Release notes for Map 502 (v. 5.1)

by Riki Tikki

Map 502 is based on a fictitious country in a tropical climate and was designed for use in amphibious landing operations, specifically for the custom scenario, Semper Fi.  It provides a number of different types of terrain and man-made facilities that might be encountered in such an operation.

Version 5.0 of this map is a new, improved, "deluxe" version of Map 502.  It provides a significantly longer coastline and is considerably larger in both height and depth than any previous version to permit more freedom of maneuver for both sides.

Version 5.1 corrects a number of small errors in Map 5.0.  Please use only version 5.1 and trash any version of 5.0 you might have.

Legend of terrain types:

Staging area -- this is the blue strip located along the western edge of the map.  It is meant to represent the flight decks and well decks of the various amphibious assault vessels which is just out of view from the coast (over the horizon).  It is coded as clear terrain to provide a setup area for helos and non-amphibious ground units.  A line of LOS blocks runs from north to south immediately east of the staging area.  This prevents a curious OPFOR player from using amphibious vehicles or helos to move west and observe the US forces.

Cliff -- Along the northern coast is a high bluff, or cliff, extending along the shoreline from the port to the mouth of the river (Rough 4).  A barrier reef (Rough 3) just north of the bluff will prevent any US landing craft from circling around the cliff and landing at the mouth of the river.

High ground, northeast -- The high ground just east of the cliff is a rocky surface (Rough 1) with LOS blocks here and there to represent large boulders obstructing one's view from time to time.

Jungle -- The wide swath of foliage to the north is an example of jungle terrain (Woods/Rough 2), with the dark green area representing high ground and the lighter green representing low ground.

Port -- The port town features a row of paved piers (Road) which can facilitate unloading of landing craft as well as provide an ad hoc helipad.

Marsh -- this is the light green terrain with light green grass south of the port.  There is another marshy area east of the river in the south.  All marshes are coded as a mosaic of Clear and Rough 1 terrain (about a 50/50 mix.)

Dirt trails -- all trails are coded as clear terrain, except in mountains where they are coded as Rough 1.  The code is fairly liberal in how it follows the trail, but to be safe you should try and match up your waypoints along the trail as closely as possible to avoid being stuck in Rough 3 terrain, however briefly.

Mangroves -- this is the maze of thick brush south of the base, and is coded as Woods/Rough 2.

Beaches -- This is the sandy-colored terrain (Clear) along the shoreline.  It is the same elevation as the dunes (green portion of land) just east of it.

Swamp -- East of the mangroves is a swamp, the majority of which is coded as Rough 1 but with a fair amount of Rough 2 and Water thrown in which could obviously hamper movement from non-amphibious units.  The clumps of tall swamp grass are coded with LOS blocks so that while it will not give very good protection against indirect fire it will at least provide decent cover.  Another swamp appears in the far southeast portion of the map which is actually more like a large pond.

Sugar cane fields -- South of the mangroves and just inland from the beaches is a field of sugar cane which is coded as Rough 1 but with the visibility of woods (LOS blocks throughout).  The crops thin out considerably as you move south and west, toward the coast.

Rivers -- The river near the coastline is generally 100 meters wide and is fordable at any point where there is a broken trail.  The river east of the mountains has no point that is truly fordable, but there are several places where the clear terrain on either side of the river almost touches.

High ground -- As you move east toward the moutains the elevation changes to high ground and becomes rockier in places (Rough 1) with random LOS blocks to represent various high, jagged boulders protruding from the ground.

Mountains -- The mountain terrain is the marbled, light brown pattern seen in the center of the map and also at the center of some of the long drumlins in the eastern portion of the map.  This terrain is coded as Rough 3, with many LOS blocks here and there to represent the even more jagged terrain obstructing one's line of sight in many places. Woods in mountains are coded as Rough 3.  Mountain trails are coded as Rough 1.

The Red setup zone at the far east side of map has a long LOS block prevent visibility into or out of the setup area.

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Any questions, comments or feedback about this map, please contact me at:

johnmck@idt.net

