Amnectrus, Clancy's RSR and the way he and Bond used Harpoon is certainly an inspiration for us in our own story creation. The big difference for us is that Command puts a powerful gaming program at our fingertips so that we can play out some pretty big engagements through Bart's scenarios and get an idea of how the battle would unfold realistically on a computer. We can do this far more easily than Clancy and Bond could back thirty+ years ago.
Our playthroughs also yield a lot of individual "moments of drama" that make their way into our narrative through the experiences of our characters. One good example is the sample chapter we shared; one of the things that grabbed me about Bart's H-Hour scenario is how ambiguous the situation is when you begin. Are the Soviets going to cross the border? Should I engage when they do? Or wait for them to shoot first? How do my two F-16s take on eight far more capable Su-27s? Putting myself in the seat of the F-16 pilot when I first played this scenario is what got me writing AARs in the first place, which led to the book.
Absolutely. I made the comparison only to the extent of the subject matter and inspiration. Command itself lends itself to far better fidelity than Harpoon would of 35 years ago.
I know what you mean about being able to identify moments of drama. One comes to mind from playing Indian Fury - Socotra a week or so ago, where a pair of Tomcats are all that stood between an inbound squadron of Floggers and the mine-sweeping squadron at the mouth of the Red Sea. Those two Tomcats shredded over a dozen MiGs, with the last four kills being with guns and the final two of those within 5nm of the minesweepers.
I know what you mean about being able to identify moments of drama. One comes to mind from playing Indian Fury - Socotra a week or so ago, where a pair of Tomcats are all that stood between an inbound squadron of Floggers and the mine-sweeping squadron at the mouth of the Red Sea. Those two Tomcats shredded over a dozen MiGs, with the last four kills being with guns and the final two of those within 5nm of the minesweepers.
Exactly this! Just your two-sentence AAR here is an exciting story. Games let you "live" the story a little bit, and a simulation like Command doesn't pigeonhole you into a single storyline like some games do. Dramatic things happen when all the real-life complexities come together on the screen.
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Joined: 7/20/2015 From: California, United States Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: Airborne Rifles
quote:
ORIGINAL: Primarchx
I know what you mean about being able to identify moments of drama. One comes to mind from playing Indian Fury - Socotra a week or so ago, where a pair of Tomcats are all that stood between an inbound squadron of Floggers and the mine-sweeping squadron at the mouth of the Red Sea. Those two Tomcats shredded over a dozen MiGs, with the last four kills being with guns and the final two of those within 5nm of the minesweepers.
Exactly this! Just your two-sentence AAR here is an exciting story. Games let you "live" the story a little bit, and a simulation like Command doesn't pigeonhole you into a single storyline like some games do. Dramatic things happen when all the real-life complexities come together on the screen.
Yes indeed, like when the first time I played USS Midway Vs Cuba, 1989, recounted in the first reply of this thread
Here's your first "Northern Fury flashback from the '90s"! Check out Bart's blog post on the US 2nd Fleet, then, now, and in the world of Northern Fury:
There is a reason why behind the scenes stuff for example of movies are published after the film launch and not before. It makes a film a construct and not an exciting story.
All these posts about a Cold War turned Hot and not a single mention about the Harvey Black books !!! Perhaps it's because its told from a British Cold War turned Hot point of view ??
Shame On You !!
Particularly as the author did a tour of duty with the British Military Liaison mission to Group of Soviet Forces in East Germany - BRIXMIS NO LESS !! - which means he has excellent behind enemy lines credentials.
I tell you Harvey Blacks - The Red Effect, The Blue Effect and The Black Effect will take some beating for a Cold War turned Hot and there's some nice scenario's in the Harvey Black books as well with the Cold War turning Hot in 1983.
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/22/2018 7:47:33 PM >
Hi Laughing Buccaneer. I've read the Harvey Black books and enjoyed them. Our books take place in a completely different theater. Northern Fury is about the war in the North Atlantic and Norway, whereas Black's books take place almost entirely in Germany. Our story also takes place more than a decade later than Harvey Black's. Our characters are very international (did you read the sample chapter?). Hopefully if you enjoyed his books you will appreciate ours as well .
Hi Laughing Buccaneer. I've read the Harvey Black books and enjoyed them. Our books take place in a completely different theater. Northern Fury is about the war in the North Atlantic and Norway, whereas Black's books take place almost entirely in Germany. Our story also takes place more than a decade later than Harvey Black's. Our characters are very international (did you read the sample chapter?). Hopefully if you enjoyed his books you will appreciate ours as well .
Yes I love the idea and very much like incorporating the naval angle to a What if resurgent Soviet Union in a new Cold War while including the CMANO scenarios. To tell you the truth I'm already doing that now in my Blog called - Beat to Quarters Capt, French frigate flying the tricolour bound for Spain. Which being interested in Square Rigger battles, as well as the modern variety - Not to mention a long standing fan of the Master and Commander film ( based on the Patrick O'Brian books ) and Naval Action aficionado. It's stands to reason I would incorporate a few Naval Action engagements in this years Voyage Hermione tour of the Spanish Peninsular, of course it's pretty much a tongue in cheek blog but plenty of humour.
As I cannot post links to the forum yet - you can see what I mean by doing a Google search for: Beat to Quarters Capt, French frigate flying the tricolour bound for Spain
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/24/2018 6:11:00 PM >
Hi Laughing Buccaneer. I've read the Harvey Black books and enjoyed them. Our books take place in a completely different theater. Northern Fury is about the war in the North Atlantic and Norway, whereas Black's books take place almost entirely in Germany. Our story also takes place more than a decade later than Harvey Black's. Our characters are very international (did you read the sample chapter?). Hopefully if you enjoyed his books you will appreciate ours as well .
For those of us who visited the Eastern Bloc and some of the former Soviet Union countries after the Berlin Wall came down. I'd really question whether a resurgent Soviet Union would be upto the mark in the middle & and late 1990's. As the infrastructure of these Russian and Soviet backed countries was decrepid, with roads pock marked with pot holes and everything in a state of neglect and disrepair. Personally I'd choose the early 1980's myself, before the advent of the internet and the proliferation of microcomputers; that puts the West and NATO countries in a different league to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. Who were frankly out of their depth on such innovations and technological advances. In fact didn't a Soviet General remark to a visiting American diplomat, that your kids are more technologically adept on Computers than can be found anywhere in the Soviet Union during the 1980's.
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/24/2018 9:17:15 PM >
Hi LaughingBuccaneer, I actually lived on the economy in Moscow from 1992-1996, so I saw first-hand the chaos hat was engulfing Russia at the time, and how they started to climb out of it . I agree that Russia as it was at that time would not have been able to challenge the West (just look at the Battle of Grozny in 1994-95!), but I also don't think that the way Russia was at that time was inevitable. I hope you'll find our alternate history believable when the book comes out.
We've got a new sample chapter out! This one introduces another of our key characters and gives some background on how the alternate history Northern Fury world differs from our historical one. Enjoy!
Thanks for that, it will really be interesting to see how your alternative history turns the Soviet economy around and staves off the collapse of the USSR back in the 1990's.
Without giving the game away does East Germany survive into the 1990's ? and will the Allied MLM's still be there to carry on with their clandestine intelligence gathering tours of the DDR ?
Also just to add spice to the proceedings, what about NATO's Stay Behind Armies ? will they be included ? and what about a few Spetsnaz attacks on NATO bases in Europe and the UK, perhaps aided and abetted by those notorious Soviet sleepers or illegals. In fact wasn't there a British Home Defense exercise in 1985, called Brave Defender which envisaged such attacks on British and American bases in the UK; if the Cold War ever turned Hot and practised how best to defend them.
Finally let's hear it for the unsung heroes of the Cold War, namely The Royal Observer Corps !! Your book would certainly get my vote and enthrall many British readers; if the ROC survived stand down in 1991 and instead have their 3 man nuclear bunker monitoring roles expanded, maybe ? Yes this will obviously surprise many British readers, that the Cold War was in many instances being played out on their door step and even out in the fields and hedgerows of the famous British Countryside; thanks to the presence of 1500 ( reduced to 871 ) ROC Posts dotted about the British Countryside.
In fact the ROC was involved in Operation Hornbeam, a scheme setup by the MOD to report on the increasing number of Soviet and Eastern Bloc ships & trawlers, etc entering British ports. With several ROC Posts located along the coast ( with one or two even setup in Napoleonic Martello Towers ) many were encouraged to report such sightings to the MOD on a Freephone number.
Do a Google Search for Join the Royal Observer Corps 1977 for the Youtube video, to see what I mean.
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/25/2018 6:46:47 PM >
LaughingBuccaneer, we don't want to give too much away, but based on your questions I think you'll be pleased with many of the storylines our characters tread in Northern Fury.
From what you say the books going to be very interesting indeed but in the meantime for those of you who might be interested in acquiring a bit of Cold War history somewhere in the Scottish borders. Look no further than this ROC Post that's come up for sale.
Google Search for - Cold War bunker for sale in Scottish borders In the papers today with the best pictures in The Scotsman.
Posts: 911
Joined: 7/20/2015 From: California, United States Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: LaughingBuccaneer
Hi Airborne Rifles
Thanks for that, it will really be interesting to see how your alternative history turns the Soviet economy around and staves off the collapse of the USSR back in the 1990's.
Without giving the game away does East Germany survive into the 1990's ?
No, there is no East Germany.
It seems that the key Point-of-Divergence for this alternate history is that the August Coup in 1991 is successful.
Therefore it is safe to assume that everything that happened before the August Coup still happened in this timeline, so since Germany reunified in October 1990, no GDR.
Also this sample chapter makes a clear reference to the Reunified Germany. But this sample interestingly also shows a largely intact Warsaw Pact, with only the GDR and Poland absent from that alliance.
I really enjoyed this sample, gave a lot of information I was seeking on the situation in this story.
quote:
ORIGINAL: i224747
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ORIGINAL: Coiler12
By far my favorite cold-war-hot thriller is Coyle's Team Yankee, and I'm hoping this can flow as smoothly.
+1 for if there will be a credible approach and realistic scenario.
Team Yankee is good, but it is actually adapted from another author's story: The Third World War 1985 by John Hackett. I also believe there is another spinoff novel that I haven't read called Chieftains, about British tankers in that same war.
Granted I have not read all that there is of WWIII fiction, but as it stands now, my favorite would still have to be Red Storm Rising.
Also, one of my favorite speculations of a Cold War Gone Hot is actually this mockumentary from 1998:
Oh well never mind the Allied MLM's including Brixmis are made redundant but 'who knows' they might just be in time to save and retain the services of the UKWMO and The Royal Observer Corps. Maybe get mentioned in dispatches, in the book ?
Finally yes that was a well thought out mockumentary.
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/26/2018 4:26:41 PM >
Team Yankee is good, but it is actually adapted from another author's story: The Third World War 1985 by John Hackett. I also believe there is another spinoff novel that I haven't read called Chieftains, about British tankers in that same war.
Chieftains is ok, but the author is clearly British, and is a bit biased (American's can't do anything right, British have to save the day with their invincible tanks, etc.) The ending is also very abrupt and broke my immersion in the story. Don't let that dissuade you though, it's still a great read.
quote:
Also, one of my favorite speculations of a Cold War Gone Hot is actually this mockumentary from 1998:
Team Yankee is good, but it is actually adapted from another author's story: The Third World War 1985 by John Hackett. I also believe there is another spinoff novel that I haven't read called Chieftains, about British tankers in that same war.
quote:
Chieftains is ok, but the author is clearly British, and is a bit biased (American's can't do anything right, British have to save the day with their invincible tanks, etc.) The ending is also very abrupt and broke my immersion in the story. Don't let that dissuade you though, it's still a great read.
Not as biased as Hollywood's been, wasn't it Universal Pictures that had the Americans capture a German Enigma cipher machine in the film U-571 instead of the British actually capturing one, months before the Americans entered the war ?
< Message edited by LaughingBuccaneer -- 5/27/2018 10:32:42 AM >
+1 for if there will be a credible approach and realistic scenario.
Hi i224747, we have worked hard to ensure we give the Soviets fair treatment in Northern Fury, and many of our key characters are Russian. In fact, we really hoipe that readers identify with our Soviet characters in the same way they connect with our NATO ones. I lived in Russia for several years have have a lot of respect for them. I don't think you can look at Russian military history without gaining respect for the fortitude of the Russian military.
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