more noob questions

[terrakota]

Hi,

while I'm waiting for may full CMAK game,

i need some help:

How can i choose that my russian AT 45mm shoots the tungsten shells first?, when i check tha at fire at enemy tanks they use first the AP, when empty they use the T shells .

what the hull down option is? how can i use it and why?

I'm still playing the demo

please excuse my poor english and thanks for any help

[stikkypixie]

You can't choose which shell they use. Maybe you order to shoot from to far. Because T rounds are not accurate at long distances. If you let the enemy close your men will be more inclined to use T.

Hull down is not an "option" in the normal sense of the word. Hull down means that the enemy can only see the top part of your tank, because the lower part is hidden behind something, like a wall or behind a hill.

[JasonC]

Actually there is a hull down movement command, which means move toward A, stopping when you are hull down to location B. The first waypoint is the location to move toward. The second you can think of as akin to rotate toward - it picks a distant spot where you think there may be enemy, that you want to have a hull down position with respect to. The tank will move to the first waypoint. The first spot along the route where it is hull down to the second waypoint, it will stop. If it can't see the second waypoint, or is hull up to it, through the whole move, then it goes all the way to the first waypoint (and fails to get "hull down").

It is a fiddly enough order that I rarely use it. I can typically judge the ground at least as well, visually, and pick the spot to drive toward. Also, being precise in such things can hurt as much as help, sometimes. Because the enemy is slight off the location you pick, or moves etc. You can wind up losing him below the curve of the hill, if you are too precise about stopping the *instant* you get LOS.

I recommend just using fast move to a location that looks like it will be hull down - right behind a rise, the last bit before the crest e.g.

There is a more complicated tank movement order worth getting to know - the shoot and scoot order. That one is essential. The first location you fast move to, then the tank halts to fire. Then it moves to the second. If the second is behind, it uses reverse - if it is ahead, it uses fast move.

You can use this with the second waypoint forward, to do a "firing halt" somewhere along the route from A to B - typically, from cover to cover. Highly useful. You hit things from a short halt. You won't while moving.

You can also use it to pop out from behind cover or (especially common) over the top of a hill, take one shot, and reverse back into cover or back down the hill. Often before the enemy gets a shot off, if he was facing the wrong way. Absolutely essential for thin armor tanks fighting thicker ones they don't want to duel frontally.

On T for the 45mm guns, it helps dramatically at ranges of 200 meters or so. At 500 meters or more, it is no better than plain AP, and a lot more "expensive" in terms of what you are giving up. The crews will save them from close range shots. Side aspect shots at close range, they may not think they need them (though sometimes, they do).

The way to manage their use is just to put the guns that happen to have lots of it farther forward and more toward the center of your position. Those will in practice get closer range front shots, which are hopeless without T ammo but can work if you have it, once the range gets down to point blank. You aren't going to live long firing at T ammo ranges - you get the guy or he gets you. So modest loads of it aren't that big a deal.

[The Colonel]

I agree with JasonC that the Hull Down command is a disaster waiting to happen. The tanks will continue to roll forward until two conditions are met, they have LOS to the point you designated AND are hull down to it. The problem is LOS can be hard to predict until you're there. Some scattered trees, or even smoke that lands after you started moving can block your tanks view of the designated point. So they may, and often do, continue driving toward the point well beyond where you wanted them to halt. You'll find yourself yelling "STOP" at your computer screen as they happily drive to their death. I personnaly prefer the "HUNT" command when moving up to a ridgeline. That way your armor will halt and target the emeny as soon as they see them, which should have you in the hull down position you wanted.

[Panzer76]

Originally posted by terrakota:

How can i choose that my russian AT 45mm shoots the tungsten shells first?, when i check tha at fire at enemy tanks they use first the AP, when empty they use the T shells .

You can't. The crew will decide when to fire the T rounds. To fire them, they need to have a high enough hit % on target, otherwise, the crew will feel they only waste the T rounds. The more T rounds the weapon has, the lower the hit % may be before they use them.

[terrakota]

thanks to all for your great tips