New live series : Night orders
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2026 2:44 pm
Hi all,
I'd like to introduce Night Orders, a new series of short CMO scenarios with I hope a regular publishing. The first episode is now on the Steam Workshop.
The idea
Each episode is built from a real maritime event of the past few weeks: a boarding, a shadow-fleet tanker, a mined strait. It is played as a single watch, on the night it could have happened. You are not a theatre commander. You are the duty commander: a few ships and aircraft, orders from above, rules of engagement, and a situation that won't wait for you.
What makes it different
- Real orders. Every episode ships with a NATO-format Briefing Pack (WARNO, FRAGO, INTSUM, situation chart, found exhibits, glossary), a ROE card and a standing OPORD. It is meant to be read before you start the clock.
- Judgement over firepower. Most nights nobody should open fire. You establish the facts, report up the chain, ask for authority and stay within the law. Sometimes shooting is right, and often it is the worst thing you can do.
- Chain of command in Lua. Reports, requests to higher authority, VHF hails and calls to the admiral go through special actions and HTML dialogs. Codewords, deadlines and silences are all logged.
- Hidden truth. Key facts are drawn when the scenario starts and stay unknown until the end, so two games of the same episode rarely play out alike.
- A debrief, not a kill count. At the end of the watch, the admiral reviews your night: what you knew, what you did, and when you reported it. Your record of service carries over from one episode to the next.
- Optional second screen. Each episode has a small "operations room" web page with the episode's logs and material.
The player kit
- Briefing Pack : WARNO, FRAGO, INTSUM, situation chart, found exhibits, glossary
- ROE card and the standing operation order (OPORD 26-300)
- Operations room : Each episode has a web page for a second screen, with the episode's logs and material.
Episode 00 — False Colours
Southern Indian Ocean, November 2026. A laden tanker claims a flag she may have no right to. You have a frigate, a helicopter, a visit team, sixteen hours, and a cold front on its way.
- Steam Workshop: Night Orders 00 — False Colours
- Free player kit: totobimbo.com/NO/packages/Night-orders-00-kit.zip
- Requires CMO build 1900.24 or later, DB3000 v519
Episode 01 is in testing: mine countermeasures and convoy escort around the tip of the Musandam, with a minelayer that may or may not be out there tonight.
Feedback welcome
I'm especially interested in:
- whether the Briefing Pack is the right length, too much or not enough;
- whether the operations room bring more immersive situation.
- whether the special actions and dialogs feel natural in play;
- whether the debrief felt fair for the way you played.
totobimbo
