GPS guided mortars

[Gooseman2448]

Nice article on GPS Mortar rounds being fielded later this year.
What would be the best way to set this up on game?

http://www.army.mil/article/97802/Cu...uided_mortars/

[Mobhack]

The problem with any sort of round that arrives exactly where planned is that you are a "Player-God" with an all-seeing eye of the battlefield, and not a real artillery plotter with only the fragmented voice radio reports from the troops to go on.

Part of the game's mechanics of artillery scatter especially for unobserved fires is to allow for the "God like knowledge" of the human player integrating all sightings in his head, even from guys who are not in communications. (If I only showed the visible units to unit X when X is selected then the all-seeing God-Player would still be able to remember each and every sighting as he selected different units and still integrate that internally in his skull, or write them down on a piece of paper etc)

Private Smith, who is 10,000 yards from anyone else and has no radio can still receive Arty Support on the units only he ever knew of which the arty unit plots using "telepathic knowledge" provided by his benevolent all-seeing God-Player.

The player-as-God can also react to these enemy units the lonely and isolated private is aware of, and so the formation is not surprised by them appearing on the flank. Its a common problem with all wargames, and some simulations as well (sims where you can jump from tank to tank over the entire battlefield for example) - as stated above, the overarching player then can integrate all the partial knowledge of the units, which is totally unrealistic.

If there was no scatter mechanism for blind fires, then all arty strikes would be like being hit with observed fire from a spotter with "eyes on" target. There would be simply no need for observers and getting them into LOS of the target, then.

That would not be an enjoyable experience for most players as the enemy artillery rules the battlefield by following you everywhere with laser-accurate "steel rain", I think.

If in a future change, I introduce a GPS type round then there will be reduced but not removed scatter for "blind plotted" fire of such rounds.

Andy

[void1984]

The player-as-God can also react to these enemy units the lonely and isolated private is aware of, and so the formation is not surprised by them appearing on the flank. Its a common problem with all wargames

Point of Attack 2 did well reporting and following last order.