Still a campaign n00b after 20 years.
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Greetings,
This past September marked my 20th anniversary playing Falcon 4. I did the SP1/2/3 dance, RP5, Falcon AF, OpenFalcon, Free Falcon, was a beta testing for another commercial build that failed (The file is in a dir labeled “ORI”. Can’t remember the name tho.) and eventually settled down with BMS. But in all that time I’ve shied away from the campaign and wringing my hands about jumping in and playing. It was always so daunting to me. The sad fact is that I’m not very good at strategy.
I’d really like to start doing the campaign now. I’m semi-retired, have a good rig, a motion platform, VR and dying to get deeply involved.
There is quite a bit of info out there. I’ve found @DBond 's campaign AAR on SimHQ and @tbuc 's priority video. So just a few questions;
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Which theater/campaign would be best to start with for someone with limited experience like me?
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There’s so much information out there that I’m concerned that I’m going to get bogged down with out-of-date information. So, if anybody has references that might be helpful, I’d certainly appreciate it.
Wish me luck.
Thanks
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Greetings Pucker’ -
Indeed the campaign can be overwhelming for some, and an ultimate quagmire for those of us you get so deep into tactics and mission planning that we will lose several hours of our life just to get it “right”! (Just a hint, I have yet to get it “right”!)
But to your questions… THere really is no “best” theater to start with. They all have their specific levels of intricacy and depth. With that said, sticking with the stock Korean theater is a safe bet. And if you wish just a “quick” campaign, pick Iron Fortress. It is the essentially the old-school Pusan Perimeter campaign of the original Falcon 4. It is a straight-forward 5-day campaign and the main objective is to re-capture Seoul. (The DPRK force’s objective is to keep you from doing so). Play around with this campaign to learn what is possible.
Also don’t feel shy about taking control of the ground forces. You generally have a better idea of what tactics to use than the Campaign engine does.
To your 2nd question… Tbuc is doing wonders in improving the game code. So anything you reference may only improve with your strategy and tactics. And these are your main topics:
Strategy - How to obtain your Objectives
Tactics - How your Strategy Succeeds.And this is where there is no “right” answer. You can chose a strategy where you send all of your ground forces in a melee style offensive, or you can use your ground forces as a strong defense to block the enemy while using the air forces to pound enemy ground forces into submission. It is completely up to you. Also, play around with creating your own flights. Definitely don’t rely on the campaign engine to create flights for you or other squadrons. By doing this you can send A-10s or AH-64’s to decimate tank battalions. But of course, be sure they have air cover or DPRK MiG’s will be all over them. Spend most of Day 1 taking out SAM sites so you can gain Air Supremacy over the front lines.
Now…to strategize I would highly suggest you go out and download Mission Commander. It will help with tactics sending brigades where you want them to go or attack (because the campaign engine does have a certain mind of its own and will send forces in directions that make no sense). And it will help with Supply (which is improving thanks to Tbuc, but it still can be an issue). It is a fantastic piece of software thanks to the longtime Falcon community member Falcas. (And makes a true Napoleon out of all of us simmers).
So I hope that helped somewhat in sending you in the right mind-set. One final option is to join a virtual squadron to fly & learn from other humans.
Best of luck & happy sim’ing!
Cheers,
Jolly -
Re: Still a campaign n00b after 20 years.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post this. I’ll get on that MC app asap. I think I may need it. I tried @DBond 's strategy for Tiger Spirit and it didn’t work out quite well.
Heh…you can see it started a bunch of BARCAP’s south and to Japan. Not sure why. Well, time to read.
Thanks again.
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@Puckertoe Yeah, those “Priorities” are not in many cases. I generally just set these to 4 or higher right along the front lines. BUT, click on each of the safe regions to ensure they are set to “0”! Otherwise, if it is even set to 0.1 on the scale the campaign engine with create flights in that region.
Also, feel free to go into the ATO and delete any sorties that seem to be not needed. They generally are simply a waste of fuel and weapons that can be better served elsewhere on the battlefield. OR! Feel free to join that particular flight and move the steerpoints. IF it has not departed yet, then you are able to manipulate the flight plan as you wish.
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@JollyFE
I, like Puckertoe, have been playing Falcon 4 off and on for over 20+ years. I am just starting to get back into it since 3 years ago. I just wanted to say that this post was extremely helpful for me starting back into it. -
@sortofred Definitely my pleasure. Keep in mind that campaigns do rely on several key factors, such as attaining and keeping air superiority in order to protect your ground forces. But other missions do help such as strikes against airbases and industry. The trick is to priorities yourself and pick which ones require immediate attention.
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@Puckertoe
Could it be you think of Operation Infinite Resolve (OIR) from Gilman Louie?Campaigns:
Since the new system of ALR (Acceptable Level of Risk) for mission generation, the times of most suicidal Deep Strikes should be over. Though, the first hours will be the most intense, then it gets quieter.Your first objective should be to clean all front near SAMs (taking out their Fire Control Radars in SEAD/DEAD with AGM-88 is sufficient). Choose by the Threat circles on the map and make your own mission via Add Package. SA-5 have higher priority than 2s or 3s.
Then concentrate on the most dangerous front near airfields (destroying runways is sufficient, make your choice via Order Of Battle).
So you help all other forces to have an easier time in enemy airspace and they can do their job better.
Then work your way north (if Korea).
When after some days the SAM and fighter threat are low, you may proceed to strategical targets or against vehicles as you like or prefer.
You may read my campaign report for Desert Storm (begins with part 1, part 2 is post 5):
https://forum.falcon-bms.com/post/354774 -
@Atze-0
Thanks much for your input. Your DS AAR is great reading. My first short term goal ATM is to get some better training using the HARM tactics. So I’ve started a Tiger Spirit and when ready I’m going to do some SEAD/DEAD type missions to get familiar with those tactics.I guess it’s like any other elephant. You can only eat it one bite at a time.
Thanks again.
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You’ll be fine I think. Just make sure to bring the jet home in one piece with a proper landing and your “excellent” or “good” rating will motivate your troops for hours on end
If you want to specialize in SEAD / DEAD make sure to read up on the HARM stuff (esp. the new threat / search table functions) and basically the missile will do all the work for you.
A good method is using SDBs on SA-2 sites as the radars / launchers usually don’t move and you can fire them outside the threat circle (they are also great fun to watch in “weapons view” which I think is shift-7). You can assign weapon steerpoints in “recon” view in 2d which makes the task even easier.
All the best & welcome (back) to the community!
Uwe
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Great advice from all, a great help for someone like myself who is struggling with the campaign and also finding time to get some flight time hours in!
Thanks.