Graviteam Releases English Version of "Achtung Panzer Operation Star"

"Achtung Panzer Operation Star" is the sequel to "Kharkov 1943". Operation Star has been available in Russia for a year or so and now is out for the Euro/US market via Gamersgate.

Achtung Panzer: Operation Star at Gamersgate.

I'm going to grab this one at a later time. I'm backlogged!

Cheers,

North German Plain 85 / Steel Beasts ProPE - Tactical Plan

Liddell Hart once compared a successful offensive to the flow of a stream of water in a hilly landscape, avoiding points of high resistance and eventually succeeding finding a way through low ground. Two Bundeswehr companies are about to find out how hard is to build a dam in the wide area of operations east of Hameln. So few bricks to engineer such a long wall ...

Victory in tactical combat always leans towards the side that has superior firepower and initiative. During this  damn summer morning, the Germans have neither.

North German Plain 85 / Steel Beasts ProPE - FRAGO

Guarding the eastern flank of NATO forces in Hameln against a Soviet Tank Regiment is not going to be an easy task.

In this blog entry, the tactical plan for an scenario based in HPS Simulation's North German Plain 85 and played in Steel Beasts ProPE. Thanks to Koen for crafting this great scenario!

The Heights - Teaser Video Made with the Invasion 1944 Mod for ArmA 2

This is from long time reader of the blog Bryan.

Excellent cinematography there, Marine! :)

I hear Bryan is recruiting voice actors who speak German. Anybody?

Cheers,

North German Plain 85 / Steel Beasts ProPE - OPORD is In!

Do you remember this crazy idea? It was about fighting a tactical battle in the Steel Beasts ProPE tank simulation based in a situation taken from the grand-tactical/operational war game North German Plain 85.

Well you may also remember that I was getting help from Koen, a Steel Beasts ProPE expert. He added flesh to the bare bones I sent him and he created a freaking masterpiece! Thanks, Koen for this great scenario and sorry for getting back into this so late (currently experiencing a mix of entry backlogs and real life).

Check out the OPORD for this upcoming battle. The Soviets are throwing everything at us!

Combat Mission Battle for Normandy - Armchair General Video

Great video by Armchair General's Jeffrey Paulding.



Some great Combat Mission material to watch out for and discuss in the web beyond the usual data worship, whining about bugs and "how CMx2 ruined my life". :)

Looking forward for more.

Cheers,

Falcon 4.0 BMS 4 - Refueling - Memo from the Flight Control Computer: All Viper Flight Control Surfaces Are Belong to Us

I refueled the Falcon ... Once ... In 2005.

I remember it as one of the most frustrating experiences in simulated flight.

As if the whole ordeal of getting fuel dashing at 300 knots, 20,000 feet above the ground in a simulation where you get no sense of speed or acceleration was not hard enough, I also remember getting almost obsessive with getting it done. So back then I decided not to do it again.

Now its 2011 and the BMS mod has this great flight model (no more flying on rails) that makes the sim a joy. It's like I want to try everything again. The "commit" button was there in the mission menu ... Calling me. Click. Damn! A week went by just practicing (and obsessing about) refueling.

An Errand to the Brick and Mortar Computer Store

The last wargame with hexes and turns, complex rules and of interest for just the war-nerds I got from a computer mega store was Korsun Pocket (Matrix Games). It was from the now defunct CompUSA. Today, an errand to the Microcenter computer store (Rockville, MD USA), which is in the same building where CompUSA was, ended up with me playing a Squad Battles (HPS Simulations) scenario a couple of hours later.

Back to the Old Blog Format, Sorta ...

Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated.

I liked the clean new format. It also allowed an easier access to older posts. But it brought too many other issues, like poor navigation, compatibility with many browsers and lack of sidebars.

So we are back to the old format. Actually a format that is similar to the old one.

Let me know how it works for you.

ArmA 2 - The High Ground ... Sometimes You Have to Avoid It

This is a video captured during an ArmA 2 online session at SimHQ. These sessions are called Military Monday, and the players practice real life C2 and tactics.


This entry goes with a big disclaimer. I do not intend to criticize the regulars at SimHQ's Military Monday, who are one of the most tactically-oriented ArmA 2 online players out there. Leading and coordinating real people is far more challenging than doing the same with AI bots in cute little canned scenarios like I do. So, hats off to you SimHQ community members for these sessions full of serious tactical fun. As I was trying to pull my men back from high terrain in the middle of enemy fire (see my latest ArmA2 blog entry) I remembered this video which I saw many times. I thought of sharing it here. 



This video shows great tactical proficiency: good use of terrain for an attack by fire mission, use of bounding overwatch, clearing and isolating an area before neutralizing an enemy asset. However, at 4:52 the fire team returns to the high ground and gets pinned by enemy fire from what appears to be multiple directions.

Off course, the lack of cover didn't help either.

Food for thought.

Cheers,