Move, then Fire

[John S]

Assume I have a number of units (but too few) already firing on an enemy unit.  I have another unit, assume either an infantry squad or AFV on the other side of a hill from the enemy.  in other words, the enemy unit is currently spotted and is being fired upon by others. 

Is there any simple command by which I can command the unit to move until it sees the target and then stop and fire??? 

So far, my feeling has been that I need to zoom in and carefully eyeball the situation at ground level and place the end of the movement point at the location at which my "best guess" is that my unit will see the enemy unit.  When I do this, sometimes I am right but a fair amount of times I guess wrong and the unit either ends up short of the ridge (with no target) or keeps moving over the ridges and takes shots from the enemy when it should have stopped to fire. 

Is there a way that I don't know about to "automatically" address this through a series of commands?  (does "hull down" fix this for AFV's but not for infantry?).

[JoMac]

Have you tried the 'Hunt' Command Order...It allows you to move until it spots an Enemy Unit, then stops to engage...Using this command Order in conjuction with either the 'Armor Arc' (will stop when you spot Armor) or 'Target Arc' (will stop when it spots anything else).

Keep in mind, if your specific Unit doesn't have any previous intel that the enemy is 'Over There', (for example), then it will continue to use the 'Hunt' Waypoint Command until it does finally spot something (at which point it will stop and engage).

Joe

Edited February 13, 2017 by JoMc67

[Pak40]

I suggest using Move or Quick to the point where your "best guess" is that your unit will see the enemy unit, but then follow that with a Hunt command which will go well beyond your best guess. This will cause your unit to stop for sure and not go too far.

The problem with cresting a hill and using Hunt is that your unit will spot the enemy when standing and then stop. They will likely drop to knees at that point, lowering their eyeball level just enough that they may not see the unit anymore.

Using 'Target Arc' will not cause your unit to stop. It only restricts your unit from firing outside the arc. Be careful when using this because an unseen enemy may be suddenly visible outside the arc and wipe out your unit while they are helpless to respond until the next turn when you cancel the arc.

 

[A Canadian Cat]

I rather like @Pak40's technique. I would add that you can improve and refine your best guess by using the target command to ensure that your unit will have visibility to the area. Plot the movement based on your best guess and then select the final way point and select the target command. Now you can check approximately what your unit will be able to see from that way point.

[Glubokii Boy]

4 hours ago, Pak40 said:

I suggest using Move or Quick to the point where your "best guess" is that your unit will see the enemy unit, but then follow that with a Hunt command which will go well beyond your best guess. This will cause your unit to stop for sure and not go too far.

 

 

Perhaps also add a pause order at the 'best  guess' location...(something like 30 seconds or... perhaps a full turn)

Units spots better when stationary and will in turn be harder to spot by the enemy. A pause function at the 'best guess' location might increase your chans

of getting the first shoot of from there instead of moving...to far...Before actually spotting the enemy.

Another thing to considders when it comes to vehicles atlest is  - should it be unbuttoned or not ? Will the enemy threath level allow for it ? Will the spotting be better unbuttoned or not (optics, range)...

 

[Jock Tamson]

as others have said, using the target command from the waypoint you have plotted is key.  Adjust the waypoint until you have a clear blue target line to your proposed target.

[Pak40]

On 2/13/2017 at 8:14 PM, IanL said:

I rather like @Pak40's technique. I would add that you can improve and refine your best guess by using the target command to ensure that your unit will have visibility to the area. Plot the movement based on your best guess and then select the final way point and select the target command. Now you can check approximately what your unit will be able to see from that way point.

Yes, I forgot about targeting while having a waypoint selected. But doesn't it use the ground level at the waypoint to calculate LOS?

[Michael Emrys]

7 minutes ago, Pak40 said:

Yes, I forgot about targeting while having a waypoint selected. But doesn't it use the ground level at the waypoint to calculate LOS?

Yes. Life is hard sometimes.

Michael

[A Canadian Cat]

51 minutes ago, Pak40 said:

Yes, I forgot about targeting while having a waypoint selected. But doesn't it use the ground level at the waypoint to calculate LOS?

Indeed it does. Not only that but it also uses the current stance of the unit. So, if your men are currently prone then the target line will be as if they are prone at the way point and if they are standing then the target line will be measured as if they are standing at the way point.

On the upside when you get the reverse slope message it gives you a hint that if an enemy unit is at that location then it will likely be seen anyway. Depending on the stance / height of said hypothetical enemy unit.

[Michael Emrys]

5 hours ago, IanL said:

On the upside when you get the reverse slope message it gives you a hint that if an enemy unit is at that location then it will likely be seen anyway.

Hmmm. I never knew that. If so, that is an important piece of information. I have always interpreted the "reverse slope" message as a strict no-go.

Michael

[A Canadian Cat]

5 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

If so, that is an important piece of information.

It is. Very useful. Experiment and you will see it is helpful.

Edited February 15, 2017 by IanL
added smilie

[General Jack Ripper]

13 hours ago, Michael Emrys said:

Yes. Life is hard sometimes.

Michael

This should be your signature. I lolled hard.