WinSPMBT V 4.0 is available

[old_pop2000]

For those devotee's of WinSPMT, there is a new patch, V4.0.

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBTv4.0_Upgrade.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver3.5_Upgrade.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver3.0_Supp.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver2-5_Supp.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver2-0_Patch.zip

[Mike Malanaphy]

For those devotee's of WinSPMT, there is a new patch, V4.0.

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBTv4.0_Upgrade.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver3.5_Upgrade.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver3.0_Supp.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver2-5_Supp.zip

http://download.shrapnelgames.com/downloads/WinSPMBT_Ver2-0_Patch.zip

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the ionfo. My version was 2.5 so I had to upgrade incrementally. At least I found the adjustment for the graphics delay to slow the action down. I bought the DOS version when it first came out and thorouughly enjoy the Arab-Israeli scenarios. I will probably now have to buy Steel Panthers as well. Have you played any of the Combat Mission games by Battlefront?

[old_pop2000]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for the ionfo. My version was 2.5 so I had to upgrade incrementally. At least I found the adjustment for the graphics delay to slow the action down. I bought the DOS version when it first came out and thorouughly enjoy the Arab-Israeli scenarios. I will probably now have to buy Steel Panthers as well. Have you played any of the Combat Mission games by Battlefront?


Hey Mike:
I have enjoyed SP since it came out. I have all three original disks and the campaign disks. I bought SPWW2 and MBT from NWS a while ago. I have not played the mission games by battlefront. I have Tacops 4.0 but haven't played it in a while, I think I will get back to playing my ground force tactical games again. I also enjoy the Arab-Israeli scenarios. I enjoy the Team Yankee scenarios also.

[Warship NWS]

We have the Combat Mission games on our store here at NWS.

http://www.nws-online.net

Thanks.

[Mike Malanaphy]

Hey Mike:
I have enjoyed SP since it came out. I have all three original disks and the campaign disks. I bought SPWW2 and MBT from NWS a while ago. I have not played the mission games by battlefront. I have Tacops 4.0 but haven't played it in a while, I think I will get back to playing my ground force tactical games again. I also enjoy the Arab-Israeli scenarios. I enjoy the Team Yankee scenarios also.

Hi Dennis,

Yes, the nice thing about keeping your older games as if tehy are updated you can use the old game manual. I found my Harpoon II manual, hot key card, and time zone card useful to have when I got the latest version of it. Have you used teh database editor yet in teh newer version. I tried to make scenarios for the Falklands modifying tthe original database ships, but the editor had too many bugs. I attempted to bulid an Ark Royal to see how she would do in the conflict, but I was unable to get fuel and magazine storage right. The documentation was pretty sparse.

The Comabt Missions gmaes are fun because they are 3D. Much like Fighting Steel, you can move all over the battlefield to see what's going on. Each turn is a minute long during which you cannot intervene, only watch helplessly.

[old_pop2000]

I just finished the Bekaa Valley scenario in SPMBT. I managed a draw on the first run through.

Some real interesting features.

1. No cover at all. One road from the SW to the NE with a few tracks to quicken the pace.
However, they are covered by the Syrian Army with T-55's and T-62's, Maluka ATGM's and RPG 7 teams, with a few helo's. Last two are not a problem. Maluka's are not that accurate but I kept my frontal armor facing towards them.

2. The volcanic soil can be treacherous, tanks can get stuck easy.

3. Slow going, if you get off the road.

4. I dismounted by infantry asap to cover the tanks however, I might hold off on that and let them head up the road a little farther.

Anyway, it was interesting, but I believe that even though the road is a hazard, speed is much more important and concentration, so I will adapt my attack to stay on the road until the last minute, then deploy tank/infantry team.

The scenario gives me two helos of dubious value and no artillery. I do get one unarmed UAV for spotting.

[Mike Malanaphy]

I just finished the Bekaa Valley scenario in SPMBT. I managed a draw on the first run through.

Some real interesting features.

1. No cover at all. One road from the SW to the NE with a few tracks to quicken the pace.
However, they are covered by the Syrian Army with T-55's and T-62's, Maluka ATGM's and RPG 7 teams, with a few helo's. Last two are not a problem. Maluka's are not that accurate but I kept my frontal armor facing towards them.

2. The volcanic soil can be treacherous, tanks can get stuck easy.

3. Slow going, if you get off the road.

4. I dismounted by infantry asap to cover the tanks however, I might hold off on that and let them head up the road a little farther.

Anyway, it was interesting, but I believe that even though the road is a hazard, speed is much more important and concentration, so I will adapt my attack to stay on the road until the last minute, then deploy tank/infantry team.

The scenario gives me two helos of dubious value and no artillery. I do get one unarmed UAV for spotting.

Hi Dennis,

I haven't looked at that one. The text book solution would be to use your UAV to spot the enemy at long range and use your tanks to pick them off. Your helipcopter might be helpfll in that situation though very vulnerable to ground fire. If you have any ATGMs, you can snipe with them also. Pushing your infantry can help, but they are vulnerable to infantry ambushes and hand held AT weapons from the Arab irregualrs. If you have Merkavas, you may be able to mount your infantry in them and probe forward with them. T-55s and T-62s can have a nasty bite at ranges under 1500 meters, but Merkavas should have good immunity from them. There is no need to close to less than 1800 meters or so unless their are terrain restrictions. Wide open terrain should work to the Israeli's advantage while close in favors the other side. I'll have to try that this weekend.

There is a modern version of the Combat Mission engine with modern vehicles called Combat Mission Shock Force. It features a mythical invasion of Syria from Iraq, but the number of wepons sytems and units is limited. A problem with modern scenarios is that with the long range engagements manipulating teh 3d camera is a problem. There are handy icons for target accquisition on teh horizon if you activate them.

[old_pop2000]

Hi Dennis,

I haven't looked at that one. The text book solution would be to use your UAV to spot the enemy at long range and use your tanks to pick them off. Your helipcopter might be helpfll in that situation though very vulnerable to ground fire. If you have any ATGMs, you can snipe with them also. Pushing your infantry can help, but they are vulnerable to infantry ambushes and hand held AT weapons from the Arab irregualrs. If you have Merkavas, you may be able to mount your infantry in them and probe forward with them. T-55s and T-62s can have a nasty bite at ranges under 1500 meters, but Merkavas should have good immunity from them. There is no need to close to less than 1800 meters or so unless their are terrain restrictions. Wide open terrain should work to the Israeli's advantage while close in favors the other side. I'll have to try that this weekend.

There is a modern version of the Combat Mission engine with modern vehicles called Combat Mission Shock Force. It features a mythical invasion of Syria from Iraq, but the number of wepons sytems and units is limited. A problem with modern scenarios is that with the long range engagements manipulating teh 3d camera is a problem. There are handy icons for target accquisition on teh horizon if you activate them.

Mike:

1. I don't have control over the UAV. It shows up in turn 3 or 4 and makes its run from left to right.

2. I should use the helos for recon instead of firing, they aren't good at that at all. Unfortunately, I don't get them until half way through the game, so It is too long to wait.

3. I have no ATGM, just APC's with MG's and one with an 81mm mortar.

4. The T-55 and 62 are not the real problem, it's their helos with ATGM HOT missiles and the Malutka missiles.

5. I am perfecting my tank-infantry teams to make that work better.

Two runs and I get only a draw although the second time I stayed on the road and it did move faster, I managed to capture more objectives but at the end of the road, its infested with commando units etc. Get's a bit hairy, mate. :D

[Mike Malanaphy]

Mike:

1. I don't have control over the UAV. It shows up in turn 3 or 4 and makes its run from left to right.

2. I should use the helos for recon instead of firing, they aren't good at that at all. Unfortunately, I don't get them until half way through the game, so It is too long to wait.

3. I have no ATGM, just APC's with MG's and one with an 81mm mortar.

4. The T-55 and 62 are not the real problem, it's their helos with ATGM HOT missiles and the Malutka missiles.

5. I am perfecting my tank-infantry teams to make that work better.

Two runs and I get only a draw although the second time I stayed on the road and it did move faster, I managed to capture more objectives but at the end of the road, its infested with commando units etc. Get's a bit hairy, mate. :D

Hi Dennis,

War is hell! You can try putting your helo up at a higher altitude and scouting with an infantry squd closely overwatched by tanks but that is why that kind of combat is casualty intensive. I'll have to give it a go...see if the Israelis get reactive armor on the Cents and M60s of the period.

[old_pop2000]

Hi Dennis,

War is hell! You can try putting your helo up at a higher altitude and scouting with an infantry squd closely overwatched by tanks but that is why that kind of combat is casualty intensive. I'll have to give it a go...see if the Israelis get reactive armor on the Cents and M60s of the period.


I finally got a marginal victory in this scenario. The lower unit of tanks/infantry stayed off of the road this time, moved on the trail parallel to the main road. It knocked off three victory objectives and about 5 Syrian Tanks. I used the helos for spotting. I kept the infantry and tanks together, it seem to work well.

By the by, you have a Hovet which is an APC with a gatling. Works great on helos.

Beware of the T-55's south of the lower group of tank/APC's. If they stay on the trail, those T-55 can be dangerous. There is also a group of T62 on the third objective for that group, dead ahead.

[Mike Malanaphy]

I finally got a marginal victory in this scenario. The lower unit of tanks/infantry stayed off of the road this time, moved on the trail parallel to the main road. It knocked off three victory objectives and about 5 Syrian Tanks. I used the helos for spotting. I kept the infantry and tanks together, it seem to work well.

By the by, you have a Hovet which is an APC with a gatling. Works great on helos.

Beware of the T-55's south of the lower group of tank/APC's. If they stay on the trail, those T-55 can be dangerous. There is also a group of T62 on the third objective for that group, dead ahead.

Hi Dennis,

15 turns in so far. I've only lost one tank to combat, but three to terrain problems and one infantry squad. More drivers' training needed. Plan A was to use the central hill at the west end of the map for overwatching fires, but they didn't see anything. First line of objectives taken without loss to combat and the artillery fell way behind me. Pretty hard to spot those AT teams without the helos and the .50 cals on the APCs worked against them. The hovet was much less effective against the choppers than my .50 cals and drove off two of them. In the south, that goup is trying to pass behind the three T-54s on the hill. Knocked two of them out from about 2200 meters from tanks in the center.

Not sure if it's a bug or not regardinbg opportunity fire. I usually move only 1/2 to 2/3s of my allowed movement to leave points for opportunity fire. Routinely, even if targeted, they did not fire at presented target such as the AT helos.

The mortar is handy for smoke, but ususally takes two turns to arrive. The terrain is extremely broken and compartmentalized. One of the Northern T-54s is in a copse of trees and can't be fired at from the west. May have to have the infantry on foot, but perhaps one of my choppers can hit him from behind as I knocked out his two pals.

Rough going.

[old_pop2000]

Hi Dennis,

15 turns in so far. I've only lost one tank to combat, but three to terrain problems and one infantry squad. More drivers' training needed. Plan A was to use the central hill at the west end of the map for overwatching fires, but they didn't see anything. First line of objectives taken without loss to combat and the artillery fell way behind me. Pretty hard to spot those AT teams without the helos and the .50 cals on the APCs worked against them. The hovet was much less effective against the choppers than my .50 cals and drove off two of them. In the south, that goup is trying to pass behind the three T-54s on the hill. Knocked two of them out from about 2200 meters from tanks in the center.

Not sure if it's a bug or not regardinbg opportunity fire. I usually move only 1/2 to 2/3s of my allowed movement to leave points for opportunity fire. Routinely, even if targeted, they did not fire at presented target such as the AT helos.

The mortar is handy for smoke, but ususally takes two turns to arrive. The terrain is extremely broken and compartmentalized. One of the Northern T-54s is in a copse of trees and can't be fired at from the west. May have to have the infantry on foot, but perhaps one of my choppers can hit him from behind as I knocked out his two pals.

Rough going.

I haven't found smoke that important. On the initial turns, when the ATGM's fire, I do return fire and have knocked out a couple. The Hovet for me, seems to work well along with the fifties on the APC's. To get those T-55's in the northern copse, I used the northern group on the trail. At one point, they get a position above, and the T-55's fire, miss and then I get at lease one. There are three.

War is Hell!! Hah Hah! Much fun, though.

[old_pop2000]

I decided to research this operation and terrain. This is the worst tank country. A single, winding road, with foothills on one side. There will be no blitzkriegs up this road. The Israeli tanks took losses, but none permanent as the Merkeva performed as expected. All were restored to full operation, no crews were lost. This is not true of the APC mounted infantry. The M113 apparently burned easily and the Israeli infantry took losses. The Israeli's had neglected their infantry since the 1973 War, and paid the price. The only air defense was the Vulcan mounted on the M113 called the Hovet and the tank mounted .50 cal BMG's. The Israeli's were obviously expecting to gain air superiority and they did. However, the Syrian's had Gazelles with Hot missiles.

This scenario appears to be one of those where if you can get up the road to the Bekaa Valley and capture most of the objectives, that is sufficient although you might still only gain a draw or at best, a marginal victory. This means consistently, not just once. The Israeli's need more infantry, more AA weapons and artillery support. They need to get an infantry unit on the foothills to clear that ridge while the tanks and APC's move up the road.

Anyway, it is a fun, but difficult scenario and I can see the value of training sessions like this one. You begin understand and learn how to perform.