RE: Integrating Snipers into DirtSide II

Old war story time:). I had a PSG that served a couple tours in Vietnam.
 In 
the course of his travels in the 11th ACR a fellow TC was shot by a
sniper, 
said shot shattering his jaw.  As this TC had just gotten back from
having 
dental work done, this served to mightily piss him off.  Using 152mm
Beehive 
rounds he went after all likely locations until the sniper (or parts of
him) 
was found.

FWIW

Michael Brown

-----Original Message-----
From:	Los [SMTP:los@cris.com]
Sent:	Tuesday, September 07, 1999 1:57 PM
To:	gzg-l@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU
Subject:	Re: Integrating Snipers into DirtSide II

bbrush@rev.state.ne.us wrote:

> Ok, maybe I'm dense or maybe I just don't get it, but DSII is
primarily an 
armor
> game, and what little I've read about tanks and snipers indicated that

snipers
> just do NOT like tanks, and generally won't stay set up in the same
area 
where
> there are armor units.
>

That's ridiculous. (Sort of like saying why have vehicle rules in
Stargrunt 
since
it's primarily an infantry game)  Dirtside has infantry and other units
too, 
and it
is the successful intergration of all those elements into a  combined
arms 
force
that makes for challenge and victory.

> The primary example I have of this is "Tank Sergeant" written by Ralph

Zumbro.
> He served in an armor unit in Vietnam, and in his experience the VC
snipers
> would leave the area almost as soon as a tank would show up.	The
reason for
> this was that if there was any sniper activity, the tanks would lay a
couple 
of
> 90mm rounds into the area where the sniper was set up, or if the
sniper could 
be
> accurately located, they would take out the tree, and the sniper all
in one
> operation.
>

That assumes, (as was usually NOT the case, particularly with good
snipers that
don't fire more than once or twice from the same location) that you even
know 
where
the shot is coming from. Heck. Here you are with your tank platoon in
heavy 
terrain.
The lead TC get's his head blown off, EVERYBODY immediately buttons up.
Now 
who's
going to find the sniper? (You can't hear him from inside the tank.) The
PBI of
course. But that serves to suppress and take time. There are numerous
accounts 
of
tank commanders and other crewmen being killed by snipers since the
beginning 
of
tank warfare, which generally serves to degrade the platoon's
effectiveness
especially in the short term as the platoons gets itself sorted out and
as
individual tanks are forced to button-up and thus reduce control
effectiveness 
and
situational awareness.) And even if you don't screw with the tanks but
with 
their
accompanying infantry you end up with the same situations since tanks
that go
forward into constricted terrain without infantry support are asking for
it.

And keep in mind that stargrunt features snipers with heavy
anti-material 
sniping
weapons. Accuracy combined with punch could serve to kill even
partuially 
exposes
crewmen regardless of their personaly armor and helmets or accurately
target
vulnerable portions of the tank such vision blocks, sensors, comms
arrays, etc.

It makes for an interesting "flavor" option for the game.
cheers...
Los