rainman

Thanks Brad! I'm playing blue. I'm thinking red is the harder side, oh well. If I send my sub away, this might end up in a gunfight. If not, sorry for all the Chinese widows. Looking forward to playing Imperium too.

I have found that if you want to accurately model a real world situation, small to medium is usually better. I's easier to "make your point", so to speak. Brad's "Karafuto", and "Trophy hunter" are excellent examples of this type. I prefer them "small and hard". Many others prefer the huge ones. They do keep you busier, and it's true that you can have a nail-biter, just because it's so hard to keep track of that much stuff. Hope this helps.

Sorry to be a pest, but I'm looking forward to playing this one. Problem is, the scenario presently posted has the original (small A/C) airfield and the bad characters in the orders. Mayhap you uploaded an old file. Has happened to me (look at comments for "Willpower"...)

I took a look at this one- it looks cool, thanks for posting. One thing-The airfield in Greenland cannot land the transport A/C at ZYA mentioned in the orders.(runway too short at small A/C ). If that's a victory condition, it will pose a problem. Thought you might want to take a look at that.

Also, when you look at the list of available airfields, you will see a "secret" airfield. This will not appear on the map until discovered by the other side. FARP's and ELINT stations are other ways to put attack/ESM assets close to the player without immediate detection.

Might we see these in the HCDB sometime soon? This sounds like a game changer to me.

This seems right on. it's an 8, no meds needed. How about, in the absence of a diminished USA, Brazilian resistance to Chinese adventurism in or near Venezuela? Or in West Africa? The general subject of Chinese influence in Africa has great potential, Brad has already explored that in "Trophy Hunter", an excellent scenario.

Thanks for breathing new life into the scene. This looks like fun. Hugely outnumbered, with DF-21's lurking unseen (I'll bet) and most of the PLAN in the way. I'm going to try to stay the course and finish the last one, but..

It wasn't supposed to be easy, but it can be beat. I don't want to post how to beat it though for those that haven't played it yet. No worries. hard is good.

Let me see-. There are NO modern maritime patrol A/C available. There are six reasonably ranged surface search radars in the whole available force, all on helicopters. NO tankers or EW A/C. 18 ESM capable A/C in the whole bunch, four of them helicopters. Lousy sonars and useless subs, no bombers, a total of four long range cruise missiles. To add to the general joy, 2/3 of the attack A/C at Lingshui have an attack combat radius of 250nm or less. All against lots of modern American and European hardware. What a miserable situation. Sounds like great fun.

File Name: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence File Submitter: rainman File Submitted: 25 Dec 2011 File Category: IOPG DB Used: HCDB_111211 Authors: Patrick Howard Battleset-IOPG: .scp - EC2003 - EC2003 Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. can Iran really close the Straits of Hormuz? Even if the US is not involved? Click here to download this file

File Name: So You Think You Can Dance File Submitter: rainman File Submitted: 8 Dec 2011 File Category: WestPac DB Used: HCBD 111122 Authors: Patrick Howard Battleset-WPac: .scq - WPac - WestPac PRC tries a "Pearl Harbor" attack. Let's see how scary the Chinese really are. RED only, you are PRC, you'll have a carrier plus DF-21's.. Duck. Click here to download this file

Any chance of seeing these in an upcoming DB? As in, resurgent Russian navy vs deficit reduced USN or European navy?

Look at the "Aircraft and Weapons" pdf included with the scenario. You will see that some (but not all) of your A/C have "passive ESM". This is the ability to detect radar emissions from an enemy A/C or ship. This means that you can detect enemy A/C WITHOUT turning on your own radars. This is important because a) the USN has many more A/C with this ability, and your assets in this regard are very limited. (look at the orders, it pretty much says the same thing). So. The AI tends to activate a radar at the slightest provocation. Also, if the USN detects an airborne radar, it will send fighters to intercept it. So station at least two "ESM capable" A/C at high altitude near your formation. Now look at the "weapons" section of the pdf. You will find certain air to air missiles that do not require a radar to guide them. This gives you the tools to set an ambush. And remember, your carrier group has superb SAM coverage. So you can lure enemy A/C within that zone as well. Another technique is the "missile trap", an old USN trick. Position an AAW capable ship on the threat axis about 100 NM from the main body, with its radars off. (you will have to protect this ship from subs). Using airborne radars lure enemy A/C within its missile envelope, and use the SAM's to kill the aircraft. The USN approach of airborne strike warfare will not work so well here. You will have to kill the carrier with SSM's or subs. Welcome to the Russian reality, and thanks to all who made this so realistic. Hope this helps.

Admiral Konstantin Sidenko took a big pull of vodka and gave the sigh a working man gives after a long day in the fields, or the factory. Things seem less hopeless, he thought, when you have finished a plan and set it into motion. He had thought it through and came up with the following: Goals- (A)To drive the Japanese from Yuzhno-Kurilsk, and to ( protect the resupply convoy ORDERS: Russian Air Force and Naval Aviation to complete the following ferry missions to provide: Burevestnik: 1-A-50, 4-SU-24, 2-SU-34, 4-SU-25BM, 2-MiG29, 4 SU-27, 4-SU-35 Chuguevka 2- May, 2-TU-142,4-MiG31-BM, 2-SU-50 This will leave the TU-22's at Petroplavosk because you cannot ferry the AS-6 in a cargo aircraft. GP loadouts for the Tu-22 MAY be used from Burevestnik. Orders: Chuguevka: Provide CAP and AsuW CAP for convoy. Provide ASW support as soon as ferry operations permit. Burevestnik : Ferry helos to FARP to help with AEW support. Provide local CAP to protect base. Set traps for F-35's Set up traditional AEW setup when A-50 arrives Mistral Group-(AES) set ASW patrols, strict EMCON. Ready all KA-50 helos to escort. Launch KA29TB's as ELINT platforms to detect hostile radars Nanuchkas(AIS)- Head for the gap north of Hokkaido, and wait to join the Mistral group Bystryy- South to join Mistral group, use high speed. And he remembered the following things- When dealing with stealth aircraft, traditional AEW has failings. The attacking aircraft may shoot at your AEW bird before it detects them. What do you do? He thought through Leytugo's tactical philosophy. Current JSDF doctrine requires A) Activate radars when there is a risk of detection Activate radars when an enemy unit is in AAW range, and C) Return to base if you cannot intercept an aircraft at its current speed. And so he decided: For each vulnerable base, set up an aircraft on an expected axis of attack, that was faster than the F-35, with its radar active. Also have at least two ESM capable A/C nearby to detect and identify hostile radars. Have another group of fighters loitering nearby. When either the radar or the missile is detected, have the "AEW" fighter flee on burner. The have the other fighters pounce on the F-35's as they return to base. It seemed to Sidenko that the key was to keep the amphib group undetected, as the above tactic would lead to its detection.. Hmmm.. One thing at a time, Lord or Lenin willing, he thought. Tomorrow is another day..

Yeah, I am not going to worry too much about that. I'm only concerned with the alien ships' movement inside Earth's atmosphere, so I'm figuring about 1,500 knots for the drone (in pure ion fusion afterburner, heh) and a crawl for the 'hovering' mothership. Great idea about the 'walker' too. Classic. I've added that. These entries' specs will probably be provisional as we figure out what works best. I played around with these a little, and have a few thoughts about drones- NO radar- The HCE game engine is irresponsible about activating a radar. Once detected by ESM, the drones are relatively easy to kill. Add ESM- and make them VERY stealthy. This will force the human player to be careful about activating radars and lead to more visual, short range detections. Much faster. I'm thinking at high alt 850/1250/2500 or so. Longer range. A typical (F-15) fighter fleeing on burner will cause a drone to RTB with a 1000 NM range. Some area defence for the mothership.

The MiG 29K has existed in the database for quite some time (INTL). I believe that in Indian service it can carry a wider range of weapons than shown in HCE, however. While I'm whining about the DB, one request as well-The INS Kolkata class, with the Barak 2 area defence SAM?

Thank you all for keeping this old game not only alive, but growing and moving forward. I have noticed some newer folks on this site and wonder if the second generation is on its way!

Crap. Just Crap. So thought Admiral Konstantin Sidenko as he slid the vodka bottle away across the desk and looked at the telex one more time. Japanese at Yuznho-Kurilsk, and I have to kick them out. And just three months until a nice retirement, the Black Sea villa, the wine cellar, the mistress, oh, the mistress...Crap! What rotten luck. I wonder who told them what lousy shape we're in. He stood up, put the bottle in the cabinet across the room. No more of that for a while. He put some water in the samovar for tea and assessed the situation. In a large sense, he was "screwed" as the Americans put it. Years of low budgets and corruption had sapped the Far East command. The Air Force commander spent more time on the phone with his Mafia friends than he did with his subordinates, and could provide barely forty serviceable attack and fighter aircraft, many of them Cold War relics.The best units he could provide were the four new MiG-35's, six SU27SM's, and the two top secret PAK-50's. The rest, Sidenko thought, was junk. Old SU-27's with lousy radars, MiG-29's with short legs, and neither able to refuel from tankers. At least he had three of those, old IL-76's. There were a number of SU-25's as well, with the newer SM version capable of refueling and carrying ship killer missiles. The Air Force could also provide an A-50 AEW jet, and a number of transport aircraft. At least getting the little green animals to Burevestnik would be their problem. Fortunately, the Air Force logistics staff had stocked Burevestnik with plenty of weapons. The PVO had been warned, and SAM defences were supplied and alert. Things were looking up, and then he looked at his own assets. And reached for the vodka bottle again. The supply group for Burevestnik had sailed, with a peacetime escort of one Udaloy destroyer. The situation at Vladivostok was hopeless, the Varyag was undergoing a turbine overhaul, The Marshal Shaposhnikov was in Singapore, and the other Udaloys were down with a virus to their combat systems. The Bystryy was out of position after a training cruise, but was at least available. The two Nanuchka corvettes were returning to Burevestnik at best speed as well. There were also two subs, a Kilo badly out of position, and the Narval, heading to Burevestnik. Naval Aviation presented a better picture. They could provide two SU-34's, fast and capable, eight Mig 31's, four old and four new, and, most importantly, four long range ASW aircraft. Four venerable but useful SU-24's. And two Tu-22M3 Backfires. Konsantin's protoge in aviation, Captian Ignatieff, young and energetic, had fought Moscow to retain not only the two TU-22's, but as many as forty of the old KH22 missiles. These had been refitted with the low altitude seeker heads in the 1990's, and Sidenko said a silent prayer of thanks to all of the airmen who kept those hydrazine powered horrors serviceable for all those years. Although not capable of the high altitude approach anymore, these would be crucial to his plans. And plans he had.He considered his opponents. The JSDF was all that the Russian military was not. Well funded, vital, supplied with modern weaponry, and led by Admiral B. Leytugo, a brilliant tactician, who "sank" an American carrier last summer as part of their joint excercises, they were one of the best military organizations on the planet. Commanding as many as two hundred modern fighter and attack aircraft, and having Ageis destroyers and excellent submarines, they seemed invincible. The jewel in the JSDF crown was the new F-35 stealth fighter. Traditional Russian doctrine had no plan for this aircraft. Sidenko thought about heading across the room for the vodka bottle again. And then he thought "a stealth fighter with his radar on is... just a slow airplane".. so, how do we get the Japanese stealth fighters to light up? When they are detected (not likely) or when they SHOOT.. And so Konstantin's plan took shape. (to be continued)...

I didn't want the Aegis ship to be easily detectable, as it supposed to be moored in the harbor surrounded more or less by high terrain. As well, HCE gives the anti-ship shooter a considerable break when it comes to engaging ship targets close to land. We suffer no penalty for radar shadow or clutter, but a ship laying in the shadow of terrain should be a difficult target. (sigh) Fair enough. I guess I'm going to stop whining and try to win this one....

Hooray Brad! Keep'em coming. One thing: Not being able to engage a significant SAM asset separately really pollutes scenario play. I'd split those ships off. Maybe add a 0KT unit to keep them from straying. I'm sure that the key to success will be to win by inches, and to have a through knowledge of the capabilities of your aircraft, weapons, and sensors (and those of the enemy) will be essential. This scenario may seem hopelessly fussy and complicated to those of us in the "long live democracy and release the Harpoons" crowd. But it will show all of us how it is to be Russian these days, with real limits and a real chance of failure. Perfect. I'm going to try this one soon, and I have not looked at it with SE. I'm going to try the following tricks- (SPOILER) (SPOILER) 1 The SM-3 will not engage a target below high altitude. But if you fly a TU-22M in at low and launch an AS-4, it WILL engage the missile. 2 You have many A/C faster than the F-35. The AI will RTB any assigned intercept aircraft that cannot catch their target. Ring any bells? 3 The ageis system is a fearsome AAW asset, on a ship...... a ship... you have a sub in the area... patience, grasshopper.. 4 You have AAW missiles that outrange enemy SAM's. He has ASW helicopters. grasshopper... 5 Protect your aircraft. They are essential to protect the amphibs (ASW/AAW) and to attrit defenses at the destination. Run away. Try to lure enemy fighters with good surface search radars away from the Mistral group, and then send them home by running away on burner. A RTB is a mission kill. tank and repeat. 6 D you know which of you A/C have passive ECM? You should. I will let you know how I do

Which one is harder? The Russian side looks challenging due to the lack of asw assets. I have not looked at this one yet, because I don't want to spoil the fun.

Bear with me if I fumble around here, this is my first topic. I Have a few requests for the next HCDA, as I'd like to write some stuff, and tweak the stuff I have done already. 1) Could the AMRAAM family weapon ranges be the same as HCDB 101213? I think that was a HUGE improvement in play balance. 2) Could you export the SU-33 family (all three) from HCDB 101213? (can you tell I'm a fan?) 3) Could you add the Chinese CV? I'd like to get it into trouble. 4) This is asking a lot, but a speculative high performance carrier A/C for Brazil. Gripen or Rafale, with Brazilian weapons such as MAA-1B and MAN-1, MAR-1, Python 5, possibly Derby? I expect we'll see these in the next 8-10 years. 5) Can the RGM-84D have a shorter (75nm) range, as in HCDB 101213? Thank you so much.