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Target Arcs and moving infantry


sttp

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Does the Target Arc command keep a moving infantry unit's eyeballs focussed on that arc's direction, or does their target arc direction kick in only after they've stopped or reached their waypoint or whatever?

In other words, are moving troops' heads / eyeballs working like a tank's turret, rotating to look at, say, their 3 o'clock position? Or does their spotting while moving always focus primarily on the direction of their movement?

The manual's examples for Target Arc all use vehicles.

Page 50 of the v3 manual says "The Target Arc command orders the unit to only fire at enemies within a certain target area and/or range....This Command is also useful to keep a unit’s “attention” focused on a specific part of the game map while it moves....The target arc increases the chances that units will recognize and engage an enemy threat within the target area quickly."

So yeah, it does say a target arc is useful to keep a unit’s attention focused in the arc's direction, as if it applies to vehicles and troops on foot, but the testing I've done... well, I can't conclude that much from it, but if anything it seems like it's the latter, that moving infantry's attention is focussed on direction of movement, until they stop. But I really can't tell. And (believe me) I need every slight spotting advantage I can get.

Edited by sttp
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Target arc works rather similar to facing when units, both vehicles and infantry are stopped. For moving infantry, I'm quite sure that their facing direction is the direction of movement as you mention. I do not believe that you can change this.

Also that segment of the manual can be a bit misleading, as it can be interpreted as target arcs giving increased attention to an area. Target arcs are purely for controlling fires, but by changing unit facing they can indirectly affect spotting.

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1 hour ago, sttp said:

Does the Target Arc command keep a moving infantry unit's eyeballs focussed on that arc's direction, or does their target arc direction kick in only after they've stopped or reached their waypoint or whatever?

In other words, are moving troops' heads / eyeballs working like a tank's turret, rotating to look at, say, their 3 o'clock position? Or does their spotting while moving always focus primarily on the direction of their movement?  <Snip> 

The Target Arc controls where the infantry will fire.  The infantry will generally ignore OpFor outside of the arc.  The higher motivated the infantry the more they will stick to the restrictions of the Target Arc.   The Target Arc is useful so your scouts don't shoot and give away their position while attempting to locate the OpFor position. 

If you are wanting an advantage at spotting - Stationary infantry teams with binoculars are your friend.  If the infantry need to be moving I sometimes incorporate a Pause command at waypoints.  The general spotting cycle is 7 seconds.  So, in theory, if the infantry team has a 15 second Pause at a waypoint it will use the binoculars for two stationary spotting cycles.  Good luck.       

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Covered arcs while moving are far more important for turreted armor - one wants the toughest front of the turret facing towards a possible enemy - it also speeds up shooting and makes for greater accuracy if the turret doesn't have to rotate b4 shooting.

I think BF posted that a facing arc provides very little enhancement of spotting probability.  So, a facing arc for inf is not that useful.  An inf arc is primarily to restrict inf from firing.

Edited by Erwin
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Target Arcs effect spotting in so much as they affect facing.  They are fire control orders, not spotting orders.  If you give a moving infantry squad a left facing arc while they travel forward, you are telling them to only engage something that appears on their left, but their spotting will be weighted toward their direction of movement, i.e. their front.  When they stop, all soldiers will orient to face the direction of the target arc.  Now their spotting will be weighted in that direction, which is their new front.

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Unless things have changed I well remember a discussion some years ago with BF that concluded that a covered arc gives very little spotting advantage - so for units that don't benefit from a facing (ie turreted AFV's) you only need a 360 arc to restrict firing range - there is little or no spotting penalty with a 360 degree arc. 

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6 hours ago, Jammersix said:

Battlefront: Wanted: Manual Writer. Must be able to put basic concepts into words, and have a rudimentary grasp of how modern procedural manuals are listed.

Must also have detailed, accurate and complete knowledge of all game systems to accurately extract the basic concepts.

Most game manuals have errors in them related to the lag between manual writing/production and the last-minute pre-release development rush. And the lack of budget allocated to ongoing documentation maintenance means they don't change, even when there's no hardcopy production element to them.

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18 hours ago, womble said:

Most game [software] manuals have errors in them related to the lag between manual writing/production and the last-minute pre-release development rush. And the lack of budget allocated to ongoing documentation maintenance means they don't change, even when there's no hardcopy production element to them.

My project team resembles that remark..    ;)

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