Chimera

> The T-90 and TFO/FOT are different. Ahh. Learn something new every day. I did not know that. Thanks!

> 5. More countries in the database. All of > NATO would be nice, but I'd settle for the > UK, Germans and French. Yes, this would definately be a plus. Being able to play German units vs US/Can/UK Equipment could open up a whole new section of maps, scenarios. Hell, it could be sold as an add-on. I'd buy it.

> Toolbar. This simply a convenience > feature. How about one of those new > fangled dockable, customizable, deals. > Just like the ones you find in MS Office > where you can configure the bar with > whatever menu items you want. *LAUGH* Sorry, but I got the image of a pop-up 'helper' that looks just like MajorH!: Hi there! I notice you are attempting to engage some tanks at long range. Would you also like to: o Engage with Artillery? o Engage with Airstrikes? o Maneuver your APCs to flank? [ Show me more ] [ Not now, I'm fighting! ] Heehee... I couldn't stop laughing. Most people hate that silly 'helper' paperclip thingie. Also, to Carter: > T-90 I believe this is the FOT (Future Opfor Tank) which used to be called the TFO (Tank, Future Opfor). Check your User Guide. To Zizka: On morale, I would have to say (even as a non-coder on TacOps) that this would be a -major- revision of the code (no pun intended there). Morale effects simply impact at such a base level that entire sections of code would have to be completely rewritten. Then, people will want to do unit training levels which will affect their morale levels (special forces vs. green troops vs. veterans). Just my two cents. Chimera

Well, I suppose you could try this: Give yourself 4 or 5 airstrikes on fast call. Split your forces into appropriate 'packages', one per aircraft. Task those airstrikes to 'attack' your LZ. If any are shot down by AA, then those 'packages' are lost to you. Alternatively, you could use rules that figure out how many men get out of a doomed aircraft, if any. Up to you. For drift, I would say roll a d6. On a 1, 2 or 3, there is little drift (package lands compact and within say 400 meters of each other). On a 4 or 5, you could scatter them a bit (extend the package 'circle' to 600-700m, perhaps in an oval shape). On a 6, you have serious scatterage, out to 1-2km, with some loss of unit effectiveness due to sprained ankles, broken legs, lost equipment, etc. Again, you can adjust this little system to suit your needs and flavor. Chimera

I guess, MinMax, to answer, I would have to say that the best officers I had ever worked with were -intelligent- primarily. Now, I can't fully lean either way with the roots (since there are always good exceptions to any rule), but I do know that it didn't matter as long as the -person- was intelligent and had some good, well-grounded common sense. The stupidest, most hated officers are those that cannot disengage their brain from the book, and end up not thinking through the situation before slapping a solution to it. NCOs, in my experience, are taught common sense via hands-on application. They are 'grown'. Officers, on the other hand, are sometimes just dumped into a unit and expected to hit the ground running, with no prior hands-on experience. They are 'built'. Officers that do well in the later case are ones that have good common sense (and/or life experience) to begin with. You cannot reliably take a spoon-fed rich boy of some political wannabe with absolutely no 'real world street smarts' and slap a commission on them, and make a good officer. But, you can take almost any 'street smart' soldier and make a reliable officer. Therefore, having no experience or knowledge of the officer training programs, I would have to say that those prestigious institutions can only do so much with what they have to start with in the person. NCOs have proven themselves in the military, and that makes -me- trust their leadership ability a bit more. The best officers I worked with were NCOs first or had roots in the enlisted corps, but this was from an enlisted junior NCO and frequent skills trainer point of view. Chimera

What?! You mean you don't hire Jane's Consultancy Group to compile hard data for your sim at the cost of $15,000 plus?!!? I am aghast! No, seriously. I figured there might be some sort of publically-available source (read: open source) of compiled data somewhere on the net. I wonder if it is possible to start building one for these such purposes... As for using other sims, most of the time, their information is proprietary, or just thrown-together "look right" data. Not that the latter is "unacceptable", given the nature of the data, mind you. It would just seem that anyone wanting to compile such data for a sim would want concrete data, rather than "guesstimations", is all. IE: If you, the developer, want to know your data is correct, you would want to research it yourself. I completely agree with that. Problem is, for someone not in the "industry", getting their hands on the limited circulation stuff (like the service magazines) is hard. =/

I offer to build scenarios for the website or the Major.

Major, You might have been asked this question before, but here it is again: Where/how do you find the information to compile the armor, movement and such data on units? If others of us knew where/how to get this information together, perhaps we might be able to help provide you that information in a quick-access format, thus saving you the research time and speed that end of things up when you do reach that stage? (( Note: 'we' might be determined as 'I' in some cases. Check your documentation. =] )) Just a thought. You might have been asked that before.

I have wondered if e-Groups.com or listbot.com had been considered yet? If not, I could host the list myself on one of my servers. Let me know.

I would be willing to participate as a player, if someone wants to run one and someone else wants to play against me. Maybe sometime in the future, might be able to find time to run one, as well.

I was looking at the CPX site. Are there any CPXs happening in the near future? God, I miss the MBX. Despite the load of work, I still remember it with fondness. =)

Hey, where can I get a copy of this program? (Hee. NOTE: This statement was the very first thing I ever said/posted about TacOps, and this was years ago! Needless to say, I was immediately flamed for wanting a pirate copy. Lets just chalk it up to bad communication. Anway...) No, seriously, I just purchased my copy (woooo!) and am installed and reviewing the demo. The changes look awesome and I look forward to playing a game sometime.

You can't imagine how long I have been looking for TacOps once again. I have missed this simulator, and am scrambling for a CC to buy a few copies. I see the MBX project is still going strong. I think I should get in on that! Chimera (Remember me from a few years back? I ran the first MBX with the US team vs the Krenovian team.)