Vietnam Community Project Idea: Gulf of Tonkin Incident - Redux

[+swambast 612]

August 2, 1964…Beneath the intense Southeast Asian Summer sun, the warm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin shimmered in a deceptive calm, unaware of the turbulence that was to come.  

Aboard the USS Maddox DD-731, a steadfast Sumner-class destroyer, the crew remained on high alert during the first leg of a covert mission under Operation Desoto Patrol.  Its objective was to deploy signal intelligence equipment to stealthily gather intelligence on North Vietnamese military activity. At 3:00 PM, the silence was abruptly broken and the mission in peril as radar screens came alive with hostile blips indicative of three rapidly approaching torpedo boats.  Suddenly, the Maddox found itself in a precarious fate, as enemy vessels closed in with torpedo pods glistening in the sun.

The Maddox responded by firing three distant warning shots overhead as the now identified P-4 torpedo boats broke within 10,000 yards.  The warning shots broke the stillness, yet the tide refused to turn and the P-4s commenced their attack runs instead.  Sensing an escalating threat, the Maddox radioed a desperate call for support, connecting with the USS Ticonderoga.  The comm channels of the USS Ticonderoga, an Essex-class aircraft carrier denoted CVA-14, crackled with life.

USS Maddox (DD-731):  "Maddox to Ticonderoga, Maddox to Ticonderoga, over."

USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14):  "Ticonderoga receiving, go ahead Maddox, over."

USS Maddox:  "We are under threat by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats.  Radar contact, visual identity confirmed.  Range 1-0 thousand yards and closing fast.  I repeat, imminent danger.  Request immediate air support, over."

USS Ticonderoga:  "Roger, Maddox.  Threat response protocol initiated.  Scrambling fighters now. ETA ten mikes. Hold your position Maddox, over."

USS Maddox:  "Copy that, Ticonderoga. Tracking and engaging enemy with 5-inch guns. Possible enemy torpedoes in the water. Awaiting immediate air support, Maddox out."

Suddenly, the USS Ticonderoga erupted in motion – colorful human support warriors sprinkled in random directions across the aircraft carrier deck, wide-eyed pilots scrambled up ready ladders with something to prove, and the roar of F-8 Crusader Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet engines shot thunder in the sky.  The F-8 Crusaders streaked off the carrier deck, hitting full afterburner seconds later leaving whirlwind shockwaves in their wake as they hurled towards the Maddox at supersonic speed.  Meanwhile, the Maddox swung its bow in violent fashion over the waters, initiating full evasive maneuvers and jockeying into attack position, while her 5-inch deck guns blasted fire overhead and her crew eyed the deep for enemy torpedoes questioning if they were real or illusions.

A heat blur on the horizon and perfect timing denoted the arrival of the F-8 Crusaders.  Suddenly, the Heavens parted overhead, and birds of prey swooped down with lethal precision as 20mm cannon shells ignited the air.  A symphony of 5-inch shells from the Maddox, 12.7mm enemy P-4 machine gun fire and 20mm cannons swirled in the afternoon skies looking to inflict punishment.  But it was the 20mm Crusader firepower, with its angry and hungry strafing patterns, that took a bite out of the P-4 steel hulls, reverberating sounds of splintering steel and orders for immediate retreat.  The combined fire from the Maddox and the F-8s proved too much, two of the P-4s hobbled along with damaged frames and egos.  The third P-4 encircled the limping vessels, swiftly moving into lead position and escorting a full-speed retreat. 

August 2, 1964…And beneath the intense Southeast Asian Summer sun, the warm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin longed again for calm waters, but instead would remained parted by ships of war and churning foam for another nine years until the signing of the peace agreement…and only then this shallow body of the Pacific Ocean could begin to truly shimmer and shine once again. 

[+swambast 612]

A return to where it all began…

For what began as a routine patrol in international waters escalated into a high-stakes skirmish that would forever change the fate of so many.  The events of that day paved the way for the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, especially thrusting the United States deeper into the “Vietnam War.”  In the space of just moments, a conflict that would claim millions of lives and divide nations and citizens throughout the years was set in motion by the exchange of fire between a single destroyer and three enemy boats in the remote Gulf of Tonkin…

The historical impact of this event is obviously evident.  There have been previous efforts to re-create this scenario, but I always felt like shortcuts were taken or a “close enough” attitude prevailed.  Therefore, for years I’ve had this idea parked on my wish list, of one day re-creating this scenario with greater authenticity and immersion.  In keeping with the spirit of openness and transparency as shared previously (see my  Vietnam-Era Lovers: Vision for Unification post) I’d like to propose an open-ended community redux project.  One in which those that are interested in supporting the project can find a role, previous team issues set aside and a steady focus on enhanced quality standards, high-fidelity 3d models, high-res terrain tiles and more.  I thought this scenario would be a perfect option, especially since some of our most talented modders are buried in real-life demands, and this re-creation is actually very limited in scope.  At its core, we would really only require the following:

• USS Maddox (DD-731) Sumner-class destroyer
• USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) Essex-class Aircraft Carrier
• F-8 Crusader – U.S. Navy fighter jets from the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) carrier group.
• North Vietnamese P-4 Torpedo Boat

 

What do you guys think?  Let me know your thoughts, availability and general interest and any other comments you’d like to share.  Thanks for the opportunity to put this out there.  Feel free to publicly post here or send me a PM, whatever works best for you.  

Edited October 11, 2024 by swambast

[+EricJ 4,409]

Sounds interesting, I just hope it comes out due to the effort of the people making this.

[+Gepard 12,603]

This is one of my first terrains, made for SFP1 and it could be a starting point for "Gulf of Tonking incident Redux"

It covers the Gulf of Tonking

Heightfield

Tiles and target areas

It would need an updated tileset, some changes to make it fit to SF2 world, including carrier stations and a reworked target.ini, which should focus on coastal objects

 

Edited October 11, 2024 by Gepard

[+swambast 612]

Gepard, that is absolutely the foundation to a great start - an enhanced terrain region that completely covers the "incident" - WOW!  

Count me in, happy to support however I can although I'm far from a terrain wizard, but could certainly help with _target.ini dance and coastal objects for sure including some of the 3d models required for coastal areas.  I supposed more research would be in order to determine what other objects would be needed, but logic might suggest shipping yards, ship docks, any coastal defense areas, etc.

[+Shootingstar2 28]

[+streakeagle 891]

I flew that terrain so many times before the release of Wings Over Vietnam. I think some of the historical missions I created for it are still out there on the internet at Avsim and CombatAce.

[+swambast 612]

Hi, I'm looking at what options might exist for the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) Essex-class Aircraft Carrier?  I know YAP had a "stand in" but I'd like to give it proper justice.  I reached out to @guuruu as he's damn good with these (and nearly everything else LOL) but didn't hear back so assume he's just busy or not interested.  Anyway, appreciate any feedback/comments on this, thanks!  

[+swambast 612]

Side note and SitRep:  absolutely limited support and interest but extremely grateful to the few who answered the call!  

• USS Maddox (DD-731) Sumner-class destroyer:  In-Development:  early scratch/base model with most basic mesh now created (e.g., hull, guns, etc.) 
• USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) Essex-class Aircraft Carrier:  No options yet
• F-8 Crusader – U.S. Navy fighter jets from the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) carrier group:  Under Development and heaviest focus right now 
• North Vietnamese P-4 Torpedo Boat:  Under Development and nearing completion

 

[+swambast 612]

Thanks for your message, I'll just answer here so all are in the loop....yes, as mentioned I plan to include a completely new USS Maddox.  I'm not really a ship builder, but will try my best!

Here is just first rough cut of mesh, hull, etc. - still long way to go.

 

[+Gepard 12,603]

I started a small update of the DRV terrain to bring it on SF2 standard and give it a better tileset.

WIP Screenshot shows old and new tiles. The new tiles i have taken from Rio de la Plata terrain. They are basing on Green hell tileset.

[+Gepard 12,603]

SitRep: Most of the tiles are now on the new standard. Still to do are the coastal tiles and the city river tiles.

I hope i can do this tomorrow. The problem of my very first terrains are "potholes" in the landscape. To cure this will need some time. But i hope i can release a first Beta version of DRV 2.0 terrain on sunday.

[+swambast 612]

Gepard, wow this is a wonderful surprise indeed, thanks so much!  

[+Gepard 12,603]

Coastal tiles are done. Still to do are river in city tiles and railways i farmland tiles.

WIP screenshot shows the coastline and sea tiles. If you look to the river you see one of the old river in city tiles.

[+Gepard 12,603]

Coastal tiles are done. Still to do are river in city tiles and railways i farmland tiles.

WIP screenshot shows the coastline and sea tiles. If you look to the river you see one of the old river in city tiles.

[+guuruu 6,021]

On 29.06.2025 at 4:08 PM, swambast said:

USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) Essex-class Aircraft Carrier:  No options yet

I'm looking for good plans of Vietnam era Essex-es ;-) Yes, I want to do this ship too.

Just have lot of work last time in RL, thats why I'm inactive ;-) .

[+guuruu 6,021]

On 29.06.2025 at 5:30 PM, swambast said:

as mentioned I plan to include a completely new USS Maddox.

I've Sumner class. Downloaded it long time ago and can't remeber from where ;-).

I can give you this model to make it game ready. It's in Blender format, but I think , I can export it to FBX or collada if you want ..

[+swambast 612]

Hi @guuruu - thanks for jumping in here, really appreciate it. I know some of our most talented modders including you are absolutely swamped with real life priorities right now...!
For the Sumner, I think I might have a similar reference model you're showing, but the mesh was a absolute mess with double-sided faces, needed to re-do the texture maps, etc.  But anyway, I've started a scratch build and think will push forward with it, but maybe you might have a different version from what I'm thinking of.  I'll PM you my contact details, and appreciate the offer very much.  

For the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) Essex-class Aircraft Carrier I took it out for bid but the pricing was too high for me to personally cover, >$400 on average.  However, I've worked with one of these particular artists and their work/optimized models are absolutely among the best I've ever seen, so it does bum me out.  Even though I have access to many of the YAP carriers, etc. with all due respect I'm not a fan of those as the polycount/texture is sky high and it's like a slide show performance wise - so any other options/considerations are always welcomed. 

Thanks, all the best for now!

   

 

[+Gepard 12,603]

So DRV 2.0 looks at the moment:

Carrier ops are possible now. The target areas need a completly rework. This terrain is 20 years old now. It is still a lot to do, to bring it to a up to date standard. But i think tomorrow i will release a Beta version. Hopefully CA site is not to slow. If so i will try it on monday again.

[Wrench 10,314]

Gepard, if i may make a suggestion ... there are lot of "tropical" looking items in the Object Library 1 in the downloads section. Since it was designed for WW2 in the Pacific, a lot of those items are easily translated over the SEA. I also have a bunch of the smaller buildings (mostly barracks and warehouse types) retextured. 

Just a thought for when you get down in the dirt building the things!

 

[Wrench 10,314]

just for grins and giggles ...

I found 2 air bases rebuilds in the 1stGen downloads. Just for my own satisfaction to see what's what, I put the Ubon into my VNSEA test terrain (ie: not modded).  Took a bit to find all the bits, and figure out the "add to types ini" text was misnumbered -- we all know what frustration THAT causes!!! --  finally got the image below (as viewed in TAE)

I can see that right off, it's missing a butt load of roads interconnecting the various sections of the base. But I think that can be fixed with either the "rollwegs" used as roads, or there are 3 different roads available in one the of the "Airfield Dev Kits". (100, 200, 300m in lenght). They are, unfortunagely, only straight in direction. Those can be renamed, hex edited and retextured pretty easily.

There's also an NKP, but I'll look at that one later.

Adding them to DRV should be just a simple matter of copy/paste the billion and a half parts, and replacing the VNSEA coordinates with those from DRV.

[Wrench 10,314]

More work done, and Ubon is 98.6% finished. I just 'test flew' a mission, and I don't think the parking slots are listed or fully correct, as nobody showed up. Here's some images, one from the TAE, and 2 from in-game. (yes I added a couple of parked helos from my seemingly never-ending supply)

Moving on to Naked Phanny next

[+Gepard 12,603]

Great addon. I will include it in an updated version of DRV 2.0

 

I have uploaded DRV 2.0 just now.

It is a beginning. Further rework of the target areas is neccessary. I will do it in the next time. Give me 2 weeks.

Edited July 8 by Gepard

[+EricJ 4,409]

Would it be possible to use this map for modern installs? or is it locked by year?

[Wrench 10,314]

Haven't downloaded it yet, but it should be easy to adjust the year spread in the DRV.ini. If it has this statement (taken from VietnamSEA.ini)

[AllowedDates]
StartDate=8/2/1964
EndDate=4/30/1975

 

just simply change the end year

 

===

I added the perimeter roads to Ubon, and now working on Nakon Phanom. Should have it, with luck, but the end of the week