Fleet Formations in C:MANO?

[PaulWRoberts]

I don't think I've seen anything about fleet formations (or air formations) in this game. How do they work? Is there a special interface for establishing ship positions and roles? Has this aspect of the game advanced beyond earlier titles?

Thanks!

[thewood1]

There is a pretty rich and detailed formation capability, similar to Harpoon.

[mikmykWS]

Hi Paul

Yes but in this one you only sent stations for ships. For aircraft you use missions and reference points. Reference points can be anchored to units and move along with their anchor. They can be either on a fixed bearing or rotation bearing. Much more flexible than what Harpoon did.

Mike

[Dimitris]

As an example of never-before-possible.... you can place an "area" (group of ref points) ahead of your steaming surface group, make it fixed- or -rotating-axis (probably rotating in this case, as you want it always in the path of your group heading), create an ASW patrol using this area, and assign to it aircraft from both the group _and_ bases elsewhere. Can you say "mobile, self-adjusting P-3/P-8 screen ahead of my precious carrier" [:D]

[thewood1]

Didn't you also have that ability in Harpoon. I remember creating patrol areas in formations that stuck to the formation.

[Dimitris]

Yes, but you could only assign group assets to it, nothing from anywhere else (so S-3s at best). Also, you could not anchor reference points to a unit/group in order to create "mobile areas" like you do in Command.

[thewood1]

Got it...now

[LuckyJim1010]

Sunburn beat me to it. Used to drive me nuts when I left my Nimrod patrol behind the Carrier Group

[Der Zeitgeist]

Is there any way to form up single units to a formation under A.I. control, i.e. done by the A.I. side in a scenario? I'm thinking of building a scenario where different surface units sortie from different ports, each follow a plotted course and then meet up on the open sea to form a large group.

[Dimitris]

No, this is not possible at the moment.