Announcing Solomons 2015 Campaign

[Molon Labe]

We are now recruiting players for Solomons 2015, a multiplayer Dangerous Waters campaign.

But you thought only single-player campaigns were available in DW? While that may be officially true, you can accomplish a lot with the mission editor and a little bit of record-keeping. For anyone that hasn't been following the preliminary discussion here (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=185066), Solomons 2015 is a force-on-force campaign where the opposing factions have a finite amount of sea, air, and land platforms to assign to missions. When their missions conflict with each others', we will create a DW mission to represent that conflict, and the players on each side will fight it out. If you can defeat your enemy in those battles, it's worth more than bragging rights--you will determine the course of the war.

TLAM Strike and I will be co-GMing this campaign. We will be using DW 1.04 and LWAMI 3.11. Let us know if you'd like to participate. We will start assigning teams shortly.

Player List:
ML
TLAM
Blacklight (Subs)
AdamMil (Subs, A/C)
Tarrasque (Subs, FFG)
Sertore (+5 from Betasom)
AdmBleeAnoyed
Imamar (all-around)
Kaitsu (Subs)
Roni_PL (after Aug 16)
szwagier
Grindler
AchtAchtel

[Blacklight]

I would be honored to join. I know fully well how to use the subs. The FFG and the aircraft, on the other hand, I have yet to really learn. :O:

[AdamMil]

I'd like to give it a try. :-)

[Tarrasque]

OK. Sign me up I guess. Would prefer to work Multi-Station if possible.

[Blacklight]

When do we start ?
I'll mention this to a friend of mine who has Dangerous Waters too.

[Molon Labe]

I'd say this weekend at the earliest. I want to get a sense of what the teams are going to be before we begin the campaign.

[AdamMil]

Yeah, I'm excited too. ;-)

I think it'd be good if we could somehow balance the teams by ability. It would be my first multiplayer game, and I just installed LWAMI today, so I'm not used to all the changes yet.

I kinda wonder about time zones, too. I guess we're spread all over the world... :-P

[Molon Labe]

We'll definitely be balancing the teams out. To some extent I'd like to allow people to be on a team with people they'd like to team up with, but we're not going to pile all the experts up on one team.

On time zones.. yeah, but that's not just this, that's DW. The more people we get the better it will work. Also, more battles might mean we can accommodate more time zones. There might be quite a few battles in a single turn, so we can spread out when they're played to get as many people as we can in.

EDIT: Regarding LWAMI familiarization, I would try to get a feel for sensor and weapon performance for whatever platform you play most... and whatever its "natural enemies" are. Things like detection ranges and acquisition ranges can be quite a bit different than in stock DW. I'm also free for matches in the meantime--I wouldn't mind shaking off a bit of rust myself.

[Kaitsu]

Sounds interesting! I'd like to participate.
Sunday Europe evenings (US afternoons) suit me best.

[AdamMil]

How many players are you hoping to have? It might be worth posting a notification at http://dangerouswaters.pl/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 if you want more.

[Molon Labe]

That's actually a great idea. They switched to RA awhile ago, but there are some very capable players there. I'll stop by tonight.

[Imamar]

Count me in! Sunday Europe evenings (US afternoons) works for me too. I prefer playing same time as my buddy Kaitsu, if possible?

[AdamMil]

I'm also in Europe (GMT+2 to be specific), and I'm fine any day, any time after noon. (EDIT: Yay, I'm no longer a nub, whatever that is! I appear to have some grit to me now. ;-)

[AdamMil]

By the way, ML, thanks for organizing this. I imagine it's a fair amount of work. :-)

[Molon Labe]

You're welcome. TLAM helped. I'm hoping this isn't as bad as it could be. We should be saving a lot of admin work by not having to track every unit in space and time. Setting up the missions might prove time consuming... or it might be very easy. It's hard to say at this point. But I do think it will be easier to run than the last campaign I ran (http://www.commanders-academy.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?70-Global-Domination-Tournament).

[Molon Labe]

Quick question for everyone. What platforms do you feel comfortable with? Knowing will help with team assignments. We wouldn't want to have a team where no one can handle an FFG, for example.

[TLAM Strike]

I'm an expert on all the platforms as you know ML. :03:

[AdamMil]

I can handle the subs and the aircraft in an offensive manner pretty well (against stock AI -- no idea about humans or LWAMI AI :-). Defense, especially against AA weapons, I'm not good at. I can't effectively drive an FFG by myself, nor do I know much about FFG tactics, but I understand how to use the stations and can assist in multi-station under somebody else's command. (Actually, the towed array confuses me, although I can still use it as a black box. Perhaps I should start a topic about that...) I think it would be especially fun to assist an FFG by piloting a helo.

As for which platforms I'd prefer, I guess I like subs and aircraft (P3 more than the MH-60) in single player games, but I spend most of the time at 8x or 64x time compression. It might be painful to use a sub in multiplayer when there's no time compression, but I wouldn't refuse the chance to play. :-)

[Molon Labe]

I'm an expert on all the platforms as you know ML. :03:

You know I know, yet you still felt a need to mention it...:hmmm:
Did you get my email?

[Tarrasque]

Anything that floats/sinks. Not used to the aircraft at all.

(Not necessarily saying I'm any good with the water based platforms either mind! :rock:)

[TLAM Strike]

You know I know, yet you still felt a need to mention it...:hmmm: :smug:


Did you get my email? The one I replied to? :-?

[Imamar]

688i or seawolf ONLY.

[Blacklight]

I'm best with the American subs and can adapt to the other subs pretty easily. I don't have much experience with the aircraft or the FFG yet. I should take the time to learn them.
I always make sure that my crews wear their water wings with ducks on them in case of an accident. The ducks are important because they make the water wings float better.

[Kaitsu]

Quick question for everyone. What platforms do you feel comfortable with?

I'm best with the American subs and can adapt to the other subs pretty easily. I don't have much experience with the aircraft or the FFG yet.

Same here. And I'm ok without autocrew.

[Imamar]

BTW is there respawns?

[Blacklight]

Is it even possible to do player respawns ???

[TLAM Strike]

BTW is there respawns?
Not in game, but if you are "killed" in a match I don't think we will not allow you to play. I think there are too few players for stuff like that.

[Imamar]

Not in game, but if you are "killed" in a match I don't think we will not allow you to play. I think there are too few players for stuff like that.


Ok. Then my platform choice is 688i or seawolf ONLY.
Can someone pLease explain how respawns in campaign work? If I get killed in my mission, can I attend to another mission? This is very complex...
Ps. Im not native english speaker

[Kaitsu]

The campaign consists of matches. You cannot respawn within a match but you can continue the campaign on the next match even though you did not survive on the previous match, right? :)

[Imamar]

The campaign consists of matches. You cannot respawn within a match but you can continue campaign on the next match even though you did not survive on the previous match, right? :)
You made me say Kaitsu, im not native english speaker. Thanks dude. Now everyone will see how stupid we finnish ppl really are. :yeah: :har:
And some more info. If there is only 1 life in campaign as a whole, Im gonna take only 688i or seawolf cause I know them best, and wanna stand a change against you guys. BUT if there is possibility to attend several missions, I can take any platform, Im that bad ass. :arrgh!:

[Tarrasque]

The campaign consists of matches. You cannot respawn within a match but you can continue the campaign on the next match even though you did not survive on the previous match, right? :)

That's the way I understand it.

For example -

HMS Subkiller a Perry class frigate with Cmdr Tarrasque in charge goes on a mission.

It gets sunk by the submarine USS Sneaky.

Cmdr Tarrasque survives automatically and gets reassigned to the HMS Depth Charge (or any other platform) ready for his nex deployment.

[AdamMil]

Yeah, there should be respawns. Realistically, the limiting factor should be platforms, not manpower, since they would already have crews for whatever platforms they have deployed. :-)

[Imamar]

For me it would be better to have multiple missions per skipper, cause these kind of multiplayer campaigns in our dear loved Dangerous Waters are so few.
I wouldnt mind to have this campaing going for ever. :D

[Molon Labe]

Proposed Team Assignments

This isn't final yet. Right now, my thinking is that it would be easiest to keep DW.pl and Betasom together on separate teams. I'm also trying to divide US and European players evenly to help with match scheduling and time zones, and dividing up experience evenly. Unfortunately I don't know everyone's skill level, but I'm hoping that using DW.pl and Betasom as blocks will have the effect of dividing experience and time zones evenly.

Rebel Faction
1. TLAM (US, all platforms)
2. Sertore
3-7. Betasom members (don't have their names yet, Sertore is organizing them)
8. Tarrasque (UK, Subs and FFG)
9. AdmBleeAnnoyed (Canada)

Loyalist Faction
1 ML (US, all platforms)
2 Imamar (Eur, all platforms)
3 Kaitsu (Eur)
4 Roni_PL (Eur)
5 szwagier (Eur)
6 Grindler (Eur, FFG)
7 Achtachtel (Eur, FFG)
8 Blacklight (US, Subs)
9 AdamMil (Eur, Subs and Aircraft)


Wow, not a lot of people on my side of the pond.
Sertore, to help know if these teams are balanced, what platforms are the Betasom players comfortable with? I'm hoping at least one more Rebel player is good with aircraft.

Once we make it official, we'll send out the passwords for the private briefing rooms.

[AdamMil]

I just peeked at the thread on betasom.it. It seems Sertore actually has 10 people interested now (including himself), and they're considering rotating because they told you they'd only provide 6. So I guess you have the possibility to add 4 more guys somewhere if you want, but then it'd become Betasom vs. the world. ;-)

[Molon Labe]

Also, let's make this the Last Call for new platforms to be added to the price list (http://www.commanders-academy.com/forum/showthread.php?43590-Unit-Price-List). TLAM and I do not want to make changes once this gets underway, so if there is a platform you want on your side that isn't there, now is the time to speak up.

[Molon Labe]

I just peeked at the thread on betasom.it. It seems Sertore actually has 10 people interested now (including himself), and they're considering rotating because they told you they'd only provide 6. So I guess you have the possibility to add 4 more guys somewhere if you want, but then it'd become Betasom vs. the world. ;-)

They can provide as many as they want, but if the rosters get too lopsided I would want some players to go Loyalist. We can add during the campaign, too, just as long as no one switches sides. I may have to do some IP tracking...hmmmm.

[AdamMil]

if there is a platform you want on your side that isn't there, now is the time to speak up.
We need rowboats! With frickin' laser beams on the front! And lifeboats in case the rowboats sink! And, and, luxury yachts to celebrate on after we win!

[Molon Labe]

The capability brought by rowboats with lasers would be about the same as the IRCG Speedboats with rockets and 23mm guns, already on the price list. :O:

[AdamMil]

But rowing builds character.

And I was wondering if it'd be worthwhile to forego one Seawolf and spam 40 PCFGs. Or 1400 small patrol craft. ;-)

Seriously, though, I think you could get a lot more bang out of 11 Kilos than 1 Seawolf. But I guess morale would drop. ;-P

[Molon Labe]

But rowing builds character.

And I was wondering if it'd be worthwhile to forego one Seawolf and spam 40 PCFGs. Or 1400 small patrol craft. ;-)

Seriously, though, I think you could get a lot more bang out of 11 Kilos than 1 Seawolf. But I guess morale would drop. ;-P

That's exactly the kind of decision that the campaign is supposed to involve. I'm not convinced the Seawolf is cost-effective, but I'd compare it to a 688I or Akula rather than PCFGs. PCFGs have their purpose, but they are easily neutralized by air power. Even 40 of them.

[AdamMil]

Yeah, I wasn't serious about those. :-) Better to get 40 P-3 Orions for the same price! Then mop up all surface and subsurface contacts with ease and be home in time for supper... 'course, they could counter with 40 F-16s and have money to spare.

Hmm. Rock, paper, scissors. Sounds like this'll be fun! :-)

[Molon Labe]

Thanks. Hopefully I did OK adding units and prices that create an incentive for a very mixed force, rather than just spamming one overpowered platform type. And that includes keeping the P-3 in check, since it tends to dominate DW matches when it's around.

[TLAM Strike]

And I was wondering if it'd be worthwhile to forego one Seawolf and spam 40 PCFGs. Or 1400 small patrol craft. ;-)

Seriously, though, I think you could get a lot more bang out of 11 Kilos than 1 Seawolf. But I guess morale would drop. ;-P

This campaign could get very interesting... :shifty:

[sertore]

Proposed Team Assignments
...
Sertore, to help know if these teams are balanced, what platforms are the Betasom players comfortable with? I'm hoping at least one more Rebel player is good with aircraft.
...
Hi ML,
with current roster Betasom is able to manage all platforms present in DW.
The worst platforms to manage at the moment are P-3s/FFGs: we have just 4 certified commanders for each on these units, but I hope it will be sufficient (BTW, all Betasom players are Eur, solar GMT+1 time, now legal time GMT+2).
Thanks for good efforts in campaign to you and TLAM Strike.
Cheers.

[Molon Labe]

4 players competent with each is very good.

It looks like these teams are acceptable then. Here's what happens next: OneShot is making some adjustments to CADC to prevent me from getting a peek at the Rebel briefing room. That should be done by this evening, and after that, we'll distribute the passwords. Then you'll have someplace safe from prying eyes to talk about what units you want to buy and plan your opening moves. =)

[Blacklight]

Awesome ! This sounds like it's going to be a blast !! LITERALLY !!!! :DL

Are we going to have to handle our own TMA for the missions or are we going to autocrew it ? I'm fine with both, but with a LOT of contacts out there, it's obviously a lot easier to be using the autocrew. I also like to have the autocrew handle the active intercept sonar as having to switch back to that screen to mark a contact in time to catch the signal is a (expletive). Other than those suggestions, I'm fine with any settings.

I'm also going to make an effort to learn the FFG. So far, I don't know if it's a bug or not, but when I launch the helo, it flies around until it runs out of fuel and crashes on me. It would be nice if the thing would radio back that it's reached "BINGO" fuel so I can manually bring it back.

[Molon Labe]

You know, TLAM and I never talked about settings rules. I would say all autocrew can be allowed by default but we can lock out autocrew by.... hmmm... supermajority? Maybe unanimous?

And obviously, all the "cheats" would be locked off. No-brainer there.

In any case, I much prefer to play with aTMA off.

[TLAM Strike]

You know, TLAM and I never talked about settings rules. I would say all autocrew can be allowed by default but we can lock out autocrew by.... hmmm... supermajority? Maybe unanimous?

And obviously, all the "cheats" would be locked off. No-brainer there.

In any case, I much prefer to play with aTMA off.

There are a few autocrews that I do use like surf ESM, CM and TMA and Air ESM, and sub acoustic intercept (its automated IRL) the others I go manual.

I say we just have the host set them to not controlled and let the players decide which autocrews they use. But I would prefer the subs have no auto TMA but thats not a show stopper for me (FFG TMA is a PITA).

[Molon Labe]

Sounds like we're in agreement then.

[Molon Labe]

The forums are squared away, so it's time to get started.

Loyalist team, report to the CADC forums (http://www.commanders-academy.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?110-Solomons-2015-Campaign). PM me there to receive your briefing room password.

Rebel team, do the same but PM TLAM for the password.

[Molon Labe]

It looks like brand-new registrees can't post in those forums yet, but if you encounter this problem just let me know and I'll promote you so that you can. I've also asked Oneshot to change the forum permissions so it doesn't happen in the first place.


EDIT: Oneshot has fixed the issue. New users should be able to post now without problems.

[Molon Labe]

We've got something like 18 people signed up and I think less than half have actually reported to their briefing rooms. Which begs the question...

http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt100/man_called_jim/TS-WHERE-IS-EVERYPONY.png

[sertore]

Hi ML,
I think could be useful if you can list the missed people, to raise its attention to the campaign organization on CADC.

Maybe the holiday period in EU take a part in people absence...

[LtCdrAlan]

Tally ho, I've had an account here for awhile but am just know getting into the forums. This venture sounds like something I would be interested in. Is it to late to join the campaign? I'd be willing to help with administrative records if that matters.

My strengths are US Nucs (688i and Seawolf), with moderate skill on Russian Nucs and even the Kilos. I am a pilot in life and my family has a history of officers in the USN flying ASW patrol craft, so I am proficient with the Helos and P3s as well. The FFGs I am fair at, but they are probably my weakest of all platforms. On Nucs (US specifically) I am quite adept at stations - particularly TMA and Sonar.

If I can still get in on this, let me know what I need to do and if I need to get any mods (I am running DW1.04 ATM).

Thanks and look forward to hearing back!

LCDR ALAN

[AdamMil]

I think could be useful if you can list the missed people, to raise its attention to the campaign organization on CADC.

On the loyalist side, that would be 4 people missing:
Roni_PL (I think he's on vacation now.)
szwagier (From DangerousWaters.pl)
Grindler (Also from there.)
Achtachtel (?)

Perhaps they've decided to join the rebellion... ;-P

[AdamMil]

I will post a call for them... I think the loyalist side will be complete by the end of day.

Good, thanks. :-)

[sertore]

Good, thanks. :-)
Ops... sorry, I deleted my previous post because I see ML already called poland people few hours ago: hope they are getting the call...

[AdamMil]

This venture sounds like something I would be interested in. Is it to late to join the campaign?

Well, we had assumed an equal number of players on each side, so it would be unfair for one side to have an extra player. That said, not everyone has shown up on our side yet, and one guy has gone on vacation, so we're currently short. If that continues to be the case, maybe you could fill in for one of them, if you don't mind the fact that if/when that player came back, they would have priority. (I think the other side has extra players who are rotating in, so it has some precedent.) There's also a chance that we may end up permanently short a player, if somebody doesn't show up...

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the matter. What really matters is what Molon Labe and TLAM Strike, the two GMs, think. Send Molon Labe a message and see what he says. :-)

[sertore]

Well, we had assumed an equal number of players on each side, so it would be unfair for one side to have an extra player. That said, not everyone has shown up on our side yet, and one guy has gone on vacation, so we're currently short. If that continues to be the case, maybe you could fill in for one of them, if you don't mind the fact that if/when that player came back, they would have priority. (I think the other side has extra players who are rotating in, so it has some precedent.)

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the matter. What really matters is what Molon Labe and TLAM Strike, the two GMs, think. Send Molon Labe a message and see what he says. :-)
In case of needs, Betasom team can release an additional player to balance the official number of participants to the two groups.
Hope this help.

[AdamMil]

In case of needs, Betasom team can release an additional player to balance the official number of participants to the two groups. Hope this help.

Thanks for the offer. I hope it won't come to that.

[Molon Labe]

Tally ho, I've had an account here for awhile but am just know getting into the forums. This venture sounds like something I would be interested in. Is it to late to join the campaign? I'd be willing to help with administrative records if that matters.

My strengths are US Nucs (688i and Seawolf), with moderate skill on Russian Nucs and even the Kilos. I am a pilot in life and my family has a history of officers in the USN flying ASW patrol craft, so I am proficient with the Helos and P3s as well. The FFGs I am fair at, but they are probably my weakest of all platforms. On Nucs (US specifically) I am quite adept at stations - particularly TMA and Sonar.

If I can still get in on this, let me know what I need to do and if I need to get any mods (I am running DW1.04 ATM).

Thanks and look forward to hearing back!

LCDR ALAN
The more the better, and I don't think it's a problem if one roster has one more player than the other. As long as we get people to drive the playables that end up in conflict. I'll talk to TLAM about finding a spot for you. Although if you have a preference we could just go with that.

[LtCdrAlan]

Thanks for the input, all. I have no preference, and would be happy to fill in for UA/Missing players and/or drive whatever platform for any side that ends up short for whatever reason or otherwise needs a driver. I surely would be more that happy to yield priority to anyone senior (with regard to time/date of commitment) if/when they become available... :)

To start, just let me know if I need to install any patches, mods, or read any briefing material to better acquaint myself with the campaign/related matters. I will read through this entire thread in depth today to ensure I am up to date with at least the information contained herein...

Thanks again~

LCDR ALAN

[Molon Labe]

Thanks for the input, all. I have no preference, and would be happy to fill in for UA/Missing players and/or drive whatever platform for any side that ends up short for whatever reason or otherwise needs a driver. I surely would be more that happy to yield priority to anyone senior (with regard to time/date of commitment) if/when they become available... :)

To start, just let me know if I need to install any patches, mods, or read any briefing material to better acquaint myself with the campaign/related matters. I will read through this entire thread in depth today to ensure I am up to date with at least the information contained herein...

Thanks again~

LCDR ALAN

You're welcome. TLAM and I have talked it over, and it seems that the Loyalist side is getting marginally better attendance so far, so we're going to send you to the Rebels. Get yourself registered at CADC and PM TLAM Strike to get the password to the briefing room.

[Haz236]

I hope I'm not too late to sign up for this?

[Tarrasque]

Unfortunately as this was 2011, then yes just a little bit.

[Haz236]

We are now recruiting players for Solomons 2015

heh, may have misread that part rather optimistically...