Flashpoint campaigns - Southern Storm (new WW3 game!)

[WildCatNL]

Are these true WEGO or just WEGO at the top level while both turns play out together but in igougo sequence?
Also does this have phases that mean units cannot be moving while others are shooting beside them?

It's a true WEGO, where even both commanders (human and/or computer player) may be out of sync, having command cycles of different durations.
As a commander, you issue new orders every 20-45 mins on average. The units, yours and your opponent's, all execute orders (move / fire / build bridge / rest / ...) in an event based fashion (by minute or even second), and do so simultaneously.

[Tripoli]

Are these true WEGO or just WEGO at the top level while both turns play out together but in igougo sequence?
Also does this have phases that mean units cannot be moving while others are shooting beside them?

It's a true WEGO, where even both commanders (human and/or computer player) may be out of sync, having command cycles of different durations.
As a commander, you issue new orders every 20-45 mins on average. The units, yours and your opponent's, all execute orders (move / fire / build bridge / rest / ...) in an event based fashion (by minute or even second), and do so simultaneously.

As WildCatNL says, Campaign Flashpoint is a true WEGO.  It has a very interesting mechanic that as you take losses (especially in command units), your game turn time increases.  This simulates getting inside enemy's OODA loop. So, a typical game might have NATO starting with a 20 minute game turn and the Warsaw Pact with a 22 minute turn.  That means that both sides plots their turn, and the game simultaneously executes, but the NATO turn ends at T+20.  Both sides again plot their turns, but the Warsaw Pact execution won't even begin until T+22, while the NATO player's new plot starts executing at T+20.  As losses happen, these times increase, so the less attrited side is gaining a few extra minutes of time relative to their opponent after a few moves, giving them a decision-making advantage.  It is a really goood game system for showing this element of modern combat. (See https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2020/3/17/the-ooda-loop-and-the-half-beat for a description of an OODA loop)

[Destraex]

Excellent thanks gents.

[Father Ted]

I have been interested in a best of breed WEGO game lately.

Are these true WEGO or just WEGO at the top level while both turns play out together but in igougo sequence?
Also does this have phases that mean units cannot be moving while others are shooting beside them?

I would say true WEGO - you plot your moves, hit go,  and watch the play unfold for a certain amount of game time.  The playing-out portion is slightly staccato compared to, say, Combat Mission in that events are sometimes portrayed sequentially rather than contemporaneously, but I think that's an artefact of the game engine rather than how it's "supposed" to be.  In any event, you cannot intervene in the game until the playing-out portion is complete.

An interesting game-play mechanic is that the length of time that plays out before you can issue orders again is dependent on factors such as command-and-control and electronic warfare.  It is possible for each side to have a different amount of lag between orders phases.

[Destraex]

I love the ooda loop lag mechanics. Still not sure whether I will learn it as command ops 2 seems superior. I know it is ww2 rather than modern though. I realised I own the game for many years and did not much more than load it and had never really played it. I love it when that happens... which is a first for me actually. 

[WildCatNL]

A new beta is available, both for the Matrix and Steam versions.

Main changes:
- AI reinforcements won't act until their reinforcement time.
- amphibious units are less inclined to swim large rivers, better reflecting the overhead involved in 'going amphibious'. Exiting rivers on steep river banks has been disallowed.
- modifications to preset artillery missions now show as "Custom". Fire mission editing outside the Orders phase is now disallowed. 
- campaign games: fixed problem with setup areas for non-core forces disappearing.

[Ickiestickie]

I snuck this one under the wire
Bought it with my 17 year anniversary coupon. Which expired today.
Thank you to Flashpoint for aligning their launch to meet my deadline
Con

Did you get Southern Storm?and also where do i look for those coupons?Ive heard of them but never seen one yet! :)

[bobarossa]

I snuck this one under the wire
Bought it with my 17 year anniversary coupon. Which expired today.
Thank you to Flashpoint for aligning their launch to meet my deadline
Con

Did you get Southern Storm?and also where do i look for those coupons?Ive heard of them but never seen one yet! :)

The Matrix Anniversary coupon comes on the anniversary of your creating an account with Matrix.  I think they have been doing this since about 2015 (at least that is the oldest listed in my account). 

[Ickiestickie]

Its been in development for a few years now, and unfortunately been delayed for some time now. However, the devs are adamant that work continues and progress is being made, and they are hoping to start beta testing within the next month or so, according to their forums.

I love Flashpoint Campaigns Red Storm and I'm extremely excited for this to release. All of the new features and content sound great!

wow three and a half years since start of Beta?thats some work gone into this project,im glad im on board,recieved my Hardback couple days ago,was looking forwards to this game for such a long time too,recently i went on a Cold War buy and this was one of Three Games all pretty big wargames :)

[WildCatNL]

wow three and a half years since start of Beta?thats some work gone into this project,im glad im on board,recieved my Hardback couple days ago,was looking forwards to this game for such a long time too,recently i went on a Cold War buy and this was one of Three Games all pretty big wargames :)

Enjoy!
It did take us a long time to get here. Despite that, the good news is that we're not done with Southern Storm, and you should see a couple of improvements and new content coming for this game.

[WildCatNL]

Another update (2.1.3), available as a Beta from Matrix and Steam (2.1.3.7555). The main changes:
- additional content, with four new scenarios involving the Canadians (2x) and French (2x) forces fighting Warsaw Pact
- SOP changes made easier, with short-cuts for common SOP settings and more control
- numerous bug fixes, tweaks and small improvements

William

[Con]

Ive been trying to love Southern storm but so far I can only like it
Lots of potential and the game is gorgeous but a couple of major interactions that just leave me cold.
1. Not being able to provide reinforcements orders when they enter but having to wait until your turn sequence is up.  This really prevents me from telling my units where to go or setup.  They just sit there sometimes under fire.  I also cant plot any arty strikes but have to leave it to the fire support AI which while decent never is as good as a human on targeting prioritization.
2. Poor screen or SOP displacement options.  I cant tell you the number of helicopters that I have lost due to hitting the screen requirements which causes them to displace onto the TOP of the hill that I had them carefully skirt around where they promptly get swatted like flies by the enemy air defenses.  Other gripes include tanks under arty fire displacing into open terrain directly in front of the juggernaut wave that is bearing down on them.
3 Last gripe is husbanding my helos to rearm and then flying them towards the red armor onslaught.  They are the last line of defense to stem the tide, loaded with AT missiles my last hope to pull a victory - then they decide to shoot their whole pack at some lowly recon unit that wandered into their path. I wish you could set an SOP on what type of targets they could engage such as armor etc like the campaign series.

Overall there is a lot to like but these things are preventing me from loving it
Con

[WildCatNL]

Con, thanks for sharing this feedback.

Wrt #1, the arty target prioritization part: we have a mechanism in the works to offer more control (which targets to engage, minimum target size, relative target type priorities). Use will be optional.

I'm taking up the other issues as bugs/requests for the team.

The #2, helo's displacing to ridges, is great observation. The game analyses the terrain and identifies ridges in order for helo's to avoid these (avoid skylining). However, helo's solely avoid ridges in their pathfinding, not in picking destinations (displacing).

William

[WildCatNL]

Update 2.1.4 is now available as a Beta from both Matrix and Steam (2.1.4.8064).

The update improves tournament play, and allows players to filter and highlight messages from the unit log, along with a bunch of smaller updates.

The update also addresses two of Con's suggestions (see above):
- reinforcements now appear on the map 1 minute prior to an orders cycle, so the player can issue new commands right away
- helicopters do a better job at scooting, taking into account the coverage of known/lasts spotted air defense systems and trying to avoid skylining themselves over ridges

Enjoy, and keep the feedback coming!

William