Matrix Games Forums

SilentHunter and I reversed positions for this latest re-match of, "Shadow the Boomer".

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I was now commanding a Los Angeles-class sub looking for a Russian SSBN. I approached the area cautiously and at moderately low speed. Lots of contacts appeared and I was able to classify many of them. A small KPUG was detected consisting of Grisha and other corvettes. Since they were heading away from me, I should be able to pass behind them.

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As I moved in, sonar suddenly reported a contact and it was CLOSE! It was less than 2nm away and moving further. I was sitting nicely in its baffles, but it could turn around at any instant. I decided to fire while the enemy was likely blind and ordered firing point procedures for tubes one and three. Soon, two Mk 48 torpedoes were on their way. The run time was short and I was rewarded by an explosion.

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Unfortunately, this action alerted the enemy of my presence and I sonar soon reported a 'sea of torpedoes'. There were at least 5 enemy fish out there. The enemy could not know my precise location, but he was conducting 'reconnaissance by fire'. Although I didn't not believe them to be much of a threat, the had the unfortunate effect of causing that corvette group to turn in my direction to evade the torpedoes. They were getting dangerously close so I had to set up firing point procedures for two of them. A pair of Mk 48s ended their flight.

The enemy torpedoes also revealed the presence of HMNS Kobben as well as HMS Trafalgar. They were close enough to force them to activate their sonar and evade. Both submarines were caught by the massive Type 65 torpedoes. My own sub survived a close encounter by releasing a decoy.

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As things settled down, I resumed my hunt for the Boomer. I kept my speed below 10kts and listened carefully. Sonar reported a contact that was subsequently lost, so I knew that I was probably in the general area. After more searching, I decided to gamble and go active. If the Russians could use unusual tactics, so could I. On the second sweep, a solid contact appeared. It was less than 2nm distant. I immediately ordered three Mk 48s fired on it and cut the wires before turning and running in the opposition direction. The five inch room was all prepared to drop noisemakers and decoys when a thunderous explosion was detected. The boomer was now dead. I set course for my egress point, but failed to arrive in the time set by my orders. Thus, the game ended in a draw.

A fantastic game, SilentHunter. Thanks for the match and thanks to Freek for the use of his 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.

RedMike grew weary of his ANW bug-testing so we met up for a quick match. We chose Freek Scheper's Interfet-Stabilize, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

East Timor is an old Portuguese colony which was annexed by Indonesia in 1975. In August 1999, the citizenry overwhelmingly voted for independence, and, almost immedately afterwards, Indonesian-backed militia bacame active. By September, 250.000 people had fled the killings.

In September, President Habibi of Indonesia finally agreed to the deployment of a multinational UN-peacekeeping force in East Timor so long as it was primarily Asian troops.

While US, New Zealand, Italian, Singapore, Malaysian, and Norwegian troops began the long preparations for deployment, Australia was ready and an amphibious convoy put to sea.

Indonesia objected strongly to this breach of the agreement.

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I assumed the role of the Indonesian liberators while RedMike controlled the meddlesome UN.

I could see that there were only two approaches to the landing site on Timor so I went about setting up ambuscades both to the East and West of the island. In the East, I had two gunboats blockade the strait. Although it was currently night, I hoped that they would still be able to detect any potential interlopers. To the West, I ordered the SS Chakra to maintain vigil. A Puma helo was sent aloft to assist her in identification of the many various radar contacts.

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Not long afterwards, her sonar was able to identify the distinct acoustic signatures of the landing ships, Balikpapan and Westralia. Chakra set a course to intercept while announcing the position to the various missile and gunboats. It was almost too perfect. The UN fleet was sailing right towards the sub and the escorts seemed to be screening the northern side of the group and not the path of intended movement. I cut the throttle right back and just sat there waiting for them like a hole in the water. When the distance was only 2nm, I announced her presence with a full salvo of torpedoes. Two were targeted on each transport.

The slow transports never had a chance as first Westralia, then Balikpapan, and then one more were struck by the torpedoes. RedMike was furious and managed to launch a torpedo back towards the Chakra, but it was too little, too late. The Chakra was sunk, but the 'official statement' was that she was never in the area in the first place. Complete plausible deniability was maintained.

Thanks for the game, Greg. And thanks to Freek for the use of his server.

There is a slight problem with the scenario. The written orders say that the Indonesians need to sink 2 vessels, but the ViCond is set for 3. It's a mis-match that needs to be clarified.

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.

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. AoA) met up to try out a new scenario. We chose Ralf Koelbach's Mixed Doubles, re-made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB. These scenarios were written by Ralf Koelbach for the HUD3 and Harpoon ANW and have been re-written for compatibility with the PlayersDB and Harpoon 3 by Herman Hum with the consent of the author.

This is the third scenario of the PaSon battleset. These scenarios are designed for beginners. They presume that the USSR did not collapse back in the early 90s. In fact, the Cold War went hot and NATO and the USSR got their shoot out. They met with their best equipment and fought it out. All scenarios of this battleset use the same map, starting with using smaller parts of it. The complexity and difficulty of the scenarios increases steadily.

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I was in charge of a Russian Surface action Group [SAG] ordered to break out into the Atlantic and AoA was the NATO commander standing in my way. We started the scenario and I found myself with a number of submarines just outside of torpedo range from his little flotilla. As he cruised along blissfully unaware of my presence, my Akula-class SSN opened fire with Type 65 torpedoes. I was aiming for the Ticonderoga with her superb AEgis system, but I'd pretty much settle for anything I got.

The 4x 50 knot torpedoes raced in against the 30 knot task force and caught them after a long chase. Unfortunately, they only managed to kill a single Spruance destroyer. [:(] The response was quick and devastating. My Akula sub was sunk along with another diesel sub in close proximity as was an Echo II missile-guided sub (but not before she launched her missiles [:)] ).

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Not long afterwards, AoA was to return the favour. One of his diesel-electric subs had also found my ships. I managed to get a quick sonar contact off of him from a range of 5nm and turned just before he opened fire with a brace of Mk24 Tigerfish torpedoes. Unfortunately (for him), his torpedoes could only make 35kts while my ships ran at 30kts. The speed difference was unable to close the distance. A pair of SS-N-14 Silex missiles landed torpedoes right atop his position and the brave little submarine could not evade both of them.

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As my other submarines closed on his task group, they stumbled over a second diesel boat. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, my Victor II commander dropped a pair of UGMT torpedoes from SS-N-15a Starfish rockets onto him. He didn't want the situation to escalate, so he did not elect to employ his nuclear-tipped weapons. However, he did a magnificent job of evading both. A Kilo-class SSK boat heard the commotion and also dropped a pair on him. Again, with no result. [:(] That little sub was good. The enemy quickly detected my two attacking boats and sank them with Mk46 ASW torpedoes. As a sop to my pride, the NATO SSK kept firing Seehecht torpedoes at a phantom contact that must have been on his sonar screen. Both of my subs were already dead, but he kept firing torpedo after torpedo at the ghostly image. [:)]

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The sacrifice of my two subs was not in vain as it drew attention away from another pair of submrines penetrating the NATO screens. Another Kilo SSK and a Victor III SSN were just barely able to make the interception. As soon as the SSN was in range of the CG Leahy, he let loose with a pair of Type 65s. I didn't want to risk the chance of detection and then having the targets run. Unfortunately, this ruined the firing solutions the SSK was developing. The torpedoes ran down their targets after a long chase. One Duke-class frigate and one Bremen-class frigate were sunk. Somehow, the big cruiser targets kept managing to escape my torpedo barrages! Once their positions were revealed by the attack, both submarines were tracked down and destroyed soon afterwards.

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With only one Tango-class submarine left in my order of battle, I was severely limited in my options. Luckily, he found himself between the enemy and my own ships; a perfect position. As the enemy moved to attack my SAG, he ran right over the sub. Just as she was attempting launch her weapons, a game bug caused her demise. Arrrrgh. [:(]

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Not long afterwards, the NATO SAG had closed with my own and I decided to open fire with everything at a range of 60nm. It would turn out to be a bit premature as it allowed the AEgis cruiser and the CG Leahy to summarily shoot down all my missiles.

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The NATO riposte was quick in coming. A wave of 32 Harpoons appeared on the radar screens and nearly swamped my SAM defenses. It was a good thing that a number of NATO ships had already been sunk. Otherwise, serious damage could have been inflicted. As it was, the fleet was able to bring down all the Harpoon without sustaining any damage.

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The NATO mission was to stop me, but my mission was not to kill the NATO platforms. My orders were to break out into the Atlantic to interdict the vital merchant convoys. As NATO moved in to engage with guns and SAMs, I ordered my flotilla to 'sprint for the finish line'. Destroyers Burnyy and Kashin were ordered to screen the rest of the SAG with torpedoes as best they could. While no one likes rear-guard actions, they are necessary and the sacrifice of a few for the overall mission is sometimes a military imperative.

NATO saw the manoeuvre and tried to cut them off, but I sporadically launched USET-80 torpedoes to keep the enemy at a distance. The screening destroyers paid a heavy price for their actions as SAM after SAM hit them, but they were fulfilling their duty. As NATO surged forward recklessly, they ran right into the USET-80 torpedoes. The remainder of the NATO force was soon slipping beneath the waves as the battered rear-guards slowly re-joined the SAG and moved into the Atlantic and victory.

Thanks for a phenomenal match, AoA. Over 10 hours of combat in one session. And thanks to Freek Schepers for the use of his 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.

Jerome Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack [AoA]), with the generous assistance of Tony Eischens, has graciously set up his spare computer to act as a server for the entire Harpoon ANW community. It features the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB and is now available 24/7.

Just type aoa.game-host.org into the DNS field for your ANW Configuration launcher and hit the "Resolve IP" to find the IP.

For complete instructions, visit HarPlonkHQ

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.

Jerome Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I decided to commemorate the new server with a match. We selected Ralf Koelbach's "Wolves vs. Wolves", re-written for compatibility with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Wolves vs. Wolves gives you a first feeling about what sub vs. sub means. No ships and no aircraft are involved. You can and must concentrate on sub warfare. You will learn how diesel/electric subs perform vs. nuclear attack subs.

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I moved my Sub Brigade towards the opening of the English Channel and out to the Atlantic, my eventual destination. I didn't want to take advantage of the game so I cruised along at 8kts when a flurry of torpedoes erupted in front of my leading Victor II SSN. They were Seehecht 3.

He immediately returned fire with a torpedo on Bearing-Only-Launch and turned to run at Flank speed. It was a close race with the torpedoes exhausting their fuel less than .2nm from his ship. He also alerted his companions. A pair of SS-N-15 Starfish soon landed in the vicinity and ended the life of the ambushing U-Boat.

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After dealing with the German bushwhacker, my subs returned to their original course for the Atlantic. Another subsurface contact was detected by sonar. It wasn't moving, so I thought it might be a rock. However, I decided to be prudent and go around it, nonetheless. All of a sudden, the rock moved at 15kts!

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As well, my guided-missile boat Charlie II detected inbound torpdoes. More Seehecht 3. He fired a SET-65 down the bearing of the torpedoes and turned to flee. However, this time the race would go to Germany as my boat was caught and destroyed. An SS-N-16 Stallion was dropped on the former 'rock' (that turned out to be a French Rubis SSN) to even the score.

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My survivors returned to their original mission. Another sub appeared on their flank when it fired torpedoes. Both returned fire with USET-80 torpedoes and turned evade. However, they did note that the torpedoes did not increase to full speed even though they were wire-guided. I only realized too late that I was being goaded to move in another direction when more Seehecht 3 appeared in front of my Victor in flight. The run time was so short that he didn't even have time to deploy any decoys before they struck.

With the destruction of my second sub, AoA was awarded victory. It was a great game. Many thanks to Jerome for the match and the use of his 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jerome Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I welcomed Tegramon into ANW MP with a pair of matches. We selected "Dawn Patrol" and "Matrix Siege", respectively. They were written for the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

I played first with AoA giving advice to Tegramon. He didn't really need any help.

I got a quick ESM contact and kept my eye on it while the rest of my missile boats closed on the contact. When two boats were in tentative range, the all let loose with Penguin SSMs.

Tegramon reacted quickly and turned on his radar. This saved one of his boats, but another was hit and sunk. His riposte was quick and sank the two firing boats. He even had some beginner's luck. One missile was fired and managed to lock up another previously undetected boat and sink it just as it was firing its missiles on Bearing-Only-Launch. [:(] As she died, she managed to exact her own revenge by sinking another Nanuchka.

My last two boats closed on the final datum point and launched. The third and final survivor was wiped out unceremoniously.

A very nice match. Welcome aboard, Tegramon, and thanks to AoA for the use of the 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Angle of Attack and I decided to play the scenario Convoy set in 1985; a new scen neither of us had played before.
We used AoA's server.

I player USSR, my mission was to prevent resupply of NATO forces to Narvik and sink some 5 merchantmen.

My command consisted of a surface action group, 2 SSK and a captured airbase in Northern norway with some 16 fighters and attack planes.
Intel indicated no or negligable air opposition and an escorted convoy coming from the South.

I decided to use my 2 ready Fencers armed with ARM missiles for an on the deck sneak attack on Norways two operational radars. I escorted the strike with Fulcrums and Floggers. Close to the objective they encountered Falcons, and both sides lost planes. One of my Fencers fired 4 ARM at the radar before being detected and hunted down by F16s on afterburner. I continued to detect radar emisssions from the ground radar after the missiles hit and directed the second Fencer for a followon attack. It was however found and killed before missile release. Some minutes later the radar went off and I realised I'd been snookered by a bug! (in ANW it takes about 7 minutes for ground targets to die - before that they are 'doomed' and radar emissions continue in spite of the ARM attack during that time).

My fighers withdrew but detected an all out F16/Harrier strike on my airbase. My remaining fighters tooks off and took their toll from the strikers before landing 'Winchester'. Amazingly, the remainder of AoA strike force killed 7 ground targets of my now defenseless airbase, including all hangars and revetments. The Soviet Air force was out of the fight.

Meanwhile my SSKs had picked up two distant groups on sonar, an escorted convoy and a SAG including CG Belknap. They set course for the convoy. I sneaked in a Hormone at vLow alt (making use of the fact that all AoA air units with strafing by base) and also killed an orbiting P3. The Hormone gave me a speed and course for the convoy, and indicated that the SAG was racing at 29 knots to cover it from my KUG. I decided to race the KUG at 30 knots to the Norwegian coast, to try to cover my subs under a SAM umbrella and to try to bring my few SSMs (there were only 28 in the KUG, most with range of 25nm or less) to bear on the convoy. I wanted to intercept the convoy before the Belknap could cover it unders its formidable long range air defence umbrella.

My subs had to move at 7-9 knots to make the intercept with the 18 knot convoy and they were too far apart for a Wolf-pack attack.

AoA had clearly detected my KUG and an initial missile barrage (I think harpoon but may have been helo-launched Penguins) killed a Krivak (with its 4 SAMs). Fearing that the SAG could make the intercept, I detached my two Nanushka PGMs and moved them forward at 36 knots towards the convoy. this proved a mistake as halo launched Sea Skua or Penguins killed them some hours later.

My KUG, now down to 3 ships and 8 SSMs, fired 4 SSMs at the type 23 picket FFG on the convoy (all were intercepted), just as it passed my Tango, which had penetrated the outer screen of the convoy. Then AoA detected the sub when I needed to speed up from 2 to 4 knots to get in range of the targets. Helo's dropped torps which killed her.
When my Kilo meanwhile was 40nm along the PIM of the convoy, with my KUG racing in 20 nm behind, AoA had slowed down and even reversed course of his convoy as the KUG closed. This gained me crucial time (and later cost him the ability to meet his vicconds). AoA's SAG came in range and fired a barrage of some 22 harpoons. All were intercepted by my short-range SAMs. I fired my last SSMs at the Type 23 (shot down) and knew I counl not bore in for the kill as my biggest gun was 100mm vs the 114 and 127mm NATO guns. The KUG thus changed course to le-ad the SAG away from my Kilo. AoA followed with a vengeance 9I'm not sure for what) and raced overtop my Kilo with his SAG. I decided not to fire on the SAG as the convoy was my target. AoA started firing guns and SAMs (in ASUW-mode) at my ships and one DD sank. I delayed the inevitable by firing my torpedoes from the surface ships which made the SAG back off but brought in a P3, F16s and Penguin-armed helo's to finish off my now unarmed KUG.

To my dismay, AoA did not resume his old course with the convoy, but chose a more norterly path. I place Kilo on a course to attempt to intercept at 9 knots, although I knew that I would not be able to intercept unless the convoy ziged towards me. I could not speed up as battery power was down after 13 hours underwater and with helo's and P3s everywhere, snorting was out of the question.

In the end the convoy never changed course again and I made my presence known by firing torps at the Belknap, which avaded them at 33 knots and killed my sub.

Thus ended the scenario in annihilation of my Soviet forces by excellent offensive play from AoA. My only achievement was the delay of the arrival of the convoy in Narvik by 3 hours more than the NATO vicconds allowed. Formally the game thus ended in a draw.

-----

After some 'words' with Herman he asked me to look at the scen and see if it could be made 'slightly' more balanced.
The OOB proved pretty equal on the air side (AoA just used his planes much better than I did), but where NATO has 60 SSM (plus embarked penguins and Sea Skua for the helo's), USSR has 28. Where NATO has 100+ LR SAM and 30+ SR SAM, USSR only had SR SAM (which eventually ran out), and where NATO had 14 warships including 6 with 114mm+ guns, USSR had 6 with much smaller calibre/range guns.
My 2 SSK were my only potential offensie weapons. Pity the Kilo did not get a chance to penetrate the convoy (I had loaded my nuclear torpedo - just in case- )

Thanks for AoA for excellent play and use of server, thanks to Herman for an exciting, though uneven scen!

Freek


My last shot at the CG with the convoy drawing out of range along the makred refpoints

Thanks very much for the AAR.  I'm sorry that it wasn't as balanced as you would have liked it to be.  I tested in solitaire from both sides and found it challenging, but only a real MP test will show concerns like that.  Thanks for providing one.  I've tried the scenario modified by you from both sides and it is still challenging and hope that it will play out better for MP.  I appreciate all the help and feedback provided.

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I were looking for a quick gaeme and selected Ralf Koelbach's new scenario, Wings of Steel, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

You are facing a Russian anti-surface task force [KUG] approaching the English Channel from the East. At all costs, you must prevent this Task Force from reaching the Atlantic and becoming a major threat to our vital sea lanes

I commanded the Russian surface group ordered to break out into the Atlantic while AoA controlled the U.K.'s Maritime Strike force. Without many aerial assets available, I simple set course for the most expeditious route to the Atlantic. AoA didn't know what I had, so I ordered one ship to radiate with both radar for early warning and ECM to blind my enemy. Soon enough, AoA sent in a Nimrod patrol plane to try and classify my forces. Before he managed to get too close, a Grizzly SAM blew him out of the air.

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Even though he didn't have a precise location for my ships, AoA seemed to have a fair idea of my disposition. Enemy planes had circled around my formation and were approaching from the south. I scrambled to try and re-arrange my AAW ships to meet the new threat.

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Fortunately, my ECM was effectively blinding the British Tornadoes. They fired their entire strike at an empty plot of ocean! Whew. That many missiles would prove daunting. Instead, only two ARM-laden planes headed my way. They managed to fire off their ALARM before being brought down by the SAMs.

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After landing and re-arming, AoA tried, again. This time, he executed a well co-ordinated two-pronged attack. He must have used to two axis to get a better triangulation of my position because all the missiles flew directly at my formation, this time. However, since I didn't waste any SAMs on the first wave, I had a full load and easily parried the attack before shooting down the strike planes. After arriving in the Atlantic, victory was granted.

Thanks to AoA for a fun little game and to Ralf Koelbach for the scenario.

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.

Today, we welcomed Mike (a.k.a. nim8or) into ANW MP with a pair of matches. We selected "Dawn Patrol", written for the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Our first encounter was with me playing the Norwegians. It was uneventful as Mike stumbled across my a Hugin missile boat and was quickly shredded by Penguin and gunfire. We immediately switched sides and tried again. Boy, did he learn quickly! [X(]

We stumbled around in the dark trying to figure out each other's position. The first indication of attack was when missiles were detected inbound. I immediately replied with a Bearing-Only-Launch back down the line of bearing. Luckily for me, the Penguin SSMs aimed for me ended up locking onto a Norwegian fishing boat that I had been hiding behind. My own Sirens searched and found a Hugin missile boat and blew her out of the water. Unfortunately, it took quite a few of my weapons to kill her. Even though I didn't lose any ships, I was going to have a hard time dealing with the rest of his fleet (if I ever found it).

Once again, I stumbed over his fleet and detected Penguins inbound. Once again, the missiles preferred the burning fishing boat over my own Nanuchka and thus afforded me time to fire the remainder of my Sirens back down his throat. One Penguin managed to lock onto me and sank the Buran. However, the rest of my Sirens tracked faithfully and sank his Goteborg corvette and the remainder of his missile boats. It was far too close for comfort. Just a little better missile tracking on the part of the Norwegians and I would be the one doing the swimming... [:)]

Thanks for a great game, Mike. And thanks to AoA for the use of the 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Thanks for the welcome to ANW MP, hermanhum - I had a great time; and thanks to AoA for use of the server, much appreciated!

I've only had ANW for a few days now and have a LOT to learn but MP is certainly the way to learn the ropes - I picked up more little tips and ideas in 20 minutes of gameplay (getting slaughtered) with Herman than I would have in weeks of reading the manual and playing against the computer. (Hiding behind poor little fishing boats is one perfect example, now what kind of despicable creature would use a tactic like that?) [;)]

I look forward to many more opportunities to examine the floor of the ocean in the near future.

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I were looking for a quick game so we selected Plug the Dike, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

The success of the Reformed Russian Republic in Norway increased the importance of supply interdiction in the Baltic Sea. The logistical requirements of the R3 army were enormous. Tons of supplies attempted to make transit of the shallow waters between Denmark and Norway.

The threat to these small convoys was limited in scope. Because of the success of R3 airfield strikes, the NATO aircraft that remained had adopted a defensive posture, awaiting reinforcements. The few offensive missions that NATO launched were primarily offensive counter-air and aimed at the R3 air bases. Convoys of five to seven ships were just too far down the list to merit much air attention.

The small missile boats of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany performed in the opening days of the war exactly as had been anticipated. They ducked out of hiding, acquired targets for their Harpoons and Otomats, launched their attacks, and died.

R3 commanders used this opportunity to try and move small quantities of sensitive materials back to research installations in the East. Only submarines remain to oppose them.

Quiet and small, if employed correctly, they are very hard to detect. The departure of the front-line R3 ASW units to the front as escorts for the R3 Carrier Battle Groups increased their effectiveness. Plugging the choke points out of the Denmark Sea provides the best opportunity to stop the transit of materials in this area.

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I was in command of the submarines ordered to stop the convoy. I was able to identify the Pauk and Stenka corvettes fairly quickly, but I could not decide which of the merchant vessels were Russian and which were innocent neutrals. Finally, I decided that the ones that the escorts appeared to be screening must be the targets I had been sent after.

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The sonar on the corvettes was quite limited so I was able to close the distance. I did not want to over-play my hand, either. The screening effort was well done, but had just a bit too large a gap in between ships. However, they were far enough in front of the merchants that meant I would be unable to run in behind them without revealing myself. At one point, I had one of my subs go to a dead stop to sit on the bottom next to a shipwreck so that the convoy could pass by me.

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After the majority of the screen had missed me, the targets came into range. SS Tumerlen fired 3 torpedoes at each of the targets and one at one of the Stenka escorts. SS Ula also fired on another Stenka. The 55kt Tp 612 torps easily caught and sank both merchantmen. Unfortunately, AoA was quick to react and the torpedoes he fired back in my direction caught both the Ula and the Tumerlen desperately trying to evade. Thus, the game ended in a draw.

Thanks to AoA for a fun match and for the use of his 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Today, we introduced Tom (a.k.a. Tuhhodge) into ANW MP with a pair of matches. We selected "Dawn Patrol", written for the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Our first encounter was with me playing the Russians. It was over quickly with a barrage of SS-N-9 Sirens. However, Tom learned very quickly! [X(]

We re-played it from the same sides. This time, Tom got the drop on me. He detected and sank 33% of my force before I even had a chance to fire. My two surviving boats immediately opened fire on his missile boat flotilla and sank four of them, but that wasn't good enough. My orders were to sink at least 5.

Out of missiles and out of luck, I turned to flee and preserve my force. Unfortunately, Tom had back-tracked the missiles to my boats' locations and sent Penguins down my throat. That was his mistake. I was hiding behind one of his country's fisherman. Half of his salvo locked onto his hapless fisherman while the others sank my two surviving boats. Although I was totally routed, I considered the game a draw since Tom sank a neutral party. [:D]

Thanks for a great pair of games, Tom. And thanks to AoA for the use of the 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I met up for a game and chose Katyusha Hunt, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Syrian-backed Hezbollah is raining Katyusha rockets on Northern Israel. Israeli intelligence suggests that Hezbollah has over 10,000 such rockets flown in daily through Damascus from Tehran. Iran has an advanced missile program building anti-ship missiles and ground-attack missiles of various ranges and with ever-increasing accuracy. Katyusha is a terror weapon, but if Iran decides to supply Hezbollah with modern missiles and advanced guidance packages, then Israel is really in trouble. The Israeli government has decided that this threat warrants a pre-emptive strike on the missile manufacturing plants in Iran.

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I did not know from which direction the Israelis would make their attack. With air-to-air refueling capabilities, they could approach from most any direction on the map. I ordered my Adnan up as soon as possible to give me a modicum of airborne early warning capability. I also had a pair of F-14A Tomcats. They both carried a couple of antiquated AIM-54A Phoenix missiles. I did not expect much from the missiles so I used them as mini-AWACs for their powerful AWG-9 radar, instead.

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My warning assets were centred on Hamadan. If the Israelis decided to take a circuitous attack routing, hopefully, the additional time required would provide me sufficient warning and response time. Our Syrian friends reported detecting Eagle and Nachson radar over Jordan so it looked as though they were going to come straight through the middle.

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While the Phantoms and Tomcats awaited the intruders, my air transports were trying to sneak into Syria carrying additional surface-to-surface rockets to re-supply Hezbollah. The first flight managed to evade detection by flying through the Turkish border and around Iraq. The second flight was decimated by 50% when intercepted by American Eagles operating out of Iraq and the third flight was annihilated by Turkish Falcons. I had to get 8 transports into Syria to secure the victory, but only six had arrived, thus far. It was going to prove a mighty challenge to ensure the arrival of the final two transports amid an inbound air strike.

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The Israelis did try to run through the middle of the border. Two pairs of Eagles were detected at the last moment flying on the deck towards two of my border radar stations. I had no time to intercept before they released ordnance. One was badly hit and set afire, which finally consumed it. The second station was struck repeatedly by Mavericks which destroyed it, but not before a defending 100mm AAA battery shot down one of the attackers. The Eagle pilots were slow to release their ordnance and violated a fundamental precept of strike warfare university: never make repeated runs on an alerted enemy. This time, it cost them.

The survivor then turned his attentions towards my orbiting Adnan! A flight of 4x F-5 Tigers had been ordered to intercept and now they would get their chance. They accelerated to afterburner and caught the Eagle just as he was opening fire on the Adnan with Sparrows. Although occupied, the pilot managed to release a heat-seeking missile that killed a Tiger before they got within AA-8 Aphid range. With both hunter and hunted at afterburner speeds, the missiles soon became an afterthought as both sides were inside the minimum firing range after exchanging a single salvo. One more Tiger ate a missile while a second was shredded by cannon fire. The last surviving Tiger was just adjusting his cannon fire towards the Eagle when the Aphids did the same. It didn't matter if the cannon or the missiles destroyed the Eagle. The relieved Tiger pilot was just glad that the enemy was down, even at such a high price. The four Sparrows fired at the Adnan flew aimlessly past once their targeting radar was shot down.

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The second pair of Eagles was met by three Phantoms. One was fortuitously shot down by a Phoenix! How ironic it was for an American missile to be shooting down a Jewish aircraft 30 years later. Two Phantoms were quickly destroyed by Sparrows, but the survivor launched a brace that claimed the second Eagle. With both Eagles down, the radar crew noticed that there did not appear to be any defending fighters between the Phantom and the Israeli Nachson electronic warfare plane so they gambled and sent the Phantom to intercept on afterburner. They knew that his chances of survival were slim in the American-dominated Iraqi environment, but the opportunity to kill Israelis in groups of 12+ was too good to pass up. The Israelis wanted to poke out my eyes and now they were going to get the return treatment. The Phantom caught up with the Nachson and let loose with a full salvo of Sidewinders before an AMRAAM blew his left wing off. The Sidewinders did their job and the Nachson went down in flames.

We had to save the game at this point. Looking forward to the conclusion. Thanks, AoA, for an enjoyable session and for the use of the 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

You guys practicing for the real thing? Great to see one of my favourite creations being MP-d, again!  Freek

After 12 months of dodging and evading, Scott Tortorice finally accepted a challenge for honourable battle in Harpoon. This was his baptism of MP fire. After picking through the scenario selection, he selected Watch that First Step, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

LOCATION : NW PACIFIC, COASTAL SEATTLE
DATE/TIME: 12 FEBRUARY 1985, 06:00:00 ZULU

With the first war shots, DEFCON ONE status was automatic. Every submarine in the inventory that was capable of getting underway left port for the greater safety of the open sea. Only those boats with mechanical deficiencies remained docked, to leave when their problems were fixed. As a part of standing plans, all the assets of the United States Coast Guard were folded into the Navy's TOE, to be employed in such a way as to free regular Navy assets for higher priority missions. Their mission: sanitize the area around the sub bases, allowing the remaining subs to get to open water.

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I commanded the Russians ordered to destroy an Ohio-class SSBN while Scott controlled the USN. Tony Eischens observed the undersea battle. As the SSBNs were attempting to debouch into the Pacific Ocean from the Juan de Fuca Strait, I tried to close in and plug the bottle. All my units crept in to simulate what I hoped was a tightening ring.

Three surface units were detected almost immediately. Although they were not my primary targets, their towed sonar arrays and ASW helos would prove to be dangerous factors that I could not ignore. Not long afterwards, one WHEC cutter came across the path of a Victor III-class SSN. Two Type 65 torpedoes were fired. The torpedoes were detected and the cutter ran to evade, but the 50kt chase speed allowed hiim to be caught... and both missed! Immediately, two more were fired on bearing-only-launch [BOL]. Their speed was only 30kts while the cutter could make 29kts. A hit would take some extraordinarly luck (something which I had not seen, yet).

The cutter was not taking the attack lying down, either. Either an Orion MPA or an ASW helo soon appeared and torpedoes were in the water. The counter-measures room deploy decoys. My luck was starting to change as the enemy weapons all missed. I was rewarded by a thunderous explosion. Evidently, one of my torpedoes had also caught the cutter. The Victor managed to creep out of the area.

An Alfa-class SSN was next to find a cutter running across its bow. Three wake-homing torpedoes were fired. Only one was really needed to break her bow. Unfortunately, she, too, must have either deployed a helo or called in an orbiting Orion to prosecute the Alfa. No weapon was detected. The Alfa just disappeared to make the score even.

My remaining submarines and the sole surviving enemy surface combatant closed on the bay. A Sierra II-class SSN found itself following right behind the RCN destroyer, Iroquois. The Iroquis was only making 5 kts, but I was directly in her baffles. After closing to a range of 6nm, three Type 65s were fired. The destroyer detected them immediately and salvoed her own torpedoes. Both sides evaded, but luck was with my submarine and not the Americans, again. Three decoys were deployed successfully, but the destroyer was sunk by the 1000kg warhead.

Unfortunately, my luck would turn, once again. As the searching submarines combed the approaches to the Strait, not a hint of the enemy SSBNs was to be found. The Ohios really did sound like "a hole in the ocean." Regrettably, I failed to make contact with the SSBNs and they escaped. Neither side successfully completed their Victory Conditions and the game ended in a draw. TonyE observed that, although my subs had come close to the SSBN Ohio, they failed to detect the super-quiet vessels.

A really fun match. Thanks to Scott for the match and to AoA for the use of his 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.

Jeronimo Chiecchio (a.k.a. Angle of Attack) and I wanted the year to end properly with one final Harpoon match so we selected Sea King to Chile Incident, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

One of the most mysterious events of the war happened on May 16th, when a Sea King was found burning and abandoned near Punta Arenas airbase. The British claimed a 500nm navigation error but, after the war, it became clear that SAS Special Forces had been planning a raid to take out the Exocet-armed Super Etendard aircraft which had sunk Sheffield and Atlantic Conveyor. Speculation on the nature of this operation still ranges from SAS-Hercules aircraft landing on Rio Grande airbase in order to destroy the planes on the ground to the setting up of covert radar facilities to provide early warning for the fleet.

Fact is that Chile felt it was the next target of the Argentine junta and, therefore, open to cooperation with the British.

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My objectives were to sneak some Sea King helicopters into Chile and destroy the deadly Exocet-carrying Super Etendards on the ground. I sent a pair of fighters to scout the route to Punta Arenas. As they approached the Strait of Magellan, they stumbed over a pair of Argentine destroyers! DDs Hipolito Bouchard and Comodoro Py seemed to appear out of nowhere. Luckily, this was still nighttime and, hopefully, they had not counter-detected my Harriers.

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As I prepared to conduct reconnaissance on the Argentine bases to locate the Super Etendards, the Argentines engaged and shot down a PR.9 Canberra operated by the Chileans. I understand how they could have made such an error since the UK also operated that model of aircraft. The Chilean response was quick in coming. A flight of 8 Dragonfly ground attack aircraft rose from Punta Arenas, destined for Rio Gallegos. I ordered my own Canberra reconnaissance plane to follow behind them at a safe distance. With any luck, the Chileans would occupy the base defenders while my plane snapped some quick photographs.

My plan worked out, mostly. The Chileans hammered the base and lost a number of strikers, but bought me enough time to confirm that the Super Etendards were not there. Unfortunately, interceptors rising to defend Rio Gallegos caught my Canberra while she attempted to make her egress and shot her out of the sky with an AAM.

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After ascertaining that the Etendards must be at Rio Grande, my forces launched and gathered to overwhelm the base. Meanwhile, the Chilean/Argentine conflict continued to grow. DD Condell opened fire on the Hipolito Bouchard and Comodoro Py in the Strait of Magellan, but only got one hit with her Exocet missiles. Commercial traffic was busy in the channel and one errant Chilean Exocet struck a passing chemical carrier while a second errant Argentine Exocet struck a neutral fisherman. Condell managed to inflict grievous damage on the Bouchard with her 5" gun until it was knocked out of commission by an Exocet. Although she was soon sunk by the combined Exocet attack, missile boat Casma avenged her by sinking both destroyers.

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While the Argentines were pre-occupied in the Strait, my Harrier strike force approached from the sea, still masked by the night. A pair of fighters screened the strike elements. Two carried ALARMs while four more carried cluster munitions. The ALARMs quickly tracked and wiped out a Rapier battery.

The defending Combat Air Patrols knew they were under attack as soon as their ground radar went off the air and charged in to intercept. The escorts fired first and brought down the Mirage, but also lost a fighter in the process. A second Mirage lit his afterburners to intercept. The surviving Harrier shot him down, but was he, himself, shot down in the process of protecting the strikers. His mission was accomplished, but at high cost.

The strike elements accelerated to full military power and dropped their cluster munitions from maximum altitude to ensure widest dispersal. Four dropped close enough to the revetment containing the Super Etendards and immolated them as they were being readied for a strike mission.

Once his primary strike assets were destroyed, AoA conceded defeat.

Thanks to AoA for an enjoyable session to end out the year and for the use of his 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Today, we welcomed a new player to the ANW MP community. Tim Wynn (a.k.a. Hussar) has been playing awhile, but wanted to find out what MP was all about. We selected Channel Engagement, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Channel Engagement gives you a first feeling about what ship vs. ship combat in the Cold War environment meant. No subs and no fixed-wing aircraft are present. Thus, you can and must concentrate on ASuW warfare. You will learn how modern naval warfare vessels perform. Most of all, you will see that guns have lost their status as the primary weapons they were in World War II.

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Tim commanded the Soviets attempting to break out into the Atlantic while I controlled the NATO forces ordered to stop them.

I sent my ASW helos out as radar pickets and turned on my ECM early to try and deny my opponent an easy targeting solution since his SSMs had much longer range than mine. We were sailing on a collision course.

I decided to try and pick off a few of his outlying ships in order to whittle down his inventory of SSMs. One Tarantul (along with her 4 Sunburn missiles) was quickly sunk by four Harpoon missiles. I was hoping to prune a few more enemy SSMs by sinking a Nanuchka missile boat when radar detected missiles inbound.

Not wanting to lose any SSMs aboard, I pickled off my own Harpoon batteries not expecting to get through the Soviet SAM defences. I was not to be disappointed. The Soviet missile salvo very nearly penetrated my own SAM bubble, but all were shot down. The last few were destroyed within 5 nm of their targets. It was a good thing that I sank the Tarantul earlier else her additional SSMs could very well have saturated my defences.

Once out of SSMs, we closed the range and started slugging it out with SAMs used in ASuW mode. Both sides did a good job of punch and counter-punch but, in the end, I had more SAMs and managed to sink Slava. With most of his ammunition expended, Tim conceded.

Thanks to Tim for a fun session, Ralf for a nice scenario, and AoA for the use of his server. A nice way to start off the new year.

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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ

Hello,

ORIGINAL: hermanhum

Today, we welcomed a new player to the ANW MP community. Tim Wynn (a.k.a. Hussar) has been playing awhile, but wanted to find out what MP was all about. We selected Channel Engagement, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Channel Engagement gives you a first feeling about what ship vs. ship combat in the Cold War environment meant. No subs and no fixed-wing aircraft are present. Thus, you can and must concentrate on ASuW warfare. You will learn how modern naval warfare vessels perform. Most of all, you will see that guns have lost their status as the primary weapons they were in World War II.

http://forums.gamesquad.com/attachment. ... 1230945854

Thanks to Tim for a fun session, Ralf for a nice scenario, and AoA for the use of his server. A nice way to start off the new year.

[...]

Thanks for playing it. I hope this scen as well as the other ones of the PaSon Battleset help new players to get a "feeling" for the sim.

Ralf

Today, the ANW MP community welcomed a new player, Allan Feldman (a.k.a. Ace Schneider a.k.a Allans). Allans has been playing for years, but wanted to find out what MP was all about. We selected Dawn Patrol, made with the community's favourite database, the PlayersDB.

Two missile boat squadrons encounter each other in a fast-paced meeting engagement off the rocky Norwegian coastline.

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Allan commanded the Russians while I played the NATO side. Both sides remained electronically passive. The first contact was made when Allan's Nanuchka corvettes blundered a skirmish line composed of my Hugin-class missile boats.

Both sides immediately opened fire with both guns and missiles. All three of Allan's vessels were sunk, but not before they had also claimed 5 NATO units. A very close run in this scenario.

Thanks for the game, Allan, and thanks to AoA for the use of his 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. For complete instructions on using AoA's Server, visit HarPlonkHQ