All these charts and tables

...are slowly turning into macros in the CaT, Campaign Tool. For each of the OPbat resolution methods mentioned in the OPrules in and in the GENrules - the Combat Value Matrix -CVM, a macro is now compiled. This way, to get the "Combat performance" of a unit in an operational battle, you just click a button in the CaT and get a result.

The beautiful thing about it all is that all these events are recorded and are saved in a log, where selected parts will be able to review after the end of the OPturn. (Not all of the info, since some of it is obscured by the FoW. More on this matter in a couple of days.

Below a screenshot of the CaT window with macro buttons to the right (a lot of more of those to come!) and the log panel to the left.

Battling without Combat Mission

When no players are available to resolve the combat situations - or if the units involved are OPUNs - the battles will be reolved by using OPBAT resolution. It works very much along the lines of ordinary boardgames.

OPBAT resolution uses five different combat values that reflect the combat performance of the unit. They are;

- GCV; Ground Combat Value. Reflects the ability of the unit to conduct ground warfare. This is also used by naval units conducting naval combat against other sea vessels.
-ADV; Air Defence Value. Reflects the ability of the unit to defend itself against airstrikes.
-GSV; Ground Strike Value. Reflects the ability of the unit to strike at ground targets (from the air). This value is also used by naval units striking at ground units (either by artillery or by missiles/Cruise Missiles) and by artillery/missile units.
-ACV; Air Combat Value. Reflects the ability of an air unit to conduct air-to-air combat.

and there's another value, somtimes used;
-TgtV; Target Value. Not really a combat value, rather a measurement of how hard a unit is to hit with an artillery or missile strike.

In other words;

• ground units have a GCV and an ADV
• air units have GSV and ACV
• naval units have GSV, ADV and GCV

And if you insert them into a table you'll get this; (value of attacking unit first)

This is the CVM - the Combat Value Matrix. It shows which values to use in different situations. Click the image to view a larger version.

For OPbat resolution purposes there are some additional special rules;

• SSM (surface-to-surface missiles; for instance SCUD-missiles) are treated as ground units except when they launch a missile attack. To resolve the missile strike the GSV vs TgtV applies.
• Naval units use the GCV-GCV matrix.
• Aerial or naval use of Cruise Missiles (CM) are treated as airstrikes by ordinary air units – with the exception -that CM:s don't return to any base. The GSV-TgtV calculation applies.

Ground Combat

1. OPbat between ground units uses the GCV-GCV matrix – meaning both ground units use their Ground Combat Value.
2. An OPbat always takes place in the hex occupied by the defending unit.
3. GCV is a value obtained by a units Combat Strength – adjusted by capability modifiers (what abilities a unit has) and situational modifiers (effects of the units currents situation.)
4. Combat Strength is based on the size of the unit (TOE posts/TOEPs), its experience and equipment quality. Any of these three factors may change during the course of the MC.
5. The Capability modifiers (CpMod) depend on the type of unit. The CpMod are listed in the unit properties window in the CaT.Generally, the CpMod of a unit do not change during a MC.
6. Situational modifiers (SitMod) are due to frequent changes during a MC. The current SitMods are to be found in the units properties window in the CaT.
7. The GCVs of the two opposing units/forces are each multiplied by d10. The result is the Combat Performances of the units. The highest value is the winning side.

Strategic Victory Points - SVPs

So, a word or two on the subject of SVPs. The overall status of the opposing sides is measured in Strategic Victory Points , SVP. The SVPs are an abstraction of the sum of the political, strategical and military status.

Due to the Strategic Victory Points it will be possible to win military victories and still suffer a loss in the campaign. Both sides will have to take into account public opinion inside Syria, international opinion – blue side will also have to consider the domestic opinion of respective home country.
SVPs are lost or gained by battle results, political events and operational decisions by the commanding officers. But, it is still the total sum of the SVPs at the end of the campaign that counts!

At the start of the campaign REDFOR will have 0 SVPs but will also be in control of all of Syrias Key locations. BLUFOR will have 1600 SVPs and no control of any Key locations in Syria. The control of Key locations will render SVPs, but only at the end of the campaign.

Since the total sum of key locations in Syria is 1800, theoretically, if BLUFOR does nothing for 12 campaign days, the end sum for the MC would be Blue-1600, Red-1800, consequently a red victory. Blue side must therefore act against the Syrian regime to be able to win - hence it's not an option to remain passive to save those precious lives of the NATO soldiers.

How to get - or lose - SVPs
SVPs are gained or lost by battle results (SVP OBJECTIVES). The SVP OBJECTIVES are assymetrical – meaning the same battle result will affect the opposing sides differently. Losing 10 men in battle renders a much more severe penalty for blue side than red side.

SVPs may also be gained or lost by events occurring on the OPmap or in a TACBAT that are not directly connected to the military result. These events are the Key Characters objectives. See the SVP chart for more details on these events.

SVPs may also be gained or lost by random events during the OPturn using the Random Events Table. The random events may effect one or both sides. Not all events result in negative or positive SVPs, some will only have consequences on the OPSIT.

To find out more of the SVPs you may look in the section on GEN rules and OP rules - bear in mind though that these sections will be further revised and updated continously.

Restructuring of the website completed!

The restructuring is finally done - and some new pages/sections have been added.
Check out the new section on victory conditions "How to win" or log in to your team hq by using the team pwd/log in. Have you forgotten it?
Go check the red/blue forum for more info! The HQs are yet to be filled with content - if everything goes as planned it will be possible for the OPCOs to use the HQs as briefing rooms, submitting orders, plans and files via the HQs.

Next will be some more details on SVPs, stay tuned!

Site restructuring and rules

So the remake of the site is almost finished... It looks as if nothing's happening with the OPNEM development, but it does!
Parallell with the work on the website the rules - both the operational and the tactical - have received some attention.

Now, we can read about the upcoming NATO module which is good news indeed - it also means that I'll have to put even more effort into this project - since the ambition from the start has been to have it ready by the time the NATO module got released!

The ruleset dealing with the SVPs is close to a "beta" -release. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry there will be some more info on that section as soon as the new site is ready.

One of the things that hasn't been easy with the site restructuring have been to find a way to let the OPCOs edit the HQ webpages and present info to their teams -as they see fit. I have to admit - I haven't figured out a way to get that working just yet... Good news though is that there will be a pwd protected team HQ.


Participating BLUFOR countries
The news on the NATO module brings up the question of which countries will be represented in the blue ORBAT.
As of now I'm planning on including US (army, navy, af,usmc, sf), UK (army,navy,af, sf), Germany (army,af), Canada (army,af), Netherlands (army, navy?, af), Denmark - using NL units to simulate (army,af), Italy (af), Spain (af), Australia (af, sf) - using US infantry to simulate AU special forces.

Other countries that might find their way into the ORBAT are; NZ (using Canadian LAV?), Poland (using syr sf?) and Bulgaria (using syr sf and mech units? - the picture shows a Bulgarian para)
These countries would participate with small contingents of course, but it would be interesting to have them included in the blue ORBAT - some of them use a mix of red and blue equipment, which would offer some challenging "red vs red" scenarios...

/sdp