phil stanbridge Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 Okay. Question: In one scenario my Tiger has complete LOS to the target, which has been spotted as possible light armour. Now this light armour is only 70m away across an open field, in clear skies. (I'm trying to imagine 70m and it isn't really that far is it?) How come my Tiger, which is unbuttoned by the way, and Elite, can't spot what the target is exactly from that distance, until the target fires off a round which disables the gun on my Tiger? My thoughts are that the field was wheat, which could be quite high thus obscuring the target?? But how come the Sherman V could get an accurate shot off at me? It's like LOS was blocked one way. Weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mensch Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 actually you have me stumped, as for the grain hard call too since I see here in Europe they have a shorter stalk as to compared to our (family) farm in Canada which the Wheat is almost twice as high from what I seen here in Germany or in France. but I was never around in 1940+ so I can't say. One factor is maybe the Tiger "crew" was destracted by a Zook or other AT weapon in the nearby or hmm???, …they were arguing who gets to make the "vroom vroom" sounds next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil stanbridge Posted January 18, 2001 Author Share Posted January 18, 2001 Ha.. I like it. I guess it's possible they were distracted, as there were a couple of British infantry squads close by, but these had just been routed by machine gun fire from the tank. They were conscripts. There was also another unidentified target in the distance, (pretty insignificant) but I find it difficult to believe this would put them off. Surely they would just buttoned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 Perhaps Big Time Software could add "superman-omniscient" mode or something like that so the rest of us don't have to read these questions anymore? Even if your tank crew was unbuttoned, only the commander would have 360 degrees of vision in which to spot targets. A Tiger makes a lot of noise, so a Sherman 70 m away would not alert the crew to their presence. Actually, try going without sleep for 2 days and then tell me how much you notice. I think the key to these questions is - don't place all your faith in one single weapons system. It's like having a great hockey team and then whining and complaining when your star centre gets injured and you start using it as an excuse for not being able to make the playoffs. If you count that much on one man, you don't have much of a team... In real terms, I suspect the game has a mechanism that calculates a mathematical probability for spotting targets, with various modifiers for circumstances. In Squad Leader terms - the computer rolled double sixes for you that time. War, like baseball, is a game of inches. Next time don't put your Tiger in open ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil stanbridge Posted January 18, 2001 Author Share Posted January 18, 2001 ..Well I'm not forcing you to read anything buddy. I don't mind sarcasm but please don't offend. I would have fallen back on the remnants of my company, only the tank was it! This "mathematical probability mechanism" has got to be random in my opinion. There has to be some luck involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juardis Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 I was looking for that answer myself when I posted "how firing initiative is calculated". Your example points out my frustration. The allies always seem to fire first and I was wondering why that was. In your situation, my guess is that the Sherman had a more experienced crew than your Tiger and his Sherman has a higher ROF than your Tiger so you were doubly hosed. Of course, luck had a great deal to do with it to. First shot + luck = trouble As far as sighting, perhaps that Sherman had no idea what it was firing at. If it had, it might have backed away. I had a recent confrontation where my M4 76mm took out a Jadgpanzer IV from 500m but I didn't know that until my opponent told me what it was. My M4 thought it was an "assault gun?" A few turns later, that same tank stumbles on a Hetzer. Now, if he can kill a JP IV frontally from 500m, he can certainly kill a Hetzer from 350m frontally. So what did he do? Fired smoke and reversed himself. A lot of times actions are different when the target is known. ------------------ Jeff Abbott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanklover MD Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 In a different thread someone said tanks are big, dumb, and cannot see well. Maybe this is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonidas Posted January 18, 2001 Share Posted January 18, 2001 I've had something similar happen - the enemy tank is firing at your tank, but your tank never gets a return firing line. It just sits there and blows up. The target spotting system is probabilistic. I think that each second each unit has a chance to spot an enemy, based on various factors. Maybe the other tank just got lucky, or yours was unlucky. Though this can be frustrating, I think it's realistic. Your tank may have had a higher silhouette value, which would give the enemy a higher chance to spot you than you to spot them. Your tank may have been moving, which would make it easier to spot than a non-moving enemy. In my case, the reverse was true. My tank was stationary, but still couldn't spot the enemy as he approached. These are just theories, but they don't change the fact that it's maddening to see your tank blown up by a unit that other units can see, but your tank won't target. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts