Tactics considerations

[Carl Gustaffa]

Hi

I couldn't find a suitable forum for this one, so I post it here.

Does there exist an ongoing discussions somewhere about tactics in general, and how to apply those tactics in mission editing?

I have no military background, but every year or two I participate in a 3-5 day gaming session were we play through a homebuilt campaign using OFP exclusively. Recently I have involved myself in the editing (and a little scripting) process. Many of the other guys playing have a military background and would probably really see through all my bad deciscions in my editing. So in order to try to make the best missions, I spend a lot of time playing them in singleplayer, trying to anticipate what they will do in terms of tactics.

1. OFP has a few types of formations to choose from. When are these applied best, and when are they completely useless to use? Especially regarding infantry units. And do they differ in effectiveness depending on terrain and teamsize?

2. When a basic formation has been chosen, what considerations goes into specific unit placement within that formation. I.e. if we're advancing through terrain in a line, would the machine gunner be centered, be close to the most probable place for an enemy encounter, or furtherst away? If the team was larger having two MG's, would they always be on flank?

3. If armored support is available (as a separate "group"/team), where would these be positioned in an advancement scenario? Flanks? Behind and flanking? Simply behind? This has to do with syncing waypoints for different group types.

4. I like the idea of having AI support, but not the same units that we play. I.e. if we are all ground units, then AI can do the rest. If we have armor available, then AI are given other tasks such as airsupport, support trucks etc. How smart are AI's when given these tasks? I have managed to setup type: get in and move here if triggered, wait until next trigger, then get in and move back sort of things. But if support trucks are attacked, will they get out and fight? Will AI airsupport fire rockets into woods where we are close to the enemy, endangering us? Or should I drop this idea alltogether? Does AI play well on a 20 man or so multiplayer session or is the strain on the server too heavy? I have no means of testing this in full scale obviously.

5. What about the engagement modes? Under what circumstances would you choose one over the other? If I'm commanding I find the hold fire, open fire modes useful but hard to use. Much simpler if AI is calling the shots. How would these be used in real life?

Just figured I wanted to see some information on real world military tactics and how to employ it within OFP system.

Ooops... Christmas they say, guess I should be off Merry Christmas to all ofpec'ers. Discuss at will

[yankme]

i couldnt find the link in search ( as allways in here ) but heres a tid bit of info your looking for and you should know, its a good read. Table of Organization and Equipment.   i couldnt find the link in search ( as allways in here ) but heres a tid bit of info your looking for and you should know, its a good read. Table of Organization and Equipment. youll learn some thinks lots of authors dont or wont do, or dont know about, like how bradleys are really just nothing but a sitting duck, a big target! infantry need to watch 6 on this well other infantry advance and clear, well allways watching the rear, for them selfs aswell. as you know if your near a tank in ofp  when its hit, your more then likeky dead. and its not like the movies,,, to go one city block could take hours in real life. i dont try to make mission to real, its just imposible         ''merry chrisy''    ;D   yank     ''merry chrisy''    ;D   yank

[macguba]

I couldn't find a suitable forum for this one, so I post it here.

Normally when a thread starts like this it's off topic.    However, this one is absolutely on-topic and this is the right board.  

Discussion of how real military tactics may be implemented or replicated in OFP is fine.  However, please keep it related to OFP:  general discussion of real life military stuff would be off topic.

[SEAL84]

Just a couple of things in no specific order...

Regarding formations, the default 'wedge' is best used when you're moving under what can be considered 'normal' circumstances.  You're not anticipating any contact but the squad's firepower is organized in a good overall manner - you can react to the enemy from both the flanks and the front equally.

Line formation is used when you're assaulting an objective - all your firepower is strung out so that it can be brought to bear on what's in front of you.  If you're attacking a town, for example, you can afford to worry less about the flanks of your squad and concentrate on the positions ahead.

Column and staggered column are best used when you're expecting contact on your flanks (eg, moving down a city street).  Your men are positioned so that they all have a good shot at anything which presents itself to the sides.  Staggered column allows a tiny bit more coverage to the front, but not much.  

Vee and echelon are more or less subtle variations on those, allowing you to direct slightly more of your squad one way or another.

Regarding hold fire/open fire, hold fire is only useful when you definitely DO NOT want your men shooting at anything....because the won't, even if they take fire (in OFP anyway).  Use it when slipping past an enemy position, taking a quick peek at the enemy before you plan your attack, or to set an ambush and have them wait for your open fire command.

Your men WILL report targets, and you can assign them targets while in hold fire.  I like to set antitank ambushes when possible by setting my team to a line, facing perpendicular to the route of the tank's advance, telling the AT men to target it - they will report "READY TO FIRE!" - and then giving the open fire command at the right moment.  Obviously this allows you to have finer control over them; otherwise they start shooting as soon as they spot the target.  


Couple of other things....

AI airsupport prioritizes armor and has a VERY difficult time with infantry.  No thought is given to your proximity to the targets - if you're standing next to a T-72 and the Cobra sees it, you're probably dead as well.  The AI prefers to use the cannon on infantry but on occasion it will fire rockets - if it has any and there are no vehicles around.

OFP's support trucks (ammo, repair, ambulance) show near-complete disregard for enemy forces when moving to help out.  Usually the unit which calls for support tries to back off a little bit and meet the support unit but most of the time I find that support trucks charge into the middle of battle and get taken out.  If their vehicle is disabled and the crew is still alive, they will hop out and defend themselves to the extent possible, but not before then.

Finally, the more AI you have online the more lag there will be, obviously.  Depends what kind of hardware you have and what if any scripting is running.  A 20-man CTI match would need a supercomputer but a coop match is more managable.