TonyE

AAR “The Thanh Hoa Bridge” Rabbit10.SCq Battleset WestPac Game Engine: HCE b22 Database: HCDB 07-02-27 (Brad Leyte) Designer: Tony Eischens Tested by Ralf Koelbach 07-04-14 1. Introduction “The Tanh Hoa Bridge” is a scen dealing with a well known situation during the Vietnam War. The player has US side and he must destroy the important bridge. The whole area is heavily defended with a SAM belt, lots of AA guns and many, many aircraft. And there are no Tomahawks, no HARM missiles making your life easier. Maybe these conflicts led to their birth…. 2. Playing it 07:23 Sub contact! Right beside my carrier group! 07:25 Two Hawkeyes with CAPs assigned launched 07:31 First red ac detected 07:32 Two RA-5Cs launched. They instantly detect several SAM sites. 07:51 Still no clear contact on those subs(?) 07:56 One sub determined as neutral – whale 08:06 The first RA-5C close to enemy lines comes under attack – but it evades. Fabulous bird! 08:10 I start pressing with forward CAPs. The F4s really do a good job. 08:47 Eight Migs shot down so far. 08:53 First ASuW strike underway – four Intruders 09:39 First SAM site (030 ZN00) knocked out. Air battle is raging. One Intruder lost. 09:51 The other three Intruders fell victim to a Mig ambush. 10:02 Next SAM site (002 ZL00) wiped out, but a the cost of all four Intruders. That will become a real tough job! 11:38 Status: 10 AC lost; 35 AC killed; 2 AD Mobile killed 11:55 Air superiority achieved. Eight more red ACs shot down. 12:17 Several more surface contacts detected. 12:24 Oh Lord, what a tough resistance! 14 AC lost; 51 AC killed – no progress killing ground targets. How to break through? Those Shrikes are outranged by the SAMs. I want my HARMs back! 12:34 Nearly lost an Hawkeye. A flight of F4s saves it in the last moment. 12:54 Two more Intruders lost. 12:56 MRMR02 UZ 00 killed 12:58 SAM Site 52 ZP01 wiped out. Maybe I´ll manage it! 13:04 Two Corsairs lost. My F4s dominate the Migs, but a Corsair has no chance. 13:57 SAM Site 59 UM00 destroyed; ZU-23AAA02 UK00 killed, KS-12AAA UL00 destroyed 14:53 Defeat! Too little, too late, it seemed. I am not sure why exactly I lost at this point – too many AC lost? Final Status: 24 AC lost; 80 AC shot down; 8 AD Mobiles destroyed. Most interesting is, that I lost not a single RA-5C! They are so fast that I always managed to escape. The F4s worked well; their Sparrows ripped through those Mig-waves. But the Corsairs and Intruders didn´t make it. 3. Resume HCE looks better, sounds better and the new AI seems to be a real nasty opponent. In connection with the new sensor model a real new HC is coming – great! I don´t know right now how to win this scenario. How to wipe out this SAM belt only with Shrikes? I´ll think about it; my revenge will come. Great scen for a great new HC, Tony! Ralf

I don't want to sound harsh or brash but a change of power in Pakistan could allow some intrepid special forces to take up work in some mountain territory currently off limits. The confusion during transition to a new ruling government might provide enough time for a good once over and sowing of sensors? Then life gets interesting as nice US built equipment falls into the hands of people we don't want to face militarily and nuclear weapons are taken up by possibly less stable commanders not as worried about the world stage.

Excellent, Thursday is my next potential day to look at Gulf Strike. Will undertake basic air ops as you suggested.

Secret information follows, Staff Pukes are the four founders of HarpGamer, perhaps we'll rename it to Admirals some day, I just wanted to see if anyone would comment. Rear Admiral, well, you are the only one of those Pete, some special permissions at the website, as you've found. The other sleeper group is HC3 of which Akula rounds out the HC3 (Brad, Tony, Akula), aka those who will take the HC helm once HCE is released. Then we have the Members group, Validating (to be members), and then guests. Guests can download files, read most posts. Members get to post and read all posts in their forums. end secret information I'm sure some day we'll rename Members to Sailors or somesuch, who knows Well, that's enough security reduction for one day, have fun all.

Ever closer, which is good, progress was neutral or backwards there for a while. Word on the street says the new scens are in WestPac, animations will now behave, and the tweaking continues.

Sounds like an exceptional candidate for a rebuild in EC2003 with mobile land units and such. Neat idea btw.

Okay, Gulf Strike arrived yesterday, maybe even the day before, I've been away house sitting for a week. The game is in pristine condition, appeared to even have the original shrink wrapping on the package. Since I found it so late in the evening I only had time to page thru each of the booklets (the box was stuffed to the brim with supplements and counters and maps galore). Hopefully I'll spend some time with the game before Pete slaughters me and place my findings as a paper wargame novice in this thread.

Ralf, can you give step by step instructions on making the SE crash as I have not been able to do so yet with that HCDB? Thanks!

First thought goes not to mines but submarine detection, Cold War, space based laser detection of NATO submarines. Maybe we are finally getting to the age when those Soviet titanium hulls will provide the only protection a submarine can count on (VDeep ). Today's terabyte is tomorrow's pebble after all. They are still huge oceans but the littorals may become a little less horrific for surface ships with blue/green laser support.

Hmm, it was up when you posted, it is up now, it will continue to be up for the foreseeable future except for when it crashes

Yup, and Yup, and Yup Clarification: HC2002 and earlier had a basic standoff radar jamming capability, halving the range of opposing radars within the range of the jamming pod, if the radar was turned on and the die roll was correct. The protection was only afforded to units in the same group as the jammer. Partway thru HC Gold the above functionality was disabled For later WestPac betas and now into HCE what gkm says is accurate, standoff jamming works, and in a much more dynamic way than the halving range approach. Now jamming is strongest near the jammer, the jammers will protect neaby groups, two jammers are better than one (essentially the jammers jam for each other ). The jamming applies to both air and surface radars, not only can the enhanced radar model result in enemies sneaking up on you, add jamming and life can become entirely scary, even with AWACs and the right opponent!

File Name: JAPFISH - Sea of Japan File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Scenarios based on an original HC scenario by Mark Gellis Fish populations around the world have declined due to global warming, overfishing, and other factors. Japan has responded to dwindling catches by fishing closer and closer to parts of the Russian coast where fish are still relatively abundant. It is not clear whether Japanese fishing boats has actually violated Russian territorial waters or, if they have, how often it has happened, but Russia believes its territory is being violated. The situation has become very tense. Russian fishermen have fired shots at Japanese fishing boats. Japan has responded by sending armed escorts to accompany fishing fleets. Russia has declared this an unacceptable provocation. Click here to download this file

File Name: The Cold North - The North Atlantic File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Scenarios The Russian military has been experiencing a loss of discipline and an increase of desertions and mutinies among its ranks brought on by little or no pay and loss of morale. Of late, several older ex-Soviet warships that were laid up prior to decommissioning have turned up missing. More disturbing is the fact that the ammunition for these warships stored in a nearby warehouse, prior to their destruction have also turned up missing. In another development, Oil has been discovered in and around the coast of northern Greenland and several oilrigs and a base camp has been set up. Contact has been lost with the whole operation. It is feared that an unknown force has seized the facilities. NATO has been tasked to investigate. Click here to download this file

File Name: Okinawa II - Western Pacific File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Scenarios As the Western economies continued toward collapse, Japan moved forward in its desire to reassert dominance in the Far East. In order to force the United States to relinquish its forward bases in the Pacific, the Japanes military moved into action. A naval and air blockade was placed around Okinawa Island. The US government, backed by strong public opinion, decided to respond with a show of military force. The Japanese, knowing they could not stand toe-to-toe with the US Navy, decided the best option would be to operate within range of their land based aircraft. They hoped that preventing the resupply of Okinawa, and, in the course of maintaining the blockade, inflicting significant losses on the US Navy, would cause the US Government to reconsider their claims on Okinawa. Click here to download this file

File Name: Kurils - Sea of Japan File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Scenarios The Kuril Islands is the setting for this dispute between Russia and Japan. The Russsians invaded the Kurils near the end of World War II and Japan wants these islands back. Neither side has signed a formal peace treaty following the war because of the Kurils Islands. Whenever negotiations take place, Japan brings up the Kurils in an effort to get them returned. So far, the Russians have not yielded, despite their inability to support the Islands. The economic situation of the Kurils and its native, largely Japanese, population is deterioriating as each day passes. This scenario explores one of the options available to the Japanese Government, should political efforts and negotiations continue to fail. Click here to download this file

Introduction Harpoon Classic now has its first ever, user-editable database. What follows is an outline that will help you understand and utilize the Platform Editor that Jon Reimer so graciously and effectively designed for us. The Platform Editor allows you to manipulate existing data and add new items to the database for the WESTPAC and EC2003 Battlesets. ***CAUTION: Never, NEVER, delete a Major Annex entry in your database. Doing so will almost certainly cause HCGOLD to crash after exporting the database to the Game Engine (GE, henceforth). Major Annex entries are Aircraft, Ships, Submarines, Weapons, Sensors, Mounts, Installations and Text Descriptions (all the editable choices found in the Main Menu of the Editor). Modifying data will affect performance in game play upon successful export, and usually this is the desired outcome. But deleting data outright, especially the Major Annex entries, can be very hazardous to the health of HCGOLD. Should you find this has occurred, there is a way to recover the lost data. So don’t panic, just keep reading below. 1. Viewing Data in the Editor Enter the Platform Editor (PE) via the “Platform Editor” icon in the Harpoon Classic Start Menu Group or by opening your HCGOLD root directory and clicking on “pfBuild2002.mdb” Upon first using the PE, some versions of MS Access will show you two radio buttons and you will need to choose one. Please choose the bottom one for now (Open Database). After a moment or two, you will get a message that says “Automatically linking to…” followed by the location and filename of your pfData2002 file. Click OK and the Main Menu screen will open. You are now ready to browse around the PE. For now, please stick to the upper part of the menu, selecting the entries under Platforms and Components. “Other Tasks” in the lower half of the screen can adversely affect game play and should be avoided until they are more fully examined below. 2. Modifying Existing Data This is pretty straightforward. As you browse through the fields and buttons in the PE, you will find values and ID#’s. Values are either numerical or string entries. Modify numerical entries by simply replacing the current value with a new one. Modify string entries via the dropdown menu by clicking the Down Arrow to the right of the current setting. Check these pages in the future for a listing and explanation of the numerical and string codes. ID#’s are used to associate items that belong together in a game engine component. As you browse the buttons for Aircraft, Ships, and Subs, you will find items like LOADOUTS, MOUNTS, SENSORS, and MAGAZINES. Clicking these buttons will unveil a dropdown that includes the various subcomponents for that item. The subcomponents are listed by ID# and double-clicking the > (right side pointing arrow) to the left of the ID# will open a new window, detailing that particular subcomponent. Now go back to the previous window. To the right of the subcomponent ID# you will see a string value for its nomenclature, and immediately to the right of that is a Down Arrow. A single click there opens a dropdown that offers the “allowable” selections for that particular subcomponent. Choosing one of them will automatically update the ID# to the left. IMPORTANT: To ensure your changes are accepted by MS Access, move to the next record. Assuming no error messages, your edit is now saved. 3. Creating New Entries Two very important facts to keep in mind: 1) ALWAYS APPEND, NEVER REPLACE A RECORD. 2) DO NOT ENTER ANY ID#. The PE will assign the appropriate ID# as you move through the remaining data fields. Be very careful to enter all required data in the remaining data fields. Failure to do so will cause the SE and GE to choke upon export of your new data. Mechanically speaking, creating new entries is otherwise similar to editing existing data described above. 4. Exporting an Edited Database to the HC2002 GOLD Game Engine When you are ready to try out your edited database, CLOSE BOTH THE GE AND SE if you have them open. Return to the Main Menu and click on EXPORT DATABASE under Other Tasks in the bottom half of the screen. This step will take some time, and you will know it’s finished when you see a DOS screen open, and soon thereafter close. At this point your Database is now ready to try out in the GE and SE. 5. Importing Databases from the Game Engine (Commondb.res) This feature is particularly useful if you are using someone else’s commondb and want to view and edit it in the PE. Sharing the commondb will be the primary mechanism for playing user created scenarios that were created using a different database than the one you are running. Again, CLOSE BOTH THE GE AND SE if you have them open. Click on IMPORT DATABASE under Other Tasks in the bottom half of the screen. This takes some time to complete, depending on the speed of your system. On slower machines it may even appear to freeze the Editor for a period of time. This is normal. Upon completion you will be able to edit the database in the PE as outlined above. 6. Managing multiple Commondb files We plan to automate this so that when you load a scenario, both the GE and SE will seek out the correct commondb in your directory and load them into the game. Until this feature is ready, we recommend you do the following or something similar: 1) Place all scenarios you create with a given commondb in a separate folder, along with a copy of the commondb.res file the scenarios need to use. 2) Rename this commondb.res file to something that will help you identify it in the future. For example, commondb_orig.res might be your choice for the file needed to run scenarios created for the first commondb.res file. Similarly, you might use commondb_my_first.res for the scenarios you create using the first db you edit yourself. 3) You are now ready to swap out databases. To do so, rename the existing commondb.res file in your game root directory in order to preserve it, in a manner consistent with the convention described above. Next, create a new folder in your game root directory called Current_DB. Locate the commondb_whatever-you-named-it_.res file (the one you are about to use, not the one you just renamed) and Copy/Paste it into the Current_DB folder. This helps you remember which commondb you are using because the final step is to also paste it to the game root directory and rename it to commondb.res. You are now ready to run the scenarios created for the commondb you just installed. 7. Recovering from problems If you encounter errors in the PE, please post a message to the Support section of the Forum, or use the Contact Us navigation button in the upper section of this page. IMPORTANT: Taking a screenshot of the error message and saving it for our future review is usually helpful in tracking down the cause of the problem. If you encounter errors in the GE using a newly created commondb, you will need to revert to a previously working version of commondb.res and invoke the Start_edit.bat file in your game root directory (by double-clicking on it) to make it run properly. Invoking the Rest_cdb.bat file will restore the most recent “official” commondb to the root directory.

File Name: HC RCS Worksheet File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Tools/Mods/Docs Excel spreadsheet demonstrating the radar model in recent releases of the game, minus effects for weather, line of sight, etc. Click here to download this file

1. What's new in HC2002 GOLD This list highlights some of the major changes you will find in HCGOLD but is by no means comprehensive. Platform Editor added: First ever in the 14 years of the Harpoon Classic Series Database updated using best sources, primarily Larry Bond’s H4 annexes Mobile Land Units now modeled for the first time ever in computer Harpoon New BattlesSets Added: WESTPAC and EC2003 (both featuring the player-editable DB) USNI BattleSet returns to the Classic series Scenario Converter: Converts original and user-created EC2000 scenarios to EC2003 New Orders Utility: makes adding orders to user-created scenarios a breeze SE Repeat Patrol and Repeat attack fixed (had been disabled in most versions) Message Log added as new window AI now more aggressive, particularly for subs and aircraft HARM/ARM code: No more H/ARM-ing a ship or airfield to death! Many changes here. SAM code: Enhanced “per target” missile allocation model; Variable ROF for Player Land/Sea/Surf Weapons: Introduces “ship” and “land” only target classes Simultaneous, Multi-axis attacks enabled for air and sea AI Sonar model: Vastly improved detection algorithm and user-configurable noise signatures Radar Cross Section now user-configurable as well Electronic Warfare model improved Aerial Refueling problems fixed Weather report time display fixed with game consequences for daylight/night 2. System specs: What works and what won't HC2002 GOLD will run on: Windows 95 all variants (even without Internet Explorer) [tested Win95 original, 95b, 95c] minimum of 32MB RAM if possible, though 16MB can work. If you have virus scanners and other clutter, double or triple that amount. Windows 98 all variants [tested 98 upgrade, 98 original, 98se] minimum of 32MB RAM if possible, though 16MB can work. If you have virus scanners and other clutter, double or more that amount. Windows ME (ME's reputation aside, it does support HCGOLD) minimum 64MB RAM, double or more if possible. Windows NT 4 all variants (tested on sp3 and sp6a) minimum 64MB, double or more if possible (use common sense, a bit more may be needed if you are running Exchange server on the same machine...) Windows 2k all variants (tested on original, sp1, sp3, workstation, server...no, we didn't test on DataCenter version) minimum 64MB RAM, double to be reasonble, triple or better is ideal. Windows XP all variants (tested on Home, Pro, Server release candidate 2) miminmum 128MB RAM, double if you ever want to accomplish anything; 1GB to be happy. HC2002 GOLD Platform Editor has been run on: Access 97 Access 97 Runtime Access XP Access 2000 Access 2000 Runtime Access 2003 Access 2007 *Notes: The Platform Editor (PE) requires the MS Text ISAM be installed to import and export properly. If not already installed, the ISAM can be installed via your MS Office Installation CD. If you can run Windows 95 (or newer), you can almost certainly run HCGOLD. How fast it will run is up to your system specs. HCGOLD may run on x86 Unix/Linux machines running newish versions of WINE. HC2002 ran ok on RedHat with WINE, HCGOLD likely will too. HCGOLD will not run on: Windows 3.1x or older will not run the game (with the possible exception of a thorough win32s configuration). Windows NT 3.x probably will not run the game but we haven't tried. Mac OS of any type will currently not run the game without an x86 emulator. Non-x86 instruction set based machines will not run the game unless you have a good x86 emulator (bochs anyone?). Return to top 3. Using the Scenario Converter First, copy the four pairs of RES/RSR files for EC2000 (hdsd, hdse, hdsf, hdsg) from your hard drive or HC97 CD-ROM to your HCGOLD root directory. Then: a) The "Read-Only" attribute of the above files may need removal. Right-click their icons to reveal PROPERTIES. Uncheck the "Read-Only" tick box if checked. Start HCGOLD c) Use the Battlesets button to find your HCGOLD root directory if it isn't already pointing there d) Locate the commondb.res file in your HCGOLD root directory, double click on it and return to normal game play. Then exit the Game Engine. At this point you should be able to run the Scenario Converter and bring any EC2000 Scenario up to the EC2003 format, enabling you to apply the upgraded database. Note: The scenario you are looking to convert must be present in the HCGOLD root directory. Please copy it (and any others you want to convert for now) from it's existing location, and paste into the game root directory, before trying to start the Scenario Converter. 4. Using the Platform Editor Please see the PE User's Guide for how to edit and export data back to the Game Engine and Scenario Editor. Joe Lanza has produced a DB Worksheet for laying out platforms prior to data input. An excellent and very useful tool. 5. How to report bugs or unusual game behavior We plan to post a "Known Issues" section under the "Tools & FAQ" button. So before compiling a bug report, please check there, and if you've found something new, consider including the following information in your report a) Windows version HCGOLD version (check the about box for build date) c) Whether you were using an official HCGOLD commondb d) Which battleset you were in (i.e., WESTPAC, EC2003, HDSII, GIUK) e) Which scenario is causing the trouble f) Any error message you received g) Steps we should take to reproduce the event h) Your system specifications Post your report in the . Please identify the game component affected in the subject line of your email (GE for Game Engine, SC for Scenario Converter, PE for Platform Editor, SE for Scenario Editor, DB for Database issues).

File Name: HCBlankDB File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 09 Mar 2007 File Category: Databases A database from which to start your own database. Note: This database is provided as a framework for creating a new database from scratch. There are sample entries as needed for the PE, GE, and SE to function. The sample entries may be changed to suit your needs but they should not be deleted. The EC2003 and WestPac built-in scenarios will not work with this database. A sample scenario is included just to show that the blank DB doesn't crash the game. 2008/11/29 Filled in the list of loadout types for GE 2008.062+ as per http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?showtopic=3262 2008/06/13 Changed the "LRMTS" flag name to "NOE - Nap of the Earth" Click here to download this file

File Name: HC_WW2_DB File Submitter: divefreak File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Databases By Rene Haar and Jan Masterson. Click here to download this file

File Name: HC_EURO_DB File Submitter: divefreak File Submitted: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Databases EURO_DB is no longer focused on GIUK/Atlantique Ocean/Mediteranean only, it is now merged with the Atlantic DB and it covers the whole World except the Westpac Area due to Space Limitations (County Names). It is a worldwide DB for the period from around 1975-2008. The main difference is the changed philosophy for base structure. All long range weapons (SAM/SSM) will be removed from Harbours/Airbases. So a Scen-Writer has to add mobile Units to replace the SAMs with improved design posibilities. Fixed SAM will only provided by AD-Fixed existing in Reality or have exist in the past. This Version also supports all Changes that comes with the 1. Patch such as improved ECM and the new Gun Model I´ve stopped the developement of this db. It will be splitted into dbs covering dedicated timeframes. Until now the HC-65to80-DB and the HC-80to95-DB are published. All scens written for the Euro DB will be transfered to the new dbs. Click here to download this file

File Name: HUDII File Submitter: HUD3 File Submitted: 9 Mar 2007 File Updated: 10 Mar 2007 File Category: Databases HUD2 database by Darren Buckley Click here to download this file

File Name: H3DB File Submitter: TonyE File Submitted: 9 Mar 2007 File Updated: 9 Mar 2007 File Category: Databases Tuned for H3ANW 3.7.0. The H3DB follows an only add, never delete philosophy so that scenarios will continue to function with futures releases of the database. H3DB was originally derived from the HUDII DB Click here to download this file