Herman

Would it be feasible? What if a plane (target or emitter) flies in and out of storm fronts? Targets withing the storm cells should probably have severely reduced detection when faced while targets outside of the cells would not. You might get some pretty deformed circles, perhaps.

Joe Baxter and I decided to try out Bart Gauvin's first scenario, Ice Picket, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. We had both played this scenario in solitaire, but wanted to see how we would fare against an intelligent opponent and not just the AI. Joe commanded the USN while I played as the Soviets. Since we both had some knowledge of the opponent's forces and disposition, it would be interesting to see if we could improve upon the AI's performance. I had an Intell trawler shadowing his PhibRon. I didn't want it to be destroyed right away from a Harpoon missile so I had it hide behind a neutral fishing boat so that a Harpoon shot might just hit the wrong vessel. Joe wasn't about to get careless with his weapons. He sent in a flight of Sea Cobras to investigate before opening fire. I was thankful that he came within SAM range of my AGI, but then was heartbroken to watch both my SA-8 Gremlins miss their targets. There was no second chance as the helos pummelled my ship mercilessly with Hellfire ATGMs. I would soon have my revenge. K-305, a Victor III-class SSN, was moving to intercept the PhibRon. She was making her approach and had already gotten in behind the DDG Farragut. Unfortunately, in order to get within range of her Type 65 torpedoes, she needed to accelerate to 8kts from her creep speed of 5kts. At this point, she was counter-detected and her targets tried to flee in the opposite direction. She was only 10 miles away so she threw out her massive torpedoes on Bearing-only-Launch. Three salvoes of 650mm torpedoes were in the water as she tried to manoeuvre even closer. The enemy wasn't sitting back, either, as one Mk 46 after another was dropped into the water. She managed to evade 6 before one of her decoys malfunctioned during deployment and a weapon slipped through to detonate beside the reactor room. At a depth of 600m, death was instantaneous for the entire crew. After a long chase, one Type 65 caught the LHA Tarawa and evened the score. Even before the survivors had been fished from the cold Norwegian Sea, round 2 was already underway. Thanks for a great session, Joe. I look forward to finishing this one on the weekend. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

AAR: Minnows [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic Commander's Edition scenario By Patrick Howard The time is the near future, and long simmering tensions between India and Pakistan have erupted. China has weighed-in by leasing one of its newer frigates to Pakistan as a trial - but it will be a trial by fire. India has unwisely chosen to attack our country. Critical wartime supplies are approaching Indian ports. As our naval forces are unlikely to prevail against overwhelming odds engaging the Indian navy directly, you are instructed to locate and destroy all commercial vessels approaching India. SITREP: The war is not going well for us so far. Air superiority is contested at best, and lost sometimes. Vital military supplies are approaching India. If we can interrupt these supplies we can gain some breathing room. The Indian military has anticipated this situation and has dispersed some units to escort incoming commercial vessels. This dispersal will probably be informed by anticipated risk, so convoys closest to Karachi will likely be escorted. There are reports of the INS Viraat and escorts off the west coast of India as well, presumably to protect this commerce. Omani and Yemeni air forces will be defending their airspace, and there are the inevitable groups of American ships supplying their Gulf commitments. Avoid conflict with these forces if possible. Orders: 1.1 TF 2.1 (AEs) stay under friendly AAW cover and attack targets of opportunity 1.2 TF 3.1,3.2.,3.3 (ABs,AGs,AFs) seek out and destroy approaching merchant traffic. You may detach any unit to operate independently as the situation requires. 1.3 SUBGRP 4.1 (ACu) Support group ABs in executing 1.2 1.4 SUBGRP 4.3 (ADu) Move toward Mumbai and engage ships already under Indian AAW cover near Mumbai. Airbase Karachi (AAb) Assets available to this operation are severely limited due to the critical situation inland. Use your assets primarily for reconnaissance and protection of surface units. Losses cannot be replaced. ROE: Weapons Free against all Indian ships and aircraft, and all merchants. Do NOT attack any ships escorted by American naval units. Avoid conflict with American manned aircraft, and any Yemeni or Omani aircraft. With only a meagre number of air assets available, I carefully husbanded them. I launched an Atlantic to get a quick situation report. It was ordered to evade radar and try to take a circuitous route, but was detected by EMB-145 and Flankers from Jamnagar as soon as she launched. There would simply be no way to avoid a fight with Indian interceptors. Instead of trying to avoid them, I decided to pull a bait and switch routine, instead. I ordered the Atlantic to high altitude and to activate her radar. The air crew complained strenuously, but I had to offer the Indians some enticement. I promised the aircraft commander that there would be friendly air cover nearby. The Atlantics performed their role as bait magnificently. As planned, the Flankers, MiG-27 Bahadur, and MiG-21 Bison all came snooping. I had my JF-17 Thunder waiting low in the grass to ambush them and the plan worked like a charm. Flight after Indian flight when down in flames without returning fire. After the long-ranged air patrols were decimated, the EMB-145 AEW planes were meat on the table for the Falcons who cleared enough breathing room for the Atlantics to manoeuvre, but just barely. It seemed that nearly every plane in the Indian air force carried the super-lethal AA-12 Adder - Bahadur, Bison, Flankers. I would not have been surprised to find the Mainstay had them, too! Every plane in the theatre seemed to be drawn to the Atlantics like moths to open flames. Even Hawks from distant Oman came to try their luck before being shot down in flames. Although the EMB-145 from Jamnagar were handled somewhat easily, the Mainstay was detected over Bombay and there was no way to get at her since my fighters would no longer enjoy the support of land-based radar at Karachi. It was pretty much a Mexican standoff, but my main ships were exposed the Mainstay's radar. Meanwhile, down south, a Dauphin launched from FF Zulfiqar for a quick peek without success and got jumped by Harriers for her troubles as she tried to return to base. It was hard-won intelligence, but now I knew that there was a carrier around. The life expectancy of the frigate dropped precipitously and I was not disappointed. Soon, a Bear appeared and reported her position. Not long afterwards, she simply exploded and sank without a trace; never even detecting the weapon that sank her. With some breathing room around Karachi, the Orion was sent out again. Flying below the enemy's radar coverage, it found unknown group her infrared sensors. Rather than risking one of my sparse assets with long-ranged radar, I sent Falcons in for a look and they found the frigates Vindhyagiri and Shivak along with a number of very large ships. They made their egress on afterburner while chased by SA-17 Grizzly and shot down 2 helos to help blind the group. They re-armed and attacked with Mirage carrying ARMs. The escorts were quickly sunk followed by the tankers. It looked to be a pretty good war up to this point. Unfortunately, the situation changed quickly and not for the better. The Atlantics were operating a bit more distant from Karachi and paid the price. They were out of range from ground-based Karachi radar thereby allowing the Indian Flankers to close to Adder range undetected. Before they knew it, AA-12 Adder were detected. Scratch one Atlantic. Another Atlantic was ordered aloft. As she crept to her patrol area at low altitude, she stumbled upon an Arleigh Burke destroyer! The crew vainly tried to escape, but 2 Standard SAMs put a quick end to that foot race. My surface group was nearby and itching to take on the Americans, but their orders were not to attack and to concentrate only on Indian merchant shipping. SS Hurmat detected the Viraat carrier group. Although she was a mouth-watering target, she allowed them to pass since they were not the objective of the mission. At this point, my sole surviving reconnaissance asset was the Orion and it blinked off the screen. I never even knew what got her. Now, I was operating pretty much blindly and it showed. My surface group stumbled over DDG Rajput. Although they managed to sink her handily, the jig was up and Indian forces converged on them from all compass points to wipe them from the face of the earth. With only two surviving submarines as my striking power, I gambled that all the northern shipping targets had been sunk and ordered them to patrol near Bombay. Once on station, they soon detected two unescorted ship groups consisting of tankers and freighters. Three were immediately dispatched with torpedoes and victory was awarded. Another great scenario from Patrick Howard. Thanks for sharing it.

Noxious (a.k.a "Ob") came looking for his initiation into the world of Harpoon MP. We played the obligatory Dawn Patrol scenario, but were unsatisfied since neither managed to achieve victory conditions. So, we decided to play Freek Schepers', Nordkapp scenario, made with the Harpoon community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. Prior to war breaking out, a small Dutch Task force of frigates delivered the Dutch Marines to Finnmark. Having trained there for years, several companies of Marines have joined their Norwegian and British counterparts to await the expected Russian attack into Finnmark. I took the Russian side to hunt for the Dutch PhibRon while Ob played the NATO ships attempting to leave the area. I had a pretty good idea of NATO disposition from the Helix radar. I noticed that the enemy had chosen not to radiate his radar so I launched a surprise attack on his Heemskerck-class frigate with Sunburn and Switchblade SSMs. It was pure overkill as the Sunburns arrived first and slammed into the ship. The 1600kt+ missiles struck so swiftly that Ob had no warning whatsoever. 8x Harpoons and the entire load of Standard SAMs were lost to my opponent in the blink of an eye. However, the target of the operation was not the escorts. The enemy's LPD Rotterdam was the goal and she would be a far tough nut to crack since she was under escort from Zeven de Provincien. I tried to manoeuvre a Tango-class sub into her path, but she was caught and sunk by a Lynx helo just outside torpedo range. Damn, that was my supposed ace-in-the-hole! With only a few other assets remaining, I had to press them into some kind of attack. The Zeven was a very dangerous opponent with her full inventory of Standard SAMs and a huge gun that out-ranged my own weapons. I approached with great caution (and trepidation). The Standards were easy enough to engage, but there were just so many of them that some eventually leaked through to slam into my Krivak and Neustrashimyy frigates. Although slowed, they were still able to chase down the LPD. Like a pack of wolves circling an elk, I had to be very cautious. One wrong move would put me within gunnery range of Zeven and that would be game over. After surrounding the Dutch ships, DDG Chebanenko managed to approach the LPD from the far side and pounded her with 130mm shells before the Zeven could react. She had just enough ammo to do the job before being forced to retire from the area as the Zeven turned to face her. As the LPD sank beneath the waves, victory was awarded. A really great battle. Thanks to Ob (Noxious) for the game and to HarpGamer for hosting it. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

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. This fleet comprises a mixture of soon-to-be retired units, like CG Zeven Provincien, the Utrecht-Class DDs, and recently acquired forces, such as the new flagship FFG Tromp and the Canadian versions of the F-5. The Dutch armed forces are counting on their technical quality and training to attain victory. Author: Freek Schepers With over 280,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 12 months alone, the PlayersDB has proven itself the unequivocal players' favourite. Harpoon ANW users can get the: Complete Harpoon ANW Library Harpoon3.6.3 users can get the: Complete Harpoon 3.6.3 Library FilesOfScenShare

Joe Baxter was reading up on our AAR and also wanted to try out Gauntlet, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. The Soviets will attempt to seize Norwegian bases in any all-out war. This will be done by physically seizing some bases and cutting off others from the rest of NATO. NATO must re-supply these bases using naval convoys. The success or failure of the convoys will be of paramount importance to both NATO and Soviet commanders. This scenario is a re-make of a Harpoon Classic scenario from the original GIUK battleset and has yet been released. It is available only from the ANW MP server. I commanded the Soviets while Joe played as NATO. Since Joe had already read the AAR, I had to assume that he had a pretty good idea of my OoB (Order of Battle). I decided to throw a "change-up" pitch. As were felt each other out during the reconnaissance phase, I ordered my Floggers to act as combat air patrol over my Nanuchka missile boats. I planned to protect them from Harpoon attack while shooting down NATO helos. This tactic worked very well and the missile boats managed to get close enough to launch their 12x SS-N-9 Sirens at the FFG Underwood. The self-defense was superb and 6 were shot down, but the survivors turned her into a pyre. With the most dangerous part of the screen eliminated, the Victor II crept in and launched Type 65 torpedoes at the freighters. Both targets were killed within minutes of each other and victory was awarded. Thanks to Joe for a great game and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Jerome (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I wanted to get the most out of the server while it is still available so we decided to try out Gauntlet, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. The Soviets will attempt to seize Norwegian bases in any all-out war. This will be done by physically seizing some bases and cutting off others from the rest of NATO. NATO must re-supply these bases using naval convoys. The success or failure of the convoys will be of paramount importance to both NATO and Soviet commanders. This scenario is a re-make of a Harpoon Classic scenario from the original GIUK battleset and has yet been released. It is available only from the ANW MP server. I commanded the Soviets while Jerome played as NATO. We both conducted intelligence and counter-intelligence. Jerome launched his ASW helos to get an idea of his opposition while I sent in a flight of Floggers to knock out his only available land radar at Narvik. Both of us were successful in our operations. Once Narvik was down and blind, I decided to send my Floggers to blind him further by shooting down his helos. As they got close, they suddenly lost contact with the helos as they dove down low to evade my interceptors' radar. The Floggers were operating at maximum range and could not afford to conduct a thorough search of the area. The helo pilots never knew how lucky they were. My Victor-class submarine detected a pair of merchantmen moving at very high speed and set a course to intercept. Soon, a four ship convoy was detected and localized. Two frigates were screening the freighters. I moved some missile boats in to assist in the attack. They had been detected by the ASW helos, but I did not believe that they had been properly identified and classified. Most likely, they had only shown up on the enemy's radar screen as unknown blips. The Victor moved in ahead of the convoy and stayed hidden at creep speed. Once within range, four massive Type 65-76 torpedoes were fired at the heart of the formation since killing escorts was not the objective. A single hit on each of the freighters proved sufficient to sink them and victory was awarded. We had such a good time that we immediately wanted to try this scenario, again. The second time, however, proved to be much different since Jerome now knew that there were submarines in the area. After sweeping aside my meagre air, surface, and subsurface forces, AoA was able to make landfall at Narvik and achieve victory. Thanks to Jerome for the challenging games and to HarpGamer for hosting it. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Joe Baxter, Tracy Vierra and I decided to bid farewell to the ANW server with a real bang by playing Freek Scheper's new 3-sided scenario, Shadow the Boomer, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. After several vicious carrier battles in the Barents Sea and with the ground war stalemated in the Nordic winter, negotiations started to end the war. Both parties observed a cease-fire, which held surprisingly well in the first week. However, NATO feared Putin would make use of the cease-fire to bring his boomers to bastions prepared in the Barentz Sea. USN and Royal Navy hunter-killer subs were sent to stake out Severomorsk and be prepared to shadow SSBNs exiting the harbour. We each had a command of a single submarine unit. My boat was an SSBN trying to break past a Trafalgar- and a Los Angeles-class SSN for a deterrent patrol. From the very start, there were numerous contacts throughout the Barents. I had a very strict timetable to keep and was traveling on the surface in the company of an icebreaker. The SSBN arrived at the separation point and all was going well. The Trafalgar had been detected over 40nm distant and was not expected to interfere. The problem was that the Los Angeles was nowhere to be found. Only later did we learn that she had been sunk. After diving and proceeding on course to the patrol position, several interesting things happened. Several distant torpedo contacts were reported from my sonar room, but I had no clear indication of what had happened. Evidently, the Los Angeles had run across one of the ASW patrols, but no word had been received about the outcome. In order to adhere to the schedule, the SSBN had to move at a higher speed than I would have liked. Unfortunately, this generated more noise and it was subsequently detected by the Trafalgar who then moved in to trail the boomer. I was under orders not to allow this to happen. When I felt that Trafalgar was within torpedo range, I fired two USET-80 torpedoes on Bearing-Only-Launch and took off like a racehorse. (Well, like an aging racehorse.) The Trafalgar counter-detected the torpedoes and returned the favour in-kind with a pair of Spearfish torpedoes in my direction. Both my USET-80s missed, but they had spooked the Trafalgar into running at high speed. A helicopter had detected the commotion and dropped a pair of torpedoes on her. The Trafalgar died just moments before the Spearfish caught up with the boomer. The first one was decoyed by a noisemaker, but the second one exploded against the hull next to the reactor vessel. Without power, the SSBN was doomed. The game ended in a draw since all three players had been sunk without accomplishing their victory conditions. A truly fitting end to a very enjoyable scenario. Thanks to Tracy Vierra and Joe Baxter for the game and to HarpGamer for the use of the server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Joe Baxter is a real life sailor just getting off the CVN Nimitz. He's never had an MP game of ANW even though he's bought and played every version of Harpoon since 1989. Today, he got his baptism of fire. We elected to play Dawn Patrol, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. Both Joe and I had played Dawn Patrol so it offered no surprises to either party. However, instead of the crippled ANW AI, we were now each facing an experienced and cunning opponent. I played the Norwegians while Joe commanded the Russians. Not long after startup, my ESM detected distinctive radar emissions from Nanuchka-class missile boats. I decided to try and creep towards my targets behind a group of Neutral fishing boats. As they were only making 12kts, I slowed my Hugin missile boats down to match their pace. Once in approximate range to the fuzzy radar contacts, I decided to let loose a salvo of Penguin SSMs. One Hugin boat concentrated on each of the 3 Nanuchka contacts with full barrage of 6 Penguins. Joe was no slouch and quickly detected the inbound missiles and returned fire. All three Hugin and a local fisherman were soon sinking. However, 18 Penguins were sufficient to overwhelm the defences of at least two of their targets as I was granted victory a few minutes later. A well played match. Thanks to Joe for the session and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. Tomorrow, June 29, 2008, a 3-sided session has been scheduled between Joe, Tracy Vierra, and myself for 1700 PST. Anyone interested in playing or watching is most welcome to attend. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Over 40 new aircraft, ships, submarines, facilities, classes, countries, and weapons have been added to the Harpoon3 PlayersDB with the official Database editor issued by AGSI. Get the PlayersDB-ANW on HarpDB, SubSim, or ughHQ. Get the PlayersDB on HarpDB, SubSim, or ughHQ. Additions include: An-71 Madcap A RUS AO Zuiderkruis NL 64 CG Zeven Provencien NL 62 DD Nueva Esparta VE 53 F-16C/D Falcon Blk 50/52 MA 10 F-22A Raptor Blk 30/35 USAF 10 F-86F Sabre VE FE Almirante Clemente VE 56 FF Van Speijk NL 67 H-6DU Badger PRC 91 IL-78MKI Midas IND 03 IL-86 Maxdome RUS 97 P Wolf NL 52 SAM HUMRAAM Battery US 06 Canberra Mk 82 VE 60 Mirage IIIEV VE 65 Wasp HAS.1 NL 61 - countless changes and improvements guaranteed not to crash any earlier scenario built with the PlayersDB Harpoon3.6.3 users can get the Complete Harpoon 3.6.3 Library Harpoon ANW users can get the Complete Harpoon ANW Library FilesOfScenShare

Any of which would make for a nice Harpoon player of the year award...

Welcome aboard, shipmate. The map distortion is an old bug dating back to the Harpoon 2 days. There are a couple of easy ways to fix it. 1) You can always just close the map by double-clicking in the top left-hand corner and then re-drawing a new map with the F10 command. 2) Click on the Up Arrow from the top right-hand corner to maximize the map, then click on the Down Arrow to minimize the map and this will restore the proper proportions to the map. There is a potential for CTD when you use method 2. See CTD changing map size CTD occurs while changing size of tactical map. If you are referring to the "Old scenarios" as the ones originally released for Harpoon2 and then re-made for Harpoon3: ANW, they are all located in battlesets named: Original Cold War Original Global Conflicts-1 Original Global Conflicts-2 Original Global Conflicts-3 etc. The "New scenarios" are the user-created ones located in all the other battlesets. We simply include them with all the other pre-existing scenarios. For example, the latest ANW scenario release was "Hemphill's Ordeal". It is found within the Blue Water Navy Battleset. Some battlesets like HDS III - GIUK do not have scenarios released yet. They are merely placeholders for future scenarios.

I'm calling Homeland Security and telling them that a couple of shifty-eyed men are looking to abscond with two F-14 engines to an as-yet undisclosed Middle Eastern country that starts with vowel.

Don't feel badly, Noxious. I did the same thing; played it out with HCDB res/.rsr before being told to use the HCDA files. C'est la vie.

The 32nd NEW Harpoon scenario of the year! Hemphill's Ordeal This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was". "About a dozen Soviet submarines of various types, both diesel and nuclear-powered, lay athwart the sea lanes leading toward the Norwegian Sea. The Soviet Northern Fleet staff had charged its submarines with three tasks: reconnaissance for long-range SNA strikes, delaying the movement north of key American convoys and task forces, and attacking NATO ships and installations with torpedoes and missiles. The Soviets had far better success with more traditional attacks. In the first twenty-four hours of the war, Soviet submarines and strike aircraft sank nearly half of the twenty-five ships in four convoys steaming for north Norway. By the evening of the 14th, one American destroyer, five frigates, and five freighters were at the bottom of the North Atlantic." Author: Herman Hum This scenario has been tested with both H3 and ANW and is much more challenging in H3 than ANW due primarily to the AI being far more aggressive in H3 and able to move at higher speeds. With over 270,000 PlayersDB scenarios downloaded in the last 12 months alone, the PlayersDB has proven itself the unequivocal players' favourite. Harpoon ANW users can get the: Complete Harpoon ANW Library Harpoon3.6.3 users can get the: Complete Harpoon 3.6.3 Library FilesOfScenShare

There's a section dedicated to Harpoon Classic scenarios at the FilesOfScenShare, too. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesO...poon%20Classic/ The ones that probably interest you the most are the Legacy Scenario collections. There's nearly eight hundred scenarios in those two files, alone. http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cItSSOgfhpq8Y...20Scenarios.zip http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/cItSSCxF0dO8Y...c/scenarios.zip

Jeronimo (a.k.a. AngleOfAttack) and Tracy Vierra both came looking for matches today. Both wanted something quick so we decided to try out a scenario that is just about to be released and tested it for MP play, Hemphill's Ordeal, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. This scenario has not yet been published, but is available from the HarpGamer MP server. Here is an account of the battle with AoA. This scenario is an interpretation of the account from Michael A. Palmer's, "The War that Never Was". "About a dozen Soviet submarines of various types, both diesel and nuclear-powered, lay athwart the sea lanes leading toward the Norwegian Sea. The Soviet Northern Fleet staff had charged its submarines with three tasks: reconnaissance for long-range SNA strikes, delaying the movement north of key American convoys and task forces, and attacking NATO ships and installations with torpedoes and missiles. The Soviets had far better success with more traditional attacks. In the first twenty-four hours of the war, Soviet submarines and strike aircraft sank nearly half of the twenty-five ships in four convoys steaming for north Norway. By the evening of the 14th, one American destroyer, five frigates, and five freighters were at the bottom of the North Atlantic." I played the Soviets while AoA acted as Hemphill. One of my Foxtrot diesel submarines immediately detected the convoy once the game started. After taking a quick periscope fix, she found herself at point-blank range with FF Trippe and immediately loosed a full volley of wake-homing and acoustic torpedoes at the convoy. The Trippe counter-detected the attack and immediately launched her own response in the form of an ASRoc torpedo. Moments later, an ET-80 torpedo slammed into the Trippe and broke her keel. The celebration aboard the Foxtrot was short-lived as the return shot from the frigate caught her desperately diving to escape. The score was tied at 1:1. The NATO convoy continued towards Iceland and directly into the path of a second Foxtrot. The sub crept in past the escort and was in range of the freighters before loosing a single torpedo. This failure to engage with overwhelming force would prove to be her undoing. After revealing herself, she was destroyed by another ASRoc-deployed torpedo before she had a chance to fire her remaining weapons. The torpedo missed. My two surviving assets were a Charlie- and an Echo-class missile-guided submarine. Both set off to engage the enemy with torpedoes. However, the enemy was not cooperating and had taken a rather circuitous route around them (almost as though they knew the position of my subs). They tried to engage with SLCMs, but all missiles were efficiently shot down by the surviving Underwood frigate. They tried to thread their way in between the sonobuoys the enemy was deploying. Unfortunately, the Echo II was caught near the surface while still in the process of firing her Shaddock missiles. A Mk 46 torpedo interrupted the firing sequence with 2 weapons still unfired. The Charlie managed to close the range to the convoy, but was unable to engage with torpedoes before she was caught moving at high speed to intercept. Another Mk 46 torpedo ended her career just outside of torpedo range. Although my command had been destroyed, the enemy spent so much effort trying to evade them that he was unable to accomplish his own victory conditions and the game ended as a draw. Thanks to AoA for a really fun game and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Well, you don't really need to have a dedicated server in ANW, either. You can set your single PC to both Server and Client. I just think that it might make things run very slowly since the processor is doing double duty. If you have a fast enough computer and connection, it should be very feasible.

Anytime you want a game of ANW MP, just drop me a line. Welcome (back) aboard, shipmate.

Summary: After 3.7.0 release: 80 Issues reported After 3.8.0 Patch: (80 Issues - 34 Fixed + 88 New) = 134 Issues After 3.9.0 Patch: (134 Issues - 31 fixed + 68 New) = 171 Issues After 3.9.2 Patch: (171 Issues - 15 fixed + 35 New) = 191 Issues After 3.9.3 Patch: (191 Issues - 17 fixed + 10 New) = 184 Issues A comprehensive third-party list of 191 * Known Harpoon [ANW] Issues has been exhaustively collected on ughHQ since the release of Harpoon ANW 3.7.0 Now that the 3.9.3 patch has been released, the list has been checked to see what has changed. While it is by no means definitive, it is believed that: These 17 behaviours appear to have been resolved by the 3.9.3 patch: Nukes won't work without AALog activated Nuclear weapons for BCGN Kirov do not work unless AALog is activated. CTD ViCond crash when windows closed out of order When setting ViCond, the ScenEditor can crash when windows are closed out of sequence from which they were opened. Haphazard weapons re-loading Weapons do not reload with weapon previously fired. Inconsistent RoF Guns have different rates of fire between H3.6.3. and ANW. Scen locks up at 15 secs into game Scenario freezes 15 seconds after start of game. Re-build All causes planes to loiter Planes that normally flew at cruise speed go to loiter when Re-Built All command is used. Tubes re-load different weapons After firing, torpedo tubes re-load with different weapons than those just fired even when replacement weapons are available. Range rings appears when none should Radar range rings displayed for air group when radar is passive. Range rings missing Range rings missing for air groups. Crash after nuclear detonation Crash after nuclear warhead detonates. Crash on re-load Crash while attempting to re-load same scenario file previously opened. CTD during UnRep CTD occurs while selecting ordnance to be transferred with "Enter Number of Weapons" command. Destroyed submarines not always evaluated in ViConds Destroyed submarines do not always evaluate properly in ViConds. Runways cannot be destroyed by nukes Runways can be reduced, but not be destroyed by nuclear weapons. CTD on Ferry mission failure CTD when Ferry mission tries to launch to a facility already destroyed Fly off the world CTD II It is possible to 'fly off of the world' and cause CTD. Bomb will not release II Bomb will not release in 3.9.2 even though weapon is capable vs. runways, but releases just fine in 3.8.0 These 174 behaviours do not appear to have been resolved by the 3.9.3 patch: AAA fire AAA guns are not limited by the altitude of the target and can even shoot down satellites. Automatic contact classification The true type classification of a contact is automatically revealed when it is designated hostile by the hotkey. Group Nav Zone Settings The Nav Zone settings for a Group are not adopted by the individual units forming that Group. i.e. If you order a TF to avoid Ship Threat Zone [A], the Group icon will avoid the Threat Zone but the individual ships of the Group will sail into the Threat Zone. Work-around solution: Set the Nav Zone parameters for each unit individually. Subs in groups Subs joined with groups are automatically assigned a formation patrol zone on the ASW axis that cannot be changed or modified. Hangar overload It is possible to land many more aircraft than the hangar capacity allows. AI inside Minimum Launch Range If an AI unit finds itself inside the Minimum Launch Range of its weapons, it is unable to move away in order to fire its weapons. MAD contact for ground facilities The MAD detector is able to detect ground facilities. ARMs cause planes to hang Aircraft armed with Anti-Radiation Missiles and bombs will continue to hang over a target once the bombs are released if they have not fired their ARMs. This will occur even if ARMs cannot be fired at the target in question. Opening 3.6.3 scen causes crash Opening this scenario in ANW causes Crash. Scenario opens and runs fine in H3.6.3 Ready times go wild when AI Formation Air Patrols activated Ready times go wild when AI Formation Air Patrols activated. This does not appear when the AI option is not enabled. All ammo not available 300 rounds of ammo are shown, but only 44 are offered for fire allocation. Plane ignores Nav Zone Plane totally ignores Nav Zone Mission ignores target list Targets not restricted to target list for mission. Weapon ignores range limitation Weapon sometimes ignores range limitation and fires on targets outside of the range set by the Database. This can sometimes result in guns hitting targets 100s of miles away. Often, it occurs when the target is vaguely detected. Hidden units can be destroyed without detection When hidden units are part of a group, attacks on the Group Icon can destroy the hidden units without the need to ever detect them. Units out of range can be destroyed Units out of range can be destroyed if they are part of a group. Sonobuoy deployment altitude Sonobuoys can be deployed at any altitude. Sonobuoy datalink cannot be turned off Although the manual says that sonobuoys can be dropped / discarded by turning off the Comm Datalink to them, this is not true under any realism setting. Torpedoes ignore cruise depth Torpedoes ignore cruise depth set by the database even when the "Level Cruise Flight" flag has been set and a value has been entered in the "Cruise Altitude" field. They stay at the depth at which they were fired. Ground units attacked by Ship Strike mission Units assigned to Ship Strike missions will attack ground facilities. Ships attacked by Ground Strike mission Units assigned to Ground Strike missions will attack ships. Active sonobuoys dropped passively Sonobuoys with active-only sonar systems are dropped in passive mode even when the "Drop Active Sonobuoy" hotkey is depressed. Active sonobuoys do not deploy CASS Active Sonar Sonobuoys carried by S-2 Trackers do not deploy when the "Drop Active Sonobuoy (])" hotkey is depressed. However, they do deploy with "Drop Passive Sonobuoy ([)". "," and "." hotkeys seem to work properly. Max launch speed restriction When a unit is travelling faster than the Maximum Allowable Launch Speed of the weapons it is carrying and tries to fire them, the weapon allocation table appears and the player is mistakenly given the choice of firing the weapon. The window no longer displays a warning message and restricts player from attempts to fire. Hellfire do not launch in ODb Hellfire missiles will not launch even though they appear in the weapons allocation window. CTD when Database button is depressed When playing Multi-player games, scenarios will sometimes crash to the desktop when the Database button has been depressed. [Edit] With the Patch 3.9.0 release, this issue no longer results in CTD. However, it is still erroneous. Mission fails to navigate without Full throttle setting Aircraft without a "Full speed" throttle setting in the database are fully functional under manual control, but are unable to calculate a path to their targets under AI control. Planes directly inserted ignore target list Planes directly inserted ignore targets listed in strike missions. However, planes that launch on those same strike missions will obey the target strike list and not attack any target not on the list. All strikers fail to launch All aircraft assigned to a strike mission fail to launch. Player loses control Player loses control of all units in the middle of a game. Protect ViCond doesn't evaluate properly Protect ship Victory Condition does not evaluate properly. Game ends abruptly When playing Multi-player games, scenarios will end at incorrect times. One side gets a message that it has not fulfilled the ViConds and has lost. He is then kicked from the game even though there is plenty of time remaining. This occurs more often during "high" time compression rate (1:60+). Altitude mis-match between Group and units Units and Group icons show different altitude values in SE. ASW/WH torps tracking wrong targets WH/ASW torps tracking targets they cannot hit. Ferry mission fails to launch Ferry mission fails to launch unless manually ordered to do so. Min engine altitude ignored Min engine altitude ignored for Trident SLBM. Missile can be launched from a depth deeper that allowed by the engine parameters. SSM Altitude crash Land-based SSMs appear to crash into the surface after launch and ignore their cruise altitude. TALD materialize at wrong point When firing lots of missiles i.e. TALD, the missiles all originate from the same point even when the plane moves away. Time compression causes miss Higher time compression creates automatic miss. Weapon Max Launch Speed ignored Weapons ignore Maximum Launch Speed set in database. Passive sonobuoys will not deploy Passive sonobuoys will not deploy with "[" hotkey. Active sonobuoys will deploy. Phantom air group Phantom air group. Re-Charge at Int depth Subs are reported to be re-charging batteries at Intermediate depth, but it is not known if charge levels actually increase. Ammo dumps emptied Ammo dumps in all ODb scenarios have been emptied of weapons for aircraft. Ground targets re-engaged prematurely Targets are being re-engaged prematurely. Missiles are still in flight when successive attacks are launched thus wasting weapons. Map Scale inaccurate Map scale is erroneous. Max altitude for planes is 32,767m The Max altitude for planes is now 32,767m. Previously, it was unlimited and could simulate satellite platforms. MP Saved game titles MP Saved game titles often use portions of the orders in lieu of the Session name. SSK rises early Diesel subs rise to Periscope depth long before their batteries are exhausted. Unassign command sound missing Use of the Unassign Hotkey command on groups will elicit an audible "ping". However, this audible cue is missing when the same command is issued to individual units. AAW patrol motionless AAW patrol motionless instead of flying between assigned reference points. Accuracy slider changes combat II Accuracy slider changes combat calculation. Air strike resolves differently when slider set on Low/Fast or High/Slow Accuracy setting. Air Group formation Air Groups do not form properly when the launching platform is destroyed before the group is fully launched. CTD with Re-build Scenario function Crash to the desktop when Scenario Rebuild - Re-build All Units is selected with AxisEvil.scn. Dead stop after torp evasion Escort comes to a dead stop after torpedo evasion. Dual speeds selected When ships are damaged, sometimes dual speeds are show in the throttle setting. Engagement symbol missing Overscore symbol over aircraft fails to appear when engaged by AAA unless one of the aircraft are shot down. F6 Key will not attack F6 Key will not attack target. Generic strikes seek additional targets Generic strikes seek additional targets after initial target is destroyed even if secondary targets have no relation to original target. Indexation status false ANW Launcher claim that "most community-databases do not support" indexation by Time and Country is false. Missiles drawn to wrong targets Missiles fired at targets located with pinpoint precision are still drawn to other targets. Nav Zones re-set by mission editor Nav Zones are re-set by mission editor every time a mission is edited. Phantom mounts shown on aircraft Phantom mounts are shown on aircraft when the Logistics button is pushed. Planes jammed against Nav Zone Planes are unable to plot path around Nav Zone. Propulsion ranges import improperly Propulsion ranges do not import to the Reimer Editor properly. Ranges with a speed of Zero will not import even when those ranges are required for proper platform behaviour in units such as mines and false contacts. Ready display always visible Aircraft ready display shows all planes available at a base regardless of the Base's ability to launch them. Previously, when a base was damaged, those aircraft not able to launch (i.e. Large/VLarge planes) no longer showed up in the Ready menu until the runway was repaired. Ready Times shortened Aircraft with long ready times can have them shortened to the default 30 minutes. Sanity check fails for multiple weapons records Sanity check reports an error when a Quantity value >1 is entered beside a Weapons Record in either the Loadout tabel or the Magazine table even though this causes no problem for the game, itself. Sanity check fails for propulsion alt bands Sanity check reports an error if altitude bands for propulsion entries are not in sequential order. Sanity check fails for propulsion max alt Sanity check fails to report an error if the max altitude for the propulsion system is greater than the allowable altitude for aircraft. Maximum altitude for aircraft is 32,767m but maximum engine operational altitude value can be set higher. Sanity check fails for Ready Times Sanity check fails to account for different Ready Times in loadout table. Loadouts that have identical weapons with only differ in Ready Times are identified as 'duplicate' entries by the Sanity Check. Sensor default values are zero When Sensor menu [F9] is activated for individual units or groups, all default values are Zero. Previously, the default values were 1 min Active followed by 5 minutes Passive for all types of sensors. Proper default values of 1min/5min appear if a group of separate units are "drag-selected" and then the F9 hotkey is depressed. Sonar detects facility Land facility detected by sonar. SSMs ignore delayed strike mission Land-based SSMs ignore delay time for Strike missions. Strike Mission fails to cancel Ground Strike Mission fails to cancel after target is destroyed. Strikes fail to launch Air strikes that performed properly in ANW 3.7.0 now fail to launch at all. Submarine evades own torpedoes Submarine evades her own wake-homing torpedoes after firing. This does not occur with wire-guided torpedoes. Subs fire SS-N-15 onto the ice Submarines are able to fire SS-N-15 Starfish while under polar ice. Subs surfacing under ice Submarines are able to rise to the surface from under the ice pack and run on the surface. Subsequent strikes are disorganized Subsequent strikes are disorganized and launch in separate groups. Support missions do not fully launch Not all aircraft assigned to support missions launch as they previously did in H3.6.3. Torps chase improper targets Torpedoes chase the improper targets once they reach their activation point even though all potential targets are identical. Unarmed units not engaged Unarmed units will not be engaged by AI units (sub or ship) on Plotted mission. This is due to the fact that the targets pose no 'threat' to the AI unit thus elicits no response. Once weapons are added to the targets, they are immediately attacked. Unassigned SSMs do not fire Unassigned land-based SSMs will fire on ships, but not against land targets. Unable to set Weapons Tight in SE Scenario designer is unable to set Weapons Tight in ScenEditor. Submarine control lost Submarine control lost when sole ship is sunk. Cannot rescind re-fuel order It is not possible to rescind air-to-air re-fueling order once it is issued. Torps inoperative in shallow water Mk46 ASW torpedoes are inoperative in shallow water and will not release when water depth is -10m. Unable to fire SSM Unable to fire SSM Sizzler from any depth or range. Weapons will fire from DDG Sovremennyy. Unable to intercept target Unable to intercept target for either unit. Weapons will fire if units are manually placed within range of target. AGM-130A will not fire AGM-130A will not fire under AI control. Distorted maps created Distorted maps are created when F10 is used to draw a new map. Fighters hanging on refPt Fighters will launch and hang on one Ref point. Firing sonobuoys at subs Sonobuoys can be fired at subs through the weapons allocation window. Full speed over 140kts Ship group shows full speed of 15+131kts. Full speed wrong Group only allows full speed of 15kts, but all units within the group are fully capable of faster speed. AGM-62 will not fire AGM-62 will not fire under AI control. Icons appear off map Icons for uncertainty zones appear off of the map and cannot be seen nor selected. Torpedo decoy fired at radar Torpedo decoy is an eligible weapon for firing at radar. UnRep do not return to PZs After conducting UnRep operation, participants do not return to original patrol zones within the formation. Wrong loadout descriptions Helix helos are show the wrong loadout descriptions. Display is Mk44 torp, but they revert to Minimal when launched. False contacts at -17000m False contacts at -17000m. CTD when altitude changed CTD when altitude changed AI subs will not stop re-charging Sub never stops re-charging. Sonobuoys non-functional Sonobuoys deployed by Bear F non-functional. Afterburner unavailable at low alt Afterburner speed unavailable at low alt in MP for Rafale. No problem in Solitaire. Aircraft below sea level Aircraft below sea level. Cannot meet for UnRep Ships are unable to plot a path for UnRep when ordered to do so. Change in threat axis ignored Change in threat axis ignored in MP. Crash during re-build process ScenEditor freezes up and does not complete function when ordered to re-build scenario. Crash during re-build process II ScenEditor is unable to complete function when ordered to re-build scenario and seems to be in endless loop. CTD incomplete CTD does not drop game all the way down to the desktop. Instead, the Shell window remains and must be closed manually. CTD changing map size CTD occurs while changing size of tactical map. CTD on re-load CTD while attempting to re-load same scenario file previously opened. CTD running new scen in SE CTD occurs when new scenarios are written and immediately run in SE. CTD while drawing new map CTD while drawing new map Damage changes aircraft ready time instead of destroying them Damage changes aircraft ready time instead of destroying them. Planes are given a ready time of 0:00 but they never become ready unless player uses F6 to change them to Ready status. Delayed On-Station ViCond Faulty Delayed On-Station ViCond does not wait for delay time to expire before evaluating. Ferry mission to SSN It is possible to create a Ferry mission with the destination as an airplane or SSN. Focused strike not firing Artillery does not fire on a Focused Land Strike mission even when Weapons Free. Formation patrols ignore axis Formation patrols ignore axis when assigned patrol zones in the Formation editor. Most often, the patrols appear offset from the actual Threat Axis. i.e. if the Threat Zone is pointing North and a Patrol zone is assigned to it, the ship may take up a patrol zone 90 degrees off the intended placement. This occurs primarily in multi-player games, but has been reported in SP (by Shemar), too. Group speed differs from plane speed Air groups have different speed from individual plane speed in MP. Incorrect number to be readied When aircraft are ordered to change loadout for Minimal mission, an incorrect number of planes is recommended in the message window. NAV improperly drawn NAV zone shows double-sided left wall and inability to modify other points of the zone. On-Station ViCond non-functional On-Station ViCond non-functional in GE but functional in SE. Over-filled magazines Over-filled magazines not detected and fixed. Plane does not re-arm upon landing Plane does not re-arm upon landing. Planes on Transit missions Planes can be assigned to Transit missions. Planes refuse to launch Planes requiring Small/Med runway refuse to launch from a base equipped with Medium runways. (From Petterr) Protect ViCond failure Protect ViCond fails to trigger even when no enemy is present to inflict damage on player. SAMs locate new targets in mid-flight SAMs locate new targets in mid-flight after original targets destroyed. Subs activate sonar on ship strike mission Subs activate sonar on ship strike mission. Previously, subs only activated radar on ship strike mission. Sub on surface dives on its own Sub starts on surface but dives to Periscope depth on its own Ships are unable to navigate around ice Ships are unable to navigate around ice. Unidentified targets auto-engaged Unidentified and unknown targets are auto-engaged without being properly classified as hostile. UnRep can overload magazines UnRep can overload magazines by placing more weapons in the magazine that capacity allows. UnRep done concurrently UnRep process is conducted concurrently and not consecutively. If all items take 1 second to transfer, 1000 items can be transferred in a single second if they are all different items. UnRep for 2 ships only Only 2 ships can conduct UnRep at the same time even though the ship has ability to replenish 2 ships to port and 2 ships to starboard. UnRep magazine shows zero After UnRep procedure, magazine count shows zero weapons if a second UnRep operation is ordered. UnRep Teleportation UnRep process is possible while physically separated by several miles. Wrong cruise altitude TLAM shows cruise altitude of 20m and Intermediate depth. UGM-109 cannot be launched All UGM-109 Tomahawk TLAM in OriginalDB cannot be launched since none of the weapons has an engine / propulsion unit. Type 65-76 disappear on BOL Type 65-76 torpedoes disappear after reaching activation point even though they have copious fuel remaining. Helo Intercepts sub at Med Alt Helo Intercepts sub at Med Alt when F6 command given. Unable to Pause game in MP Unable to Pause game in MP. Game starts immediately and cannot stop. Also causes problems with ghost sessions on some servers. Ghost sessions in MP Ghost sessions in MP continue to run after all players have left the session. This ties up processing power as the sessions do not usually expire on their own. MP Unpause malfunction After pause button has been depressed in MP, the game does not respond when user hits F12 to continue unless player uses [+] [-] keys to change the compression selection, first. False Weapons Free status Tutorial 6 starts with Weapons Free status already enabled, but aircraft do not recognize it. [Originally reported by Eugene Smith] Helos violate NAV zone Helos violate NAV zone. Incorrect re-load count Planes have high number of re-loads assigned, but there are insufficient AAMs to justify this number.(Originally reported by Bart Gauvin) Sonobuoy endurance display error Sonobuoy endurance display only shows "0 Fuel" and "00:00:00" under unit display. Missiles not releasing Missiles not releasing even though they are assigned in Weapons allocation window [Originally reported by KlubMarcus]. In-game Editor cannot open 3.9.0 files In-game Editor cannot open 3.9.0 files. Different depth at same location Two maps of the same area show different depth at same location. Subs go over land Subs go over island instead around it. Sub goes active on ASuW Sub goes active on ASuW area patrol mission even though mission setting is for EmCon. Plotted path gets stuck Ship gets stuck on land even though a path was plotted successfully. Fuel does not drop to zero Fuel drops steadily, but does not drop all the way to zero. CTD when hitting Report button CTD when unit Skunk 2435 selected and then Report button depressed. Planes cannot re-load Planes show zero re-loads available when AirOps [F6] button depressed. However, re-loads are available when AirOps is selected for individual hangars and runway. HAWKs fire into ground HAWKs fire directly into the ground Allied sides share unit control Players can change unit paths for sides allied via Friendly posture setting. Torpedo knows target depth Torpedo becomes de facto depth finder Torpedo dives past max depth Target at -1200m cannot be engaged directly, but torpedoes fired on BOL will still dive below the maximum depth of their propulsion system (-500m) to kill target Torpedo dives 1000M instantly Torpedoes will instantly dive 1200m to hit target Plane destroyed upon launch Plane destroyed upon launch and never appears on map. Transit mission fails to execute Ships will plot path around NAV Zones, but Transit mission will not trigger and execute Romeo Mod has no fuel Romeo Mod has no fuel. (Originally reported by CDunlap) Group climbs automatically The simple act of grouping planes together causes them to climb to 2001m. (Originally reported by JChiecchio) Speed changes with altitude When a group climbs, the speed will increase to the default speed for that altitude band even though user has previously entered a different speed. (Originally reported by JChiecchio) SLBM Explodes past target SLBMs will pass over target and explode. (Originally reported by Freek Schepers) Patch duplicates AALog file Patch installation creates duplicate AALog.opt file if AALog is already enabled at time of installation procedure. (Originally reported by Freek Schepers) Sub stops when surfacing Sub rises to surface and stops. (Originally reported by Freek Schepers) Sonobuoy mission cancels Sonobuoy mission cancels on its own due to inability to deploy active sonobuoy and causes all other helo sonobuoy formation patrols to revert to Minimal loadout. (Originally reported by Vincenzo Beretta) These 10 behaviours have been reported since the 3.9.3 patch release: Unable to delete aircraft Only some aircraft can be deleted from a base Specific strike cannot hit Specific strike mission cannot hit target unless Focused Strike is enabled Planes directly inserted cannot attack Planes B014 and B015 cannot execute ALCM attack vs. Runway target CTD reading Evaluation CTD while attempting to PgDown in Evaluation window Ferry Mission fails to launch Ferry Mission that executed properly in 3.9.0 fails to launch in 3.9.3 Indestructible units in new scen Unit from the other side cannot be destroyed in newly created scen Map windows disappear Map windows do not appear when file loaded. Probable cause is repeated use of Batch Re-build by Battleset function. Multiple Edit windows opened Multiple Edit windows can be opened but they can't be closed. Navigator plots path off map Navigator plots path outside of the map ViCond triggers in SP but not MP Damage ViCond triggers in SP but not MP.

A new patch is available from the Matrix server. ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/Harpoon3ANW...Hotfix-v393.zip Harpoon ANW users can get the: Complete Harpoon ANW Library FilesOfScenShare

JoaoDiogo just bought ANW and HCE and wanted to try out the MP quality of Harpoon. He's only played some ANW SP and the old H3 demos, so we chose Dawn Patrol, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. Joao is a big simulation player in Portugal so he's pretty experienced. He kept his radar off and crept around very quietly as I combed the Norwegian Sea for his ships. He did a very good job of evading contact. However, curiousity got the best of him and he turned on his radar for a peek. and I had 3 missile boats that were in range when his blips appeared on my ESM report. I fired off one boat for each of his Nanuchka missile boats. I managed to sink 2 of them, but the missiles from one Hugin tracked onto an already dead target and were wasted. Joao wasted no time and blasted three of my ships as the rest closed for a final barrage of SSMs. A second volley of Penguins sealed the deal. Three Hugins lost for the death of three Nanuchka corvettes. Victory was awarded. Thanks to Joao for a fun and stealthy game and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

Looks like a new edition was put up May 29. http://computerharpoon.com/public/Harpoon_3_Gouge_Demo_3.exe See if it runs or not.

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 landing on Rio Grande airbase in order to destroy the planes on the ground to the setting up of covert radar facilities to provide early warning for the fleet. Fact is that Chile felt it was the next target of the Argentine junta and, therefore, open to cooperation with the British. With most of my ships off replenishing their stores, I only had Invincible and a lone escort with which to accomplish my mission. My orders were to transfer two Sea King helicopters with SAS forces to Chile and take out the Super Etendard aircraft that had been a plague on Her Majesty's forces thus far. I decided to gamble and ferry my two available Harriers and the Sea Kings to the ad hoc RAF base in Chile. I hoped to provide my vulnerable helos with a modicum of escort at least part of the way. They took a long round-about path to Punta Arenas by flying around Tierra del Fuego and off the coast of Chile in order to stay below the radar horizon of Rio Grande air base. It was a long and tense journey as I had no airborne early warning capability. The first sign of an enemy presence might very well be tracer rounds or the smoke trail of an in coming missile. However, no of this came to pass as all the aircraft landed safely in Chile. Part one of the mission was complete. The second phase of the operation was the tricky part. I had to locate the enemy Etendard unit before I could send in the air strike. There were four possible locations for the unit: Rio Grande, Rio Gallegos, San Julian, and Comodoro Rivadavia. I only had a few unarmed PR.9 Canberra reconnaissance aircraft at Punta Arenas and a few aircraft along with an SAS unit on San Felix in the Pacific. It was a difficult order, but I decided to send in single aircraft on virtual suicide missions to photograph the four bases. I would lose the asset, but at least I would be certain of the Etendard aircraft. One flight from Punta Arenas would at least have the benefit of an armed escort in the form of the two recently arrived Harriers. One PR.9 Canberra took off for Rio Grande accompanied by the two Harriers. They hugged the deck and hoped not to be detected. As they climbed to cross over the island and approach Rio Grande from the landward side, they must have been detected. I saw no indication of it until an F-86 Sabre suddenly appeared in visual range! Both Harrier pilots quickly loosed a single AIM-9 Sidewinder at the target and began evasive manoeuvres fearing return fire. The Argentines also had the Sidewinder. The F-86 exploded in a ball of flame with no loss to my UK forces. However, the element of surprise was lost and the Canberra was much too far from the base to continue the mission so it was aborted. The best part of this encounter was the repeated inquiries from AoA, "Was that your aircraft? Was that Chilean? Are you in control of the Chilean forces?..." He really had no idea what had transpired as he was unable to make visual confirmation of the attack. He never even knew it was delivered by Harriers since the Chileans also used a version of the Sidewinder. I just stayed mum over the whole affair and replied with my usual, "No Free Intell" response. It was to pay significant dividends in the long run. After my shaken crews returned to Punta Arenas, they planned for a second mission. This time, they would try to approach Rio Gallegos. Since there were no Sidewinders available at the ad hoc base in Punta Arenas, they would have to do so with only 6 available missiles. Soon after launch, an unknown contact came zooming in a low level on an intercept course! A thousand thoughts raced through the minds of the pilots. "Had the Argentines figured out where that last mission launched from? Did they know that RN forces had deployed to Chile? Was this the payback they had been fearing?" With nervous trigger fingers, they watched it come closer and closer. It was well inside Sidewinder range, but still outside visual range. If it was hostile, the Harrier pilots decided that we would both go down in a blaze of glory since neither side could escape the other's Sidewinder missiles. Finally, at a range of 1 mile, it was confirmed to be a Chilean Hawker Hunter. With a huge sigh of relief, the Harrier pilots re-engaged the Master Arm safety switches for their weapons. An international incident with the country covertly aiding them was avoided this time. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, the exact same thing was happening over at Rio Grande air base. Evidently, a Chilean flight was near the border when it was intercepted by Argentine patrols. In the ensuing confusion, the Argentines must have fired upon the Chileans which in turn put the Chileans automatically into a state of war with the Argentines! My little reconnaissance mission on Rio Grande had reaped untold rewards. As a direct result of my clandestine activities, I had managed to provoke a war between my opponent and a neutral country. Once again, as my Canberra and Harrier escorts crept towards Rio Gallegos, they were detected. I tried to push the matter by making a high speed photo pass at the base to see if the Etendards were there, but the Argentine combat air patrol stood their ground and firmly blocked any possibility of breaking past them with my lumbering Canberra. All thoughts turned to escape. I engaged the fighters with my remaining Sidewinders and dove to the deck to evade. Again, both Argentine pilots died in fireballs. However, I was now defenceless as the Harriers and ran for the border. Another Argentine interceptor was detected closing on the fleeing Harriers and I thought that the game was over for them since they had only their 30mm Aden cannon to fight back with. Closer and closer it came until it inexplicably turned away without ever opening fire. I guess the pilot just lost his nerve and didn't want to end up with a missile shot in the face. I was to learn that AoA was having other Chilean problems at Rio Grande. Once enraged, the Chilean Air Force had mounted an air raid on the base and destroyed the very Etendard planes that I had been searching for! What a truly macabre set of circumstances. I managed to get my opponent to fire on a neutral country which in turn returned fire and accomplished my mission goals for me. At this point, AoA realized that he had lost the game and conceded defeat. A truly magnificent game with all the flavour of real world brinkmanship. Thanks to AoA for a fabulous match and to HarpGamer for the use of their server. Anyone looking for an MP game can drop a line here or look for us on HarpGamer pHp chat room or the HG mIRC chat room.

It might also be the last time Canadians heard the "second national anthem". CBC Dropping 'Hockey Night' Theme