PvK Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 An AFV suggestion: Track which type of ammo is chambered, and allow the player to specify (or default to an AP type, if present). Also track unloading time. Of course, this would have to go along with a solution to the problem of tanks going after infantry when they don't currently have a big enemy to shoot at. However, for example, if an AFV _is_ engaging infantry with the cannon and is surprised by the appearance of any enemy AFV, it shouldn't be able to turn in a few seconds and fire off an AP round immediately, as if it had an AP round waiting or in the process of being loaded. Overall, the reaction times of AFV's to threats seems to be in great want of a delay. Real tank crews aren't great at spotting and reacting immediately to threats, but in CM, they react very quickly. PvK [This message has been edited by PvK (formatting).] [This message has been edited by PvK (edited 07-02-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Beman Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 PvK, which type of ammo is in the AFV's main gun IS tracked. That's how the system knows which ammo type you're firing. Furthermore, if your tank is whomping infantry with HE, and an enemy tank pops up, the tank will fire off that HE shell and then try to get an AP round loaded in. DjB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 Firing the chambered round, even if it is not appropriate, is the fastest way to unload the gun and was standard practice among tank crews. Even an AP round fired at a squad of grunts will shake them up, and who knows, you might even hit the sergeant. And HE fired at a tank might, if lucky, achieve a mission kill if, say, it hit the optics or jammed the turret ring. In any event, it would give the crew something to think about while you're loading an AP round. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PvK Posted July 3, 2000 Author Share Posted July 3, 2000 I agree, but are you sure the loaded round type is tracked? I was under the impression that it wasn't. I'll have to watch more closely the next time. By the way, it occured to me that a good solution for the problem of tanks getting distracted by non-threatening targets when tanks are around would be to provide some sort of setting for target threshold for each unit, so a unit could be told to ignore non-threatening targets. PvK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertanker Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 I've especially seen this with the 105 Shermans. When another tank makes an appearance, the Sherm unloads the HE at the tank, and the next round up the pipe is a shaped charge. I've had a similar discussion on an M1TP2 list, and the word from the tankers there was that firing the round in the gun is still SOP to change ammo in a hurry. IIRC, the commander states the ammo choice as part of the fire order, so it goes, "Fire! Fire sabot!" to fire what is in the gun and then a sabot round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertram Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 A nice way of getting introduced to modern day tank gunnery is the demo of Steel Beasts. Search any gamesite for it. The demo has a nice tutorial, which gives step by step lessons in tank gunnery (and driving), and a shooting range. Point is, that it is indeed SOP to change ammo by firing the current round, if in a hurry (like a target coming up), but if there are no targets, it is very well possible to order the loader to change ammo by unloading. However, I think IF this should be incorporated in CM it should be done by the Tac AI (i.c. the tank commander), not the player. Interesting question is if there was a SOP for tanks in WW2 regarding ammo. Did they load AP, until infantery was engaged? Was this depending on nationality, type of tank, date or just the commanders fancy? Anyone got any data on this? Bertram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Babra Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 Speaking of jammed turret rings, I've not seen that happen. Is it a game function? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 "Interesting question is if there was a SOP for tanks in WW2 regarding ammo. Did they load AP, until infantery was engaged? Was this depending on nationality, type of tank, date or just the commanders fancy? Anyone got any data on this?" What they loaded depended on what they expected to encounter. Whether that decision was made by the tank commander, his platoon leader, or someone else I do not know. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWoodAgain Posted July 3, 2000 Share Posted July 3, 2000 Jammed turret rings. I have not seen it named as such, but last game (a QB) a Sherman received a gun kill. The effect was that the turret did not turn again, thus it was about 30 degrees from centerline the rest of the battle. Is this CM's normal behaviour? Or was it a jammed ring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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