Yes. I am not using the forward bases as much as I should be. I've now pushed the IADS back to about the Dnieper with the exception of a few lurking SA-10s out of radars and short on missiles - but still a PITA. So my Migs really need to move.
Am consolidating my CAPS after defeating 2 counter attacks. Leaving the A2A duty to the older Su-27s who cannot use AS-14s and taking it down from 7 CAP zones to 4. The other problem with the older Mig-29s is that they do not have PGMs or standoff so they are relegated to sweep up - the Su-25s are better at that too.
Bloody SA-11s with their optical tracking are almost as big of a problem as the SA-10s - Oh and I think I've just found something even nastier. Need a closer look though...
Not 2, not 3, not even 4 but 5x SA-10/12! And just as your maneuvering like mad to get out of the ambush you blunder into, you drive over more of those bloody SA-11s!
21 hrs left to go but nothing left to fight. Score 43700 for the good guys.
Losses
SIDE: Russia
===========================================================
LOSSES:
-------------------------------
9x Ka-52 Hokum B [Alligator]
2x Mi-8MT Hip H
7x MiG-29S Fulcrum C
4x MiG-29SMT Fulcrum C
7x Su-24M Fencer D
5x Su-25SM Frogfoot A
1x Su-27SM/SM3 Flanker B
1x Su-27SM/SM3 Flanker B
2x Su-30M2 Flanker G
2x Su-30SM Flanker G
1x Su-34 Fullback
OK that was some heavy duty SEAD work. Overall I liked it, good depth, challenging mix of units to deal with and interesting geography. A couple further suggestions.
-Reconnaissance assets. One of the mainstays of CW Soviet ORBATS were reconnaissance units, and that is missing here. I found I was doing a lot of 'recce by death' - i.e. driving forward until you get shot at then back off and stonk them. That's how I took most of the losses. Recon UAV/UCAV, satellites, Spetsnaz etc would help here
-Too much navy, not enough targets. Once the shooting started it took about 7 or 8 minutes of gameplay to eliminate Ukrainian naval units and dominate the sea. It was mentioned above that Land Attack CMs would be helpful and I agree but that will add about 10 minutes of interest to the naval side of things. To increase the tension at sea, a mix of NATO and Civilian ships would help, an SSM Bty or two to shoot back, fewer ships etc.
-I didn't go nuke, and I doubt the nuke CMs would have any more luck getting through the wall of SAMs than the conventional ones did - at least until things were whittled down a bit. Once that happens you don't need to go nuke. If you want to play that option than perhaps you need to force the players hand with some sort of casualty count, the more losses you take the more likely Vlad-the-Emperor will push the button and direct the player to use them.
-After a while, things became fairly routine. Everything that couldn't shoot AS-17/18 was parked and left for cleanup, the SA-14 was OK for that but way too short ranged to put in the first or even second strike. The older Mig-29s were parked a lot, only used them to plaster bypassed bases. In the end I had three main strike missions with assigned groups and just added depth targets as the lead ones got killed. Almost like a rolling barrage of Kazoos. Once the bombers started coming on line for their second strike it was all over as long as you had Kryptons ready to help them into the targets. Perhaps some different victory objectives - like hitting an underground C-3 bunker - the Russians only have 1 weapon for that (KaB-1500) so it will take planning.
-There were a lot of helicopters but not a lot that they could do. I think you may want to add more targets that are helicopter specific and reduce the numbers substantially. The Su-25s as well, better range and faster but the same weapons. They really aren't meant for this kind of fight.
-There was too much time. If you reduce it by 24 hrs there is still time to wipe out most of the targets.
Thanks for building this one. It is an interesting David vs Goliath, with the player being Goliath.
Man there is a lot of feedback to unpack on this one. I need to create a spreadsheet to collate it all and consider. I might PM some of you for some clarification on things you brought up.
Probably be a week or two before an update.
THANKS!!!
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1985
I was Navy, but Assigned TAD to the 24th MAU Hq in Beirut. By far the finest period of my service!
So I'm not ignoring everyone's great suggestions but I had a health situation and am having difficultly concentrating on a scenario this large and all the detailed changes that were suggested. Bottom line is I might have had a mini-stoke and I think I'm going to try to get back into design with some small, very simple scenarios. Doc says to do them, it's like doing a puzzle to get the brain back in gear, but this one is a bit much for that right now.
So that leaves a a few questions...
1. Should I submit it as is and then come back to it later for a Version 2?
2. Does someone have a desire to take it over and share credit?
3. just let it lie until later?
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1985
I was Navy, but Assigned TAD to the 24th MAU Hq in Beirut. By far the finest period of my service!
Take care of yourself first and foremost. If the doctor says it's good for you brain to work on scenarios, then take your time before posting. Work on as many as you like, then surprise us later with a cluster.
I seem to recall there were some major minefield issues. So I'll hold it and come back to it. If someone feels like they want to tweak it, just drop me a PM or post. Maybe in a little bit, I'll get back to this one.
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1985
I was Navy, but Assigned TAD to the 24th MAU Hq in Beirut. By far the finest period of my service!
