Reconnaissance Aircraft – The Missing Unit Type

[julianj]

One of the flaws of the hex-computer strategy games, from Panzer General onwards, is the lack of information to plan your mission. WW2 Generals didn't blunder along without any knowledge of what forces opposed them.

To rectify this, my first mod ever was for PzG, many years ago: I created my first recon aircraft, I think all I did was colour a Spitfire light blue in Photoshop and modify some factors in the Pzequip file. But I was really excited, and it was so easy that I made other units, and have since created mods for various games over the subsequent decades.

Recon armoured cars can only scout near the front line and have a very short life expectancy.

Recon aircraft fall into a variety of types:

Low, slow, manoeuvrable, hide in low cloud or ground clutter, e.g. Storch, L5 Cub.

Fast, high altitude, difficult to catch. e.g. Spitfire PR, P38 F5, Arado 234.

Excellent vision, hard to attack, e.g. FW 189.

In my view the best way to add these aircraft is to make a new “Tac Bomber”, i.e. not able to attack other aircraft, but with good defensive values and a spotting distance of 4 or 5 hexes.

I generally made them fairly cheap, so they are expendable. Because they have very little attack capability, but also take up a core unit slot.

Then you can fly them over the strategic depth of the enemy to find out what faces you. They might take some casualties, but usually are robust enough to come back.

An objection is that the computer will not use them, but I believe the increased realism and ability to find information on the disposition of enemy forces is worth it. In PvP games, of course both sides can use recon aircraft if the players agree.

Over the years I have made a dozen or more recon planes for these type of games.

I've started making them for Panzer Corps. I've made an Hs 123 and a FW189 for the Germans, and a P38 Lightning F5 for the US forces. The P38 was very easy: all I did was rub out the nose guns and change the colour to blue in Photoshop.

Stats for P38 F5 Recon for PzEquip file:

1541 P-38 F5 Recon 8 160 6 90 15 4 0 10 1 1 -4 -1 19 18 0 2 2 P-38_F5_Recon.png 3.11.1942 1.1.1946 5

Two images attached: put one in Data/Units

P-38_F5_Recon.png (30.07 KiB) Viewed 833 times

and the other in Data/UI/Bigunits

P-38_F5_Recon.png (30.07 KiB) Viewed 833 times

This is the 256 pixel sq one for the purchase screen.

[julianj]

Sorry, seems an extra image crept in.

The one at the top is the Units image, and the one at the bottom for the UI/Bigunits folder.

[PeteMitchell]

McGuba's Battlefield Europe mod has these type of aircraft

[rubyjuno]

Nice work, julianj!

[julianj]

Thanks for your replies. I am sure that other modders for this game had added recon aircraft. It seems really important to have an idea what's going on, on "the other side of the hill". There ought to be an intelligence report when deploying on the other side's equipment and dispositions, even if it is not 100% accurate. It is ridiculous to be ambushed by forts you had no idea are there.

I used to organise and GM large 20mm WW2 1944 ETO tabletop games, with hidden(ish) movement, command structures, different objectives for each side, unfair sides, and each team got an intelligence report which would say things like "Alphaville is garrisoned by German infantry in company strength with a battery of StuG IIIs. It is rumoured to have some fortified strongpoints in houses in the town."

That didn't tell the Allied player on that table exactly what he was facing, but he wasn't totally in the dark, either. Instead of just deploying his troops on Turn 1 he would have to send in his recon to observe.

These games were highly successful, and were far more realistic (IMO) than wargames where each side gets 1000 pts to spend.

[dalfrede]

The 'Avro Anson' is a recon that shows up a a gift in a D-Day scenario [AC?], TB with traits 'reconmove nopurchase noupgrade'.

PzC2 has Recon planes for each major power. TBs with no attack values nor Reconmove.
The Tutorials spent time to insure people know about them.

[jeffoot77]

Thxs for your work.

but is it possible to make a mod file for using it in JSGME?

[dalfrede]

First a correction a 'Westland Lysander' is the gift recon plane in AC.

To use air recon there is no need for JSGME, just edit equipment.pzdat with the new units, and drop it into the Data folder.

For info on editing equip list:
https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104203

You can use 'Westland Lysander' by deleting the nopurchase trait.
You can also reuse the Westland by coping the line in the equip file and change the 'Flag' value to the country of choice.

nikivdd has made a expanded equipment file by reusing the icons that come with the game.
This allows his equipment.pzdat file to be used without other changes.

[terminator]

Thanks but the last image has a problem with the transparency of the background

[LevV]

very good point about unrealistic lack of intelligence! i've been thinking the same.
the most disturbing thing is that the game already has purchasable recon plane for soviets, as well as convertible off-road mobile recon infantry for British and Italians, but for some reasons developers never bothered to give Storch to Germans, or make some similar convertible recon infantry for them.

[jeffoot77]

To use air recon there is no need for JSGME, just edit equipment.pzdat with the new units, and drop it into the Data folder.

--> ok but if i want recon units when i play any mod, i have to do this each time? is't it easier to make a mod "recon unit" to activate when the player want?

[dalfrede]

--> ok but if i want recon units when i play any mod, i have to do this each time? is't it easier to make a mod "recon unit" to activate when the player want?

Once you work out how to get what you want, it takes like 5 mins to do the second time.

You can deal with the issue anyway you like.

I play on a Mac, which makes JSGME a hassle.
My point is that even mods like BattefieldEurope can be played without GME.

[rubyjuno]

My point is that even mods like BattefieldEurope can be played without GME.

Indeed. I never use GME, I create a new folder for every mod that would otherwise require GME. Big hard drives are so cheap that it's not a problem - I have 7 PzC mods in their own folders plus 2 "clean" installations, (v1.31 and v1.32) to use as starting points. It's the easiest way for me.