Map: HESCOs.. I need 'em bad!

[shahadi]

Afghan battles need HESCO bastions, but how to simulate them in our maps?

My USMC guys need the Hescos like yesterday. Any ideas?

The Afghan conflict has been nearly from the outset very much like the 7th Cav of the old west. Or, of more recent memory, of the camps from the Nam where platoons patrolled the perimeter. I don't want to use hedgerows, I want something simulating a Hesco.

What do ya say, can it be done?

[DRG]

The closest thing we have is a hedgerow. What the game could use is a "desert hedgerow" that is plain earth.

Don

[Mustang]

There is no ingame terrain that can stop infantry movement, besides perhaps water.

Some combination of mines, wire and dragon teeth would be the normal way to represent these things.

[Mobhack]

HESCO is most like a fortification in game terms, so I would use an appropriate bunker icon that allows 360 degree firing (ie has an invisible MG turret like some of the MG bunkers?) and place some dragon teeth, mines or barbed wire around it perhaps.

Or use a hollow square of a few stone buildings similarly surrounded by dragon teeth etc as the buildings will stop direct fire into the hollow square in the middle of "camp"?. Leave a gap as the camp gate, or put a single building back a hex as the guardhouse to allow vehicular driving in/out the "entry" whilst stopping direct shots into the courtyard of your "Fort Laramie".

Andy

[shahadi]

I am trying to understand how to build shp files using the game supplied ShpEd program according to a post in the Mod forum entitled, "How to Edit Icons."

After reading the excellent posts thus far, I realize now, the task is not as simple as creating a modified hedgerow. I must not only create say a modified hedgerow, but add the characteristics of a trench, barbed wire, dragon teeth, and a structure with sufficient density to "deflect" infantry fires.

The problem, however, remains to create the structure in ShpED with the characteristics described above.

A fortification as the base structure is appealing to me and may easily lend itself to proper density and height. However, will the fortification prohibit infantry movement, thus necessitating some kind of breach action is critical.

Any ideas?

[DRG]

The short answer is no, fortification will not prohibit infantry movement anything like that would be the same as setting up a line of bunkers side by side


Don

[Mustang]

You can make infantry movement very difficult by setting up a bunch of fire hexes.

[shahadi]

Hmm... now I am thinking that since water will prohibit infantry movement, why not create a Hesco by changing the water icon to that of a Hesco? What do ya think?

[Imp]

How are you going to get the height & los blockage? Hedgerows would serve better infantry can scale them with effort

[shahadi]

Originally Posted by Imp

How are you going to get the height & los blockage? Hedgerows would serve better infantry can scale them with effort

I'm thinking the hedgerows, or some modification of hedgerows is the way too go, although I may not be the guy to make it happen. I'll continue to study shp files, but I feel as thought there is more to this than creating an icon.

Such questions as you pose here may be addressed with another design tool. In a pickle here and need some help. Anybody?