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RELEASE: The Battle of Neptune

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Dilmah G:
The Battle of Neptune



Operation Fortune is beginning to unravel. Defections paralyse the GTVA 14th Battlegroup as the true nature of the reunion is laid bare. Scattered reports of inter-dimensional space travel cause panic throughout the GTVA Security Council, as it now finds itself at war with the United Earth Federation.

Fly as Ensign Callum Rahman, a rookie pilot aboard the GTD Meridian, as Admiral Cyrus Severanti leads the vanguard of the GTVA in an operation to seize Neptune.Tags: Blue Planet, fan fiction, military fiction. Estimated completion time: 20-25 minutes. Single mission standalone campaign. Balanced for Medium and Hard Difficulties.
Experience the first major battle of the War in Heaven through GTVA eyes for the first time. The final version of the mission first glimpsed here.

Features:

- All new intelligence data developed by the GTD Meridian's Intelligence Cell. Understand the war as a young GTVA pilot would have.

- New HUD warning and missile lock tones taken from modern fighter aircraft.

- Ability to activate HUD Radar Icons thanks to the work of Svedalrain, Lafiel, and MitoPL.

- Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATADS). Call for Trebuchet fire from GTVA heavy assault wings on UEF gunships. Inspired by real-life targeting and infra-red guidance software.

- Realistic battle chatter and mission briefs based on actual military experience.

- Checkpoints! Courtesy of Admiral MS and Goober5000's script.

- Glossary of military terms. Available from Tech Room->Database->Intelligence.
Requirements:

- FSO Build 20.1.0-RC3 in order to properly utilise the checkpoint system.
- Blue Planet: Complete installed.

Once installed, select campaign "The Battle of Neptune" from the campaign room to play.

Known Bugs:

- Loadout not carrying over from briefing to loaded checkpoint. This is due to the way the checkpoint script saves ship data - the player's loadout, health, position, and orientation (as well as afterburner and energy reserves) are all saved at once. What this means is that when loading from a checkpoint, the mission will load the player's loadout as saved when the checkpoint was reached, and ignore whatever you have set in the mission briefing (if this is different to what you were bombed up with when that checkpoint data was saved). This unfortunately means the only way to change your loadout and have it reflected in-mission is to select it in the mission briefing screen, and then boot the mission from the very beginning if you'd like to play it with a different loadout. This isn't really a bug as much as it is just the way checkpoints ought to work, but it is something to keep in mind when trying to skin the cat differently mid-playthrough.
With thanks to Renegade Paladin, Erebus Alpha, Asteroth, and AdDur for their extensive testing of the mission through development to release; The E and Darius for their testing and creative guidance; and Ertanax for their creative input.

NB: Medium Difficulty includes a number of UEF handicaps in order to support gameplay. Play on Hard Difficulty to have the authentic GTVA experience.

Dilmah G:

--- Quote from: GTVA Restricted Network ---Login: 7045713 CAPT Partridge, Monika

E-Mail Client: 1 UNREAD
------------------------------------------------------------
TO: CAPT Partridge, Monika
FROM: RADM Lopez, Anita

SUBJ: FW: Doctrine Note – ACM 4-5-1

CAG,

Please see below for latest update to ACM 4-5-1. I note comments from SOC pilots on aspect and shield management with great interest. Please disseminate to all Squadron COs aboard.

All measures to enhance the survivability of our pilots are of the utmost importance to me.

"DOCTRINE NOTE – ACM 4-5-1: AIR COMBAT MANOEUVRING (SOL THEATRE)

Recent analysis by GTVA Fleet HQ elements into aircrew casualties has uncovered that a significant percentage (34%) of all casualties are a direct result of combat against the UEF’s Uriel Heavy Assault platform – GTVA reporting name: FOXHOUND. Armed with this information, GTVA Knowledge Centre has conducted a series of interviews with a number of Special Operations Command personnel, as well as select Squadron Commanding Officers from the active fleet in order to derive lessons regarding aircrew survivability.

“The Uriel has no doctrinal comparison to the Shivan ships that we train against. None. The key element of the Uriel’s threat profile that takes a lot of pilots by surprise is the dorsal turret. Some of the activities conducted by the Special Operations community have discovered that this turret is identical in cyclic rate of fire and effective range to the primary we know as the Vulcan. What does this mean for the average Alliance pilot? It means that saddling up on a Uriel inside of effective Vulcan range is a death sentence – we found that out as early as the first Battle of Neptune. The only measure that I’ve seen work - and I’ve had the misfortune of trying this myself – is to surge power to frontal shields using the ETS module as the turret begins to fire. This can give you some valuable seconds to engage with your own primaries or disengage.” CMDR X, SOC

“If you ask me about the Uriel, I’ve got two things to tell you: stay the f**k away, and if you can’t do that, never, ever, go head-on. I was a part of the Heavy Assault 2386 concept testing, and engaging with the Trebuchet weapons system was far and above the most effective way to engage the Uriel. One of the most instructive experiences I had in Sol was very early on in the war – back when the Erinyes was still our preferred platform. We were executing a deep strike on [REDACTED] and got bounced by a three-ship of Uriels. My wingman, let’s call him Rabbit, turned hot for the merge – the way we all learned in the ACM TSMs. I was below him, only because I was late in my turn…and just as we entered about 1.5 clicks, the lead Uriel engaged with six f******g guns and disintegrated his hull before I could blink. The lucky man he is, he managed to punch out, but his fighter was gone in seconds. That was the day I learned never, ever, to go head on with a gunship.” CMDR Z, SOC"

Regards,

Rear Admiral Anita Lopez
Commanding Officer, GTD Carthage
Combat Evaluation Unit
--- End quote ---


--- Quote from: GTVA Air Combat Manoeuvring 1-0-0: Introduction to ACM Fundamentals ---CH 1: GTVA Brevity Code

The importance of brevity and a common operating picture of terminology cannot be overstated during ACM. All aircrew should ensure they are conversant with the below terms and can recall their meanings under significant cognitive duress.

AFATADS: Advanced Field Artillery Targeting and Direction System. Refers to the network and target acquisition architecture used by all GTVA vessels to produce firing solutions with both long-range missile and beam weapons systems. Forms spine of the TAG system. Also allows target acquisition by GTVA spacecraft for select ordnance types from platforms such as the GTF Ares.
As Fragged: Wing/Ship is performing action as per the Air Tasking Order. I.e. as ordered.
BLUFOR: Blue force. Refers to friendly forces.
BRAA: Bearing, Range, Altitude, Aspect. Taken from 21st Century ACM vernacular, BRAA is the format that all contact calls are relayed by AWACS and Mission Command controllers. E.g. “Contact, fighter wing, 120, 2 kilometres, low, hot.” Bearing and altitudes given relative to receiving callsign’s axis.
Bracket: Manoeuvre where friendly fighters will position on opposite sides of a target.
Commit/committed: Ship/Wing intends to engage specified target.
Contact: New sensor contact.
Cold: Given wing/ship is heading away from friendly ships. Opposite of Hot.
Cleared Hot: Ordnance release is authorised.
DAMCON: Damage Control teams aboard a given vessel.
Defensive: Ship is manoeuvring defensively with respect to an active threat. E.g. “Alpha 1’s defensive!”
FENCE In/Out: Refers to cockpit switches being set for in/out of combat. Mnemonic for Fire-control system/ECM/navigation/communications/emitters.
Fox: Missile launch. Fox 1 – Semi-radar guided missile. Used when target is being acquired by another ship, such as through the AFATADS interface. Fox 2 – IR guided missile, such as the MX-64 Rockeye. Fox 3 – Radar guided missile, such as the GTM-4a Tornado.
Grandslam: All hostile spacecraft of a given formation have been destroyed.
Guns: Laser fire from friendly spacecraft.
Heavy: Refers either to heavy assault/bomber variants, or a wing of more than four ships.
Hot: Given wing/ship is heading toward friendly ships. Opposite of Cold.
Merge: Friendly and hostile ships now in same visual arena.
Popup: Radar contact that has suddenly appeared inside of a specified range.
Press: Directive to continue attack, mutual support will be maintained.
Rifle: Torpedo launched from friendly bomber.
Ripple: Two or more munitions fired in close succession.
RTB: Return to base.
SATCOM: Satellite communications array. Primary radio communication means for all alliance vessels.
Separate/Separating: Given wing/ship is departing the field of engagement.
Spike: Enemy radar lock warning.
Splash: Enemy craft destroyed.
SPOTREP: Spot report. Used by reconnaissance units to transmit sightings of enemy high value targets.
Tally: Enemy ship sighted.
Visual: Friendly ship sighted.
Winchester: No ordnance remaining.
--- End quote ---


--- Quote from: Capital Ship Fire Control Orders ---Capital Ship FCOs are the verbal format by which Battle and Assault Group commanders call for beam fire on designated targets. This is generally executed at the beginning and end of ship-to-ship engagements in order to synchronise beam fire from independent ships. They follow the format GROUP-TARGET-TYPE OF FIRE-NO. SALVOS.

An example may be “Battlegroup, reference the Ravana, beam-fire, cross-fire, three and three. Fire when ready!” In this instance, the battlegroup’s target is the SD Ravana. The commander directs for beam cannons to be employed in a cross-fire pattern, aiming to have all beams intersect a given point to maximise damage. This is as opposed to frontal-fire which gives freedom of fire pattern to each vessel’s commander. Three and three stipulates three bursts with three seconds in between. This is the standard opening salvo for most ship-to-ship engagements.

Aircrew should always monitor the FIRES NET during ship-to-ship engagements so that they can avoid beam fire where possible.
--- End quote ---

Colonol Dekker:
Now I like the look of this.
Also....

--- Quote --- - Realistic battle chatter and mission briefs based on actual military experience.
--- End quote ---



Keen to count expletives 😂⚔️👌

EatThePath:
Not a small amount of pressure here at all, hopefully I'll eventually see the whole mission. Impressive stuff so far.

Some issues I've had so far, on 20201226 if it matters:
- Loading from the first checkpoint doesn't seem to stop the introductory message chains from playing
- there don't seem to be radar icons for any UEF ships when the enhanced HUD is turned on
- After I hit the checkpoint and then tried to start the mission over entirely, starting from the beginning appears to be broken, it never moves from the initial shot of the cutscene.
- When instead skipping the cutscene but not loading the checkpoint, I get two sets of music layered over each other.
- My first run of the first stage it felt like Alpha and Beta were guardianed. If they were, they don't get it turned on when loading from the first checkpoint.

Ertanax:
WELL DONE DILMAH FOR RELEASING THIS!

It's even better than it was during testing. Thank you!  :yes:

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