Hog heaven, Crimea, Toko-Ri, Bekaa and nuclear CentFront: 15 new Command scenarios released

May 31, 2016 · Posted in Command · Comment 

img0Miguel Molina has released the updated version of the Command community scenario pack. The new release includes a whopping fifteen brand-new scenarios:

  • Frigate Duel in the Scotia Sea, 2023: Tensions have increased between Argentina and the United Kingdom, partly because of the recent discovery of large deposits of valuable minerals in the undersea basins south of the Falkland Islands. Argentina has replaced its aging destroyer fleet with a quartet of fast frigates based on the LCS-Independence design. One of these ships is steaming off Cape Horn to contest the area against a RN upgraded Type 23 frigate.
  • The Lost Province, 2017: Nearly 70 years after the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, the PRC leadership has decided that the time has come to retake the island. You are ordered to initiate the invasion with a large air and surface force, supported by a hail of ballistic missiles.
  • Operation Mole Cricket 19, 1982: During the 1982 Israeli offensive into Lebanon, it became apparent that the strong presence of Syrian SAMs would threaten Israeli air superiority over Lebanon. As Syrian Forces moved even more SAMs into the region, Israeli leadership ordered strikes against the SAM sites. What followed would be subsequently known as the “Bekaa Valley turkey shoot”.
  • Skagerrak, 1963: A NATO task force must escort two ammunition ships through the Skagerrak Straits to the inlet of Oslo.
  • Contigency, 2016: France has a long and accomplished history of successfully projecting military power in support of its national security goals from the American Revolution to the current war on terror. It does that by acquiring basing rights and staging small detachments of ground, air and naval forces worldwide that in the event of a crisis are in a better position to impact an outcome while more power is pushed into the theater. This scenario demonstrates the extend and limits of this ability in a series of evolving crises.
  • The Honduran-Cuba War, March 12, 1968: In 1955 large quantities of iridium were discovered in Honduras. The country, which suddenly found itself in possession of most of the world’s accessible supply of this rare metal, quickly took advantage of its new wealth to become a regional power, purchasing military aircraft, a flotilla of small warships, and even a submarine from the United States. Unfortunately, the newfound prosperity could not solve every problem, and Honduran relations with Cuba have deteriorated since the Communist Revolution in that country. By 1968, tensions with Cuba have reached a breaking point. When a Cuban patrol boat fired on a Honduran fishing boat that had strayed too close to (but, according to Honduras, not within) Cuban waters, a Honduran destroyer first requested it break off its attack. When it was clear the Cubans had no intention of ceasing their attack and that civilian lives were in peril, the Hondurans sank the Cuban warship. Cuba has declared this casus belli and is preparing for war.
  • The Honduran-Cuba War, March 19, 1968: So far, Honduras is “winning”; while they have lost several aircraft, one of their elderly destroyers, and one of their minesweepers (which double as offshore patrol vessels), Cuba has lost three small frigates and more than a dozen combat aircraft. Cuba has sworn to make Honduras pay for its “crimes against world socialism”. Honduras is concerned about merchant shipping; it relies, among other things, on being able to get the iridium it mines to wealthy buyers like the United States. It also needs to purchase and then transport munitions to replace those expended so far in the war. Of particular concern are the Komar-class missile boats operated by Cuba. Honduras operates a number of older vessels purchased from America which offer significant firepower in the form of naval gunnery but have limited anti-missile defenses.
  • The Honduran-Cuba War, March 26, 1968: The war continues. Honduras has managed to negotiate an emergency purchase of F-4 Phantoms to replace those lost in combat; in addition, it has assigned some of its elderly but still capable F4U Corsairs to fly CAP missions over the northern coast. The real problem is ammunition–the supply of missiles for the Phantoms is running short. A convoy with badly needly supplies is en route from America. It is essential that at least some of these ships make it to Honduras.
  • Warthogs Over Latakia, 2013: The 2013 Syrian chemical crisis has escalated into total war. NATO’s initial strikes on Syria’s chemical weapons facilities have proven insufficient, and the downing of several NATO aircraft during the attacks has made the government overconfident. The decision has been made to strike directly at the regime’s army, as losing its conventional strength would mean being overrun by rebels. Two squadrons of A-10 Thunderbolts have been assigned to the task.
  • The Bridges at Toko-Ri, 1952: The movie “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” was based on author James Michener’s writings as an embedded reporter on USS Essex (CV 9) and USS Valley Forge (CV 45) in the winter of 1952. This scenario is loosely based on the movie. Take command of Task Force 77.9, centered on the USS Essex, and execute defense suppression strikes in support of a USAF attack on the two railroad bridges.
  • Crimea River, 2016: The winter of 2015 was a brutal one for Russian-annexed Crimea. Due to the collapse in oil prices and continued economic sanctions by the West, the Russian Federation economy was in shambles. In January 2016 dissatisfaction turned to uprising, and the first Crimean rebellion was brutally supressed by Spetsnaz elements. After leaked footage of mass graves was published, NATO was politically forced to take sides. A large strike on Russian military assets in Crimea was planned and NATO assets were assembled. Russia was alerted in time, however, and placed significant forces in anticipation of this attack. Despite Russia’s readiness, the political climate still necessitated direct action. NATO’s strike, codename OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP, was authorized to proceed.
  • Convoy ’88, 1988: This scenario takes place in May 1988, five days into a hypothetical NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict in Europe. Had the Cold War escalated into a shooting war, control of the North Atlantic would have been essential for both sides. For NATO the objective would’ve been to keep the sealanes open and protect the convoys bound for Europe from Soviet submarines and bombers. The Soviets’ primary goal was to close the Atlantic and deny NATO resupply from the sea. Convoy ’88 puts the player in the role of Convoy 88-7’s commander for 24 hours. This is primarily an ASW scenario, however a respectable air threat is also included.
  • The 4th of July, 1989: It is the summer of 1989, and the revolutionary wave of dissent that has been sweeping through the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact Countries has been brutally put down. Soviet military forces on the Central Front have been reinforced, and NATO intelligence is seeing some disturbing movement of Soviet front-line tanks and troops in East Germany. Recent NATO troop withdrawals in Europe have once more made tactical nuclear weapons necessary to stop a possible Soviet breakthrough. The Soviets would also be expected to employ tactical nukes. It is now July 4th, 1989, and the Soviet Union has decided to lay claim to all of Germany.
  • Korean Campaign, 2018: It is the spring of 2018, and it appears that Kim Jong-un is finally going to make good on his constant threats to launch an attack into South Korea. After upgrading some of his military equipment from China and Russia, Kim has massed over 600 tanks, long range artillery batteries, and infantry units along the border. The U.S. and South Koreans are prepared to launch OPERATION BROAD SWORD, a pre-emptive combined-arms attack on the North Korean Ground Forces. A reinforced convoy is en-route to the port of Busan with critical fighting forces and supplies. The Chinese also have substantial forces in the area, but are not considered hostile as of yet. Can the U.S. and S.Koreans stop the massed North Korean armor before it reaches Seoul, and get the convoy safely to Busan?
  • White Piano, 1966: Italy and Yugoslavia are mobilizing against each other. Italian intelligence suggests that Yugoslav forces are about to attack Trieste, the important and long-contested port city. A surface group centered on the aviation cruiser Andrea Doria is dispatched to protect the city.

As always, the community scenario pack is available for download from the Command downloads page: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876 . The scenarios are also available individually for download on the Command workshop on Steam.

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Triple Aces: Command v1.11 has been released

May 9, 2016 · Posted in Command · Comment 

F35JSMIt took our longest-running public RC phase yet, but it was worth it. Command v1.11 is now available through the MatrixGames and Steam updaters, and joins our long list of major free updates.

To quickly recap why this is arguably our biggest v1.x release yet:

  • Pier-docking Operations add a whole new operational/strategic dimension to CMANO’s gameplay: Ships and submarines can now dock to their parent hosting facilities (either a shore pier or a mother ship/sub) and refuel, re-arm and even repair their damages. Will you push your ships to the limit and risk withdrawing too late from the fight? Or too early and give your enemy free reign? Will you take your time to fully repair (and possibly let your enemy get away), or put back to sea too early and risk being outgunned? The choice is yours.
  • Proper Winchester, Shotgun, Bingo, Joker and Chicken states for aircraft: Want your aircraft to do one-pass engagements and run away even with almost full weapons? Sure. Want them to fight until they’re flying on fumes? Check. Want them to retreat early and fight another day? Done. “My pilots don’t fight the way I want them to” is now officially dead as an excuse.
  • Thoroughly revised air-to-air refueling mechanics and AI: Not only is the pilot AI a whole lot smarter on refuelling decisions, but the player is also given a lot more options to finetune refuelling plans if he wants to. Want to stick tankers to fixed orbits and serve anybody in need? Sure. Want them exclusively assigned to a mission instead? Check. Want them to tag along with the strike package and peel off after providing their fuel? Can do. With the v1.11 update CMANO leaves even many dedicated combat flight sims in the dust when it comes to refueling ops.
  • ORBAT recon of air/naval bases: “The last satellite pass 4 hours ago showed that an additional 12 fighter-bombers had been moved outside from their shelters and parked on the perimeter revetments, probably in preparation of a major sortie. Accordingly, the raid leader adjusted the targeting and weaponry of the second wave; instead of blasting the hardened shelters with precision penetrator munitions, most of the strikers would sprinkle the open parking spaces with cluster bombs”. You can now do this stuff in CMANO.
  • AGL altitude settings, stores jettison and mission player feedback: Sometimes it’s the little things that make a big difference. Your terrain-following capable aircraft can now go really down in the weeds and stay there. You can now define (with doctrine, so per unit, group, mission or entire side) which aircraft will jettison their heavy stores when under attack, to amnouver better, and which will hang on to them. What risks will you take?
  • New submarine options: Submarine captains are now even smarter, more evasive and take better advantage of their diesel-electric propulsion and especially AIP capability. If you thought hunting subs until now was tough, prepare to be amazed.
  • Last but not least: Massive performance/scalability gains: 3x to over 10x speed gains on large, complex scenarios. You read that right. And even more finetuning options for tailoring speed to your specific hardare & OS setup so you can squeeze every ounce of horsepower from your rig. Now bring on your world war creation. You know you want to.

Go get it! And enjoy.

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