I run (original military 3.1.0 18Nov2000 version (and upgrade and expansion) TacOpsCav on Linux (using wine) with no problems.
TacOps is listed (downloadable) on https://www.myabandonware.com/ .
NOTE: There is no such thing abandonware (it is not a 'legal term'. The unspoken for software is still copyrighted and there is no 'permission to use' it.
NOTE2: On the other hand, MANY are ignored by copyright owners because it's keeping their otherwise obsolete software alive. I tried to see if MAJ Holdridge donated or wanted to donate it but have not had a reply from him in over a decade. He still owns the copyright. He sent me a bunch of advance copies/CDs (military/gvt (and my) use) when this CD was new. (Sorry, I can't send you a copy).
Is anyone out there still using TacOps today?
My PDF users manual in my version begins with:
USING TACOPSCF TO ENHANCE OUR TRAINING
FOREWORD
With the fielding of JANUS and the Command and Staff Trainer (CST)
in 1995, the Army took a giant step towards making better use of simulation to
train more effectively. The success of the Joint Command and Staff Training
Centre located in CFB Kingston has led the Army to establish JANUS Simulation
Centres in each of our major base locations. Use of these simulations is
paying significant dividends. Commanders, staffs and soldiers at all levels
are demonstrating an increased effectiveness in employing operational planning
procedures, coordinating fire and manoeuvre and applying tactics, techniques
and procedures. JANUS and CST have permitted the Army to conduct training
at the brigade and division levels in simulation, when time and resource
constraints, as well as operational commitments, have prevented it from doing
so in the field.
In 1999, the Army purchased and distributed a Canadian version of
the computer program titled TacOpsCF, a tactical-level combat simulation
that can be run on a personal computer. The intent of this purchase was to
provide soldiers at all levels with an easy to use support tool that could be
used to teach and practice, in simulation and at the individual level, the
application of tactics, techniques and procedures. TacOps is not and cannot
provide an alternative to JANUS and CST as it lacks the level of fidelity,
particularly in terrain, offered by these simulations. TacOpsCF is, however, a
tool that, when used with imagination, will allow soldiers who do not have
access to JANUS and CST to conduct challenging, exciting and cost effective
decision making and procedural training at the unit and sub-unit level as well
as in the classroom.
The tempo of operational commitments, fiscal and resource
constraints and the expectations of our increasingly technologically literate
soldiers demand that we continue to increase and improve our use of simulation.
The intent of this volume of Dispatches will be to provide lessons learned and
advice on how to make optimum use of TacOpsCF to achieve this. In developing
this volume, we have borrowed experiences from the Army, the CF and our
US allies. It contains valuable information, and I encourage you to use this
knowledge in your efforts to constantly improve the effectiveness of our training.
J.M. Petryk
Lieutenant-Colonel
Director Army Lessons Learned Centre
