Mgellis

Could someone try the revised version of the scenario and see what happens? Thanks. Mark

Was this the original version or the revised one where I put attack orders in? Brad or Herman, if the missiles don't fire in the revised scenario, would you mind opening it up in the scenario editor when you get a chance and see whether or not the attack orders actually saved? Thanks. I don't know why scenario editor acts so weird on my machine. Has anyone else had experiences like this with it? Mark

Okay, I've posted a revised version where the group with the ballistic missile launchers (hint..it's NOT part of the airbase) has Orders to attack the airfields in Turkey that it attacks automatically when I play the game on my machine. Just curious...have you ever heard of anyone else having this issue with Harpoon...if they run a scenario on the machine they wrote it on, it behaves DIFFERENTLY than it behaves on someone else's computer? Mark

Quick question...did the Romanian ballistic missiles fire? They also fire automatically when I play, so I never set a formal attack order for them. Mark

Dear Brad, I can't figure out how to upload new scenarios to HarpGamer. I would be happy to have any or all of the scenarios I've posted to FilesofScenShare posted here, too. If posting is something that has to be done by a moderator, please feel free to re-post my scenarios on HarpGamer. Thanks. Mark

Thanks. That actually lets me know what I needed to know for the Turkey vs. Romania/Ukraine scenario I'm working on right now. Just curious...what sources did you use? Mark

Essentially the same, except the MiG-29UB had no radar and no combat capability. Hmmmm....so I'm guessing putting them in a scenario wouldn't make much sense. Let me guess...if an aircraft has "U" in the designation, it probably means either "utility" or "unarmed," right? I love the International Directory of Military Aircraft (a great reference work for scenario design), but I wish it wouldn't do things like list Romania's MiG29's as 12 MiG29A/UB. That means, I suppose, that there are 12 MiG29s, but no one knows how many of them are A's and how many of them are UB's. (I guess the Romanians know, but they're not telling. The nerve of some people.) Mark

You're welcome. Btw, you'll find your Mirage F1 and Mirage 2000 requests in the next iteration of the HCDB. 17 different versions of them, in fact. I will add a generic "international" loadout to the basic (US) C-130 entry. I will add the transport version of the CN-235. The MiG-29UB is the Fulcrum B trainer variant. The MiG-29N type flown by Malaysia is already in the HCDB, but yes, the MiG-29SE is the export version of the MiG-29S Fulcrum C (also known as the 9.13S standard). Ooooo....sounds like the next HCDB will be a lot of fun to play with. Lots of options for small- or medium-sized regional conflicts. (The C-130 will be especially useful. I understand something like 60 countries fly them, so they can be used in a lot of scenarios.) Thank you. Am I correct in assuming that the Mig-29UB is basically a Mig-29A with an extra seat (for an instructor) and can be used for combat, and that I can simply use the Fulcrum A in the database to represent it in scenarios? Or should I use a different aircraft? (Sheesh, at this rate, you'll be adding 17 versions of the Mig-29, too!) Thanks. Mark

Its the opposite, actually (from looking at your scenario in the SE). Total Vic for being on station, and Min Vic for the subs. There was no Red Vic at all. All right, I think I see what I did wrong. I'm going to repost the scenario. I've changed the Blue Victory Conditions so that being on station OR killing the subs gives you a MinVic, but you have to do both to get a Total Victory. Please check the Victory Conditions in the SE...there should be several ones for Red. Thanks. Mark

Brad, Thanks for the newest HCDB. A few more ideas (and a couple of questions)... The newest C-130 is in the INTL section of the database, but I cannot find an export version of the first generation(s). I mention this only because the American version has Rangers as its "weapon," which other countries would not have. (The generic light airborne platoon loadout used with other transports would probably work fine.) The CN-235MPA has been included, but I can't find the CN-235M (the transport version)...this became an issue because I was writing a scenario involving Turkey. Is the CN-235M in the database? I may have just missed it. If not, could it be added? (It sounds like its "weapon" is one light airborne platoon.) Question...is the MiG-29UB the same as the Mig29-A in the database? (It's the version flown by countries like Syria and Romania.) Also, I'm guessing the SE type, flown by Malaysia, is the same as the Mig29-S ("Fulcrum C") in the database? I just want to make sure I'm using the right aircraft. Thanks. Mark

That's odd...the idea was that you would get a MinVic for bringing the convoy across (i.e., a certain number of ships on station for a certain amount of time), and a TotalVic for sinking the subs (of course, if you got eight of the submarines, the odds of a Red TotalVic are very slim, so it's a moot point). Was there a Red MinVic first? Mark -----from original message----- Victory was awarded after sinking eight submarines, though the convoys were only about halfway across the Atlantic. I will probably play through to their eventual arrival in Europe just to see if Mark has any more surprises in store.

Brad, Thanks for replying. If you have to make a choice for the aircraft, I'd say the IAR-93 and the L-59 are relatively unimportant (basically, they're light attack aircraft that aren't a big part of any air force outside of Tunisia, where the L-59 makes up about 30% of its attack aircraft). They could be left out. The big question for the F1 export is whether the French F1CT is different enough that one needs to add the extra aircraft. I don't know if the loadouts, sensors, etc. are the same or not. It is used by about six nations in the Middle East, so it may be worth adding if there are significant differences. The HCDB is a remarkable achievement...it probably has at least 95% of the ships, subs, planes, bases, etc. that might be used in any scenario set between 1985 and 2015. (Just curious, what is the actual limit for when something is included? In service by 1985? In service by 1980?) I've tried to identify the various "gaps," platforms that might possibly be used, but maybe the more important questions are... 1) What additional Cold War ships, subs, and planes still need to be added? Which ones aren't already there and are likely to be needed? 2) What not-ready-yet platforms need to be added for scenarios set c. 2015? Mark

Brad, Thanks. Nice additions. Just came up with a few ideas for the next version... * SSN 23 Jimmy Carter (after modifications for carrying special ops teams, etc.; see HazeGray for details) * Variant Israeli Dolphin submarine...there are rumors she can carry nuclear-tipped land attack cruise missiles. Why not include a version that does? * Carrier-capable version of the A-4M Skyhawk * My copy of Jane's ('91-'92) says the Super Etendard (France) was capable of carrying nuclear bombs AND the French nuclear standoff missile (separate loadouts) and could also carry Magic AA missiles; might be interesting to the give the French a carrier-based nuclear strike option by adding loadouts, huh? * Ethiopia's Petya IIs (F 1616 and F 1617) and Turyas (HTB 112 and HTB 113). The Mols and the Osa IIs are already there. The classes for these vessels are already in the database; you just need to add the ships. (And the moment I thought of this I came up with a scenario idea...Ethiopia vs. Yemen!) * Libya's Foxtrot submarines (active in 1990...you can probably just add units to the Export Foxtrot class; names are Al Badr, Al Fateh, Al Ahad, Al Mitraqa, Al Khyber, and Al Hunain) * Romania's export Kilo (Delfin, active in 1990...you can probably simply add this unit to the Export Kilo class) * Export version of the Mirage F-1 (used by Libya, Morocco, Greece, etc.) and the Mirage 2000 C/B (early export version used by Egypt). * Soko IAR-93 (similar to the Super Galeb, but the Super Galeb is listed as an attack range of about 700 miles and a Ferry range of roughly 1000 miles; the IAR-93 only has a attack range of about 500 miles) * L-59 (used by Egypt and Tunisia) * Would it be worth adding Sri Lanka's OPVs and PGs? * How about Kenya's missile boats? 2 Nyayo class and 4 Brooke Marine class (one appears to be a variant type, but I can't figure out how it is different than the other three). That's all I can think of at the moment. Thanks. Mark

Thanks. Any advice on beating the Chinese aircraft? What I generally try to do is close on them, fire my missiles, and then try to get away from them before they can shoot back. Since the Flankers have missiles that outrange the missiles on the Japanese aircraft, this can be difficult. And the Flankers and the J-10s seem to be very adept at not getting hit. I will sometimes fire four sets of four missiles at a pair of Chinese aircraft (16 total) and miss every single time. That ususally doesn't happen when they're shooting at me. What am I doing wrong? I've found that ganging up on aircraft can work pretty well. I'll have one set of aircraft fire missiles, the Red planes will run, but the only place they can run is too close to another flight of my aircraft to get away from THEIR missiles--between the two sets of missiles heading towards them, one will sometimes get them. But not always. And this only works if you have enough aircraft and have them in the right place at the right time. Any advice? Tactics? Ideas? Thanks. Mark

Warning...some spoilers.... I tried this out a few times and have failed every time. Usually not utter and embarrassing failure, but failure nonetheless. I have figured out one way to kill the ammo depot. I launch my F-4s at once, fly them in Very Low and can usually blast the depot and get the hell out of dodge before the SAMs kill me. Around this time, I've started to shuttle a fair number of aircraft to Naha. And, around this time, a large number of Red aircraft are on their way to Japan, mostly trying to kill one of my SAGs. And there seems to be about a dozen aircraft, probably launched from the Chinese base on the Senkaku islands, that show up at Naha around now, bombing my base and killing a few of my planes. Also around this time, my oil rig gets sunk by a Chinese missile boat. I can usually dispatch the missile boat and the small SAG that is also in the area with my Hayabusa PTMs, but I can never get there in time to save the oil rig. I suppose if I searched for the Chinese missile boat with my F-4s and dive bombed them, I might be able to do it. I have not tried that, yet. While all this is going on, my F-15s and F-2s are busy getting the crap kicked out of them by a whole lotta Flankers and J-10s. I can usually protect the SAG that is on its way out of Japanese waters, but only at fairly heavy cost in terms of aircraft. Even my Eagles are fighting for their lives against those Flankers and their long range missiles. Actually, they don't do too badly. The last time I played this scenario, I had killed about 35 Red aircraft before I hit the 18 Blue aircraft mark seems to be a Total VicCon for Red. This is where I usually stop. I think this is a very interesting scenario, but I feel stumped. I can't figure out how to win this one. Unless there is some trick to beating the Flankers and the J-10s with the aircraft I have that I haven't figured out, I end up taking heavy casulties. Also, as far as I can tell, I'm limited to troops and iron bombs for the assaults. That means getting up close and personal with the SAMs on the Senkaku islands. Very unhealthy for aircraft. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Mark

Yeah, it's there, in the HCDB-050812 release. You're probably looking at the HCDB-050810. That is weird. I downloaded and re-installed the database and it still isn't there. The only Spanish submarines are the Mistral, the Galerna, and the Daphne. The other things like the Indian TELs are there, though. Is it listed under some other nation? The text file that came with the zip identifies the database as the 050811 database. Could that mean something? Any chance the wrong .res file went into the .zip file? Any ideas? Thanks. Mark

Done. See the HCDB-050812 release. Okay, glad to hear, both for the game and for real life, that the JSF will have some ASuW capability--it just seemed odd to that the premier carrier-launched attack aircraft in the world would not be able to attack...ships. As for the S-80 submarine. Are you sure? I've got the scenario editor open and I am not seeing it. Mark

Brad, Thanks for the newest version of the HCDB. Quick questions and requests (for the next version)... As far as I can tell, the F-35 JSF cannot attack ships. All of its strike loadouts are for land targets (some of them say SURF in the scenario editor but when I play the test scenario they switch over to LAND). Is this correct? Can you add the Spanish S-80 class submarines? (listed on the HazeGray site) Can you add the Mi-8 helicopter (carries troops and can be armed with rockets, etc.)...used by many armed forces around the world see http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mi-8.htm Since you've added the British CVs, could you add a Chinese one? (You could probably just use the Russian carrier with Chinese sensors, SAMs, etc.) I'm guessing they'll fly Su-33s. Thanks. Mark

Dear Brad, I am re-posting this here as per your request. Thanks. Mark -----cut here----- Quick requests for the next version, when you have time... * Danish, South Korean, Dutch, and Norwegian versions of the Lynx (or revised descriptions of existing versions so folks know which ones to use...I don't mind if the Dutch use the German version, or whatever, but I simply don't know which ones to use.) Thanks for adding the Series 300 Super Lynx. * The Italian Cavour is still listing space for only 12 aircraft; this seems low for a ship that's as big as a Tawara-class (also, one time trying to add aircraft to it caused the scenario editor to crash) * Sandown class minehunters (UK) <-- Hazegray has some information; it's not clear how they blow up mines since the only weapon listed is one 30 mm. cannon (maybe they just shoot them, but that might be hard to model in the database); these appear to be the replacement for the Hunt * S-80 class submarines (Spain) <-- new class with Harpoon missiles * Lt. Col. Errhamani (Descubierta class) light ASW frigate (Morocco) * El Lahiq (Osprey 55) class large patrol boats (Morocco) * Okba class (PR-72 type) large patrol boats (Morocco) * Lt. De Vaisseau Rabhi (Vigilance) class large patrol boats (Morocco) * Commandant Al Khattabi class large patrol boats (Morocco) * El Yadekh (Kebir) class patrol boats (Algeria) * Type 209 coastal submarines (South Africa) <-- okay, South Africa isn't on any of the five maps, but it is possible they might get involved in some scenarios in the IOPG zone (maybe a South African submarine is being used to smuggle something from Iran?) * MEKO A200SA type patrol frigates (South Africa) <-- see above While we're on the subject of adding countries not yet on the maps, perhaps it's time to start adding the major Central and South American navies (Brazil and Argentina, followed by Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico)? Of course, until we have a South Atlantic map, I'm guessing the most likely scenarios where such navies would be involved would be convoy operations so you would only need to add the frigates (and maybe the submarines and the Brazilian carrier). None of the smaller craft (patrol boats, etc.) need be added. Any thoughts on this? Thanks. And again, thanks for your work on the database. Mark