AAD

[Alexander SquidLord Williams]

But, why not make it so that the towers have a smaller chance of shooting down the small caliber rounds. This way it would be possible to roll the defence, jet it wouldn't ruin fighting against units around the tower. Maybe I am not seeing the real problem, but to me this sounds the perfect solution.

Drusus, the heart of the issue is really what the towers target more than how effective they are (in the broader sense). The ability to roll-back defenses hinges on the fact that the towers pretty much zap anything and everything they target, thus, flooding the area with small-caliber fire floods the tower intercepts and you have a larger chance of getting either part of your small-caliber fire through (since it tends to fire in bursts) or, if timed right, much heavier caliber fire (120mm, artillery), because the airspace near the tower is full of other distractions the tower's trying to zap.

All that to say, basically, that decreasing the effectiveness of towers vs small-caliber fire won't really make much of a difference, since you don't usually actually aim that fire as tightly. Its a screen, chaff, as it were, for the more intentional, heavier fire.

Now, if you actually meant decreasing the chance of a tower targeting small-caliber fire, then the real up-shot is there'll be fewer targeted bursts from the tower and the chances of it targeting the stuff you're actively trying to get through actually goes up. And that makes it commensurately hard to roll back that tower defense.

An interesting alternate idea is giving the artillery units a bit more control over their ammo selection and letting them fire off an HE shell deliberately over a tower, which would then target it and the sharpnel them would target more tower fire. Like deployable chaff when you just have to get that drop pod or round through the defense. A couple arty-carriers could keep a tower tied up, then, for as long as they could coordinate fire and have ammo.

This would give arty one more use on the field and something else to do other than lob rounds ineffectually at areas a vehicle has already scooted from.

[yurch]

The fact that the Hermes doesn't target shots going faster than 1000 is often what makes it desireable to deploy against ATGM and mortar fire.

It is interesting to note that 20mm HE is fired at 900 and the 14mm coax is fired at exactly 1000. I'm guessing (I haven't tried) once air resistance gets through with either they'll be viable for distracting the Hermes.

[cool breeze]

I hope they make it so Hermes doesnt target 14mm coax. I dont know about gameplay reasons, but it doesnt sit right with me to shoot AP machinegun bullets out of the air with AP machinegun.

If you want a sillyly obvious technical reason, read this: I imagine the intercept rate would be quite bad. hitting 14mm one in 4 times with a similar sized object seems kinda rediculously good. It seems like a waste of ammo compared to what else it shoots at. Id design the vehicle so it shot down more of hevier stuff than any of that and Id deffinately try and make it so it shot at whatever was shooting 14mm instead of at the rounds. that chain gun seems to have quite high penetration since it can blow galaxies so if 14m is a serious threat to the hermes I imagine the chain gun will be a more serious threat to the 14mm shooter. maybe an ooption to slave the chain gun to the 20mm when not firing to low?

[ August 16, 2006, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: cool breeze ]

[yurch]

Well, the Hermes won't get many of them to begin with. Consider it an exploitable malfunction of the targeting system.

[cool breeze]

Ok, that work fine for me.

[aittam]

anyways if it wouldn't target them you couldn't roll it back

[cool breeze]

I think it is cool to have something that cant be rolled back by 14mm but wont shoot AP or heat. I dont like to die from arty and atgm too much and the hermes is easy enough to blow up if not in a hole. But once more people play at a time we should try it both ways to see whats better. Ill certainly be happy with whatever is choosen whenever, Its not a big deal to me one way or the other. Games super good and overall keeps getting alot better.