Next FNFs_Kopf Style

Started by Kopfdorfer, April 11, 2019, 02:55:34 PM

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Kopfdorfer

Hi Guys,

            I have a couple more solid ideas for FNFs in the works.

            I would like to explore ( with you all ) the possibility of pre-assigning sides , and contribution by commanders/command teams
            in terms of things like Airframe distribution at airfields , position/placement of AAA , routes of Ships etc.

            If there are a couple/a few guys willing to put in an hour or so per week each , I think the FNF could take on a new level
            of immersion , drama and satisfaction/frustration.

            This process could be used for a one off mission , OR ( yes I ALWAYS have another agenda ) for a series of missions
            linked into a mini-campaign.

            What do I mean , exactly ?

            Let me use an example that I built a couple of years back for the 352nd Squad - I am not intending to replicate this exactly ,
            but it will serve as an example.

            THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE !

            The Campaign was Strike Wing 1944
            Map used was Norway (stock ).
            Campaign was 4 x 75 minute missions.
            I made up a template with some interesting targets for the Allies in German-held Norway , along with AAA positions and coastal shipping.
            The Allies were required to move a convoy from the southern map edge to the NW map corner in the 4 Campaign Missions.
            Each side was given a finite Aircraft Set at the beginning of Mission 1.
            Rough Planeset Allies
            24 x Mossie FBVI , 8 x Mossie FBXVIII , 24 x Beaufighter X , 6 x PBY , 3 x Sunderland , 16 x Mustang I , 9 x Swordfish
            Rough Axis Planeset
            12 x FW190A , 12 x Bf109G6 , 12 x Ju88A , 6 x Ju88C , 6 x Me410 , 6 x FW200 , 9 x Bf110G ,6 x  Ju52 , 6 x Ar 196
           
            The Campaign was run as a series of 4 x Dogfight Missions.
            Each side had an Air Commander , and a Naval Commander.
           
            Each side was given an Intel brief and a list of possible/suggested objectives.
            Commanders could determine their sides course of action , and which objective(s) to pursue.

            Air Commanders distributed the Airframes to the bases as they wished.
            Sea Commanders determined which vessels started moored/anchored , and which started at sea.
            Ships were given set up restrictions.
            I plotted the Allied Merchant Convoy path - the Allied Naval Commander determined where the warships
            and submarines were placed and their routes in order to best escort the convoy or to patrol the Allied coast.

            For each mission , the Air Commanders were given a limited number of AI flights they could assign per Mission.
            Whatever airframes were plotted in these flights were removed from the available airframe list for the Human Pilots.
            The Air Commanders then decided how many of which of the (remaining unassigned) aircraft would be available at each base.
            The number of assignable AI flights could be affected by successes or failures during a previous mission ( thus creating
            accountability for how the missions were flown).

            For each mission , the Naval Commanders were given a limited number of Ships they could plot movement for. Any ships they
            decided not to move for each mission were moved to the nearest port/dock and placed as stationaries.

            For each mission , each commander would generate a .mis file in the FMB and send it to me.
            I would compile all four .mis files ( Air Com Red , Air Com BLue , Nav Com Red , Nav Com Blue) into a dogfight format Mission File
            which the group would fly.

            Following the mission the host would save and send me the mission logfile from which I would determine how many assets were
            damaged or destroyed and adjust the template to reflect these changes.

            I kept a spreadsheet of the damaged aircraft , and determined which were write offs , heavily damaged ( 2 missions to repair) or
            lightly damaged ( one mission to repair ).

            I adjusted speed and Rate of Fire for damaged ships.

            These results were reported to the commanders for the next mission , so they were aware of ( their sides intel) of how side was
            doing in the campaign.

            Now all of this - and a lot more , honestly - can be done in SEOW , and the SEOW engine does most of the work. In this format ,
            some sucker ( me ) has to do all the compilation by hand. If the templates are kept small , it is not too much work - I make
            multiple missions just about every week anyway.

            Do any of you yearn ( like me ) for performance that is accountable in a real sense.
            Right now , AH flies in missions where the only "accountability" is accumulation of points.

            This would be fine if IL2 accounted points in a manner that reflected operational WW2 air warfare - but it doesn't.
            In unlinked missions , you can lose the better part of a squadron of first line aircraft one mission , and be fully equipped in time
             for the next one.

            The enemy could surround your airbase completely in one mission , and in the next you still get full fuel loads , and the choice
            of any ordnance carried by that aircraft without any regard to historical authenticity , or the realities of a severed supply line.

            If anyone out there who flies FNFs is interested in exploring this type of development , please let me know.

            My FNF concepts will work fine as they are , and if there is no interest in this thread thqt is how I will proceed , but they would
            be so much richer ( for everyone) if a few of you were willing to step up and try this concept out.
            If you are comfortable in the FMB , or want to learn about it , this would be a great venue for you to contribute.

            Thanks for letting me hang around , and sooner or later I WILL collide with each and every one of you !

            Kopfdorfer

            PS my next 2 FNF concepts are :

            Unternehmen Zerberus - the Channel Dash of Gneisenau , Scharnhorst , and Prinz Eugen Feb 1942

            12 O'clock High - the nascence of the US 8th AAF in England October 1942