Formating on Non-Blue Units

[Deathbunny]

You can order ships to stay a certain distance and bearing away from another Blue unit using the Formation Editor, but is there any way of doing this for a non-Blue unit e.g. when shadowing a currently neutral or unfriendly vessel?

The use case I have in mind is as follows:

In Red Tide Scenario 2 ("Kobyashi Maru") you start with a Soviet KASHIN-class DDG acting as "tattle tale" for the USN EISENHOWER CVBG. I would like to be able to order the KASHIN to (ideally) stay 2nm ahead of the CVN which, when the hammer drops and the balloon goes up, it can shoot the carrier in the face at point blank range with its STYX ASCMs (minimum range 2nm) before dying a glorious death in a hail of gun and missile fire. Currently I have to maintain this distance and bearing manually, adjusting for course and speed changes as the CVBG makes them, which detracts from managing all the other things going on in this scenario! It seems logical to me that you should be able to instruct a ship to stay x distance from unit y at bearing z and just leave it to get on with things, but I can't see how to do it!

[Randomizer]

I have done this with earlier versions, using a single reference point and an ASuW patrol mission for the shadower. Set the RP relative to the CV, fixed or rotating as you like, and as long as the CV is in sight/contact, the RP should move with the CV and the shadow will follow the mission's RP. Two RPs also works or a small box but a single should be sufficient and it helps keep the target within the Styx battery's after firing arcs.

If contact with the target (CV in this case) is lost, the RP stops following so you need to monitor the shadow but micromanaging it should not be required.

This used to work in CMANO and CMO but I have not tested it with Tiny and subsequent beta update.

-C

[thewood1]

"If contact with the target (CV in this case) is lost, the RP stops following so you need to monitor the shadow but micromanaging it should not be required."

Are you sure? I use this trick all the time, but could have sworn I had seen the RP move even after the ship drops as a contact. I'll have to check it out.

[Deathbunny]

I have done this with earlier versions, using a single reference point and an ASuW patrol mission for the shadower. Set the RP relative to the CV, fixed or rotating as you like, and as long as the CV is in sight/contact, the RP should move with the CV and the shadow will follow the mission's RP. Two RPs also works or a small box but a single should be sufficient and it helps keep the target within the Styx battery's after firing arcs.

If contact with the target (CV in this case) is lost, the RP stops following so you need to monitor the shadow but micromanaging it should not be required.

This used to work in CMANO and CMO but I have not tested it with Tiny and subsequent beta update.

-C

That's a brilliant idea! Thanks!