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The game developer gives special thanks to:
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The U.S. Army
The Army National Guard
Ft. Benning, GA
Ft. Bliss, TX |
Ft. Lewis, WA
General Dynamics Land Systems
SIMNET |
From Chapter 1 introduction in instruction manual:
While Tunisia is unknown to most Americans, Tunisia is familiar
with major land battles. Over fifty years ago, this dry, inhospitable
terrain was the site of some of the largest tank battles of World
War II as English forces under Montgomery battled German forces
under the command of the great Desert Fox, Field Marshal Rommel.
The battles in Spearhead take place on seven large maps. Each
map is 16 x 24 kilometers and will take thirty to forty-five
minutes to traverse at full speed. These maps represent a logical
progression moving south by southeast, pushing the enemy forces
back to the Libyan border. All of the maps were created from
satellite imagery of Tunisia. These maps may also be used in
the Mission Editor (ME) to create your own missions. For more
information about the Mission Editor, consult the msnedit.PDF
file on the Spearhead CD. Each map is unique and offers distinct
tactical advantages. Some maps contain terrain features that
are too steep for your tank to ascend, while some contain impassable
water in the form of rivers, lakes, and ocean shorelines. All
maps contain at least two roads-many contain five roads-and two
contain railroad tracks.
The physics model programmed into Spearhead takes into account
the terrain type. The softer soil types are at the lower elevations
and will slow down all vehicles. The higher elevations contain
harder soil types, which will result in faster speeds. However,
these higher elevations also tend to include steeper inclines,
which will also slow down all vehicles. All vehicles will travel
faster on roads, although the type of road affects speed and
fuel consumption. Four-lane roads are the fastest, followed by
two-lane roads, then dirt roads.
Designer notes in the manual:
The M1A2 is the most lethal armored vehicle ever created. This
72-ton beast can hit and destroy enemy tanks on the move from
well over three thousand meters (two miles) away with a single
shot. During Desert Storm, not a single M1A1 (the earlier model
of the M1A2) was destroyed; the few enemy shells that hit the
M1A1 bounced off. While Spearhead was designed as a simulation,
it is also intended to be a game. Obviously, such a one-sided
match-up would not be enjoyable. Also, while the current round
of PC hardware can draw an amazing number of polygons, it cannot
yet handle the number required to draw sufficiently detailed
terrain for engaging enemies three miles away. As a result, we
pulled in the clipping plane on our terrain to sixteen hundred
meters (one mile), which ensures that you will see the enemies
who are firing at you (provided you are paying attention), and
makes the terrain more organic, giving you and the enemy more
cover. We also modified the enemy vehicles' lethality and armament
to give the enemies a better chance and you a more enjoyable
game.
The manual's introduction to fictional story line:
Several divisions of Abrams M1A2 tanks, Bradley M3's, and support
vehicles are deploying in Operation Removal. Units from the American
3rd Armored Division are moving out of the city this morning
in an apparent sweep south and to the east. Joint Libyan/Tunisian
armored columns launched a massive attack last Wednesday, moving
north through Tunisia. The attack was made after Libya's dictator
accused the president of Tunisia of plotting to assassinate him.
The Tunisian-banned underground Islamic fundamentalist party,
Al- Nahda (the rebirth), has joined forces with the Libyans.
Several divisions of the Tunisian Army, apparently sympathetic
to the Al-Nahda cause, have joined with the Libyan forces, while
the majority of the Tunisian army continues to fight against
the invasion.
Until this invasion, it had not been believed that Al-Nahda
had infiltrated the Tunisian armed services. Al-Nahda gained
more influence in the region when it began to harbor fundamentalist
fugitives, beginning in November of 1996 with a Palestinian convicted
in the 1982 Pan-Am bombing. American units have yet to engage
the joint Libyan/Tunisian forces, but that is almost certain
to occur within the next twenty-four hours as the president has
publicly declared all diplomatic efforts exhausted. Congressional
opinion appears to be split along party lines. The outcome of
the impending conflict is far from certain.
The United States fears that the loss of Tunisia could throw
the surrounding countries -- which include the already unstable
Algeria -- into disarray. This instability could then spread
to the ever volatile, petroleum-rich Middle East. The former
Soviet Union, still desperate for hard currency, has continued
to sell off its arsenal of weapons, giving the Tunisians and
Libyans better weapons than those used by Iraq during Desert
Storm. The quick response required and the lack of a solid political
coalition has forced the United States to act alone.
Unlike the Desert Storm conflict with Iraq, American units
have had little time to prepare, and the Libyans appear to be
making none of the costly tactical errors made by the Iraqis.
Army sources in Tunisia are privately concerned that the Libyan
momentum may be difficult to overcome, and rumors of more sophisticated
thermal viewers and munitions in the Soviet-built T-72s being
used by the Libyans may result in significantly higher U.S. casualties
than Desert Storm. Unless the Americans deployed here can stop
the Libyan tanks, military experts agree that the capital may
fall in as little as four days. Military consultants believe
that the current U.S. Armed Forces' deployment strategy indicates
an attempt to sweep south by southeast to prevent the Libyan/Tunisian
forces from reaching the eastern coast and to force them back
into Libya.
The high level of the overall complexity of the "Spearhead"
game is evidenced by the instruction manual's index, shown
below:
INDEX
Numerics
.50-caliber gun 30, 57
12.7 mm gun 57, 62, 65, 66
120 mm gun 26, 33, 49, 51, 54
122 mm howitzer 60
125 mm gun 54
14.5 mm gun 62
203 mm howitzer 60
227 mm rocket pod 58
25 mm Bushmaster gun 55
2S1 60
30 mm gun 63, 65
7.62 mm gun 26, 33, 62
70 mm gun 66
A
A-10 Thunderbolt 46, 63
Abrams M1A1 2, 37
Abrams M1A2
details 54
guise for 18
lethality 2
Afghanistan 63, 65
AH-64A Apache helicopter 65
air cav 46
Algeria 3
ambulance 53
Apache helicopter 65
armored recovery vehicle 57
artillery 45
ARV 57
ATGM 62
Audio Options screen 15
audio settings, adjusting 14
B
battle maps 511
see also map
Bell helicopter 66
BM21-MLR 58
BMP tank 55
Bradley M2A2 tank 38, 50, 55
BRDM-2 62
C
campaign 16
changing
audio settings 14
video settings 14
chase view 28
chat
finding chat rooms 19
finding players 19
local/global mode 19
options 18
secured and unsecured 30, 43
send/whisper 18
Chat screen 30
CITV
commands 32
display 37
view 26, 27
combat components 39
Commander's Independent
Thermal Viewer
see CITV
commands
CITV 32
customizing 69
driver 35
frequently used 24
gunner 34
IVIS 31
joystick 31, 34, 35
keyboard 31, 34, 35
commo
see chat
Commo screen 43
communication
see chat
configuring game play 13
configuring the keyboard
or joystick 69
connection mode
dial-up modem 16
Internet 18
null/modem 16
TCP/IP LAN 16
Connection Pref's screen 17
Control Config utility 23, 69
controls
crew position 30
cupola 30
driver position 34
external view 35
tank commander 30
coordinates 40
crew position controls 30
cupola
controls 30
view 26, 30
customizing commands 23, 69
D
Desert Storm 2, 37, 61
designer notes 2
dial-up modem connection 16
DID 30, 31, 34, 38, 48
display types
CITV 32, 37
DID 30, 31, 34, 38, 48
IVIS 28, 29, 31
driver
commands 35
position controls 34
view 26, 28
Driver's Inegrated Display
see DID
E
external
tank viewpoints 28
view controls 35
F
F117 46, 64
FFAR 70 mm gun 66
finding
chat rooms 19
players 19
five-ton truck 53, 56
Frogfoot Su-25 63, 64
G
game fiction 1
Game Options screen 14
game types 16
getting started 16
global chat mode 19
Global Positioning System 38
glossary 75
guise 18, 53
gunner commands 34
gunner view 26, 27, 33
gunner's primary sight 33
H
HEAT shell 33, 49, 60, 73
Hellfire missle 65, 66
HEMTT 56
Hercules M88A2 57
HHB machine gun
see .50-caliber gun
Hind F Mi-24 helicopter 65
HMMV 59
Host screen 20
hosting a game 20
howitzer 45, 60
Hughes AH-64A:
Apache helicopter 65
hull down position 31
hull view 28
Hummer 59
I
internal tank viewpoints 26
Internet connection 18
Iran-Iraq War 61
IVIS
display 28, 29
IVIS display
command overview 40
commands 31
hints on using 50
overview 37
screens
Commo 43
DID 48
Label 42
Map Tools 40
Mision Planning 44
Video Options 47
user's guide 3751 |
J
Jeep 59
joining a game 21
joystick
commands 24, 31, 34, 35
configuring 69
support 23
K
keyboard
commands 24, 25, 31, 34, 35
configuring 69
layout 25
Kiowa OH-58D helicopter 38, 66
Kitolov-2 60
Kuwait 61
L
Label screen 42
LAN connection 16
layout, keyboard 25
Libya 3
local chat mode 19
M
M110 60
M113 62
M1A1
see Abrams M1A1
M1A2
see Abrams M1A2
M270 MLRS 58
M2A2
see Bradley M2A2 tank
M88 repair vehicle 46, 59
M88A2 Hercules 57
M998 HEMTT 56
Main Menu screen 13
map
Carthage 5
El Hani 6
Gafsa 7
Lacroix 8
Mareth 9
Mateur 10
Sidi Ahmed 11
Map Tools screen 40
MAZ-543 61
Mi-24 Hind F helicopter 65
minefield 67
mission briefing 21
Mission Editor 4, 16, 20
mission maps 511
see also map
Mission Planning screen 44
modem
connection 16
null/modem connection 16
modified Bell helicopter 66
multiplayer game
chatting 18
connecting 16
hints 51
hosting a game 20
joining a game 21
starting 16
using the IVIS 39
Multiplayer Menu screen 17
N
night vision 26, 30, 31
null/modem connection 16
O
OH-58D Kiowa helicopter 38, 66
Oshkosh HEMTT 56
P
password 20
Patriot missle 61
pickup truck 59
Position/Navigation Sensor Unit
(POS/NAV) 38
R
R-17 61
Radio Interface Unit 39
Red Crescent ambulance 53
repair and resupply 39
resolution, adjusting 14
RIU 39
road types 35
S
SABOT shell 33, 49, 73
scout 50
screens
Audio Options 15
Chat 30
Commo 43
Connection Preferences 17
DID 48
Game Options 14
Host 20
Label 42
Main Menu 13
Map Tools 40
Mission Planning 44
Multiplayer Menu 17
Video Options 14, 15, 47
Scud missle 61
sending a chat message 18
settings, changing 13
SIMNET 16, 18, 53
single-player
game 16
soil types 35
Spandel AT-5 missle 62
Spearhead
designer notes 2
game types 16
keyboard commands 25
starting a game 16
terrain 3
starting a game 16
Stinger missle 65, 66
Su-25 Frogfoot 63, 64
T
T54 ARV 57
T-72 tank
details 54
guise for 18
tactics 31, 33, 34, 50
tank commander controls 30
TCP/IP LAN connection 16
terrain 3
thermal viewer 26, 27, 31, 33, 51
Thunderbolt
see A-10 Thunderbolt
TOW missle 59, 66
Tunisia
location 3
maps of 511
political situation in 3
terrain 3
turret view 28, 29
V
vehicle types 5367
Video Options screen 14, 15, 47
video settings, adjusting 14
viewpoint
chase, turret, or hull 28
CITV 26
cupola 26, 30
driver 26, 28
gunner 26, 27, 33
inside tank 26
outside tank 28
turret 29
voice-overs 73
volume, changing 14
W
Warthog
see A-10 Thunderbolt
whispering a chat message 18
Y
Yom Kippur War 62
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