Tactical vignettes: Armor Magazine

[Dr Zaius]

Anyone ever read Armor Magazine from the US Army? It has some pretty good articles in there from time to time. I was taking a look at the Tactical Vigettes section and I couldn't help wondering if some of these wouldn't make good TacOps scenarios, or at least the basis for them.

Take a look at a few and see what you think.

http://www.knox.army.mil/armormag/vignettes.htm
http://www.knox.army.mil/armormag/

 

[Redwolf]

More Armor Magazine stuff here:
http://www.trackpads.com/magazine/publish/

BTW, I could subscribe to the printed magazine just fine, as a foreigner and civilian. You just need a one-time credit card number as their server doesn't encrypt the connection.

 

[Hub]

I've read Armor Magazine. Most of the scenarios I put in the TacOps Scenario section are taken directly from Tactical Decision Games (similar to ther vignettes in Armor) found in the Marine Corps Gazette, or patterned after them. I think they make good scenarios, but I've found them to be less than well received- maybe people just like bigger scenarios?

 

[CPangracs]

These vignettes are also easily implemented in Armored Task Force and POA2, if you get right down to it. The very cool thing about doing it in ATF is that you can assigne the OPFOR to do any number of different battle plans which requires any number of actions by the player, and forces the player to use a number of different tactics in the same base scenario.

Very groovy, baby. Yeah!

 

[Dr Zaius]

These vignettes are also easily implemented in Armored Task Force and POA2, if you get right down to it. The very cool thing about doing it in ATF is that you can assigne the OPFOR to do any number of different battle plans which requires any number of actions by the player, and forces the player to use a number of different tactics in the same base scenario.

Very groovy, baby. Yeah!

This sounds similar in concept to the multiple AI "tracks" possible in ACOW. The AI can be following on attack track 1 and a pre-set event will be triggered which causes the AI to switch into track 2. Obviously not as capable as a human opponent, but this method does make the AI fairly dangerous in the hands of a talented scenario author.

I'm not sure what all MajorH has planned for the TacOps scenario editor he is working on. If I remember correctly, his intent was to pretty much leave the AI as is, while simply giving players the ability to craft scenarios with the single player AI. He may, of course, have changed his plans and there may be additional features which will make their way into the release. I'm hopeful that we will get this as part of TacOps5.

 

[Redwolf]

I'm not sure what all MajorH has planned for the TacOps scenario editor he is working on. If I remember correctly, his intent was to pretty much leave the AI as is, while simply giving players the ability to craft scenarios with the single player AI. He may, of course, have changed his plans and there may be additional features which will make their way into the release. I'm hopeful that we will get this as part of TacOps5.

That's my reading as well, he won't create an autonomous AI, but he'll give scenario designers something to have their scenarios played against the AI.

Speaking of Armor Magazine and the Marine Corps Gazette, I like the gazette more, if somebody wants to subscribe to something printed, I'd recommend that.

 

[Deltapooh]

Many thanks. I can use these for ATF.

 

[Ivan Rapkinov]

ditto on the Gazette - very more interesting

(also being that the USMC Gazette is more combined arms/infantry, and the Armor, is well, armor)

 

[Dr Zaius]

What is the link?

 

[Hub]

http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/tdg.htm

 

[Dr Zaius]

Thanks for the link.