Link here, read all about it if you're not in the groupchat

https://puu.sh/Cojz0/cb28622706.png

Current Area of Operations[puu.sh]

While its been a slow fortnight due to lower attendance than usual, we've made some decent gains in territory. A major military objective has been taken, and we're well on the way to pivoting onto another primary town objective.

The week 6 rotation involved a themed CE event that turned into a Spartan-based op, which was primarily hunting for enemy FOBs in the AO. This was a successful operation, and gave us some breathing room for more aggressive missions.

Here's an excerpt of the extraction from the last FOB we hit.[gfycat.com]

Week 7 began as a low-attendance op, but ended up involving 9 total members. We initially retook Kalithea, which was still held by the URF from the Week 5 counterattack. From here, mounted ODSTs used Warthogs to move through the small objectives of Agios Petros, Almyra, Radio Tower 226168 and Thelos. At the end of this operation, Grizzly support became available, and we were successful in rotating the ODST unit back up to Military Lab Bravo. After an intense infantry engagement, and with cover from the Grizzly, we took the Lab from the URF, eliminating a major source of enemy aggression and counterattack in the region.

From here on out, we're in a strong position to continue encircling Paros, which should give us the ability to properly attack and take it within the next couple of weeks. We may need to undertake some rescue side missions soon, as the high amount of FOB hunts has reduced our intel reserves heavily.

Our current vehicle assets are:

• 1x Pelican (unarmed, stationed on frigate)
  
• 2x Falcon (unarmed, stationed on frigate)
  
• 1x Grizzly
  
• 1x Bison
  
• 1x Unarmed Warthog
  
• 1x Recovery Warthog
  
• 2x Stallion

A couple of big new additions to the mission/server this rotation!

The first of these is the URFs deployment of long range SAM sites around Altis. They've been strategically placed in fairly safe locations, so we'll need to wait until we either have strong intel on their locations or we can directly acquire them from our standard operations. As for how they'll affect flight paths for current logistics and CAS - heavily. Thus far, flight higher than 40m above ground level further than a kilometre or two into enemy territory seems guaranteed to get a lock from the radar controller on the aircraft. At this point, you'll need to either dive for ground cover or undertake extreme evasive manouvres to avoid the missiles. They'll take a Pelican out of the sky in 2 rounds, and close extremely fast. Adjust your flying accordingly.

The second big change is the switch to the TFAR Beta version thats on the Workshop. It includes a host of new features, including better audio quality, less performance impact and intercom functionality for passengers and crew in vehicles. It does require some installation - you'll need to get and install the new teamspeak plugin from the TFAR website[radio.task-force.ru], as well as install the new workshop item. Alternatively, the teamspeak plugin can be found in your mod folder "\steamapps\common\Arma 3\!Workshop\@Task Force Arrowhead Radio (BETA!!!)\teamspeak". Once this is done, make sure you swap over both the mod and the plugin in the respective programs - old and new don't play nice with each other.

Updating to the new TFAR version is required, as the server can't run different versions of the mod at the same time, and the two aren't compatible with each other.

Fuzzle

Current Area of Operations[puu.sh]

While we've made some significant progress pushing further inland, we've started to encounter proper heavy resistance - the URF is organizing. Two major operations now have been effectively halted by heavy enemy resistance.

The first of these ops (the push through Abdera to open a path to Galati, a major town) was initially a success. We were able to land assets and push all the way from the coastal town of Faros through to Abdera itself. Unfortunately, due to the guerilla tactics of Insurrectionist patrols and the attrition of several objectives, our force arriving in the town proper was under-strength. Despite taking the town, a major counter-offensive involving significant enemy materiel and manpower pushed us out, and the town was retaken. We had to mobilize several air assets in order to extract personnel from the area. For the moment, the enemy holds Abdera.

The second of these ops was the attempted attack on Military Lab Alpha, a URF stronghold and major regional objective. The preliminary objective was Pefkas Outpost, a small coastal observation post that carried with it the unlock for the M850 Grizzly MBT. A small team was inserted by water under the cover of night and managed to infiltrate the area, but were forced to engage out of position. After the timely arrival of CAS and an infantry push, an Army unit was able to secure the base. However, disaster struck shortly after - while attempting to airlift in a Grizzly for its maiden battle, a malfunction caused both the Pelican and the Grizzly to attempt hand-to-hand combat with the ground. Regrettably, they didn't know their judo, and both were lost. Despite these losses, infantry elements continued to push towards the objective, but overwhelming enemy resistance forced the infantry to withdraw, and eventually retreat.

Our current vehicle assets are:

• 1x Pelican (unarmed)
  
• 2x Falcon (unarmed, stationed on frigate)
  
• 1x Grizzly
  
• 1x Unarmed Warthog
  
• 1x MG Warthog
  
• 1x Transport Warthog
  
• 1x Recovery Warthog
  
• 2x Stallion
  
• 1x CAP Hornet
  
• 1x Hornet

After a somewhat interesting assault on Almyra Base, we've gained access to the Maintenance Cart. This allows us to either quickly load preset pods, or alternatively load empty pods that can be manually loaded with gear. The Pelican can either drop these from a hover for a tightly clustered supply area, or at speed to create a string of pods. We've already used this to good effect, and if the Pelican is in play in future ops you can expect to see more of these pods.

A number of bug fixes have also been rolled out. dzn Jamming has been tweaked in favor of gun reliability, so expect guns to jam less - likely only once or twice per op. Note that heat still raises the chance of a jam exponentially, and unfortunately the M247 GPMG is very prone to overheating - better to leave it alone for the moment. The jam types have also been fiddled with. Generally jams will be dud rounds, which can be cleared simply by pulling the bolt. Otherwise, you'll need to work through the standard steps as usual. On top of these fixes, the occasional giga lag spike has been isolated to the APS mod. Don't run this mod client-side, as it will attempt to duplicate the scripts server-side and basically create a non-stop warfare.

Fuzzle

Going to start doing small summaries of large weekly ops for any people who don't join the TS as much, complete with pictures so you crayon eating ♥♥♥♥♥ can understand it.


Current Area of Operations[puu.sh]

Despite a shaky start due to heavier-than-expected initial resistance, the op was a resounding success. We've solidified our grip on the north-eastern side of Altis, and now hold the main town of Molos, which is actually the first major town objective we've undertaken. We also now hold Delfinaki Base, which has commanding views of the salt flats and most of the region to the south and south west. On top of these, we've got two more asset production facilities for passive income, which means replacing lost assets/acquiring new ones should start coming a bit easier.

Speaking of assets, we've gained access to the Close Air Patrol variant of the Hornet, which has a number of air-to-air missiles in addition to the standard twin autocannons. We may look at using this for air cover in the future so that the Scorpion can focus on anti-tank/personnel support for infantry.

The op culminated in an ultimately successful defence of the small village of Nidasos (which led onto the taking of nearby Delfinaki Base). During this defence we lose a Scorpion, which has since been replaced. Due to the intensity of this battle (our prior actions have taken us to a 100% alert level), we'll need to look at some side missions mid-week to get the alert down.

Our current vehicle assets are:

• 1x Pelican (unarmed)
  
• 2x Falcon (unarmed, stationed on frigate currently)
  
• 1x Scorpion
  
• 1x Unarmed Warthog (for base transport)
  
• 1x Gauss Warthog
  
• 1x MG Warthog
  
• 1x Hornet (standard variant)

As mentioned earlier, we lost a Scorpion during the battle at Nidasos. However, thanks to SPACE SHARKS (our resident lib creator), we've now got APS on the server. This is implemented server-side, so there's no need for anyone to download any new mods. The APS will pop certain projectiles before they hit the vehicle they are mounted on, giving a layer of durability outside of simple armor. Its important to note that the APS system does have a finite amount of charges, that varies based on the model used. Vehicles this affects are:

• Scorpion/Grizzly: Fitted with Trophy HV. This will intercept guided missiles and rockets with a small airburst to eliminate the threat at a distance of a couple of metres. It carries 5 charges each for the left and right side of the vehicle.
  
• Bison APC/MGS: Fitted with the Trophy HVe. This gives the same protection as the HV, but will also intercept tank shells.
  
• Elephant: Fitted with Dazzler. This system jams guidance and disrupts stabilizers on any form of missile or rocket, causing them to veer away from the vehicle. The Dazzler is electronic and has unlimited charges, however it cannot affect standard ordnance such as tank shells, gauss rounds, autocannons etc.

These systems will protect the vehicles and any occupants for as long as they have charges, however they won't necessarily protect infantry near/on the vehicle. Any dismounts should be clear of/behind the vehicle as standard in combat. To add to this, any friendly munitions such as 40mm or rockets/missiles should be fired well clear of the vehicle, as the system will only allow rounds fired by its host vehicle through.

dznJamming has also been fixed on the server side via an update to the mission file. Incidence of jamming (particularly with the shotguns) should be down by a large amount. If constant jamming continues to occur, we'll keep an eye on it and implement new fixes.

Fuzzle