TEPonta

Budda - one beer a day, after the 90 day mark? We got just a one-time two beer alottment at the 45th consecutive day, then start marking the days again. Depending how long you were transiting/MODLOC you may have made out on the deal. Also spoke to a former Royal Marine at work today, he did not recall exactly what it was back in late 70's but said it was not what all the old salts remembered (Ah sea stories). Hopefully someone else with RN/RM experience can expound. Sorry for the confusion. Not one beer per day, I meant one day where you got two beers. After that, it was dry for another 90 days. Buddha

USN/USMC has/had a policy of 2 beers per man at the end of the 45th consecutive day at sea. I lived it twice during my 90 days cutting figure-eights into the sea of the west coast of Africa in 1990 aboard USS Saipan. The called off flight ops, opened Steel Beach, you presented your ID card and then popped the tops on two cans of beer. It had gaping holes in accountability in which the ship itself could have sailed through. You had many sailors and Marines below the "drinking age", many non-drinkers, if you wanted to get pie-eyed, you definitely could. I'm a little foggy on what course I took. The USN must have eased up a little. I did 118 days in the IO aboard the Midway, and we only had one beer day, at the 90 point IIRC. The rest of what you say, regarding getting loaded, certainly was the same then. Buddha

A little off the wall I admit, but this is the best place I can think of to pose the question since this group has members from all over the world. A retired SMCM buddy of mine asked me about the "Rum Ration" practice in the British Navy as opposed to the strict dry policy in the USN and also the Navy's of the rest of the world. Any of you guys from other nations, please let me know. Thanx, Buddha [Thread moved here from the Harpoon Classic forum. -CV32]

Well spoken, and obviously well researched, but as a longime resident of the ME, I have to point out one missing thing. I realize that to most Westerners, the fact that that the cat sitting next to you is a Catholic, Methodist, Jew etc. is largely immaterial to the discussion. But the thing I learned during my time in the ME is that religion is the driving force in absolutely everything that happens there. Not only do the Muslims feel threatened by various "Infidels", but they also have to deal with the Sunni/Shiite dichotomy. Look at the protests on the nightly news. Are these cats being driven to a frenzy by political belief, or religious fervor? Buddha

I don't know enough facts to dispute what you say, so I'll admit it's a distinct possibility. I still believe that this one is a rerun of the Marcos/Aquino situation. Hopefully, the truth will eventually come out and we'll know which one of us is correct. I wouldn't count on it though. Buddha

Off topic, I realise, but my brother collects old military timepieces, such as chronometers, cockpit clocks, etc. If any of you guys has a source to recommend, I'd appreciate it. Buddha [Moved here from the HCE forum. -CV32]

To play devil's advocate, would the extremists want...to eliminate someone who was a vocal opponent of both themselves and the current regime. Then they can just sit back with a smile and watch the Bhutto's supporters further weaken the current Musharraf regime. It plays both of their opponents against each other. It all works to their benefit and furthers the chaos in country, which is edging dangerously closer to becoming a failed state with nuclear weapons. While what you say certainly has possibilities, my experience in the ME argues against it. Most of those cats just don't think that way. They see something they disagree with, especially on religious grounds, and blindly attack. I think you're giving the extremists credit for a slyness and cunning that most of them simply don't posess. Buddha

Based on my experience in the ME, I'd say "Ugly" is an understatement. If we're smelling fish here in the US on this, imagine what her Pakistani supporters are smelling. Distrust of all things governmental is standard in that part of the world. Bin Laden and his merry men may be an easy scapegoat for this one, but whose power was threatened by her return? I worked with many Pakistanis when I was in the KSA, and Benazir was extremely well liked. If the Pakistani military fractures over this, we're going to see serious problems. Buddha

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." My wife is from the Philippines and I lived there for years. Ferdinand Marcos and Ninoy Aquino ring any bells for anyone? The problem now is that as things unravel in Pakistan, we're talking nukes. Buddha

I notice in the SE when building a scenario that Platform Display/Show Active Units remains empty even after units have been added. Being able to display only active units while scenario building is in progress would be an improvement, I believe. Buddha

Terry: There was a WWII Atlantic DB circulating at one time, but I can't recall where. You might try the scenario locker if it's still around. I may have it laying around here someplace, and if I find it, I'll send it to you. Regards: Buddha

Tony, Good suggestion. Google yielded this: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/g...e/different.asp Buddha

Tony, Have you got an authors name for this? I want to send it to a few people, and I'd like to give credit. Buddha

Tony, Sounds like McAfee could be the culprit. My new system came loaded with McAfee, and after reinstalling alot of my old software, it ran a scan that night and wiped out numerous files it apparently didn't like for one reason or another. I got rid of McAfee, repleced it with AVG which I've always used (not to mention it's free), and haven't had that problem since. That would also explain why his SE ran OK, but files were missing the next day. Buddha

Tony, Yeah, that's the version I have. All else seems normal, but with this particular scenario, I can't get past the error in the attached screenshot. It pops up right after the Orders screen. Buddha

Akula, I DL'd the Ambition Scenario to try it out. As soon as I've read the Orders page and attempt to play, the game crashes. I hope this helps. Buddha

This could be a problem that can be solved by editing the DB. Some time back, I was experiencing crashes when a platform I created was sunk. It turned out the crash could be avoided by disabling "Hit Animations", and thereby bypassing the problem caused by the fact that I hadn't assigned an image when I designed the platform. Maybe this could be something similar. Buddha

Tony, Vista user here. It seems OK now. I'd be lying if I claimed to understand why, but as long as you do, I guess that's what counts. Thanx, Buddha

I've mentioned this at the H.U.L.L. before, but I believe this is the proper forum to post it. When an ASW A/C is sent on a long distance patrol, it seems to stay pretty much in one spot dropping buoys at random. The 5-6-5 Distro plan (see attached diagram) was the most popular plan we used to use in these situations. The Kingpin position and Road are based on the area you wish to cover and the Spacing is based on CZ conditions in that area. I realise it's probably not practical to have an A/C in the game drop bouys at these precise locations, but I would suggest an on station Patrol be given a detection area based on such a plan. Input from the player could be limited to location and possibly the Road, or axis of the field. Buddha 565Distro1.bmp

Tony, I don't know about anyone else, but the latest GE release (HC2007.029GE.ZIP) will not run under Vista on my system. The new GE gets as far as the scenario selection screen, and then Windows informs me that it has stopped working. The SE (HC2007.029SE.ZIP) appears to work fine. Going back to HC2007.028GE still works OK also. Buddha

Tony, Sorry, man, with all that's been going on here, this one slipped my mind. After much flail with my monitor settings, I resolved this mess myself. I don't know about anyone else, but I do not like Vista. Since I got it, I've had video problems, compatibility problems of all kinds, it decided my scanner was a virus, and various other idiotic things. At least I got the help system problem resolved before installing the latest Harpoon download, or I would have had those problems like some of the other users have reported. Buddha I had to deal with that on one computer at work we ordered new. In short order I formatted the HD and put a copy of XP on it and solved ALL my conflict issues. So no, you aren't the only one who hates Vista...I think its more rare to find someone who actually likes it. I still have the XP Install and SP2 CD's from my old system, and I've been wanting to do the same thing. I understand that this is alot more complicated than doing a simple format/reinstall in the past. Any advice? I don't want to wind up trashing my new system. Buddha

Tony, Sorry, man, with all that's been going on here, this one slipped my mind. After much flail with my monitor settings, I resolved this mess myself. I don't know about anyone else, but I do not like Vista. Since I got it, I've had video problems, compatibility problems of all kinds, it decided my scanner was a virus, and various other idiotic things. At least I got the help system problem resolved before installing the latest Harpoon download, or I would have had those problems like some of the other users have reported. Buddha

Rene: Look at it this way. The current folder arrangement places the new battleset.res file directly above the hdsm.rsr file you have co create to go with it. They also fall immediately below the files with the MS Excel icons in the folder, making them easy so spot. I find this arrangement much easier than it might have been otherwise. Buddha

Tony, If I understand correctly, some error or other difficulty occured in this saved game after the loss of the last Red A/C. I played it with the latest release and all the updates required for the BS Builder, and experienced no problems. Regards: Buddha

My ship at the time (USS Ashtabula) was OSC for the SAR efforts in the case of Muriel McBride, lost off the Norton Sound at the end of the '70's. Because she was the first female sailor lost at sea in the modern era, our op received a great deal of scrutiny at the time. We've all done our share of SAREXs over the years, but this was the only real-life situation I was ever involved in personally. We started with a Datum and searched outward, not unlike an ASW search substituting probable drift as a substitute for probable submarine movement. It seems that adapting existing ASW search methods within the program might be an approach to any SAR efforts in appropraite scenarios. Also, a "Time on-station" victory condition using a small area centered on the object of the search effort might be an alternative to weapons firing as a means of completing the mission. The only problem I see with that is replayability, since I'm not sure if there's a way to base an on-station area on an object with variable start points as opposed to a fixed geographical position. Just some thoughts: Buddha