kmart494

I uploaded a new version of the User Guide.  I finally filled in the missing procedures, and made corrections to obsolete information.  This guide is compatible with the current version of SimPlot 2.0.

It is still somewhat incomplete, but the section on creating and modifying units is complete.  That is the area I get the most questions for, anyway.

The file is available in the Downloads section.

As long as the air threat is known to the ship (in this case radar detection), then your guns can fire with directors when the missiles reach the Point defense range.  See 8.1.3 and 8.1.4 (CIWS).  The CS reaction delay applies to SAM systems under 8.1.1.

I will forward the question to Chris Carlson for his input.

Are you trying to determine the weight for purposes of aircraft loading?  My guess is that sonobuoy weights (and quantity) is not enough to make an aircraft more than lightly loaded.

Dylan is correct that surface contacts and air contacts are two different things for this rule.  Surface contacts are detected at the radar horizon or the radar's max range, whichever is less.  Air contacts at VLow would be detected at 1/10th the radar's max range.

It probably represents a more sophisticated way to passively track ASMs using sensors on both the ship and helo.  The pod may have a computer that can calculate ASM movement more precisely due to helo movement and ES crossfix.  In game terms it won't mean much until we learn more about it does its business.

As the creator of SimPlot, I am biased and highly recommend it. 😀  You do not have to wait for your copies of H-V to arrive to begin learning SimPlot.  My documentation for the program is incomplete and somewhat out-of-date, but I designed the program to be as intuitive as possible.  Feel free to post any questions you may have about H-V and SimPlot in this forum.

Kevin

My guess is the pod is just Electronic Support (ES) which passively detects hostile radars but does not provide jamming or active detection.  Several Google results show it has the ability to passively detect and locate incoming Anti-Ship Missiles in conjuction with ship-based ES/EW.  So far it does not appear the pod has any jamming capability.

They typically attend the HMGS’s Cold Wars (March) and Historicon (July) events.  Both used to be in Lancaster, PA but CW will be in Ocean City, MD next year.  They play a mixture of all their games.

It gets 2 shots for being Autonomous.  You can shoot at different targets, too.  On the weapons line the AA rating would read something like "5.0A".  The "A" is Autonomous.

I agree that some information impacts gameplay even if it's not a rule.  I think Larry and Chris were greatly affected by the recent revelation (declassification) of how good or bad certain systems were in reality.  Much of Harpoon to date was based on the theoretical.  I attended several of Chris' seminars that were quite an eye opener for me, too.  They wanted to include that kind of stuff in H-V but it's hard to make a special rule for evey little thing that could make a difference.

As Tony said, it just denotes the barrel type (rotary).  Normally, where the 'R' is would be a numeral to show the number of barrels in a given mount.  Some modern gun systems have 1 or 2 barrels, but older post-WW2 ships may have as many as 3 barrels per mount.

Even without a data link, the SH-60 could relay radar information to the ship.  He will know the contact's position, and after one Tactical Turn, the speed and course.  This is enough information to cue the OH Perry for a missile shot.  The free H-V Jumpstart shows how to do this.

BTW, there is a data link between them, but it is very limited, so you do not get the Helicopter bonus when calculating a firing solution.

Your one-step-at-a-time approach will work well.  Harpoon4 had a series of scenarios that took players through various aspects of the game mechanics.  The present Jumpstart doesn't do it quite as well, but it is a place to start, anyway.  Do you have the free Jumpstart?

Presently, only US and Russian naval/air units are available for Harpoon V.  Chinese units are in the works.  They will most likely be done before your bachelor's party.  But, please don't hold me to it since H-V was supposed to be done months ago...🤨

CWG,

First, you must enter a label and range.  "Start" is the starting angle of the arc, with 0 degrees being the bow of the ship, pointy end of the aircraft, etc.  "Angle" is how many degrees clockwise the arc should extend.  Select a color, then close the color chooser.  "Visible" turns the arc on (this is so you can turn them on and off without deleting them).  "Fill" creates a semi-transparent fill.

Example: An aircraft with a 60 degree wide radar arc, centered on the nose.  The Start is 330, the Angle is 60.  Add whatever label and range is appropriate.  The arc will change direction with the aircraft, so it's always 60 degrees on the nose regardless of aircraft course.

Player graphics is something I will implement eventually, but probably not in 2.1.

Kevin

There is a company and product name in the IDE, but it may not be what Win10 is looking for.  I wonder if Microsoft is implementing a developer ID system like Apple.  I have to register myself with Apple and jump through approval hoops for each update to SimPlot.  MacOS will not allow any software to run unless a certificate is "stapled" to it.  I will have to look deeper into the Windows issue.  Meanwhile, I am glad you got it working.

Did Defender specify why it won't let the app work?

It works fine on my Win10 because I didn't download it (it was compiled there).  I wonder if it being a download might trigger a warning (MacOS does).  

Is the app and all resource files in its own folder?  If so, do not use a sub-folder in the Program Files folder.  That one is very picky about execution privileges.

You might try to run the app as Administrator to see if that helps.

I am willing to provide tech support and referee training to anyone that wants to referee a game.  I won't be able to actively participate since real work is picking up and I am working on SimPlot 2.1.

Kevin

Rex,

Mac is a bit different in how it handles the color chooser.  IIRC, when you select the color, you have to close the color chooser window with the Red-X button, otherwise the color will not populate the unit window.

If that doesn't work, please let me know and I will look into it deeper.

Kevin

I think it is a typo.  It should read 96 msls total.  The other Burkes list 96 msls, and they all have the same number of cells.

Edit:  Except Flights I, II - they have only 90 msls.  I think the reason has to do with the strikedown crane for reloading.

Stefano,

Although SimPlot does not implement miniature rules of any kind, it does allow for some of the things you are scripting now.  For example, you can set Range Circles for radar ranges, Range Arcs for weapon arcs, and Perceptions for controlling which side can detect what enemy unit (and the extent to which it is detected, such as speed, heading, unit type, etc.).  Also, you can use ES Bearings and Sonar Bearings to represent passive detections.  These graphics are meant to visually show when detection or weapon fire can take place (think of Range Circles as reminder circles).  Detection is simulated by changing unit Perceptions, and combat is simulated by eliminating units.

All of the above mentioned things are retained in JSON files each time you save the scenario.  Four files are automatically created--Referee file for you as referee or single player (contains all unit data), Red and Blue files for distribution to players of a multi-player game (contains their respective unit data plus enemy detections), and the PlayerSetttings file which contains data only relevent to each individual player--range circles, text tags, or other customized graphics (each player has their own file created on their computer).  There is also an automatic Config file that each player has that contains color customization and other stuff.

SimPlot will only read the information that it was programmed to look for.  Any other information will be ignored.  Conversely, SimPlot will only save the data that it was programmed to save, which will completely overwrite the existing files.  I do not think integration with other JSON files is possible.

Kevin

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

I enjoyed reading about these small scenarios.  When H5 and SimPlot 2.1 are released I would be interested in testing SP 2.1 multiplayer using these scenarios.