Things are moving along nicely with "Welcome to the Suk."
The mission concept changed slightly- though is still primarily human driven on both sides.
The battle takes place within the borders of Abkhazia. Red and blue ground forces are advancing from their own sides towards the objective that is almost smack in the middle: Suk City.
The forces on both sides are in rough array- a big part of the alignment will depend on intelligence gathered from JTAC and airborne resources. I've wanted to leave this to the ground commander so they're going to have their work cut out for them. I think some will really enjoy it- some won't. We'll see.
First objective is to retake your airbase that has recently been overrun by insurgent forces loyal to the opposite side. Accomplishing this task will bring full reload capability and serve to determine which side forces around Sukhumi will support.
A long range SAM battery has been moved into place on both sides and they are racing to get the units in place and operational. Though the race is on to get at them sooner than later, they don't become eligible targets until the ground forces are on the move. Don't try to take them out before you get the announcement (MOL). I envisioned guys flying straight there and launching missiles at them 5 minutes into the mission. Not the intention... the objective of neutralising the SAM threat is there to give the ground commanders something quick to run down in support of his air assets. The SAM is immortal until the announcement is made so don't waste your ammo.
KA50s are assigned to support the ground commander as a forward observer. A JTAC spot exists as well at an elevated station between the first and second objectives. These two assets can help the ground commander orientate his troops properly to the threat ahead before advancing. He'll have lots of time because he's going to want his air assets to soften up the opposition before moving in.
Fighters currently exist in the mission but I'm concerned about balance issues... I'm going to try and see how it plays out. I have a well stocked supply of SA10s and PAtriots giving pretty decent refuge if needed... but I'm going to recommend that the SU25s and A-10s run for cover when they see the RWR go off. F-15s and Su27s are available for both sides- but they're at more distant bases. They may rather stab at each other off in the distance... TS3 is going to be an important ingredient.
Local military forces are deemed unpredictable and though a sizeable protective force exists in Sukhumi, there is no telling which side they are going to take. In remote circumstances, they may in fact take BOTH sides and start fighting against themselves in the city. These troops (as well as those landed at the forward bases) are AI controlled. The ones around the city are aligned through random triggers and EXTREMELY unpredictable.
The objective changes depending on which way the locals align. If they align on your side, then your job is to protect their positions from the incoming enemy advance. If they align on the opposing side, your job is to whittle down their defensive positions around the city as well as the incoming opposing force so that your ground commander can confidently occupy the city.
If they align both ways- then your mission becomes twofold and that will vary between missions and depend largely on the situation.
