DF85 Recon Helicopters

[FLG]

Where did all the recon helicopters go? Every helo rgt in NGP had a recon unit. Now they are all gone, at least on the WP side, I haven't checked NATO.

What was the rational behind this? Now helo's are much more fragile I would have expected the use of the recon helos to be of paramount importance.

[FLG]

Oh, and by the way, the game looks absolutely awesome. Well done guys.

[CptCav]

When the Expansion for NGP'85 was done, I had talked with Glenn about recon helicopters and their doctrinal employment versus the way the were be used in the game. Doctrinally, recon helicopters work in conjunction with the attack helicopters to find targets that the attack helicopters can engage; however, many players would use them to fly around behind enemy lines finding the enemy artillery to be engaged with aircraft. This was creating a situation, especially for the WarPac player who had more vulnerable towed guns, that the artillery would be quickly eliminated from the scene. Or, they would be used in other non-doctrinal ways.

As the recon helicopters would normally be used with attack helicopters it was decided that it was not necessary to represent them, which would take away the non-doctrinal use issues.

Regards,
CptCav

[FLG]

In that case would have been inappropriate to make the attack helicopter units recon units?

[Glenn Saunders]

In that case would have been inappropriate to make the attack helicopter units recon units?

Ya - and people have a way of finding ways to use units weinclude in manners which we hadn't always anticipated, and are perfectly legal causing us to make new rules to counter them. So sometimes it is just better to remove the temptation.

(examples are people used RHQs to build Entrenchments in games like Bulge - perfectly legal, but not correct. People also used Mot AT Guns in Normandy as cheap bump recon unts - again not realistic, but legal)

Glenn