HarpGamer is now running a H3 ANW 3.10a Server 24/7. HUD3 1.5.0 is the database at the moment, feel free to request a switch to ANWDB.

 

Server (put in resolve name box): eischens.dyndns.org

Port: 14342

 

If the server does appear to crash, chase me down at #harpgamer on irc.stratsims.com or e-mail me at sysop@tgp.net. There is a link to Java IRC client at HarpGamer

 

If you want to see scenarios added/removed/swapped out please e-mail me the scenarios in a single zip file to sysop@tgp.net and I'll make the changes. Make sure to tell me which database the scenarios are for!

 

Tips on getting a successful game:

• Enable Windows 2000 compatibility mode for Harpoon3Client.exe (see screenshot)
  

Right on!

 

First night back with the new server and we were able to help bring on a new player. Welcome aboard, Cpt. Aubrey.

 

We took the PlayersDB scenario, Power Sweep, by David Steinmeyer out for a spin to break him in. Jim used some interesting "bait and switch" tactics and we managed to exchange fire resulting in his loss of SSN Spartan before the game crashed us out. Oh, well.

 

Hope to see you around soon enough, Capt Aubrey.

KlubMarcus came looking for a re-match, tonight!

 

We decided upon Freek Scheper's latest Battleset, 2nd Lebanese War, made with the PlayersDB. We selected Katyusha with Marko as the Israelis and myself as the Iranians.

 

Marko's objectives were to bomb the missile manufacturing plants in Iran. Unfortunately, he had to get past a who mob of unruly neighbours; Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Right from the beginning, he got heavily involved with the Syrians.

 

After fighting past them, he was on the Iranian doorstep and, like an unwelcome visitor, barging his way inside. He could do no wrong and I could do no right as he quickly shot my defenders to pieces. And then the hand of God intervened in the form of a Server crash that wiped out the last four hours of play (saved games, too) and we had to start over!

 

Being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we started anew. This time, I was the one with the golden touch and ripped apart every strike element as it crossed the border. However, one strike group was able to elude my interceptors and made it all the way to Tehran to damage one factory before finally being shot down. After nine hours of play, Marko finally conceded.

 

This was one helluva tough game. Anyone looking for a challenging scenario that doesn't have all the targets pre-designated with "X" or pushovers for defences are commended to try this one whether it be MP or solitaire play.

 

This was a truly epic game, KlubMarkus, and thanks to Freek for the scenario, and HarpGamer for the use of their server.

Tony just upgraded the HarpGamer ANW server to use the Beta 3.7.3 patch so we decided to give it a try.

 

We wanted something fairly quick so we selected Matrix Lance made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. It has diesel subs on the prowl in the Baltic Sea.

 

We both started off with a passive sonar search pattern. However, I got impatient as my dinner was getting cold so I switched over to active sonar; a very, Very, VERY bad idea.

 

Soon enough, my sonar operators reported, "Transient, Transient! Multiple torpedoes in the water!"

 

I quickly fired a brace of torpedoes down the line of bearing and went to flank speed in preparation for evasive manoeuvres. Unfortunately, flank speed on a diesel boat is only about 19kts and the torpedoes were running at 40kts. My decoys managed to draw one off, but the other three struck my little boat. My return fire failed to lock onto Tony's boat while one started chasing a merchantman. (Some sailors were going to get a very rude awakening! )

 

Another great game, Tony. Thanks for the switching up the server software to Beta Patch 3.7.3. I guess that this means that anyone wanting to try ANW on your server is going to need to install the Beta patch.

 

I would recommend that anyone considering installation of the Beta software to do so with a parallel installation. i.e. one version for ANW 3.7.0 and one with the Beta Patch 3.7.3 Previous experience has taught everyone more than a little scepticism with this game.

 

This scenario has not yet been published, but anyone wishing to try it out can do so from HarpGamer's ANW server.

Tony's really getting into the spirit of ANW. He made up a little scenario for us to try with the ANW DB. It was an even match up with USN forces.

 

I got in an early hit when I sank his CG Leahy with undetected wave of Harpoons and TLAM. Understandably, he returned the favour minutes later. I guess that's the price you pay for not turning on your radar systems!

 

My CG Ticonderoga was about to fall prey to a barrage of Harpoon missiles and had already suffered a missile strike before I wised up to the situation and turned on my radar. It was just in the nick of time that she saw some followup Harpoons and shot them down with her SAM systems.

 

Now, we were relatively evenly matched. Tony had a SSN Sturgeon and DD Spruance against my CG Ticonderoga and SSN Los Angeles.

 

I closed on his Sturgeon with both the LA and the Tico only to receive a barrage of torpedoes in the face. However, he had fired them from maximum range so I turned and easily outran them. I would not make that error, twice.

 

Went after his Sturgeon, once again. This time, I fired a torpedo from my own sub to goad him into moving towards my CG and it worked. He moved and I dropped a pair of ASROC-torpedoes on his head.

 

Meanwhile, Tony was being cagy, himself. He had crept up on my own SSN and had launched his own Mk46 torpedoes at it! However, she promptly fired a pair of ADCAP Mod 5 back at him and took off in a mad dash for safety.

 

Both the Sturgeon and the Spruance died within minutes of each other and I suffered no further losses. A fun time was had by all.

 

Thanks for the new scen, Tony. The ANW server will have it available for the next few days in case anyone would like a chance to try it out.

 

XG file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

 

I threatened to make a simple MP scen over the weekend, and finally got to it today. It is available on the Stratsims server (72.21.228.42 port 14343) for the next few days. There is a 2-player variant and a 3-player variant though the 3-player is the 'correct' scenario, the two player just has one side ripped out.

 

Each player has two ships, a sub, and a helo or two, the goal is to sink two opposing ships and one sub.

 

You do need 3.7.3.0 to play this one. The scenario uses ANWDB for those who are interested in such things.

 

Herman came out to try the two player version with me, Dale also had a quick look at it but I begged out of the second confrontation to step back and give the Player 3 side helos as I forgot that in version 1. Thanks for the games guys.

 

Oh, Herman throunced me thoroughly. I took out his Spruance but he got my Leahy almost immediately and later took out my Spru and Sturgeon with masterful strokes, and he didn't even have helos! I believe outside of the Leahy hit that I fired first on well localized contacts and still I bit it big time. There is one very scared whale out there too, I nearly dropped a Mk46 on it but thankfully rechecked the ID after plopping a number of sonobuoys on it.

 

The scenario is quite quick to play, a few three-player encounters would be great!

Tony and I were thinking, "What better way to celebrate the holiday season than with a Harpoon battle?" So, we decided to finish off a game that we had started last week.

 

We selected Matrix Siege made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario has not yet been published, but anyone wanting to give it a try can find it on the HarpGamer ANW Server.

 

The scenario pits a USN force against a polyglot assemblage of European navies in the Kattegat and Skaggerak. Tony took the USN ships while I took the European combined command.

 

I knew that the USN force had extensive defensive capabilities in the form of an Arleigh Burke destroyer so I tried to sneak up on him by hiding my missile and gunboats behind a few merchant vessels making their transit of the Kattegat. I had my ships plod along at 15kts in hopes of masquerading behind the civilians. This went well until his helicopters showed up.

 

The Super Cobra was quickly shot out of the sky, but the SeaHawk wisely remained out of range and kept reporting my position back to the ships. Arggh. How frustrating it was to watch that pesky eye-in-the-sky.

 

Soon enough, a wave of Harpoon SSMs materialized and it looked like the end for me. There didn't seem much that I could do except Run Like Hell! However, the lone RAM-armed ship managed to pluck each of the missiles from the sky. Whew!

 

My ships closed and returned fire as best they could. Unfortunately, the MM.38 Exocet SSMs were unable to penetrate the SAM bubble generated by the DDG and my ships were hammered by SAMs fired in the SSM role soon afterwards.

 

My problems were magnified exponentially when some of the Exocets decided to take on a life of their own and pursue a civilian sailboat. Even though they had been fired on a pinpointed target, they decided to attack something else. (I guess it must be one of those 'pet' bugs that I've been hearing so much about.) Well, the sailboat was sunk so I've already lost at that point. :cry:

 

I continued to try and close in order to get all of my SSMs off on the targets, but the SAM envelope was simply too strong for piecemeal attacks and his guns far out-ranged mine. To add insult to injury, Tony swatted any of the missile/gun boats that dared to come into visual range of him.

 

Although I managed to get some hits on his DDG, it was not sufficient to sink him and I conceded victory.

 

It was a heckuva fun game. Thanks for the match and the use of the server. Although belated, it was an excellent stocking stuffer. :cool:

 

AAR: Matrix Siege [spoiler Alert]

 

Brandon came ashore from his little cruise in the Gulf and immediately came onto HarpGamer to look for a game of ANW. Can you believe this guy? He didn't even call his girlfriend before setting up a game with us. Now, THERE is a guy who has his priorities straight!

 

We selected Matrix Siege made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario has not yet been published, but anyone wanting to give it a try can find it on the HarpGamer ANW Server.

 

The scenario is a European training exercise matching a USN force against a combination of European naval forces in the Kattegat and Skaggerak. I took the European command.

 

I knew that the USN force had an Arleigh Burke destroyer so it was going to be a tough nut to crack. I tried to try and mask my ships by running behind a few merchant vessels travelling through the Kattegat. I had my ships match their speed of 15kts. This was successful until his helicopters showed up and surprised my northern flotilla.

 

Both of them were quickly shot out of the air with a combination of Stingers and AAA, but The Jig Was Up!

 

Soon enough, a wave of Harpoon SSMs was detected. Forunately for me, most of them locked onto a nearby freighter, Laekonda, and pummelled her mercilessly. However, two of my missile boats must have also been in the cone of detection for they each sucked a Harpoon down the windpipe. I decided to volley-fire my own SSMs down the bearing of the incoming missiles in hopes of distracting the hidden enemy. I figured it was a matter of, "Use'm or Lose'm".

 

We had to call it a night at this point, but we certainly look forward to completing this game. Thanks for the game and the use of the HG ANW 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.

 

Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

 

AAR: Matrix Shield [spoiler Alert]

 

Brandon and I met up for another match, tonight. We decided to try Matrix Shield made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario has not yet been published, but anyone wanting to give it a try can find it on the HarpGamer ANW Server.

 

The scenario is a training exercise between a CIS submarine against combined Swedish / Polish Baltic ASW groups. Brandon elected to play the Hunters while played the role of the Hunted. But, as is often the case, the tables can quickly be turned around.

 

 

My Kilo-Class sub was just creeping around, patiently awaiting targets to appear. Soon enough, a pair of Hugin missile boats was detected to the NE and she crept off to intercept. Not long afterwards, a Goteborg corvette was detected nearby the Hugin and they were heading right for the Kilo. Minutes later, they were both in torpedo range and a pair of TEST-71 torpedoes was fired at the Goteborg and a single torpedo at the Hugin. As the torpedo room crew hurriedly re-loaded, the attack centre counted down the seconds. Less than 1nm from the target, the torpedoes must have been detected for the Hugin abruptly turned about-face and raced off at 36kts! The torpedo was only capable of 40kts so the prey would escape, this time. However, the Goteborg was not so fortunate and she was caught in a tremendous explosion. I didn't know if the enemy had pinpointed me, but he had to know that their target was in the general vicinity.

 

 

The surviving Hugin was not finished and she tried to locate me. I had the answer to that pest in the form of a 53-65 Wake-Homing torpedo. These babies were capable of running 70kts and she would not escape, again. Or so I thought. Once again, she came forward seemingly oblivious to her fate. A single 53-65 torpedo was launched after her and the crew anxiously awaited the explosion. Once again, she turned to run. However, the torpedo elected to chase a target on the opposite side of the map! (Oh, great. Looks like the targeting bug is back.) There went half my torpedo inventory rendered useless.

 

 

The surviving ASW forces started to swarm into the area. They knew that a diesel boat couldn't run very fast. However, this diesel boat still had some teeth. Although she was seemingly surrounded by hostiles, she gave a good account of herself with her remaining TEST-71 wire-guided torpedoes and sank another Goteborg and 3 Hugin boats before the Polish corvette, Kaszub raced in to deliver a SET-65 torpedo that killed her. It looks like both sides had their technical problems. The 53-65 torpedoes did not work for me, but neither did the ELMA ASW rockets work for the Hunters! In the end, the sub was sunk before it could bag its goal of 6 ships. Another excellent game even if it was a bit frustrating to see that some bugs just won't die.

 

 

Thanks to HarpGamer server for the use of their server and to Brandon for being a crafty opponent.

 

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.

 

FilesOfScenShare

 

 

Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

The situation, when we broke for an intermission, was that the Batroun had just outrun a torpedo fired from an Israeli submarine…

 

 

The only hope of victory lay with a speedy arrival in Lebanon. All my surviving blockade runners engaged their engines and went to full speed. Unfortunately, the fastest ship cannot outrun the slowest helicopter and, soon, another snooper was bearing down on my ships. However, this helo was in for a surprise because the blockade runner was under escort from a Syrian gunboat. The unwary Israeli pilots got a rude surprise in the form of an SA-7 Grail SAM! Even so, they managed to dodge the first one and only succumbed to the second. A tremendous cheer rose from the crew; the Israeli air force was not invincible, after all.

 

 

Not long afterwards, a second helo came looking. The missileer was a young man of only 19 years and he was still elated from the exhilaration of his first kill. He immediately set about to engage this second target. The captain of the vessel burst forth from the bridge just as the SA-7 left the launcher. “Stop!” he screamed. “That’s a UN helicopter!” but he was too late. The SA-7 ran unerringly into the exhaust of the Lynx. “Abdul, you’ve killed us all,” bellowed the Captain. Sure enough, an incoming Exocet missile soon put a quick end to the glorious missile career of Abdul as it exploded directly underneath his feet.

 

The two surviving Hezbollah smugglers were within sight of Lebanon, 15nm away, but that was as close as they would come. A second Israeli helo swooped down on the little cigarette boat and blew her out of the water with a stream of rockets while a second UN Exocet claimed the other blockade runner. So close, yet so far. The three soldier-hostages would have to be removed from Lebanon another way.

 

Thanks for a great Part II to my opponents, John and Brandon, and to Tony for the use of his ANW server at HarpGamer.com. Blockade is made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario has not yet been published, but anyone wanting to give it a try can find it on the HarpGamer ANW 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.

 

 

Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

Ralf Koelbach's been waiting 15 years for a head-to-head match in Harpoon and he got his wish tonight. He came onto the HarpGamer ANW Server and we found a quick game to try. We chose Power Sweep made by Dave Steinmeyer with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This Classic scenario pits NATO submarines against Russian.

 

I took the NATO side and quickly picked up reactor noises from a Victor II-class sub. Boy, she was a noisy boat. The Spartan crept up on her and surprised her with a quick torpedo shot. I don't think she ever counter-detected my sub before she was on her way to the bottom.

 

A second nuclear sub was detected, a Charlie II-class SSGN. Although technically inferior to the Victor II boat, the Charlie managed to counter-fire a salvo of torpedoes when she heard SSN Spartan fire her torpedo. Both volleys claimed victims. Now, only the diesel boats remained to do battle.

 

However, I had the advantage as SSK Kobben had a track on the Tango and he never even knew that I was in the area. One final barrage of NT-37 torpedoes and I was awarded victory.

 

Thanks for a really fun game and welcome to the world of Harpoon MP play. Thanks also to HarpGamer for the use of their server and to Dave for the scenario. With out the server, we would not have been able to play since Ralf is limited by a 64k ISDN connection.

 

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.

 

Ethan Atsinger has been playing and testing Harpoon since the first round of H3 came out. I finally got to meet up with him for a match of ANW tonight. Although Ethan had not played against a human opponent in nearly two years, he had not lost his edge. Ethan said that he could only play for a short time since he needed to spend some quality time with the spouse so we agreed to play a scenario that normally runs 20 minutes. As with most activities involving Harpoon, we got so engrossed that we eventually played 3 different scenarios for over four hours!

 

We started with Power Sweep made by Dave Steinmeyer with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This Classic scenario pits NATO submarines against Russian. I took the Russians and Ethan played NATO. Ethan said that his nickname was Mr. Thermocline and it became apparent soon after we started. His handling of SSN Spartan was certainly troublesome to my forces and only the desperate application of a nuclear-tipped SS-N-16 Stallion put an end to this thorn in my side. His surviving SSK Kobben struggled bravely, but was soon overcome by my force of three submarines.

 

We quickly switched sides and decided to play again. This time, Ethan and I fought to a draw. He wiped me out, but had insufficient forces survive to meet his Victory Conditions.

 

Our last match of the night was Matrix Siege also made with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario depicts a European training exercise matching a USN force against a combined European naval force in the Kattegat and Skaggerak. I took the European command.

 

Ethan was very cagy and hid close to shore hoping that I would pass by him. I did manage to finally locate him hugging the Danish shore and launched a furious attack by Exocets from all angles and ranges. The power of his single AEgis destroyer was sufficient to brush off all SSM attacks from the entire combined command (that and the Targeting bug that had my SSMs turn around and fly back in my direction!) However, he played ‘hard to get’ for a bit too long and didn’t have time to get on station to fulfill his Victory Conditions. I wasn’t able to fulfill mine, either. However, I’ll “claim” victory since Ethan accidently blew up a neutral merchantman in the Kattegat.

 

A fine evening of Harpoon entertainment was enjoyed thanks to the scenario authors, the players, and the ANW server hosted by HarpGamer.

 

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.

 

Rodrigo Flores showed up on the HarpGamer ANW server looking for his baptism of fire in Harpoon multi-player. He's the first Brazilian I've met as an opponent.

 

We chose to start with the Classic Power Sweep scenario written by Dave Steinmeyer with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB. This scenario pits NATO submarines against Russian.

 

I took the Russians and Rodrigo played NATO. Rod acquitted himself well in his first MP experience. Our subs exchanged volleys of torpedoes, but luck was on my side as the decoys managed to distract his Spearfish. Victory was mine.

 

We quickly decided to switch sides and play again. This time, armed with nuclear weapons, Rod managed to exact a price. I got off to a good early start and sent his Victor II to the bottom without being counter-detected. However, while hunting for his Charlie II SSGN, he must have caught a sniff of the SSN Spartan. The next thing I knew, the sky was falling from the detonation of a NUKE!

 

Undaunted, the surviving SS Kobben was facing 2:1 odds, yet she crept up on the SSGN and killed her with Tp61 torpedoes before continuing on to ambush the Tango and victory was mine, again.

 

A really fun time was had and a warm welcome to a new ANW. Thanks to Dave for the scenario and to HarpGamer for the ANW server. :cool:

 

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.

 

Ralf Koelbach came back for hungry for revenge and showed why he is still a master of the game after fifteen years. Since I won our first encounter, Ralf challenged me to a re-match with the same scenario, Power Sweep made by Dave Steinmeyer with the favourite database of Harpoon3:ANW, the PlayersDB.

 

I took the NATO side and quickly picked up reactor noises from a Victor II-class sub. However, Ralf was playing it very coyly, this time. Knowing that he had revealed himself early on during our last engagement, he was creeping around at only 2 kts and barely making steerage. "It won't matter", I thought, as SSN Spartan crept up on him. At a range of 9nm, the torpedomen of the SSN Spartan were 'shining the cannonball' and just waiting for the order to fire.

 

All of a sudden, the sonar watch cried out, "Transient!..." and that was the last thing they ever said as a nuclear fireball was re-created right over the Spartan. Damn, and she didn't even get a chance to fire before going down!

 

That left me with SS Kobben against three Russian boats; two of them nuclear. I didn't like those odds at all, but what's a commander to do.

 

Kobben tried to creep up on the Victor, but suffered the same fate as her mission mate -- nuclear fireball -- and I lost the scenario resoundingly.

 

Thanks for another superbly challenging game. Thanks also to the HarpGamer for the use of their server and to Dave for the scenario.

 

Ralf's already preparing the next generation of Harpoon player; he taught his 12-yr old son how to play.

 

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.

 

Freek Schepers doesn’t play a lot of Multi-player games, but when he does, he always delivers a great challenge. Today, we met up on the HarpGamer ANW server and decided to play, “Plug the Gap”, made for the PlayersDB.

 

The scenario matches a NATO force of diesel submarines against a lightly defended convoy in transit. Although the Russian escorts are fairly numerous, their sonar is nearly useless. I played the Russians while Freek commanded the submarines.

 

As the escort commander, I tried to have my nearly deaf ships fairly far ahead of my transports. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, but the only indication I would have of a submarine in the area would likely be the “Screeeeee….” sound of torpedoes in the water. With 6 corvettes, I certainly hoped that I had sufficient escorts to survive the first salvo.

 

“Luck” would be on my side. As the little corvettes pinged away with their puny sonar systems, it was a radar operator that rang the alarm bell. “Periscope detected bearing 053 degrees!” Unfortunately, the nearest corvettes were well out of range for their SET-72 torpedoes. It didn’t matter as the sonar room immediately reported torpedoes in the water. The nearest corvette responded by launching her own salvo of SET-72 on Bearing-Only-Launch mode. She could only hope that they would be smart enough to find the submarine on their own as she turn around and ran from the oncoming torpedoes at full throttle.

 

As one corvette was running from the torpedoes, more torpedoes suddenly appeared in front of her! Somehow, a diesel submarine had crept in behind them. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place! She launched a brace of her own torpedoes while being chased by four weapons. With so many torpedoes in the water, the outcome was pretty much inevitable. I lost 4 escorts within minutes, but my own torpedoes managed to claim both subs. The action was so hectic, that one errant torpedo actually ran right between my two transports. There were a lot of breaths being held as it passed between them.

 

Now, with only one surviving escort and the two transports, I made a run for the open sea. Unfortunately, the enemy commander seemed to read my mind as he raced with his sub to intercept. Once more, we exchanged torpedoes. The Tp62 ran straight and true. At first, I did not order my transports to turn away as I did not think that the torpedoes would be able to detect them. This turned out to be my undoing as they went into search mode and found my freighters. Now, when I turned away, it was too late. One vessel was able to escape, but the other one was caught by the Tp62 after a long chase. I was able to evade further attacks, but the loss of one freighter prevented me from achieving my victory conditions and the game was a draw.

 

This was a really super exhibition of game-play by Freek. Even though I designed the scenario, Freek managed to surprise me with some very innovative tactics. Many thanks for the 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.