simast Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I noticed that even if you don't have LOS or spotted enemy mortar as contact - you can still pin-point it's location (quite accurately) based on directional sound (assuming it is firing). Wouldn't it make sense for the units that are out of contact with my OOB to not emit any sounds whatsoever? Or it's not a bug and working by design? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 You can do that with almost any firing unit, not just mortars. No it would not make more sense for it to make no noise at all, but perhaps a more generic location -- such as at the enemy map edge -- would be preferable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simast Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 No it would not make more sense for it to make no noise at all, but perhaps a more generic location -- such as at the enemy map edge -- would be preferable. If the mortar is making a sound (not a noise, but an actual CM engine sound effect) that unit should be marked as a possible contact (with the "?" sign). Which would explain that someone, possibly out of combat heard the noise (or spotted origin of mortar rounds) and identified that spot as a possible contact. What we have right now is that no one on the battlefield thinks there is a mortar (or any other generic unit) at that location, but I, as a commander, know that 100%. I know the type of the unit and I know it's exact location. That's a bit of an abuse/exploit of the engine, don't you think so? I just think that if the developers added a simple logic so that "enemy units that are not spotted/contacted play no sound effects" - the issue would be fixed instantly. What other side effects such a change could bring? Other than improving the overall experience? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 People can hear sounds without being able to accurately locate where it originates. I assume it is that type of sound that we are talking about, and in that case hearing the sound play but having it in a generic or perhaps random location seems the most logical solution. If we are talking about sounds that can have their location fixed then it's not an exploit, you are just getting the information aurally rather than visually. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 In a similar vein, you can actually spot on-map mortars via the visual of the round flying up. I'm no grog, but I always thought that mortar rounds were practically invisible ? As the game stands, they have a sort of "tracer" aspect to them so you can see them launch and land. Whilst perhaps useful for the visual effect of seeing off-board artillery coming in, maybe onboard mortars need to be "stealthed" a bit ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poesel Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Unfortunately CM is the victim of its own superb sound system. It creates the great sounds that make up the battlefield. This makes it possible to pinpoint every sound source that is heard by at least one of your troops. For vehicles hearing is connected with LOS (which makes sense from a gameplay point of view) but for mortars its not. There's possibly a good reason for this but I can't think of one... A solution would be to have a sound field as originator of non-LOS sound source to make it less locatable. But the work to get this right does most probably outweigh the gains. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 In a similar vein, you can actually spot on-map mortars via the visual of the round flying up. I'm no grog, but I always thought that mortar rounds were practically invisible ? As the game stands, they have a sort of "tracer" aspect to them so you can see them launch and land. Only once you've spotted the actual mortar. Surely? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 In a similar vein, you can actually spot on-map mortars via the visual of the round flying up. I'm no grog, but I always thought that mortar rounds were practically invisible ? As the game stands, they have a sort of "tracer" aspect to them so you can see them launch and land. Whilst perhaps useful for the visual effect of seeing off-board artillery coming in, maybe onboard mortars need to be "stealthed" a bit ? My Korean War Veteran uncle spent a lot of time in the front lines. He never talked much about it, but he did, after I plied him with enough beers, talk about how they could sometimes see the incoming mortar rounds at the top of their trajectory. Then he shuddered and that was the last he talked about his experiences. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Only once you've spotted the actual mortar. Surely? Nope, that's my point - if you're watching in the right place ( I guess I watch replays too many times ) you can see the little "red smear" launch out of the trees/bushes/etc. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Nope, that's my point - if you're watching in the right place ( I guess I watch replays too many times ) you can see the little "red smear" launch out of the trees/bushes/etc. Really? I've never noticed that. I thought you could only see them as they were coming down, and even then not reliably. Unfortunately CM is the victim of its own superb sound system. It creates the great sounds that make up the battlefield. +1 CMx2's sound modeling is superb. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eltorrente Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 No, you CAN'T see the enemy mortar fire unless one of your troops actually has visibility on the mortar crew. The rounds will be invisible until they hit in that case. However, you can ALWAYS pinpoint exactly where they are, even if none of your troops actually hears them. If the mortar is 1000 yards away, behind a hill, you can still hear them perfectly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Again, I think this is true for any firing unit, not just mortars. I've used it to determine which house a sniper is in. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Again, I think this is true for any firing unit, not just mortars. True. I've used the technique to locate infantry guns and MGs in addition to mortars. Seems I can pinpoint the location to within about one AS consistently. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simast Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 A possible TODO item for developers? As suggested by Vanir Ausf B, I would love to see the sounds originating from out-of-contact units to be at least randomized (location wise). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 OTOH I have read a lot of accounts of soldiers hearing mortars 'tubing' in the distance. Of course in real life their commanders cant fly around above them to locate the sounds of mortars. And of course also I dont know if you'd hear it in a battlefield with a lot of other noise going on, the accounts Im thinking of are mostly from Vietnam... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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