1998: Looking Ahead (www.combatsim.com)

State of the Art: Part 4

by Leonard Hjalmarson

Strategic Control: Theatre Commanders and AWACS

Strategic control isn't entirely new to military simulations, but the only attempt prior to late 1997 was that in the original Harrier Assault. However, even aside from strategic control, the heart of a solid simulation is its campaign engine. The most immersive engine must be dynamic, although a well executed semi-dynamic AI like that in the Flash Point upgrade of the original Janes Longbow gave the illusion of true dynamism.

In 1997 we saw an outstanding example of a dynamic engine in Longbow 2. The campaign in LB2 flows like this: initially the missions you will fly are to ensure that you can safely transition to an offensive posture. Before you fly any CAS for example, you cover supply missions for the front lines and do recon. The ground war is integrated seamlessly into the campaign engine, and you are only one part of that team effort. The criteria for your sides advance are these:

FLIGHT PLAN

Supply. Ground forces must have sufficient ammunition and/or fuel supplies. If the armor commander doesn't have enough resources to sustain an offensive move, the units will remain defensive and the battle line will not move. Supplies arrive in convoys, which you will occasionally be asked to escort. In the same way, whenever recon detects an enemy supply convoy you will be asked to destroy it to prevent the enemy from going offensive.
Armor. Ground forces must have ample armor. If armor resources are lacking, the unit will retain its defensive posture. Like resources, armor reinforcements arrive in convoys. (However, supply convoys ALWAYS take precedence over armor and you will protect them first).
Accessible Support. Ground forces must have support in adjacent sectors. The armor commander on the ground (controlled by game AI) will not overextend his troops in the flank position. If the flank is left vulnerable, ground units will move into a defensive posture and wait for rear support.

In other words even fantastic performance on the part of the player in one sector will not guarantee victory. Its up to the player to monitor all sectors of the battlefield and ensure that front line units are well supplied and ready for an offensive push. All this points to the importance of the Mission Planner, and thats the reason why so much care has been lavished on this component of Longbow 2.

Su 27 version 2 will feature a dynamic campaign engine for the first time from SSI and Eagle Dynamics, but at this point little is known about it. Flying Nightmares II is aiming to give new meaning to the words, "multiplayer campaign." In an interview last year Bryan Walker commented:

Bryan: Perhaps there's no polite way of saying this, but flight simulations have been stuck in a rut for the better part of this decade. There have been many technically excellent titles, but they've essentially done the exact same thing with different planes and graphics. With FN2, we decided early on to avoid doing "just another flight sim," and offer something truly new and, most importantly, fun.
The original Harrier Assault offered a new wrinkle to flight simulations: A strategic portion that allowed the player to deploy naval and ground forces, then fly missions to support those units. We saw a lot of potential to expand that feature in FN2, and really focused on ways of doing that in a way that would enhance the game as a whole. The "Commandant" strategic game emerged as that method, combining high-fidelity flight simulation with a realistic but accessible real-time strategic game.

Late in 1997 DiD released F22: ADF. While ADF lacks a dynamic campaign, it does contain a strategic element in the AWACS component. TAW, the upgrade to ADF due sometime this summer, will also contain the AWACS component, but in ADF control is limited to aircraft already in flight and while the AI within the individual missions is dynamic, the missions themselves are not connected.

In TAW we will be able to plan any mission type such as escort, strikes, reconnaissance, combat air patrol and close air support. We'll be able to choose our loadout and the loadout of other flights we plan. The mission planner will also make it possible to co-ordinate missions, offering an even higher level of tactical planning, and all this within a dynamic environment!

In the meantime we have the AWACS module in ADF. This module is really a second game within the simulation itself. It is limited due to the fact that missions are scripted, but its a glimpse of the future and offers a chance to try some strategic control. Lets look a little more closely at this harbinger of the future (click the shot at right for a larger image).

The first AWACS scenario in ADF is a Combat Air Patrol. You are up there in the AWACS and have a gods eye view of the action via the box on the left. This little box is no mere 2d overview, it is an absolutely incredible miniature of the in game graphics. EVERY effect is here: fog, contrails, the awesome terrain. And it is governed by an update of the same Smartview system that was in EF2000. Granted you don't have THIS kind of Gods eye view in an actual AWACS command center, but these concessions to reality give you the feeling of "being there" necessary to a simulation..much like the 3d camera view in 688(I).

What you see in the shot above is what happens when you click on an available F22 flight and drag the cursor over to another allied flight. I created an Escort for the E3 aircraft! It is AMAZING to see the instruction appear in white letters and then hear yourself call out this detailed instruction with just the drag of the mouse!

The map and display controls are quite intuitive and allow you to choose exactly which information is presented to you. The command functions you can issue are these:

Identify and prioritise air threats
Organise and monitor Combat Air Patrols (CAP)
Assign and update flight Interceptions including visual identification, shadow and engage to kill tasks
Vector flights to refuelers or to land
Assign allied flights to aid other allied flights in distress
With assistance from the E8 JSTARs aircraft, vector Close Air Support (CAS) flights to kill mobile ground targets such as SAMs, SCUDs, and enemy tanks

Command to allied flights include these:

Escort
Refuel
Land
Move Patrol
Shadow
Intercept
Vis-Ident

Want to vector a particular flight after a particular target? Simply click on the Nato flight in your control, ensure they have the fuel and weapons to do the job, then drag to the target. (You can't take a CAS mission and turn it into a CAP flight). When you release the mouse button the order is sent, and you will hear yourself sending exactly the order, in completely accurate 3-1ingo out of the Multi-Command Manual. TOO COOL.... Found out that the CAP you would like to vector is low on fuel? Vector it to the nearest refueler.

And of course you can fly any F22 mission you choose. Vector a flight after that F16 CAP or after those incoming Su-35s then double click on the flight and ZOOM into the chair you go! This is a whole new twist on Quick Combat. In the present incarnation you can't choose your loadout but you can choose what type of aircraft you engage and how many. (Click on the shot at right for a larger image).

TAW will take this interface beyond the present state of affairs by allowing an integration of the strategic command perspective WITHIN the dynamic environment. An Airborne Warning and Command System will give the player unprecedented control over the battle. Players will be able to vector aircraft anywhere within the virtual battlefield, and also call up new flights via the mission planner. These flights may then be controlled via the AWACS interface, and as in ADF players may jump into the seat of any F22 in the environment and thus into the heart of the conflict.

If TAW incorporates a multiplayer strategic campaign then there will be one player who acts as Theatre Commander, and others who fly the missions. But even if multiplayer is left out of this component a player will have Command ability over the entire battlefield from the AWACS perspective. Stepping into the Commander's shoes will mean taking on the demands of the combat theater from an entirely fresh perspective. Alliances will have to be made (and broken), perhaps right in the middle of a mission, depending on how you handle possible threats and rules of engagement. Consideration of alliance and opponents' alliance effects on resources will be required.

As a multiplayer strategy/sim the overall objectives of each campaign are planned, reviewed and updated in real-time by the Theatre Commander. Other players may assume the role of Base Commander and determine the best ways in which to implement the Theatre Commander's directives. The Theatre Commander's overall strategy can radically change as the campaign unfolds. Acting as the Base Commander, players must keep a keen eye on the overall objectives and be ready to change their tactics at a moment's notice.

Flying Nightmares II has taken a different twist on this, allowing Theatre Command on both sides in multiplayer mode. FN2 Commandant is divided into red and blue teams. The initiating player determines winning conditions, game setup and location. A second player joins the game as opposing commander, and remaining players take pilot positions on either side, for up to sixteen real live players.

Victory conditions can vary widely. Players with time constraints can choose King of the Hill, where the team that has the most units in a key area for the longest time wins. Another scenario requires one team to destroy the others HQ. Finally, players can choose to wrestle to the last unit (not including infantry, which would get tedious) if they have the time...

Interactivity and team work are central to the concept. Pilots and AI units must follow the direction of the commandant, with real time orders coming in even during flight. FN2 will also offer solo play as commandant against the computer, though because of the huge fun factor in multiplayer mode most players will use solo play only for practice. (Click the image at right for a larger shot).

The Commandants' point and click interface looks rather like C&C but is more involved. Basic commands include move, attack target, entrench, hide, charge, suppress and bypass, escort, defend and join. The commandants view is an overhead map of the battlefield from one of three levels of magnification. Friendly and enemy units are represented by icons, which can represent more than one physical vehicle. In the case of tank units one icon can equal four vehicles.

The commander may choose to combine units into task forces for greater effect, depending on the type of opposition they face. Assigning an AA unit to a group increases its air defense rating. Using engineers with a tank battalion will shorten the hull-down time. (Click the Cobra shot for a larger image).

Where this is all going is toward even greater integration of strategic and tactical elements within a multiplayer universe. So far FN2 promises the highest level of integration yet seen: dissimilar A2A platforms, ability to man AAA units for ground to air fire, dynamic and interactive air and ground warfare, theatre command on both sides of the battle, and extensive and flexible multiplayer abilities. Given this level of integration in 1998, one can barely imagine what 1999 will bring!

Go to Part 5

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