Prioritising targets

[GHawkins]

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased Combat Mission Black Sea and I've been spending the past couple of days trying to survive in it. I feel able to do some small, basic, manoeuvres and engagements by now. However yesterday I encountered a situation in which I might be doing something very wrong, without me knowing what it is. So I hope someone here can help me.

I made a quick battle on tiny setting, meeting engagement with basic training difficulty and turn based setting. I played as the US Army with an understrength engineering company (1 platoon taken out), while I let the computer select the units for the Russian opponent (which took a BTR company I think, reviewing the battle afterwards).

I got my M1 on the Russian flank and it ate through the BTRs. However, that is also where I spotted a problem. After taking out about 4 BTRs, there were a lot of crews running around panicking, while about 7/8 other BTRs were scrambling for cover. I gave the M1 move orders that would get it into the middle of the bunch so it could take out the BTRs.

Instead of firing at the BTRs that were retreating, the M1 started firing at the dismounted and fleeing crews with the coax. Even as it closed the distance to the BTRs, it kept focusing on the crews and completely ignored the BTRs until I started giving target orders during the move orders. But even then, after firing the main gun at a BTR, the turret would turn back to the fleeing crews and open up on them, ignoring the still functioning BTR that was next to the one it just knocked out until I gave another target order. Even when I created firing arcs, the M1 kept firing at the crews when it had the chance. 

My question is if I missed some setting for the M1. I highly doubt there is a single tank crew in the world that would prioritise a fleeing crew without anti-tank capabilities over armoured vehicles, possibly carrying ATGM teams that do pose a threat to the tank. Is it an AI restriction that simply chooses the closest target, regardless if it is the biggest threat to the unit or not? Do I have to continuously order what I perceive as the biggest targets to be taken out?

Hopefully someone is able to explain if I did something wrong and if so, what I did. Thanks a lot.

[Baneman]

If you give your M1 a COVER ARMOUR ARC, it will prioritise only enemy vehicles.

You can give it a circular arc by clicking Shift with the Hotkey for the arc.

Remember that arcs restrict firing, so be sure you make it big enough.

[Kinophile]

That's a solution, but doesn't really answer his question though. 

I'm pretty surprised at that M1 behaviour.

You're patched to 1.03,  yes? 

Can you upload the game file to Dropbox? 

 

 

[Baneman]

It might be due to the range - he implies his M1 got very close ( the TacAI may feel that infantry are a threat for close-assault ) - and/or the Basic Training setting, but that would be pure guessing from me.

[A Canadian Cat]

My question is if I missed some setting for the M1. I highly doubt there is a single tank crew in the world that would prioritise a fleeing crew without anti-tank capabilities over armoured vehicles, possibly carrying ATGM teams that do pose a threat to the tank. Is it an AI restriction that simply chooses the closest target, regardless if it is the biggest threat to the unit or not? Do I have to continuously order what I perceive as the biggest targets to be taken out?

I think this is the key: It is nice that *you* know all those guys running around had no AT assets but put your self in the crew's seat.  They are a single tank all alone with enemy infantry really close.  It would be really hard to decide what was the biggest threat.  Even if you did just wreck a bunch of BTRs - those things contain crunchies that actually *do* have some pretty nasty AT capabilities. There is no real way for the tank crew to figure out who is who.  Close in infantry are very dangerous.

So, I have two overall comments

1. When you see stuff like that try to think about it from the crew's perspective.  They will still likely make some choices you "think" you would not - get over that cause imperfection is a feature of the game and expecting perfect behaviour is just a recipe for you to get frustrated.  We have a god like view of the battlefield a real tank crew does not.  The in game Tac AI tank crew does not and it has the memory of a gold fish (meaning short). 
2. Use better tactics.  Not meaning to offend just trying to be helpful.  In a combined arms attack your infantry's job is to deal with all the scrambling enemy crunchies running around and your main battle tank's job to blow up anything that can harm your infantry.

Expanding on #2 a bit.  Your question was about targeting priorities but you should be looking at this a different way.  Why was there not some units around specifically there with the tank to deal with that enemy infantry?  When the battles gets into close quarters like that any time my MBT is hunting for enemy vehicles it has friendly infantry, usually in front, there with it specifically to deal with both the enemy infantry that is bound to be there as well and the crews that bail.  Let the infantry deal with the enemy infantry so you tank can be free to deal with the enemy tanks or other fighting vehicles.  At this point it is a good time to bring up the cover armour command.  Given that you have in place a nicely coordinated combined arms assault going on it makes sense to give your MBTs a covered armour arc.  You can hold down the shift key so it covers a full 360 deg and make it big enough to cover the entire map.  Yes, I said the entire map - you do not want a tight arc or a small circle because if you do that some enemy tank will appear outside your arc and you will have a bad day.

In fact my usual way of working is to not give tanks cover armour arcs when things get close like that.  I actually want them to fire the MGs at infantry targets while the main gun is being loaded with the next AP round.  If you have your tanks supported by infantry the enemy infantry will not get to close to your tank and your tank crew will naturally target the bigger nastier threats leaving the enemy infantry to your infantry.