Will there ever be a way to shut down engines?

[Rangoon]

When I play Steel Beasts, for example, I sometimes shut down my Tank and PC engines in order to vastly reduce my noise signature, but also to cut noise pollution so I can listen for enemy vehicles.

Will there ever be a way to do this in Combat Mission. I understand with older WWII vehicles that were harder/more complicated to start, you might be less likely to want to shut them down (though I think it would be reasonable for a commander to at least be able to weigh the trade-off for noise vs. immediate mobility and have the option). But for the more modern vehicles, don't they have a much shorter and more reliable startup sequence?

I had hoped that "hiding" would cut engines, or that there would be a command for this, but there isn't to my knowledge. Any word on whether this will be coming? Or is the lack of this as a feature a deliberate design choice which won't likely be changing (presumably for some well-thought-out, good reason)?

EDIT: even after "bailing out" the engines are still running. Obviously in PvP humans can hear the other player's vehicles and vice versa, but does AI "hear" vehicles? Isn't that part of the "question mark" contact reports; that they hear something like a rifle report or see something vague? I can move the camera about the battlefield to listen for vehicles above my own vehicle's engines, but that's a bit of a stretch. Does it simulate shutting down engines while I listen? Or is that just gaming the sim?

[stikkypixie]

When I play Steel Beasts, for example, I sometimes shut down my Tank and PC engines in order to vastly reduce my noise signature, but also to cut noise pollution so I can listen for enemy vehicles.

Will there ever be a way to do this in Combat Mission. I understand with older WWII vehicles that were harder/more complicated to start, you might be less likely to want to shut them down (though I think it would be reasonable for a commander to at least be able to weigh the trade-off for noise vs. immediate mobility and have the option). But for the more modern vehicles, don't they have a much shorter and more reliable startup sequence?

I had hoped that "hiding" would cut engines, or that there would be a command for this, but there isn't to my knowledge. Any word on whether this will be coming? Or is the lack of this as a feature a deliberate design choice which won't likely be changing (presumably for some well-thought-out, good reason)?

EDIT: even after "bailing out" the engines are still running. Obviously in PvP humans can hear the other player's vehicles and vice versa, but does AI "hear" vehicles? Isn't that part of the "question mark" contact reports; that they hear something like a rifle report or see something vague? I can move the camera about the battlefield to listen for vehicles above my own vehicle's engines, but that's a bit of a stretch. Does it simulate shutting down engines while I listen? Or is that just gaming the sim?

Sound contacts are not coded in CMSF, so at least for this game it doesn't matter. Unless your opponent really scans the map of course.

[agusto]

A pitty sound contacts arent part of of CMSF, they should be. On the one hand. On the other, i have never noted that they are absent, so maybe they arent worth the coding effort of implementing them.

[Erwin]

"Unless your opponent really scans the map of course."

Well, competitive oppos do exactly that... as well as listening for the sounds of on-map mortars etc which can then be targeted.

It's not a major issue, but hopefully one day we can eliminate this sort of sound issue.