Author Archives: Coiler12
The Scenario Adaptation Balancing Act
I’m reading an alternate history story, Zhirinovsky’s Russian Empire, a dystopian tale where the death of Boris Yeltsin during the failed 1991 coup in the USSR leads to the titular extremist becoming that country’s head, and thus leading the world into over a decade of not-so-cold war. There are some parts of it where I […]
Guidelines and Suggestions on Side Proficiency
I eagerly took advantage of the side proficiency setting options in Command as soon as they became available, using them in many of my scenarios. When 1.06 was released with the option of setting proficiency for individual units, I became even more interested. Many have undoubtedly asked “what determines the ideal setting for a side”? […]
Looking back at the OPFORs
In the early 1990s, the US Army released a set of documents describing the “capabilities-based OPFOR” (Opposing Force), a stand-in enemy force that could be used in training exercises. The documents describe the organization and tactics of both a “Heavy” and “Light” OPFOR nation. As reference tools, they remain extremely valuable. While obviously dated given […]
What is in a (Ship) Name?
I like to use fictional ship names for Command. First, using fictional names lessens the need for the sort of direct 100% accuracy, such as putting a ship in the wrong geographical area. Second, I simply like thinking of names. For navies/ship types with established naming conventions, (people for American destroyers and frigates), finding a […]
Modeling Political Influence in Command
Political restrictions and influences have always played a part in war, and several Command scenarios have taken this into account. To what degree political difficulties should be implemented depends greatly on the context on the scenario. The tools a scenario designer can use include: geographic restrictions, point penalties, indirect political effects and the briefing. Geographic […]
Air Power in Civil Wars
There have been many good reasons why air-to-air combat remains the near-exclusive domain of nation-states. Even the earliest and/or simplest aircraft require trained pilots and ground crews that are not exactly in the greatest supply, and to use them requires a complex supply chain. Because of this difficulty, the one proven route to the deployment […]
Unintended Rapid Raptor Deployment
The Air Force has recently began training for so-called “Rapid Raptor” deployments-plans to move a small unit of their deadliest fighters to any dangerous area very quickly. While I might have heard the Rapid Raptor name, until recently it wasn’t in my mind. That is, except when I made a scenario where just that occurs. […]