NEUWUC - A complete combat simulation
Hello everyone -
Well, a friend told me I should create a new thread and introduce myself. I am Geoff McLean, developer of Underway!, Underway Captain!, Captain! and Naval Engagement! (NEUWUC for short). Way back in 2004 I joined a virtual naval flying group and was astonished when I finally got into my first combat scenario with them. A whole lot of 'Guns,guns,guns' 'in 3,2,1./.halt', 'Taking a picture', 'sending it to the judge'. So I started conversion of my turn-based 1 minute naval warfare simulator into a real-time, server based simulation. While it retains the 'Naval' word - it really is a complete warfare simulation. The FS-9/FS-X portion name, 'Underway!', comes from the fact that you can land on a moving ship if it has a landing pad or flight deck and stay on deck - even when you close down Underway!.
Being as most of you are FSX fans, I converted the original into FSX and we now have some 70 odd gauges in the dll. NE! is the server and controls all non-player platforms which include bullets, guns, missiles, torpedoes, radars, sonars and various platforms such as tanks, missile batteries, ships, submarines, - whatever.
And yes, I and many volunteers have been working on this since 2004 - I have several thousand hours of coding and testing and building platforms in this. We just completed a battery of tests and I am beginning to feel confident the system is ready for some other folks to join us in 'beta' testing. This is not TacPack. U/W can be used in any platform, and whatever aircraft you might fly - we have *all* of it's weapons available for your use. You want to fly a P-3C and do anti-submarine warfare (ASW)? Sure - we have a scenario already built where you are given a SOSUS report on a Delta III SSBN - and you can go out and try to find it. You fly cargo planes - but always feel left out by the fighter jocks? Well, in NEUWUC, systems break down and critical parts are needed in the fleet all the time. Until that part gets to the ship, their (for instance) radar is down. You like to drive ships but don't have FSX? The Captain! program is for you. It has everything you need - except the view out the window. You are totally immersed in a Combat Information Center (CIC) like environment which controls all sensors and weapons, and when things get busy, they really get busy. You like to fly F/A-18's or F-14s? You'll have all the weapons they carry - just don't get too cocky - those SA-6 missile batteries and Kirov battlecruisers shoot back. If you do - you'll suddenly find yourself a high speed lawn dart.
Let me warn you though, NEUWUC is not for the faint of heart. While installation of the basic system is not hard, there is a lot of minor to-dos and lots of downloading (of additional ships, plains,trains, and tanks, etc). It is definitely not a one-click install. We do have various manuals and a rather good one for the Underway! gauges and combat loadouts for aircraft. And we have several folks that know the system well to help you out.
And the best part? NEUWUC is free! As long as the hosting service (and now an unabashed plug - http://UCClouds.com) continues to host us for free it will remain free for all. If you are a developer of gauges - Feel free to modify the graphics of my rather ugly gauges. Want to create some gauge which I have not? Feel free to contact me regarding what data is available and I'll either let you know or we'll figure a way to create it. We need ships of all types - many are already in the database, but we don't have any FSX models of them. I am looking specifically for developing our next battle scenario. (I'm thinking Cuba decides to invade a nearby country). We need both ship and aircraft drivers. Many things can be scripted in NEUWUC, but the best simulation is when humans play all the parts.
Vist http://navalengagement.net. Send me an email at neatmcleanresearch.com and tell me:
1: Your first and last name
2: a username
3: a password
4. An initial platform(s) you want to own.
I will then send your user id and create a shiny new platform for you and let you know it's side number (id).
Sign on to http://fsx-miramar.webs.com where you will have access to all the latest downloads. Also on their FTP server is a video we took of AMW-01 - a morning assault on Camp Pendelton, CA, after a large armored force of Mexican rebels attacked and overran the base. If you want to test your internet and computer speed this scenario will really tax it. Over 120 objects comprise the scenario - from tanks, missile batteries, BMPs, LVTs, LSTs, LPDs, CGs, DDs, - even the good 'ol USS Iowa (BB-62) is featured shelling the beach with her 16' rounds. This scenario was a test of all the capabilities of NEUWUC and is more of a demonstration but you can still have fun taking on the enemy forces. (if you have a U-Tube account you could post it for us - it's 86M though).
We also have a hot range at Fallon where there are several missile batteries ready to shoot you down. I suggest taking an EA-6B or similar jammer with you. You like playing the Russians, Cubans, North Koreans? Yep, you sure can. And if we don't already have your platforms built we can do so. My ultimate goal? I want to see the Soviet VS American battle groups duke it out as I was trained in the 1980s for. 24 ships, Backfire Bombers, Bear-Ds, Fulcrums, Floggers, F-14s, A-6s, SH-2s, etc going at it with everything they can throw at each other. What fun it would be to get 50 people involved in a scenario. If this appeals to you do sign up!
Hope to see you on the high seas!