At Strategic DCS, we love a player controlled ground war and making use of Combined Arms
All users that have combined arms have access to JTAC slots to control units individually.
Tactical commander slots increase the abilities of JTAC, enabling the way pointing of AI units.
At present, TACCOM is unrestricted.
In the future, we will add a self-qualification to obtain taccom access rights that will help ensure server stability by having player learn and acknowledge the risks of “bad waypoints” and commitment not to push units across mountains or deep forest areas where the AI struggles to handle path finding
These codes are referenced in later sections:
Due to space constraints on the spawn menu, these are the following pre-defined compositions, you may also obtain this list in-game using
F10 (Other) → F4 (Help) → F1 (Freight)
Marker Content | Description | Contents Blue | Contents Red |
---|---|---|---|
L-ATT | Large Attack | 2x JTAC, 2x Bradley, 3x Leopard 1A3, 2x Challenger 2, Abrams | 2x JTAC, 2x ZBD, 3x T72, 2x ZTZ, Leclerc |
MBT-H | Heavy MBT | 4 Abrams | 4x Leclerc |
MBT-M | Medium MBT | 3x Merkava, 3x Challenger2 | 3x T-80UD, 3x ZTZ96B |
MBT-L | Light MBT | 3x Leopard1A3 | 3x T-72B |
RECON | Recon | 6 JTAC | |
MAD | Air Defense | 3 x M48 Chaparral, 3x Linebacker, 2x Roland ADS, Gepard | Strela 1, Strela 10, HQ-7, Osa, 2x Tor, Tunguska |
SHORAD | SHORAD | 7x Roland ADS | 5x Tor |
AAA | AAA | 4x Gepard, 4x Vulcan | 4x Tunguska, 4x Shilka |
IFV | IFV | 4x LAV-25, 4 x Bradley | 4x BTR-82A, 4x ZBD04A |
BD | Base Defence | 2x JTAC, 4x Leopard 1A3, 2x Merkava, Abrams, 2x Stryker ATGM | 2x JTAC, 4x T-72B, 2x T80, Leclerc, 2x Mephisto |
These codes are available in game using the F10 (Other) → F4 (Help) → F1 (Freight)
CODE | Description | Blue | Blue RP Cost | Red | Red RP Cost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AT | Anti Tank | M1134 Stryker ATGM | 2 RP2 | VAB Mephisto | 2 RP2 |
EWR | Early Warning Radar | Dog Ear radar | 1 RP3 | Dog Ear radar | 1 RP3 |
JTAC | JTAC | Hummer | 2 RP1 | Tigr | 2 RP1 |
IFV-L | Light IFV | LAV-25 | 1 RP2 | BTR-82A | 1 RP2 |
IFV-H | Heavy IFV | M-2 Bradley | 3 RP2 | ZBD 04A | 3 RP2 |
MBT-L | Light Tank | Leopard 1A3 | 3 RP2 | T-72B | 3 RP2 |
MBT-M1 | Medium Tank 1 | Merkava | 5 RP2 | T-80UD | 5 RP2 |
MBT-M2 | Medium Tank 2 | Challenger 2 | 7 RP2 | ZTZ-96B | 7 RP2 |
MBT-H | Heavy Tank | M-1 Abrams | 9 RP2 | Leclerc | 9 RP2 |
AAA-L | Light AAA | Vulcan | 2 RP1 | Shilka | 2 RP1 |
AAA-H | Heavy AAA | Gepard | 3 RP2 | Tunguska | 5 RP2 |
IRSAM-L1 | Light IRSAM 1 | Chaparral | 4 RP2 | Strela 1 | 3 RP2 |
IRSAM-L2 | Light IRSAM 2 | Chaparral | 4 RP2 | Strela 10 | 3 RP2 |
IRSAM-L3 | Light IRSAM 3 | Chaparral | 4 RP2 | HQ-7 EO | 4 RP2 |
SHORAD | Short Range Radar Air Defence | Roland ADS | 5 RP3 | Tor | 7 RP3 |
SPECIAL | Special Air Defence | Linebacker | 2 RP3 | Osa | 6 RP3 |
UTIL | Utility | Utility Truck | 1 RP1 | Utility Truck | 1 RP1 |
PATRIOT | Patriot Composition | 50 RP3 | |||
NASAMS | NASAMS | 9 RP3 | |||
ROLAND | ROLAND Composition | 7 RP3 | |||
BOFORS | BOFORS Composition | 1 RP3 | |||
HAWK | HAWK Composition | 16 RP3 | |||
SA10 | SA-10 Composition | 50 RP3 | |||
SA11 | SA-11 Composition | 18 RP3 | |||
SA2 | SA-2 Composition | 12 RP3 | |||
SA3 | SA-3 Composition | 4 RP3 | |||
SA6 | SA-6 Composition | 7 RP3 | |||
S60 | S-60 Composition | 1 RP3 | |||
FPS-117 Dome | 2 RP3 | 55G6 EWR | 2 RP3 | ||
JTAC Tower | 6 RP1 | JTAC Tower | 6 RP1 |
When landing with a composition, you will unpack a ZIL Truck that houses the composition. This Truck is worth the value of the site, so they may be exceptionally valuable.
You can find out what a truck contains by selecting the unit on the F10 Map and viewing the Callsign, in this case, a BOFORS composition
You may load this truck as internal cargo (F10 (Other) → F2 (Cargo) → F2 (Internal Cargo Actions) → F3 (Load Internal Cargo)
to eligable logistics player units (FW/RW) Allowing you to transport and unload / unpack the units in any location you wish using the same Internal Cargo Actions Comms Menu, or by using the -unload
and -unpack
chat commands.
Note: When carrying this internal cargo, you remain liable for the cost of the units if you die.
In either of these roles, you may unpack the composition by jumping into the vehicle and using the standard internal cargo unpack item or -unpack
chat command
You may also append the unit id to the -unpack chat command.
For example, in the bofors truck above, we have a callsign of 5487 | BOFORS
, in which case we could use -unpack 5487
to unpack the truck into a composition build site.
This is very useful if you jump in TacCom, set some way points and then jump into an aircraft, and wawnt to unpack it once it has reached the intended destination.
There are multiple ways to spawn units to enable options that best suit the players
Most ground units are obtained from Factories with the exception being base elements such as:
Which are obtained from the airbase itself within a distance from the center runway marker or FARP pad.
Available to players flying in one of the following airframes:
Workshop A
on F10 Map)F10 (Other) → F6 (Player Freight Loading)
select which pre-defined freight you wish to load
Note: Any freight you are carrying has RP value, which will be lost if you are unsuccessful, so keep safe!
If you want something other than the pre defined cargo collections, you may load a custom selection of units / compositions using chat commands.
When loading custom cargo, you are allowed to have upto 6 slots. Most ground units take up 1 slot, but compositions may take up more than 1 slot.
To do this, we use a chat command -load CARGOCODE
where CARGOCODE is replaced with what you wish to load.
Examples:
Chat Command | Blue Content | Red Content |
---|---|---|
-load 4JTAC,4MBT-H | 4 JTAC, 4 Abrams | 4 JTAC, 4 Leclerc |
-load IRSAM-L3,2UTIL,IFV-L | Chaparral, 2 Utility Trucks, M-2 Bradley | HQ-7 EO, 2 Utility Trucks, ZBD-04A |
-load L-ATT | Large attack predefined group | Large attack predefined group |
If you want to know what units you'll get, and how much RP it will cost, use the chat command -cargocode CODE
For Example:
When your team is not significantly outnumbering the opposition, you may use AI to deliver freight from the nearest factory, to a friendly FARP or AIRBASE
If the Factory is a significant distance from the destination, the AI may use a combination of Rotary wingf, and Fixed wing aircraft to achieve their goal in the shortest time
That could be a Rotary wing flight direct from factory, or a Rotary wing at the factory, to an origin-local airbase, followed by a Fixed Wing flight to a destination-local airbase, and then a Rotary Wing flight to complete the journey
From the F10 menu, you will find AI Freight Delivery
Selecting this will allow you an easy way to call in either an AI flight to deliver the cargo to the airbase / FARP you are currently located at.
You must be within 5nm of the Airbases or FARP for this to work correctly and avoid accidental deliveries to unexpected destinations
Marker based AI Freight Spawns allow much more control, and open you up to custom compositions using the same format as player flights.
Create a Marker within 5nm of the target airbase, or 1km of a Factory with the text CARGO CODE
When placed near an active factory, the units will immediately spawn around the marker position
Examples:
Chat Command | Blue Content | Red Content |
---|---|---|
CARGO 4JTAC,4MBT-H | 4 JTAC, 4 Abrams | 4 JTAC, 4 Leclerc |
CARGO IRSAM-L3,2UTIL,IFV-L | Chaparral, 2 Utility Trucks, M-2 Bradley | HQ-7 EO, 2 Utility Trucks, ZBD-04A |
CARGO PATRIOT,2JTAC | Patriot Composition Truck and 2 JTAC | Not Applicable (they can't spawn PATRIOTS!) |
When using Markers, you can request the AI go direct from factory to destination by appending “RW” to the end of the mark
Example: CARGO PATRIOT RW
You can also use -spawn CODE
chat command to call AI units in, or spawn units around the factory.
Functionally this works the same as creating a marker on your current position with the CODE text and follows the same rules and format.
As the ground war progresses, we will find ourselves needing to move units around the front
Each relocation flight can take 8 units and relocate them to an Airbase or FARP, you can not relocate units into the field
You may always relocate units, by player, or AI regardless of the connected players, and there is no minimum range.
If you disconnect, are shot down, or otherwise fail to deliver your cargo, the RP will be added to cooldown
You can load nearby units through the F10, or chat command
F10 (other) → F6 (Player Freight Loading) → F1 (Load Nearby Units)
-load near
-load near 50
to get 50mMap marker based loading is useful for AI flights, and for human fixed wing flights whilst sat on the runway / apron.
CARGO MARK units
CARGO MARK 50 units
to get 50mAs with spawn flights, appending RW to the marker, will force a rotary wing flight from A to B, which maybe useful in nearby airbase to airbase relocations
-load mark units
-load mark 50 units
to get 50mThere is a limit on the number of units that your coalition can deploy at any given time and these can be viewed using the F10 menu.
The base number of units is determined based on the number of units within a campaign initial units miz file and so is variable for each campaign and as we make adjustments to the default pre-allocated units.
You are able to increase the limits by deploying Factories