RE: Integrating Snipers into DirtSide II

On Tue, 7 Sep 1999 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.

Dirtside is about combined arms, not tanks. 

> 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.

This was because the tanks had Behive rounds. It strips away all soft 
cover and kills you at the same time. Air defense units are also used by

the Israelies to supress sniper units in lebanan. (take one PIVAD Vulcan

mounted on a 113, remove the range only radar and add more ammo. Get a 
gist of where the sniper is hiding, hose down the building he is firing 
from. Several thousand rounds of 20mm do wonders to light concrete 
buildings.)

Now, give me a sniper unit or two with my combined arms units and I'll 
get him back in your rear. Sure spend a turn or two supressing my 15 pt 
unit with a platoon of tanks. Looks like the sniper may have done his
job 
if it gets to that. Now if it take out a infantry element or light 
vehicle or something then great. 

> Now this is JMO, and I certainly don't have any direct experience with
tank
> operations, snipers, or combat, but I would limit snipers to affecting
infantry,
> and make them take a reaction test whenever they were targeted by a
tank.

Sure, they'd be succeptable to counter fire and APSW's in my mind. Thus 
they'd take fire occasionally and probably have to take confidence
checks 
like anyone else. Usually, I'd expect a sniper team to be a veteran or 
elite unit, so they'd pass with flying colors.

The rules I've seen have them set up in an anti material role and with 
something like a 18 inch range (1.8 kilometers, not unreasonable 
considering the capabilities of current .50 cal precision rifles). 
Getting that APSW team there to deal with it will be tricky. Light 
vehicles would make more sense. Probably your recce elements or IS 
Armoured Cars. 

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- Ryan Montieth Gill		DoD# 0780 (Smug #1) / AMA / SOHC -
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