventually be ordered to launch a retaliatory airstrike against the SA-2 site that shot down Maj. Anderson.

7.4 Miscellanious Scenario Types

Aerial Logistics and Tankers

-Invasion!, 1990 (DS)

This is the first scenario of the Desert Storm Campaign. You have command of US Air Force and Navy assets in Europe and the Continental United States. You will recieve orders in anticipation of, and in response to, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. You will have to move aircraft, both combat and support, to the designated airbases.

While it does contain some minor skirmishing (which is also anachronistic) your main mission is one of logistics. While some of your assets can reach their ordered destinations without Mid-Air refueling Tankers, some will not, so this is a good way to get some practice using Tankers.

Cargo/Amphibious/Airborne Operations

-Leathernecks are Watching, 2025 (CSP)

Created by Community Designer Mark Gellis. This near future scenario features violent unrest in western Indonesia, specifically the western half of the large island of New Guinea. American Medical workers and Missionaries have been taken hostage by local separatists trying to break away from Indonesia. You have control of several US forces, centered around a US Navy Amphibious Assault Carrier, USS America. Your main mission is to rescue hostages at two locations near the northern Coast of New Guinea, and you have both Heliborne Marines and Airborne Rangers based on Guam to do this. You also must strike rebel targets in the area, which include SAMs. Additionally, the Chinese are supplying the separatists, so you must also interdict these shipments. You have two destroyers escorting America and a Submarine available for this task.

7.5 Combined Operations

The following scenarios are ones that combine two or more of the basic types I describe above, and could be seen as a sort of 'self-test' of your abilities.

-Operation Vantage, 1961 (Standalone)

In 1958, a Coup was launched in Iraq that overthrew the Monarchy, establishing the Iraqi Republic, with it's new leader being General Abdul Karim Qasim. In 1961, following the Independence of Kuwait, Qasim publicly proclaimed that Kuwait was Iraq's "19th Province" and would be incorporated as such. This sparked a crisis, as Britain had a defense agreement with Kuwait. While the Crisis was ultimately resolved without violence, the British did deploy Military forces to Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, under Operation Vantage. In this scenario, you get to see what may have happened if hostilities broke out.. The Iraqis have decided to invade Kuwait, and you must use Air, Naval and Ground Forces to defend Kuwait. You have two Fleet Carriers and a helicopter Carrier at your disposal, as well as two airbases and an already established defense line east of Kuwait City. The Iraqis have a mix of Soviet and British equipment, although they are technologically behind your forces, they don't even have SAM sites. As with most Cold War scenarios, the Soviets are in the area, so be careful with which ships you fire on.


-Standing Naval Force Atlantic, 1979 (Standalone)

Following a deadly ramming incident in the Mediterranean Sea, tensions between NATO and the Soviet Union are at a boiling point. After dropping of a force of US Marines in northern Norway for maneuvers, the Amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima is strafed by Soviet fighters. Additionally, intelligence sources indicate that a Soviet surface force returning to Murmansk has orders to engage NATO shipping in the Norwegian Sea. You have command of STANAVFORLANT (Standing Naval Force Atlantic), a multi-national group of destroyers and frigates, as well as the Iwo Jima group and several land based air assets in Norway, Iceland, and Scotland. You must protect the Iwo Jima group as it races south to relative safety in Narvik, Norway, and destroy the Soviet Surface force. There are submarine and air threats as well.

-Reinforcement, 1979 (Standalone)

This scenario presents a Civil War in the Philippines, with the Government fighting against Communist Rebels. The United States, a long standing ally, sends aircraft and US Marines to the Islands to help the Manila Government. However, the Communist rebels are receiving support from the Soviet Union and recently united Vietnam. You must protect the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit Transports en-rout to Manila through the South China Sea. You have land based aircraft, Destroyers, and Submarines to use. Stay on alert for actions from the Soviets and Vietnamese.

-Kobayashi Maru, 1985 (RT)

The second scenario of the Red Tide campaign, this one occurs concurrently with The Bedford Incident (see above in section 7.2). You have command of elements of the Soviet Fifth Eskadra in the Mediterranean, including submarines, surface forces, and aircraft. Your orders are to shadow two NATO carrier groups conducting ASW exercises near Sicily and Malta (including a US Nimitz class Super carrier) and be prepared to engage at a moment's notice. Read your orders carefully, and many of you tasks will be somewhat automated due to pre-made missions. This scenario also does a nice job demonstrating the Soviet "Battle of the First Salvo" doctrine, which called for rapid attacks on any nearby US Aircraft Carriers in the opening minutes of a war, with the understanding that the attacking units would not be likely to survive the battle.

-The Isla La Orchila Affair, 2020 (CSP)

Created by Community Designer Mark Gellis, This scenario features a tense situation between Venezuela and the European Union, with the former behaving aggressively in the Caribbean. You command an EU Naval Task Force (5 ships from France, Germany and the Netherlands) with land based air support on the Island of Martinique. Your mission is to conduct a freedom of navigation operation to show the flag against Venezuela. You will be up against Aircraft, Ships, Submarines and SAM sites.

-Iwo Jima goes to Mozambique, 2024 (CSP)

Created by Community Designer Mark Gellis. This near-future scenario features a hypothetical US Navy rapid response force centered around a 'Lightning Carrier' (An F-35B equipped Amphibious Assault Ship) supported by a destroyer, a submarine and two Littoral Combat Ships. Your forces have been tasked to support the government of Mozambique by attacking rebel RENAMO forces in the northern part of the country. RENAMO is supported by China, which has supplied them with equipment. Additionally there is a Chinese submarine lurking in the area. While you can largely tackle this scenario with aircraft and missiles, you are also able to deploy USMC Ground Forces with helicopters and landing craft if you so wish.

-The Fast and the Furious, 1975 (NI)

This is the third scenario of the Northern Inferno campaign. The Soviets are attempting an amphibious assault of Northern Norway, in an effort to outflank Norwegian border defenses. You have command of Norwegian Naval forces, with some strike aircraft support, and you must do what damage you can to the Soviet landing forces.

-Comte de Grasse's Squadron, 1988 (CSP)

Created by Community Designer Mark Gellis. A rebellion in East Germany escalates into the Third World War. This scenario is a few days into the conflict, and NATO is naturally determined to keep its sea lanes open. You have command of a mix of forces in and around the Portuguese Azores islands in the central Atlantic, led by a small surface force headed by the destroyer USS Comte de Grasse. Using these ships, as well as a couple of Portuguese vessels and USN fighters and ASW aircraft based out of Lajes airbase, you must secure your designated operating area, and protect a trio of merchant vessels from Soviet threats, which include submarines and a surface force, supported by recon aircraft operating out of Libya. Additional USN aircraft are en-route from the US East coast. Note that both sides are free to use Tactical Nuclear Weapons in this scenario.

7.6 Aircraft Carrier Operations

Aircraft Carrier Operations:

Other than the basic types of combat mentioned above, In my own experiences I have been focusing somewhat on operations of aircraft carriers. This is not something you should dive right into from the outset, but something to explore once you have a handle on at least Air and Surface Ship operations.

-Armed Diplomacy, 1996 (CoW)

This is the second bonus scenario in Chains of War. It examines a situation where the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996 escalates to a shooting war between China and the United States. You have command of two US carrier battle groups, one centered around USS Nimitz, and one Centered around USS Independence, plus three Los Angeles Class Submarines and several Fighters and Support aircraft at Kadena Airbase on Okinawa. Your orders are to move your carriers through the Taiwan strait, and defend yourself against Chinese forces if (and when) they go hostile.

-USS Midway vs. Cuba, 1989. (CSP)

Created by user 'Excroat3'. This is one of the many scenarios in the CSP that are based on Michael Palmer's The War that Never Was. In this case it is an interesting situation of a 'what if? within a what if?". During the war in the novel, Fidel Castro considers bringing Cuba into the war on the Soviet side. The US, streched thin by the global conflict, scraps together a Carrier battle group centered around the older carrier USS Midway, loaded with F-18s, and sends it south of Florida to deter Castro. In the Book, it works and Cuba stays neutral. In this scenario, it doesn't work, and you must command and defend the USS Midway group from the Cuban Air Force and Navy. I simply cannot praise and recommend this scenario enough. It is fun, intense and an excellent way to learn and practice how to operate an aircraft carrier against air, surface and subsurface threats.

-Out of Meggido: The Battle of the Arabian Sea, 1973 (CSP)

Created by community scenario designer Mark Gellis. This scenario postulates a situation where, during the tensions resulting from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, US President Richard Nixon decides to attack Soviet forces around the world, but not in Soviet territory, as a sort of pre-emptive limited strike. As part of this larger war, you have command of a US Carrier battle group, centered around USS Coral Sea, plus one submarine and one detached destroyer, in the Arabian Sea. Your main mission is to find and destroy a convoy of Soviet oil tankers that have left the Persian Gulf, though there are significant threats from Soviet submarines, a nearby surface force, and bombers from the base on Socotra island. On of the things that makes this scenario stand out is that you are free to use tactical nuclear weapons. This scenario is a little bit on the challenging side, but there is a "key" to it. That is, I've found that there is one action you can take that makes things ALOT simpler and safer for your forces. Before i realised this, I found that my ships faced an almost certain death sentence. I won't say what this key it is of course, which makes this an interesting exercise in analysing a situation.

8. The Community are your friends!

One other thing to keep in mind is that CMO has a great community of players, as well as the developers, that are more than happy to help eachother.

There is absolutely zero shame in asking for help with CMO. If you are struggling to understand or accomplish something, do not hesitate to ask.There are plenty of us that are perfectly willing to help you.

You may also choose to supplement your learning process by watching some Youtube videos of people playing scenarios. I haven't watched many so i cannot really recommend any particular channels.

Finally in this section i will include some helpful links to a number of pages that may be helpful to you.

The Developer's Website: http://www.warfaresims.com/

The Matrix Games CMANO/CMO Forum: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=1154

Command Questions and Answers page: http://qa.commandmodernairnavaloperations.com/

The Baloogan Campaign Wiki: https://wiki.baloogancampaign.com/index.php/Main_Page

Baloogan's Video Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgRuKky0mojZkb5tSIpJgEy0WR4rzt6tA
(You can also find these under the 'Help' pull down menu in-game)

The CMANO-DB sites:

DB3000: http://cmano-db.com/

CWDB: http://cmano-db.com/cw/

The CMANO Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/400225503448206/

9. Some more specific advice from my own experience.

NOTE: Ignore this section until after you are comfortable with the basics.

This is sort of a postscript section, where i share some things I have done to make my CMANO/CMO experience better for myself, and may be helpful to you, but maybe not.

1. Make a physical manual for yourself:

If you have the ability to, print out the printer-friendly manual, as well as the stuff from the manual addendum pages, and put it all in a 3 ring binder. This is more ideal if you have a printer that can print duplex (on both sides of the page).

Here is a link to some pictures I took of my old CMANO manual for you to see.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B83vchtzYvbQZnhUbkw4eEFLazg?resourcekey=0-QJPOVKLsr7gSulpvwSYU3A&usp=sharing

2. Use the NATO/NTDS Icons in-game.

These are not the default, but some people like to use the Stylized Icons. You can switch back and forth between them in the game options, under the 'Map display' tab.

I wholeheartedly recommend the NATO/NTDS Icons. They may seem completely incoherent to a newer player, and a simple icon of an airplane or submarine may be seem better, but trust me, once you get a handle on the NATO/NTDS icons, you should understand how much information they convey in an instant. There is a chart in the old CMANO manual which explains them, which i will also put here:






3. Clean up the map clutter.

Some scenarios may overwhelm you with the amount of information on the map. There are easy ways to deal with this. The 'Map Settings' pull down menu gives you plenty of options as to what is shown on the map.

One that is pretty helpful is "Merge Range Symbols". This being enabled basically merges all the different weapons range rings to one coherent ring for each basic weapon type. for the units they are eminating from.

I also like to set "Show range Symbols for" to "selected units", so you only see the rings for the units you have selected.

One default map setting that I always change is "contact emissions". These are lines of text that appear next to a unit that is not yours, and tells you what is eminating from it (what kind of radar). These can clutter your view of the battlespace, so I set "contact emissions" to "none"

4. The Message Log.

This is a very informative part of CMO. By default it is in the lower left hand corner of the map.
There are a few things you can do with this:

Under Game options, there is a message log tab. IN here, you can choose what kinds of events appear on the message log, and which ones give you a pop up window when they happen.

I limit popups to only 'Unit Lost' and 'Special Messages', because otherwise you will be in situations where you are very often interrupted by popups.

Regarding the message log itself, It is suffciently minimized for default, but if you so choose, you can have the message log in a seperate window.

In terms of what appears on the message log, it is up to your preferences, but the minmums should be:

-Special Messages (you should always have these on the message log and popup no matter what, as they can be vital to completeing a scenario)

-Unit Contacts. There are individual ones that you can tweak to suit your immediate needs, but generally, keep them on.

-Unit Lost

-Unit damaged.

5. Turn off the game music.

Don't get me wrong, the music is good, but you may get sick of it. So just uncheck 'Game Music' under game options after you listen to it a couple times.


6. Save Special Messages with a word processor

Since there is no way of specifically calling up a scenario's special message after you recieve it for the first time, I suggest copy/pasting them into a simple word processor for your own reference that you can keep open as you play, and save for later if you have to stop for any reason.

The best for this would be WordPad. I say this because it is already on every single copy of Windows, so you already have it and it works great for this simple purpose. If you haven't used it before, you should be able to find WordPad easily with a Start Menu search.

7. Print out the scenario briefing/description

This is a bit more of a personal preference, but I find it helpful to have a paper copy of the briefings for a scenario in front of me, especially if the briefing is long and/or detailed.

What I often do is copy/paste it into a word processor first to remove unnessicary spaces, fix any typos, and make it overall a little more printer friendly if possible (reducing the number of sheets used).

10. Suggested Reading

Here is my dedicated Steam guide for suggested reading:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1919307269

[Sagitter]

T H A N K S !

[BobTank63]

It may be prudent to update the Silent Service section to reflect it being pulled from sale

[Half life Expert]

Updated section 2.1.9 following today's release of Command: Fail Safe campaign DLC.

[Half life Expert]

I've re-numbered the DLC section numbers to more neatly fit the new Command: Fail Safe DLC that was announced today

[Snipes]

Super guide thank you. 38hrs in and learning curve is steep to overhanging ! Your guide will give a structure to build on after the tutorials. Again, many thanks for your effort. SW.
PS yr typos necessary and necessarily !!

[Half life Expert]

Added an older scenario to section 7.5

[Budley Smokes]

o7

[xanthine pig]

just wanted to say thank you for continuing to update this bible of a guide all these years

[Half life Expert]

Tweaked section 2.9.2 to account for Showcase: Icebreakers now being released

[Half life Expert]

Updated section 2.9.2 with an entry on the newly announced Showcase DLC.