AT-14 engaging targets under minimum range

[Pelican Pal]

During some scenario testing I was screwing around and had a Stryker charge an AT-14.The AT-14 was placed on the top of a hill and as the Stryker came out of the dead zone at the lip of the hill it was engaged and destroyed by the AT-14. I though it looked suspiciously close and checked with another vehicle. The Stryker was destroyed about 80 meters from the AT-14. 20 meters within its minimum range.

[SgtHatred]

I've had a javelin engage and destroy a tank at ~30 meters as well. Not sure if minimum range is a hard limit.

[Pelican Pal]

I messed around some more and I think I found what causes it to occur.

 

If the vehicle is within the min range of a weapon the gunner will not engage it. However, there is no code within the weapon that prevents it from doing damage (so an AT-14 rocket is always fully armed). So it is totally up to the gunner AI to uphold the minimum range for a weapon. This usually works however, at the beginning of a shooting routine (aiming -> firing -> sometimes to guiding) the gunner AI checks if the target is outside minimum range. If that check returns true then the gunner is cleared hot. This is the only time during the firing routine that minimum range is checked and after that point the gunner will fire regardless of the range.

 

So in these instances it appears that the firing routine began just before the vehicle entered the minimum range.