General

This is something I came across that might be of interest. From: http://navysite.de/cvn/cvw.htm It probably belongs in the FAQ thread, but I can't post there. I couldn't completely clean up the format, but I think it is understandable. The Air Wing compositions from 1943 to 1998 The charts below do not reflect the exact Air Wing composition they just give an approximate view of the most common compositions. In addition to the CVW a Fleet Tactical Support Squadron (VRC) Detachment consisting of 2 planes is embarked aboard the carrier. These detachments are not listed below. In the "additionally" – chart lists just the most often used squadrons. These are squ…

The idea of beefing up the usefulness of recon aircraft got me thinking. I've putzed around with Harpoon over the years and am coming back to it again and really liking HCE. I usually find myself overwhelmed with the huge scenarios with platforms all over the landscape doing all sorts of things. I prefer smaller scenarios where the problems are more limited - like escorting a convoy across the Atlantic in the face of Badgers, Bears and Victors or conducting a detailed carrier strike against a target. Currently I'm setting up a 'test range' with a base in Greenland from which I'll be running flights down to Keflivik to get a feel for what the various aircraft can d…

TACTICS 101: ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE: PART 3 - THE ASW CYCLE In Part 1 of our discussion about ASW, we learned the basics of naval oceanography, and in large part, how sound behaves in the subsurface ocean environment. In Part 2, we moved to a basic examination of the tools of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the sensors, the platforms, and the weapons. Now, in Part 3, we'll examine the ASW cycle, the methodology of detecting, locating, and attacking submarines. A. DETECTION, LOCATION AND TARGETING 1. Detection Initial detection of a subsurface contact, whether by active or passive means, is your first clue that there is a submarine in the area, …

Playing the EC2000 Battle for the Norwegian Sea scenario Nordic Light and so far I have shot down 12 Tornado - somehow. Only info I have is that they have been shot down in the Message Log - no other info. What is going on? Assuming they are getting shot down by my assets, shouldn't I at least have some info on it happening? Puzzled, Akmatov

Hello Everyone, I'm an old GDW Harpoon miniatures gamer who made the jump to HCE. I have cleanly upgraded to the .044 version and it's working with all default scenarios. My problem is that I've downloaded a couple of Westpac scenarios here (like Sprat in the Spratleys) but I can't get them to load properly. What I did is I created a subdirectory inside the \Matrix Games\HCE\ folder and unzipped all the files there. I immediately noticed that Load User Scenario is looking for files that match a .sc? filter. Overriding the filter and forcing the file load results in a GE crash. I searched the General Discussion and the Scenario Design forums but there wasn't a topic c…

The Databases for EC2000 and EC2003 make reference to, for example, Mawsil AD and Kifh TC. What do the AD and TC signify?

Just wondering if anybody else is playing around with the beta. Downloaded it a couple weeks ago and most stuff works pretty well. All the HCE stuff seems to work fine except for the Scenario Editor. Anybody else having problems? I'm running version 2008.044. I've tried running the Scenario Editor in all of the different compatibility modes but no dice. Fully understand that I'm running a beta OS, and incompatibilities are to be expected, just wondering if anybody else has had any luck getting it to work. Thanks, Jim

TACTICS 101: ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE (ASW): PART 2 - THE TOOLS OF ASW In Part 1, we learned the basics of naval oceanography, and in large part, how sound behaves in the subsurface ocean environment. Now, in Part 2, we move to the tools of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the sensors, platforms, and weapons. Much of the material contained here is probably "old hat" to seasoned Harpoon players, and certainly generally available to anyone who is willing to take the time and effort to dig up the information. The purpose of this "Tactics 101" discussion, however, is to provide a workable foundation for those who may be completely new to naval warfare and its concepts. Pa…

File Name: Merchant Raiders File Submitter: divefreak File Submitted: 11 Jan 2009 File Category: BattleSets DB Used: included Authors: René Haar This is a battleset to prove if HCE is now suited for ww2 Style warefrae. Nothing stable, nothing finished... DB (HC-35to50-DB) is included. Click here to download this file

I'm currently playing GIUK 4.0. So Trondheim detects a number of missiles in the air from a Russian surface group (I know where it is rougly due to air recon). I also know there is a Kirvak pretty far ahead of the main body. Next thing I see the Kirvaks point defences shooting down a Sunburn. The next Sunburn hits the Kirvak sinking it. Presumably it works a little like the Harpoon? It's activated too soon and guided in on ther first ship its found! Very amusing!

I launch an Orion and tell it where to patrol. It's sitting loitering, rather than patrolling. Shouldn't it be dropping bouys? Am I going to have to put it in formation with the airbase to get it to do that?

TACTICS 101: ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE (ASW): PART 1 - THE FUNDAMENTALS In Part 1 of this discussion, we'll address the fundamentals of naval oceanography, i.e. the nature of the subsurface environment and how it impacts on anti-submarine warfare (ASW). A. FEAR GOD, DREADNOUGHT, AND THE SUBMARINE! The watchword of subsurface warfare, and by extension, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), is stealth. Submarines are absolutely dependent on stealth for both mission effectiveness and self-defense. The introduction of submarines brought about a new and revolutionary dimension in naval warfare, one that was measurable in fathoms. Compared to the heavily armored ironclads, dread…

Feel free to ask questions about the HCE demo here. If you don't have the demo, see http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?showtopic=3446 For those of you running the full HCE product the demo showcases additional scenarios in the WestPac battleset (though they are available here at HG for separate download). The demo also has the USNI scenario remakes that are not yet present in the full HCE game. Suffice it to say you might have interest in the demo even if you have the full game. Many thanks again to Ralf Koehlbach for remaking USNI #3 and for extensive testing of the other remakes. Brad (CV32) remade USNI #1 & #4 while I remade #2 & #5. Bra…

I know the soviets often have ships armed with Nuclear SAM. How are these treated in game? Do they require nuclear clearance? What effect do they have on Missile and Plane groups?

Here are some modifiers to AirToAir combat (from paper rules): 1) +10 DATA If attacker is one or more levels above or below the target aircraft and if missile is not SnapUp/SnapDown. 2) +10 DATA if target is moving faster than 1000 knots. 3) 5 DATA when unmanned target. 4) 0 DATA when target is launching, landing or hovering. Which of them are active at HCE?

Potential choices for a first (and, eventually, follow-up) HCE Shakedown Scenario(s). Please take the time to vote on these choices so we can start developing a "beginner's battleset" for HCE.

Basically, if like me you have a "new" PC or laptop, chances are you're not only running vista, but vista 64. As you might have noticed, it doesn't run any 16 bit programs, and HCE's Scenario Editor (WScenedt) is most definitely a 16 bit program. The first obvious solution, is if unlike me, you have a second home PC that runs XP. Then, it's simple : set the old PC to receive a Desktop Remote Connection, and connect from vista. Voila. Now, this article will be about doing the same if you don't have access to a second PC running XP or vista 32 (or windows 2k server) In my case, it's a close to 10 years old Athlon PC running Win2k SP3.5 (SP3 + numerous SP4 fixes)…

File Name: Canary Islands 1976 File Submitter: jerseyfred File Submitted: 15 Dec 2008 File Updated: 16 Dec 2008 File Category: BattleSets DB Used: Fred DB 12/14/08 Authors: Fred Galano Canary Islands 1976 NATO has lost contact with the Canary Islands. The only naval forces in the area, centered around the USS Hancock, are sent to investigate. This is a custom battleset that includes the database to play the scenario. Unzip the file into your HCE directory, the load the game. You will have a new battleset, "Fred's Canary Islands Battles" with which to play the scenario. The battleset is meant to be used with HCE 2008.044 or newer. Click here to dow…

TACTICS 101: NAVAL FORMATIONS - PART 3: SHIPBOARD AVIATION In Part 2 of this discussion on naval formations, we added the ships and submarines of the Reagan carrier strike group (CSG). Now, in Part 3, we'll move to the task of adding the CSG's aviation assets, namely, its fixed wing and rotary wing (helicopters) aircraft. When it comes to adding shipboard aviation to the mix, assembling the formation is much the same as it was with ships and submarines. However, the aircraft we are now hoping to add must firstly be added to (or associated with) a particular ship that is already part of the formation. This is because that aircraft will be based aboard and o…

TACTICS 101: NAVAL FORMATIONS - PART 2: ASSEMBLING A FORMATION IN HCE Part 2 of this discussion on Naval Formations will focus on building or assembling a naval formation in HCE using the game's formation editor. We will use the Scenario Editor (SE) here, but the principles are equally applicable to use of the formation editor within the Game Engine (GE). To illustrate naval formations in general, let's build one of the more popular formations - a US Navy carrier strike group (CSG). As was discussed in Part 1, the components of a naval formation comprise the main body and the screen. Within HCE's formation editor, the screen is further broken down into the …