Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

General questions and discussions on water warfare regarding tactics and strategies.
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Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

Post by DX » Wed Apr 23, 2008 12:28 am

The version below is OLD. See newest post in the topic for current information.



The Art of Water Warfare: The Tactical Theory v2.0

v2 of the Tactical Theory is coming! The following is a great undertaking that has involved years of thinking and observation. In fact, the Tactical Theory may end up being the most complete study of water warfare ever attempted. Instead of just a battle manual, this is a full-blown study of water warfare. The theory examines the causal factors of victory and defeat in the hope of explaining why one finds success or failure on the field of battle in a water fight.

Independent and Condition Variables - [tweaked ever so slightly from last post]

iV1 = Firepower
Ref = Weapons Database
cVs = Resources, Competition, Preferences, Practicality

iV2 = Manpower
cVs = Raw Skills, Refined Skills, Age, Maturity, Personality, Personal Progression Levels

iV3 = Team Power
Ref = Global Teams Database
cVs = Organization, Coordination, Logistics, Scale, Leadership

iV4 = Tactical Power
Ref = Tactics Database
cVs = Knowledge, Tactical Progression Levels

iV5 = Natural Power
cVs = Limits, Mechanics, Energy, Luck, Flow, Combat Progression Levels

Intervening Variables -

nV1 = Tech Power [Technical Theory]

iV1 = Tech Creation
Ref = Tech Database
cVs = Goals, Resources

iV2 = Tech Implementation
cVs = Effects upon: Firepower, Manpower, Team Power, Tactical Power, Natural Power, Creative Power

iV3 = Tech Limits
cVs = Effects from: Manpower, Tactical Power, Natural Power, Creative Power

nV2 = Creative Power [Innovation Theory]

iV1 = Incentive to Experiment
cVs = Competition, Progression, Preferences, Fun

iV2 = Experimental Process
Ref = Problem Solving Models for Water Warfare
cVs = Effects upon: Firepower, Manpower, Team Power, Tactical Power, Natural Power, Tech power

iV3 = Limits of Innovation
Ref = Successes/Failures Database
cVs = Adaptation, Practicality, Risk, Effects from: Firepower, Manpower, Team Power, Tactical Power, Natural Power, Tech power

Dependent Variables -

dV1 = Full Victory [Most Desirable Outcome, Rare]

dV2 = Partial Victory

dV3 = Split Victory/Defeat ["Draw", Complicated]

dV4 = Partial Defeat

dV5 = Full Defeat [Least Desirable Outcome, Rare]


Some changes from the last version:

Theory = Organized! A problem with v1 was lack of any sort of organization. There were many disjointed ideas. Now everything falls fairly well into 7 sections. The team with the best understanding of all 7 sections supposedly has a better chance of achieving the most desirable outcome of a water war, Full Victory. However, not all of the sections are equal in value and in every war. Certain sections become more influential in certain fights for various reasons. The trick is figuring out what, where, when, why, and how. Simple knowledge of the concepts will not guarantee Full Victory - one must use them effectively and cunningly [and moreso than the opponent] on the battlefield. It is the powerful human element that makes water warfare more fun and challenging than meets the eye.

Firepower, Manpower, and Team Power are fairly static. Much of these concepts are old and well-known. Therefore these are easy sections to master and use.

Tactical Power has the potential to be a bit overwhelming as there is a lot of information in it. This section is far from static - tactics and strategies frequently change and evolve. Tactical Power is complex, but vital for success against an enemy.

Natural Power is where the really weird stuff happens in water warfare. The vast majority of the concepts that humans don't fully understand takes place in this section. Natural Power can have decisive influence on virtually any aspect of water warfare; the breaking of the old idea of plain "victory, tie, and defeat" are one such example.

Tech Power is an intervening variable. It is not necessary at all, but it has interesting effects upon the core sections of the Theory when added.

Creative Power is also an intervening variable. It does not need to be included in the core Theory, but like Tech Power, it produces potentially significant effects upon the other sections. In fact, Creative Power is responsible for creating many of the concepts in v2.



Progression Levels = Simplified and expanded to 3 types. The most fundamental difference is that some of the v2 progressions can move in either direction and have no endpoints, aka "Advanced" can progress to "Basic". That was a concept in the v1 theory to a limited extent, but in that version, the ultimate direction of progression was toward more hardcore warfare. The major difference now is the discovery of the Progressive Loop in the Natural Power section of the Tactical Theory.

The Progressive Loop = The idea that flips everything in the v1 theory upside down. The Progressive Loop usually comes out when competition between two teams is extremely fierce. In doing anything to gain an edge, it is actually possible to reopen options that they progressed away from earlier. For example, water balloons could become ineffective and fall out of use. However, over time, a situation may rise up where they become useful again. Even the most arcane tactics and strategies may see reuse after a long period of disuse. Thus, a very complex method may give way to a simple one not seen in ages and thus the Progression Levels may "loop" around. Personal Progression doesn't appear to loop, as veteran players rarely morph back into novices.

Personal Progression Levels
PP = Novice, Regular, Veteran
only------------------------>

Natural Progression Levels
NP = Casual, Progressive, Hardcore
<--------------------------------->

Tactical Progression Levels
TP = Basic, Standard, Advanced
<----------------------------->

Fighting Zones = New, yet old. Silent Guy's idea of scales in water warfare definitely has an important place here. Since "scale" can be confused with something else [example Large Scale = large team warfare], v2 has elected to use the term "zone".

Combat Zone = Occurs within shooting range of an enemy
Visual Zone = Occurs within visual sight of an enemy, but outside of shooting range/at the edge of range
Strategic Zone = Occurs outside of visual sight of an enemy / Realm of "big" tactics than cannot be directly countered

The point of having zone differentiation is to determine where certain types of tactics take effect. For example, ambushes are usually sprung within shooting range of the intended target. Maneuvers such as the Swinging V are often performed at the edge of shooting range and in full view of the enemy. "Big" tactics like the Outnumbered Offense are more difficult to place, as they may contain many simpler tactics performed in various zones. Generally, complex tactics like these are considered as Strategic Zone, for the enemy never gets to counter the "Outnumbered Offense" directly. They counter a tactic used in the Visual or Combat Zone that belongs to the Outnumbered Offense, such as a Killing Rush. Another example of a tactic in the Strategic Zone is Hit-n'-Run. It is composed of many smaller tactics, which are used in the Visual and Combat Zones and are countered there as well. While part of some tactics may occur outside of enemy sight [preparation of an ambush for example], the main purpose of a tactic like an ambush occurs within shooting range, so they belong there.

Holes in the Theory = Same as v1. Components of v2 may break in large scale warfare [teams of 20,25+ each], the "Free For All FFA" game family [Unorganized Soakfest], and Lone Wolves. These need to get plugged, but that will be last priority.
marauder wrote:You have to explain things in terms that kids will understand, like videogames^ That's how I got Sam to stop using piston pumpers

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by Adrian » Wed Apr 23, 2008 8:04 am

I look forward to reading this when it's all finished. It will be the "Art of War" for waterwarfare.

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by DX » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:31 pm

Some things have changed since the last time I posted on the status of the Tactical Theory. While writing, I realized that the format didn't really work. Currently, this one does:

The Tactical Theory: Mastery of the four areas of water warfare increases success in battle; the better wielder of the four will not taste defeat.

I - Manpower [2 sections]
II - Firepower [2 sections]
III - Combat Power [3 sections]
IV - Creative Power [1 section]

I - Manpower
IA - Players
Followership [silly placeholder, searching for a term]
Leadership [including Natural Leadership]
Personality
Raw Skills [tangible attributes physical strength, speed, endurance, agility, reaction time, etc.
Refined Skills [non-tengible attributes mental strength, ego, experience, maturity, etc.

IB - Teams
Battlefields
Cohesion
Command [Single, Dual, Fluid, Individual]
-->styles [rigid, loose, variable]
Competition
Coordination
Founding [includes Refounding]
Merging
Organization
Positions and Roles [Static, Dynamic, None]
Publicity
Recruiting
Resources
Travel

II - Firepower
IIA - Water Weapons
Air Pressure Water Guns
Balance [physical and stat]
Backpacks
Backups
Capacity
Durability
Elastic Water Guns [CPS and equivalents]
Field Life
Hoses
Piston Water Guns [includes Air/Piston combos]
Practicality
-->Now a "soft" limit thanks to the Completion Theory in Area IV]
Primaries
One-Timers [not necessarily Special Weapons]
Output
Range
Reservoirs
Sidearms
Special Weapons
Shot Time
Straps
Stream Speed
Style
Triggers
Versatility
Water Balloons
Water Balloon Launchers [commercial]

IIB - DIY Weapons
Assembly
Goals
Homemade Water Guns
Modifications
Modified Water Guns
Resources
Practicality
-->Now a "soft" limit thanks to the water cannon class and the Completion Theory in Area IV]
Water Balloon Launchers [homemade]
Water Cannons


III - Combat Power
IIIA - Fighting Techniques [tangible]:
Aiming [includes sharpshooting]
Arming [light, heavy, fake]
Blocking
Caching
Conservation
Dodging
Fighting Styles
-->more than just a list
Fording
Formations [includes Angled Line, Fluid Line, Squads, ]
Fortifying [includes bases]
Hiding
Self Defense [somewhere between a tactic and a technique, formerly called Founder Defense]
Positioning [includes Positioning Theory]
Priming [includes pre-charging]
Pumping [Normal, Tap, Continuous]
Refilling [includes Mobile, Rotative, Fast-bottle, Extra shot trick]
Running
Shielding
Shooting [Shot, Stream, Wave, Jump, Slash, Continuous]
Shots [Full, Pulse, Tap]
Skirmishing
Surveying
Wielding [Single, Dual, Triple+, Siege]

IIIB - Elements of Battle [non-tangible]:
Adrenaline
Control and Control Balance
-->Perfect Control may result in Invincible Effect and/or Desperate Effect
Deception
Degrees of Victory/Defeat
Emulation
-->Emulation of a veteran = Veteran Effect
-->Emulation of a newbie = may involve a trick tactic
-->Emulation of an enemy = Emulation Offense/Defense
Capital Options [Attack, Retreat, Hold]
Flow [Action-Reaction]
Endurance [sprinters', distance]
Influence
Initiative
Instinct
Intimidation
Intuition
Limits [Natural, Player-created]
-->Natural Limits may be soft or hard based on advances made in IV Creative Power
Luck [what really IS luck? Hell if I know]
Momentum
Morale
Power [not the structural type]
Preemption
Pressure
-->Too much pressure may result in the Desperate Effect
-->Pressure is a good metric for testing a captain's abilities
Speed
States of Battle [Offense, Defense, Omnifense]
Tempo
Time
Unconventionality
Versatility
Warriors' High

IIIC - Tactics and Strategies
Countering
Strategy [Opening, Mid-game, Closing]
Tactical Styles
Tactics [organized alphabetically by type, named by method, result or intent]
-->Tactics list not final or divided into zones yet
Advance
Ambush
Base Ambush [varies greatly in use]
Bottleneck Ambush [for those dumb enough to walk straight through one]
Defensive Ambush
Distraction Ambush
Fake Ambush
Fake Base Ambush
Fake Trap Ambush
Firepower Ambush
Flank Ambush
Light Ambush
Staggered Ambush
Trap Ambush [set around a normal trap]
Troll Ambush [set from underneath something, such as a bridge]
Ambush Bombardment
Elastic Bombardment [involving sling launchers]
False Bombardment
Manual Bombardment [involving hand throwing]]
Mortar Bombardment
Real-Fake Bombardment
Strategic Bombardment
Fake Captain
Fake Confusion
Cut
AA Defense [anti-artillery, the corresponding offense works better]
AR Defense [anti-rush, usually executed with ambushes and other defenses]
AV Defense [anti-vehicle, usually executed with positioning maneuvers and other defenses]
Bottleneck Defense [called Defile Defense by the US Military]
Desperate Defense
Emulation Defense [formerly called the Mirror Defense]
Flank Defense
French Defense [also known as cut and run]
Geometric Defense
Offensive Defense
Outnumbered Defense
Player Defense [one of the most broad, similar to man-to-man defenses in sports]
Positioning Defense [involves shifting players around to maximize protection where needed most]
Post Defense [includes any single, thin, stationary object such as a tree or pole]
Split Defense
Staggered Defense
Stalling Defense
Swinging Defense [includes any type of swinging formation, like the V, Gate, and Pendulum]
Zone Defense [one of the most broad, similar to zone defenses in sports]
Double Envelopment
Triple Envelopment [also called Full Encirclement]
Flank
Staggered Flank
Swinging Flank
Fake Line
AA Offense [anti-artillery, this is actually a defense that works better with rushes and offenses]
AR Offense [anti-rush, same reasoning as the AA Offense, but this is more rarely seen]
AV Offense [anti-vehicle,like the two above ]
Emulation Offense [formerly called Mirror Offense]
Evasive Offense [formerly called Ghost Offense]
Defensive Offense
Desperate Offense
Guerilla Offense
Intuitive Offense
Outnumbered Offense
Positioning Offense [involves shifting players around to maximize attack power where needed most]
Split Offense
Weaponless Offense [due to the nature of this tactic, there is no corresponding defense]
Overrun
Force Overrun [usually requires natural barriers]
Pincer
Ambush Pincer
Split Pincer
Fake Positioning
Press
Punch-Through
Pursuit
Push
Reformation [the line version is called Refusal by the US military]
Retreat
Fake Retreat
Rotation
Roulette
Rush
Desperate Rush
Fake Rush
Flank Rush
Fording Rush
Hill Rush
Killing Rush
Staggered Rush
Suicide Rush
Pincer Rush
Positioning Rush
Screen
Sweep
Gate Sweep
Horseshoe Sweep
Pendulum Sweep
V Sweep
Fake Weaponry

IV - Creative Power
-->The Tactical Theory itself is a result of this section
Balance Theory
Competition Theory
Completion Theory
Counter Theory
Incentives to Experiment
Problem Solving Models
Progressive Loop Theory
Superweapon Theory
marauder wrote:You have to explain things in terms that kids will understand, like videogames^ That's how I got Sam to stop using piston pumpers

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by isoaker » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:42 pm

New outline looks quite promising! Looking forward to seeing these sections expanded and explained in greater detail!

:cool:
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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by Silence » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:50 pm

Gaahahaha...that's a long series of articles! B)

The third section looks the most interesting...the fourth the least, since it sounds a little too abstract. That that said, I'm waiting to read them all.

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by DX » Fri Jul 24, 2009 4:14 pm

Image
marauder wrote:You have to explain things in terms that kids will understand, like videogames^ That's how I got Sam to stop using piston pumpers

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by Silence » Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:23 pm

*leans forward, stroking chin*

I see. Any progress? I like the logo though, and I hope it's a sign of some good content to come. If it helps, I'll say that even a single article would be a great read...don't pressure yourself to finish the whole thing.

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by HBWW » Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:27 pm

Yeah, I was curious about that too, but refrained from saying anything. When whatever it is that's ready, I'll be waiting for it.
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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by teamfear » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:20 pm

This looks very interesting. I am excited to read this also. How much is done?

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by mkhadem » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:44 pm

Wow, you've certainly gone in deep, there aren't many other variables ( at least the more important and influencial ones) that can be looked at except mabye the weather although that would perhaps fall under natural power and anyway it would be difficult to write a section on it as there isn't a whole lot to write about, that said, the weather could cause certain effects on the more novice players and teams such as reducing morale and the effect of wind which a veteran could easily ajust to may very well ruin a novice teams tactics and strategies. I can't wait for further detail if there is any to come but as Silence said, don't feel pressured, i'll certainly be kept busy for a while going over your indepth posts. Logo is awesome by the way.

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Re: The Art of Water Warfare [Full Outline]

Post by DX » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:18 pm

I've made a few changes [not again!] but mainly to the outline, not so much the content. I'm now treating Tactical Theory as a field [like Music Theory] rather than a hypothesis [like Big Bang Theory]. I thought about it and I'm not actually trying to prove anything. Tactical Theory is just about how water warfare is fought. If you want to win as much as possible, you need to know as much as possible, and therefore there is nothing special about victory. All it takes is who knows/has more and implements it better.

The organization has changed a bit:

I - Manpower [2 sections]
II - Firepower [2 sections]
III - Combat [3 sections]
IV - Gameplay [1 section]

The 4th section is now about games, scoring, rules, and battlefield options. The theories formerly in "Creative Power" have been moved to the other sections they are related to and are microfields instead of microtheories. The best example of this is Counter Theory, the study of tactic and strategy creation. Aspects like that are worlds of their own. The articles in each section are/will be of varied difficulty, so that it is easy to pick and choose what's interesting to you. Players looking for simple, but useful concepts can read speed, time, morale, etc. Players looking to get deep into Tactical Theory could read into Inverse Theory [changing of something into its opposite], Number Theory [xvx vs xvx], Option Theory [battle states], and other more abstract concepts. Some of these things were discovered totally by accident, like the inverses, a product of an old debate with Ben over unconventionality, when an unconventional action could become a conventional one if everyone does it or vice versa.

Anyway, I try to write at least 1-2 articles a day and am going somewhere with this for once. Now that I don't have to prove anything special, the pressure's off.
marauder wrote:You have to explain things in terms that kids will understand, like videogames^ That's how I got Sam to stop using piston pumpers

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Re: Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

Post by Silence » Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:51 pm

DX wrote:Anyway, I try to write at least 1-2 articles a day and am going somewhere with this for once. Now that I don't have to prove anything special, the pressure's off.
Happy to hear it, although I suppose it's even more of a relief for you.

Just curious, are the current theories supposed to be better than anything else, or are they just ones that work?

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Re: Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

Post by DX » Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:38 am

The microfields are just things that happen or can happen [observed]. English is a bad language; the term theory shouldn't have the secondary use I changed over to. Like any aspect of water warfare, these things can be challenged by data to the contrary of what they say. However, knock me out if there's anyone else studying this kind of stuff.

I actually could use a lot more data for the area of Number Theory. It's about the strengths and weaknesses of certain squad numbers and only based off RM/WB wars. I especially want to know what people think about 4 and 5. I consider 4 to be more wieldy than 5. While 5 brings more firepower, 4 is more fluid. Another interesting one is 8 vs 9. 8 splits evenly in half, 9 splits evenly into 3. Is the trouble of coordinating 3 squads of 3 worth the extra tactical opportunities it brings, or is the more conventional 4 and 4 split better? And then there is the controversy over uneven splitting. Say we're back at a squad of 5 - is it wise to split it 3 and 2, knowing that your opponent will probably beat up on the squad of 2? That can be an advantage if you can exploit it, but players are human. Some number set-ups also perform certain tactics better/worse than others. Some tactics can't be "supported" by squads that are too small. An example of that is at what numbers do you use launcher tactics? 4 is a bit low, 8 can probably have 1 WBL, 12 could have multiple, that sort of thing. These things impact offensive/defensive strategies, so there is some value in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your numbers and what can be done with them.

But that is one of the things that will be brought up for discussion instead of me just writing. That way, players with experience will be able to contribute their observations and it won't be gibberish. The Gameplay section will definitely require input. I know a lot of gametypes, but there's always something interesting that someone plays, but I don't know about.
marauder wrote:You have to explain things in terms that kids will understand, like videogames^ That's how I got Sam to stop using piston pumpers

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Re: Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

Post by Ox-11 » Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:08 am

I think you missed appearances.If you can make beleive that your numbers are the opposite of what they are, you're in a good position to get pretty high kill ratios.
I can't have a rivalry when my best gun is the Colossus, so don't ask; I can't.

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Re: Tactical Theory [Full Outline]

Post by atvan » Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:53 am

If youe read some of the arcticles, you would understand why that was omitted.
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Well, not that much soakage.
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