TacOps is a computer simulation of contemporary and near-future tactical ground combat between United States, Canadian, New Zealand/Australian and German forces versus notional opposing forces. Civilian elements and paramilitary forces are also included.

Most of the vehicles, unit organizations, and weapons utilized in today's world are present in the game. Some weapons and capabilities that are likely to be available over the next ten years are included as options, as well as some older organizations and weapons. The movement and interaction of infantry and armor units is treated with great detail. Supporting air and artillery activities are treated more conceptually.

TacOps supports multiplayer team play, by allowing up to 19 players or spectators (on up to 8 teams) and an umpire to connect and fight the same battle online via Internet or LAN (TCP/IP).

The primary simulation focus of TacOps 4 is ground operations from the perspective of the battalion or regimental commander. You are a commander, not a gunner. Your control of weapons fire is limited to positioning your units with movement and disposition orders, setting minimum or maximum engagement ranges, and designating priority targets during the orders phase of a 60 second game turn. During the combat phase, your units will automatically choose their actual targets.

TacOps is played in turns. Each turn consists of two phases: an orders phase and a combat phase. Each phase occurs simultaneously for all players. During the combat phase the units of all forces, under computer control, simultaneously carry out their orders for movement and combat in four, fifteen second pulses. You only observe during the combat phase; you can not give or change orders until the next orders phase. In addition, "fog of war" is simulated by showing enemy units (and friendly units from another team) only if they are in the line of sight and visual range of one of your team’s units. You may also choose to see all units at all times.

TacOps is not physically copy protected. There is no Internet activation, no disk protection, no serial number, no password, no network checks - nada, zip, nothing.  Also, there is no Internet registration BS at the end of the install.  However, there may or may not be an associated anti-theft curse as I don’t know how long my donation to that Shaman was good for.

External Links:

TacOps Information at Battlefront.com

TacOps forum at Battlefront.com

Purchase TacOps at Battlefront.com $25 by digital download or by mail for a bit more.

Under ConstructionX. This site is maintained by the TacOps developer to reassure the IRS and a small niche of wargamers that a faint heartbeat remains, despite a four year coding hiatus brought on by a late in life discovery of the pleasures to be found in aggressive relaxation, kayaking, and sailing.  TacOps v4 is still available from Battlefront.com and it still works on Windows PCs.  Sadly, the code priesthood at Apple Inc. has been victorious in killing the Macintosh version after their prolonged schizophrenic campaign to make the Mac API as complicated and murky as possible.