c3k

Sure, I'll reload on occasion. Usually, as described above, just after a very stupid set of orders. However, the game will forever be tainted after that... I'll do it purely as a learning tool. If you never reload, you'll play better. If you play pbem, you can't reload. Try practicing single-player mode that way, and you'll be a better player. My .02

Ach. That hurts. Why did they move from the building you had them in?

So, reading that, the self-defense weapons takes the place of any offensive ordnance??? The reason the plane launches is to defend itself? Um, I seem to be missing something... The future of weaponology in aircraft is directed energy. Sure, bombs need to be dropped. But for air-to-air (including defensive systems against missiles) energy travels at the speed of light, is rechargeable, and reusable. You don't run out. There's a reason the USAF is hot to trot with the F-35's clutch technology. Tap off some of the energy from that 35,000 lbf engine, and you can get some impressive beams zapping stuff. The USMC lift rotor (which is missing in the USAF/USN versions) makes a large volume available...for stuff. We're a bit lazy when it comes to power and energy. I had my wife drive an SUV, 4 wheel drive, chained to a tree I was cutting down. It needed to be very precisely dropped. 70' tall, 30' from the house. Well, she was very enthusiastic about applying the gas when I started the back-cut. I asked her, later, to imagine a team of 200 horses (the engine is rated at 250 bhp, but SAE horsepower is less than what a horse can produce), hooked to the tree. That's what she had on tap with the pressure of her toe. That's a 3.5L 6 cylinder engine. A 35,000 lbf turbofan puts out power which is almost beyond comprehension.

Some cool research done with collapsing certain materials with focused shaped charge warheads to create the EMP. Very powerful and portable. Warhead sized stuff. Not sure what happened with it. You don't need nukes. I think EMP is kinda like the modern chemical weapon. Anyone who uses it should anticipate it being used against them, in turn. The end result would be rough parity, but the ops tempo would be slowed down. (Which is about all chemical weapons can be expected to do against combat forces.) Now, if I'm looking for an asymmetric threat... Interesting field. Even more interesting is how to recover from global-scale EMP. If all the manufacturing machinery is fried, we're back to machinists and lathes. (Imagine EVERY integrated circuit, in operation or in storage, inop; every chip, everywhere.) Fun to think about. A rich field of "what if".

^^^ LOL, nicely done.

SPECIAL: Turn 9 BONUS! A little something from the crossroads zone. This was happening while the Kornets, Javs, and APS were flying about...

Yeah, that was a lot of firing going on. Long range, short range, airbursts, APS, secondaries, just a joy to behold. Next turn should be a little lighter...I really need to wipe out his two Kornets. Kornet 2 popped off 2 shots about 15 seconds apart. I think it's the new magazine-fed, semi-auto, version! I've got 40mm grenades popping around that one and next turn some 25mm Bushie. Mortars have 2 more minutes to drop on Kornet 1. I'll use my other Brad to area fire until then and try to pin them down. I need to spot whatever survivors he has near the bridge. I'm moving closer to the shore for that. If he's go anyone on the far side, I want time to find them before I cross.

Turn 9, finale... Whether or not that HQ has DMS is immaterial. The icon stayed in its location, so no WIA/KIA. Shrug. Next turn, Red 2 and White 2 are each laying area target fire on Kornet 1 or 2 (respectively). My Abrams are advancing...as they should. My Jav teams are changing their underwear and will rejoin the fight in several minutes. DMS has 3 BTR's left, one on my side...the rest by Tunguska hill. My infantry is too light on the ground. I need to get my 3 teams closer together. My orders are to lay down suppressive fire and gain a bit more elbow room. Ken out...

But will the Jav maintain lock? Did the explosion throw off the gunner's aim? What was he aiming at, anyway??? ^^^ Really: that screenie really shows what the game can do. The next one shows what an ATGM can do. Meanwhile, now that the dueling Javelin and Kornet is done, let's look at the town... What I totally did not take screenshot of was a battle near the bridge crossroads. "Battle" is a big strong. More like a massacre. I got DMS' infantry in the open in a 25mm chainsaw crossfire. Yeah, "chainsaw" not "chaingun". They dropped hard. His BTR retreated and is hiding, but I think I've rooted out most of his men on my side of the bridge. There was a lot going on... One final...

Turn 9 22:00 to 21:00 The most intense minute I've ever participated in, other than that time in the Philippines... The pix will not do it justice. There were autocannon firing constantly, missiles criss-crossing all over, booms and bombs going off front and back. A whole lotta fun. What follows is a pale imitation of what occurred. Photo dump commence: More...

Nevermind??? Oh, this will torture me! The Abrams is a beast...but DMS did VERY well neutralizing the Abrams' advantageous position by using his smoke so well. Now, anyone with a satchel charge can immobilize/destroy them in the town. Just have to get close enough. I'm moving them around a little bit, just to make it a little more difficult to grapple with them. I don't want to let his BTR get shots on them. He'd strip all the optics/sensors in a heartbeat. We'll see what DMS has up his sleeve in a bit. He says his dropbox speed is a bit too slow, and my ISP has a 10MB limit; these turns are ~28MB. Right now, I'm wishing I had two more Brads filled with infantry... Oh yeah, I did have them: they're smoking in the field right now.

It'll be a worse omen when you see the yellow QUICK line appear at your feet and stop in the middle of the bridge!

Turn 8 23:00 to 22:00 Rain falls mainly on the plains Another photo dump. So much goodness, and just a little bit of sadness... So, I lost a team. I'll just consider that a forward ammo dump location! Goodness awaits my next troops to get there. White B takes a hit. DMS has some more guys in RPG hut. White 2 will move and hose it down. DMS lost his BTR over there. When my Abrams demolished Red Lodge, it opened an LOS to the BTR. One round from the Abrams took care of that problem. DMS' other bridgehead BTR will go away next turn. White 2 advances on RPG hut. Red 2 comes in from my right along the road. The forward-most Abrams will reverse to a good location with LOS to the BTR. It's a 3 way squeeze play. Like pushing on either side of a ripe zit, something's gonna burst. The long-range sniper shot will just warn DMS that I've got eyes on out there. But I like the psychological impact it'll have. Fear will strike him to the core. He'll hide and think that the long road to the bridge is a just a road too far. I'll expect his surrender, then I'll refuse it! Bwah, ha, ha! I've got 3 teams, 3 Brads, 3 Abrams, and some other stuff left. A bit more shifting and dodging, and I may be in good shape. (White 2 is MOST at risk, Red 2 second-most. Next turn will be interesting...again.) Ken out.

This is like a knife fight in a telephone booth...with grenades! More maniacal mayhem soon!

Turn 7, final Summary Every move worked. My Abrams on the left have Area Target orders (30 or 45 seconds) against Red Lodge. Those Russkies are Gone-skis. White Squad moves up to assault RPG Hut and help extricate Red A Team. Doomvee has 45 second Area Target against Kornet 2 (my right). I just want them neutralized for now. FO is ginning up some HE fire on Kornet 1 (who I suspect fired at the Abrams which got the APS intercept). There are 5 locations critical to winning. The bridge itself, much like the dot in the center of the "5" on a die, and the two areas on either side of the road and each side of the bridge. DMS has gained both locations on my side, and also the one on the far side. I'll clear Red Lodge/Red Hut, then move Red 2 up to clear the far shore. Red Squad/White Squad and the Abrams will clear my left, then use firepower against the far shore. After that, a liberal dose of smoke, some infantry across the bridge, and the game is mine. Oh, I'll have IanL saunter across the bridge first, just in case there are any snipers. That's what he's there for. Edited to add: Funny. I just noticed that my FO is missing in that picture, above. With myself selected, ALL units should be highlighted. Hmm, I wonder if they just died and I missed it?

Turn 7, continued more...

Turn 7 24:00 to 23:00 I left last turn with a risky set of orders. I've got 2 Abrams and a Brad to rush across open ground... I'll post my screenies and then summarize. more...

Totally understood, and I didn't take it that way. (Hence the winkie.) I posted my statement for the erudition of any newbs who are peeking into this display of consummate skill and would think they could emulate my leadership on the battlefield. I can safely aver that no one leads men quite the way I do.

Armor piercing rounds, today, generally are meant for tanks. They can go through nearly a meter of steel. They don't have any explosive filler. A high speed dart going through a Stryker wouldn't be very effective. (Sure, one or two guys will be jellied, but the vehicle would be mostly okay. Maybe. ) Far better to use a shell filled with HE (HEAT style). That'll reduce the Stryker to scrap metal spread over an acre or so. That's a huge difference in outcome.

Nah, no need to burn through casings. The laser dazzles the seeker. Specific waveform/digital input. Knowing how seekers operate, spoofing is possible. For example, make it think the target aircraft is moving to its left. Missile takes a hard turn, faces open air, loses any lock (if command guided, then it loses energy and can't make it up to re-engage).

Speeds. It's one thing to launch an explosive from a stable, armored, platform. It's another to launch it from an aluminum skinned (like aluminum foil skinned), 600 knot, 7 g, maneuvering platform. (Trophy uses EFP style intercept, very energetic. Arena uses launched claymores (roughly). Trophy puts a hard hit against whatever it launches from, Arena has a lot of mass. That mass is subject to F=m*a. To have it keep up with aircraft/helo speeds would be a non-trivial problem.) A lot of defensive suites work on the jamming/blinding concept. Laser turrets are the in-thing. Detect the incoming, scan it, assess what weapon it is, fire a tuned laser at the seeker, and send it away. (Spoofing is far easier than brute-force burning out.) The seeker aperture is, literally, a window into the insides of the missile. Advanced techniques use that opportunity to mess with it. The benefit is that the warhead does not get near the aircraft. Fragments which would scratch the paint on a tank or armored vehicle could bring down an aircraft. The goal is to keep those warheads FAR away. Ken

Well, yes. Of course. I mean, THAT is why Red 2 will face disciplinary charges later! My men know that I expect them to unleash punishment upon ANYONE who dares resist my will. Red 2 did that, but then their nerve cracked and they fled. If Red 2 proves themselves later in a sufficiently gloooooorrriiiioooouuussss manner, I will erase the blight upon their record which was their reversing out of position. I may dismount them and have them assault the position. But that just could be my morning coffee talking. Or not. I don't -think- there was a SPOILER in your statement, but if there IS someone giving buddy-aid in there, then DMS would be within his rights to challenge you to an AAR. At least, that's how it works in my alternate reality. When I see infantry, I assume they are like cockroaches (Tony Montana style, "cockharoachis"), and there are 10 more for every one you see. My plan is to recon-by-fire every building and assault and search each one. And then work down to the riverbank and sweep the edges. Red Squad is split. One team covering the road/bridge. He's the cutoff man. The other team is hard up against the hedge near where that RPG originated. He's my eyes and cover fire. White squad is also split. One half is going to the right of the RPG hut, the other is going into the very yard of the RPG hut. White 2 is taking Red 2's spot. White 2 is going to hose down RPG hut (coax, 15 or 30 seconds), while White Team moves next to the hut and puts eyes inside, then (10 pause) goes in. Or not. If they enter, whatever's on DMS' side of the hut will kill them. RPG hut will become like an abattoir. Or a glorious altar to my men's devotion to me. I like that. Sniper team is moving high (a 2 story building), where the smoke is clearing. They'll be overwatch. White 2 will be overwatch. On the far right, Red 2 is HUNTING into position alongside the LRAS equipped mk19 Humvee. They'll put fire down the road paralleling the river. The 2 Abrams moving in on the left will put an end to anything over there. Unless DMS gets infantry up close to them. Then they'll die. My goal is to use the roads as firelanes, and with each zone sealed off, assault and clear each in zone in turn. I've got ammo to spare. I'll use it. You'll notice, later, if this works the way I want, that my overwatch/prep fire to assault ratio will be something like 4:1. Or higher. The "J" command (short Target) is great. I can unleash TARGET firepower, lift it, and have a team move forward without taking hits. (Otherwise its gotta be TARGET LIGHT, and the moving team would take suppression from friendly mg fire. Simulating aimed support, but still making men nervous.) The ability to use 25mm autocannon, or Abrams' 120mm multiround (AMP), and STILL get up to/in the structure is very powerful. Ken out. Edited to add: the last screenshot I posted has an error or two. The white line marks White 2's orders to move into that keyhole spot. However, White squad (split) is next to that path I drew, but I used red instead of white for their path. The little red lines (which should be white) originating from the 2 infantry teams show their movement orders. Errr, if you haven't noticed, I'm trying for color coding to keep things simple for the follow-along. My drawings stick to the same colors for the units as their names.

LOL. My infantry die very quickly, too. Tiring: Modern infantry carry far more than their WWII counterparts. Don't QUICK or FAST too much. Ride 'em in. But not too close. Vulnerability to tanks: that's the power of thermals. Cover, stealth, split teams, and overwatching elements: all needed for survivability.

Turn 6, cont II... The end result was a bit of a tie. I didn't die, but Red 2 fled. I really want a Brad or Abrams right there. That's a key piece of terrain. That fleeting contact was seen from here: More "Laser Warning"?!?! That Abrams (boxed) is in a nice place to cut into the town. DMS has something covering it. Not good. Plans for next turn: and Getting the Abrams, unsupported, amid the buildings is bad juju. I'll get 'em there, blast and boom some stuff, then back out, while my infantry moves in and covers the flanks. Above, red line is where DMS probably has that first track's dismounts. Orange will be the next guy's troops. Time to find, fix, flank, and finish. Or just blast 'em. Whatever works... Overall, I've got 3 Abrams and 3 Brads, and 2 full squads plus about 2 squads of odds and sods. Not bad. I've lost a third of my force, but I'm getting a pretty good grip on the town. They must've been the weak third. What's left will do more than what's passed. Or who's passed. The key for next turn will be the 2 Abrams and the HQ Brad, all of which are moving down that open slope. APS, speed, and smoke. Some of them have to get through, right? (A Humvee made it last turn, so I hope it's clear. See, I scout. I do. ) Ken out.

Turn 6, cont... My Brad in the keyhole, Red 2, had a fun turn. At least, I thought it was fun. Great spot, flanks covered, can see what I need covered. Pins DMS into a little zone. It'll be easier to pummel him. And then.. Dual warhead, precursor charge, ERA-defeating, rocket-riding stick of death...headed right at Red 2!!! I guess DMS got his dismounts in a good spot. Grrr... Yep: APS saved the day. Why use tactics when you have Trophy? And then there was this... Vengeance! He dared to resist my will! I hope I got the rest of the team. All I saw was one cross. My infantry will tell me what was in there. I'll have to assault every one of those buildings. I foresee DMS sniping me when I walk out on the bridge. His sniper will be in the rubble near here...