Combat Operations - Supplementary Material

Matt, the indie developer of Combat Operations was kind enough to share with me these annotated figures that will help to follow the action mentioned in his presentation of last Monday.

Steel Beasts ProPE 3.027 - The Crossings to Nowhere, AAR

Sitting in the middle of this fictional city, the rear guard of an Iraqi Armored Division is trying to buy some time for the main body, which is withdrawing north. First to make contact with the Iraqi rear guard is US Army's Task Force Hellfighters.

In order to destroy the ENY forces in the fictional city and to secure the future movement of US forces through the Fictional City, Task Force is assigned the mission of isolating the Iraqi rear guard battalion.

Assault on Rodopoli, an Arma 3 mission from a reader of the blog

It has been a long time since I have not commanded a whole platoon in Arma 3, and passing my men through the meat grinder of a built up area was nerve wracking and heart breaking.

Play "Rule the Waves"? Get this book!

Rule the Waves is a gem of game design. It's scope is engrossing, it's simplicity is a treat. You get yourself into building ships, fleets and navies with a few clicks. You them take your sailors and admirals into desperate battles for sea supremacy. You win, you lose, you are playing. My question is, are you taking this game to places where it can deliver its full potential?

Introducing "Combat Operations", a New Highly Realistic Operational Level War Game from an Indie Developer

This exclusive preview of Combat Operations is written by Matt, an indie game designer with whom I had the pleasure to chat and exchange ideas during the development of his new game. 

"The Germans are hitting the 506th hard. Move your Regiment (502nd) into better defensive positions to help slow down the German advance. We are expecting armored reinforcements to arrive soon...we MUST buy time to keep them from retaking Carentan!"

Shot Trak HD, Airsoft Gameplay

This is some footage of my new Shot Trak HD camera. I'm shooting a Krytac Trident CRB.

The new camera is good for seeing what you are shooting, but the stabilization doesn't cope very well with the (minimal) recoil of the airsoft gun.

Cheers,

Command Ops 2 - Speed and Surprise

The order to hold the Goesbeek Heights and the high terrain between them and Nijmegen during Operation Market Garden has been attributed to General Gavin and pointed out as a source of loss of momentum for the XXX Corps movement through Hell's Highway.

Block Busting in Bobriusk - Combat Mission Red Thunder - AAR, Part 1 - A Long Left Flank

I always imagined that I would eventually grew old and that war memories, no matter how horrifying, would fade away.

I can remember my men's faces and the cries for help obliterated by the sounds of inbound rounds of artillery. The first ones to go were the AT gun crew. With no overhead protection, they disappeared into the tall grass, never to walk among the living again.

DCS Mig-21bis - No Mercy for Traitors, Part 2

This is a narrative/debrief of a custom single player mission in which I am flying a Mig-21bis in DCS. DCS Mig-21bis is a high fidelity simulator of the famous interceptor/multirole supersonic jet. Equipment, airbases and weapons may be a bit off their real life time frame (i.e. mixed from modern and the 80's) due to DCS World's limitations in installations, arsenal and inventory. Be patient on that and do not throw the book on me on that matter. This debrief contains some language.

At its core, the  "Balalaika" (NATO name "Fishbed") is an interceptor, a piloted rocket carrying its own missiles. We trained for years about mission profiles, interception geometries, how to quickly get into a shooting position, kill and bug out like there was no tomorrow. Under close supervision by the ground intercept crews, we were THEIR weapons.

Block Busting in Bobriusk - Combat Mission Red Thunder - AAR, Deployment

The faces of my men with a mix of exhaustion and anticipation of a stern test of survival. The weapons clamoring for want of targets. The cyclic sounds of idle engines and the deafening silence of men lost in introspection. We just deployed and wait for the Russians.

Two AT guns were placed in the defile provided by the buildings. I was hoping that they would surprise passing enemy armor with flank hits. The infantry was not placed in the top floors of buildings, to avoid their death by a lucky artillery shell.