=VG= Kavelenko

Sausage, the formations presented don't give the exact distances between each squad member but the original for the Squad Column had a distance of 50 metres between the Squad Leader and the first Medic. So relative distances between each squad member is probably 10 metres at a minimum. These are also movement formations so they are not designed for static defensive positions. In motion these formations are meant to give certain advantages for lateral defense while a squad moves to an objective. At the moment the only formation I see in game in PR is a single file, or something else that resembles a dogs breakfast. Any formation would be an improvement of what is currently the norm.

Here are some basic APC formations that you never see in PR.

Macromedia's Freehand 9 was the ducks guts for me if I had to do vector graphics and my other favourite was Fireworks for building buttons, menu bars etc. That was back in 2000 and even back then Photoshop was still the king but a lot it comes down to what you are familiar with using. Once you know your way around a certain graphics program, you tend to be very reluctant to use anything else. We avoided Paint like the plague.

My rationale for the weapon kits are based on the fact that if you are dead and need to respawn, you won't necessarily have access to the HAT or the HMG kits, all the others are default kits that anyone can spawn in with. Squad Leader preferences regarding the makeup of their squads is over to them, I'm not telling anyone that you MUST use this or that kit in your squad, this configuration suits me until I'm convinced otherwise. Plus it would also depend on the map and enemy the squad is likely to face, armor, air, or infantry. But you're all missing the point and that is the squad movement formations themselves, the question we need to ask is do they work? Does the Squad Column in Wedge formation actually work or is it total bullshit? How easy is it to switch from Squad File to Squad column during a battle, and then switch to Squad Line?

We can add more formations as required Joe but these three will do to start things off. You're right about 360s, when do you see that happening on our server? The number of times I've seen trans choppers blown up because a squad is too lazy to find a safe LZ or some squad member is holding up the extraction because they've decided to change their kit.

@Double_13 Sure you could argue that formations might work better on deployment but at the moment we don't even know how to use these formations at all. COOP is the best place to try something out first, after all its only bots and therefore predictable. I bet that the first time we try this out it will be a complete disaster until all squad members understand how to change from one formation to the other in a seamless way. If it takes 3 minutes to change formation then we're all dead. Formations are only as good as the squad members you have, that's why I'm not interested in using newbs to do this initially. It will be hard enough to stay in formation with experienced players not wandering off to do their own thing. Sure go ahead and organise heavy asset formation if you think that is possible but I think with the current way armour is used in PR you're going to find a lot of resistance. For me I'll be happy to get an 8 man squad able to run these three formations at will and in a coordinated way, easier said than done! Please guys if you're not interested in exploring these squad movement formations with me and Joe, don't join up, we want to explore this as objectively as possible. cheers, Kav

Yep I'm in for that, we'll organise something on TS. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other SLs who might be interested in giving this a go, just to mind: m823us Stark58 Blazer HaterOneActual 3ryan Xenalite Sausage Rotblut Jersans SemlerPDX SoldierOfMisfortune Double_13 TEDF Melon Muncher Spartanish Skitalez Badploy Vincent Cptn Wonderful add more here >

Paint should have been shot at birth, its bloody terrible to use. RIP. Amen to that.

Hi Joe, Yes absolutely no reason why a squad leader couldn't deploy an AR at point or even a sniper for that matter. I haven't had any takers yet in PR who want to try these formations out in the game and see if they really work or not. Obviously it would take a bit of drilling to get it right transitioning from Squad File formation to Squad Column and vice versa. I'd love to do a video on running these formations so if anyone is game contact me and we'll do it in game.

Charlies Point has the major problem where if the first flag is not captured within a certain time the ticket bleed rapidly runs down and the game ends prematurely. Pretty sure this does not happen on other servers.

Bwahaha....bloody hell Melon that looks more like the Tank Squad on Khamisiyah!!

Thanks m823US, Would love to read your Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad manual sometime. The field manual I referenced FM 3-21.71(FM 7-7J) is for Mechanized Infantry who have dismounted from their vehicles, hence the lack of snipers etc but you could easily adapt these formations to suit a long range recon squad. Any suggestions?

Hi Everyone, I've just created my own version of a squad formation(s) that could be used in a PR game for infantry oriented squad leaders. These formations were originally sourced from a U.S. Army manual for Mechanized Infantry Platoon and Squad (Bradley) and modified to suit the PR Squad limitations. I'm open to suggestions on how these positions could be improved or just generally discuss how useful these formations would be in the COOP PR environment. I know this type of organization is not for everyone but it could be a source of fun for those who are interested in becoming more effective as a squad (or not) if they can transition rapidly from one formation to the next depending on the terrain and opposition the squad encounters. Kit Selection Rationale: All kits listed are default kits, the only exceptions are the HMG/HAT kits which require access to an ammo crate or APC. Squad members should preset their kits before spawning in. So beginning with the first movement formation,the Squad Column (in Wedge Formation): Characteristics: Gives good control, assists maneuver, good dispersion laterally and in depth. Allows large volume of fire to the flanks but limited to the front. All round security (U.S. Army 2002, p.48). =========================================================================================== The second movement formation; Squad Line: Characteristics: Control is not as good as column, limited maneuverability, BUT allows maximum fire to the front, poor security to the flanks and rear (U.S. Army 2002, p.48). ======================================================================================= The third movement formation; Squad File: Characteristics: Control is the easiest, used for close terrain, dense vegetation, limited visibility conditions; most difficult formation to maneuver from, allows immediate fire to the flanks, has the least security of all three formations (U.S. Army 2002, p.49). REFERENCE: U.S. Army 2002, Mechanized Infantry Platoon and Squad (Bradley) - Field Manual No. 3-21.71(7-7J), Head Quarters Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 20 August 2002, U.S.A., pp. 47-49.

Good news Vincent!

Well the guys in Alpha Group had fun on both maps regardless of how difficult the situation got. Operation Red Tide is over and its thanks to TEDF, Double, PBAsydney, Melon who helped behind the scenes, etc this campaign was very challenging but enjoyed by a lot of players on the VETERANS COOP server. Its events like this and Melon's first two events that bring the PR gaming community together. Through these events the players get to know each other (and everyone is tested under pressure) and forge great friendships on the PR battlefield. No where have I seen better teamwork than what I've experienced playing these events. I've recorded quite a few videos for the Operation Red Tide Campaign on my channel in a playlist that includes TEDF's briefings, as well as links to Cptn Wonderful's footage. This gives you some perspective on what TEDF and his team put into this campaign. Its an awesome effort guys, and hopefully we'll be able to participate in more of these events again. Thanks to everyone who joined me in Alpha Group, I had a ball leading you guys and listening to all the funny comments and banter through the maps. Some of these videos capture those memorable moments! cheers, Kav

Hi Double I've invited quite a lot of new players to check out this event, and join us. Many of them do not realize that we actually have this kind of event and also have the misconception that they need to be a VETERANS member to play. I have reassured them that it is open to anyone, to check this forum and ask to be placed or to select a squad of their choice. TEDF, I notice that we still have 2 squads to fill as well as a few spots in the current squads, would it be acceptable for a clan such as GI or GDO to enter a squad of their own?

Just good teamwork was what won the map. We got pinned down several times on the last two flags but as Sausage says we called in a couple area attacks and it was over! Nice work boys!

I will lead Squad 4 - Code Name: Alpha Group. Default Kits: Officer Kit - =VG= Kavelenko Medic 1 - Sausag3 Medic 2 - Cptn Wonderful - Breacher Kit - =VG= Blazer - Automatic Rifleman - =VG= SemlerPDX - Lite Anti Tank Kit (LAT) - VODKA Jersans - Grenadier Kit - deathdealer203 Rifleman/Heavy Machine Gunner (HMG) - Alpha Group will accept randoms on the day of the event if any of our players are unable to attend.

Hey TEDF, Double_13, and PBAsydney, That was a great series of maps; real intense. We did start out appreciating the fact that the main objective was to get in and out with the intel in a stealthy manner but after several minutes of crawling around and not finding much Delta decided that eliminating you guys was not only more fun but it gave us a few minutes to try and find the intel. The hardest part about that was making sure of the kills so as to not raise the alerts. We don't really know whether you hid anything at the Kubra dam but I was convinced that there was. A breacher or spotter kit would have been very useful for scaling buildings etc but other than that the stealth concept was a winner. Thanks for all the hard work that must have gone into providing such a fun event guys, we might bitch and moan about certain things sometimes but these maps were brilliantly done. I took footage of Delta Squad for the first two maps, Leviathan and Kubra dam but forgot turn it on again for the last one which was real hilarious with vehicles floating through the bunker and hills. I'll post the movies when I get through rendering them. Thanks to Delta Squad members and all the players in Alpha, Bravo and Charlie squads for making this event so much fun to play! cheers, Kav Leviathan Mission Kubra Dam Mission I was the only one who didn't die....woohoo!!

@Midgee you're more than welcome to join Delta squad if someone doesn't turn up. Just install the maps and get into TS an hour before the event if possible.

Now you're talking! This is great if its doable, create a map rotation that responds to server population. WIN/WIN.

Thanks Semler, that's exactly what I did, apologies for dishing your poll design. I still voted to get rid of Bot assets to stop confusion but other than that my intention was to keep the spawn times and asset removal as is. A good example of why I changed my vote was yesterday when the server was populated by 7 players and we could not capture the Beirut dock because there was a battle tank in the docks and we could not deal with it in time before the ticket bleed ran out. We had only Spandrels to combat it and could not get AT kits because some players were in APCs. Our CAS chopper got shot down because it was piloted by a newb. Two maps previously ran out due to rapid ticket bleed on the first flag (Pavlosk Bay, Karbala). Next was Banyam and we finally had enough players (17) to compete, and stop the ticket bleed. For me low server population is quite challenging and fun but new players tend to give up and play somewhere else which is exactly what some were threatening to do.

Sorry guys, sometimes I cant resist it when people try to tell me what to vote for or what to think. Truce.