Additional "Hunt" Commands Suggestion

[Oberst Angsthase]

I was playing a game recently in which a Tiger tank had allied armor in front of it and allied infantry behind it. The infantry was no threat, while the armor was. I wanted to root out the armour, but the Tiger kept targeting the infantry, creating a situation where the Tiger was advancing into danger with its turret facing in the opposite direction. I was able to approximate what I wanted by ordering the tank to area fire close to the suspected tanks position and move into a clear los, where the Tiger then targeted the tank.

What do the rest of you think about having a total of three kinds of "hunt?" 1. The hunt as it is now, move until you find an armored target, fire at everything. 2. Hunt armor/AT only, ignore infantry unless it poses a close assault threat. 3. Hunt infantry only, avoid or reverse from enemy Armor/AT.

These additional commands would let us use our tanks more precisely, and make some useful distinctions about how different armored vehicles engage the enemy. I don't want my ACs to hunt like my tanks.

Kurt

[Pham911]

I'm not sure if this really applies to your situation or not, and this really applies more to PBEM than playing the more predictable AI, but...

The Hunt command shouldn't be your primary movement command, and can cause major casualties if used all the time. If your tank, even a heavy tank like the Tiger, is between enemy infantry and enemy armor, you're asking for trouble. If you could force the tank to not target the infantry and instead move until it finds a tank then you're giving an open invitation to the enemy to move his infantry up on the rear of your tank and attempt to immobilize it(or destroy it, depending on the infantrys weaponry). It would be very easy for an oppenent to assess that your armor isn't targeting infantry just by noticing that it *isn't targeting infantry* and exploit that advantage. If your tank is in the position you mentioned, you've moved too fast and should have removed the infantry before advancing to thier armor. Otherwise, you should be moving fast(if the situation calls for it, otherwise move normally) to the position you've decided on as a goal. If you're not sure if it's clear for the tank to approach, then you're scouting with the tank behind enemy lines... and good luck with that.

Hunt should be used to smash enemy positions, move forward until new contact, and repeat. It shouldn't be used to move from A to B unless you're assaulting known positions or are moving to a hull down vantage point with a good field of fire against known enemies(and want the tank to freeze behind cover once the enemy is targetable, and not to continue moving forward to its destination.). If you're moving along with hunt as your primary move order, you'll find your armor stopping in the open and sitting there trying to trade shots with an entrenched enemy(s).

That said, it would be nice to have some sort of SOP choices for all units(move to contact, avoid contact, suppresive fire, direct fire, or something similar).

[Oberst Angsthase]

Good advice. My concern was that Fast and Move commands cause the tank to proceed to its destination regardless of what pops up, thereby exposing itself to a flank shot. Am I mistaken in this? I wanted to move from point A to point B, but respond to (kill) any armor that I saw along the way as well.

I agree that scouting with a heavy tank is not good strategy, but as the tank was my only starting unit it left me with few choices.

[Pham911]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Oberst Angsthase:

Good advice. My concern was that Fast and Move commands cause the tank to proceed to its destination regardless of what pops up, thereby exposing itself to a flank shot. Am I mistaken in this? I wanted to move from point A to point B, but respond to (kill) any armor that I saw along the way as well.

I agree that scouting with a heavy tank is not good strategy, but as the tank was my only starting unit it left me with few choices.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, it'll still shoot if moving or fast moving, but you're right that it'll expose it's flank if the enemy pops up to one side or another instead of in front. There's really no good solution to this that I've found. The hunt command will indeed stop the tank, and then the TacAI should turn to face the threat with the stronger front armor, but this still puts it in a possible fatal situation if it's in the open.

I suppose that it's a trade off of sorts, as it stands now. If you move or fast move you'll offer flank shots to the enemy, but he'll be aiming at a moving target which should(ideally) be heading for cover. If you hunt, then you stop and engage the enemy, reducing flank shots, but offering a stationary target in the open for him to target.

Best bet, use multiple move orders. Hunt while in cover(through scattered trees, climbing hills, etc), then a fast move to dart to nearest cover, then hunt through that area, then fast move to next cover, etc. This won't fix your problem, but at least in this case the tank should stop while protected and engage any threats before dashing forward through open ground. At least you'd lower your exposure while still being able to hunt(which is indeed useful, don't get me wrong).