Tigers On the Prowl (TOP) by HPS Simulations, is a computer game for IBMs and compatibles. It requires VGA, 5701KB free RAM, and 2MB of hard disk space; a mouse is optional. The game covers the Eastern Front from Poland in 1939 to Berlin in 1945. It is a regimental level tactical game. What I mean by that is that the individual maneuver elements are platoons, occasionally small detachments, and the forces on each side make up a battalion/regiment size force. The commander on each side is concerned with maneuvering his platoons and companies, not with the individual actions of the vehicles and men in the units.
In playing TOP, I came to see the game in three distinct pieces. There is the technical data/computations, the interface for playing the game, and the actual game play. I played three of the scenarios in an attempt to get a well rounded feel for how the game worked and how it played. I read the directions, several times, and tried not to let myself make snap judgments. I used my 486DX with 8MB and a SVGA monitor.
When it comes to the amount of data, vehicles, and factors taken into consideration, you cannot fault TOP. The list of vehicles, guns, infantry, aircraft, and assorted vehicles is exhaustive. Them are, by my quick count, 208 German, 146 Russian, and a fair number of Polish, Italian, Finnish, Romanian/Hungarian, captured French, and lend lease listings. Infantry units include such troops as ski rifles, ski HMGs, paretroops, marine rifles, and SMGs. The Russian list, for example, has nine AT guns, seven gun/howitzers, two flak guns, four types of mortars, and three Katy rocket launchers. The armored and unarmored fighting vehicles included everything I've ever heard of and probably some I haven't.
The game takes into account all kinds of terrain, morale, sighting, improved positions, minefields, weather, and mom. For example, under weather conditions, the game takes into consideration eight factors. These are atmosphere (clear, rain, heavy rain, fog/mist, snow, or deep snow), time of day (day, night, dawn, or dusk), temperature, wind speed, wind direction, lighting percent, and max sight. Each of these factors affect multiple aspects of play. Temperature affects weapon accuracy and morale, as well as determining if rivers and streams are frozen.
Each routine determination in the game is made up of many considerations. I will give just one example, line-of-sight (LOS) determination. The elevation of the unit is checked, there are seven ground levels, and aircraft are taken to be at the hex level+ 10. Terrain fluctuations, that is random folds in the ground of one or two meters, are taken into consideration. The time of day is taken into consideration because at dawn and dusk there are lots of shadows which affect spotting. Air units are treated differently from ground units and have a special input. The "apparent" target size is calculated, which is a measure of how big the target appears to the sighting unit (in square degrees). This is not a simple calculation for non-personnel targets, and uses both the facing for the target and the range."
A larger known quantity of troops in the target hex increases the chances of spotting them. The actual quantity of troops in the hex is another calculation. Certain types of terrain provide concealment. How fast the target is moving and how fast the spotter is moving both affect the chances of seeing the target. The level of illumination, which is caused by flares, incendiaries, forest fires, and wrecks, is measured. Spotting is also affected by morale, low morale troops not being as careful when it comes to camouflage and movement. If the target fired in the previous turn it is easier to see. Whether the spotting unit is suppressed by enemy fire has an effect. Units are more likely to see enemy troops to their front than sides or rear. Finally, if the spotting unit is an air unit, it gets a bonus.
Every part of the game is this detailed. I cannot say if the formulas are all correct, but certainly everything that may affect the combat results is given some consideration.
Comments
However, I must make two comments. First, every calculation has parts that are random, and the final calculation is a percentage. This means that after everything is figured, luck has the final say. Luck is a significant part of warfare and I believe it should be included. But, to go to this detail and then let the computer roll a die seems to be a bit of a waste.
Secondly, most of the factors have no tactical impact on the game. For instance, the temperature affects the accuracy of tank rounds, but I cannot do anything about this tactically. Even if I could figure out the math in my head, there is no tactic that would eliminate the effect. Also, as far as I can tell, the temperature should affect everyone equally; thus it is a null factor.
The player interface is generally good. Graphics are very well done with unit silhouettes or NATO standard symbols and many kinds of ten-aim I liked the colors and generally the vehicle drawings allowed me to easily recognize the unit types. While playing, many types of data are available. When you click on a unit you can find out what direction it is going, its speed, type, number, rate of fire, and other necessary information. Detailed charts can be brought up that explain its ammo loads and how many nun of armor it can penetrate with different rounds at different distances. This aids you in setting the unit defaults.
Each unit has a set of operating defaults that can be changed to fit the situation. A unit can have target priorities; it can pause to shoot or keep moving. The range that the weapon will engage can be set. For example, if the gun on your tank cannot penetrate an enemy vehicle unless it is within 700 meters, then you can tell it not to fire until the target is within the 700 meters.
The controls are menu driven and generally self-explanatory. To move units you have three choices. You can pick one platoon and then point to an objective. The computer wifl plot the unit's route. A second method is to move the unit hex by hex yourself. The final alternative is to use company movement. In this case, you pick one unit and point to an objective. The computer plots the unit's move. If it is satisfactory, then it plots the movement of all of the other units in the company. This can keep companies together and takes less time. However, the computer often has difficulty plotting the move of the first unit, especially when the move traverses different types of termin or long distances.
For the most part, whenever you want to do something, there are a couple of ways to do it. The manual explained all of the game phases including set-up. You can play pre-configured battles or design your own. There is a campaign option, and a separate disk where you can do map edits. Despite all of the above, there were times when the program just did not follow the routine that I expected.
During one set-up, I found myself placing the opponent's units. Other times I found that I had missed my opportunity to do things like set up my pre- planned artillery points. I expect that the more familiar I become with the game, the better I will understand the mechanics; however, I found myself frustrated a number of times.
Finally, the most important question about the game-how did it play? I must admit that I was disappointed to some extent. Victory conditions were of two types. In the attacker/defender scenarios, the attacker had to get units off the opposite edge of the board. In the meeting engagements, both sides had to get units off the opposite edge of the board. There were no terrain or tactical objectives. While the game had several historical battles, the victory conditions did not seem to be related to what the battles were all about. The computer consistently took shots when the percentage chance of hitting was from 2% to 5%. With a 5% chance to hit, a shooter should hit one out of every twenty shots. Each vehicle had a limited number of rounds it carried; this is realistic, therefore, to fire off a limited ammo supply on a shot that would only hit once out of 50 times is ridiculous. I realize that tank gunners and commanders were not able to calculate their chances of hitting to such a degree, but even green gunners know the difference between a good shot and a no chance of hitting shot.
Computer tactics seem to consist of a small feint towards one end of the board and a massive banzai charge against the other end of the board. To counter, I tried to set up U-shaped ambushes. Where possible, I put my vehicles in terrain that would conceal them. I was then a bit surprised when the enemy's moving vehicles were able to ambush my vehicles that were sitting still.
Another tactic that drove me nuts until I figured it out--I think I figured it out--was the deployment of small detachments out in front of the main line. In one game, I had placed a two man detachment as a listening post in front of my lines by a road. As an attacker, I had planned to drive a platoon of ISU 152s down the road into a town. My three 152s, each of which only had seven rounds of ammo, stopped their head-long charge to fire at the two man detachment. This was bad enough, but the results of the shooting were the most frustrating.
When firing on enemy infantry, you get a report that enemy causalities were probably light, or heavy, or something in between. When several salvos of 152mm HE rounds are fired point blank at two men and the result is "probable light casualties", what does that mean? What it meant in the game was that my heavy hitting assault guns were going to spend the entire game firing at two men. Of course the answer was to set the defaults for the unit. One default was not to stop when shooting, and the other was to set my range to fire to zero. What I really needed was an "ignore distractions" setting.
I expect that playing this game on a Pentium would be an improvement. I spent much of my time reading a magazine or doing something else while the game was figuring things out. Each scenario lasts 90 turns. This means that a game is going to take many hours. Most of us want a game that will last a long time, but what we want is playing time, not sitting time.
Looking back at this article, it is easy to see what impressed me. The research, data, and factors that were taken into consideration are tremendous. I believe this game has great potential, and I believe that I must be missing something, that there is something in playing the game that I have not yet figured out. I certainly intend to play the game again. I like the scale, the scenarios, options, and most of the interface; I just am not happy with my perception of how parts of the game play.
After writing this review, I sent a copy to Scott Hamilton, the designer. He called me and we had a very nice conversation. To begin with, he let me know that I had an older version of the game. The new version, 2. 1, addresses many of my points above. There are now victory conditions centered around terrain on the map and the number of turns can be changed. The firing routines have been adjusted, and the AI program had been improved. Scott explained why the AI program took shots with a 2% chance of hitting. Whenever a unit is fired at, it is to some extent suppressed and distracted, which allows other nonfixing units to get closer.
Scott also discussed some of the other factors, as an example, the importance of temperature. Long range shots and heavier rounds are more affected by temperature than short range or fight weight shots. This obviously hurts the Germans with their 88mm guns. However, everything I have read says the Germans preferred to stay at long range and pick off Russians; I also prefer this. Thus, knowing the effect of temperature still does not alter my tactics. I am waiting for my updated version, and I will let you all know what I think.
For those interested in the game, the address of HPS is P.O. Box 3245, Santa Clara, CA 95055-3245.
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© Copyright 1995 by Mike Vogell and Phoenix Military Simulations.
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