fa3_c57_dangerzone

[darkChozo]

FIA wants to show off its new fleet of technicals and takes over a highway. CSAT has to drive them out.

I maaay have underestimated the effectiveness of HMG Ifrits for this one. Probably a good thing when we're running it for 20 people, but I want vics to be there without being too OP. Still, seems to work well overall.

So, things I'm probably gonna change:

• Defang the Ifrits a bit. Probably give them LMGs, or maybe fixed-ranged weapons.
• Make Corporal Kerry's daring escape a little more daring and a little more obvious.
• Add some patrols to the mountains to make flanking the highway a little more interesting.

[Sparks]

Um... an attack plane Comrade?
Since two fireteams, an Ifrit HMG and two MMGs were able to wipe out the entire enemy force, I think that could be safely removed, especially since we don't have many jet pilots, there's nothing on the enemy side that's so strong it needs an attack plane to defeat it, and if you added anything like that, we'd always have to have the jet pilot to play this.

[Pooter]

The other problem with attack planes is granularity in what they can hit, and having a target big enough to warrant bringing it into play.

A mortar can safely hit an emplacement maybe 75m away from friendlies.
An artillery piece can safely hit a base maybe 150m away from friendlies.
A CAS helicopter can be precise, but has to be called in very precisely or else the pilots will tend to shoot at any little moving dots on the field.
A CAS plane has to be targeted at a vehicle or a location big enough so that if the pilot completely misses the bomb placement they don't slaughter a friendly fire team.

I honestly loved this mission without the plane, the only problem I had was it ended a little suddenly. I thought we were going to have to fight our way to the end, then the FIA retreated when we were maybe 75% of the way through.

[Sparks]

I honestly loved this mission without the plane, the only problem I had was it ended a little suddenly.

I had the same problem. A 50cal round to the noggin 30 seconds after the first shots were fired will do that to you. Then the rest of the platoon had the poor manners to not die at all for the next half hour.

Actually, that's kindof an indication that the difficulty level might need some spiking...

[Soviet]

I'd fly the hell out of that plane

Also I think the HMG can totally stay - there's only 400 rounds total in that thing, we were dry by the final push. What would tilt things against us would be some infantry further from the road - me 'n Phil were basically having a nice Sunday drive punctuated by kilometer-long headshots every few minutes. I was basically zoned in on the enemy camps the entire mission, making icing all the crunchies a snap - if I had anything to worry about we'd have been much less deadly.

But still deadly

[darkChozo]

This might be my inexperience/terribleness with planes speaking, but between the kind of enemies we're facing and the "pls don't raze everything to the ground" ROE, I don't think planes will be particularly effective. I might restrict them to guns only though, right now they've still got missiles and bombs. In any case, it's strictly optional, so if we don't have anyone who wants to fly a plane then it'll just go unslotted.

If the mission seemed like it ended suddenly it's probably because the markers don't give a good enough indication of what the area's like. The big square is really supposed to be marking the highway, not a sea of EI. And you guys actually killed the vast majority of the AI, the end trigger is when there's like less than three guys in the area. I might put a few more guys in the very back so you can move a bit farther forward, though.

HMG Ifrits are definitely changing, there's so much open area that I'd have to put down like another platoon's worth of patrols to keep them distracted. They'll be getting heli transport miniguns. Quite effective at short-ish range, terribly inaccurate beyond four or five hundred meters.

[Aqarius]

FIA doesn't really have assets to warrant plane use, at least not plane use that doesn't end in a "Well, there goes the orphanage" scenario. You could sprinkle a couple of sentries (with RPGs) along the hills to spook the covering elements, and remove the plane.

Planes are assets way above platoon level, most of the time, and using them is tricky. What I could see being a balancer is armour, in that it would limit us more than technicals did. Put an IFV or four in the AO, or as reinforcements. Also, add an AA launcher or two, just to make it interesting. But this would mean taking out FIA, and making it a "plane or death" mission.

[Sparks]

Out of curiosity for those who've not dug into the AI settings; can we ramp up how aggressive the AI is? Because when the AI knows you're around a corner four feet away because you just shot at each other and it *turns its back on you*, I think maybe it's being a little passive?

[Pooter]

Out of curiosity for those who've not dug into the AI settings; can we ramp up how aggressive the AI is? Because when the AI knows you're around a corner four feet away because you just shot at each other and it *turns its back on you*, I think maybe it's being a little passive?

Not really. The AI only have a skill setting.

My own modifications to ASR_AI will change things up quite a bit, but it currently has the problem of AI moving into cover and then never leaving it until their counter-attack begins. Counter-attacks only occur if the AI is within a certain distance, so it basically eliminates long range combat.

[darkChozo]

So, what I think I'm going to do is leave the plane as-is but make a note in FAMDB that it should only be slotted by a brave host. If nothing else, it can serve as an easy way to take out technicals for smaller groups.