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IronManBeta -> (3/12/2003 1:04:23 AM)
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My summary of the preceeding discussion follows. Hopefully I haven't mangled it too much. Coding starts this week at long last.
Flashpoint – Fixed Wing CAS Sorties
1. Doctrine for both sides allows for a certain number of fixed wing air close air support sorties within 40 km or so of the forward edge of battle area (FEBA). Whereas this is an extremely high-risk area for these valuable assets, availability will be limited and reserved for high payoff targets. Long-range artillery and helicopter assets remain the preferred platforms for routine fire missions within this zone.
2. The game will offer a simplified Fire Support Coordination Center (FSCC) screen that represents the divisional coordination of all fire assets. (We should move the off-map arty to this screen too.) The screen identifies the type and quantity of generic fixed wing air sorties that have been made available [0, 2 or 4] for use by the player during the turn.
a. ‘Cab Rank’ sorties - are available for use subject to a 5 minute delay. Generally, only US forces would have cab rank air sorties available.
b. ‘Fire Plan’ sorties - are subject to a minimum 30 minute delay since they must be coordinated through a Corps / Army HQ first.
3. The player can request some or all of his available sorties to be used against a CAS target as of a certain time, which is not less than the minimum delay and not more than 30 minutes beyond the end of the current turn. He has no control over the mission profile otherwise (not his job). Ordnance is presumed to be conventional (not nuclear) HE bombs. Precision guided bombs? Fuel air explosives?
4. Five minutes prior to air strike arrival all artillery fire into the general area (CAS target and surrounding eight locations) of the strike will cease. All helicopter units will move out of the area. Arty fire cannot resume until five minutes after the observed conclusion of the air strike.
5. On arrival the air strike commander will evaluate the situation on the ground with a view to deciding if one pass (safer but less accurate) or two (riskier but more accurate) is indicated. Factors to consider are:
a. Ability to clearly ID the target [are there any visible enemy units at all in the target location: yes / no, the intended target may have moved away in the meantime, use standard spotting rules to get an idea],
b. Closeness of friendly units [< 1.5 km?, yes / no], and
c. Hostile air defense threat [high, medium, low].
6. Generally the result will be:
a. AD high, and either no clear target or friendlies are close: abort, else
b. AD medium and no clear target and friendlies are close: abort, else
c. Friendlies are close or AD is low or no clear target: two passes, else
d. One pass.
7. If the CAS target location is empty of targets when the air strike arrives, it will still be bombed unless the mission otherwise aborts.
8. A sound effect is rendered of an approaching jet(s) for each pass and the CAS target location is flashed. AD fire SFX is rendered. The actual path of the aircraft is not shown and does not necessarily go through the CAS target if this is the first of two passes.
9. The impact zone is determined based on the original CAS target location and calculated accuracy of the drop. This is a ‘national rate’ modified by visibility / weather, number of passes, and effective AD fire.
10. On the ordnance delivery pass the bomb SFX are rendered in the impact zone [just one 500 m x 500 m location in size?] and combat losses immediately taken to all units in the impact zone.
11. If an aircraft is shot down then a crash location is picked at random on the map and the appropriate SFX and animation are rendered. All units in the crash location take combat losses.
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