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Doctrine Files
ScenariosOne of the most noticeable effects of installing the WDP files is that AI controlled units become much more aggressive. In the original game, enemy units were often content to remain passive until the player launched an attack. Attacks also tended to be somewhat tentative, as enemy units often launched only sufficient missiles to sink a ship, taking no account of the fact that many attacking missiles would be destroyed by the defending unit. This is no longer the case. Units in FC are "threat tagged", so that the more important or heavily defended a ship is, the more attacking missiles it will attract. For example, in the original game a Ticonderoga Class CG would attract up to 2 SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles from a Russian adversary, sufficient to sink the ship IF both got through the defences, which is very unlikely. After installation of WDP, the same ship attracts up to 8 missiles, making it far harder to defend your NATO forces against Russian attacks.
The scenario pack that can be downloaded from the WDP site includes single player scenarios from the WDP Team and scenarios sent in by other FC enthusiasts in addition to multiplayer scenarios. In this review, I have concentrated on the single player scenarios created by the WDP team.
Fig. 4. An A-10A in strike configurationThe original scenarios in FC are replaced by a new set in WDP. It is not possible to play any of the originals after you have installed the WDP doctrine and database files. This has two drawbacks. First, you will no longer have the tutorial missions to play. If you are a beginner to FC, you should play these before installing the WDP files. Second, and perhaps more significant, you cannot play the campaign after you install the WDP files. The WDP web site mentions several campaigns in development, but these are likely to take the form of thematically linked single scenarios rather than campaigns that replace the original.
The single scenarios are a mixture of modified and updated versions of the scenarios from FC and completely new scenarios. Generally the new scenarios are well designed and politically plausible (probably due to WDP having a Professor of Political Science on the scenario development team). The new scenarios make good use of the new navies and new units and the more realistic capabilities of weapons and sensors. The briefings are generally good, and explain the objectives succinctly. Tasking orders are often considerably more detailed than in the original.
In the original game, the player was almost always assigned the role of an American or NATO commander. The WDP scenarios are more varied in this respect, assigning the player to a number of countries (including some good scenarios that put the player in charge of the new Italian and Israeli navies). I must confess that I was a little disappointed that I wasn't given the opportunity to play as a Russian or WarPac commander for a change. I seem to have commanded American carriers, Ticonderogas, etc in so many games that I would relish the opportunity to try a Kirov, or an Udaloy. The WDP scenarios do give you the chance to play as a Russian submarine commander, but I would still have liked the chance to play a fleet-to-fleet encounter from the Russian side. I could always create my own missions I suppose, but it isn't the same, is it? It's like telling yourself a joke:- it isn't funny because you already know the punchline.
It should be noted that some of larger WDP scenarios can be difficult to play. Specifically, some of the largest scenarios made the game so jerky on the test system that it was no longer possible to accurately select units with the mouse. This wasn't a problem with the unmodified version of Fleet Command and is obviously a function of the WDP files. Personally, I didn't find this too much of a problem, as I find some of the bigger scenarios quickly descend into a clickfest both in this and in the original version, so I prefer the smaller engagements. However, this could be an issue if your system was marginal when playing the original Fleet Command.
Fig. 5. A B-1B returns after a strike missionGenerally, I thought that the WDP scenarios were superior to those in the original game, and that they showcased the new and improved features of WDP to advantage.
