rich4421972 Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 Just a little itty-bitty Engineering question: If a line of OPFOR passes over a mine field, shouldn't the minefield become cleared or "breached" after the first one or two units have crossed itm (and been blown sky-high)? Does OPFOR have Dozers and Engineering units? I ask this because I have set up countless minefield and then laid in wait for the OPFOR column to pass over it. To my surprise not one or two of the REDFOR are affected, but sometimes an entire column becomes immobilized over a minefield. I am not very militarily-conversant, but I think that one of those OPFOR guys should have a bright idea and set up a breach, thus allowing the rest of his buddies to go on through, wreaking havoc along the countryside. I have seen Leopard tanks with Dozer attachments in the list of special units and the NATO symbology of the units states "ENGR" on the Blue tile, so I was just thinking if it's good for us, why not for them, also? Rich [ June 24, 2002, 12:35 PM: Message edited by: rich4421972 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Sterrett Posted June 24, 2002 Share Posted June 24, 2002 TacOps units are often not too bright about avoiding mines, even when told to do so. 8) In v3: When a unit crosses a pixel of minefield without hitting a mine, that pixel is cleared. You can see the cleared lanes with the View Cleared Lanes map menu item. You can't see the other guy's lanes, though. Engineer infantry clears mines much more safely. In v4 things get a lot more complex. I'm not sure about the clearing-pixels routine, but I think it is much the same. In addition, you have far greater complexity in the density and types of minefields, how well they are camoflaged, and who knows about their location. You also have obstacle markers for ditches (with or without wire), ramparts (with or without wire) and wire alone, all of which can be rated for their difficulty of clearing and impact on leg, wheel, and track mobility. You have Volcano and GMZ minelaying systems on truck, AFV, and helicopter mountings. To clear these, both sides have plows and rollers to mount on tanks, line charge vechicles, and bridging vehicles. Both sides also have bulldozers, though I'm not sure if these are able to clear obstacles. You also still have the engineer infantry. Engineering gets a lot more interesting in v4. 8) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4421972 Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 How large is a pixel in relation to a single unit? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Sterrett Posted June 25, 2002 Share Posted June 25, 2002 Um.... One pixel is ten meters. The default unit display size makes a unit marker 10x10 pixels, of 100 meters acress. I'm not sure that entirely answers your question; units are considered to be at the middle of the unit marker (see the smallest unit marker size). You can, theoretically, pack an entire division into a single pixel in TacOps. If you do so, your opponent will probably have the rather unique experience of shelling an entire division into oblivion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4421972 Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 [ June 25, 2002, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: rich4421972 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4421972 Posted June 25, 2002 Author Share Posted June 25, 2002 the answer is quite sufficient and robust in all respects. By the way, I noticed another really neat thing about the engineering dynamics in TacOps. This makes it quite realistic: I watched as the first unit of a REDFOR column passed over a minefield. That unit (if not destroyed) was abled to reverse about 100 meters and create an alternate route to the eventualy objective. This more like what really happens, I thought, making this whole thread unecessary because the system IS robust and not in need of investigation. Sorry for the wasted space. [ June 26, 2002, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: rich4421972 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Gilbert Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 I have been watching with great interest to all the engineering features added to TacOps v4. The engineering, plus the v104 MapMaker will make a great difference in some of the PBEMs that I have been doing. However ... [there is always an "however"] For us non-engineer types, I sure hope the new manual will outline these features and some suggestions on use ... I, for one, will need it! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Sterrett Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 Hopefully. Learning to use them in testing has involved a distinct degree of trial and error. However, if the manual's explanation prove insufficient, ask away here or on the mailing list, and somebody will help you. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minmax Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 The Army has some great FMs on the use of Combat Engineers as far as setting anti tank and revetments to slow down an offensive movement and provide the defenders good cover to fire from. We basically copied the Army stuff when the Corps created its FMs for that purpose. Oops don't tell the Commandant he was pretty happy with our publication. "God knows these ain't the smartest people in the world but they are trainable." -SSgt. Gentry Senior Drill Instructor. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Sterrett Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 The trial and error wasn't regarding tactical eomployment, but "what button do I push?" Are those Army FMs on Major H's Military Reference CD? (Which FMs are they?) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4421972 Posted July 3, 2002 Author Share Posted July 3, 2002 If a new verisimilitude is added by the engineering works, hopefully there will be a quick "engineering tutorial" for those players who have not experienced JANUS or who have never been engineers themselves. Otherwise, check out http://www.prosimco.com for a series of great tutorials on how to breach an obstacle using Army Engineering techniques. This site is provided by Capt. Patrick Proctor of the USA Army Field Artillery. It's pretty neat. It is the site of a competing product to TacOps, but I thought some folks may want to look. [ July 03, 2002, 12:48 PM: Message edited by: rich4421972 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Sterrett Posted July 9, 2002 Share Posted July 9, 2002 Answered my own question, perhaps: I went looking on Major H's Military Reference CD for engineering manuals and found: FM 5-7-30 Brigade Engineer and Engineer ompany Combat Operations (Airborne, Air Assault, Light) FM 5-10 Combat Engineer Platoon FM 5-30x Engineer Intelligence FM 5-34 Engineer Field Data FM 5-71-2 Armored Task-Force Engineer Operations FM 5-71-3 Brigade Engineer combat Operations (Armored) FM 5-71-100 Division Engineer Combat Operations FM 5-100-15 Corps Engineer Operations FM 5-101 Mobility FM 5-102 Countermobility FM 5-103 Survivability FM 5-104 General Engineering FM 5-105 Topographic Operations FM 5-114 Engineering Operations Short of War FM 5-116 Engineer Operations Echelons Above Corps FM 5-170 Engineer Reconnaisance FM 20-32 Mine/Countermine Operations FM 90-7 Combined Arms Obstacle Integration FM 90-13 River Crossing Operations FM 90-13-1 Combined Arms Breaching Operations Seems I have some reading to do. 8) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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