File - WPac - Drone Defense of Lima

[donaldseadog]

View File

Drone Defense of Lima

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IMPORTANT
This scenario is meant to be run with the accompanying file Drone.DLL installed in the harpoon ExportDLL (or ExportDLL\GE) folder and requires vers HC2025.006 or newer and database HCDB2. This library file edits certain platforms' data so as to simulate high speed surface drone swarm(5 Drones), high speed semi submerged drone swarm (5) and Malay CB90 attack boats. It also starts of one ship with damaged ssm mounts.

The scenario is a demonstration of how recent changes to HUCE will allow an author writing scenarios for the Harpoon community to be able to customise platforms from simple aspects such as damaged mounts to more complex changes effectively introducing new platforms.

Swallow Reef (also known by many other names) is one of the larger islands of the Spratley Islands Group. It is occupied by Malaysia including a small naval presence and a tourist resort servicing primarily dive parties in the surrounding reefs.
Other countries lay claim to the island (and most in the Spratley Group) with many countries fishermen having been regular visitors for hundred of years.

Many of these islands have changed 'ownership' by various means including force over recent history, and undoubtedly this will continue form time to time.

 

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• Submitter
  donaldseadog
• Submitted
  03/01/2025
• Category
  WestPac

 

Edited March 1 by donaldseadog
added GE vers required

[donaldseadog]

You may have noticed that TonyE has been highly productive making changes to GE and SE regarding the Export.DLL process he introduced I guess some ten years ago. A lot of these changes are to allow external mini programs to read info and be able to change internal actions thus giving more powerful control of the game. Some examples are Tony's world map and my Toolbox. This scenario demonstrates the latest of those abilities where by an author wanting a one off customisation of the database for a scenario to be distributed to the Harpoon Community can easily do so. Hopefully we'll soon have the tool that lets you make these custom changes within the SE. This doesn't effect the external database, only the database annexs that are loaded in the game and used to determine how platforms interact.

 

[broncepulido]

Played at last (very busy these months in RL).

Simple but great, funny and interesting scenario, thanks Don!!!

[broncepulido]

Some irregularities detected running the scenario, mostly related with edition of platforms.

First, the edited Submarine entry 4107 for SemiSubDroneSwarm:

Not clear if is a single semisubmersible drone or a group of five drones, but not very relevant at last.

Attached is two photos, one of the modified/upgraded sensors in my personal use HCDB2 entry 4107 "Intrepido (U206A)", with CSU 83 main sonar and Kelvin-Hughes radar, and three other sonar systems added by me (The original 4107 "Intrepido (U206A)" has only the CSU 83 sonar).

In the edited entry 4107 for SemiSubDroneSwarm I see the CSU 83 has been replaced with Cluster Bay/Gulf, and the Kelvin-Hughes with a simpler periscope radar.

But the edited entry as SemiSubDroneSwarm keeps, I think is not pretended, my other three added sonar systems, i.e. SemiSubDroneSwarm keeps the other three sonars not showing only the pretended Cluster Bay/Gulf sonar, and that is a surpresive outcome, at least for me.

[broncepulido]

Other issue, this more trascendent, about the Baka 250 Kg weapon employed by the SemiSubDroneSwarm (The SurfDroneSwarms were eliminated in the approach to the small surface group and in consequence not employed and tested, later will see to test them).

The SemiSubDroneSwarm approached the Chinese main group without problems, and fired the machine guns against the ships apparently without problems.

But when near the target ships, many problems: 

- Blank dialog about possibility of torpedo attack (photo 1), but the Baka is clearly at last a missile flying very low at 50 knots as showed in photo 2 (only later, perhaps when the SemiSubDroneSwarm are nearer to the targets, is opened a dialog permiting missile attack, allowing launch the Baka with effect in the target and destroying the launcher boat, as originally pretended).

- Another blank dialog (photo 3) popping up when the torpedo attack possibility is pressed, opening the dialog but showing none allowed target.

[donaldseadog]

Oh nice find Enrique, I'll have a look here to see what might be happening. It is all a bit developmental and as much feedback as I can get will help.

Don

[donaldseadog]

3 hours ago, broncepulido said:

Some irregularities detected running the scenario, mostly related with edition of platforms.

First, the edited Submarine entry 4107 for SemiSubDroneSwarm:

Not clear if is a single semisubmersible drone or a group of five drones, but not very relevant at last.

Attached is two photos, one of the modified/upgraded sensors in my personal use HCDB2 entry 4107 "Intrepido (U206A)", with CSU 83 main sonar and Kelvin-Hughes radar, and three other sonar systems added by me (The original 4107 "Intrepido (U206A)" has only the CSU 83 sonar).

In the edited entry 4107 for SemiSubDroneSwarm I see the CSU 83 has been replaced with Cluster Bay/Gulf, and the Kelvin-Hughes with a simpler periscope radar.

But the edited entry as SemiSubDroneSwarm keeps, I think is not pretended, my other three added sonar systems, i.e. SemiSubDroneSwarm keeps the other three sonars not showing only the pretended Cluster Bay/Gulf sonar, and that is a surpresive outcome, at least for me.

The annex changes by the export.dll only overright the sonar data of the first sonar and rely on the loaded database having only one sonar for the platform.  I think that is what's happening here. If you load hcdb2 (170909?) I think it will run ok regards this.

There is similar issue with mounts, the 'donar' platform needs to have the desired number of mounts.

As your screen shot shows there is also a desire to edit other data such as platform text, dimensions etc. If we can iron out the basics, such as the other issue you've uncovered then we can work on the niceties.

Also if I can get the basics right the export.dll will load into the SE for the scenario author to be able to make changes there and have them pass onto the GE. 

One of the edits done here was the damage to one of.the chinese ships ssm mount so it was restricted to using guns against the surface ships, I think this sort of thing will also be sometimes of use the the scenario author like yourself. Small customisation for some scenarios to fine tune performance.

[broncepulido]

6 hours ago, donaldseadog said:

The annex changes by the export.dll only overright the sonar data of the first sonar and rely on the loaded database having only one sonar for the platform.  I think that is what's happening here. If you load hcdb2 (170909?) I think it will run ok regards this.

There is similar issue with mounts, the 'donar' platform needs to have the desired number of mounts.

As your screen shot shows there is also a desire to edit other data such as platform text, dimensions etc. If we can iron out the basics, such as the other issue you've uncovered then we can work on the niceties.

Also if I can get the basics right the export.dll will load into the SE for the scenario author to be able to make changes there and have them pass onto the GE. 

One of the edits done here was the damage to one of.the chinese ships ssm mount so it was restricted to using guns against the surface ships, I think this sort of thing will also be sometimes of use the the scenario author like yourself. Small customisation for some scenarios to fine tune performance.

All great ideas, thanks for sharing!

[donaldseadog]

I've looked last night at the blank dialogs for attack and weapon allocation when approaching target but not within baka missile range. Also the guns which should not fire when snorkelling, I'm sure in ww2 scenarios the subs with guns will not do that so there is something that this in game amendment of annex is not achieving.

I am as an experiment replacing the guns with a second baka mount. I ran out of time to test that but I wonder if the blank dialogs might also be to do with the close range and multiple unit attacking and target groups. I do on occasion  see this sort of thing in other scenarios but usually not with such severe consequences. 

The way I played my tests I wasn't seeing this so thanks for letting me know.

I'll let you know when (if) I resolve this and do a new scenario version. It might require a different choice of 'donar' sub.

[donaldseadog]

@broncepulido ,

Hi Enrique, now I don't know why the guns on the sub behaved as they did, the amendment of in game annex is a bit of a suck it and see thing which we're hoping will open the door to useful 'stuff' but there will be some deadends I guess.

Anyway I altered the Drone.dll, the new on is in the zip pack attached, can you try it please and see how it goes. I've used it now and played with as many different tactics as I can think and it is now behaving as I had originally hoped.
the new semisubmergeddrone is supposed to represent now a swarm of 10 and if targets are lose enough may target two platforms.

The tactic I most have used in testing is to run my drone group to approach head on the enemy, then to either 'Cross its T' or run ahead and meanwhile split of one drone unit at a time and to aim it at the platform of max value to me (I use Toolbox to do this) then wait for either notice of enemy sonar at 0 mile range or guess as to time to attack.

If you get time to test the new Drone.dll can you let me know if there is improvement and if still some changes needed.

Thanks again for taking time to try this out.

Drone.zip

[broncepulido]

I'll see, thanks!