Hi everybody! So I'm going to post the campaign map with three possible targets and the target cards for discussion on what we should bomb on day one. All images can be clicked on to embiggen them. I'll go through various details to help guide the decision making process. Being the CAG for this game
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon/wink.gif)
, I'll make the final call of course.
The campaign map:
So the three targets that came up in the selection draw have been circled on the map. We are playing a short campaign which will last 5 game days and to get at least an adequate evaluation we need to earn at least 9 victory points (VP). We have been assigned 36 Special Option (SO) points which were used to purchase pilots of varying skills and abilities and will be used to buy special weapons when needed, send pilots for R&R to reduce stress levels which is important to maintain peak pilot performance, request tanker support so we can avoid weight penalties for longer distance targets, etc. Other than any targets or other circumstances which can give us bonus SO points we need to make our 36 points last through the campaign. With the bonus for doing random pilot selection and spending SO points for pilots we now have 28 SO points.
The map is divided into four areas and a numbered target can be found in one of those four areas. The area at the bottom of the map is the closest to the carrier so the amount of stress you get after flying the mission and the weight point (WP) penalty which reduces the amount of payload you can carry is the smallest while targets at the top portion of the map have a -4 WP penalty and you get 3 stress points after flying that mission. However you also get an additional experience point for flying the mission.
Below the map there are three tracks, "Recon", "Intel" and "Infra" (infrastructure). As targets are destroyed those values may change to give us some advantages. Right now with a Recon of 3, we can draw up to 3 targets in a day to choose from. Our Intel level shows the enemy having an additional AA site in the center of the tactical map where we'll be flying so it would be good to shift that down as much as we can. With the Infra at -0 hits it just means we have to inflict the number of bomb hits listed on the target card. As Iran's infrastructure is degraded, we can get to the point where we need to inflict less hits to destroy the target. Now to the targets themselves!
"Command" has given us three targets to choose from for today's mission. We usually fly against just one target in a day but if a target card has the "secondary" keyword then we have the option to fly against a second target as well, but we would need to use different pilots for each mission.
The first target is "Target 55: Underground Complex" which can be found in the second (from the bottom) target band. There's a -2 WP penalty and 2 stress points. The weight point penalty for any target band can be waved if you spend 1 SO point per plane for tanker support. Can be worth it to insure you have a full target package but if you decide to fly, let's say a 6 plane mission that's 6 SO points you'll need to spend. Listed in the middle left box are the number of AA sites, bandits and hits needed to destroy the target. The disposition of opposing forces will become clear later when I post the tactical map but the target itself will have 2 AA sites and 2 bandits (all drawn from random unless stated on the card). It will take 11 hits to destroy this target. The center value in yellow is the number of planes that can be assigned to this mission which is up to 6. In the right hand box are our glorious rewards which are 3 VPs, shifting the infra track 2 towards the right and the intel track one to the right. Also the campaign map says that this target is worth an additional +1VP if destroyed. However, let me draw your attention to the bottom of the card which has the words "Small" "Hardened" and "Fixed.
The "small" and "hardened" keywords mean that you subtract one hit for every hit inflicted. Since this target has both keywords we would be subtracting 2 from our hit result which makes sense since it's an underground complex. The "fixed" keyword has no relevance for us in the 2014 (2020 for our purposes) time period.
Target 54: Command Post. This is in the third (from the bottom) target band. It will take 13 hits to destroy and I would probably spend SO points for tanker support so we can carry enough of a payload to destroy the target. We would get 3VP and shift the infra track 2. Again the "fixed" keyword isn't relevant but if we destroy this target we can get an additional 4 SO points which can certainly come in handy later. Up to 6 planes can be used in this mission.
Target 8: SAM sites. This target is in the furthest target band. It has the "secondary" keyword so we can select this target along with one of the other targets above if we want to fly two missions. High risk but you do get and additional XP point if you complete the mission. Your pilots can accumulate XP points with every successful mission they fly and can level up in ability. The one thing however is that we are only operational for 5 days so I wonder if a pilot will accumulate enough points to level up within that time span (I'll post pilot cards later which will have XP amts needed to level up. The amount varies from pilot to pilot). Only 4 hits to destroy but there's a catch. The keyword "Objective: 3 SA-10s" means that you have to also destroy the three SA-10 counters in the target along with inflicting 4 hits. SA-10s are nasty radar guided SAM sites with a long range of 3. We can use anti-radar ordinance (AGM-88s) to attack from a longer distance carried perhaps by the F-35 with it's magic stealth juju. Also the card has the keyword "vehicle" and there's ordinance that has some bonuses against vehicular targets. Unfortunately, the keyword "stress +2" is also listed meaning you'll have a total of 5 stress points after flying this mission so only the more experienced pilots should be assigned. Up to 4 planes can be assigned to this target.
My thoughts: I'm tending towards only flying one mission and passing on the SAM sites because that target is pretty far and with the accumulation of post mission stress points any pilot flying that mission might need to be rested the next day. Also, the F-35 which would be ideal for this mission is flown by newbie pilot and actually 5 stress points will make him unfit to fly when he comes back. Yikes.
As for the remaining two missions, I'm leaning towards the command post. I'd spend the SO points for tanker support but I'm attracted by the bonus SO points we'd get for destroying the target. The underground complex has that VP bonus which could come in handy in getting a good eval in a short campaign but it's really well protected and again I'd definitely spend SO points for tanker support. The campaign map does say that for "Special Weapons" the first 8 SO points spent on them are actually free and there's some special bunker busting bombs in the special weapons category we can purchase. The weight points aren't waived though so they'll take up space on a plane.
For both missions I'm tempted to fly the full 6 planes allowed to insure air superiority and have enough of a payload. Gentlemen, thoughts?
(and thanks for indulging this longish post!)
Edit: And with WYbaugh we have 8 so I'll start working on posting the pilot cards soon (or tomorrow). The game will go a lot quicker once all the preliminary stuff is posted and explained!