The "Uber" Command: Modern Air/Naval Ops Thread

[mirth]

Going to be streaming tomorrow at 11am PST/18:00 GMT at Twitch.tv/Kushan04.

This weeks topic is going to be a US air strike on Irans nuclear infrastructure.

Timely.

[Kushan]

Command v1.08 is now available

[bboyer66]

I really have to spend more time with this game. Have hardly scratched the surface. Big thanks to Baloogan, love his tutorial videos.

[Kushan]

Just in time for v1.08.

This is the first in a series of scenarios I am doing that is roughly based off of "Cauldron" by Larry Bond.

In this scenario US and UK attack submarines conduct a sweep through the Bay of Biscay looking for French ballistic missile submarines.

All of the forces for both sides are completely randomized. Very interested in getting feedback and suggestions on the balancing. I've play tested several times and still have not completed it. Have some ideas for the next beta but want to get some other opinions before I start making changes.

I couldn't get the scenario attachment LUA function to work so the import files need to be manually placed in your ImportExport folder. The pathing should be: Command/ImportExport/Scenarios/Chaudron - La Chasse de Sous-marine, 2018.

[Dimitris]

It looks like Command's scenario authors are crafting new exciting works even on the beach! Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the community scenario pack, featuring fourteen new scenarios.    

Saudi Arabia Crisis - Attack of IS, 2016: The IS terrorists control Yemen and part of Somalia and Saudi Arabia. Western forces are massing on Israel, Oman and Kuwait as a prelude to invasion of Saudi Arabia to counter the IS. But Iranian-backed elements within IS have one more card to play...    

Battle of Yavin, 1980: A plucky, rag-tag, and surprisingly well armed band of rebels has identified a weakness in an Imperial battle station. You're one of the pilots flying fighter cover for the attack. Good luck!    

Benny's Sweep, 1958: Pro-Communist rebels operating in the Philippines have seized control of part of the island of Luzon. Worse, the rebels are receiving aid from the Soviet Union, which hopes to trigger a Vietnam-like civil war in the Philippines. The situation is intolerable to the United States, but at the moment other international obligations mean that the only forces available to assist the government of the Philippines is a small task force based around the aircraft carrier Bennington.    

Kitty Comes To Kamchatka (The War That Never Was), 1989: Petropavlovsk is the only major Russian naval base that opens directly to the Pacific. That fact, plus its proximity to Alaska, made it a prime NATO target during the Cold War. This scenario, based upon the book by Michael A. Palmer, examines the ability of a single Carrier Task Force centered on the USS Kitty Hawk to attack and neutralize this important facility.    

Meteors Over Korea, 1952: A fictional raid conducted by Australian forces against the port of Haeju during the Korean War. When Australian forces, flying Gloster Meteors, first encountered North Korean MiG-15s, they suffered significant losses. Following this, the Meteor was used primarily as an attack aircraft rather than as an interceptor. This scenario assumes that no other forces were available to assist the Australians during this mission and that, for this reason, the Meteors from No. 77 squadron were employed both as attack and as escort aircraft.    

Northern Fury 6 - Keflavik Capers, 1994: War started Sunday and Keflavik was one of the first targets, a surprise missile attack which closed the two main runways and destroyed seven aircraft on the ground. You need time to reinforce and get the base onto a real war-footing. You must inflict damage and slow Soviet progress. Critical to success is the evacuation of non essential personnel and civilians.    

Northern Fury 7 - Plug the Gap, 1994: Steaming North as the fourth day of a new global war opens, you are in command of the HMS Invincible Task Group, and are heading into harm's way! Dawn yesterday saw an amphibious assault around Trondheim. It looks like the Norwegians with the able help of 3 Royal Marine Commando Bde are holding, but pressure from the north is forcing the Norwegian Army to collapse southwards. Narvik fell late yesterday afternoon. STANAVFORLANT is withdrawing in tatters with the remaining surface units of the Norwegian fleet – they are out of it for a bit. Reports from Iceland are vague but it appears that Spetsnaz forces have captured several out-ports and key radar installations have been knocked out. Critical to success is the transport of two parachute battalions to establish initial defences in the Shetland and Faroe Islands.    

Northern Fury 8 - Hold the Line, 1994: You are the commander of the USS Enterprise CVBG, (CVN-65). Due to heightened tensions, your refit/re-fueling was rushed through and completed 8 months ahead of schedule. On the 12th of Feb, while completing your workup trials off of Puerto Rico, you were sent a FLASH message to precede north at best possible speed. Just before midnight last night you received a warning order from CINCLANT informing you of some late developments – including the fall of Iceland. Your orders were to position the TG north east of Newfoundland and prepare for heavy engagement.    

Phoenix of Indochina, 1949: The Japanese ship Hosho was a vital pioneer in naval aviation, being the first ship built as an aircraft carrier. Miraculously surviving World War II, she was historically converted to a transport and then scrapped. In this scenario, the Hosho was given to France as a war prize, and her new owners, faced with a war in Indochina, have wasted no time in putting her to use. Here the Hosho (renamed in a new language that keeps the original meaning) now fights over Haiphong.    

Russian Civil War (Jane's F/A-18) - Phase I, 2004: Due to severe economic downturns and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the political and military leadership in Russia has splintered into two discrete factions. The result of these divisions is an armed civil conflict. The political and security interests of NATO members and the western world preclude a return to Soviet-era leadership in post-Soviet Russia. In response to this threat, and to a request for assistance by 'Blue Russian' forces, NATO and the United States NCA have dispatched the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group to the waters north of the Kola Peninusula. Although overt hostilities have not yet begun against 'Red Russian' forces, they are imminent.    

Russian Civil War (Jane's F/A-18) - Phase II, 2004: During Phase I of the campaign the Reagan Strike Group conducted a systematic attrition of Red Russian air assets and integrated counter-air defenses on the Kola Peninsula. In Phase II, the strike group will perform the function for which it was deployed here: to prevent rebel forces from obtaining and using WMDs or their delivery vehicles.    

Russian Civil War (Jane's F/A-18) - Phase III, 2004: The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group was deployed to the waters north of the Kola Peninusula to defeat the threat of Red Russian forces obtaining WMD's and their delivery vehicles. During the first two phases of the operation, the strike group rolled back Red Russian integrated air defenses on the Kola Peninsula and conducted operations to destroy and/or deny various WMD assets to Red Russian forces. With Blue Russian forces obtaining the upper hand and rapidly moving north, the strike group intends to accelerate the Red Russian collapse by attacking their logistics lines and forces from the rear, coupled with an amphibious raid by the USMC in order to further demoralize the rebel leadership and perhaps draw forces away from the Blue Russian advance.    

Uncle Mark's Tutorials #1 - NATO Surface Group vs. Soviet, 1985: World War III has started in 1985, and you are in charge of a small surface action group (SAG). Your job is to hunt Soviet ships and submarines and destroy them before they can get out into the Atlantic ocean, where they could threaten NATO convoys. Your forces consist of three warships--a British destroyer, a Dutch frigate, and a German frigate. You also have three helicopters for scouting the seas ahead of your ships and for hunting submarines.    

Uncle Mark's Tutorials #2 - English Jets over Uganda, 1973: In 1972, Idi Amin broke diplomatic relations with the UK and nationalized several British companies operating in Uganda. This scenario assumes that following this a series of incidents have led to increased hostilities between Uganda and the UK. The UK has decided that a show of force is necessary. Kenya has provided the UK with access to one of its air bases. You are in command of a strike force formed from detachments from a number of RAF squadrons. You have three basic missions. You are to first cripple the Ugandan air force in the sky and gain air superiority. You are also to fly reconnaissance missions over Entebbe. Finally, you are to conduct air strikes against selected ground targets. 


All new scenarios use the v438 versions of the DB3000 and CWDB databases, which are included in the v1.08 upgrade just released.

As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

With the new additions, the number of total released scenarios now stands at 275!

[Kushan]

Going to be streaming tomorrow at 11am PST/18:00 GMT at Twitch.tv/Kushan04.

This week I really will be conducting a US strike on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Unit count for the scenario I had set up for last week was going to be too much to run smoothly on the stream.

[MinmatarCitizen]

Definitely looking forward to messing with the new update over the weekend. So far from what I have seen the hypothetical aircraft are really interesting. Especially liking the idea of the hypothetical A-6. :)

[Kushan]

Streaming tomorrow, the usual time :D

Not sure what this weeks topic/scenario is going be. Was going to play Northern Fury 6 but I really hate the feeling I'm losing 5 minutes into a scenario.

[Tinkershuffle]

How's the land warfare in the game nowadays? Have the latest patches brought improvements and depth on that area?

[RyanE]

No.   They have put a few minor things in, but it is a naval and air warfare simulation If you watt land warfare in detail, this isn't the game for you, and I wold guess not for the near future.  There is still a lot that could be added to the base simulation of naval and air warfare.

[mikeck]

The land warfare really just serves as backdrop for the naval and air component. You may have to destroy a target to support an amphibious landing. The landing exists just to place some importance and timelines on the air attack

[Kushan]

The land combat models isn't bad but its definitely not the focus of the game. My biggest complaint with it is scale. For example, I think infantry platoons should have 20-30 sub-units and not 4 that they currently have.

If you guys want to see it improved make sure to post what you guys want either here or on the Matrix forums.

[MinmatarCitizen]

I really don't see how they could possibly enhance land warfare significantly. They would need to have much higher height data resolution, and some sort of way to terrain features like woods, towns, roads etc to make it more realistic. Non AA ground units are just targets in it TBH.

[MikeGER]

I really don't see how they could possibly enhance land warfare significantly. They would need to have much higher height data resolution, and some sort of way to terrain features like woods, towns, roads etc to make it more realistic. Non AA ground units are just targets in it TBH.

they could make a 'kind of AI-routine-usage joint venture' on the land module with the Flashpoint Campaign developers.
(there both at Matrix Slitherine, so some kind of deal on licence, and consulting on AI-routines for shares in sales or something on that new module could be negotiated at JDM's round table in Epsom, couldn't it? )

FC:RS has a good working AI based only on units situational awareness, on 500m location distance, (an average of landscape feature percentage averaged into a 500m hex)  and only a 'abstracted height' based on the map in use (so one height level typical about 40m to 70m ...don't try to pinpoint or over analys that topic in FC:RS on a given map, that take the fun out of seeing a FP:RS battle unfold) it has abstracted ground and weather condition build in also

There are already (FC-developer)tools out there that transform open available geo-data into an FP:RS map-dataset
(well, for a full blown outstanding FC map a lot of adjustments by hand, finetuning and even artistic talent is still needed)

so the CMANO landmodule AI, could 'under the hood' transforms the landscape data from CMANO plus additional geo-data stored in the scenario (also there has to be victory location points set by the scenario author that 'attract' the AI driven units) on the fly only where the lands units are operating/clashing into a local 'virtual FC-map data set' (the difficulty is getting roads and rivers right) then the outstanding working FC:RS  AI routines kick-in and calculate movement / ground vs ground action for a 'landscape pulse' (which might be set longer then the CMANO pulses) 

[MinmatarCitizen]

I haven't really messed with it much to know how FC:RS does things (I should change that though, but I got other things going on). I'm sure that some of the open GIS data would be useful for road networks, but I suspect that it would be very incomplete in some places. Though I wonder how that would influence performance to have an extra layer of AI decision making and having the extra GIS data.