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Below is an installer that should bring any copy of the game purchased from Matrix Games up to the current build. https://www.harpgamer.com/downloads/HC2025.025_ComprehensivePatch.zip When you get to selecting an installation directory and Start Menu group, please double-check that they are correct before proceeding.

The official Harpoon 5 Jumpstart is released. This is a preview of the H5 rules in the form of a scenario playthrough. The Jumpstart is a free download. It can be downloaded here, and will be available soon at the Wargame Vault (http://wargamevault.com) or at The Admiralty Trilogy (http://www.admiraltytrilogy.com/). For your behind-the-scenes information, the Jumpstart scenario was run by me using SimPlot. There were actually three scenarios executed, with each one resulting in tweaks to the rules, data annexes, or the scenario graphics. The Guardian scenario contained therein is the third and final version. Some changes to SimPlot were also implemented to facilitate making data changes to the scenario. Some of these changes will find there way into the next SP update. Larry Bond has given permission to freely copy and distribute the Jumpstart. The H5 rules, data annexes, and Player's Handbook are awaiting final print proofing. We are almost there! HpnV Jumpstart 10 Jul 20.pdf

An item to keep in mind, if you already own Harpoon Ultimate, you have Harpoon 97 already (and a lot of other versions) via the 20th Anniversary launcher pictured below.

In hopes of being allowed to get an official patch distributed by Matrix Games, I threw together this overview list of improvements since the 2015.027 patch and thought you might enjoy: Staff Assistant – Added additional player dials to increase/decrease prompts to radiate. DB Structure – Increased magazine limit per platform from 127 to 32,767. DB Structure – Increased countries limit from ~127 to 1023, country width from 16 to 32 characters. DB Structure – Increased to 255 Aircraft, Ship Types. DB Structure – Increased to 128 runway sizes, 32 characters each. Scenario Editor – Show the same expanded set of loadout data the Game Engine (GE) shows. Game Engine – More improvements to allowing 255 units per group, up from 127 (continued bug fixing). Game Engine – Air to Air refueling improvements splitting tankers to RTB when their range is less than refueled planes. Game Engine – Added RWR sensor model. Game Engine – Increased number of formation zones from 4 to 64 (6 available in UI), max formation radius from 255nm to 32767nm. Game Engine – Formation-keeping works better than ever Game Engine – Started adding UUIDs to game structures (unit, group, …) to be able to globally track them. Game Engine – Scenario and Saved game lineage added to be able to track the history of a scenario or saved game. Most useful for troubleshooting but also other benefits. Game Engine – Saved games now store the orders, previously the user would lose access to the orders when loading a saved game. Game Engine – Added setting to force the AI to stay on plotted paths or if they can run off on their own volition. Game Engine – Torpedo noise level logic that was making torpedoes way too quiet fixed. Too short torpedo acquisition range logic fixed. Game Engine – Expanded maximum groups possible from 676 Red & Blue total to move than 1,300 groups for each of those sides. Game Engine – Nuclear detonations game crash fixed and more accurate/thorough destruction of units as a result of the detonation(s). Game Engine – User can change speed & altitude/depth of some individual units in groups. Game Engine – Dialog window sizing and position improvements. Game Engine – Revamped victory condition evaluation. Also record more meta information for AARs, etc. General – Tons of bug fixes. Game Engine - ExportDLL interface expansion. Every non-UI aspect of the game can be overridden as a result. This has been utilized to great effect. Don Thomas in Australia has written add-ons to automate aerial refueling, most of submarine prosecution, AAR generation, and more.

The code in AreaDefense loops thru the mounts from first to last looking for a valid weapon, not the optimal weapon. AreaDefense also tags the target missiles as crossing targets so that skips at least one range check (which doesn't take courses into account so would not have prevented the SAMs from firing. It is not a small undertaking to replace the AreaDefense logic. The ExportDLL interface allows it to be replaced without modifying the core game (which we can no longer do). In short, don't hold your breath on a fix for this one. The intriguing bit is that NewAreaDefense() which I wrote in the 2013 timeframe. It does check speed and bearings to see if an intercept is kinematically possible. NewAreaDefense was not completed.

AAR for this scenario, I hope it's in the right place. Thanks for this, it was very fun. I got Minvic with 60 A/C shot down, and 5 ships sunk. After that, it seemed like I was just making the rubble jump, so I moved on. What I found out is that the F-35 is almost invincible, even with the shorter range C7 AMRAAM.

Following a suggestion from someone else on the Steam forum, I was able to find an almost 30 year old fix! Dr. Who's Harpoon Pages https://www.harpoonpages.com/harpoon1.htm The 4/04/97 update can be downloaded and imported into the Harpoon Classic 97 folder to replace the NAVC.res file (I created a backup of the original file just in case). When I ran the scenarios using that updated file, the ships all appeared correclty as Okean class instead of Kalinin class. The website also includes an update for the EC2000 scenarios. Were there any old bugs you can remember from those scenarios - anything I should look out for before deciding whether to apply that update as well?

There aren't many sims that can claim the longevity of Harpoon. As TonyE has said, the community has been the key factor to both its success and long life.

It's been a long time dream by many of us to be able to limit the number of munitions available to aircraft. Recent additions to the game by TonyE just migh have us there. This is a screen shot of an early use of the new Stores Consumed feature that tracks most munitions as they are fired. They can be filtered by firing unit class, home base and side (amongst other). The listing is circled in the lower right of the screen. The information can also be exported to a text file for later perusal. An extension of this could be assigning $ values to munitions giving another dimension to 'scoring'.

HCE - 2025.011 - 2025-02-28 =========================== - Chg:32850 GE Non-air groups could have up to 30 minute delays in turning to an intercept course. Fixed by checking if a group has an intercept event during path navigation and if it does, recalculate the course much more often. (thanks donaldseadog) https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/topic/32850-delayed-turn-of-destroyer-to-engage-enemy/ - Chg:33573 GE Player was previously allowed to fire AAMs not capable of orbital altitude at enemy missiles at orbital altitude. CheckGroupWeapons now does an altitude check but only for missiles fired against missiles. Also applied these for Satellites. (thanks Enrique) https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/topic/33573-harriers-launching-aams-to-orbit/ - Chg:33224 SE Position dialog DIALOG316 when changing a group's position always showed East and North. Corrected. (thanks donaldseadog) https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/topic/33224-se-incorrect-label-for-west-longitudes/ - Chg:00000 SE Made the left mouse click Range and Bearing text at the bottom of the window show just like the GE by adding coordinates and water depth to the readout.

Ok, this was fun! Second run was better, the big enemy surface group was a bit further off. Sadly, it spawned in the vicinity of my smaller surface group, enveloping it with its SAMs, thus making it impossible to safeguard the smaller surface group from missile attack. The few aircraft in Cyprus were also not able to stop air attacks against the islands installations and I could not get my carrier aircraft over the island in time, since I had to manuever around the SAM envelope of the big enemy surface group. RED thus managed to pull of a minimum victory after annihilating my smaller surface group, sinking 3 of my ships. I did not give up and launched an all-out counterstrike. Repeated air strikes killed the enemy surface group and then one by one the enemy bases and supporting units died. Total victory was inevitable.

aviator, here is a list of Soviet nuclear powered submarines that were commissioned by 1990 and which were serving with the Northern Fleet at the time: Project 627 (NATO November) SSN: K-3, K-5 (decommissioned in January 1990), K-11, K-21, K-50; decommissioned in April 1990: K-11, K-21, K-50 Pr 658 (Hotel) SSBN: K-16, K-19 (in reserve since 1979, decommissioned April 1990), K-33, K-40, K-145, K-149 (went into reserve fleet in March 1990) Pr 667A (Yankee) SSBN: K-32 (did not deploy after 1986 due to reactor accident), K-137 Leninets (on missile patrol in the North Atlantic from 19 October to 31 December 1990), K-140 (out of service by 17 December 1990), K-214, K-228, K-241, K-245, K-249, K-253 (Yankee Notch conversion), K-395 (in drydock for Yankee Notch conversion), K-403 (sea trials of towed array pod), K-411 (completed Yankee Stretch conversion in 1990), K-418 (removed from active service in 1989), K-420 (Yankee Sidecar SSGN conversion, but torpedoes only by 1989), K-423, K-426, K-444; decommissioned in April 1990: K-32, K-140, K-426 [Note: In 1988 the director of US naval intelligence Adm Studeman told Congress that Yankee class SSBNs had ceased patrols off the US coast in late 1987 and were instead conducting "combat service patrols against theater targets" (i.e. staying close to home), presumably to compensate for the loss of the SS-20 under the INF Treaty.] Pr 667B (Delta I) SSBN: K-279, K-385, K-447, K-450, K-457, K-460, K-465, K-472, K-475 Pr 667BD (Delta II) SSBN: K-92, K-182, K-193, K-421 Pr 667BDR (Delta III) SSBN: K-44 (in post drydock sea trials), K-129 (had powerplant failure in June 1989, may not have been available), K-424, K-449 (went to Pacific Fleet in November 1990), K-487, K-496 Pr 667BDRM (Delta IV) SSBN: K-18, -51, -64, -84, -114, -117, -407 (not commissioned until late November 1990) Pr 670M (Charlie II) SSGN: K-209, -452, -458, -479, -503, -508 Pr 671 (Victor I) SSN: K-38, -53, -69, -147, -306, -323, -367 (did not deploy again after a reactor accident in 1985), -370 (may not have been available for deployment), -398, -438, -462, -481 Pr 671RT (Victor II) SSN: K-371, -387, -467, -488 (never returned to sea after 1988 drydock), -495, -513, -517 Pr 671RTM (Victor III) SSN: K-218, -244, -254, -298, -299, -358, -502, -524, -527 Pr 671RTMK (Improved Victor III) SSN: K-292, K-388, K-138 (operational from January 1990), K-414 (not commissioned until 30 December 1990) Pr 675 (Echo II) SSGN: К-1 (may not have deployed after 1989), K-22, K-28, K-35 (final deployment in 1989), K-47 (in refuel and overhaul, did not return until 1992), K-74, K-104, K-125, K-128 (not in active service after 1989), K-131 (did not deploy after 1984), K-170 (may not have been operational after turbine accident in 1988), K-172 (stayed in port after reactor leak in June 1989); decommissioned in 1990: K-28, K-74, K-128, K-172 (in April) Pr 705 (Alfa) SSN: K-123 (received a new reactor in 1990, probably not operational until 1992), K-316, K-373, K-432, K-463, K-493 (all but K-123 decommissioned in April 1990) Pr 941 (Typhoon) SSBN: TK-12, TK-13, TK-17, TK-20, TK-202, TK-208 Pr 945 (Sierra I) SSN: K-239, K-276 Pr 945A (Sierra II) SSN: K-534 (not commissioned until 26 December 1990) Pr 949 (Oscar I) SSGN: K-206 Minsky Komsomolets, K-525 Pr 949A (Oscar II) SSGN: K-119, K-132 (transferred to Pacific Fleet in late October 1990), K-148, K-410 (not commissioned until 22 December 1990), K-442 (not commissioned until 28 December 1990) Pr 971 (Akula) SSN: K-154 (commissioned but reportedly not operational until December 1993), K-157 (commissioned but reportedly not operational until November 1995), K-317 Pantera (not commissioned until 27 December 1990), K-328 (commissioned but reportedly not operational until December 1992), K-461 (commissioned but reportedly not operational until December 1991), K-480 I will further update this list with information about which boats might have actually been available for service.

As far as missiles are concerned I have notice some missiles rated as surf capable will hit the targeted ship. Some of the are Slam-er a land attack also variant of the harpoon and the Scalp EG of French design. If it has a surf attack flag it usually will attack the designated target assigned to it despite other ships. If it has sea attack flag it will attack the first detected after activation. These are my findings.

Yeah, in general I think that as long as the annex ceilings exist, more focus is better. For example, e.g. a battleset that focuses on the Persian Gulf from 1990 to 2002. And its usually easier to be backward looking in historical context when developing a DB (and a battleset that employs it) than trying to predict the future.

Demo version 2025.025 has been uploaded.

Thanks for the idea, but the possibility of a Russian convoy clearing the Kattegat against even light opposition is zero. However, how about a Russian convoy to reinforce Kaliningrad from St Petersburg while NATO (with no USA) is distracted elsewhere? I could cook up something like that pretty soon.

Turkey2.zip Here is a revisit of Don's excellent take on Turkey vs Russia. What if you had no F-35's? Victory conditions and order of battle are very much the same. You'll get a few more fighters, a small carrier, and two tankers. This might be hard. DUCK Patrick Howard

In a few weeks you should start seeing signs of the current Harpoon Classic build being published on Steam. Apparently, the publishing process has been prioritized again.

Those are some powerful AGIs! I can confirm that the HC97 we published with Matrix Games also has/had that flaw. I suppose that would mean it is a known issue since for nearly 30 years <g>. The same flaw is present in the most recent builds so was not corrected. What we did with some similar situations is programmatically override bad BattleSet data when the BattleSet (which in those old ones included the platform database specific to each BattleSet) did have issues. The tools to re-generate those legacy BattleSets were lost to time. MicroProse has the ability to fix in a couple of ways (via programmatic override or painstakingly re-building the BattleSet). I suggest the time is much better spent re-making such scenarios in newer BattleSets that do not have the flaw, something you can do without any exotic tooling. I'm 99% sure I wrote a utility that could at least view but possibly update some of the legacy BattleSets but haven't located it yet.

Yes, MicroProse is a small operation at present. You also hit upon an important additional consideration, they are not as intimately knowledgeable about Computer Harpoon as many of their consumers. The next six months or so should be informative, how they handle the growth in their catalog, communication with players about roadmap, etc. but in my dealings so far there has been positive intent and a desire to learn.

PS, the 'Capture' feature has a better algorithm for calculating success, and I'm now looking at a repair system so once you've punished a base and captured it you can get it back to operating 100%. The long term goal is to be able to run a long term strategic scenario including expansion of territory and ammunition logistics.

That is what is known as a pre-commondb BattleSet so it does not use the user modifiable databases. I strongly suggest players only play the EC2003 and 'newer' BattleSets as they use the user-created databases and also don't have sub-optimal (i.e. compatibility) logic.

And yes, Doolitov´s Raid is my fav, too! This means Harpoon Commander´s Edition, the latest evolution of the Harpoon 1 / Classic line. There is similiar scenario in H2 / H3, "To protect the Queen". Playing it gives You a really good feeling about the differences beween the two Harpoon lines which both are so great, even after decades.

I think as a sign of appreciation I'll start writing some Nukem scenarios

The generic answer is that the rings should not be circular unless the map scale is the same in the X and Y direction. They are not. In some releases of Harpoon, the rings are forced to be circles which makes them inaccurate. In other releases of Harpoon an ellipse is used instead to give a more accurate representation of the listed range.

I believe both the 76mm OTO and the 30mm AK-630 were originally on the spec sheet when the configuration for INS Vikrant was being developed. Even the AK-630 series is getting rather long in the tooth.

HCE - 2024.006 - 2024-09-04 =========================== - Chg:33611 GE Let AI submarine groups fire missiles against player ships again. AI should be able to fire missiles at 3/4 max range now instead instead of a range similar to their torpedo range. (thanks Enrique) https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/topic/33611-ia-submarines-dont-launch-anti-ship-missiles/

I couldn't resist giving it a try, looks promising. I should be able to get the build out in the next 24 hours for you to poke holes in it (or a bunch of ships).

View File Coral Sea 25 Coral Sea 2025 Stop the Chinese advance with a scratch team. The title is "Coral Sea", however this may play out more like ADBA in February of 1942, which was a disaster for the Allies. Your results may vary. Uses Build 2023.11 or newer. Duck. Submitter rainman Submitted 07/13/2024 Category WestPac  

Probably of great interest, history of the SQS-26 sonar by one of its designers. Thanks Bob Mack. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA538018.pdf

View File Essequibo Crisis, January 2024. Hypothetical Scenario. Essequibo Crisis, January 2024. Hypothetical Scenario. A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for EC2003 Battle for the Caribbean Basin Battleset and the HCDB2-170909 (or later) 1980-2025 era Platform Database. This scenario is designed with Advanced Scenario Editor and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later. This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/UK-Allied side or from the Red/Venezuela side. You should play a few times first the Blue/UK-Allied side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red/Venezuela side. Image: HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) with some 617 Squadron RAF "Dambusters" F-35B on deck (And perhaps some others USMC VMFA-211 "Wake Island Avengers" F-35B out of sight) during Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21), the ship first operational deployment, September 22, 2021. A work by UK government file is licensed under the Open Government Licence version 1.0 and took from Wikipedia Commons. At the end of the very convulse 2023, with the almost two years long Russian invasion of Ukraine, the new Israel-Palestine crisis started on October 7, and before the current Houthis attacks on the civilian traffic in the near seas, another latent crisis exploded. The Maduro's socialist regime of Venezuela, almost a puppet of Cuba and with increasing bonds with Iran, attempts to overcome its usual internal crisis with the very usual move of search an external enemy. In this case the victim is its neighbour Guyana and the frontier Essequibo region. The terrain is impassable and Brazil supports Guyana, and the question probably will be resolved in international justice courts, too long to be explained here. But in this hypothetical scenario Guyana requested aid from the United Kingdom, materialized in a carrier strike group steaming and showing flag in the Venezuela EEZ, keeping presence for deterrent of the Maduro's pretensions over Essequibo. The carrier strike group is limited by the lack of Royal Navy escorts (many in the Horn of Africa) and the low availability of F-35B and pilots (because the Eastern Europe Russian invasion of Ukraine), and the Venezuelan side is tempted of prevent its passage on its EEZ. Also, US refuses to support UK in this operation because the low risks and other commercial interests. Alea jacta est. Enrique Mas, January 21, 2024. Submitter broncepulido Submitted 01/21/2024 Category Caribbean Basin  

Looking deeper into my personnel db I have found some of my magazines have been scrambled or completely blank. The PE shows that there was something there but everything is totally empty. Using Don Tomas's Tool box I can see that there isn't any problem with magazines in my current game. My next step is to reload my last backup of my db into the PE and see what happens.

In the game there are: Torpedo Sub-Types: (these are stored in the F1 annex Guidance field so 66 = 'B', 78 = 'x', etc.) 'B' - Active/Passive seeker '2' - Double-wire guided None 'P' - Passive Seeker '1' - Single-wire guided 'S' - Straight-running Unknown 'X', 'x' - Wake following, term active 'A' - Active seeker (this one is not in the default PE for some reason) Torpedo Codes: DE Payload Quiet

51 years ago, twelve F-4s, from the 8th TFW, released Paveway “smart” bombs, to finally knock down the Thanh Hóa (Dragon's Jaw) Bridge in N.Vietnam (April 27, 1972). Previously, 871 conventional bombing sorties had only succeeded in scratching the bridge. Air Power

When testing with Don's Scenario I have found that the actions of the land missiles seem to depend on the quality of the sensor detection and the condition of the original target. When firing missile from to units at the target but only one target per unit both destroyed the target and no hits on ships occurred. When both attacking units targeted both AD units the first missiles to get there destroyed both targets. When the second unit reach target location it seems to change that location to a BOL activation destination and those missiles would fly on and lock onto the ships and attack them instead. As TonyE said they were quite the little overachievers. In one case the first missile set failed to hit assigned target but the second did kill it. No ships were targeted even though the missile flew by the ships. I also notice that if the lock was not solid the missiles would reach the target area and revert to what seems a BOL activation point and kill ships instead.

Remember to take the built-in WestPac scenario for a spin too.

Heart 3 View File The Heart of the Problem, Part 3 It is October 2022 and the Chinese have invaded Taiwan. The US is on the way to help. This might prove difficult. A larger and challenging scenario that explores the difficulty of reinforcing Taiwan. OOB and situation is pretty close to what's in the theater today. Uses GE ver. 2022.11. Duck. Submitter rainman Submitted 08/25/2022 Category WestPac  

An account of the sinking of Moskva that claims radar ducting: It became known how exactly Russian cruiser Moskva was discovered and sunk: details and photos (Ukrainska Pravda)

Attached is the last good saved game before air patrols became corrupt. Unit ID Test 1-39.0008.zip

HCE - 2022.009 - 2022-07-29 =========================== - Chg:00000 PE Added reference to Microsoft Scripting Runtime so that FileSystemObject can be used for reading .csv files. - Chg:00000 PE No longer uses the MS Access Import and Export Specifications, imports and exports are now done with file reader & writer and DAO.recordset. This works around Microsoft breaking the import and export spec functionality. As a side effect, it makes it easier to modify the structure of the database.

HCE - 2022.007 - 2022-04-30 =========================== - Chg:00000 GE Minor change to give ExportDLLs the opportunity to process Harpoon Events as part of the scenario loading process. dllexEffect18(); HCE - 2022.008 - 2022-05-21 =========================== - Chg:32297 GE Fixed heap corruption in BOL. The game was trying to come up with a class name for the activation point 'group' which isn't possible. When class name is requested for an invalid annex_id the game now sets it to a null string. (thanks TonyD) https://harpgamer.com/harpforum/topic/32297-bearing-only-launches-crash/

Oops, I'll fix the version required reference, thanks for feedback

Scored it last week: many thanks for the heads-up. I expect much time and many ships will be sunk in 2022.

AAR: WARNING, possible spoilers... I lost two Atlantiques in the ASuW role which got into Aster-range probably and one frigate which got killed by a torpedo fired by an undetected submarine. As long as the E2 and E3 keep their radars on, there is no need to turn the radars of the carrier group on and reveal your positions. The Rafales could easily intercept inbound aircraft and I shot down about 30 of them. Another 12 or so were killed in the air bases, which I repeatedly attacked with Scalps and Tomahawks from aircraft and ships. I managed to torpedo most of the enemy surface group with Amethyste, which prompted min. victory conditions after around 8 hours of gameplay. Thank you!

Thank you for this scenario. Quite interesting! I finished it playing blue. SPOILER ALERT I expected a bit more aggression from the Chinese. No surface strikes materialized against my fleets. I was anxious that they might try to shoot ballistic missiles against Naha and Kadena, but that also did not occur. I managed to shoot down over 200 aircraft and killed all their fleets, achieving total victory. The F2A is a great asset with its long range ASMs and the Guam based bombers were also very handy. One needs to reposition assets from the bases in Northern Japan to the South in the beginning to achieve a swift victory, but Blue is certainly privileged having so many fighters with long range AAMs operational. I lost close to 20 fighters mostly due to errors from on side, there is a very slight chance of missing any Chinese fighters with all the AEW assets at your disposal.

I play Harpoon for more than twenty-five years. First I considered it only as a game. Now, when playing harpoon or Command Modern Opearations I feel like using not game but professional program to simulate war conflict (I somewhere have read that professional version of CMO allows/will allow You to play multiplayer - WOW!) . For me, my collection Is a part of strategic wargame history: games with thick manuals with beautiful box pictures... Games that don't need GeForce RTX, but are beautiful. Games that are so complicated (I play it so long, but I'm still learning how to play it well) but can steal Your time for weeks and months. Games that You never get bored with, You come back to them regularly... Look, it has been 32 years since Harpoon was firste released (1989) and today, in 2021, we're running internet forum harpgamer.com, isn't it cool?! We create scenarios, mods, we discuss, chat with each other, no matter whether we are 20 or 50 years old! I'm very interested in games You mentioned, they will complete my collection - searching internet everyday to grab them. Of course You can share the email with Mr Gilman... It's a little bit intimidating for me that, with help of Internet, I can today contact/write to/chat with for example Don Gilman or Larry Bond, creator of such great games, that I played in my youth and I play now!

Reminder: Next Harpoon chat on Zoom is Friday November 12th @ 7:00 PM Central. Hope to see you there! Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88443754075?pwd=ZXhoVjdQdFpCbkczeUFwamduSWVtZz09 Meeting ID: 884 4375 4075 Passcode: 874700 One tap mobile +16699006833,,88443754075#,,,,*874700# US (San Jose) +14086380968,,88443754075#,,,,*874700# US (San Jose) Dial by your location +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) Meeting ID: 884 4375 4075 Passcode: 874700 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdfSLC4a5A

Should anyone want to buy me a present, Mizu Super Yachts look a whole lot like warships on the outside and would be a prime choice of gift. Now if anyone does give me such a gift, I'll take it for one cruise, put it up for sale, quit my job, and write warfare simulations for the rest of my life. So win-win for all of us, right? MIZU 174' Oceanfast Superyacht For Sale Oceanfast Yachts (denisonyachtsales.com) [just an example]

I'm loving the Harpoon V rules but find that I need to enter them slowly in order to get the hang of one portion of the rules before entering into another set (figure out SSM and SAMs before venturing to aircraft, subs, etc). To learn the basics I set up a very simple scenario that has great replayability and has been good fun each time I've played it. Scenario set up - March 22, 1988, 0600 local, 200nm SW of Tromso, Norway. Sunrise 0304, sunset 2230. Sea state 4, wind from 000, no clouds, visibility 60%. The Soviets have invaded West Germany and war is on. Unfortunately the start of hostilities found numerous merchant ships, NATO and Soviet at sea. The Norwegians aren't prepared and can provide no help shepherding the NATO ships back to port. NATO has one OH Perry class ship in the area and 5 NATO merchants at sea. The Soviets have 4 Nanuchkas at sea and 2 Soviet merchants. Forces - NATO - an OH Perry class ship and 5 merchants (I used the US Comorant class ship as a 'generic' merchant). Soviet - 4 Nanuchkas and 2 merchants (I used the same US Comorant ship as a 'generic' Soviet merchant). Map - a 250nm by 250nm map with Tromso near the NE corner of the map. The map is large enough to show Tromso in the NE, Narvik in the SE, and the sea north of Tromso (for the Soviet exit). Initial Set Up - the fun of the scenario is that all forces are distributed randomly. I used a simple RAND formula in Excel to figure out the 250x250 coordinate where each ship began. Using this random generation created very different strategies and sets of decision for both sides each time the scenario was played. Initially each merchant is randomly assigned a direction and its movement is plotted on that course until contacted. The OH Perry and Nanuchkas are free to plot their movement however they like. Initial Rules - the Merchants aren't aware the war has started. The OH Perry or Nanuchkas must contact each merchant and convince them that they are in danger and that they must return to port. Each 30 minutes there is a 75% chance that a merchant will receive the message. There is a 50% chance that the merchant will believe the message as genuine (this goes up 10% each subsequent contact). If the merchant believes the message as genuine there is a 75% chance that they will follow any instructions given (to return to port, turn off nav radar, etc.). Once a merchant has rolled to follow instructions they will do so for the rest of the game. If the OH Perry, its helo, or a Nanuchka come within visual of a merchant, the merchant will automatically follow instructions. Orders - The OH Perry is ordered to get the merchants to either Tromso or Narvik as quickly as possible and protect them. The Nanuchkas are ordered to seek out the NATO merchants and destroy them. Safety of the Soviet merchants getting around northern Norway is secondary. Victory Conditions - NATO - Each undamaged merchant returned to safety (at Tromso or Narvik) is worth 10 points. Each damaged merchant returned to safety is worth 5 points. Each Soviet merchant sunk is worth 3 points, each Soviet merchant damaged is worth 1 point. No points are scored for sinking or damaging the Nanuchkas. Victory Conditions - Soviet - Each NATO merchant sunk is worth 10 points and each one damaged is worth 5 points. Each Soviet merchant returned to safety (around northern Norway) is worth 3 points and if damaged 1 point. No points are scored for sinking or damaging the OH Perry. Victory Conditions - General - If a merchant goes off the map (instead of returning safely) then the opposing side is awarded 5 victory points. Game End - the game ends when all merchants are safely returned or sunk. Observations - Invariably with the random set up there will be a merchant fairly close to an enemy combatant and it will get picked off pretty quickly. Beyond that the Soviets have to decide whether to concentrate their forces in case they encounter the OH Perry or stay far apart to maximize their search. Early on the Soviets will normally have some luck detecting the nav radar of a merchant. Beyond that the deck is stacked against the Soviets because it's difficult for them to find the NATO units. The OH Perry has to decide whether to try to convoy the merchants or it can or simply tell them to return to port and then hunt down the Nanuchkas one by one (or avoid them). In all scenarios the Seahawks are the difference makers. Their ability to find the Nanuchkas without giving away the OH Perry location is key. The OH Perry has to be careful. Dealing with one Nanuchka isn't too bad. Two at a time is tough and if the Soviets concentrate 3 against the OH Perry then it's probably light's out for the OH Perry. I've played the scenario 4 times and each side has won twice. Variants - Because the Seahawk is such a big part of the NATO success try increasing the sea state to 5 where there is a chance that the Seahawk may crash on takeoff/landing. Another variant is to increase the sea state to 6 where the Seahawk can't be used. Overall - I'm still learning the rules and probably got a few of them wrong but it's been fun. The next iteration is to throw in a sub for each side so I can learn those rules. Aircraft is probably after that. ENJOY!!

There are about eight in-game hours left to chronicle in this final write-up. Don't worry, it will be over soon. In the meantime, to thank you for your patience, here's some potatoes: I discovered some new air contacts and sent F-16s to engage them. They turned out to be MiG-23MLKs and the Flogger-Ks proved to be a very tough customer. In this and the following the fight, I lost eight F-16s for six enemy fighters. Partly down to having some very tough customers, partly for leaving one unit's radar off... I did actually do another standoff attack shortly after this, sending five aircraft armed with Harpoons to attack the Soviet carrier group. I also must have launched some F-15s in a counter-air sweep at some point, because I downed two Flanker-Ds and three helicopters; two of the latter were AEW Helixs, so that was a useful bonus. However, Suffren came under attack by Sunburn missiles. Downing one didn't exactly mitigate the damage of the other four and that vessel sunk. Shortly after, Cassard came under AS-17 attack and it too succumbed. My standoff attack managed to launch 12 Harpoons at the carrier group, but all were downed. I lost an E-3 half an hour later. At 05:52 the strangest engagement of the battle occurred, when an air combat between MiG-25s and F-16s went into gun range, after one of the latter had been downed by AA-6s. The battle ran a grand total of 17 and a half minutes; my notes show an increasing incredulity at the situation. Eventually, the F-16s (who I tried to withdraw) finally down the Foxbats and I was also able to dock some of my ships.... At 0621 I reflected it had gone rather quiet. Guess what happened five minutes later...