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Offline Asid

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #60 on: September 27, 2022, 01:48:24 AM »
Command Falklands Coming Soon
Mon, 26 September 2022




For the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, Command Modern Operations is pleased to announce a new DLC that will bring you back to 1982.




Command Falklands contains fifteen scenarios and two bonus missions that put you in charge of the most significant units during the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands off the coast of South America.

Take command of the Argentine forces or the British task force assembled in 48 hours to fight the Argentine invasion, manage units previously taken out of service in bonus scenarios such as the HMS Ark Royal, Buccaneer and Phantom Fighters long-range attack planes, and the aircraft carrier CVA-01.


Features:

-15 Scenarios plus 2 Bonus Scenarios including units not present or available during the war.
-Scenarios designed by a retired Royal Navy officer and Falklands veteran, who served on HMS Plymouth
-Management actual and previously taken out of service units
-Air, surface and underwater combat
-Guide your Forces to victory in a multi-sided campaign.

Are you ready to counter the invasion?

Command Falklands coming soon

https://www.matrixgames.com/game/command-modern-operations-falklands

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #61 on: November 21, 2022, 11:38:15 PM »
Command: Modern Operations - Falklands Out on November 24th
Mon Nov 21, 2022

Command: Modern Operations - Falklands



The release of the new “Falklands” campaign pack is getting closer, on November 24th.

As always, this release will be accompanied with a new CMO update with the latest database versions. Let us take a look through the scenarios in this historical (with a sprinkle of hypotheticals) battleset that recreates the famous 1982 conflict in the South Atlantic, created by a real-life veteran of this campaign.



Operation Paraquet
Taking back the occupied island of South Georgia was the necessary first step in the Royal Navy’s campaign to re-take the Falklands. Accordingly, a destroyer group led by HMS Antrim was sent near the island to conduct reconnaissance operations. On 24 April, the Antrim group was informed that an enemy submarine was operating in the vicinity. This alarming news caused the withdrawal of the group’s support vessels to the north, to safer waters. During the early morning hours of 25 April, Antrim’s Wessex helicopter spotted a surface contact exiting from Grytviken harbor. What was the Argentinian garrison up to?

Superfuse
Early on the morning of the 1st of May, a lone Vulcan bomber attacked Stanley airport; this was the longest-ranged recorded bombing mission in history. This was followed up by Sea Harriers from the RN task group striking Stanley airport again, with a further strike on Goose Green airfield. Argentine forces were caught unaware by the Vulcan strike, but were expecting the follow up strike by Sea Harriers. This scenario has been enhanced with the “Fog of War” aspect – therefore expect the unexpected.

Fleet Action
On the 27th of April, the Argentine fleet sailed from its bases and headed towards the last reported location of the British naval forces. The majority of the Argentine Navy, including its aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, was now at sea. Its mission: to find and engage the British task force, and either destroy it outright or inflict enough damage to force it to withdraw from the theater.

The overall Argentine plan was to conduct a three-pronged “pincer” attack on the British fleet, using the General Belgrano group as the “Southern force” (designated Task Group 79.3), the aircraft carrier group to the north-west (Task Group 79.1) and an Exocet-armed corvette group (Task Group 79.4) further north.

The northern prongs of the pincer were closest to the estimated location of the RN ships (and they also comprised of the most modern assets, with a an aircraft carrier loaded with capable attack aircraft, plus several missile-armed warships), so they would probably attack first; Belgrano’s gun-armed TG79.3 would subsequently close-in from the south and contribute to the battle once British forces had hopefully been weakened and scattered. The attack was also going to be supported by airforce land-based assets.

On the 30th of April, their intelligence indicated that the British carrier group was to the North-east of the Falkland islands. Since arriving in-theater, the British fleet had declared a 200nm Total Exclusion Zone (effectively a “stay out of here or be fired upon, no warnings” zone) around the islands. To avoid providing a political justification for the British to attack them first, all three Argentinian task groups stayed at the edge of the TEZ limit, waiting for the RN carrier group to show its hand.

They didn’t have to wait long: On the 1st of May, Argentinian-occupied airfields in the Falklands were attacked by multiple directions, first by a Vulcan bomber and subsequently by Sea Harriers from the RN task group.

The British fleet had done its part in the airfield raids, but by doing so it had revealed its rough location. Airforce attack aircraft in the Argentian mainland were primed and readied, and the Veinticinco de Mayo prepared her hosted airwing of A-4Q attack aircraft for an “alpha strike” on the British group (with the Hermes & Invincible being the priority targets), and sortied its S-2 patrol aircraft to get a final fix on the RN group before attacking. The first post-WW2 carrier battle was about to commence.

Hunter-Killer
On the afternoon of 1 May, the Churchill-class nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror reported that she had sighted the Argentine “pincer’s” southern prong (Task Group 79.3), composed of the elderly cruiser ARA General Belgrano (ex-USS Phoenix) and her missile-armed escorts. Conqueror then shadowed the southern force throughout the night and early morning of 2 May, making frequent reports to Northwood.

Admiral Woodward was heavily concerned about this Southern force. Since arriving in theater, the British fleet had declared a 200nm Total Exclusion Zone (effectively a “stay out of here or be fired upon, no warnings” zone) around the Falklands. All the pincer elements, including TG79.3, had so far stayed just outside the TEZ, to avoid giving British forces a political excuse to pre-emptively attack them. From Woodward’s operational picture, however, it was clear that the pincer forces were about to step into the TEZ and begin converging on the British fleet, and Belgrano’s group would soon sprint north-east to contribute to the decisive Argentinian attack. Furthermore, by doing so it would quickly move through Burdwood Bank’s shallower waters, making it more difficult for Conqueror to shadow the group and remain in ready-to-attack position.

Woodward had no other assets in close proximity to use against this task group; if Conqueror lost contact with them, they might well be re-acquired too late, maybe even just as they closed upon the British ships and attacked them. Clearly this was an unacceptable prospect, and a decision had to be made.

A request for modification to the standing rules of engagement (specifically to deal with the threat of TG79.3) was quickly passed up the chain of command, and eventually put before the PM’s War Cabinet. The matter was discussed, and the decision was made to approve the attack. Conqueror was given the green light to close with and attack General Belgrano’s group – the first time a nuclear-powered submarine would draw blood.

“Handbrake!”
Following the sinking of the General Belgrano, and the surface navy’s hurried withdrawal from the Falklands theater, Argentina’s hopes for striking the RN task force now fell to land-based air assets (plus any available submarines).

The Argentine armed forces had been severely crippled by the recent EEC embargo. This was especially so for the Argentine Navy’s Second Attack Squadron, equipped with Super Etendard. The squadron had received only five of its 14 ordered aircraft, and only five of ten of the air-launched versions of the Exocet antiship missile.

The pilots hurriedly developed a testing and training plan to prepare themselves for the arrival of the UK Task Force. They studied radar manuals for the Type 42 destroyers, developed their own tactics and exercised against the Argentine naval units (including, ironically, Type 42 destroyers recently purchased from the UK!) to test both tactics and aircraft.

P-2 Neptune MPAs were included in the training, to be used as scouts to detect the ships of the Task Force and vector the strike aircraft toward their targets.

On May 4th, after a P-2 located the forward SAM-picket line of British ships, two Super Etendards of the 2nd Attack Squadron took off from Rio Grande airbase, preceded by a KC-130 tanker. Their primary targets were the British carriers, but any major RN warship would do. Exocet, the archetype of Western heavy antiship missiles to this day, was about to get its baptism by fire.

Wolf Pack
What if the remaining Argentine submarines were fully operational at the start of the Falklands War? ARA San Luis, Salta and the recently re-activated ARA Santiago del Estero (sister to the scuttled Santa Fe) have re-deployed to the East of the Falklands to try and engage and sink the British aircraft carriers. The UK Task Group has retired to the East of the Falklands for refueling and maintenance during the night, before conducting further operations.

The Slot
Before British forces landed on the Falklands, extensive reconnaissance of the possible landing sites were conducted by Special Forces and units of the British task force. The frigate HMS Alacrity surveyed the entrance to Falkland Sound, primarily to confirm the navigability for large ships (especially the large landing ships of the task force) and to determine if the Argentines had mined the channel or had other surprises in lay.

The RN task force needed to verify the hydrographic data for Falkland Sound, and to determine if the Argentines had mined the northern entrance to the straits. To do that, Alacrity had to make a South-to-North transit of Falkland Sound – and brave all the threats that could lurk at this narrow passage…

Pebble Island Raid
Pebble Island lies just to the north of West Falkland. Besides a small settlement of about 25 souls and sheep, there was a short grass airfield on the island.

Upon occupation, the Argentines moved two detachments of short take-off ground attack aircraft (IA.58 Pucara and T-34 Mentor) to the airfield. Despite the kill tallies already racked up by the RN’s Sea Harriers and SAM destroyers, air superiority over the islands was still hotly contested daily (particularly as most Sea Harriers were busy guarding the fleet and so could not afford to establish permanent CAPs over the islands). So once British soldiers were on the ground, if left unmolested these ground attack aircraft could do grave harm to them in the barren terrain of the Falklands.

Partially for these reasons, the British High Command ordered the 22nd SAS Regt to conduct a pre-emptive raid on the airfield, long before the Royal Marines and their amphibious ships arrived. The SAS had been originally forged in Axis airfield-busting raids during the campaign for North Africa in WW2, so for the 45 tasked members of D squadron this mission was truly a return to their roots.

Operation Sutton
With the Falklands Sound cleared and nearby threats eliminated, the main British landing force was now able to disembark. The task force sailed into San Carlos waters during the early hours of May 20th, and conducted an unopposed landing on 3 beaches, managing to offload the majority of 3rd Commando Brigade.

There was light resistance from surviving local Argentine units, but these were suppressed by Special Forces teams landing earlier that evening against Fanning Head.

News of the landings reached Argentina, and as expected they caused an immediate and massive reaction. The majority of surviving and available air assets were tasked with an all-out attack on the British landing force. While most of the troops were on the ground, most of their supplies and heavy equipment were still on the big amphib and cargo ships; without them, their chances of defeating the Argentinian occupying forces were slim. And by necessity, until they finished unloading, the ships and their escorts were sitting ducks.

For the British ships and forces in San Carlos, May 20th was the easy part. The next day would be a whole other story: virtually everything in the Argentine inventory that could fly and bomb was coming for them.

Death Valley
As expected, the Argentinian air force (and naval air-arm) threw everything they could at the British landing forces at San Carlos, beginning from the morning of May 21st. Early results were less than hoped, with some ships damaged but only one sunk (HMS Ardent) and none of the big amphibs taken out of action. This was due to a combination of factors:

Due to the long distances, even with air refueling most Arg aircraft had very limited time-over-target available. That meant very limited time margins to detect surface targets, prioritize, and line up for an effective attack (and evaluate damage, and re-attack if necessary). Even something as basic as lighting up afterburner to evade an incoming missile (prior to attack) may well deplete the last fuel reserves and force an attacking aircraft to choose between aborting and returning to base, or pressing with the attack and (regardless of its success) ditching afterwards, short of fuel. In different cases, both choices were taken.
The anti-air defences put up by British forces in the landing area were simply murderous. Sea Dart and Seawolf were both highly capable SAM systems (when they worked) and both racked up repeated kills, and additional Rapier SAM launchers were rapidly deployed on the beachhead. But it was really the curtain of anti-aircraft artillery, everything from infantry rifles all the way to ships’ main guns firing airburst rounds, that created a seemingly impenetrable wall of fire for the Argentinian pilots to fly through.
Finally, Sea Harriers from the two RN carriers were able to mount both standing CAP patrols and deck-launched intercepts, and took a heavy toll on the attacking aircraft, using both their powerful 30mm cannons and the brand-new AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles that, for the first time, allowed all-aspect shots and thus conferred to them a decisive advantage.
Due to exceptionally bad weather on the 22th, air attacks on that day were postponed. This gave both sides time to rest (and to the RN landing force to unload more troops and material in peace), evaluate what worked and what didn’t, and prepare for the next day.

May 23rd dawned with much better weather, and Argentina’s air armada set out for Round 2. British defences were more extensive and better prepared now, and the Argentinian crews were knowingly stepping into air defences that Hanoi, just 10 years ago, would have envied. Some of these brave pilots would not be coming back.

Independence Day
I think the Argentine pilots are showing great bravery, it would be foolish of me to say anything else. — John Nott, British Defence Minister

May 25th was the Argentine Independence Day, a celebration day for the country. Thus it became important for general Galtieri’s government to demonstrate a significant military success in the Falklands operation, if only for this day. Undeterred by the relatively poor results of the attacsk during the last few days, the air force was instructed to perform an all-out attack on the British forces, disregarding losses.

As the San Carlos landing was finishing up by this point, the attacks this time were split between amphib ships still in the valley, warships and logistics assets stationed outside the Sound, and other ships still east of the islands (incl. the carrier group). HMS Coventry (a Type 42 destroyer) was stationed off Pebble Island and close-covered by HMS Broadsword, a Type 22 frigate. Positioned there to provide coverage for the amphib force, they would draw a major portion of the attack on that day. To the East of the Falklands remained the bulk of the RN Task Group, including the Hermes & Invincible; with them was a number of Merchant ships including the MV Atlantic Conveyor, carrying much needed heavy-lift helicopters and replacement Harrier GR.3s.

The Argentinian pilots were explicitly instructed to destroy one or more significant British assets, or else not bother returning. On their national celebration day, they had nothing to lose…

Cry Havoc – Bluff Cove
Raging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war. – Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare By the 1st of June, British ground forces at Falklands were bolstered by the arrival of 5000 new troops of the 5th Infantry Brigade. Major General Jeremy Moore now had sufficient force to start planning a full-scale assault on Port Stanley, the main stronghold of the Argentinian garrison.

This fresh arrival was observed by the Arg forces, and swift pre-emptive action was decided before the bridgehead was established, to give their troops at Stanley more time to hold their ground. By now the Argentinian airforce (FAA) had been decimated by its heavy losses, particularly during the San Carlos strikes. But the surviving crews were now bloodied veterans, and they could still mount one last big air offensive.

On June 8th, as the new reinforcements were being transferred by the amphibious force at Bluff Cove ashore, the ships came under air attack by A-4s of the 5th Air Brigade. British intelligence estimates assumed that the FAA, having suffered grave losses in the weeks before, would be unable to substantially interfere with the landing operation. They were about to be proven deadly wrong.

Call for Fire
The Royal Navy routinely shelled Argentine positions around Port Stanley, during the attack on the Two Sisters Mountain Range Royal Marines met stiff opposition from well dug in Argentine troops and again called for Fire Support from the Royal Navy. HMS Glamorgan has returned on station from Replenishment of Stores and Fuel, but as the Falklands Campaign reached its climax when both ships were recalled to support the Royal Marines fighting the Battle of Two Sisters.

During the morning of Saturday 12 June, Glamorgan was engaged by one Exocet missile fired from a land-based launcher.

Bonus #1:  The Empire Strikes Back
HMS Ark Royal, an Audacious-class aircraft carrier, was Britain’s last catapult flat-top to this day. Originally a WW2-era design, she was heavily modified (including the first-ever angled flight deck installed on a carrier) to operate Phantoms, Buccaneers and Gannet-AEWs throughout the 60s and 70s. She was retired in 1979.

In this hypothetical scenario, a service-life extension program (SLEP) in the mid/late-70s has granted a few more years of useful service to the old ship, and allowed her to join Hermes in lieu of the never-built Invincible in the Falklands campaign. As part of the SLEP, her obsolete Gannet-AEW aircraft have been replaced by modern E-2C Hawkeyes, and Seacat SAMs have been fitted to improve terminal defences.

The Ark Royal CVBG is now in the area of operations, and has been ordered to conduct strikes on  the Argentine airfields in the Falkland islands.

This scenario has been enhanced with many “Fog of War” aspects; therefore expect the unexpected…

Bonus #2: Operation Mikado
The Exocet strike that sunk HMS Sheffield confirmed the worst fears of the RN about the capabilities of this weapon, and its potential to disrupt (or even shut down entirely) operation Corporate. As a result, neutralizing this threat became a high priority, and several courses of action were considered.

One of them, called Operation Mikado, was a proposed plan to use Special Forces to infiltrate the Rio Grande airbase (in mainland Argentina) and destroy the Super Etendard aircraft hosted there together with their Exocet missiles. The initial concept was to land two C-130 Hercules on the runway, loaded with SAS troops, and perform an “Entebbe-style” lightning raid to destroy the aircraft & missiles. After the raid, surviving SAS members were to make their own way back via Chile if the Hercules were destroyed.

The plan was given an initial green light with caution, and as preparation for the raid, an advance SAS team landed on the Tierra del Fuego peninsula by Sea King helicopter, in order to recon the area and evaluate the feasibility of the C-130 plan.

Their report was mostly negative, and together with other developments Operation Mikado was shelved.

But what if other options on the table had been approved…?

Command: Modern Operations - Falklands Out on 24th November
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/command-modern-operations-falklands


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Offline Asid

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #62 on: December 15, 2022, 12:01:41 AM »
Command War Planner: General Improvements and User Interface
Wed Dec 14, 2022



Command’s “War Planner” update (aka “Tiny”) is set to release in less than a month. Are you ready for Command’s biggest update yet? In this multi-part series we take a look at the various key features introduced. Following the Overview, today it is the turn of general improvements and new UI features.

General speed improvements: A lot of individually small speed improvements both in the map/UI as well as the simulation engine combine together to provide an improved gameplay experience – as well as improved analysis throughout in the professional edition.

New “Double Flame” time acceleration mode: Command until now has been using two distinct time-slice settings for simulation fidelity: 0.1-sec (aka. “Finegrained mode”) and 1-sec (aka “Coarse mode”). Some of our users have asked for an additional “very coarse” 5-sec timeslice in order to achieve even greater simulation speed.

We were reluctant to step into this rabbit hole for some time, as once you start cranking up the timeslice length weird things start to happen (easy and classic example: weapon is at time-X in front of the target, at X+5 sec beyond the target, and no impact check can be easily made). However, we came up with a reasonable solution to this conundrum: automatically “throttle back” the timeslice setting to 1-sec whenever something that requires this precision happens or is about to happen, and freely let loose the speed demons in any other case. This has been tested extensively with very satisfying results, both in terms of simulation stability/integrity as well as the chief driver, performance. (Anecdotally, one of the early adopters used this feature to turn a nine-hour analysis into a three-minute run instead. Obviously, the performance benefits can vary wildly according to the scenario and use-case.)

And why is it called “Double Flame”, you may ask? This is why:


 
New feature: Benchmark mode: This provides an objective way to measure & compare a system’s performance and suitability for CPE, by repeatedly running any selected scenario in headless mode (similar to Monte-Carlo execution, but without any analysis results). By default, the execution is run using fine-grained pulse mode (ie. 0.1-sec pulses) in order to stress-test the simulation engine and the hardware resources; however, “coarse” and “very coarse” options are also available.



Some notes on this:

– The benchmark mode indicates the performance only for the simulation engine, not for the map/UI engine. For this reason, the rest of the UI (main window and map etc.) is hidden away while the benchmark window is active.

– It is best to run scenarios that can be run AI-vs-AI (e.g. “Duelists”, “The Tiger and the Dragon” etc.), otherwise one of the sides is going to remain idle during execution.

– Total scenario running time is not shown, because it can be an unreliable performance metric (e.g. did the scenario end quickly because it was run fast, or because an “end scenario” trigger was fired?).



Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) and directional-EMP (D-EMP) weapons: Previously available only in the Professional Edition, these two weapons types are now also available in the commercial edition.

Directional EMPs: CMANO v1.12 introduced omnidirectional tactical-EMP weapons. CMO now expands on this feature by also simulating directed-EMP warheads such as the one fitted on the USAF’s experimental CHAMP project. Using weapons with directional-EMP warheads is simple: Allocate the weapon at the desired primary target, and the weapon will first reach this target, “zap” it with its EMP payload, then head to the next nearest target, zap that one, then head to the next nearest target etc. until it runs out of fuel (or is shot down). This mode of operation makes D-EMP weapons very useful against clusters of closely-grouped targets with sensitive electronics, as is commonly the case for EW/GCI radars, C4 nodes, SAM batteries etc. The DB3000 currently has one directional-EMP weapon: Weapon #3407 – AGM-158B JASSM-ER [D-EMP], a variant of the common AGM-158B tactical cruise missile. By default, it is available for loadout #25091 (24x AGM-158B D-EMP), carried by: Aircraft #4325 – B-1B Lancer – USAF, 2018, IBS. Of course, weapon records holding this weapon can also be shoehorned into any aircraft loadout using ScenEdit, as normal.


HGVs: Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) are boosted into near-space by rockets, then dive back into the atmosphere and glide towards their (usually distant) targets, optionally using a complex trajectory with pre-specified waypoints to complicate detection and interception. As many HGVs are still “developmental” systems with many aspects of the behavior of deployed systems (such as Avangard) are still subject to classification rules, Command’s implementation relies mostly on currently publicly available data, partially from the tests of experimental hypersonic vehicles like the HTV-2. Command’s current implementation assumes a sharp dive into the atmosphere after release from the parent booster, followed by a pull-up maneuver that establishes the HGV to a shallow glide trajectory towards its target. (In the database, the “Cruise altitude” value is used to mark the altitude at which the pull-up maneuver will start). This is an example of the trajectory shortly after atmospheric pull-up, as displayed on Tacview:



Players can optionally also plot a waypoint trajectory, in the same way as they can plot a complex course for cruise missiles.


Separated autosave for each scenario: The “Resume from autosave” function now fetches from the new Autosaves folder the latest modified root scenario folder that contains the specific autosaves, and then uses the autosave.scen of this folder. If you want to load an autosave from a specific scenario, you can select a scenario in the “load scenario” window and a “load autosave” button will appear if a valid autosave exists. This ability can be very useful if you need to keep save copies from multiple different scenarios you may be playing.

Formation presets: You can now quickly arrange the members of a group using any of a range of formation presets:



The presets work with any unit type and allow quickly positioning units relative to each other and to the group’s lead. There are various controls on a new toolbar within the formation editor:

- The “Formation” selector allows picking from a number of different presets. These are defined in the file \Resources\Formation\StandardFormations.txt, which also documents the format so that you can add your own variants if needed.
- The “Spacing” value sets the spacing between each unit, either in nautical miles or in meters.
- The “Heading” value sets the assumed heading when ordering the formation position.
- The “Assign” button arranges the formation stations based on the previous settings; all group members will do their best to get themselves into these positions ASAP (they may not be physically be able to, for example when a surface group transits a narrow strait; in this case they will converge towards the group lead).
- The “Place” button is visible only in ScenEdit mode, and instantly teleports the group members to their assigned stations (useful for quickly arranging a group without the real-world delay, e.g. when constructing the initial setup of a scenario).

Improved Mission Editor layout: This can sound minor initially, but the feedback we have received indicates a massive quality-of-life upgrade. The ME window has been significantly revamped, with the sections for assigning/unassigning units, configuring mission settings and selecting strike targets now all relegated to separate tabbed windows. This opens up the previously cramped space of the ME window and allows much more “real estate” on each of those sections, both making usage easier and also providing more room for future additions:



Mission Editor – Generate flight plan for assigned aircraft: One of the new features added to the ME is the ability to generate a flight plan for any air mission before the assigned aircraft take off. This can be used either in close integration with the Multi-domain Strike Planner (more on that on a next post) or as a stand-alone feature.



Mission Editor – Clone existing mission: Another “small but mighty” quality-of-life improvement: Copy an existing mission’s settings to a new one. If you need to create a lot of similar missions quickly and don’t want to use scripting for any reason, this can be a significant time-saver:



New bathymetry layer: CMO’s original “Relief” layer was very warmly received, and a persistent request has been to provide a similarly rich visual layer for the bathymetry data. Such a layer was indeed made available, initially for the release of CPE 2.0 in 2021, and now we are glad to make it available in the commercial version:



This layer can be very useful for all aspects of underwater operations, from submarine & ASW ops, to mine and counter-mine systems and tactics, UUV control etc.


Load/save doctrine XML templates: One more popular request is now realized: Players have long asked for the ability to customize a ruleset for Doctrine & ROE settings (including EMCON, WRA etc.) and then be able to apply that as a template to other units, groups, missions etc. This is now possible, by the ability to save and reload such templates. In addition, because the save file is in raw XML format, the contents of the template can be freely edited – by hand, or by automated XML-parsing tools or scripts. Obviously this opens up a variety of automation capabilities.


Expanded WRA range options: The introduction of realistic boost-coast kinematics for AAW missiles, and the accompanying changes to default aircraft missile evasion behaviors (more on both of these on a forthcoming post) has made players more interested in more WRA range options. So in addition to the existing absolute-number figures, percentages of nominal range are now also available (25%, 50% and 75% of nominal). Furthermore, given that the new missile kinematics now reward evasion behaviors favoring outrunning the missile rather than trying to beam/notch it, a no-escape zone (NEZ) range option has been added to WRAs for AAW targets:



The logic of NEZ is actually pretty simple: If the target turns instantly at the moment of weapon launch and runs away from the firing unit, will the weapon be able to run it down? (If the target has been class-identified, its maximum possible speed at its current altitude is used as the reference “runaway” speed; if not, its current observed speed is used instead).

The benefit of using NEZ for a missile shot is that it makes it highly unlikely that the target will able to outrun the shot. On the other hand, against a high-performance target this leads to a severe reduction in practical launch range: Make your shot too conservative (to deny the adversary a chance to outrun your weapon), and you may possibly surrender the engagement initiative to the enemy. Again, a matter of trade-offs and risk management.


Revised message log: You generally liked CMO’s existing message log for its versatility and power, but you were not terribly fond of its “grouping by type” of messages. You told us you prefer a single waterfall-like flow of messages (ironically, much like CMANO’s original one) but with the option to dynamically show/hide messages by type. So this is what we came up with:



- Messages can now be filtered by type directly by clicking on each of the type descriptions in the olive-green buttons (when a type is disabled, its corresponding button color changes to red).
- Clicking on the “All” button instantly enables/disables all types.
- Clicking on the “>Raw” button toggles between “raw” (aka “waterfall”) and interactive modes.
- Clicking on the red-circled icon will detach the message log to its own window, and clicking it again will re-dock it.

New logged-message category: Doctrine/ROE changes.Like all other message types, this can be configured to appear on the message log, raise a pop-up and optionally stop the clock, show a message balloon etc.


Area & reference-points manager: Another migrant from Command-PE, this very handy tool will be your new best friend if you use areas and zones a lot (and in non-trivial scenarios we’ll assume you do):



This offers a centralized interface for editing reference points on large-scale scenarios. Ref-points and zones can be organized by tagging and visually distinguished by different colors. This can be superbly helpful, for example, for setting apart different patrol areas or exclusion zones.


Graphical Display of Satellite Pass Prediction: The “Satellite Pass Prediction” window now has an extra tab, which displays the same information in a more visual manner:



The tabular “spreadsheet” display or orbital passes still remains available, and is still a very powerful way of obtaining the info you need (e.g. sorting by any information field), but this graphical way provides an at-a-glance ability to quickly compare satellite availability windows.


Quick manual weapon allocation: Don’t trust the AI to make the optimum weapon allocation (or you’re the kind of micromanagement freak that never appears in grognard circles), but the full manual weapon allocation window intimidates you with its myriad combinations of shooters, targets and weapons? There is now another way:



Yes, it’s nothing Earth-shattering and if you’re a longtimer of the genre you’ve already seen this on other games. Still, you apparently like it well enough that you consistently asked for it in Command too, and we are happy to oblige.

Notice, too, the new “Investigate” and “Drop Target” commands. “Investigate” is another popular long-time request; the unit(s) will intercept and “shadow” the contact of interest but not engage unless in self-defense. Some additional new commands not shown in this screenshot:

- Refuel To Tanker
- Join Group As Escort
- RTB
- Assign New Home Base

Plot a course for the selected unit directly by right-clicking anywhere on the map: This is a boon to players coming from RTS games, where right-clicking to direct units is as instinctive as breathing. As in RTS titles, you can also plot multiple waypoints in succession by holding the shift key. During testing this was found to be annoying for some players who prefer the good old F3 way, so this behavior can be enabled/disabled through the game options window.


New optional UI/Map element: Barks: Barks are short text notifications that can be set to appear, briefly, anywhere on the map. Some examples:




The appearance and “styling” of the barks (color, text, duration etc.) is fully customizable through the Lua API, so you have full power to add them on any action performed. We can only begin to imagine what some of the more resourceful modders in the community will do with this feature.



New optional UI/Map feature: Slug trails: This something you may already be familiar with, if you have past experience with air-traffic control radar screens, sonar tactical consoles etc:





Slug trails can be configured through the Game Options window:



Flexible usage of CPU threads on LOS Tool: When we introduced the Line-Of-Sight (LOS) tool in CMO, some players whiplashed from “Meh, CMO does not utilize my multi-core CPU as much as I expected it to” to “HELP!!! When The LOS Tool is active, the rest of the game slows to a crawl!” (Don’t say we didn’t warn you…)

With this in mind, we added the ability to configure how many of the CPU’s available hardware threads (ie. virtual cores) can be allocated for use by the LOS Tool, therefore leaving the other cores/threads available to the UI and simulation engine:



Improvements on replenishment menus: The “Replenish” context menu now displays which type to rearm and will find automatically the eligible supply platform with this weapon in store. The context menu only shows the relevant weapons that have missing ammo, so it is easier to replenish a unit from various wide-spread supply facilities/vehicles/ships and keep track of what is missing. Example:



Ability to toggle more involved attacks (stick until winchester) in strike missions (toggle in strike mission UI):



Configurable sim-pause behavior: You can now configure whether opening up certain windows such as the DB viewer or Air-Ops will implicitly pause the simulation execution or not:



Include direct-path area in CZ rendering: When looking at a submarine’s sensor coverage of its CZ rings (if applicable), it can be easy to lose sight of the inner direct-path area where sonar detections are most feasible. This has now been rectified:



Note that this range represents the surface-level detection ability (detection range against under-layer targets, for example, will likely be lower) and dynamically adjusts to weather & environment conditions (boosted by surface ducting if present, shrunk by bad weather if present etc.)


Minimap improvements: The different minimaps have been improved in their presentation and unit rendering, and they also now include land-cover type in their color. Example:



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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #63 on: December 20, 2022, 12:02:39 AM »
Countdown to War Planner Update: The Operations Planner and multi-missioned units
Mon Dec 19, 2022



Command’s “War Planner” update (aka “Tiny”) is set to release in less than a month. Are you ready for Command’s biggest update yet? In this multi-part series we take a look at the various key features introduced in this massive, FREE upgrade to Command.

Today we are looking at one of the new headline features of War Planner: Multi-missioned units and the Operations Planner.


The Operations Planner
Ever wished you had an ATO-like overview of all missions and operations planned or currently executing, their status and hierarchical priorities and dependencies? With units or even entire task forces automatically switching from one mission to the next as objectives are achieved? Wish no more. The brand-new Operations Planner makes this, and much more, a reality.

To fully comprehend this function, it is essential to have a good knowledge of the mission editor in general, and cargo missions in particular. Previously, in Command, a given unit could only be assigned to a single mission. If you wanted to assign the unit to another mission, you would have to manually unassign it from the current mission and then assign it to a new one.

Before we begin: Some nomenclature
Triggers


A trigger in the operations planner is a condition that gets checked each simulated second. If the conditions are met the trigger will execute a specific action. There are two possible actions: start a mission or tag a mission as satisfied.



Mission status



A mission’s status in Command can be either Active or Inactive.

Active means the mission is evaluated by the Command simulation, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the mission serves a purpose or has units assigned to execute it.

Inactive means that the mission is completely ignored by the simulation until it becomes Active.

IMPORTANT: It is strongly recommended to leave all missions active, especially when working with the operations planner. Set mission as inactive only for draft missions or manually controlled missions.



Mission phases
A mission phase is a new concept introduced with the operations planner and is not related to the existing mission status:



“On Hold”:

The mission has not yet started, the units assigned to the mission won’t execute the mission.

“Satisfied”:

The mission is considered to have achieved enough of its objective for assigned units to consider other missions, but a satisfied mission does not necessarily end. This tag is used for mission triggers and for multi-mission priority.

“Running”:

A running mission will have its assigned mission to execute the mission.

“H-Hour”:

In Command, H-Hour designates the date and time at which the mission designated as the initial mission for H-Hour is to start. H-Hour in Command isn’t strictly an H-hour according military terminology as it can be customized without restriction.

“L-Hour”: 

In Command, L-Hour designates the date and time at which the mission designated as the initial mission for L-Hour is to start. L-Hour in Command isn’t strictly an L-hour according military terminology as it can be customized without restriction.



Understanding the concept of dynamic (aka. multi-missioned) units
The operations planner provides the capability for a single unit to be assigned to multiple missions. Of course, the unit can only execute one mission at a time, but you can now prioritize which mission it should execute. Mission priority is set via the operations planner.

Let’s assume we have a scenario where a group of aircrafts is assigned to a patrol mission. These aircrafts should patrol an area from a given time and then start a strike mission against a group of tanks. Without the operations planner, the player would need to track the time and then manually switch each aircraft to a new mission, at the right moment. Thanks to the operations planner such behavior can be automated, and in a more complex environment, our units could even behave like a reactive AI, aware of the simulation at the strategic level.

IMPORTANT ! A unit without “Dynamic” Checked will be ignored by the operations planner dynamic assignment, if you want a unit to work with the operations planner’s feature you MUST designate it as a dynamic unit.



Notice that since we have toggle “Showing Multi-Mission” we are now allowed to assign multiple mission to a unit, they are still shown in the “Available units” list despite having an assigned mission.



This panel on the right side of the mission editor shows all missions assigned to this unit. The mission in green in the one currently executed by the unit. Missions don’t have an order of execution, but a priority, which is set in the operations planner, as we will see later.

The “Dynamic” checkbox allows the unit to be assigned to multiple missions, units are all unchecked by default to reflect default command behavior.

Below the mission list we can see the current status and phase of the mission. We will see later in the operations planner chapter as “Phase” is a new way of managing the mission dynamically and is closely related to multi-mission:



It is on this screen that you decide to add the unit to all of the missions you want it assigned to. At this point you don’t have worry about priority or to select a current mission as the operations planner will manage this for you.

In above’s example we see that Rafale B is assigned to both the “Air Superiority Patrol” and “Light Tanks Destruction” missions, and the active mission for this unit is the one in green: “Air Superiority Patrol.” Depending on the configuration of the operation planer, this unit may automatically switch to the “Light Tanks Destruction” mission at some point in the future.

Don’t worry if the multi-mission mechanism is not entirely clear to you yet, as the mission editor is only half the story. The next chapter on operations planner will explain the other half.

Interlude: “Mobile facility” vs “Ground unit” and Split / Merge ground units
One of the most significant capabilities brought by the operations planner, is the possibility to have units dynamically change mission. But not all types of units are eligible for this kind of behavior. As part of that, It is important to understand the core difference between:

-Ground units as facility which is a legacy implementation where ground units are represented as a moving, multi-aimpoint “facility” (see this old post explaining this concept).
-Mobile ground units, a new implementation, which works like others active units such as aircraft, ships etc.

The first hold a group of units abstractly represented as “mounts”, while the last is a fully simulated individual unit. The core difference that interests us here is that ground units as facility are transported as cargo which doesn’t have an existence in the simulation until it has landed (and spawned).

This means that we can’t assign or queue them a mission until they have landed, and you will not be able to achieve a fully autonomous behavior for your units, in this case.

Cargo operations are now enabled for active units, meaning that all these limitations are now removed. However, you must have the right methodology to achieve this.

Unless you have to achieve backward compatibility or if a database entry is missing, you MUST use ground units, NOT mobiles facilities, to use the operations planner at its fullest.

On the new cargo edition form, note the “type”, at the moment, the database has more content for mobile facilities:



Ability to Split/Merge ground units (facilities)
Legacy ground units associated as “facilities” can now be rearranged through this new tool.

Select an eligible unit, such as a landed detachment, right click on it to bring the context menu and click on “Split unit”:



This brings you this menu, with the details of the detachment:



You can also break the detachment into individual units with a single click:



Two eligible units can be merged together:



The Operations Planner 
The operations planner adds a new level of interaction between missions and allows units to be dynamically reassigned from one mission to another.

Since the operations planner is sometimes tied to a landing plan, we have here the concepts of H-Hour and L-Hour to indicate overall operational time. These can of course be ignored, or used in a different purpose:



On the top left, one can define the H-Hour and the L-Hour values.

The H-Hour box on the left is where we can define the date and time to start the H-Hour mission. The H-Hour mission is the initial mission in the operation. L-Hour box works identically to H-Hour but they are independent.

Once an H-Hour or L-Hour is hit the respective initial mission can no longer be changed.

The checkbox in the middle ties the H-Hour to the L-Hour, meaning that the time separation will be constant between H-Hour and L-Hour when you modify the time for either.



The spreadsheet in the center lists all the side’s missions. Most columns are informational. Generally, you will be dealing with 2 columns: Priority and Phase.

Mission priority
The priority of a mission does NOT designate his supposed position in a mission execution queue. It indicates to its assigned units how important this mission is at this moment. The mission priority is used by units assigned to multiple missions to decide which mission to execute at any given time.

A unit having a mission in “On Hold” phase will not have this mission evaluated for the active mission evaluation.

Mission phases
A mission phase is a new concept introduced with the operations planner extension, it is not related to the mission status and should not be mistaken with it:



Waiting for trigger: The mission may (or may not) have already started yet but queued units won’t evaluate this mission when choosing one to be assigned to.

Satisfied: The mission is considered to have achieved enough of its objective for its current assigned dynamic units to consider other missions, but a satisfied mission does not mean its ending. This tag is used for mission triggers and for multi-mission priority.

Triggered : A running mission will become a valid candidate for multi-mission units assigned to it. Therefore, a queued unit to this mission may become assigned to it.

A unit assigned to multiple missions will pick the most appropriate mission to be assigned to, based on the priority and the phase of the mission. unless it is already active on a mission that is in “running” phase, or if all assigned missions are in “On Hold” phase.

A unit that is active in a mission in “Satisfied” phase will still evaluate the satisfied mission and may continue that mission if no other missions are available.

Name


Just like for operation, the mission’s name helps for organization. However user’s made Lua sripts might reference a mission by its name and it is recommended to be careful when changing mission’s name in such situation.

Description

This is purely an informational tag and does not affect the simulation at the moment. Use and edit this field to organize yourself.

Generated mission will usually contain some generated information

Type

This is the mission sub type as defined in Command’s simulation.

Execution Time

The time, relative to H-Hour at which the mission is estimated to begin. See the chapter “Working with estimation” for more details.

Bulk actions

Bulk action tools are located on the bottom of the operations planner. These are used to select multiple mission at once and perform simultaneous modifications on them:



Filter

The filter tool is used to do a specific term research on mission and filter the result of this search query:



Triggers 

This chapter is the core of the operations planner capabilities. It allows relationships between mission and a dynamic approach when executing missions.

A trigger is like a set of a condition and an action, if the condition is met, then we do an action.

Command evaluates all these triggers every second.

For mission, there are 2 types of actions:

-We start a mission (we set the mission’s phase as “Running”).
-We finish a mission (we set the mission’s phase as “Satisfied”).

It is important to understand that Command doesn’t have a concept of mission completion, when tagging a mission as satisfied, command only indicates that the mission have enough fulfilled its objective to allow its assigned units to evaluate other mission assignment options. Of course all relevant missions have already implicit mission completion mechanisms, a cargo mission will stop operation once the task is done, a strike mission won’t launch again to strike a nonexistent targets , etc…

These 2 actions are tied to a set of conditions.

Starting a mission with triggers


Select any of the mission and look on the right side of the operations planner window. Notice the main block called “Triggers to Start Mission”, and how it is separated into 3 smaller blocks:



These smaller blocks are individual conditions. Checking them means this specific condition will be evaluated.

The dropdown on the right of each smaller block is called a conditional operator.

As you can see there are 3 types of triggers that can start a missions:

-A time based trigger
-A mission dependency trigger
-A Lua script trigger

Time-based trigger



This will be triggered when the scenario date reaches the defined H-Hour plus or minus a given duration.

Example #1 : This trigger will be true if we reach H+ 2 hours



Example #2 : This trigger will be true if we reach H- 23 hours



Mission dependency trigger

This will be triggered if all missions in “missions to check” are in “Satisfied” phase.

In this example, it will be triggered when “Air Superiority Patrol” mission is in “Satisfied” Phase:



Lua script trigger

This will be triggered if the Lua script contained returns TRUE as a value:



“Finishing” a mission with triggers



It was mentioned earlier that Command does not have an explicit concept of finished mission.

The triggers to tag a mission as “satisfied” work just like the one to start it.

The first trigger is a time based one, it tracks the elapsed time since the mission’s phase has been set to “Running” and will be true once the defined time elapsed.

The second one is a Lua script trigger and work identically to the one in the mission start trigger – it returns the Boolean value of the contained lua script.

Logical Operators



Triggers, in Command, can be tied with logical operators.

Take a look at the picture on the right, representing a set of triggers to start a mission:

We have set all 3 triggers to be checked. On the right of each triggers you can notice a dropdown when you can selected either the OR or AND operator.

For the triggers to return TRUE and therefore start the mission (set its phase to “Running”) each checked trigger is evaluated.

We see in this example that the first trigger has “OR” operator, the second “AND,” the third “OR.”

What it means in this situation is that the second trigger (the one with “AND”) must be true.


In addition the “AND” trigger needing to be true, either of the first or third “OR” triggers must also be true.



If all conditions are met and the current mission’s phases is “On Hold” then the mission will change it phase to “Running”.

Another example (left):

All triggers are checked (and will be evaluated), and each of them have the “AND” operator.

This means that the missions will start when all conditions are true.





Operations planner and Lua Scripting

Command has already a powerful Lua scripting framework. The operations planner allows the integration of your script as a trigger.

Clicking on “Edit Script” in either the “Triggers to Start Mission” or the “Triggers to Tag Mission as Satisfied” group will bring you to an interface where you can add your script in:



Just like the rest of the triggers, the Lua Script trigger will be executed each second for its associated mission. The Lua script must return a Boolean.



Working with estimation
Command is such a complex simulation that giving an accurate estimation of an operation duration could take up to hours of computation. The operations planner provides an instantaneous estimation at the price of reliability.

The operations planner estimation takes into account all the time based triggers and mission dependencies, it simulates a run and then display the estimated execution tie for each mission.

This estimation work only thanks to the user’s input on triggers.

The special case of Lua script

You may have noticed that not all triggers are time-based, some depends on lua script and cannot be reliably predicted. In this case, you will have to manually input a value into the trigger in this trigger, shown on the right.

It is not necessary to check (enable) the trigger, having an unchecked “Time Elapsed” trigger with a value basically tells the operations planner : “Only use this trigger when estimating execution time”. In this example, we assume the mission will be satisfied after 1 hour:



If everything is properly configured, clicking on the “Simulate” button will calculate the execution time, relative to H-Hour for each mission:



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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #64 on: December 28, 2022, 11:42:22 PM »
Countdown to War Planner: Cargo 2.0 – The Logistician’s Nirvana
Wed, 28 December

Countdown to War Planner: Cargo 2.0 – The Logistician’s Nirvana



Cargo 2.0 – The main points

Command’s existing cargo system was hitherto geared more towards the transfer of combat forces & personnel rather than materiel. This changes radically with Cargo 2.0. You can now transfer both combat units and also weapons, stores, fuel and any arbitrary material. Place your cargo on a multitude of different container types, from standard ISO-blocks to specialized boxes, each with its own peculiarities. Transload cargo at airbases, ports etc. in order to haul it over even transcontinental distances. Automate all this through cargo and (new) transfer missions. Set up complex logistical chains from mainland factories all the way to the front line. Expeditionary commanders from Napoleon to Alexander and Eisenhower would have given their right arm for such a tool – and it’s now included in Command for free.


Mission Editor / Mission Behavior Changes


(New UI elements circled in red)

A new cargo-oriented mission type has been added and the original type of cargo mission has been renamed. The existing cargo mission behavior is now called a ‘Delivery’ cargo mission. The new cargo mission type is a ‘Transfer’ cargo mission.

Delivery
cargo missions work as before, with the destination being a zone defined by RPs on the map. This type of mission will unload cargo into action / for use in the simulation (units will unload from cargo onto the map where they can be given orders, etc. Ammo and fuel will move into unit fuel records / magazines.)

Transfer
cargo missions, on the other hand, are for moving cargo from one holding unit to another –from airbase to airbase, port to port, or supply facility to airbase, etc. The cargo is not unloaded onto the map but instead moved from the starting cargo source into one of the transporting units assigned to the mission, transported to the destination, and then moved from the transporting unit into destination unit’s cargo.

Creating a Transfer cargo mission uses the same procedure as creating a ferry mission – select a destination unit (rather than a group of reference points) before you create the new mission.

Ships and aircraft transfer or deliver cargo from their starting host unit. Ground units assigned to a cargo missions should start the scenario loaded as cargo within the source unit (i.e. a ship, fixed facility, airbase, etc.) They will automatically exit cargo and appear on the map as soon as the mission activates and they are within range of the mission destination.

Move All Cargo From All Available Sources:
This is a new option for any cargo mission to move all the cargo from the available source(s). You can click this checkbox instead of having to manually go through and assign every possible cargo item. It also allows cargo to ‘flow’ through a system of cargo missions without the sim needing to know what cargo is / is not going to be transferred to a cargo source by some other cargo mission.

Vehicles Stored in Cargo May Self-Transfer:
This is a new option found on the ‘Transfer To’ tab for cargo transfer missions. Setting this option ‘on’ allows ground units (not mobile facilities or other cargo) that are assigned to the cargo mission to transport themselves from the starting cargo source to the destination unit’s cargo. They will exit cargo onto the map, travel to the destination unit, and then enter the cargo of the destination unit. In order for this to work the ground unit needs to be in the mission source’s cargo, assigned to the mission, AND in the list of cargo to be transported (or you have the ‘move all’ option set to on.)


Cargo / Edit Cargo Changes



A new cargo type, ‘container’, is now available (NOTE: DB v493 or later is required). Cargo containers are added/removed from cargo the same as other types of cargo. Once a container has been added to cargo you can select it from the current cargo list on the left and click ‘Edit Container’ to put other cargo inside the selected container.

Cargo containers can contain ammunition, fuel, or user-defined contents. User-defined contents can be assigned a name, size, and mass via the Edit Container window. Containers are loaded and moved in the same manner as other cargo types but cannot be unloaded directly to the map as independent entities – they are always in cargo.

If cargo containers are moved as part of a cargo delivery mission they will be delivered into nearby (within 2nm) existing supply-type facilities if possible, or a new ‘forward arming and refueling point’ facility will be created to hold the containers if none are available.

Fuel in cargo containers that is delivered via a cargo delivery mission will be added as available fuel of the destination facility. This fuel can then be used by other units to refuel.

Ammunition in cargo containers that is delivered via a cargo delivery mission will go into the magazine of the destination facility. These can be used to rearm other units that use the same ammunition type (NOTE: Check the DB ID number to confirm your cargo ammunition matches the type used by the unit you want to re-supply).

User-Defined Cargo: This is a catch-all type of cargo for items the user wishes to move and track as cargo but which have no effect within the Command simulation. User-defined cargo can be used to track the movement and delivery of items like food, medical supplies, spare parts, etc.


Chaining multiple Cargo Missions

A single cargo mission can handle movement of cargo from the assigned source(s) to one destination. By using the ‘Move All Cargo’ option, however, you can create a sequence of cargo missions to ultimately move cargo through a series of intermediate destinations and on to delivery in the field – or in an extreme example, move material from homeland factories all the way to the expeditionary frontline. The ‘Move All Cargo’ option is required for this sort of system, as individual cargo missions do not intrinsically know what cargo may be delivered to their cargo source(s) by other cargo missions.

The ability to use multiple cargo missions to route different cargo items from the same source to different destinations is currently limited to ‘originating’ cargo sources – i.e. those where you know no other cargo mission will be delivering cargo TO the cargo source.


New Game Option: Show US Units of Measure in Cargo Editor



This option will change the display values show in the Edit Cargo and Edit Container forms to use US units of measure (feet / square feet / tons / pounds / gallons) rather than metric units. This option applies ONLY to those two forms. The forms will refresh automatically if change the option.

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #65 on: January 24, 2023, 11:18:16 PM »
Command War Planner
Tue Jan 24

The biggest update ever released in the history of Command: Modern Operations is now available and free.




The War planner, is the massive update that adds dozens of important features some coming from Command Professional Edition, hundreds of improvements and myriad changes and bug fixes, adding unprecedented power and flexibility in the organization and automation of complex operations.

* New AAW missile kinematics & aircraft evasion
* Multi-Domain Strike Planner
* Operations Planner
* Cargo 2.0
* Revised Mission Editor


and much much more, read all the details

To download the Remaster installer - please use the check for update button on the launcher or head to the Command Product page  and download Part 1 and 2!

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #66 on: February 24, 2023, 12:20:36 AM »
Command Showcase: Ford Class Coming Soon
Thu, February 23, 2023



Command Showcaseis a series of scenarios that will put you in command of the most significant weapons sensors and units in the modern era with new and hypothetical theaters of war.

Your Second challenge:

Command Showcase: Ford Class

Russia, in an attempt to break international sanctions, has set up a trade agreement with Angola. Unfortunately, the situation has turned ugly with the death of the Angolan President, back and forth claims of Russian and/or US and/or European interference fused with a fractious domestic political situation boiling down to civil war. While many nations attempt to evacuate non-combatants, Russia has vowed to send ‘Peacekeepers’ and the US is adamant that its Embassy will remain open and US citizens will be protected.

Enter the USS Ford and her dispersed Strike Group, diverted from a scheduled visit to South America. Simultaneously, the Russians divert their newly refitted Battle Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov from a mission to the Mediterranean. Suddenly two of the most powerful ships on the planet are steaming at high speed towards a tinderbox situation.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

Features:

-Playable by the US side only and focused on the USS Ford.
-Configurable air wing for the USS Ford with 10, 14 or 20 F-35s and varying numbers of other aircraft to round out the wing.
-Randomized starting positions for many elements.
-P-8, RQ-180 and other high end surveillance aircraft.
-High end SSNs on both sides.
-Airborne insertion of US Marines to the US Embassy.
-A NATO airlift not under the player’s control but needing protection.
-A fast-moving and dynamic situation on the ground which will complicate the player’s ability to achieve tasks and missions.
-An escalation mechanism where both Russia and Angola will gradually lose patience with player actions at different rates and for different reasons, and likely start shooting.

Command Showcase: Ford Class Out on 6th March
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/command-showcase-ford-class


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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #67 on: March 12, 2023, 06:14:10 PM »
Command: Showcase Ford Class out now
Mon Mar 06, 2023



Command Showcase is a series of scenarios that will put you in command of the most significant weapons sensors and units in the modern era with new and hypothetical theaters of war.

Your Second challenge:

Command Showcase: Ford Class
Russia, in an attempt to break international sanctions, has set up a trade agreement with Angola. Unfortunately, the situation has turned ugly with the death of the Angolan President, back and forth claims of Russian and/or US and/or European interference fused with a fractious domestic political situation boiling down to civil war. While many nations attempt to evacuate non-combatants, Russia has vowed to send ‘Peacekeepers’ and the US is adamant that its Embassy will remain open and US citizens will be protected.

Enter the USS Ford and her dispersed Strike Group, diverted from a scheduled visit to South America. Simultaneously, the Russians divert their newly refitted Battle Cruiser Admiral Nakhimov from a mission to the Mediterranean. Suddenly two of the most powerful ships on the planet are steaming at high speed towards a tinderbox situation.

What could possibly go wrong?


Features:
-Playable by the US side only and focused on the USS Ford.
-Configurable air wing for the USS Ford with 10, 14 or 20 F-35s and varying numbers of other aircraft to round out the wing.
-Randomized starting positions for many elements.
-P-8, RQ-180 and other high end surveillance aircraft.
-High end SSNs on both sides.
-Airborne insertion of US Marines to the US Embassy.
-A NATO airlift not under the player’s control but needing protection.
-A fast-moving and dynamic situation on the ground which will complicate the player’s ability to achieve tasks and missions.
-An escalation mechanism where both Russia and Angola will gradually lose patience with player actions at different rates and for different reasons, and likely start shooting.


Command Showcase: Ford Class Out Now
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/command-showcase-ford-class

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #68 on: July 29, 2023, 12:01:17 AM »
CMO Update -v1.05.1307.19
Fri, 28 July 2023



We have a new update out now for Command: Modern Operations.

Besides bugfixes and tweaks we have added additional support for sensor groups. The complete changelog is available below:

Change History:

v1.05.1307.19 – 28th July 2023

* Added: #15173: SBR Add Support for Sensor Groups
* TWEAK: Minelaying behavior (Assume if a mine is nearby and not active, and the unit is a ML type, then it laid the mine and it can ignored for now)
* TWEAK: UAV/UCAVs of small size can be catapult-launched and retrieved on platforms without dedicated air facilities
* TWEAK: Restored TO/LA check box on Edit A/c form
* TWEAK: Aligned "Add AC" and "Add boat" window layouts
* FIXED: Submerged contacts never engaged by AI
* FIXED: [1307.18+1328.6] No fire inside no-nav zone (Added a flag to the NoNavZone that designate it as a no fire zone (default is true) so that the user can decide if allowing the unit to fire in the zone or not)
* FIXED: Docking Facilities Issue on DDG 125 (if the first dock facility was unable to host the boat the other ones were not checked)
* FIXED: Deployed mines not appearing in weapons fired export
* FIXED: Missing implementation of "Drifting Mine" behaviour
* FIXED: [1307.18+1328.3] Mission Editor Causing Reproducible Crashes
* FIXED: [Build 1307.18] "Hidden" Thermal layer/databox info broken
* FIXED: Missing illumination arcs on DB viewer
* FIXED: #15188: [B1328.5] Extreme wingman separation
* FIXED: SBR with MCM failing
* FIXED: Strike mission escort flights can not be generated
* FIXED: [1307.18] WRA Different Weapon Allocation
* FIXED: CEZ transparency was not serialized and deserialized
* FIXED: CEZ custom altitude was not able to be set to a value < 0
* FIXED: MPAs and Helis not dropping Sonobouys
* FIXED: #15139: Mission Level WRA GUI: Choices Revert Back to "Various Settings"
* FIXED: [Lua] .Phase in mission wrapper
* FIXED: PCLS broken by incorrectly applied intermittent-EMCON clause
* FIXED: ACs were RTBing without fire (specific case)
* FIXED: CEZ Trannsparency was not set rendered correctly. Transparency value was not set if changed via text and not via up down arrows
* FIXED: #15172: [B1307.X] SBR Generate Delta Template Errors
* FIXED: crash on scenario reload
* FIXED: Add sub unit a 0 kts (not at creep)
* FIXED: Mk1 eyeball is now operational at periscope depth if no other visual sensor are on platform and scenario is using CWDB
* FIXED: Clicking on "sensor" hyperlink in contact recent detections list does not bring up the DB-viewer as expected if the sensor is in a loadout
* FIXED: Logic flaw in Priority Target List doctrine evaluation may lead to infinite loop (ie. sim freeze)
* FIXED: Weapon "Max Downrange" calculation returning infinity if MaxAltitude_AGL = 0 and MinAltitude_AGL = 0

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #69 on: August 10, 2023, 12:40:10 AM »
Command: Modern Operations - 64-Bit Update
Tue, 8 August 2023



We have big news for Command: Modern Operations. Today we are going live with a major update that upgrades the engine to 64-Bit architecture. The full changelog and notes on new features and performance are available below. This patch is available via steam or direct download from the forums here.

* MAJOR NEW FEATURE: 64-bit architecture. Command is now a 64-bit application.

* MAJOR NEW FEATURE: New DirectX 11-based map renderer. The existing DX9-based map rendering engine has been wholly replaced with a new one based on DirectX 11. You should observe significantly improved zoom/pan performance, as well as reduced latency and increased throughput when rendering map layer tiles.

* NEW SIM FEATURE: Per-sensor mast height (optional)
Apart from the existing ability to specify an overall mast-height for a platform/unit, it is now possibly to specify the mast-height value per sensor. This can be useful in modeling the different height placement (and thus horizon coverage, and the now-critical ability to clear the local skyline, see below) for each individual sensor in a platform.

* NEW MAJOR SIM FEATURE: Terrain type-dependent skyline / land-cover height. The simulation now clearly distinguishes between terrain elevation height (ie. the actual ground) and the "skyline" height outlined by either natural features (forest trees, plantation etc.) or man-made structures (buildings, bridges etc.). This is critical for a number of different sim features, from land close-combat (e.g. land forces need to poke their sensors above local features to get sufficient LOS) to low-level flight (some aircraft can fly between the trees/buildings, most cannot).

Several new land-cover types have been added to the existing ones. The overall list of land-cover types and their associated skyline-height values is as follows:

Water  => 0
Evergreen Needleleaf forest => 5
Evergreen Broadleaf forest => 5
Deciduous Needleleaf forest => 5
Deciduous_Broadleaf forest => 5
Mixed forest => 5
Closed shrublands => 1
Open shrublands => 1
Woody savannas => 5
Savannas => 1
Grasslands => 1
Permanent wetlands => 1
Croplands => 1
Cropland Natural Vegetation Mosaic => 1
Snow And Ice => 1
Barren Or Sparsely Vegetated => 1
Urban And Built Up => 9
Urban - Close Inner City => 30
Urban - Spaced High Rise => 45
Urban - Attached Houses => 6
Urban - Close Industrial => 9
Urban - Spaced Apartments => 20
Urban - Detached Houses => 6
Urban - Spaced Industrial => 9
Urban - Shanty Town => 4

Custom Environment Zone UI changes and new land-cover Types

The Custom Environment Zone window UI has been re-arranged, with sonar environment overrides grouped together on one side and land-cover overrides grouped on the other.  You can now set a custom land cover height (skyline), which will override the default land cover height for the CEZ:



The cover type ‘Use_Underlying_Values’ allows you to create a CEZ that doesn’t override land cover at all (for example if you only wanted to override weather and/or sonar conditions.)  If you do select a specific land cover type, you can then check the ‘Set custom height’ checkbox to override the cover height for that CEZ.  The height value is in whole meters.

Aircraft ‘Land Cover Masking’ Flight Mode

‘Land Cover Masking’ (aka "fly between the trees/buiildings") is a new flight mode for aircraft. Only aircraft with the DB capability flag for ‘land cover masking’ set will be capable of this flight mode (DB v499+ required). In DB3000 v499 all rotorcraft (incl. some UAVs) have this capability.

To set an aircraft to use this flight mode you use the Speed/Altitude window to set an aircraft (or aircraft waypoint) to use terrain-following mode. Once you set terrain following (and assuming the aircraft is capable of land-cover masking), a new check box will appear in the UI to set ‘Land Cover Masking.’  This can also be done via Lua (see below.)



Aircraft flying ‘land cover masking’ will fly much lower than the existing terrain following mode, as low as 10 ft AGL at loiter speed in open terrain with good visibility.

If the scenario has the ‘Terrain Effects’ feature enabled, an aircraft flying ‘land cover masking’ will fly just low enough to be inside the land cover when possible. For example if land cover at the aircraft’s location is ‘urban/built up’ with a height of 9m then the aircraft will fly at 8m. This allows the aircraft to receive concealment from the land cover (see sensor changes below) while still exposing any mast-mounted sensors it may have (a good example is OH-58D with its mast-mounted optics).

Land Cover and Sensor Detection Ranges

The effect of land cover on the maximum sensor detection ranges for visual, IR, and radar sensors has been changed. (NOTE: as before, land cover only effects sensor detection range when the ‘Terrain Effects’ feature is enabled in the scenario settings.)

Previously, only the land cover at the target’s location influenced sensor detection range.  Now the sensor itself is checked to see if it is ‘within land cover’ (ie. it clears the skyline or not) and this applies an additional reduction in detection range if the height of the sensor is below the local skyline. In addition, the land cover along the ‘line of sight’ between the sensor and the target will also reduce sensor detection range whenever the LOS point is below the local skyline.

These changes can result is significantly shorter detection ranges for ground-to-ground sensor detections when there is ‘high’ land cover in the area (e.g. woods and/or urban terrain.). Very low-flying aircraft (using the ‘land cover masking’ mode) can also have reduced detection ranges if they are flying below the local skyline (and dodging telephone poles or power lines, probably).

Lua Changes

New Lua support has been added for the features above:

Land Cover Masking Flight Mode

‘Land cover masking’ mode can also be set via Lua using the Unit wrapper.  Set the ‘unit.TF’ property to ‘true’ to turn on terrain following and then set the new ‘unit.TFType’ property to 1 (for land cover masking) or ‘0’ (for traditional terrain following AGL flight.)

Custom Environment Zones

Lua support for custom environment zones has been expanded.
The ScenEdit_AddZone, ScenEditRemoveZone, and ScenEdit_TransformZone functions now support CEZs.  CEZs are always added to/removed from the ‘nature’ side.  CEZ values are set via the CEZ wrapper object (see below.)

Lua Side wrapper has a new property and a new method:
Side.Customenvironmentzones read-only property – returns a table of CEZ guid/name/description.  Note: only the ‘Nature’ side will have CEZs normally.
Side:getcustomenvironmentzone(guid or name or description) method – returns the CEZ as a zone wrapper object.

Lua Zone object wrapper:

Zone.landcovertype property – get/set integer land cover type.
Zone.hascustomlandcoverheight read-only property – returns true if CEZ has custom land cover height set.
Zone.landcoverheight property – get/set integer land cover height in meters.
Zone.thermallayerceiling property – get/set thermal layer ceiling in meters.
Zone.thermallayerfloor property – get/set thermal layer floor in meters.
Zone.thermallayerstrength property – get/set thermal layer strength as floating point value.
Zone.convergencezoneinterval property – get/set convergence zone interval as floating-point value.
Zone.weatherprofile property – get/set weather profile as a Lua table with ‘temp’, ‘rainfall’, ‘undercloud’, and ‘seastate’ table fields with the same values as the weather model.


* NEW SCENARIO REALISM FEATURE: Weather and day/night cycle affect air sorties. Aircraft that are not suitably equipped (either built-in or through their loadout, e.g. LANTIRN pods) for flying at night or in bad weather, will not be able to take off. If such aircraft are already airborne when the unsuitable conditions occur, they run a high risk of crashing on landing.

This is an optional realism feature, enabled by default for new scenarios but disabled for existing ones, to avoid disrupting existing scenarios.

* NEW MAJOR FEATURE: Targeting Priority (part of Doctrine/ROE settings):

A new ‘Targeting Priority’ tab now appears on the Doctrine/ROE window. This tab allows the user to create a Targeting Priority List to control how a unit prioritizes engaging known targets.
Targeting Priority is a component of a Doctrine, and thus follows all the existing conventions for Doctrines in Command – they can be assigned at the unit, group, mission, or side level and will inherit from higher-level Doctrines:


 
The Targeting Priority List UI will display the Targeting Priority that applies to the Doctrine you’re currently viewing.  You can only edit the Targeting Priority List if it is a part of the current Doctrine – i.e. not inherited from a higher-level Doctrine.

Every Targeting Priority List will contain a single ‘default’ priority entry. Entries above the ‘default’ entry in the list will be considered ‘immediate’ priority targets, to be engaged before any other targets. Entries below the default entry in the list are considered ‘delayed’ priority, to be engaged only if no higher priority targets are available. The ‘default’ priority entry will automatically match any target(s) that do not match any other entry in the Targeting Priority List, allowing the player to prioritize (or de-prioritize) individual target types while leaving all other target types to fall into the ‘default’ category.

Create: Allows you to create a Priority Target List for the current Doctrine.  This will override any inherited Targeting Priority.

Remove: Removes the Targeting Priority List from the current Doctrine.  The Doctrine will automatically inherit from higher level Targeting Priorities, if they exist.

Move Up: Move the selected item up one row in the list.

Move Down: Move the selected item down one row in the list.

Add Item:  Add a new item above the currently selected item in the list.

Delete Item: Deletes the currently selected item from the list. NOTE: You cannot delete the default priority item.

Doctrine Targeting Priority applies as one of the final criteria when a unit is selecting a target. Other Doctrine settings (Rules Of Engagement, Weapon Release Authorization, etc.) and general AI targeting considerations (side posture, mission applicability, weapon effectiveness, etc.) are applied before the Doctrine Targeting Priority is checked. So for example, if a unit does not have a weapon to engage a given target, or that target is not considered relevant to the unit’s current mission, the target will not be considered as a potential target regardless of Targeting Priority.
Each entry in the Targeting Priority List is evaluated in turn against a unit’s final potential targets.  If an ‘immediate’ priority entry is matched, the unit will engage the target(s) that match that entry, ignoring lower priority targets.  If a ‘delayed’ priority entry is matched the unit will engage the target(s) that match that entry only if there are no higher priority targets.
If there are multiple potential targets remaining after the Targeting Priority is applied the Command AI will select one of those targets based on its general AI and/or mission target selection behavior – typically closest-first, while attempting to spread attackers across multiple targets.

NOTE: In some cases the unit AI will evaluate a nearby hostile unit as an immediate threat and engage it in preference to all other targets.  The Priority Targeting List is ignored in this case.
Targeting Priority Doctrine can be changed via Lua using the Doctrine wrapper object.  The Doctrine wrapper can be obtained from a unit, group, mission, or side wrapper object via its doctrine property.  See ‘Lua Changes’ below for further details.

Lua additions for Targeting priority feature:

ActiveUnit wrapper: ActiveUnit.doctrine read-only property – returns the Doctrine wrapper object for the unit’s Doctrine.

Group wrapper: Group.doctrine read-only property – returns the Doctrine wrapper object for the group’s Doctrine.

Mission wrapper: Mission.doctrine read-only property – returns the Doctrine wrapper object for the mission’s Doctrine.

Doctrine object wrapper:

* Doctrine.TargetPriority read-only property – returns a Lua table with the contents of the doctrine’s priority target list, if any.  Fields for each item in the table are:
-- unit_type (integer) = ActiveUnitType
-- unit_subtype (integer) = AircraftType, ShipType, SubmarineType, FacilityCategory, WeaponType, MobileGroundUnitCategory, depending on unit_type.
-- Isfixedfacilitysubtype (boolean) = For fixed facility unit_type, ‘true’ indicates the unit_subtype is a value from FacilityCategory, ‘false’ indicates the unit_subtype is from MobileGroundUnitCategory.
-- dbid (integer) = the specific DBID.
-- priority (integer) = 0 (delayed), 1 (default), 2 (immediate) engagement priority.

* Doctrine:deleteTargetPriorityEntry(index) method – deletes the corresponding item from the priority target list, if it exists. NOTE: index value is 0-based.  Returns the list as a Lua table.

* Doctrine:addTargetPriorityEntry(type, subtype, isfixedfacilitysubtype, dbid, index) method – all arguments are integers save for ‘isfixedfacilitysubtype’ which is a boolean value.  ‘type’, ‘subtype’, ‘isfixedfacilitytype’, and ‘dbid’ are as explained for the TargetPriority property above.  ‘index’ is the location in the list where the new entry will be inserted, with the existing entry at that location moving down. NOTE: index value is 0-based.

* NEW FEATURE: Decoy platforms. Summary description: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aG1sirF06rpGXyxiVD2CD57_T2e1Yy1f/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110077162694891335144&rtpof=true&sd=true

* NEW FEATURE: Weapon-deployable platforms (initially aircraft).
Some aircraft can be carried as payloads from other platforms and released to fly. This allows moddeling various systems that are carried as payloads (with the full penalties of drag, weight etc.) and are launched weapons, but are actually recoverable platforms.
The DB3000 v499 database contains one such example the Altius 600 UAV, carried as a loadout option for the XQ-58A Valkyrie UCAV. More systems (like the D-21 and WZ-8 Mach-3 UAVs) are to be added in the future. The UAVs are launched just like tactical decoys, using a BOL launch mode.



* ADDED: Zone selection paradigm for all types of mission areas, triggers, actions, nonav & exclusion zones, and flight plans.

Example:


* ADDED: New quick mission (Patrols) creation with Shift+RMB on clicked zones. This allows to select one or more units and quickly create a patrol mission on a zone (supports zone overlap).
The selected mission will be automatically created to the zone's RPs and selected relevant units or hosted unit will be assigned to the mission. The mission editor will also open, allowing the player to further refine it.
How-to guide:
1-Make sure to create at least 1 zone (with the area & ref point manager)
2-Select 1 or more units then shift+RMB on a zone to select the mission to create.

Example:


* ADDED: Various features to easily create usable zones:
-"Define area" now prompts the user to automatically create a standard zone and requests for a name, expanding the area-centric changes.
-Added a circle-shaped "define area" in addition to the rectangle-shaped one (shortcut ctrl+O)
-Reorganized the Refpoint Manager UI for reference points and areas
-Added a general text input dialog Returns the user's input, returns null if canceled
* ADDED: Added persistent UI+Lua layer control over standard zones and env. Zones (Can also be extended to other zone type, it has been intentionally disabled for other zone types)
* ADDED: Special kinematic behaviour for hovercrafts (LCAC, for instance); they no longer behave like Martian flying saucers capable of hovering above trees.
* ADDED: Traction system for ground units (also fixes units getting stuck in sloppy area and adds collision bounce). Also improved how a land unit's speed is computed given slope, terrain type, and the unit's traction system (tracked, wheeled, foot).
* ADDED: Formation editor now supports "hot reload" of the templates file. Also added button to quickly open the file for editing.
* ADDED: Added support (incl. damage mechanics) for new "blimp" airship type
* ADDED: Added support for "multi-staged missile" flag. Multi-staged AAW missiles (e.g. SA-5) have a lower burnout weight in proportion to their overall launch weight. This helps them achieve better climb performance post-burnout, but if they loft it also means that they are less able to use their mass to re-energize on their post-loft dive.
* ADDED: Indication of which AC is the group leader
* ADDED: Special kinematic behaviors for hovercrafts (LCAC, for instance); they no longer behave like Martian flying saucers capable of hovering above trees.
* ADDED: Traction system for ground units (also fixes units getting stuck in sloppy area and adds collision bounce). Also improved how a land unit's speed is computed given slope, terrain type, and the unit's traction system (tracked, wheeled, foot).
* ADDED: Formation editor now supports "hot reload" of the templates file. Also added button to quickly open the file for editing.
* ADDED: Added new map layer: OpenTopoMap. This is a map layer optimized for displaying natural topography (see also: https://opentopomap.org/) . This can be useful for better evaluating the terrain around a given unit (and thus better understanding visibility, movement and damage effects). This layer is externally-provided, so tile-download reliability and speed are beyond our control.
* ADDED: Support for new "blimp" airship type
* ADDED: Implemented rudder as factor in ship/sub turn rate, and rudder damage (stuck). Ships and subs are now more "sluggish" in their turns (especially large ones) as it takes time for the rudder to fully deflect to the desired position. Additionally, the rudder can be damaged (stuck) or destroyed, leaving the boat directionless (e.g. Bismarck in WW2).
* ADDED: [Event Editor] New trigger type: "Air/Dock Ops Status Change". This trigger fires whenever the air/dock ops status of the selected unit(s) changes - e.g. an aircraft takes off, a boat returns to its host unit, an aircraft shifts from "being turned around" to "ready and waiting" etc. The UI allows selecting which of the available states will cause the trigger to fire. This was available until now only through scripting but can now also be configured through the EE.
* ADDED: [INST import/export] Add speed and altitude to file
* ADDED: [Area/Zone & Refpoint Manager] Interpolation function for zones; Also added Shift+RMB zone interpolation options (1, 2, 3, 4, 9) in the UI
* ADDED: Added a new Shift+RMB interaction on zones: Highlight all RPs of a zone exclusively
* ADDED: Shift now allows to move multiple RPs while keeping relative position. This makes it possible to move a selected zone in one go.
* ADDED: Zone creation by polygon
* ADDED: Button to change cargo transfer destination unit in mission editor
* ADDED: #15024: [Lua] "Unit in Zone" in the lua template for operation planner triggers
* ADDED: Added the ability to view/edit the assigned cargo for cargo missions using a list of cargo consolidated by unit type. This is done with a new check box "Show items grouped by unit type" under the cargo item list in the cargo settings tab. (So for example if you have 1500 individual rifleman units in your cargo, you can click this to see one "0/1500 Rifleman" entry in the list instead of 1500 individual Rifleman list entries)
* ADDED: #15049: A button to clear all slug trails
* ADDED: Relinkable decoys:

* ADDED: #14903: [Request] Allow Rapid Dragon use with missions
* ADDED: [Lua] Integrated IsDecoy property (to existing unit-wrapper object) with new logic + displayed decoy info into print(unit). Example:

* ADDED: Several new type-specific icons for ground units
* ADDED: You can now customize the size of unit icons, per-type and per-shape: https://imgur.com/a/3tVU6cr
* ADDED: The QuickSink-configured JDAMs (background: ) now correctly dive in front of the target ship and (try to) detonate under its keel (due to the CEP-based accuracy, the exact detonation point can vary). The underwater blast usually delivers much more severe damage than direct impact to the target ship.
* ADDED: Added 'Add Reference Point at...' menu item and dialog (on "Missions and Reference Points" menu); this allows placing a reference point with great precision, using known lat/lon coordinates.
* ADDED: #15173: SBR Add Support for Sensor Groups
* ADDED: [Lua] Added Lua wrapper support for cargo mission assigned cargo list.
* ADDED: Mission-level integration for "AC landing/takeoff weather/night limitation" feature: A per-unit check is performed on the takeoff and landing locations, to check if the AC will be able to take-off & land without any issue. At the end a warning is shown to the user (No hard-lock prevention).
* ADDED: #14985: Opacity validation by "enter" key in area & ref point manager
* ADDED: [Lua] Added placeholder properties for AC flights
* ADDED: Added 'All ground units attempt self-transfer' option to cargo missions
* ADDED: [Lua] Property 'leadSlowsDown' for group wrapper object

• ADDED: Added mechanics for proximity-fuzed warheads on AAA rounds (such as flak rounds). General background on the proximity fuze: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity_fuze
Proximity flak greatly boosts the effective "hit" probability against aerospace targets - whereby "hit" no longer means just a direct impact, but detonating withing a lethal sphere around the target. The dimensions of the lethal sphere depend on:
• The shell caliber: big shells like 85mm or 127mm have much larger lethal spheres than 35mm or
40mm rounds.
• The target speed: faster targets severely reduce the effective lethal sphere; this is a large part of why flak fell out of fashion post-WW2 as jet engines sharply increased the speeds of frontline aircraft. It's also why flak has seen a resurgence as an anti-UAS solution: drones generally are slow, flimsy air vehicles, and flak rounds are much cheaper than missiles.
When a proximity round "hits" an air target, we break down the detonation distance into five logical "distance slots" (20% probability on each), each representing a different distance from the target:
1) Point-blank ie. direct hit: The target receives the full warhead damage
2) A very near miss: The target receives 80% of the warhead damage
3) A less close miss: The target receives 40% of the warhead damage
4) Further out: The target receives 20% of the warhead damage
5) Edge of the lethal sphere: The target receives 10% of the warhead damage
(Notice that received damage falls sharply with distance; this represents the expanding frag pattern of proximity rounds).

• ADDED: On the "Scenario Migration" window, you can now customize the default WRA-range for AAW missiles when migrating a scenario

• ADDED: The Sentinel-2 map layer now uses an improved custom-tuned tileset. This has several improvements:
- It is hill-shaded, and thus relief (terrain elevations) stand out much more prominently: https://imgur.com/a/urc9XXL
- Because of the shading, desert regions are less eyeball-melting: https://imgur.com/a/TTPUZOW
- It is water-masked, so coastal outlines are a lot crisper: https://imgur.com/a/RzDE4yZ
- Also because of the water-masking, water regions are transparent, so now you can combine it with bathymetry: https://imgur.com/a/PXOYLiY
- The tiles themselves are compressed to higher quality, so you should see less compression-artifacts on high zoom.

* Includes improved graphics for the depiction of mount/sensor coverage arcs. Example: https://imgur.com/a/M4cZsm8

• Includes updated and corrected versions of the following official scenarios:
- Chains Of War #1 - Blue Dawn
- Command LIVE - Kuril Sunrise
- Command Showcase - Queen Elizabeth
- Choking Halifax
- Raid On Kismayo
- Falklands #8 - Pebble Island Raid
- Falklands Bonus #1 - The Empire Strikes Back
- Falklands Bonus #2 - Operation Mikado
- Kashmir Fire #13 - Over The Hump
- Desert Storm #3: First Night (Fixed grammatical errors)
- Command-LIVE: Aegean In Flames (Fixed a number of issues: Airbase magazines, missing mounts and weapons, turned off unlimited airbase magazines)
- Command-LIVE: Don of a New Era (Adjusted description and briefing text style)
- Command-LIVE: Broken Shield 300 (Fixed airbase magazines, various other fixes)
- Command-LIVE: Pole Positions (Fixed broken links in scenario description)
- Command-LIVE: The King of the Border (Adjusted description and briefing text style)

• Includes all official scenarios rebuilt to DB v499, with their default AAW WRA-range set to 75% of maximum range.


DB3000 v499 changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XmuwnZgf1f2drXA2R3cB5oR-fV_slwul/view?usp=sharing
CWDB v499 changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y-vuNJ0A_gr5ufleBxicrmUNpTJwaK2f/view?usp=sharing
DB3000 v500 content changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ukywMOnA6qWpKpD7K0aw9BhEAl0fGPK2/view?usp=sharing
CWDB v500 content changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uupIaQia3qHF_YPxEuUAk_TkkeIjKFvp/view?usp=sharing
DB3000 v501 changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1--wRLPWp0AHyu_oWhcUdzaucvI8GmXJo/view?usp=sharing
CWDB v501 changelog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-6II6vMwT4u9QvYn-9lltj0YkEXwpJG3/view?usp=sharing

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #70 on: September 29, 2023, 12:12:09 AM »
Command: Modern Operations - Desert Falcon Release Date/Ten Year Anniversary
Thu, 28 September 2023



Announcing the release date of our new showcase and celebrating ten years of Command


Hello Command fans, we have two pieces of news for you about our upcoming new Showcase DLC and our 10th anniversary.

First off, the DLC. Command: Showcase - Operation Desert Falcon is now confirmed to go live October 10th, 2023. This near future mission will see you conducting long range airstrikes from the French Metropole into Chad with Rafale's, Phenix's, and C-17's equipped with RAPID DRAGON. This scenario is a great choice for learning how to get the most out of Cargo 2.0, the Mission Planner, and Aerial Refueling.


A flight of Rafale's on the long trip from the Metropole to Chad


A race against the clock as rebels attack French assets


The riskier but more direct route over war-torn Libya


Aerial refueling is key in this long distance strike mission

The future of Françafrique depends on your success. The symbolic value of even a single fighter lost could spell doom for France's future in the Sahel. This challenging mission demands nothing less than perfection. We are looking forward to seeing how our community tackles this Showcase.


And onto the other news we have...



Time flies when you're having fun

Command just passed it's Tenth Anniversary! Over the past ten years we have seen several massive updates and changes to Command.

*New features and improvements like Cargo 2.0, the Multi-Domain Strike Planner, and the Mission Planner.

*Modeling of cutting edge new technology like RAPID DRAGON in our massive database, which just passed over 500 updates and iterations.

*Introducing our 64-bit update and DirectX 11 map render.

I am sure I am forgetting other milestones we passed but the last year alone has been a whirlwind of new features and updates.

We would like to take a moment to thank our fans for joining us on this long journey to make the premier modern military simulator. Your feedback and suggestions have been essential in making Command what it is today.

Command: Modern Operations is currently on sale on the Matrix Store: https://www.matrixgames.com/game/command-modern-operations

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #71 on: October 11, 2023, 12:13:18 AM »
Command: Showcase - Operation Desert Falcon is out now
Tue, 10 October 2023



The year is 2027 and France's position in the Sahel has become untenable.

A coup d'état in Chad has brought an anti-colonial regime to power. Militant groups are seizing foreign assets and government security forces have gone over to the United Sahel Liberation Front. With militants advancing on Massenya Airfield, the main base being used to evacuate French and foreign nationals, only the French air force can provide the necessary support to prevent a massacre.

The closest fighter squadron equipped to support the evacuation is staged over 2,000 nautical miles away in southern France. Equipped with the Rafale multirole fighter and the A330 tanker, you have the range to reach out from the Metropole to touch the Sahara.

You will need to manage multiple air-to-air refueling's, synchronized multidomain strikes, and the logistics of evacuating Massenya. The 500 civilians the will only be safe once they have landed at Libreville, in Gabon. Operation Desert Falcon uses the Multidomain Strike Planner, Ops Planner, Cargo 2.0, and Palletized Munitions to give you all the tools you need to execute a difficult mission, the evacuation of an airbase under siege.

Features:

    Playable as the French and focused on the Rafale C and the A330 Phenix, along with other supporting platforms like the C-130 and C-17.
    Multiple political factors in play. Libya is the most direct route but will you risk flying your strike mission over an active conflict zone?
    Plan for zero losses. With Frances position in Africa already teetering, any loss of aircraft or national humiliation will be considered a mission failure.
    Plan for the unknown. Chad has an arsenal of MiG-29’s, Su-25’s, and JF-17N’s that could disrupt your plans.
    Race against the clock. Militants are closing on the Massenya Airfield and the evacuation must be conducted quickly and with proper security.Utilizes new Command features like the Ops Planner, Multidomain Strike Planner, Cargo 2.0, and Palletized Munitions.
    It is highly recommended that the player completes the MDSP tutorials before playing.

This operation demands nothing less than perfection.

Bonne chance, Commandant.

Desert Falcon is available on Steam and the Matrix Store


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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #72 on: October 13, 2023, 12:01:53 AM »
Command: Modern Operations Satellite Imagery Removal
Thu Oct 12, 2023



Dear Command users,

We’re usually here to tell you good news about new features but unfortunately today we have some bad news. For the last 5 years we’ve been using, with permission, a satellite imaging company's map tiles for the inner zoom levels of the satellite imagery in Command. This company has decided to put these map tiles behind a pay wall as of October 31st. We only just became aware of this when the map tiles started disappearing in the game so the short-term solution is to remove these map tiles. This is the course we have elected to take and the team are testing the build before we release it. This will replace the previous higher resolution imagery with lower resolution layers.



An example of the missing map data

We know how much the Command community likes this kind of high res imagery and so we will be looking for an alternative solution for the future. Increasingly, these types of services are behind paywalls so we may be unable to find a free option. For now we just wanted you to know it is something we will be looking in to but we don’t have a plan in place just yet. We were not warned this was going to happen. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this causes and we hope it does not have too great an impact on your enjoyment of the game.

 Thanks again for your understanding and support.

The Command Team


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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #73 on: November 02, 2023, 01:10:21 AM »
Command: Modern Operations - Map Layer News Update
Wed Nov 01, 2023



So, this was not the best communication attempt ever...

When we initially set out to explain the situation with the Stamen map layers going away, we referred to them as satellite imagery. This was a mistake, and created a lot of unnecessary confusion and anguish among some users.

So let's try this again.

As we wrote on that piece, we were forced in a hurry to drop support for three map layers externally provided by the kind people at Stamen Maps: "Stamen Terrain" (a topography layer, see sample) "Stamen Roads and Cities" (a variant of Terrain optimized for displaying road & urban networks) and "Stamen Labels" (a layer dedicated to displaying placenames). These layers are moving to a paid-access system from Oct 31.

As part of our pre-release coverage of CMO, we presented the various map layers included in Command in this article. With the exception of the Stamen layers, all of these layers still remain available as always.

In addition:

1) Beginning with the upcoming v1.06 / Build 1328.11 update, we are restoring the placenames layer. Stamen have kindly provided a very liberal usage license on their map tiles, so we can re-host the placename tiles on our own servers and provide them on-demand to CMO users. So this useful to many map layer is coming back, free of hosting concerns.

To pre-empt the reasonable question of "Why aren't you doing the same with the other two layers": We use only up to the level-10 zoom on placenames, which keeps the number and size of the fileset at fairly small levels. The other two layers go all the way to level-17 zoom, and at that scale the file numbers and sizes are GIGANTIC. Let alone the challenges of hosting such a set; we cannot obtain it from Stamen in the first place.

2) Serendipitously, we recently added support for the third-party OpenTopoMap layer in Command. This is an excellent map set offering both topography and road+urban network data, thus easily rivalling the functionality offered by the retired Stamen layers.

Thus, at the end of the day users of Command still have an excellent, high detail topography layer at their disposal. And as previously noted, all the other existing layers are offered directly by MatrixGames and are not going anywhere.

At the same time, this turn of events has motivated us to start exploring additional map layers & services out there which may be of good value to users of CMO and CPE. We are evaluating some possible candidates but we are also open to suggestions from the user community.

We hope this clarification eases the legitimate concerns of many players caused by our initial announcement.

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Re: Command: Modern Operations
« Reply #74 on: December 12, 2023, 12:01:28 AM »
Command: Modern Operations - v1.06.1328.12
Mon, 11 December 2023



Hello everyone, we have a Command: MO update for you today with several tweaks and bugfixes along with new UI options. You can get it either from Steam or directly from the forums here.

v1.06.1328.12 – 6th December 2023

ADDED: New map display option (Game Options window): Draw black outlines on icons & text to make them easier to stand out against background map (ON by default; disable if it is slowing down rendering)
ADDED: [Lua] Added target property to unit wrapper
TWEAK: Map appears at slightly higher resolution on average by loading higher zoom levels at higher altitudes.
TWEAK: Updated built-in callsigns list
FIXED: Crash issue on startup
FIXED: #15340: [Lua] Sensor mounts were not being attached to parent platforms when added by Lua - SE_UpdateUnit; this led to incorrect illumination-arc calculation
FIXED: #15335: [B1328.10] Palletized munitions with Nan altitude and other issues
FIXED: [B1238.11] Rapid Dragon weapons pallets transcending altitude, accelerating infinitely, and migrating to North Pole
FIXED: [Lua] Exception error in weapon wrapper
FIXED: [B1328.11] Strikers and Escorts Not Working Together
FIXED: Lofted ASW weapon (SS-N-15) was considering the target altitude (underwater) instead of the desired impact altitude (water surface) for the lofted trajectory calculation
FIXED: [B1328.11] Aircraft egressing off flight plan to the east and west for some distance
FIXED: #15386: [B1328.11] Aircraft selected not transfer to Target list on air strike mission
FIXED: Missiles where not splashing on water
PARTIALLY FIXED: #15375: [B1328.11] DF-26 No altitude and weird behavior
FIXED: #15304: [1328.9] Air Intercept, low altitude in transit
FIXED: Escorts flying in circle ignoring the escorted unit
FIXED: Setting sub/ship throttle causes sonar signature to increase even if vessel doesn't move
FIXED: #15377: Speed override causes Sub to keep moving after course is cleared
Numerous general fixes
Numerous sim-performance tweaks

Includes the new v503 release of the DB3000 and CWDB databases.
    DB3000 v503 additions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CfqVLnl4pR1oSHbD4hUOYPzPLzgyx7Ou/view[/list]
    CWDB v503 additions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CgAWCjDxyugeB609KRSldtq9scUnTFkA/view[/list]

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