CV32 Posted May 21, 2011 Report Share Posted May 21, 2011 I will admit to having been able to play through this scenario once and still come away unscathed during Red's first vicious antiship missile attack. Otherwise I can usually save the carriers, albeit rarely without sustaining some damage and never without losing an escort. How have others fared? Man up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldseadog Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 I will admit to having been able to play through this scenario once and still come away unscathed during Red's first vicious antiship missile attack. Otherwise I can usually save the carriers, albeit rarely without sustaining some damage and never without losing an escort. How have others fared? Man up! I'll assume this is the same "reteat" as appears as scenario #5 in my USNI battleset (which I think is standard as loaded from HUE). The first time I opened this game within two seconds I had esm detection of about a half dozen ships and bucket loads of missiles a bit to the NNW of my carrier group. Fortunatley the game crashed before they hit Next time around the enemy group must have been some greater distance away as I had time to set up my group formation with some a/c in the air getting some EW protection and better warning of what was to come, and your description "vicious" certainly fits what I encountered. With missile coming in from two directions and hordes of front line fighters sweeping through (to absorb my auto anti air defense?) I had all my fighters in the air and more changing loadouts from surface attack to AAW - I needed the lot and most came home devoid of even sidewinders or canon ammo, but still I lost a few fighters and 3 valuable escorts (very valuable, why couldn't they have pounded my Knox instead ) They also lost heavily with most of their fighters that turned up not going home, and with my own big expenditure of HARM, harpoon and ship borne SSMs I soon obliterated their surface group then in the next round (after more loadout shuffles) their four bases. SIGH, but I'm still to face what I expect to be an equally difficult battle with Red Subs so I certainly don't claim much advantage as yet. It isn't the sort of scenario where you power along at a good time compression making minor amendments to a well laid out plan, it is very 'orders intensive' with lots of quick decisions required, and I suspect some good luck as to start up positions. If you hear from me agin you'll know I survived (more or less), though I'm concerned about making the time limit while still avoiding/ dealing with, the subs. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CV32 Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'll assume this is the same "reteat" as appears as scenario #5 in my USNI battleset (which I think is standard as loaded from HUE). Not quite the same scenario, no. Same premise, similar platforms, but the scenario in the demo is a more recent rebuild. And it plays differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CV32 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2011 No one else has played this version of Retreat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mavfin Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 No one else has played this version of Retreat? I don't play the demo, so I would never run into that version... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CV32 Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 I don't play the demo, so I would never run into that version... As long as folks are aware that they can, and thus avail themselves of new scenarios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldseadog Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 I don't play the demo, so I would never run into that version... As long as folks are aware that they can, and thus avail themselves of new scenarios. I'm assuming that the demo scenarios aren't available separate of the demo game download, might I be wrong?? Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CV32 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 I'm assuming that the demo scenarios aren't available separate of the demo game download, might I be wrong?? For the time being that's true. Only part of the demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScooterJock Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 I don't play the demo, so I would never run into that version... As long as folks are aware that they can, and thus avail themselves of new scenarios. I can play the old Harpoon Gold "Retreat" scenario and usually achieve total victory without losing a single unit, aircraft included. However, comma, the demo version is a bit more "interesting"! Short form, I'm a Boat School grad who washed out of flight school at Advanced Jet (A-4 carqual did me in), then spent 4 years in a "Dead Admiral" class DDG in PacFlt. While still in the flying biz I spent 6 months assigned to Top Gun, and drank generously of the kool-aid while there. So I might suggest I'm a bit nontypical of the usual 'Pooner. Stream of consciousness while playing Demo Retreat went something like this: "Holy $#@%!" Okay, obviously I need to keep the Hornets out in front of the Tomcats, use Phoenix to knock down the Flankers to allow the Hornets into the bombers. Then it's just timing to cycle back tp the boat and rearm. Damn! FOUR regiments of Backfires/Blackjacks/Badgers to start off? Yikes! Lessee, knock out those AGIs double-quick. Easy done. Don't get so focused on the "Battle in the Barents" that you forget to clean up those AGIs down by Iceland... Ouch... hate those Soviet SAGs with those long-range SSMs. This is gonna be interesting. Remeber to offset the raids inbound so the Bad Guys can't get you by firing SSMs back down the bearing... "Hey, waitaminnit! Flankers get some sort of PFM missile with 70 mile range and my Hornets are restricted to AIM-7???? What the hey? I want Slammers for my Bugs! Waah!" Hmmm. Yeah, 4-2-2 is about all I'd get in Real Life for my Tomcats... though 6-0-2 is a lot more fun! (and would really change the tone of this scenario) What the? No buddy stores? No tanker cap at all? Grumble mutter snarl. Now that my Intruders have taken out the AGIs, time to arm up SEAD and go play with the SAG to the NE. Four Vikings... Hmmmm. I can see how this is going to go. Interesting... so a flight of Backfires can launch on my CVBG from BEYOND the range circle, with no sensor detect (still had not radiated anything from the BG, nor had a Search platform gotten even close to radar range, & this was still 6 or 7 hours prior to the first sub attacks), and still get missiles into the Main Body area? Lucky I had just launched a flight of Turkeys. Ouch. So the AI will now sacrifice a flight of 3 on a past-Bingo profile to get a Hawkeye? Have to remember that. The Flankers splashed without having been attacked, I can only assume dry tanks, mere minutes after knocking down my Hummer. Damn. And so on. I'm still playing, with 3 days left to go and have lost 2 ships to torpedoes. After about the first 30 hours I have the Red air assets knocked back to ASM and fighter flights of two and what I think was a recon flight of Mails? Mails? Spared enough Hornets from backup Intercept duty to arm them up SEAD and go play hell with the SAG (that "short range HARM" for the Hornet SEAD loadout is a low blow, BTW!). Four SEAD-only missions let me get clsoe enough with an all-Harpoon loadout of A-6s and F-18s to wipe out the SAG. Grand slam with Bulldog! High time it became possible to fly nap-of-the-earth with Intruders and Hornets! Hooah! On the good side, the score stands Blue air-to-air kills 325, Blue air losses 6. Film at 11! Great job with the improvements, guys, I haven't seen the game since Harpoon Gold. Obviously I need to save up my allowance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncepulido Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Wellcome ScooterJock. First day and two full of interest posts. I'm sure we can expect more interesting viewpoints of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScooterJock Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Wellcome ScooterJock.First day and two full of interest posts. I'm sure we can expect more interesting viewpoints of you Depend on it--old Navy saying: "You can always tell a Navy pilot, but don't expect to tell him much." I am forced to admit that I cherish each of my 13 arrested landings... and still miss the flying, 17 years later. Oh well, got to grow up some day. Interestingly enough, nice Harpoon connection, my destroyer (USS CHANDLER DDG-996) was the OpEval ship for Harpoon Block C. Finished the Retreat scenario and apparently ran afoul of the Victory Conditions--I was south of the Bay of Biscay with most of the kiddies and the game was still declared a draw. Probably needed to be more to the West... Final score: Blue losses: 3 ships (Belknap, Deyo, and Manchester, sucks to be threat-side of the formation!), 8 aircraft (6 Hornets, 2 Toms), and 2 helos. Red losses: 1 carrier, 8 ships total, 8 subs, 386 aircraft (woot!), and 14 helos. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Wellcome ScooterJock.First day and two full of interest posts. I'm sure we can expect more interesting viewpoints of you Depend on it--old Navy saying: "You can always tell a Navy pilot, but don't expect to tell him much." I am forced to admit that I cherish each of my 13 arrested landings... and still miss the flying, 17 years later. Oh well, got to grow up some day. Interestingly enough, nice Harpoon connection, my destroyer (USS CHANDLER DDG-996) was the OpEval ship for Harpoon Block C. Finished the Retreat scenario and apparently ran afoul of the Victory Conditions--I was south of the Bay of Biscay with most of the kiddies and the game was still declared a draw. Probably needed to be more to the West... Final score: Blue losses: 3 ships (Belknap, Deyo, and Manchester, sucks to be threat-side of the formation!), 8 aircraft (6 Hornets, 2 Toms), and 2 helos. Red losses: 1 carrier, 8 ships total, 8 subs, 386 aircraft (woot!), and 14 helos. Jeff Congrats, and as indeed welcome as broncepulido said! You might find the O hotkey useful, http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.php?a...mp;showfile=417 to show where the on-station stations are located. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScooterJock Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 old Navy saying: "You can always tell a Navy pilot, but don't expect to tell him much." Finished the Retreat scenario and apparently ran afoul of the Victory Conditions--I was south of the Bay of Biscay with most of the kiddies and the game was still declared a draw. Probably needed to be more to the West... You might find the O hotkey useful,. Yeah, that does help. Replayed the scenario, guess I'm still trainable--total victory, Blue losses one sub and 3 jets. Red losses included all their surface ships, 388 airplanes, 10 subs. Took a poke at one of the Red airbases but had waited too long and didn't have the range for more than one SEAD strike and all my TLAMs, eked out 35% damage. Too much fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 I just played the HCE (non-demo) version of this. Ike took a couple of hits amidship from a handful of leakers that made it through the AIM54's (really had enough to take them out, but the weapon allocations went a bit wonky and they got through) but kept on trucking at 55% with rudder damage and down to 16 knots, which was still enough to win the scenario. Nothing else got through, although it did blow out ready times by double. Once that was sorted and the sea swept by the E3's and E2's to make sure no other surface forces were out here, I put up a defensive front around Norway and gradually destroyed the majority of their aircraft, none of their bombers made it through although there was a close call down south where a dozen badgers could have fired off their missiles at British bases but I knocked them out in time before they did. Then it was all about keeping my anti-sub forces pointing the right way. Every so often we'd hit a sonobouy or mad contact and blew the resultant ships away. I also killed the unluckiest Kilo captain in the world. I was randomly checking on the lower bases, and click on a lynx in the unit window. I wanted to see if he had used the sonobouys. Nope. I pushed the manual drop button once. Instant detection on a Kilo. Torp dropped. Hit. Sunk. One in a million. Since the merchant group was already passed, the Kilo would've survived otherwise. Towards the end we got nuke release, so I hit three of the bases with TLAM-N. Won the scenario shortly after. Didn't lose a ship or a sub, only took the damage on Ike, lost about 20 or so planes. Took me about 5 real time hours to play. Then I switched to RED, swamped the carrier group with every plane I had, lost dozens and dozens, the bears, mainstays, etc, but got the formation and took it out with about 300 missiles of various types launched from all the bombers, the missile subs and the SAG. Took about 20 minutes real time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSF Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Brad, I will admit to having been able to play through this scenario once and still come away unscathed during Red's first vicious antiship missile attack. Otherwise I can usually save the carriers, albeit rarely without sustaining some damage and never without losing an escort. How have others fared? Man up! Is that one of those Tony, you and I rebuilt for the USNI demo? Ralf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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