adding depth to briefings

[bored_onion]

i can add extra sections in the notes to a briefing - thats not the problem - but i was wondering just what you can put in a briefing beyond:

- insertion/extraction
- support
- enemy dudes

i know it depends on the mission content and all but are there any other generic bits of information that will be useful whilst making a briefing appear nice and detailed?

cheers

[Dubieman]

History, fine details, terrain, weather...

There's stuff like this in the ed depot... realistic briefings or something...

[ACF]

The accepted sequence of orders (at least for Brits) is:

Ground - where are you
Situation - what everybody else has done, is doing and is going to do
Mission - what you WILL do
Execution - how you will do it
Admin and Logistics - what you need to do it
Command and Signal - how you know when to do it and tell somebody you've done it

There are of course lists of sub-headings as long as your arm, but those are the major headings.

At the risk off offending the professionals, my foolproof way of remembering them is Briefs SMELL:

Situation
Mission
Execution
Logistics
Liaison

The logic being that Ground and Situation are usually so closely linked that they can be hard to separate.

As GRK says - try a search on 'realistic' in the Ed Depot, I've seen the one he's thinking of.

[bored_onion]

yeah i read it - very detailed

the thing is, doesnt it really drive a nail into mission versatility and replayability if you tell everyone exactly what they will do right down to type of fire and formation

[dmakatra]

Well, lie then. Tell them that the enemy has no enemy tank around. Woops, theres a platoon full of T80s over there. My gosh, the intel dudes sure has gone down in quality the latest year. ;D

:beat: *Gets Shot* :beat:

[bored_onion]

spose, but then i may as well fill it up with any old military sounding crap and it kind of defies the point: making the player briefed

[Dubieman]

Depends what you wanna tell the player. U want a super duper military mission, do the briefing that way. Rebels attacking some town would need an altered briefing for their knowledge and intel. Then there are the reg missions, not to much detail to flood you yet there is an element of surprise.

Its all what you want the palyer to know and be prepared for.

[ACF]

That's the art - deciding what's important and what's less important.

If you are being led, the briefing you get ought to be fairly specific, maybe even down to the formations etc.  That's not irrelevant because, presumably, your AI leader is going to be scripted to do just that.  You may well have a specific role within the squad and 'execution' is where your task would be defined.

But we all know what happens to plans . . .  no-one ever seems to telkl the enemy what he's suppoosed to do! What happens when everyone else gets slotted and you're left on your own (or worse, in command of whoever else is left!)? Then you need to know enough to know what to do . . .  That's the bit where re-playability comes in, I think.

If you are the leader, you will be expected to develop your own plan (execution) for your troops.  The execution briefing YOU receive is going to be more general but making sure that you don't get tangled up with friendly troops - advancing into your own barrage, that sort of thing.

In both cases the mission is the key - it's what you must do.  The execution is the 'plan' that is great while it's working, but if it doesn't you are still expected to do something else to fulfil the mission.  That's why 'Mission' and 'Execution' are two separate things in the orders.

Most armies accept the need for full/deliberate orders and hasty orders (yank = FRAGORD, I think) which will be the bare minimum to get the job done - if you're moving in five minutes and it's raining, there's not much point in saying it's raining. The same sequence of orders still applies though.

Better to say just enough and pass it off as 'hasty orders' than pad it out with 'crap' that will confuse the crap out of the player.

[bored_onion]

lol its all about image...

[General Barron]

It all depends, really. I mean, if you are just a member of a fireteam, you will have a different breifing than the squad leader, which is different than the platoon leader's breifing, which is different than the company commander's breifing, etc. But basically they all follow the SMEAC form, and that is most of the required info. Each section could be as short as a sentence if you wish, so you don't have to just fill up space.

One thing about breifings is that they can be used to "set the stage", or sorta tell the story, i.e. what is going on in this war at the moment. It puts the mission in perspective, which really helps the enjoyment for some people, like myself.

Here's a quick example. Let's say the mission is an attack on St. Pierre. 1st platoon, Charlie company will attack the town, and the player will lead 1st squad of that platoon. This order would be sent to all the squad leaders in 1st platoon:

Situation: Russian forces are occupying the strategic town of St. Pierre. They are using the port to bring supplies and reinforcements to the heavily defended southern Everon penninsula. Batallion wants Charlie company to secure the town to cut off the Russian logistics tail.

Intel says there is a platoon of infantry and 4 T80 tanks defending the town. There still may be civillians in the town as well. There is also an AA outpost north of town, where two squads of infantry are defending 2 Shilkas.

Mission: 1st platoon will assault the town from the west. 2nd platoon will attack the Russian outpost north of town, as a diversion to draw reinforcements away from their well-prepared defenses in St. Pierre. 3rd platoon will be waiting east of town in reserve. 1st platoon must eliminate all defenders of the town, and destroy the Russian supply ships that are docked there.

Execution: At 0545 2nd platoon will attack the outpost, with artillery and mortar support. On the command from PAPA BEAR, 1st platoon will commence the assault on St. Pierre. 2nd squad will attack the northern edge of town, 1st squad will proceed through the center, and 3rd squad will attack along the road in the south of town. Batallion has ordered that no artillery support will be available to 1st platoon, to minimize the damage to the town and civillian casulties. However, Cobra gunship support will be available once the northern outpost is secured.

Admin/Logistics: Each squad will carry 3 LAW launchers. 1st squad will carry three additional Carl Gustav launchers. 2nd squad will have a sniper team attatched to them. Medics will be present in all three squads.

Command & Signal: Captain Demer (PAPA BEAR) will coordinate the operation from the hill east of town. Gysgt. Barron (the player) (Alpha 1) will lead 1st platoon in the assault, from 1st squad. Sgt. Hansen (Yankee 1) will lead 2nd platoon in the assault on the AA outpost. If either attack is in need of reinforcement, a flare will signal for 3rd platoon to assist.

1st squad is designated Alpha, 2nd squad is Bravo, and 3rd squad is Charlie. 2nd platoon will be Yankee, and 3rd platoon will be Zulu.

------------------------

Now, that would be a lot better with links to markers on the map. I could have added even more to each section, but that would be a lot right there. So much of the info might not really help, but it gives the player with an active imagination lots to think about. Even if there really aren't units on the map in those other places (2nd and 3rd squad), it is nice to imagine that they are. But after writing all that down, you might actually want to put those units there.

Writing a breifing like this might also help you flesh the operation out in your own head, and give you ideas for the mission. From the above breifing, you might decide that if the player fires a flare, 3rd platoon will help him in the assault on town. HOWEVER, you might also make the ruskies do a counter-attack from the east, so if 3rd platoon moves into the town, they will leave that flank undefended. 2nd platoon might also run into trouble, and not be able to take the northern outpost. But they can't call on 3rd platoon to help out, since the player already asked for 3rd's help. So the AA outpost won't be taken, and the player won't be able to call on airsupport.

[macguba]

The mission informs the Briefing.    Or put it another way, form follows function.    What happens in the mission determines what goes in the Briefing.    If you write something in the Breifing, then it must be directly relevant to the mission.     If you have background on the irregular forces in the area, and says they are poorly trained, then the loons on the ground should be low skill.  (Unless you want to have an intel cockup of course.)

For example, are there any civvies in the mission?  If yes, then you can (if you wish) mention them (or discuss them at length) in the Briefing.  

Got a nice Intro?   Well how about supporting it with lots of background in the Briefing:  political history of the situation for example.    

Remember that the OFP Briefing (even in a fairly realistic mission) is NOT JUST the order document.    It can include newspaper clippings, graffitti from the Sergeants mess bogs, or gossip from the mess hall.   Not to mention letters home and so on, partlcularly in the Notes section.

The commonest omission from otherwise good briefings is stuff on the composition and orders of friendly squads.   Also the call signs, who is whom.

Always place yourself in the positions of the relevant people.   This is true whether you are designing a base or writing a Briefing.  Imagine you are the CO, writing the order for your subordinate.  What would you want him to know?    Imagine you are the squad leader, receiving the orders - what are your questions?     What will your second in command say about all this?      The most important thing in writing a good Briefing is to get into the heads of your characters.     The other most important thing ( ) is to remember the player.   Give him what he wants and keep it fun.

[dmakatra]

Intel cockups doesn't just need to be an intel cockup. It can be the whole mission really. Say intel have reliable reasons to belive that no tanks are guarded the area 1st platoon is about to move into and, say, rescue some dude at. 1st and 2nd squads are advancing to the town while the player (3rd squad) takes up positions on a hill to support them. 4th squad takes up position behind 1st and 2nd squad to support the bustout. When the player finds the tanks, it'll be like hell.

3rd Squad: "Shit! SHIT! Papa Bear this is 3rd Squad! Abort, abort! I see 2 platoons of T80s! I repeat, abort!"
Papa Bear: "This is Papa Bear. Please confirm Recon 1."
3rd Squad: "I'm telling you! Pull those men out of that area! NOW!"
Papa Bear: "Please confirm Recon 1. Come in Recon 1."
4th squad: "SHIT! FUCK! IT'S A GODDAMN TRAP! I see two mech. inf. platoons heading this way. Requesting support now!
Papa Bear: "That's a negative 4th squad. Soviet controlls airspace. Tank or chopper support would be devestating."
4th: "SEND SOME FUCKING CHOPPERS! WE'RE SURRONDED!!!"
3rd: "1st squad, 2nd squad. PULL OUT! Come in 1st squad!"
Papa Bear: "Report in all squads."
3rd: "Reporting in."
<silence>
3rd: "They're all dead Papa Bear."

:beat: *Gets Shot* :beat: