BETA After Action Report

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BETA After Action Report - 9/11/2003 4:14:14 PM

Mark Hemns

Posts: 196
Joined: 5/2/2002
Status: offline

[B]Disclaimer

This AAR is based on a beta version of the game which is constantly being changed to fix bugs and add new features.
The graphics, in several cases, are just placeholders and should not necessarily be considered representative of the final game.
Scenarios are not finished and are for game testing at this stage.

This is also my first AAR for any game and so I would appreciate any feedback or comments.
I am an external beta tester and have been testing the game for the last 2 months.[/B]

[SIZE=4][CENTER]Flashpoint Germany[/CENTER][/SIZE]

FLASHPOINT GERMANY (FPG) is a fast paced, command orientated game of modern grand tactical combat.

Each side represents anything from a strong brigade / regiment down to a weak battalion. This force is in turn composed of individual manoeuvre units. All of these units plus various off-map supporting units are under the control of the player in charge.

Manoeuvre units are company sized for 'line' units such as tanks and infantry, and platoon sized for specialist units such as engineers, reconnaissance, and supply troops. Artillery is organized by battery (typically six or eight tubes each), and aircraft and helicopters by flights of four to six machines.

This is a command-oriented game - your job is to give the orders and then stand back - not a simulator where you must perform every soldier's job.

You must make your plans and allow time for your intentions to be disseminated down the chain of command. This is represented by giving you the opportunity to issue orders only every 30 game minutes during a stop-time orders phase. When issuance is complete the clock will be restarted and the turn is resolved in one-minute increments.

The game ends when one side achieves victory, one side drops below 20% of its starting line strength, or the time limit for the scenario is reached.

Scenario : Nato Mobile Defence

"A NATO battalion defends the first and second quadrants of the map against a Soviet regiment that begins in the fourth quadrant.

The Soviets are seeking to occupy the first quadrant with a secure line of communications to their rear."

[NOTE : This is just the brief scenario description. The detailed mission briefings are not yet in the game.]

This is one of the smaller scenarios that is in the game at the moment.

Each map is divided into twelve 5 km by 5 km quadrants for victory point (VP) purposes. The screenshot shows the Staff Summary screen. This serves several functions but for planning it shows the layout of the battlefield in the top left corner. This shows which quadrants of the map are important in terms of victory points to each side.
The 1st Quadrant is the most important to both sides (200 VP's to the Warsaw Pact and 150 to NATO).

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- 9/11/2003 4:21:57 PM

Mark Hemns

Posts: 196
Joined: 5/2/2002
Status: offline

I am playing the attacking Warsaw Pact forces against the AI controlled NATO defence.

So what do we need to consider to draw up a plan?

[B]Mission[/B]

I need to capture the 1st Quadrant of the map (top left corner), so any plan should concentrate on that goal and not necessarily destroying all the enemy forces.

If either side has units in the Quadrant then they get their VP's. So if it is still contested at the end of the game, both sides will receive VP's for it. I must therefore plan on not only entering the Quadrant but clearing it of all enemy forces.

[B]Enemy[/B]

We have limited intelligence on the enemy. We only know that it is a Battalion of NATO troops (in game terms this could be US, UK or West German forces).
Given they are on the defence, it is likely that they will start dug in and may have emplaced minefields. Mines can be pre-laid or laid during the game by Engineers or artillery.

[B]Terrain[/B]

The terrain type is very easy to figure out both visually and by just moving the cursor over a location (terrain type and elevation for that location is then shown to the bottom right of the screen).

Elevation data is shown visually by the shading of the map. Darker areas are lower and lighter areas are higher (so my forces are at a low elevation with higher ground to the west).

The maps really look great but unfortunately don't give an immediate feel for the lie of the land at the moment. They are an area of the game that is under development (contour lines may possibly be added to the maps) and a further elevation tool is being added to the next version in response to beta tester's feedback.

So looking at the map, my forces sit astride a secondary road which rises towards the west. Significant cover is available from two urban areas either side of the road and a forest to the south west.
I feel it is likely that enemy forces will be covering the road from this higher elevation.
It is also possible that the road will be mined so I will try to avoid moving along it.
There is a large expanse of territory to the right of the NATO position which will be difficult for him to cover with a single Battalion.

An important aid to working out positioning is the Light of Sight (LOS) tool. A simple CTRL-left click can show what a unit could see from any spot on the map.

[B]Troops Available[/B]

I command the 45th Guards Tank Regiment with some Divisional and Army level artillery.

HQ / 45 GTR - 1BTR-80, 1 BTR-80 Gremlin, 1 T-80K HQ
Sam Platoon - 3 BMP-2 Gremlin
Engineer Co - 3 BTR-60, 9 CEV
1 Recce Plt - 3 BMP-2
2 Recce Plt - 4 BRDM-2

HQ 1/45 GTR - 1 BTR-60, 1 T-80K HQ
1 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
2 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
3 Tank Co - 10 T-80U

HQ 2/45 GTR - 1 BTR-60, 1 T-80K HQ
1 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
2 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
3 Tank Co - 10 T-80U

HQ 3/45 GTR - 1 BTR-60, 1 T-80K HQ
1 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
2 Tank Co - 10 T-80U
3 Tank Co - 10 T-80U

HQ 4/45 GTR - 1 BMP-2K HQ
1 Rifle Co - 12 BMP-2
2 Rifle Co - 12 BMP-2
3 Rifle Co - 12 BMP-2
Mtr Battery - 8 MT-LB 120mm Mortar
SAM Platoon - 3 BMP-2 Gremlin
AGL - 2 BMP-2 + AGS-17

1 Battery Arty - 6 2S1 SP 122mm Howitzer, 2 Command Vehicles
2 Battery Arty - 6 2S1 SP 122mm Howitzer, 2 Command Vehicles
3 Battery Arty - 6 2S1 SP 122mm Howitzer, 2 Command Vehicles

Div Arty - 6 2S3M SP Howitzer, 2 Command Vehicles (off-map)
Army Arty - 4 2S7 203mm Gun (off-map)

The screenshot shows the initial position of my forces. I set them up in these positions during the Deployment Phase at the start of the game.
During this phase, units can be positioned anywhere within a pre-defined deployment area.

This is the "zoomed-out" view of the map with grid lines switched on (the heavier lines denote boundaries between Quadrants). Each grid on the map is 500m wide.

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(in reply to Mark Hemns)

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