WAYPOINT ORDERS

A Waypoint (WP) is simply a map grid position defined by its X and Y co-ordinates. Using Waypoint orders allows you to pre-program the actions of each platoon and by stringing together multiple waypoints, you can dictate their movement in a controlled and co-ordinated way.....within reason. The following section covers all Waypoint orders that can be applied to GROUND platoons. Helo platoons use slightly different set of instructions. You may notice that many Helo WP orders found there way into ground platoons in the Gunship campaign missions, but although some cross over is permissible, I would suggest keeping them apart, at least for the time being.

The syntax shown is important and all Spaces, Underlines and Colons must be preserved.

A printable quick reference sheet, showing the structure and commands can be found in the GS Mission Building pdf file. This can be downloaded HERE.

Each set of unit commands must begin with a platoon 'header line', which identifies its type and orientation, its initial 'spawning' parameters and its 1st Waypoint.

The word PLATOON: is followed by the platoon number (1 identifies this as an M1A2 platoon). The next two numbers are the X (east/west) and Y (north/south), giving the initial start or spawning position.

The next number is the unit's initial heading and is a compass direction (0-360). This gives the direction of facing before any movement takes place. Due to an anomaly in GS, all 'active' platoons will always spawn in a reversed vehicle order, causing them to immediately swap places. I suggest deploying active platoons in reverse to avoid this excessive movement. See the Vehicles and Platoons section for further details. Truly 'static' platoons, (platoons that cannot move, like SA-3s and tents) use a reversed compass heading and must therefore be deployed accordingly. For example: if you want SA-3s to point North, they must face 0 and not 180. (This also applies to Helos)

This probably has something to do with Gunship's relation to its M1TP roots. There, the compass headings are reversed, with 0 being North. I suspect that in GS, all vehicles still use the M1TP compass, but vehicle icons and movement are actually backwards.

The illustration to the left shows the compass and note that North always points towards the top of the map.

Although only eight points are shown, all intermediate settings are valid. These headings are used throughout Gunship to determine the direction of facing of individual platoons and the orientation of engagement lines.

The next number is a single digit (0 - 9) and gives the platoon's initial formation. Note that, unless further formation orders are given, the platoon will immediately abandon this formation and resort to a Line. The formations available  are as follows:-

The next two numbers are the X and Y co-ordinates of the 1^st Waypoint. If the start position and 1^st Waypoint co-ordinates are both the same, then the platoon will stay in place.

After the 1^st Waypoint comes a single digit (0-3) which defines the platoon's skill or experience level. These are  0 = Poor,  1 = Average,  2 = Veteran,  3 = Elite.

The final number is the unit's callsign, which in this case is LION. Note that only the first two digits are actually required, although using additional digits can help you to keep track of units when reading the text file. The usable callsigns are listed below.

Although I don't recommend this, in practice all units can be given the same two digit callsign. In the GS campaign missions, Microprose often applied the same callsign to an entire side. This was probably due to a lack of final editing, as the norm seems to have been a single callsign with two additional and consecutively numbered digits. For instance; 19 for all Red units (19 = BEAR and seems to have been a favourite), with each unit then numbered consecutively 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 and so on. Correct unit callsigns are required if Objectives are use which specify particular platoons. See Objectives section.

After the platoon header, the first 2 lines in a Waypoint order should be as follows..

ORDER_MODE_WAYPT:

ORDER_WPT_CURRENT: 1

These lines define the platoon as one under WP control and activate the first WP. These lines are often omitted if the first WP (the one within the header) is the only one to be used. If they are omitted, the unit will not proceed beyond the orders in its header. Speed, Formation and Engagement options can be used, but all other Waypoints will be ignored. It is possible to leave out the WPT_CURRENT: 1 line without adverse effect, although I have occasionally seen a unit skip all its intermediate WPs and head straight for the final one. Best use both.

MOVEMENT COMMANDS

The command lines that follow control how the unit moves between the start position and the 1^st WP and to a limited extent, what it does when it gets there. Many of these are optional and the order in which they appear seems unimportant, providing that they occur before the next Waypoint command.

This line dictates the speed of travel to the WP and has some effect on both the acquisition of targets and the accuracy of fire.

ORDER_ADV_FAST: (or MED or SLOW)

Be aware that units travelling Fast will struggle if told to adopt a new formation, as individual vehicles cannot then increase their speed to take up their assigned position.

The initial formation in the header is applied to the platoon as it spawns in its start position. The 1st WP commands are then activated and if no formation command is given, the platoon will immediately reform into line before moving off. 'Line' is always the default formation in the absence or further commands. The  ORDER_FORM command is used to set the formation used by the platoon whilst travelling between WPs and using the same formation in both the header and the ORDER_FORM command is good practice.

ORDER_FORM_LINE: (or COLUMN, STAGCOLUMN, WEDGE, EXTLINE, VEE, DIAMOND, ECHELONLEFT, ECHELONRIGHT)

Upon arrival at the WP, this formation is retained, only if further movement is to follow. On arrival at the final WP, the platoon will always reform into line. This is a movement command and you cannot use this command to order a platoon to adopt a formation, unless the platoon is to continue moving.

As platoons have a tendency to mill around at both the start position and upon reaching their WPs, changing formation for short hops may not have the desired effect. It often takes time for the vehicles to catch up and sort themselves out. Formation changes are much more readily achieved at slow or medium speed. Note that Echelon right, means right refused, ie the left hand vehicle leads.

This command will define the actions that the moving platoon will take if an enemy unit is located.

ORDER_TRVL_ENGAGE: (or ASSAULT or DIGIN or BYPASS)

If ordered to Engage the platoon will fire upon a located enemy, but will continue moving to its next WP. The Bypass command is similar, but the platoon will open fire only if fired upon. If ordered to Assault, then the platoon will abandon its movement orders and advance towards the enemy. The unit will retain its travel formation, so this is not always a wise choice when travelling in column. The unit will return to its previous orders only when the enemy unit is destroyed. If ordered to Digin, then the platoon will stop and take up positions facing the enemy, making use of cover as if halted. APCs will also dismount their infantry. Note that APC Infantry will sometimes dismount in the final stages of an Assault order. This behaviour varies and may depend upon the type of unit being assaulted.

This command adds a 2^nd Waypoint to the platoon intructions. A maximum of 6 Waypoints can be used, so this command can be used 5 times (as the 1^st Waypoint is already included in the platoon header).

ADDWAYPT: 21000 76000

Additional movement commands can then be added below this new Waypoint, which will then overwrite previous ones. If no new movement commands are used, then the proceeding ones will remain in effect. i.e. If you inserted ORDER_TRVL_ASSAULT after the 1st Waypoint and no other TRVL command is added for subsequent Waypoints, then this will dictate the platoons response throughout.

The SETDELAYTIME command instructs the platoon to wait at its previous WP for a specified number of seconds, before proceeding.

This one is very easy to mess up, as the command must come after the WP to be delayed and not immediately after the WP at which it waits. In the example below, the platoon waits at 21000 76000 for 60 seconds before moving to 22000 78000. The delayed WP must come before the delay command. Note that once a delay has been introduced, it will then remain in force for all subsequent Waypoints. Unless you want the platoon to repeat the delay at every Waypoint, you must cancel it by giving another SETDELAYTIME order for 0 (zero) seconds.

Example:

The following commands are less often encountered, but can be useful in the right circumstances.

This will instruct the platoon to generate smoke (providing the vehicle is so fitted) and it will continue to do so until the SMOKEOFF command is given or the generator expires. Like all commands, this is initiated upon arrival at a Waypoint, so if a smoke screen is required, you may have to re-set the Waypoints to suit the position of the screen.

This command can be useful. A unit with HOLDFIRE orders will not fire, even if fired upon. If used carefully the platoon can avoid attracting attention to itself by blasting away at long range targets. If in cover it may avoid location by the enemy until the range is more advantageous. It can also be used by certain units to conserve ammunition, by avoiding engagements at extreme ranges. However, if you get this one wrong, the platoon will be slaughtered. As with the smoke command, this one may require that Waypoints be structured accordingly.

ORDER_RETREAT:

This one exists in M1TP and 'sort of' works in GS. According to the M1TP Mission Editing Guide, "...unit will retreat after reaching this Waypoint." Repeated testing of this command suggests that its use in GS is very different. When this command is used, the unit spawns at its start position and begins moving backwards, towards the compass direction given in the header. So if you set the direction as 180, they will face North and retire South. Unfortunately, if you place this command anywhere in a units orders, the unit will  completely ignore all other Waypoints and retreat from its start position. It seems that once the order is given, it's permanent and all other movement orders are ignored. The unit retreats backwards in the formation fixed in the header, all the way off the map. While under a retreat order, speed is less than slow, but the unit will still engage located enemies. Other engagement options don't appear to work.

Some commands are still usable, but there effects can be unusual.  Smoke generators can be turned on, but the command must come before the retreat command. If you place it after, only the lead vehicle will deploy smoke. I expected the HALT command to stop the retreat, but as all other Waypoints are ignored, there is no actual way to trigger it. If you do include the Halt command anywhere in the orders, the platoon command vehicle stays in place, but the rest of the platoon retreats away from him. Apart from normal terrain adjustments, this is the only time I have seen a unit deliberately separate itself.

As stated above, I hoped that this command was used to stop units under retreat orders. Unfortunately it doesn't. I have never actually found a use for this command, as all units will halt upon reaching their final WP. They often overshoot a little before sorting themselves out, but including this command makes no difference.

Although a maximum of six are allowed, you will usually find that only a few Waypoints are required. They can be used for things other than movement and if you have them to spare, you can 'waste' Waypoints by duplicating them. This can produce some quite useful results.

Example 1:

PLATOON: 1 21000 75500 180 0 21000 75500 2 1401

ADDWAYPT: 21000 73500

ORDER_WPT_SETDELAYTIME: 300

If you make the start position and the 1^st WP the same, then the platoon remains stationary. If you follow this with an additional Waypoint and a setdelaytime order, the platoon will now wait in its start position for 5 minutes before moving off.

Example 2:

PLATOON: 1 21000 75500 180 0 21000 74000 2 1401

ADDWAYPT: 21000 74000

ORDER_WPT_SETDELAYTIME: 240

ORDER_ASMBLY_FIREPOS:

ORDER_ASMBLY_NW:

This uses two Waypoints with the same co-ordinates, but imposes a delay between the two. The platoon moves north and halts in a firing position facing north (its direction of travel). After waiting 4 minutes, it turns in place to face north west. Note that this will only work at the final Waypoint. Similar duplicated final Waypoint commands can be used to turn smoke on and off, or to change from fire to holdfire.

Example 3:

When a platoon arrives at its final Waypoint, it drops all of its movement commands and defaults to 'Engage'. If you like the idea of a unit sitting calmly in place, but charging at any enemy unit detected, then set an extra Waypoint with an impossibly long delay time. Because it's never actually reaches its last WP (unless the game lasts over an hour), the unit retains its previous TRVL orders.

For some very simple tasks, the platoon header is often used on its own. 'Static' platoons, such as Tents, cannot respond to movement orders, so the header can be used to fix their map position and the formation and direction of facing. In this case, the 1^st WP is always the same as its initial position.

PLATOON: 123 21000 62500 180 0 21000 62500 1 1401

This is a platoon of Tents, formed into column, facing south. Actually, putting them in Line facing east or west would give exactly the same result. This is the only permanent use for the formation and direction commands in the platoon header, as these are always discarded as soon as the platoon activates the 1^st WP command. As 'Static' platoons cannot physically move, they have to remain in their initial formation.

When this same header is applied to an 'Active' platoon, the results are somewhat different.

PLATOON: 1 21000 62500 180 0 21000 62500 1 1401

This platoon of M1A2 will also spawn as a column facing north, but will immediately reform into line. It will, in effect, remain stationary, but will abandon its initial formation as soon as it activates its 1^st WP order. As it has not actually 'moved', it will retain its northward facing.

Similar commands can also be given to 'Active' platoons, if only a single WP move is needed.

PLATOON: 1 23000 65000 180 0 23000 69700 2 1601

This platoon of M1A2s will spawn as a column facing north and immediately reform into line and begin moving towards the 1^st WP. In the absence of additional commands, the platoon will 'default' to line formation and medium speed. It will adopt the Engage option if any enemy is encountered. Below is the same (unnecessary) command set written in full.

PLATOON: 1 23000 65000 180 0 23000 69700 2 1601

ORDER_MODE_WAYPT:

ORDER_WPT_CURRENT:1

ORDER_FORM_LINE:

ORDER_TRVL_ENGAGE:

ORDER_ADV_MED:

Using single line 'default' orders can save you a lot of time when you need to add units quickly, providing you accept that their actions will be limited. Single lines are most often used for rear area stuff although you can also find them in the GS campaign missions used for front line static defenses.

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