Topic: Operation Cavalry

[Hexx]

Operation Cavalry will be a 2 week server set during the "historical" Federation Offensive into
Klingon territory and it's aftermath circa 182-183.

It would have (obviously) Feds & klinks as the major powers with token forces from the
Lyran,Romulan,Gorn, and Kzinti.

The minor powers involved actually have no home territory on the map , each will have a few basestations
for resupply, but these are expeditionary fleets, not forces from the homeland.

To represent this, all the minor participants will have an additional clause that after X number of their ships are lost,
their governments will withdraw these fleets from the operations due to "home emergencies"
Yes this means that the Fed Klink border will (eventually) actually be fought over by Fed & Klink ships rather than
Gorn & Romulan etc.

There will be an OOB (of sorts) in place for the heavy metal as well as the specialty ships (carriers.droners etc)
Once X number of these ships have been lost the class will be "R"d out from the shiplist.
Some reinforcements will be available for the Federation & Klingons heavy metal & specialty ships, none will be available for the other powers.
(They're all a little busy fighting their own battles)

Also note that as a "Historical" server, conjectural designs (Fed PF's etc) will NOT be available.

The "Minor" OOB's would be as follows (as examples)

Romulan

Withdrawl at 3 ships

NHK
SPB
FFH-K

FHK's would be commonly available, but again once 3 x Rom ships were lost in PVP, no one could
use Romulan ships. No PF tenders would likely be present as teh didn't appera until 82, and likely
wouldn't have been transferred to Klingon space at that point.

Lyran

Withdrawl at 7 ships

SCS/DNH (?)
BCH
BCH
CVM
NCF
PFWP

CCH's and down will be commonly available. Lyran DN/SCS would likely be withdrawn for
"refit" if the Kzin SCS is destroyed.

Gorn

BCS
HVP
HDP

Withdrawl at 5 ships

Kzinti

CVA/SCS
BCH (?)
PFT
CVP
DWD (x3)

Withdrawl at 4 ships

The Klingon and Federation OOB's would be similar, (although much larger of course)
Each fleet would likely be centered around a CVA & DNH combo.

The Federation would likely have an extra DNx, (or CVAish) as well as an advantage in number of
carriers allowed
Klinks would have a slight advantage in the number of BCH's available for the theatre.
Replacements for BCH's would be possible, replacements for DN's would be available (after a X number of days
as the ship is transferred) Ships like Federation BCV would become available if the CVA is destroyed.


Map would be (mostly) Klingon territory. The Klingons do not really have the supplies built up to undertake any kind
of major offensive on their own. This is a defensive fight for them

VP's would be awarded for map hexes, as well as for forcing minor race withdrawls, Capital shiploss to an equal or lesser ship
There would also be some other rules, such as
-major VP's for the Alliance hitting the Klingon homeworld, but the B10 being released
if they do. (and of course major, major VP's for killing the B10)
- Fleeting only by ships of the same race. ( so no more "hey we'll take this droner to cover for the plasma ")
- Much stricter disengagement rules + points for forcing multiple disengagements.
 (ex- I have a CVA, run from a fight, no problems, run from a second fight give up 2 VP, run from a third, give up 4VP's)
this would only apply to Cap ships.
-

Thoughts? Criticisms? What I'm *really* looking for is some kind of
coherent racial OOB for Cap ships.
I've taken a guess at the minor power OOB's above based on the  SFB lore I have
I'm assuming the Kzin would contribute the same fleet they did to Remus, the Roms & Gorn would be
unwilling/unable to commit anything heavy to the fight, The Lyrans could have contributed a significant group
, but likely would have been more than happy to redeploy it to the Kzin front..

[FPF-Tobin Dax]

One concern would be for a reliable alliance player base to actually launch such an offensive action. As a result of potentially low numbers at times, restricting fleeting to members of same race may mean no fleeting. This means no coop. No coop means a less enjoyable experience for many. Otherwise this sounds good.

[Hexx]

It's actually a Federation vs Klingon server in disguise,
so hopefully some players that haven't won't mind trying out the new races.
I'm completely expecting after the first few days for some (if not all) of the minor
fleets to have withdrawn.

Although I understand the point you've got, I'd like to try one server where the
min/maxing of different races ships abilities isn't possible.

I'm actually just kinda bored from the last couple of servers of listening to players say
" I'm flying a Fed BCF, grab a Gorn MCxxx and we'll be unbeatable" or
"You're flying a Rom PF tender? let me jump in my Lyran account with the BCHT and we'll wing"

I'm certainly not proposing that any of the ideas here be adapted for more servers (although royalties would be nice....)
Just like to set up a basic server with a few new ideas.

[KBF-Kurok]

sounds cool

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

I'm assuming the Kzin would contribute the same fleet they did to Remus, the Roms & Gorn would be
unwilling/unable to commit anything heavy to the fight, The Lyrans could have contributed a significant group
, but likely would have been more than happy to redeploy it to the Kzin front..

I think the Kzinti would be  willing to commit more  forces against an enemy who they had a border with.  The Remus Operation was quite a different manner.  Having them less willing to comit than the Gorn seems a bit odd.  I'd think Gorn commitment at the Romulan level and Kzinti commitment at the Lyran level would be more likely.

[762_XC]

OOB historical goodness.

[Lepton]

I am wondering if there is a specific F&E scenario (if that is what they are called) that you might draw from to solidify any of the details or provide a reference OOB for this server.  Perhaps that is what you are already doing.

Sounds like a cool server.  I'm all-in.  (too much online poker).

Don't chase that straight to the river.

[Hexx]

I am wondering if there is a specific F&E scenario (if that is what they are called) that you might draw from to solidify any of the details or provide a reference OOB for this server.  Perhaps that is what you are already doing.

Sounds like a cool server.  I'm all-in.  (too much online poker).

Don't chase that straight to the river.

Unfortunately don't think there is.

I have been (very politely and helpfully) told that I can always using the starting builds list, and figure
out what new builds and conversions might have happened, but not really sure that I want to.
(I swear when i bought the game there was an operation Cavalry scenario, but can't find it anywhere)

[Hexx]

I'm assuming the Kzin would contribute the same fleet they did to Remus, the Roms & Gorn would be
unwilling/unable to commit anything heavy to the fight, The Lyrans could have contributed a significant group
, but likely would have been more than happy to redeploy it to the Kzin front..

I think the Kzinti would be  willing to commit more  forces against an enemy who they had a border with.  The Remus Operation was quite a different manner.  Having them less willing to comit than the Gorn seems a bit odd.  I'd think Gorn commitment at the Romulan level and Kzinti commitment at the Lyran level would be more likely.

The Kzinti commitment is larger (or will be when I'm done), and is based around a CVA rather than a BCH.
This isn't actually an operation involving the Kzinti/Klingon border, it's a drive from the Federation/ Klingon border.
The Gorn will (likely) have a higher withdrawl limit as
A) They're (apparently) trying to restore their "good name" after screwing up during Operation Remus
B) They're a closer ally to the Federation than the Kzin
C) The Kzin ARE fighting the Klinks (and more importantly) the Lyrans on what is still (I believe) Kzinti territory.

The Kzin (from what I can tell) withdrew their fleet from Operation Remus after anihilating the Romulan 3rd Legion, I'm
jumping to the assumption that they would have deployed the same one for Cavalry.

Essentially the minor background is
-Roms have a <small> fleet active, but very unlikely to receive reinforcements or upgrades.
Simply returning to their home territory is something of a problem (though not impossible) at this point
-Gorn are trying to support their close ally the Feds, but are fighting on the Romulan front & are starting to have
to shift units to the ISC border, so they don't have a lot to commit
-Kzinti are willing to help out the Feds, but are more interested in driving the Lyrans & Klingon units out
of their home territory. They'll stick around, but certainly not take excessive casualties in this drive.
-Lyrans are supporting their close ally the Klinks (remember SFB wise the major Allies are Klinks/Lyran and Fed/Gorn)
they're in for the long haul, but again are more interested in holding onto the territory they've taken from the
Kzin . That being said a major Alliance victory would likely extend Lyran lines, and must be prevented.

[GDA-S'Cipio]

(I swear when i bought the game there was an operation Cavalry scenario, but can't find it anywhere)

There is.  If I can scrounge a few moments away from the honey-do list tonight, I'll look it up for you.

-S'Cipio

[Hexx]

(I swear when i bought the game there was an operation Cavalry scenario, but can't find it anywhere)

There is.  If I can scrounge a few moments away from the honey-do list tonight, I'll look it up for you.

-S'Cipio

Excellent... I was actually going to be looking for you
How did you get the PF Squadrons to work on PF Wars ?
Won't AMD shoot at them if they're laucnhed from PFs?

I know I COULD just use the search engine.. but well, since you're already doing
me a huge favour i figured I'd ask for another 

[el-Karnak]

I think the ISC should just come in, and beat up everybody with CAZs and CCZs, and more good PPD stuff. In addition, we'll use the F-DNs and SCS and K-B11 for PPD target practice and push their gutted and BBQed hulls into their respective homeworlds.

Other than these minor features missing, it looks pretty good.

[GDA-S'Cipio]

Excellent... I was actually going to be looking for you
How did you get the PF Squadrons to work on PF Wars ?
Won't AMD shoot at them if they're laucnhed from PFs?

I know I COULD just use the search engine.. but well, since you're already doing
me a huge favour i figured I'd ask for another 

AMD's won't shoot at PF's, but plas-d will.  Usually.

If you want people to be able to use the fleet UI to control their PFs, then you need to put the PF in the shiplist twice.  (Three times if you need to donate them from another race; twice in the donor race and once in the owning race.)  The trick is to make sure the the first entry in the shiplist has them cast as FRIGATE rather than PF so that they show up in-game as ships rather than PFs.  The second is entry lists them as PF so that they can be bought in the resupply screen and be launched during mid-game.

If you don't do this, then players will have to control their PF's using the fighter control commands in the shuttle screen.

If you do this, however, then plas-d won't fire on them as plas-d will not fire on ships.

You have to decide which feature you want more.

-S'Cipio

[Hexx]

Excellent... I was actually going to be looking for you
How did you get the PF Squadrons to work on PF Wars ?
Won't AMD shoot at them if they're laucnhed from PFs?

I know I COULD just use the search engine.. but well, since you're already doing
me a huge favour i figured I'd ask for another 

AMD's won't shoot at PF's, but plas-d will.  Usually.

If you want people to be able to use the fleet UI to control their PFs, then you need to put the PF in the shiplist twice.  (Three times if you need to donate them from another race; twice in the donor race and once in the owning race.)  The trick is to make sure the the first entry in the shiplist has them cast as FRIGATE rather than PF so that they show up in-game as ships rather than PFs.  The second is entry lists them as PF so that they can be bought in the resupply screen and be launched during mid-game.

If you don't do this, then players will have to control their PF's using the fighter control commands in the shuttle screen.

If you do this, however, then plas-d won't fire on them as plas-d will not fire on ships.

You have to decide which feature you want more.

-S'Cipio

... my brain hurts
Thanks! for the info though

I'll just send it to one of my lackeys to make it work   

[Hexx]

Also been toying with the idea of going with
"full" complements of fighters & PF's


Escorts would be permited, but would have to be escorting something..
Carriers & tenders would of course be strictly limited in numbers available.

Thoughts?

[762_XC]

There's no way to do 6 PF's unless you use PF within a PF.

[Hexx]

The single Leader variant a tender could carry would have
2x Vanilla PF's, a "scout" would carry a single vanilla PF
The Last spot would be reserved for whatever "special" Pf you wished
to use.

[Riskyllama]

the problem with that hexx, is that people will always target that leader on the first pass..kill 3 Pfs with one shot...

[Hexx]

the problem with that hexx, is that people will always target that leader on the first pass..kill 3 Pfs with one shot...

Yes I know, but actually.. having forgotten that there's 4 slots not 3, the Leader could carry the all but useless scout and one PF
Still I don't think it would be bad for the drone PF's, and plasma would be dumping enough at you to keep things interesting.

Not sure it's actually something intelligent to do, just something I'm considering.

Also thinking about having "no disengaging" rules from any group that has someone piloting a scout.
See if anyone's brave enough to take a scout for the team 

[GDA-S'Cipio]

(I swear when i bought the game there was an operation Cavalry scenario, but can't find it anywhere)

There is.  If I can scrounge a few moments away from the honey-do list tonight, I'll look it up for you.

-S'Cipio

Excellent... I was actually going to be looking for you
How did you get the PF Squadrons to work on PF Wars ?
Won't AMD shoot at them if they're laucnhed from PFs?

I know I COULD just use the search engine.. but well, since you're already doing
me a huge favour i figured I'd ask for another 

Operation Cavalry was a campaign that lasted most of one year, before the Alliance force was finally defeated.  The scenario I remembered is in Advanced Missions, and only give the battle forces of the biggest battle of the campaign.  Not as complete as I remember, though I can probably dig up more about the ships that participated if I search through the starship class histories.

In the meantime....

In [2282] the Grand Alliance (Feds, Gorn, Kzintis, and Tholians) were breathing a bit easier than they had been for five years.  There had been a few victories, but those had been expensive.  The heavy carrier MacArthur had gone down over Remus, but the Romulans were now beyond any offensive action.  The balance of power had shifted towards the Alliance, and the council could afford to scrape up a battle fleet and mount another serious offensive.

After long discussions, it was decided to transfer several Gorn ships to the Klingon front where they would form the nucleus of the new battle fleet.  The alternative, favored by the Federations and the Gorn, was to mount yet another operation against the Romulans, (hopefully) totally knocking them out of the war.  The Kzintis demanded an operation against the Klingons to relieve pressure on their frontier (which at that time was virtually non-existent as both the Lyrans and the Klingons had suffered serious reverses), and since no operation could be mounted without Kzinti support (and Kzinti ships), their proposal was finally accepted.  Federation, Gorn, Kzinti, and even Tholain ships were brought together to create a combined force.  The Tholian ships were brought together to create a combined force.  The actual campaign of "operation Cavalry" lasted most of a year and included a dozen battles (leading to its ultimate defeat), but the battle portrayed here was the largest.

The ships available to the Klingons to oppose this operation were, like those of the Alliance, a mixed bag.  The recent reverses had seriously depleted the reserves of both the Klingon aand Lyran Empires.  The Lyrans had not recovered from the disastrous and unauthorized attack by the Red Claw Duchy on the WYN Cluster, and the Klingon's own failed attack on the Cluster had further undermined the stability of the Klingon defensive positions before the Kzinti Hegemony.  It was here that the Alliance chose to strike.

The Klingon Red Fleet was under the command of Group Admiral Ardak Kumerian, a tough officer with a proven record for iron discipline, but not known as a tactical genius.  (The Red Fleet was originally an operation training command, but had been deployed during the military emergency caused by Operation Cavalry.)  Kumerians's brother-in-law, Tar Bordrake, commanded the penal ship Purgatory.  The admirals son, Kollos Kumerian, commanded a mixed PF flotilla.  The Lyrans were nominally under the command of Vice Duke Lmabeth ( a mindless fop who was Duke Roget's senior surviving heir) but had been integrated into the Klingon fleet as a result of his inability to command.

The Alliance Fleet was under somewhat awkward command arrangements.  Gorn Admiral S'Treleg was nominally in command but refused to give any but the most vague orders.  Commodroe Phillip Kosnett, the Federations senior officer, was the best commander present but did not assume command until late in the battle.  When he did, Tholian Comodor Brezgonne supported him.  The Kzinti SCS and its support group were under the command of Vice Admiral "Cat Who Sleeps With Dogs."  Admiral "Cat" defiantly insisted that his force be allowed to operate independently , as required by fighter and PF operatins.  This independence also allowed him to avoid becoming too heavily engaged without impugning his honor and keeping the Hegemony intact for the role she was to play in later political conflict within the Patriarchy.  (Admiral Cat was already negotiating for his position in the New Kzinti Order, a fact not known at the time but which later explained his strange conduct.)

Forces

ALLIANCE FORCES
Gorn BCH
Born CM
Gorn BDD
Fed CCa+ Kongo
Fed DW Ortega
Fed NSC+
Tholian CA
Tholian CW
Kzinti SCS Hegemony
Kzinti MAC
Kzinti DWA
Kzinti DWA
12 TADS fighters and 6 Needle PF's.



COALITION FORCES
Klingon C8K Victory
Klingon D7K Conqueror
Klingon D6J Purgatory
Klingon F6 Valorian
Klingon F5W
Klingon D7VK Commodore Mak Kroree
Klingon D5E
Klingon E5
Lyran BCH
Lyran CW+p
Lyran CWS+
Lyran DW+
2xBobcat B, 1xBobcat S, 2xG1 and 1xG1L  (The Lyran BCH is serving as the tender)

ALSO PART OF THE RED FLEET, BUT NOT PRESENT FOR THIS BATTLE (THEY WERE ON A SPECIAL MISSION ELSEWHERE)
1 Romulan FH
1 Romulan SPA
1 Romulan SPC
1 Romulan SKA




RESULT
The battle seemed to be going the Coaltions way in the opening stages.  However,  at its height the Victory became seperated from the main Coaltion formation when it pressed ahead to esploit a gap developing in the Alliance formation, and the flanking Lyran ships failed to follow it, although the carrier Commodore Mak Kroree loyally followed.  Before it could be recovered, a massed strike of drones launched by the Kzinti PFs and escorts overwhelmed the Victory's defenses and the ship blew apart.  The carrier  Commodore Mak Kroree was damaged in the explosion and exploded when Koznett scored a rare full-salvo hit with overloaded photons.  The Vicotory's boom had successfully seperated, and while the remaining Klingon ships quickly gathered to its defense, the Lyran ships suddenly disengaged. 

Hopelessly outnumbered now, the Klingon ships fought a desperate rear guard action that could only have one end.  One by one, the Klingon ships were destroyed, the Purgatory going down first, followed shortly by the Valorian and then the Conqueror.

Finally, the Victory's boom, along with a few of the remianing ships, managed to break contact from the battered Alliance force  (four Alliance ships, as well as four PF's, had also gone down in the battle).  Kosnett was quick to organize a pursuit, however, and Kumerian would never make it back to base.  That pursuit, however, is the subject of another scenario.

-S'Cipio