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Philippine Phandango '10

Philippine Phandango
v9.4

  • For all players -- all players need to read this:
    • Introduction
    • Dates and Times
    • Summary of Rules
  • For command staff (and any others interested):
    • Historical Context
    • Victory Conditions
    • Summary of Constraints
    • Order of Battle
    • Frame 1 and Test Frame
    • Frame 2
    • Frame 3
    • Frame 4
    • Settings
    • Why are we using mission orders?
  • For CM's
    • This is for CM convenience. No one else need read this section or pay attention to it.

For All Players -- all players need to read the following:

Introduction

It is November, 1944, and MacArthur has returned. With the battle of Leyte Gulf just completed, the Fleet Carrier Task Forces of the US Navy have moved off to hit the northern islands of the Philippines. On Leyte, units of General Kenney's Fifth Air Force and several Navy and Marine squadrons remain to cover the newly gained foothold. The Japanese, intent on reversing the recent tide of battle, have moved several elite aviation units to the Philippines with the start of Operation Sho-Go 1. Both sides are desperate and going all out to win control of the skies and seas of the southern Philippines.

It will be the F4U-1A & D, P-38J & L, P-47D-25, FM-2, B-24J, and B-25C & H, against the N1K2-J, Ki-84, Ki-61, A6M5b, and Ki-67. The whole of the southern Philippine Islands is a battlefield, featuring dogfights in the sky, strategic bombing of targets on the land, and antishipping attacks and ship vs. ship battles at sea.

Please join us for the fight!

Dates and Times

Show-Up Time for this scenario is 3 pm Eastern Time (3 pm New York, USA time) in the Special Events II arena. You can use this time converter to find the correct time in your time zone. Frame dates are as follows.

  • July 31, 2010 : test frame -- please all attend
  • August 7 : frame 1
  • August 14 : frame 2
  • August 21 : frame 3
  • August 28 : frame 4

The arena is locked to admittance at Show-Up Time, so please show up no later than Show-Up Time. (Takeoffs start 30 minutes after Show-Up Time, the time in between being used for briefings and to get organized.) If you get disconnected and need back into the locked arena, please type into any text radio buffer: ".p fencer let me in". Then keep trying to get in (even if the game shows Special Events II as being locked -- try entering still, as the status does not always update quickly). Once you are in, type ".p fencer i'm in".

Frames will run for 3 hours after takeoff, then a disengagement will be called (whereupon players will cease combat, if any), and planes will have 30 minutes to land.

Summary of Rules

  • Pilots get two lives.
  • A pilot uses up a life if he dies, bails, ditches, does not get a "landed successfully" message, or if he exits (end sortie) at anything other than his takeoff base (except as noted in Allies Order of Battle).
  • Launch a new plane only from your assigned takeoff base .
  • You can refuel at any *active* base (not any base -- any active base), except that land-based aircraft cannot refuel at a carrier.
  • Deaths as a gunner do not subtract from your available lives.
  • Bombers:
    • Ki-67's, B-24's, and B-25's are restricted to 16,000 ft. altitude or less.
    • Ki-67's with bombs and B-24J's can level bomb only and must use the bomb sight when dropping bombs (so that they are at least momentarily levelled out).
    • Ki-67's with torpedoes and B-25's may fly however they like below the alt limit.
  • When you have no more lives, please consider volunteering to be a gunner or man a gun on a ship.
  • If you get disconnected (dumped), ask the CM if you can launch again. If he says "yes," you can do so without the disco subtracing one of your lives.
  • Your CO can have you ejected from the arena if you are not following orders, breaking rules, being insubordinate, or being a nuissance to your side.
  • Do not fly off the boundary of the map unless you are chasing an enemy off the map.


For Command Staff (and any others interested):

Historical Context

Overview

November 1944

Three long years... It had been December 8, 1941 when the war started for the Americans in the Philippines. Six months later, in May 7, 1942 the last of the organized resistance was ordered to surrender in the Philippines and Corregidor fell. Scattered resistance continued in the mountains and some islands. Yet the war moved on as the Japanese continued to advance. After evacuating to Australia General Douglas MacArthur told the Philippino people that "I came through, and I shall return". On October 17, 1944 United States forces returned to the Philippines, landing on the island of Leyte in the southern half of the islands.

In a massive attempt to stop the invasion the Japanese initiated Operation Sho-Go 1. From the North, South, and West, Japanese Naval forces closed in on Leyte Bay. In the largest Naval battle of the Pacific War the United States Navy defeated three seperate forces leaving the United States in control of the sea off Leyte. In the series of rolling fights that was to see submarine attacks, surface attacks, air strikes and the final battleship surface battle a new and deadly weapon appeared.

On October 25, a group of escort carriers codenamed "Taffy 1" was operating south of a similar group named "Taffy 3". At this time Taffy 3 was under attack by surface units of the Imperial Japanese Navy. While launching aircraft to air their sister unit Taffy 1 was attacked by suicide planes. The USS Santee (CVE-29) and USS Suswanee (CVE-27) both absorbed hits from planes crashing onto their decks, both survived. Frustrated by continued attacks by aircraft and escorting destroyers the Japanese Navy retired leaving Taffy 3 victorious. As Taffy 3 attempted to come to grips with it's near disaster, it too was attacked by the "Special Attack Group". The USS St Lo (CVE-71) who had survived battleships and cruiser attacks at visual range, was not so lucky this time. A single Zeke came up her wake pulled up and nosed into the flight deck. She was doomed. The St Lo went down with over 140 of her crew.

The scale and importance of what had occured both days was not yet realized. In the months to come the US Navy was to become very familiar with this tactic, but the next two months were to be the baptism of fire against it. The Japanese had deployed some of their best units and aircraft to the Philippines. New aircraft were to be faced, with the N1K1, KI-84, J2M and others to be engaged for the first time. Both sides had plans for how the battle was to be fought, both brought their best people and equipment. The entire of the southern Philippines was to become a dance floor. As the hall filled the contestants begain to hurl themselves across the floor in a complicated dance. It was to become a Philippine Phandango.

Victory Conditions

Sides must seriously pursue the missions given by High Command -- that is the highest priority. Also, the initial attacks described in mission orders must be pursued first and must happen prior to T+75 minutes. (They might not succeed at every mission, but they have to seriously try them.) Assuming both sides do that, victory then goes to the side that achives the most objectives. Here are the objectives for each frame. After a group has achieved its mission orders from HQ, but not before then, the CO can have it pursue other missions of his own choosing.

  • Allies:
    • Destroy 200 or more objects (as judged by "objects destroyed" stat in logs).
    • Sink 8 or more enemy ships.
    • Kill 110 or more enemy aircraft (as judged by "kills" stat in logs).
  • Axis:
    • Sink 12 or more enemy ships.
    • Kill 110 or more enemy aircraft.
    • Frame 1 and 2 only, also destroy 130 or more objects.
    • Frame 3 and 4 only, also sink 1 or more enemy CVE's.

Summary of Constraints

In addition to any limitations listed in the "Summary of Rules" section:

  • Allowed Targets (the ground objects allowed as targets each frame) are those at the Strategic Targets, at the Additional Targets, and at the enemy's list of Active Bases, listed for each frame. Towns at airfields are not legitimate targets. No other ground targets should be attacked.
  • Players will fly for the squadron that they registered for and are not transferable to different squadrons.
  • Each squadron may launch from its assigned base only (unless your CV is sunk -- see below).
  • All 5" turrets and 40 mm mounts on ships will be disabled.
  • 20 mm guns will remain active on all ships.
  • 8 inch guns on the cruisers can be used for ship to ship action. 8 inch guns may not be used against shore targets.
  • Allied fighters will have 1000 lb bombs and rockets disabled via arena settings.
  • Each frame, CO's may assign each squadron to any Active Base listed for the frame except for any limitations listed and except that:
    • A33 may only be used by the Army Air Force squadron assigned to fleet coverage in Frames 3 and 4.
    • United States Navy squadrons must use the ships listed in Order of Battle.
    • Army Air Force and Marine Corps fighter may use any ground base and are limited to 3 squadrons per base. (Exception are frames 3 and 4 for Marine Corps squadrons.)
    • Imperial Navy and AirForce can base at most 3 squadrons per base.
  • Shipping shall start in any of the areas highlighted for their use.
  • In frames 1 and 2, Japanese reinforcement convoys and destroyer groups may not move north of the 14 row or west of the 8 column.
  • In frames 1 and 2, American shipping south of Ormoc may not move south of the 12 row or east of the 12 column.
  • In all frames American shipping in the Leyte Gulf area shall not leave the highlighted area.
  • In frames 3 and 4, American shipping in the Sulu Sea may not move south of their southern most starting row.
  • Once a task group is completely destroyed, contact a CM so that he can jump it clear of the combat zone (so that its puffy ack is not continuing to contribute although there are no ships at all).

Note about strategic targets: With the update on how strat targets work in Aces High, it is not always possible to divide up strategic-target side ownership as finely as before. Thus, the setup might require that some of a side's strategic targets, in game terms, belong to its own country -- for example, you might be Bishop and be going after a Bishop strategic target as your mission objective, or you might be Bishop and need to defend a strategic target that is Knight (and therefore be protecting a place that will shoot at you). Please be aware of this potential ownership issue. If we have to do setups like that, the CM's will try to make it as fair as possible by alternating things, and we will try our best to disable the ack at such mismatched targets.

Order of Battle

Allies (United States Army Air Force, Marines and Navy) Order of Battle

Allies have a max of 88 pilots (max of 76 fighter pilots, 12 bomber pilots) distributed as follows. Plus one Fleet Captain spot available.

  Squadron Aircraft Max. Pilots
United States Army Air Force,
5th Air Force
     
345th Bomb Group 345th Bomb Group B-25C or H 6
43rd Bomb Group 43rd Bomb Group B-24J 6
475th Fighter Group       
  431st Fighter Squadron P-38J or L 10
  432nd Fighter Squadron P-38J or L 7
348th Fighter Group      
  340th Fighter Squadron P-47D25 7
  342nd Fighter Squadron P-47D25 12
8th Fighter Group      
  80th Fighter Squadron P-38J or L 12
United States Marine Corp      
  VMF-115** F4U-1A 12
  VMF-211** F4U-1D 10
United States Navy - Task Force 77      
USS Kadashan Bay CVE-76 VC-20* FM-2 6
USS Natoma Bay CVE-62 VC-81* FM-2 0
USS Manila Bay CVE-61
(frames 3 and 4)
transfer of VMF-115
and VMF-211*
   

* VC-81, VC-20, VMF-211, and VMF-115, if your CVE is sunk, use a sister ship or the nearest land base.
** VMF-115 and VMF-211, in frame 1 and 2 you are land based, and in frames 3 and 4 you are based on USS Manila Bay.

Axis (Imperial Japanese Navy and Army Air Force) Order of Battle

Axis have a max of 95 pilots (max of 83 fighter pilots, 12 bomber pilots) distributed as follows. Plus one Fleet Captain spot available.

  Squadron Aircraft Max. Pilots
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force      
  201st Air Group N1K2-J 14
  252nd Air Group A6M5b 9
  341st Air Group N1K2-J 12
  755th Kokutai Ki-67 6
  762nd Kokutai Ki-67 6
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force      
  22nd Sentai Ki-84 10
  52nd Sentai Ki-84 12
  77th Sentai Ki-61 8
  78th Sentai Ki-61 6
  200th Sentai Ki-84 12

Task Groups, and Convoys

Shipping is an integral part of this scenario.

Here is how to identify various types of convoys and task forces visually:

  • American Supply Convoy: Each Convoy shall consist a 4 destroyers along with a cruiser and a carrier. The carrier will represent merchant shipping and will not have flight enabled.
  • American Invasion Convoy: Each Convoy shall consist a 4 destroyers along with a cruiser. The carrier will represent merchant shipping and will not have flight enabled.
  • American Destroyer Group: Each Group shall consist of 4 destroyers and a cruiser.
  • American CVE Task Groups: Each Task Group shall consist of a cruiser, 3 destroyers and a carrier.
  • Japanese Reinforcement Convoy: Each Convoy shall consist a 4 destroyers along with a cruiser and a carrier. Destroyers are carrying troups. The carrier will represent merchant shipping and will not have flight enabled.
  • Japanese Destroyer Group: Each Group shall consist of 4 destroyers and a cruiser.

In the maps below, if there is a conflict between what is indicated on the map and what is written in text (such as what is an active base), the map takes precedence -- except that the allies get a18 and a21 as active bases for frames 3 and 4.

Frame 1 and Test Frame

The Americans have landed and are consolidated on Leyte. They are attempting to push west toward Ormoc City. The supply convoys with their attending escorts are still off the invasion beaches in Leyte Gulf. The Japanese are attempting to run reinforcements to the western side of Leyte to stop the Americans from taking the entire Island. Meanwhile the US has gotten some Army squadrons and a couple Marine squadrons ashore and based on Leyte. These units are covering the landing beaches and begining to hit Japanese targets in the other islands.

The Japanese are attempting to land supplies to A21, the Americans are attempting to stop them. Both sides are attacking other shipping, bases and targets.

Mission orders from HQ: Frame 1 Orders.

American Active Air Bases: A12, A16, A42, A43, and A113.

American Strategic Targets:

  • Electric Power Plant 6,15,2
  • Oil Refinery 6,15,4
  • Sea Port 5,16,8

    Additional American Targets:

  • Two Japanese Reinforcement Convoys (Visayan Sea)
  • One Japanese Destroyer Group (Visayan Sea)
  • Active Japanese Airfields

    Japanese Active Air Bases: A94, A31, A37, A33, A17, A56, A58, A49 and A50.

    Japanese Strategic Targets:

  • Ammunition Dump 12,14,2
  • Troop Concentration 13,15,5

    Additional Japanese Targets:

  • Two American Supply Convoys (Leyte Gulf)
  • Two American Destroyer Groups (South of Ormoc Bay)
  • Two CVE Task Groups (Leyte Gulf)
  • Active American Airfields

    Ship Summary

  • Axis Ships – Located in Visayan Sea (3 TG)
    One Destroyer Group – destroy CV
    Two Reinforcement Convoys

  • Allied Ships – Located in Leyte Gulf (4 TG)
    Two CVE Task Groups – destroy 1 DD
    Two Supply Convoys

    Allied Ships – Located in Ormoc Bay (2 TG)
    Two Destroyer Groups – destroy CV

    Frame One Map

    alt

    Frame 2

    The Japanese continue to attempt to run reinforcements to Leyte at A21. Meanwhile an American invasion force is entering Ormoc bay with the intention to land troops at A21 in an attempt to capture the base. Air attacks continue on the invasion forces east of Leyte. Both sides are bombing enemy concentrations on the islands of the southern Philippines.

    Mission orders from HQ: Frame 2 Orders.

    American Active Air Bases: A12, A16, A42, A43, and A113.

    American Strategic Targets:

  • Troop Concentration 8,13,8
  • City 8,13,1
  • Electrical Power Station 6,15,2

    Additional American Targets:

  • Two Japanese Reinforcement Convoy (Visayan Sea)
  • Two Japanese Destroyer Groups (Visayan Sea)
  • Active Japanese Airfields

    Japanese Active Air Bases: A94, A31, A37, A33, A17, A52, A56, A58, A49 and A50.

    Japanese Strategic Targets:

  • Ammunition Dump 12,14,2
  • Troop Concentration 13,15,5

    Additional Japanese Targets:

  • One American Supply Convoy (Leyte Gulf)
  • Two American Destroyer Groups (Southeast of Ormoc Bay)
  • One American Invasion Convoy (Southeast of Ormoc Bay)
  • Two CVE Task Groups (Leyte Gulf)
  • Active American Airfields

    Ship Summary

    Axis Ships – Located in Visayan Sea (4 tg)
    Two Destroyer Groups – destroy CV
    Two Reinforcement Convoys

    Allied Ships – Located in Leyte Gulf (3 tg)
    Two CVE Task Groups – destroy 1 DD
    One Supply Convoy

    Allied Ships – Located in Ormoc Bay (3 tg)
    Two Destroyer Groups – destroy CV
    One Invasion Convoy

    Frame Two Map

    alt

    Frame 3

    The Americans have beaten down active Japanese air resistance in the southern most islands. The Japanese have withdrawn all their air groups to the area near Mindoro. In the Sulu Sea a United States Navy invasion force is moving north toward Mindoro. Code Named "Love III" the invasion force left Leyte on December 12, 1944. The invasion force consists of a large transport contingent, escorting warships and three escort carrier task groups. The plan is to take Mindoro to use it as a base to launch a follow up attack on the main island of Luzon. Meanwhile the Japanese are still running troop convoys to the various islands to reinforce the garrisons.

    In order to more accurately represent the amount of air cover for the Mindoro invasion force in balance with our Japanese forces, the two Marine Squadrons (VMF-115 and VMF-211) previously based near Leyte will be moved to a third escort carrier task group and based there for the final two frames.

    Mission orders from HQ: Frame 3 Orders.

    American Active Air Bases: A33, A12, A16, A42, A43, and A113 -- and a18 and a21.

    American Strategic Targets:

  • Artillery Park 3,19,4
  • Munitions Storage 4,18,4
  • Port 5,16,8

    Additional American Targets:

  • Active Japanese Airfields
  • Two Reinforcement Convoys (East of Mindoro)

    Japanese Active Air Bases: A17, A13, A56, A58, A95, A59, a63, A60, A49 and A50.

    Japanese Targets:

  • Two American Invasion Convoys (Sulu Sea)
  • Three CVE Task Groups (Sulu Sea)

    Additional Japanese Targets:

  • Active American Airfields

    Ship Summary

    Axis Ships – Located east of Mindoro (2 tg)
    Two Reinforcement Convoys

    Allied Ships – Located in Sulu Sea (5 tg)
    Three CVE Task Groups – destroy 1 DD
    Two Invasion Convoys

    Frame Three Map

    alt

    Frame 4

    In the Sulu Sea the Americans continue to move their invasion fleet toward Mindoro. The invasion force consists of a large transport contingent, escorting warships and three escort carrier task groups. The Army Air Forces on Leyte continue their assault on the enemy forces on and around Mindoro. The Japanese are attacking the Mindoro invasion force again this frame as it continues north toward Mindoro.

    Mission orders from HQ: Frame 4 Orders.

    American Active Air Bases: A33, A12, A16, A42, A43, and A113 -- and a18 and a21.

    American Strategic Targets:

  • Artillery Park 3,19,4
  • Munitions Storage 4,18,4
  • Oil Refinery 6,15,4

    American Additional Targets:

  • Active Japanese Airfields
  • Two Reinforcement Convoys (East of Mindoro

    Japanese Active Air Bases: A13, A56, A58, A95, A59, a63, A60, A49 and A50.

    Japanese Targets:

  • Two American Invasion Convoys (Sulu Sea)
  • Three CVE Task Groups (Sulu Sea)

    Additional Japanese Targets:

  • Active American Airfields

    Ship Summary

    Axis Ships – Located east of Mindoro (2 tg)
    Two Reinforcement Convoys

    Allied Ships – Located in Sulu Sea (5 tg)
    Three CVE Task Groups – destroy 1 DD
    Two Invasion Convoys

    Frame Four Map

    alt

    Settings

    Weather: Weather might be varied with low-lying clouds at times mixed with medium and high altitude cloud banks. Bad weather is possible with heavy clouds at varying altitudes.

    Terrain: mindan09

    Wind: 0 mph at 0-5k altitude, 5 to 15 mph from one direction on up.

    Radar and Sector Counters: Sector counters will show when a plane is within 25 miles of radar towers and above 1500 ft. Planes above 26,000 ft will show as dots on radar over 100 miles. Radar updates every 4 minutes.

    Destroyed Objects: Fighter hangars, bomber hangars, ammo bunkers, fuel bunkers, and radar towers all stay down only 6 minutes after being destroyed. All other objects, once destroyed, stay destroyed the whole frame. All objects will respawn at the start of the next frame, including ships and including American CVE's (simulating that there were several American CVE's that could be called upon). Also note hardness of various objects below.

    Auto Acks: Greatly reduced lethality, including for "puffy" ack. See setting below, where 1.0 is normal in Main Arena. This means low level attacks by B-25's and Ki-67's will not be precluded by auto ack alone.

    Ordnance. Disable 1000 lb bombs and rockets for US fighters.

    Variable Value Explanation of Variable
    ArenaFlags 8 Perk points disabled.
    BomberWarningRange 36,960 (7 miles) A base starts flashing when an enemy bomber gets within this number of feet.
    ColorFog[Day] 144,164,198  
    ColorSky[Day] 99,131,207  
    CommunicationFlags 3 Various communication flags.
    DeathMaxCount 0 After this many deaths, you have to wait DeathTimeMin before spawning the next time.
    DeathTimeMin 0 How long in minutes you have to wait before spawning after DeathMaxCount deaths.
    DownTimeMult 6.0000 A multiplier for down time of objects. For example, if Bunk Ammo has a Down Time of X and if DownTimeMult = Y, the actual down time for Bunk Ammo is X*Y minutes.
    EnemyIconRange 9000 Enemy icon range in feet (9000 = previous .icon 1).
    EnemyLowIconRange 9000 Has to do with icon range when altitude is low.
    ExitWhileMoving 460 Various flags on whether or not a player can exit whilemoving.
    FighterWarningRange 10,560 A base starts flashing when an enemy fighter gets within this number of feet. 2 miles.
    FlightModeFlags 5248  
    FogVisibilityMiles 17.00 Visibility in miles.
    FriendlyIconRange 15,000 (5k) Friendly icon range in feet.
    FuelBurnRateMult 1.0000 The multiple applied to fuel burn rate. 2.0 means fuel is used at 2x real-life rate.
    GroundAutoLethality[Armored] 0.10 See "GroundAutoLethality" section.
    GroundAutoLethality[Hard] 0.10 See "GroundAutoLethality" section.
    GroundAutoLethality[Soft] 0.10 See "GroundAutoLethality" section.
    ObjectHardnessMults[SHP] 2.07 For CV hardness = 14,000 lb; CA and DD hardness = 4,000 lb.
    PlayerResupplyTime 0 Minutes of downtime subtracted from down objects when supplies are dropped at a base.
    RadarAlt 26,000 If a plane is under this altitude, it won't show on dot radar (unless full friendly or full enemy is selected).
    RadarMode[Bishops] 394 Tower friendly, tower enemy, counters above radar, range based counters.
    RadarMode[Knights] 394 Various flags for setting radar attributes.
    RadarMode[Rooks] 48 Various flags for setting radar attributes.
    RadarUpdateRate 299 Radar updates every 5 minutes.
    ResetAirFieldCnt 1 If a country has less than this many airfields, the war is won, and the arena does a reset.
    ResetTotalFieldCnt 1 If a country has less than this many total fields, the war is won, and the arena does a reset.
    SectorCounterAlt 1500 If a plane is under this altitude, it's won't show in the sector counters.
    SectorCounterRange 132,000 (25 miles) If RadarMode is set to have Range Based Counters, this is the range in feet from the radar station that a plane has to be in order to show in the sector counters.
    StratFlags 1 Disable strat supply.
    TaskGroupCommandCount 10 Number of TG that can be controlled by one person.
    TaskGroupRespawnTime 360 Down time for CV.
    TowerBasedRadarRange 132,000 (25 miles) The range in feet from a radar station for dots to appear on the radar display (unless full friendly or full enemy is selected).
    VehicleWarningRange 15840 A base starts flashing when an enemy vehicle gets within this number of feet.
    ViewModeFlags 2 Various flags for view.

    Note in the object settings below, "Down Time" is not the actual down time in minutes. Actual down time in minutes is "Down Time" times DownTimeMult given in the above table.

    Object Name Down Time Hardness (1000 lb) Explanation
    Bomb Hgr 1 default Bomber hangar. (Down time) * DownTimeMult = 6 minutes
    Bunk Ammo 1 default Ammo bunker. (Down time) * DownTimeMult = 6 minutes
    Bunk Fuel 1 default Fuel bunker.(Down time) * DownTimeMult = 6 minutes
    Bunk Radar -- 100 Radar tower nearly indestructible.
    Ftr Hgr 1 default Fighter hangar. (Down time) * DownTimeMult = 6 minutes
    Gun Bat 180 -- So that they don't respawn after setup.
    Gun Bat Armor 180 --  
    Gun Bat Soft 180 --  
    Hard Gun Bat 180 --  
    Ship -- 1.93 DD and CA = 4,000 lb; CV = 14,000 lb.
    Town -- 100.0 Town buildings.

    All other settings are the default settings listed here: http://ahevents.org/images/stories/scenarios_images/defaultSettingDocument/defaultArenaSettings.html

    Settings that don't stick and need to be done every setup: wind, disabling weapons, objects settings and destruction, jumping task groups.

    To destroy correct things at task groups, here is an example for c73. If you do it while in the hangar, you can see it working.
    -- .det f73bat 1 (destroys 40 mm and some single 5")
    -- .det f73baa 1 (destroys rest of single 5", twin 5", and 8")
    -- .restore f73baa000c 1, 00d, 00e (restores the three 8")

    Destroy the guns at the country strat targets:
    -- .det c01gng 1 (and for c02 and c03)

    Why are we using mission orders?

  • For this scenario, we are trying out more specificity to missions. We have done this for a few reasons motivated by the fact that players are the most-important part of scenarios, and we feel that this will enhance the sceneario experience for them. First, it increases the likelihood that players are flying missions that have the feel of the history upon which the scenario is based. Second, it reduces the workload a bit on command staffs and thus helps us broaden out the pool of possible CO's. Command staffs still have to determine routing, timing, execution (including tactical implementation), pick GL's, form their sides into effective fighting forces, and so on. But now they do not have to create missions from scratch and instead have a starting point. Third, it ensures that every group has its shot at action.

    Scenarios are a balance of many things (action, realism, playability, side balance, and so on), many of which pull in different directions. From time to time in scenarios, we try new things and see how they do. We will try this mission method in this scenario.



    For CM's:

    CM Reference

    MOTD. The following can be copy and pasted to use as the MOTD, with appropriate number for frame number.

    Welcome to the scenario "Philippine Phandango"!

    Show up at or before 3 pm Eastern Time to play.

    If you are not registered, you are welcome to play,
    but please change to country Rook,
    go to a63, and type on channel 200,
    "Walkon requesting assignment."

    If you need back in and the arena is locked, please
    enter ".p fencer let me in" into a radio text buffer
    such as from the Main Arena. Try getting into the
    arena thereafter even if the games says the arena
    is locked -- the screen doesn't update quickly.
    Once in, type ".p fencer i'm in".

    Allies = Bishops
    Axis = Knights
    walkons = Rook

    CM checklist. Prior to Show-Up Time:

    • Announce to players to remind CM if he doesn't announce "logs started".
    • Load terrain.
    • Rotate countries if needed. Make sure axis fields are Knight, allied fields are Bishop.
    • Load tables.
    • Change field ownership if needed.
    • Set MOTD.
    • Set tower clock to Pacific time.
    • Check that correct planes are enabled at correct fields -- make sure ground guns are enabled everywhere. Save if any changes done.
    • Check arena variables and resave all the non-default ones. Save if any changes done.
    • Set object settings.
    • Destroy any objects needed -- has to happen *after* setting object down times.
    • Set wind.
    • Set weapons disallowed.
    • Remember to do .startlog before takeoffs.
    • Get walkon field number for axis and allies.

    Timing Table

    Event Real Time Tower Clock Event tasks

    S (Show-Up Time)

    3 pm Eastern, Noon PT 12 noon
    • Lock arena.
    • Start assigning walkons to whichever side needs them.
    • Assign such that the ratio of bish:knights stays near 1:1.08.
    • Announce that end of hostilities is at 3:30 pm on the in-game clock, then 30 minutes to land.
    • Announce number of lives.
    • Announce to send ".p fencer let me in" if you need back in. Tell to click in even if arena says it is locked.
    S+20

    • Set CountryChangeTime to 1000 so that people can no longer change sides.
    • Jump TG's.
    • .startlog
    S+25 = T-5 (Takeoff Countdown)

    • Announce 5 minutes to launch.
    • Tell players not to take off until your Group Leader tells you to take off.
    • Set CountryCanFly[x] to 1.
    • Allow planes out onto runways.

    T-0 (Takeoff)

    12:30 pm PT 12:30 pm
    • Allow takeoffs.
    T+3 hours 3:30 pm PT 3:30 pm
    • Announce end to hostilities, to land back at base, and that end frame is in 30 minutes.
    • Announce all of this several times.
    T+3.5 hours (Frame End) 4:00 pm PT 4 pm
    • End log (.endlog).
    • Set CountryCanFly[x] to 0.
    • Unlock arena.

    References

    Battle of Ormoc Bay
    USS Kadashan Bay CVE 76
    Fletcher Class Destroyers
    Marine Aviation at Leyte and Samar
    Japanese Reinforcement Convoys
    Japanese TA Operations A Blueprint for Disaster
    Flying Buccaneers - The Illustrated Story of Kenney's Fifth Air Force, by Steve Birdsall, ISBN 0-385-03218-8
    At War With The Wind, by David Sears, ISBN 0-8065-2893-1
    Possum, Clover & Hades: The 475th Fighter Group in World War II (Schiffer Military History), by John Stanaway, ISBN 0-887-40518-5
    Attack & Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II, by John Stanaway & Lawrence Hickey
    Warpath Across The Pacific: The Illutrated history of the 345th Bombardment Group During World War II, by Lawrence Hickey
    OPERATIONS OF THE EIGHTH ARMY IN THE SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES (http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1/ch11.htm)

    Designer Historical Notes:

    With each scenario we balance play and the planeset to bring to you historical battles. In this scenario there are a few things which do not line up with history. I wish to point these out for the sake of accuracy and understanding of the events we are depicting.

  • Time Frame - We are simulating Mid November to Mid December 1944. Carriers came and went during this time frame but all three were in theater when the major fights occured.
  • B-25Js were more commonly in use during this time frame. I wanted to have the B-25s involved as they played large role in theater. So we use the ones we have available.
  • Task Force 77 didn't have Corsairs on board during the Mindoro invasion. However the location of the force on the map would allow them to be issolated and sunk by the overwhelming forces available to the Japanese before the Leyte units could assist. In reality there were six escort carriers with the force and cover also from Leyte (They didn't have a "start time" so they were able to time getting aircraft to cover the fleet). To give the Mindoro forces a more accurate depiction of their actual CAP I needed to add some more CVE-borne units. Rather than create more that needed to be filled for Frames 1 and 2 when they are not actually needed, I chose to relocate the two Marine Squadrons to a carrier role, keeping the OOB of the scenario easier to manage. Asking the F4U-1D people to forgo their ride was also unfair.
  • The N1K1 was in service at the time of this scenario in the Philippines not the N1K2. Also the J2M "Jack" was in the Philippines in some numbers. We are using the N1K2 to represent both, as it is the best we have available.
  • Kamikazes - Eventually I hope to have a better way to deal with them. However they were an important part of this campaign, and I had hoped they would bring needed realism to the battle. However at this time there is no easy way to model them accurately. In the future when we have the means, we will recreate the battles off of Okinawa and eventually bring this historical element to scenarios.
  • P-47s - The P-47s in use at this time in the Philippines were generally P-47D-23 razorback Thunderbolts. We use P-47D-25's as the best match.
  • Merchant Ships - Sigh.. more shipping for use in special events one day soon I hope. Until then we do the best we can.
  • Ship to Ship Action - I would love to enable the 5 inch guns to use against shipping, but their deadliness against planes with the proximity fuze precludes using them for this. As such, cruisers which were actually not present during the ship to ship action in Ormoc Bay, will be the only source of heavy guns.

    Credits

    Scenario design: Fencer
    Terrain: mrmidi
    Scenario CM's: Brooke (Team Lead) and Fencer
    Allied CO: Spikes
    Axis CO: K-KEN

    Change Log

    This section mentions the changes in each version, so that when changes are made to this document, people don't need to read the whole document to find out where the changes are.

    Note on terminology: In this section, "Clarified" has a very precise meaning. If a rule is listed as being "Clarified", it means that the rule and its intent is not being changed but that the explanation herein is being improved to make the rule and its intent more clear. Rules re sometimes clarified during a scenario based on player questions or misunderstandings about wording.

    v0.1,  3-28-10
    -- First posting.

    v0.2,  6-05-10
    -- Revised with new scenario design standards.
    -- Removed kamikazes.
    -- Remove invasion and supply ground portions.
    -- Remove F6D photo recon unit and tasks.

    v0.3,  6-05-10
    -- Minor edits for spelling and typos.
    -- Added P-47s to description section.
    -- Added one Japanese reinforcement convoy to Frame 2, for total of 2.

    v0.4,  6-10-10
    -- Change VMF-115 to F4U-1A to match actual usage. Found good information on both untis to confirm plane types.
    -- Changed description of CVs in objects destroy from British to American.
    -- Changed radar sector counter range from 50 miles to 30 miles.
    -- Changed alt below which sector counters don't show from 2500 to 1500 feet.
    -- Added another book reference.

    v1.0,  6-16-10
    -- Added in victory conditions.
    -- Miscellaneous other stuff.
    -- Change radar mode to reflect counter based only until 30,000 feet then everyone sees you.
    -- Changed radar sector counter range from 30 miles to 25 miles.
    -- Change base flash to 7.0 miles for bombers, 6 miles for fighters.
    -- Changed alt below which sector counters don't show from 2500 to 1500 feet.
    -- Added book references.

    v1.1,  6-17-10
    -- Modified Victory conditions to show numbers in lieu of percentages.
    -- Deleted TBM-1C from both CVE Air Groups.

    v1.2,  6-19-10
    -- Modified Victory conditions again to simplify them.
    -- Added requirement to sink one CVE for Axis in Frames 3 and 4 to balance number of victory requirements.
    -- Reduced players to around 100 per side.
    -- Increased damage required for each ship.
    -- Reduced bomber max height to 16,000ft.
    -- Reduced overall max height to 26,000ft.
    -- Deleted A34 and added A33 to Allied bases for F3 and F4.
    -- Limited A33 to squadron assigned for fleet coverage.
    -- Deleted A17 from Axis bases in F4.
    -- Changed the front line.

    v2, 6/19/2010
    -- Touched up html formatting.
    -- Changed the "Changes to Scenario Planning" section to "Why are we using mission orders? ", and changed content of that.
    -- Put onto ahevents.org.
    -- Put town buildings hardness at 100,000 lbs (as they aren't a target, so made them nearly indestructible).

    v3, 6/19/2010
    -- Lowered ship objectives.
    -- Modified a little "Why are we using mission orders?"

    v4, 6/20/2010
    -- Got rid of TBM.
    -- Put in correct maps.

    v5, 6/24/2010
    -- Linked in order pdf's.

    v6, 7/1/2010
    -- Got rid of P-47D-11's. All are now P-47D-25's.

    v7, 7/25/2010
    -- In "Victory Conditions" section, have put in "After a side has pursued all of its mission orders from High Command (which must be pursued first as highest priority), it can pursue secondary missions of its own choosing (missions, sweeps, patrols, or just go after targets of opportunity subject to each group's initiative, etc.)."
    -- In "Summary of Constraints" section, see "Note about strategic targets".
    -- RadarUpdateRate increased to 5 minutes.
    -- In "Summary of Constraints" section, see "Once a task-group is completely destroyed."
    -- Have filled in settings to make CV hardness 14,000 lbs and CA/DD hardness 4000 lbs (not a change -- just filling in the appropriate settings).
    -- Filled in allied and axis CO's in "Credits".
    -- Made it clear that there are no torps available for B-25 (not possible in game).
    -- Adjusted numbers of aircraft for smaller registration.

    v8, 7/25/2010
    -- Put in mission orders as html file (easier to edit).
    -- Put in dates and times for scenario.

    v9, 8/4/2010
    -- Final version.
    -- Put in ColorFog[Day] and ColorSky[Day] and added some of the settings that were missing in the table or still labelled as under the old AH system.
    -- Set Gun Bat, Gun Bat Armor, Gun Bat Soft, and Hard Gun Bat down times to 180 so that taking out 40 mm and 5" on ships at the start do not come back up during frame.
    -- In current version of AH, there are twin 40 mm and quad 40 mm (not just quad 40 mm like before), so just refer to 40 mm as "40 mm".
    -- Got rid of some outdated items in CM setup checklist.
    -- Added list of what CM commands to use to setup the ship guns the easiest way.
    -- Added summary of which ships are present in each frame.

    v9.1, 8/10/2010
    -- Mission orders for frame 2 needed adjustment so that allies aren't outnumbered in Leyte area and axis outnumbered in Visayan Sea area. Did this by adjusting mission of 8 planes from 200th Sentai.
    -- Frames 3 and 4 likewise need such adjusting, which will happen shortly.
    -- Make it more clear that a group must complete its missions from HQ before the CO can give it some other mission.
    -- Make it more clear that pilots can re-arm only at *active* bases, not any friendly base.
    -- Corrected error in listing a53 as active base for frame 1 (it isn't).
    -- Put in statement that, if there is conflict between a map and what is written in text, the map takes precedence (in terms of listing targets, active bases, etc.).
    -- Put in CM setup section reminder to do .det c01gng 1, etc.
    -- Get rid of references to TBM's, as they aren't in this scenario.

    v9.2, 8/17/2010
    -- For frame 3 orders, mistakenly refer to "Visayan Sea" in orders for 345th BG -- should be "sea east of Mindoro" instead. Mistakenly refer to "Negros" for 77th Sentai -- should be "Mindoro" instead.
    -- Give the allies a18 and a21 to use in frames 3 and 4.
    -- Gave a destination for Japanese shipping in frame 3.
    -- Still need to look over frame 4 mission orders to make sure they are OK. Will do this shortly.

    v9.3, 8/20/2010
    -- Adjusted frame-3 destination sectors for ships as per agreement between the two CO's.
    -- Fixed error in active fields of Japanese for frames 3 and 4 (a59 was listed twice and a63 wasn't listed, but is correct in maps).

    v9.4, 8/23/2010
    -- In mission orders for frame 4, got rid of incorrect reference to Visayan Sea.
    -- Adjusted frame-4 destination sectors for ships to be the same as frame 3 (except stating that map edges should be avoided by half a sector).

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