DCS Black Shark: My Lame Attempt to Toss Bomb

In a previous blog entry, I compiled some information about different weapons-delivery methods of attack helicopters. One of the methods that struck me was the so-called "attack from the climb", AKA "toss bombing".

Here is a graphic showing this attack method:


I've done some toss bombing in Falcon 4 Allied Force but the weapons delivery computer of the F-16 does all the work for you. I remember doing some toss bombing with WWII-era airplanes (IL-2 series) and I only recall hitting a target once.

My question for this entry is: how does toss bombing feels like using an attack helicopter?

Using DCS Black Shark's mission editor, I armed my helicopter with 2xFAB500 (free-fall bombs) and placed a group of fuel tracks as targets.

Huge bombs, tiny wings. Click the image for an expanded view.

After some troubles with finding/locking the targets and aligning my flight path with the targets, I went down to 120+ meters of altitude and pushed the cyclic forward until my speed was ~220 km/h.

The "easy" part the attack run. Note my poor piloting skills as judged by the convoluted flight path in the ABRIS (black lines in the map). Click on the image, otherwise you won't see anything.

At ~2.4 km from the objective, I start a 20 degrees climb and the first thing I notice is that my speed drops dramatically (note to self: this is no airplane, dude). Occupied with watching my airspeed and other parameters, I find myself too close to the targets.

Climbing and too close to the enemy. Click on the image for an expanded view.

I drop the two bombs and to my dismay they just fall down like heavy rocks. I was expecting to see the bombs to continue in an arc, but alas they just went down, with some forward inertia the flight path of the helicopter gave them.

Bloody Fugasnaya Aviatsionnaya Bomba! Click on the image for an expanded view.

I couldn't hit @#$#$ with my bombs, but sure they look pretty when they go off. Click on the image for an expanded view.

Precision bombing is just not my thing. Click on the image for an expanded view.

In closing, I think that these bombs are too heavy for toss-bombing from an attack helicopter. If this attack method is possible at all, I should try to increase my forward speed before the climb.

Cheers,

DCS Black Shark 1.0.1 Patch Includes New Skins

Chizh, an Eagle Dynamics team member, has announced here that the 1.0.1 patch will include 29 new fictional skins for the Black Shark attack helicopter. The new paint schemes are from Russia, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Georgia, United Kingdom, USA, France, Ukraine and Israel.


Very nice ... but where's the patch? Just kidding, patch is still scheduled for August.

Cheers,

ArmA 2: First Impressions

After struggling for two days to get my ArmA 2 DVD to work, I finally could get some time to play.

Having neither enough patience nor time to play, I dived straight into the editor and scrambled a little something to both get my bearings and see what's new in ArmA 2.

Some assorted impressions follow.

• The editor continues to be one of the best out there. Easy to use, incredibly flexible and powerful. I found at least one exciting new addition to the editor: linked waypoints (you can make one unit at a waypoint to wait until other arrives to a linked waypoint). This will make editing coordinated computer-controlled units a piece of cake.

• In my aging computer (far from a gamer's rig), ArmA 2 runs better than ArmA. As noted elsewhere, ArmA 2 is using my two processor cores. Off course I had to make compromises like disabling post-process effects, putting everything to "normal" settings and lowering the resolution down to a 1024x768 pixels resolution. The majority of graphics-related options can be changed on the fly while playing a mission, which made finding my sweet spot relatively easy. Keep in mind, though, that graphics options are very scalable and tweaking settings to a comfortable level may take some time.
  

• Visually, ArmA 2 is stunning. I'm not a graphics kind of guy but I have to confess I was floored. I really liked how my virtual Marine's vision blurred a bit while sprinting or while being suppressed by enemy fire. As noted by a fellow gamer who commented in my previous blog entry, some visual effects look more like the computer monitor is showing the virtual battlefield as seen through a camcorder rather than from human eyes.

• OPFOR AI appears to be better than before. I edited a few small missions featuring a squad of insurgents against a fire team of Marines. The insurgents always tried to flank my Marines, this time apparently with wider maneuvers than the ones seen in ArmA 1. I still have to patch my game to version 1.02, which allegedly brings some changes into the computer controlled attack routines. I liked how the surviving OPFORs pull back when almost all their teammates have been neutralized. At least in my hastily-edited scenarios, the OPFOR refuses to take full-advantage of the cover offered by buildings in built-up areas. But compared to ArmA, at least they don't stand in the middle of the street. Don't take this as set in stone, as I have to explore more the options for waypoints available in the scenario editor.

• As for the friendly AI, I was able to command my Marines fire team quite nicely. I've seen a lot complaining back in the ArmA days about the friendly AI being rather useless and eager to get killed. IMHO, the two most important things you have to recognize in commanding computer-controlled soldiers in ArmA/2 are: (1) computer controlled soldiers are not able to read neither your mind nor the OPORD and (2) tactically speaking, you are in charge (i.e. don't expect your computer-controlled subordinates to solve YOUR tactical problems). So, keep yourself busy with those command keystrokes and tell your subordinates what's going on ("All, danger"), what position relative to you to occupy ("Formation, column"), and where to look at ("All, watch at 2 o'clock"). And speaking of the "watch at" command, in ArmA I remember pointing with my mouse for the direction to watch at. Is that possible in ArmA 2? I liked the convenience of pointing with my mouse better than using cardinal points (my spatial orientation is less tha stelar).
  

• Saving Marine #4: half-way cleaning up a town with my Marine fire team and, still not very handy with the command controls, I order Marine #4 to "Close doors at that house" some 30 meters in front of us. I was trying hard to find the damn keystrokes to stop the poor fellow going right into an enemy-held block when he comes back to me with "Men, dangerously close, front!". I pull out the virtual map and I could see how close he was to the danger with only a few meters plus a wooden fence between him and the certainty of being shot. I found the key commands to order him to hide and he went inside a house (closing the door behind him I would guess?). I then order Marines #2 and #3 to come through the flank of the enemies while I shot that fence with almost all the ammo I had on me. The flanking maneuver payed off handsomely, Marine #2 (machinegunner) mowed down the enemies with a thick curtain of fire. Marine #4 was saved. What's a "close doors" command useful for anyway?

Cheers,

ArmA 2 DVD Problems

Oh man, my DVD drive doesn't recognize my ArmA 2 DVD.

Funny thing, my wife's ancient laptop (4 years older than mine) can read the DVD perfectly. So, using my wife's laptop I transferred everything from the DVD into a portable hard drive and installed ArmA 2 into my computer from there. But then of course ArmA 2 doesn't start because the executable looks in vain for the DVD which is not recognized by my computer.

I have three options

1. Forget about the DVD and get ArmA 2 from Steam
2. Get a new DVD drive or computer
3. Wait until the issue is solved, patched or whatever. After 1 patch I remember ArmA not needing the CD in the drive. I doubt this is going to be the case here.
   

Ah, the joys of DRM!


UPDATE: I got my DVD drive to recognize/read the damn DVD. I had to update the drive's firmware.

Cheers,

DCS Black Shark Printed Manual

A study flight simulator without a printed manual is almost like a party without alcoholic beverages. Either if you want to quickly browse some important data during your virtual flight or if you are trying to extend your enjoyment while away from the computer, printed manuals have always been one of those objects flight simulator enthusiasts consider as important as a good HOTAS.

A printed version of the manual for DCS Black Shark was supposed to be widely available for some time. Amazon is listing it as "out of print", so here is a link for the manual at GoGamer.com if you are interested in purchasing it from the US.

• DCS Black Shark Printed Manual from GoGamer.com

Given the complexity of this simulation, my first reaction to the availability of a printed manual was to run and get it. But on second thought, I find DCS Black Shark's manual a bit difficult to follow and I may pass on this offer. Information in the manual is often dispersed and organized in a strange way.

Do you remember the printed manual of Falcon 4? It had the technical info at the beginning of the section and then a hands-on, switch to switch description of what you had to do to get the bombs and missiles on target. I'm not saying that DCS Black Shark's manual is bad. I'm just saying is a bit strange.

Cheers,

ArmA 2 Review at Out of Eight!

James Allen has an ArmA 2 review at his "Out of Eight PC Game Reviews" blog.

ArmA II is better off when released than ArmA I was, so the large contingent of gamers looking for a realistic military simulation should not be disappointed.

Great review. Thanks, James!

Cheers,

ArmA 2 Tactics: The Definitive Guide by Dslyecxi

This gentleman Dslyecxi is just amazing. In addition to his previous guide for ArmA, now he has a guide for ArmA2.


Thanks again Dslyecxi for an amazing job. I'm looking forward to apply all the stuff from your guide into the game.

My hat goes off to you, sir.

Cheers,

Unscratched Itches of June

The month of June is coming to an end and I could not complete many of the things I had planned.

• I have an un-opened copy of IL-2: 1946 (birthday present).
  

I played the original IL-2 (plus Forgotten Battles) quite a bit in the past but now that I'm a grown up who can afford a HOTAS, pedals and TrackIR, I want to revisit this great flight simulator series

• Battle Group Commander: Episode One.
  

My initial forays into commanding British forces have been a disaster. This is one of the things I like from ProSim war games: if you are lousy, they really punish you hard.

• DCS Black Shark.
  

I want to try out the weapons delivery tactics I wrote about a few days ago. Yep, I have been delivering advice without trying it beforehand. Writing is cheap, folks.

• ArmA 2.
  

The copy I ordered from NWS Online Gaming Store it's in the mail right now. No rush here, even if a copy of ArmA2 would drop from the sky right into my hands at this precise moment, I wouldn't have had the time to install it anyway.

• Combat Mission Shock Force: Marines Module.
  

This one I promised to get back into when my disappointment over the suicidal computer-controlled soldiers washes off. To put me in the mood, a couple of days ago I visited the official Battlefront forums to see what's up. It's business as usual over there, nobody would acknowledge there is a problem with the TacAI of this game. Only few people still make the majority of posts there: developers, beta-testers and those who want to be beta-testers.

• War gaming the break-out from Normandy during 1944.
  

Does it happen to you with certain historical battles that despite a lot of media exposure, they just don't lit that fire in your belly that make you go an try to war game them? Normandy was one of those battles for me. After reading "Tank Tactics" everything changed for me and now I'm in for some serious war gaming. Game chosen already: "Anglo-German War 1939-1945" by Schwerpunkt Games. Look at this beauty:


So many games, so little time ...

Cheers,

Are World Wars a thing of the past?

This weekend I was playing one of these wonderful Panzer Campaigns war games when I was struck (yet again) by the sheer scope of WWII in the Eastern front. Granted I was playing a tiny scenario of the Minsk 44 war game, not the greatest showdown of men and material compared to other battles in the Soviet Union. Still I was there in command of the 3rd and 48th Armies (1st Belorussian Front), and using air support from the 16th Air Army. At my command: 32590 men 1256 guns 737 vehicles and 330 planes. I say it again, this is not the biggest battle of military history. But I couldn't bring myself to think about what would be in real life to have all these resources at my disposal.



Nowadays, they speak about the so-called three block wars, low intensity conflicts and small wars. These types of conflicts appear to have been particularly frequent in the recent past ten years.

Are big wars a thing of the past?

How big is the average war, anyway?

Professional staticians prefer to speak about the frequency distribution of the values observed rather than about averages only. Everybody has heard of the bell-shaped curve of the archetypal Gaussian normal distribution (see the image at right). Is a curve where the x-axis indicates the value measured and the y-axis indicates how frequent that value was found in a population. The average is the value in the x-axis where the curve has a peak and is the most typical value found in a population.




What the frequency distribution of the sizes of wars looks like?



Back in 1960, a very smart fellow named Richardson took casualties data from wars on record and plotted them in a way similar than the one shown above. Number of casualties in the x-axis and frequency of the wars having x-casualties in the y-axis.
[Please note the word "similar". There is some mathematical geeky tricks behind the type of plot Richardson made, unfortunately these tricks are beyond the scope of this blog.]
Richardson didn't find a normal distribution for the size of wars (see the graphic at the right, taken from "Modeling the Size of Wars" by Lars-Erik Cederman). The data showed lots of small wars, fewer large ones and just two of cataclysmic size (WWII and WWI). In other words, he found that the size of wars was inversely proportional to their frequency. Also, his plot shows no peak, which means that there is not a typical size for wars.

The type of distribution shown above are so-called "power-law distributions" because the frequency decays following a power law. Power law distributions are typical of systems that self-organize into a critical state where a tiny fluctuation can trigger either an event of tremendous magnitude or just a smaller, almost non detectable one. The friction between tectonic plates is a good example of these "self-organized at a critical state" systems. The tectonic plates collide with each other, releasing energy in the form of earthquakes. The intensity of earthquakes show exactly a power law distribution.

Scientists like Cederman, have been arguing that warfare is one of those self-organized at a critical state systems. The analogy of the tectonic plates and the release of energy in the form of earthquakes is more than appealing. It also leads to the unsettling conclusion that, once the pieces are all set, there may be nothing to stop a world war.

It was 11 A.M. on a fine summer morning in Sarajevo, June 28 1914, when the driver of an automobile carrying two passengers made a wrong turn. The car was not supposed to leave the main street, and yet it did, pulling up into a narrow passageway with no escape. It was an unremarkable mistake, easy enough to make in the crowded, dusty streets. But this mistake, made on this day and by this driver, would disrupt hundreds of millions of lives, and alter the course of world history.

Mark Buchanan in "Ubiquity"

So, to answer the question in the title of this entry: there is no way to tell if humankind will endure another world war. We should expect frequent small wars, that's for sure. But we should never underestimate the power of a chauffeur's mistake ...

Cheers,

"A Gap in the Screen", A New Scenario for Steel Beasts ProPE

This is the same scenario I used for my "hunter-killer platoon" after action report.

The description of this scenario follows.

A US Cav Sq is executing a screen mission in the Iraqi desert. Around 5 AM, the Sq Commander became aware of a 4 km-wide gap in the Sq's screen line. A quick inspection of the gap was attempted and some Iraqi vehicles were destroyed, but it is evident there are enemy vehicles west of the Sq's intended screen line. 3 BMPs and at least 4 T-72s were seen hastily retreating east. Time is now 6:20 and your Cav Plt is tasked with clearing the marked sector of enemy armored vehicles and re-establish the screen line no later than 8:10 AM.


Expected enemy resistance is probably a mechanized infantry Co(-), likely reinforced with at least 4 T-72s. Your Plt is organized in two "hunter-killer" teams (each one consisting in 2 M3 CFVs and 1 M1 MBT) plus a 2 M3 CFV team. Units located north and south of your sector continue with their screen mission. Watch your fires, we don't any blue-on-blue incidents. The Sq's aerial component is grounded until meteorological conditions improve. No indirect fires allowed due to the close position of the other Plts north and south of your sector. Good luck,

You can download the scenario at the "Real and Simulated Wars Companion Website".

Cheers,