The Beast of Haiphong PTR2 (Updated 3/8) (Full Version)

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Owllord -> The Beast of Haiphong PTR2 (Updated 3/8) (7/31/2017 3:09:08 PM)

The Beast of Haiphong - Public Test Release 1

[image]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Surcouf_FRA.jpg/350px-Surcouf_FRA.jpg[/image]

In 1946, just after the end of the Second World War, France thought to stabilize her collapsing colonial empire and reassert control in Vietnam, lost to the Japanese in 1940. At the conclusion of hostilities in East Asia, negotiations with Vietnamese forces created an uneasy peace that prevented the independence of a sovereign Vietnam - at least for the moment.

On the morning of November 20, 1946 French forces intercepted a naval vessel attempting to bring contraband into the harbor of Haiphong in North Vietnam. As a result of the seizure, an armed standoff between Vietnamese soldiers and French colonial forces in the city ensued. Once the news of the skirmish came to Admiral d'Argenlieu in Paris, he sent a cable to Jean Étienne Valluy, commander of French forces in Indochina, authorizing a punitive show of force in Vietnam.

In history, the naval bombardment of Haiphong was conducted by surface forces of the French navy. This scenario assumes that the submarine cruiser Surcouf, which was commissioned in 1934 and mysteriously vanished during World War 2, had a sister ship that has been deployed to assist in keeping the Asian colonies in line. Outdated and established under a bygone doctrine, she is no longer worthy of front line duty, but more than capable of assisting in peripheral colonial duties.

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My second release, this time with a maritime focus. Players get to play around with a submarine cruiser, relying primarily on its main gun instead of its torpedoes. You can launch a recon plane from your submarine via special action, more details regarding that in the briefing. In general the briefing includes some bits and pieces of information regarding some of the quirks that come with building an unit that has no equivalent in the engine and how to get around that while playing.

Feedback and thoughts are much appreciated!

Updated to PTR 2 (3/8/2017) - Do not download outdated version in first post! See Post #11!



CCIP-subsim -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (7/31/2017 6:48:40 PM)

What a cool idea and a great implementation! Well done - the hangar is working flawlessly. I would not have imagined something so out there as Surcouf actually working in CMANO :)

Will let you know how it went once I actually finish playing the scenario.



hellfish6 -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (7/31/2017 10:59:06 PM)

I had no idea the Surcouf was even in the DB...



Owllord -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 1:19:18 AM)

@CCIPsubsim, Thank you! Happy that you like the concept and implementation! The idea came to me two months ago or so and it was too tempting not to try out - I'm always intrigued by the oddball systems/scenarios.

@hellfish6, the Surcouf is not in the DB, but I built her by adding the respective mounts and giving them the correct arks etc on an submarine of comparable speed and size. She also has a very basic early radar because I assumed that this is a modernization that would have been realistic to be implemented by late 1946. IMHO, it shows what is possible in terms of unit editing with the editor.

I've updated some formations for the next version that should make certain parts of the fight more engaging. Also locked the non-playable sides.



CCIP-subsim -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 3:42:51 AM)

One quick thing so far - I've run into a bit of an oddity when actually encountering the convoy. Awful torpedoes notwithstanding (seriously, they neither tracked nor ran straight [:D] ) - when I decided to "battle surface" and open fire with the big guns, the thing that happened was: 1) no reaction or attempt to fire back by the Tashkent; 2) when the destroyer took some damage, he started slowing down and then stopped... as did the rest of the group with him! I'm assuming they were in formation? Doesn't quite bode well for their survival!

Just curious what the Soviets' doctrine is set to - maybe there's something in that.

[image]local://upfiles/52852/6A1A95101D0D4F11B9125C5372922CD9.jpg[/image]



Owllord -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 6:04:53 AM)

Yeah those torpedoes are quite something, aren't they? [:'(]

I can't confirm this without a savegame, but I noticed that sometimes the Soviets will not get a visual on the Robespierre even when the Robespierre sees them - maybe that is the case here? If they see her, they do fire, but I will take a second look just to confirm.

Do you have any suggestions for fixing the formation (they are indeed in one) issue?



AlexGGGG -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 9:08:15 AM)

I had some strange problem with the plane not respecting its bingo fuel state and running out of fuel. I checked and the plane does have its doctrine set to "NOT RTB on bingo" initially. You may want to have a look at this.



Owllord -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 9:20:44 AM)

Hello Alex,

That is WAD. As the hangar will teleport back to Europe once you stop the deployment, the plane would immediately go bingo the moment you close the hangar, and considering you will want to close the hangar probably to avoid the symbol overlapping with the sub's or you would like to submerge, immediate Bingo fuel RTB would be a frequent occurrence. That's why I decided to put it on manual RTB and wrote something regarding that into the briefing, so the player will be expected to keep an eye on the plane's fuel state.

Also CCIP, the Soviet's doctrine is set to engage opportunities and ignore plotted course, but in my current version I told them to stay on course. Still interested in any input you might have regarding the formation issue!



AlexGGGG -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 9:41:23 AM)

Also, Ignore Plotted Course when attacking is locked to NO, which is real bad when I use the plane to strafe the remaining ships (I ran out of ammo on the submarine).



Owllord -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/1/2017 9:47:10 AM)

I see, this seems to be a side effect of me locking the option for the Robespierre, and apparently you can only lock or unlock the option globally, not per unit. Will have to write something to the effect that you should not put her on "ignore course" into the briefing and open the doctrine setting for players.

Thanks for the report!



Owllord -> RE: The Beast of Haiphong PTR1 (8/3/2017 12:57:36 PM)

Public Test Release 2 available!

Change Log:

- Adjusted defense perimeter around Soviet convoy for more proactive defense against submarines
- Optimized Soviet convoy formation for greater defense synergy
- Changed Soviet doctrine to prioritize survival instead of enemy destruction
- Viet Minh coastal artillery will now engage the Robespierre
- Players are now allowed to change "Ignore plotted course" behavior
- Biologics added




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