From: majorh1@aol.com (MajorH1) Subject: TacOps Classic Edition Info TacOps Classic Edition Info. Price: $19.95 plus postage. Availability: Only by direct order from The Avalon Hill Game Company via phone, website, email, mail, or FAX. Avalon Hill Games, 4517 Harford Rd., Baltimore, Md. 21214. Phone: 410-254-9200 or toll free @ 1-800-999-3222. Fax: 410-254-0991. Web: . Email: ahgames@aol.com. Contents: Hybrid CDROM containing both Microsoft Windows (Windows 3.1x, Windows For Workgroups 3.11, and Windows95 compatible) and Apple Macintosh (System 7.5 and later) versions of all files. TacOps Classic game engine v2.0.0 - this is the same revised game engine that was recently licensed to the New Zealand Army. Includes all previously released TacOps scenarios and maps, including those that were formerly sold separately as an expansion kit. Includes nine new bonus maps including two low fidelity, 20km x 30km segments of NTC Ft Irwin. Design Summary: TacOps Classic Edition is a simulation of tactical level combat between US Marine Corps/Army, Canadian, Australian, or New Zealand forces vs Soviet-style forces (OPFOR) - primarily from 1994 through the year 2000. Due to user requests, the game engine was modified after its first release to also support play back to the late 70s/early 80s (the user can substitute older equipment in most scenarios). A number of OPFOR weapons have two sets of performance data. One set reflects plausible near future improvements while the other more closely reflects current conventional wisdom. The player may choose which set is used. May be played solitaire against an automatic OPFOR enemy or between two players on one computer or between two players on two computers. The game may be played on two computers either via a local area network or by email (PBEM) or by exchanging data disks. Includes 76 scenarios and 24 maps. Limited editing of scenarios is possible for further variety. Three custom template scenarios are provided which allow you to build your own scenario using any map, but such custom scenarios can not be played solitaire against the computer. Unit markers typically represent platoon and company sized units but can be broken down into individual teams/squads/vehicles. The number of markers in play varies by scenario. The scenarios vary from short company and battalion sized engagements up to major multi hour battles with several brigades or regiments on each side. Battle maps are drawn as one piece artwork in a plain style that is similar to military topographic maps. Most maps are larger than the typical monitor screen. There are no 'hexes' in TacOps - movement and line of sight is calculated from pixel to pixel. Is played in simultaneous one minute turns. Each turn consists of two phases: an orders phase and a combat phase. In the orders phase you give orders to your units using buttons in windows and by tracing the intended movement of your units with mouse clicks on the screen. Once all orders have been given, the combat phase begins. During the combat phase the units of both forces, under computer control, simultaneously carry out their orders for movement and combat for one scale minute. You only observe during the combat phase; you can not give or change orders until the next orders phase. In TacOps you are a commander, not a gunner. Your control of weapons fire is limited to positioning your units with movement and disposition orders, setting minimum or maximum engagement ranges, and designating priority targets. Uses hidden units and hidden movement to replicate fog of war - the player can see enemy units on his screen only if they are within realistic observation range and are spotted. You may optionally choose to turn off fog of war so that you can see all enemy units at all time. Direct fire is the only fire possible for most ground units. Units will generally automatically engage the nearest enemy unit in sight with direct fire from every weapon having the potential of destroying or suppressing the target. However, a unit whose main weapon is primarily an anti-armor weapon will usually ignore infantry targets in preference for more distant enemy armored targets or ATGMs unless the infantry unit is very close; in other words units will try to select the most threatening enemy unit in sight. Artillery and mortar units may use indirect fire. Indirect fire attacks every unit within its burst radius. If a unit symbol in the impact area represents three vehicles or three squads, then every subelement will be attacked. If there are several symbols in the impact area, all will be attacked. Target selection and firing for indirect fire is not automatic. You must plot indirect fire during the orders phase using either the off-map artillery support window or an on-map unit's orders window. Artillery is available in the form of both on map units and off map units. Air combat is included, however air to air, air to ground, and ground to air engagements are not modeled with the same level of detail as is ground to ground combat. Most scenarios allow you to increase the size of your force or the enemy force through the addition of optional units. Units move during the combat phase according to their orders. Orders are given to units by clicking on buttons and icons in the Unit Orders window and by clicking on the map. A unit may be given multiple orders during the orders phase. Some orders take effect immediately, others are delayed until an appropriate time in later combat phases. Delayed execution orders are automatically stored in the unit's computer record in the same sequence as given by the commander and will be executed in turn until all have been accomplished. Each unit can have a maximum of 20 stored orders. This allows you to provide fairly sophisticated route and disposition instructions for each unit. Below are descriptions of five representative scenarios from the 76 included with the game. **** Task Force Anderson - Scenario time limit: 60 minutes **** SUMMARY: Meeting engagement, both sides must seize the same objective, USMC Light Armored Infantry Battalion vs an OPFOR reinforced Motorized Rifle Battalion (BMP). SITUATION: A USMC Light Armored Infantry Battalion (+) and an OPFOR Motorized Rifle Battalion (BMP)(+) are racing toward the same objective. The USMC battalion is now 10 kilometers West the objective. The OPFOR battalion is 10 Kilometers East of the objective. MISSIONS: USMC - Occupy and have cleared Objective A of all enemy forces at the end of 60 minutes. OPFOR - Occupy and have cleared Objective A of all enemy forces at the end of 60 minutes. Admin Note: At the end of 60 minutes, whichever side has sole possession of Objective A is the winner. Any other result is a draw. **** Task Force Fenwick - Scenario time limit: 60 minutes. **** SUMMARY: US raid, US Army Air Assault Battalion in a heliborne, punitive raid against a company sized terrorist training camp with later defense against a reinforcing battalion. US must enter and clear 5 small objectives, occupy one of them for 20 minutes, and then extract at least 50 percent of the original force in the face of steadily increasing OPFOR reinforcements. Features US sniper and recon teams that can be secretly set up anywhere on the map. SITUATION: Terrorists and OPFOR military personnel inside the camp comprise the equivalent of a reinforced light infantry company. The camp has no heavy antiaircraft artillery but shoulder fired SA16s are plentiful. A regular OPFOR army platoon with a few BTR armored personnel carriers is billeted in a small village just outside the facility. A regular OPFOR army garrison is located only a few kilometers East of the camp and a Motorized Rifle Battalion can reinforce the camp in about twenty minutes. For several days four US recon/sniper teams have been reconnoitering the perimeter of the camp and they are now in position to support the air assault. The Army air assault force is now enroute to the camp. **** Task Force Hoeft 1 - Scenario time limit: 2 hours. **** SITUATION: US - Desert battle. A US Army battalion sized Task Force (balanced Armor and Mech Infantry) is located just off the Western edge of the map and is moving East to locate and block an advancing OPFOR Motorized Rifle Regiment (BTR). OPFOR - A Motorized Rifle Regiment (BTR) is located just off the eastern edge of map and is moving West. OPFOR is deployed in an extended regimental column with battalions in column in a standard approach march configuration. Regimental reconnaissance elements are expected to cross the Eastern edge of the map at about 0700. The 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion should cross the eastern edge of the map around 0712. The 2nd Motorized Rifle Battalion is about 30 minutes behind the 1st, and the 3rd is about five minutes behind the 2nd. MISSIONS: US - Locate and block OPFOR advance. Prevent exit of at least 80 percent of the enemy force across western edge of the map. OPFOR - Penetrate US forward defense. Exit at least 20 percent of original force across western edge of the map. **** Task Force Peterjohn - Scenario time limit: 60 minutes. **** SUMMARY: Quasi historical Desert Storm battle. "What if" the Iraqis had attacked into Saudi Arabia during the first two weeks of the air campaign? 2-8 Cav Battalion moves to defend Hafar al Batin against an advancing Iraqi reinforced Tank Brigade. This action did not happen during Operation Desert Storm, but could have. In January of 1991 the US 1st Cavalry Division was prepared for this contingency. Features an inclement weather visibility limit (sandstorms in this case) of 2000 meters for both eye and thermal sighting. MISSIONS: US - Prevent enemy occupation of Objective A. OPFOR - Occupy Objective A. OPFOR wins if at the end of 60 minutes there is at least one OPFOR unit in Objective A. It does not matter if the US also has a unit in the town. **** Task Force Nankervis. Scenario time limit: 4 hours. **** SUMMARY: "Monster" four hour scenario. US Marine Corps Brigade consisting of two mechanized Rifle Battalions and two heliborne Rifle Battalions vs two and a half OPFOR Regiments. Starts with a helo assault by two US battalions to clear five scattered objectives in a valley defended by numerous small light infantry units. Action builds with the arrival an hour later of an OPFOR Motorized Rifle Battalion and gets intense at the two hour point with the simultaneous entry of two USMC mechanized Rifle Battalions and two OPFOR Motorized Rifle Regiments. Features helos that can lift vehicles. Uses a large, industrialized, and heavily wooded map. MISSIONS: US - Clear Brigade objectives A through E. Block the valley. Prevent significant enemy forces from crossing the West edge of the map. OPFOR - Penetrate the US defense. Move at least 40 percent of original force across the Western edge of the map. Best regards, Major H majorh1@aol.com