Server Mechanics / How to Fight the War

## **Overview**

The goal of Rotorheads is simple, push the Reds back and expand our territory. This is done by:

* Destroying units and clearing areas
* Destroying factories that create the enemy units and send them out to areas
* Capturing destroyed factories, so that they cannot be repaired
* Build Blue factories and outposts to advance the blue front.
* Building units from crates, which can be picked up at a FARP
* Moving units to secure cleared areas, via the combined arms moving commands, or simply building them in place
* Building new Forward FARPS
* Resupplying FARPS via Hercules flights

**Spawn Points**

Player controlled helos spawn at FARPS

**FARPs** Alpha, Bravo and Charlie are always open to the public.

**Forward FARPS** built by players and can be used by anyone for re-arm, re-fuel and repair. However only Patreons can spawn at forward FARPS. As the front line progresses, these forward FARPS become Alpha, Bravo and Charlie.

**War Effort**

**Live map**

* Rotorheads has a live map available at Rotorheads.ddns.net. The map shows:
* Anti-Air threats that have been spotted by a blue unit (either AI or player)
* Other Red Ground units that have been spotted contribute to the red hazy blobs.
* Marks placed on the F10 map in-game'
* Mi28 enemy attack helos
* Enemy Fixed wing aircraft
* Player aircraft
* Crashed player pilots

Check the live map before you join, you can see the time of day, and by the position of the red blobs, crashed and live pilots and f10 marks, work out where the current front line is and which spawn FARP is closest to the action you want to join.

On the image right, probable REDFOR resupply routes are marked in green. These can be inferred from the multiple AA threat reports. The same unit will be reported multiple times as it moves, leaving a trail on the live map. The front is marked in blue, this can be inferred from the many crashed helicopters.

Remember that the live map roads and towns are taken from real life, not the mission map. So the roads do not exactly correspond to the F10 map roads

**SITREPS**

Join the discord and read up the latest in #Sitrep and #Sitrep-discussions. Here players tell each other what's going on, request help and suggest missions.

## Progressing the War

Although the mechanics are constantly changing the general system is that enemy units will occupy regions of the map in small groups. When you find and kill these groups, new units will be created at a nearby Factory and drive along the roads to replace the killed unit.

### **Factories**

Factories spawn units which then travel towards assigned locations. To stop this, you must first **destroy** and then **capture** the factory

Factory models only spawn if there is a friendly unit close to them. The exact distance is not known approx 5km? So you won't be able to spot them from far away.

Destroy the factory with Big Missiles or bombs. Rockets aren't enough. The factory is a standard DCS object though, so you can test the exact weapons in single player.

Once destroyed, red smoke will appear near the factory ruins. Periodically REDFOR Mi26 transport helicopters will spawn and fly towards the factory. If they reach the factory they will land and deploy troops. The factory will be repaired.

To capture the factory after destroying it, you must move at least two Blue ground units in close proximity ruins. On the next restart the factory will be registered as 'captured' and be removed from the map. (There is some discussion about the exact number and type of troops that are required and/or optimal for this task.)

#### **Enemy FARPS**

Red FARPS spawn mi26 and mi28s helos those FARPs can not be captured at this time but is planned for the future.

**Airfields**

OPFOR airfields can be captured by clearing the area of red units and occupying the airfield with blue ground units.

Enemy FARPS and Airfields will spawn Havok attack helos if BLUEFOR attack helos are spotted by either radar or enemy units. These helos will attack both BLUEFOR helos and ground units.

Enemy FARPS and Airfields will spawn fixed wing aircraft if BLUEFOR fixed wing are spotted. These will only attack BLUEFOR fixed wing aircraft.

## Blue Units

Units that are damaged but not destroyed will turn neutral (white) and can be repaired by dropping a Repair Crate in close proximity.

## General Strategy

Attack helos, move forward identifying and clearing enemy areas of occupation. If these can be cleared fast enough the resupply route (MSR) for replacement units can be identified and interrupted by killing the incoming units. A resupply route can't be stopped indefinitely by AH. Utility helos need to build a Road Block, consisting of a number of units, carefully placed such that the incoming replacement units are destroyed as they approach. As areas are cleared and secured with roadblocks the front will be pushed back to the factories that are producing units.

* Destroy the factory
* Capture the factory
* Place a roadblock in advance of the factory to secure the area
* Build forward FARPS in the new safe zone

## Factories and Outposts

There is now an automatic unit replacement mechanic for BLUEFOR. Blue Factories.

* A Blue Factory replaces Blue units that die within a 10km radius of its location.
* Blue Factories can only be built in the Blue Zone
* the Blue Zone is expanded by building Outposts
* Blue outposts are currently represented by water towers. Red Outposts are shown as a stack of 3 ship's containers

Blue factories require a minimum distance to each other blue factory of 10 km (5.4 NM).

Both factories and outposts can only be built within the blue zone. If you're outside the blue zone, you will have to extend it by placing outposts (which is their only purpose). Outposts extend the blue zone by another 5 km radius (2.7 NM)

There are also REDFOR outposts, which extend the REDFOR Area , These can be destroyed with a light attack from rockets or guns.

Destroying a Red outposts makes their radius of influence become contested. it will only be fully destroyed if there are more blue units than red units inside the circle when the (hidden) timer expires. if not it respawns.

### FARPS

The M978 tanker or fuel bowser (make sure its this one, available to patrons only) provides unlimited fuel and ammo to a FARP while the FARP fuel counter will be zero.

The FARP can be re-supplied with any type of crate. It just has to be in the FARP area and you can select the option to Return / Destroy Vehicle can be packed for transport and return to the FARP if other units are required.

C-130 Transport can deliver up to 15 crates at a time to the FARPs by loading 3 general supply crates from blue airfields.

### AIRPORTS

#### How to use Hercules Crates:

If you are a non patreon Hercules when landed or spawned at an airport you can open up the rearm/refuel panel and you can load generic crates and/or a Hemett TFFT however, it is not worth picking the Hemett TFFT as it adds nothing to a FARP. Patreon Hercules can pick the M978 Fuel Bowser which adds unlimited fuel to the FARP for Rotary wing only. It will not fuel the Harrier.  So non patreon Hercs just load general cargo for deliveries to FARP's. Ignore the HEMTT TFFT in the load out section. Once the ground crew rearm you should get a message in the top right saying you’ve loaded crates, if you don’t get the message move closer to the Center of the airbase and try again -A generic crate is equal to 5 crates when delivered to a FARP Then fly to the FARP. You have 2 options, first is to fly over and airdrop the crates making sure they are dropped within 1nm of the FARP tent and as they land they will automatically be added into the FARP crate or fuel supply (As long as they land successfully, if the ground is uneven or your approach is lame they might fail). Or the second option is to land and unload using the same airdrop command ( unload using the in aircraft commands as you would in single player ) when beside the FARP tent and it will also automatically add to the FARP supply as the crates leave the aircraft. This always works so no worries regarding approach etc.

### Logistic Centers

Building a FARP within 1nm of the airfield marker will turn it into a Logistic Center.

You need the equivalent of 3 large FARP crates. 2 small ones equal 1 large crate

Any FARP/LC construction has to be outside of 15 NM from any other FARP and at least 5 NM from any other LC

Construction of an LC has to take place within a 1 NM radius of the airport's reporting point. can read out the coordinate in the airfield's F10 map datablock when clicking on the airport's icon, and then create a marker on that position allowing you to use the ruler to see what's within a 1 NM radius

Another quicker method would be to create a marker anywhere on the map and enter the label text "-Farp?". This will highlight in blue the 15 NM radius zones around any FARP and 5 NM zones around the mentioned hidden airfield reporting points

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