Scenario Design & Discussion

Fellow Harpooners, In the last couple of years, I have focused on Harpoon 3 ANW, using the HUD-3 and then the HUD-4 database. One problem is that there are not many new scenarios for the HUD-4. I've written a few, but I really want to see the HUD-4 get more support. As I've said a couple of times, it is not going to work if I am the only one writing scenarios for it. I've put out a call to HUD 3/ANW players to get involved in writing more scenarios, and I thought I should let HC players know about it, too, because many of us do play both versions, even if we like one or the other a little better. If there is anyone out there who has thought about wri…

The 271st NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! EU3-Azore Loser The Azores are a small group of islands (under Portuguese control) that are strategically located due West of the Gibraltar Strait. On one of those islands is a long standing NATO airfield (Lajes field) and port facility that has been mostly managed by the United States since the beginning of the Cold War. Both the US and the EU are aware that any attempt to regain control of the Med requires the first step of having control of the Azores. Author: Eric Weincam This scenario has been tested for Harpoon ANW. With over 57,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 19 wee…

The 283rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Nicobar Vengeance Friction has been growing between Indonesia and her neighbours. Amongst other issues, Indonesia claims that other nations have been illegally fishing in her waters while other nations accuse Indonesia of not doing enough to reduce piracy. Four days ago, an Indonesian submarine in the waters between the Nicobar islands and Sumatra sank an Indian merchant vessel that it mistook for a commercial fishing boat. Sixteen Indian sailors were killed in the incident. Author: Herman Hum With over 93,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 31 weeks alone, the PlayersDB has proven…

The 28th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! In Every Clime and Place The war between the CIS and NATO has been raging for three weeks with the CIS gaining the upper hand with their swift conquest of the nations surrounding the Norwegian Sea. Gaining access to the Atlantic in this manner, many of their hunter-killer submarine groups have been able to sortie thus harassing NATO convoys and wreaking havoc with NATO's wartime plans. SACEur has had enough and finally convinces the USN to launch an amphibious invasion of Norway to stop the flow of subs that are sinking his supplies! In order to pull off such a daring invasion, a CVBG is pulled from es…

The 273rd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! TRADE BARRIER The rise of the European Community in the mid-1990's had a dramatic effect on the political and economic divisions in the world. Following the prolonged recessionary period which ran rampant throughout the world during the early 90's, the EC was the first economic body to rebound and the recovery was astonishing. What some felt was retribution towards the United States for "forty years of tyranny," the Community took steps to ensure that the Western Hemisphere took a back seat to the new world economic superpower. Soon enough, the EC's actions against the United States and Canada led to d…

The 9th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Gwadar you up to? India vs China & Pakistan - Jan 24, 2015 China has been a net oil importer since 1993, with the bulk of its Middle Eastern energy imports being transported circuitously by sea via the Strait of Malacca. The country's rising demand for overseas oil, fuelled by its rapid economic growth, has raised concern about becoming over-reliant on this narrow waterway. An alternate supply route in the form of a road and an eventual pipeline from Gwadar, Pakistan to China's westernmost provinces would reduce the dependence. Moreover, situated opposite the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 per…

The 274th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! EU5-Tin Canary The Canary Islands are located just South of the Atlantic entrance into the Med. Owned by Spain, they have represented a strategic control point since the days of ancient Rome. One of the islands, Grand Canaria, hosts a large Spanish military base complete with hardened aircraft shelters and underground bunkers. From this base, the EU can interdict any shipping moving in or out of the Med. As long as Gran Canaria is functional, the US can not re-establish their LoC through the Med. Russia has officially sided with the EU and has committed substantial surface forces to complement the F…

The 276th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! BLACK SEA, BLACK HOLE Operation Southern Swath is in full swing and going well for the CIS. In the Mediterranean theatre, CIS air power has dominated with Turkey being defeated by a combined amphibious invasion and aerial onslaught. The only Turkish units that survived the initial air campaign were those underway and not in the Black Sea. Eventually, most of these vessels ended up in Italian or French ports. After two weeks of sitting on the sidelines, the Turks are ready to get back into the fight. To do this, they have decided to send two SS boats back into the Black Sea to generally harass the CIS N…

AAR: Sea King to Chile Incident [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon ANW scenario Author: Freek Schepers Jerome Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I elected to try out this hypothetical scenario set in the Falklands. One of the most mysterious events of the war happened on May 16th, when a Sea King was found burning and abandoned near Punta Arenas airbase. The British claimed a 500nm navigation error but, after the war, it became clear that SAS Special Forces had been planning a raid to take out the Exocet-armed Super Etendard aircraft which had sunk Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor. Speculation on the nature of this operation still ranges from SAS-Hercules aircraft…

Related to my other posts on this subject, how likely are these 2020 possibilities... South Africa: Mostly capable of defending its own interests with a medium-sized air force and a good coastal navy; capable of convoy missions; not really able to project power Nigeria: Mostly capable of defending its own interests with a medium-sized air force and a good coastal navy; capable of convoy missions (they would need a couple of frigates to do this...who would they buy them from...England?); not really able to project power Most other African nations have little in the way of navies, but continue to buy aircraft...I'm going to guess mostly F-7s from China and other…

File Name: Ralf's H3 ANW/HUE standalones for HUD 3 V 1.6.1 File Submitter: RKoelbach File Submitted: 22 May 2011 File Category: BattleSets DB Used: HUD3 V 1.6.1 (Darren Buckley) Authors: Ralf Koelbach Battleset containing my rebuilt/updated standalone scenarios for H3 ANW/HUE and the HUD3 V 1.6.1. Battleset description file (dsd-file) included. Click here to download this file

The 255th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! MATRIX SIEGE An exercise between the USN and Baltic naval forces. The passages of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom [GIUK] Gap remain an intense focal point even in time of peace. The GIUK Gap is THE single most significant choke point for Russian merchant and naval shipping. These waters are also rich with abundant fishing areas and valuable mineral deposits and disputes regarding them are common. The resources that Russian once counted on are no longer guaranteed and a hungry Bear is a dangerous thing, indeed. At the same time, the Western Democracies are scrapping their naval assets faster tha…

The 44th NEW Harpoon scenario in the last 12 months! H-Hour As the arctic daylight fades into mid-afternoon twilight, the tension along the Soviet/Norwegian border erupts into a heavy artillery and rocket barrage. The Norwegian defence forces have been preparing for this day for many years. It is now time to defend their homeland or suffer a second occupation in 50 years. 'Helmets On!' this is going to be a tough one. As the Norwegian commander, the best you can hope for is to inflict delay on the overwhelming force coming towards you. Destroy key bridges or tunnels to slow Soviet ground troops and inflict as many casualties as you can. As …

The 34th NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Liberation of Antilles ('75) This is the 1975 variant of the fourth scenario in the "Hugo's Folly" Battleset. The 'elected' prime minister of Venezuela, Perez, has invaded the ABC Islands to capture and nationalise the refineries built there to process the new Venezuelan oil. The Netherlands, still outraged over how they were forced to give up New Guinea to Indonesia 14 years ago, has decided not to invoke article 5 of the NATO charter, but to demonstrate to the world that it can take on a Banana Republic by itself. Netherlands has pulled together the largest Task Force it is capable of amassing…

File Name: SvaOil2 File Submitter: Herman File Submitted: 6 Nov 2008 File Category: Scenarios DB Used: Y2kDB v10.0.0 Authors: Klaus Behrmann Battleset: Svalbard Oil Svalbard Oil Battleset The discovery of the third largest oil and gas reserves on the planet near the Svalbard Islands led to a dispute with Russia, who has mining rights and maintains settlements on Spitsbergen, claiming that the islands belong to the chain of islands of Franz Josef Land. Svalbard Oil 2: NATO Strikes Back The attempt of the Royal Norwegian Navy to settle the dispute over the Svalbard Islands with rather limited resources was a failure, though the two Norwegian submarines…

Here's another excellent AAR. It is reprinted here with permission of the author:

File Name: Battle of San Antonio 2013 File Submitter: Mgellis File Submitted: 31 May 2012 File Updated: 28 Jul 2012 File Category: Scenarios DB Used: HUD 4 v1.1 b11 Authors: Mark Gellis Battleset: No Information Chilean convoy vs. Russian navy in the near future... (Image of Chilean navy frigate CNS Almirante Williams (FFG 19) and several other ships is U.S. Navy photo 110629-N-ZI300-106 by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steve Smith/Released) Click here to download this file

AFTER ACTION REPORT Scenario : “CARCRASH” for Harpoon 3.6 Author : Freek Schepers Side : Russia Reporter : Taitennek I am in command of a small Russian SAG, centred on the Admiral Kuznetsov, and a submarine [Akula II]. My orders are to reach the operational area, marked by ref. points 9-12. I also must destroy at least 2 enemy aircraft carriers. Fighters [MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-30 Flanker] and helicopters [Helix] are aboard the Kuznetsov and her escorts. They carry various weapons. Game on! First impressions: Intelligence reports that the Royal Navy has put in two of their VTOL carriers; the HMS Invincible [R05] and HMS Ark Royal [R09]. The …

I have noticed, when I set up missions for various sides in ANW, that the game does not start missions for the side I am playing automatically. For example, if I want a task force to patrol an area defined by certain reference points, the game has no trouble starting patrols for the sides controlled by the computer, but does not start them automatically for the side I am playing. It does not even seem to remember them (if I open Edit Mission, they are not even there) and makes me set up the missions all over again. It also does not launch aircraft for formations or missions automatically. It does remember ASW/ASuW/AAW zones, but if I design a scenario with a coup…

File Name: ANW DB - Tutorials File Submitter: RKoelbach File Submitted: 15 May 2011 File Category: BattleSets DB Used: ANW DB V 2.4.7 Authors: Dale Hillier Original Tutorial Battleset for ANW DB V 2.4.7 Rebuilt by Dale Hillier, 2011-05-13 The Battleset desciption file (dsd-file) is included. Just unzip the packed file in the scenarios folder under your ANW DB folder. Attention: You need the latest ANW DB version = V 2.4.7 to play them. Click here to download this file