Question about indirect fire

[Burke]

Very much looking forward to this game! A couple questions about how indirect fire is being simulated:

(1) With such large maps, atmospheric resistance will have an enormous effect on ordnance, especially during indirect fire. Will the units have the capability to automatically estimate a path for the projectile given the atmospheric conditions?

(2) How realistically will air/atmosphere resistance be modeled? Do all planets just have a constant atmospheric density, or will the density realistically change with altitude? Will the atmospheric resistive force be the same for all projectiles (proportional to the velocity squared or something), or are you modeling drag forces specifically for each shell?

Basically my question is: will we need to play the game with a giant stack of artillery tables handy? (Which might be pretty fun). Or will much of this be automated?

[Tarquelne]

This being a sci-fi game, I'm hoping for such indirect capabilities "He said/She said" bombs, and munitions types like "May I go boom?", "I must say, you're all dead.".

And the way I figure it, the Artillery Tables Guild will, along with the Space Vikings and the planetary governments, be one of the main powers maintaining the Great Convention in Rim space. Obey Guild Law, or lose your ability to wage war!

(This is my entry in this week's "Most Obscure Post" contest.)

[ClaytoniousRex]

Hi, Burke. Indirect fire can be performed in several different ways. Assuming a unit's on-board electronics are functioning properly (not damaged by enemy fire or scrambled by enemy EMP) then indirect fire can be performed fully automatically, where you simply click a location on the map and let the computer calculate the elevation and azimuth for you automatically. This is your basic "finger of God" mode.

Indirect fire can also be done manually by inputting range values yourself and positioning the gun on your own. In this case, it's up to you to account for gravity and atmospheric density (usually requiring a couple of 'ranging shots' to get things right). This can be useful if damage or other effects prevent you from using the fully automatic mode, or sometimes just because it's easier to accomplish what you want to do this way (good for general area fire from the 3D perspective, for example).

Finally, you can resort to direct LOS fire if circumstances warrant it (this is probably a sign that things have become pretty desperate though!)

Tarq, I think you're the hands down winner of the Most Obscure Post contest. Obscure as it is, though, it's a strangely enjoyable post. Looking forward to more!

[Burke]

Thanks for the reply; this sounds like an excellent way to handle it.

Is there any plan for developers or beta testers to post an early AAR? I'm still having a bit of trouble getting a feel for how multiplayer games with several players work in practice. For example, are indirect fire support assets/dropships usually just left to the AI, while most of the human players operate in first-person view close to the battle? Do most of the human players shift between vehicles frequently during the games?

[ October 14, 2005, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: Burke ]