Auto Vehicle Facing and Order Response Issues

[Statisoris]

I just started playing the campaign over again since applying the 1.04 patch and have noticed two annoying facing problems still present in the game

I noticed the problem a lot when playing the first mission in the campaign, specifically when using my M1A1 platoon to break throught the berm at the highway. I send them to the highway and set their facing down the highway and to the right of the base where most of the static tanks are.

What usually happens is .... Tanks follow initial orders well and set up desired facing. Then the problems begin. The M1A1s begin to engage opportunity and designated targets, all while correctly following your preset orders. Their facing does change a little in response to threat directions and such, but nothing too annoying or unnatural, but here is when the real problem comes about.

After the M1A1s and the MGS backup have engaged some targets, the M1A1s tend to randomly turn their turrent 180 degrees toward their rear and begin rotating their hull around too. Their is absolutley no threat in that direction [but often there are friendlies firing at targets from behind the rotating tank, dont know if this is a factor or related], so I'm wondering why the heck they are doing this. I say no problem and try to order them to STOP immediatley and/or give them a correct facing order. Then the next problem shows up. While doing their happy 180 spin they do not respond to the stop request at all and dont respond to new orders until they have turned almost completley around exposing their rears to the enemy.

My recommendations/wishes, if the core problem of vehicles making these illogical 180's cannot be fixed at present or at all, please allow the stop command to immediatley halt all automatic as well as ordered vehicle movement and facing actions. Also, secondarily, when the vehicles is acting under "auto A.I. reaction", please allow any facing or movement orders to immediatley override any A.I. auto movement (unless the vehicle is reacting to a dire threat or is shocked/suppresed in some way).

Kind of as a secondary recommendation, I would like to discuss the matter of vehicle auto-facing toward light threats with no serious AT or armor piercing threat. This is especially annoying when commanding armor. A scenario might go like this.... You order an M1A1 to a point with an ordered facing for good reason, T-72s are known to be in that direciton and could appear at any moment. Your M1A1 sees at 90* a UAZ, HMG, Infantry beyond AT range or any other really harmless threat and turns its hull 90* to face the totally harmless threat. This should not happen unless faced with a somewhat valid AT threat such as infantry within AT range, a BMP or recoiless rifle. The only thing that should be happening when the light targets are spotted is that the turrent onlly or commanderss M2 HMG should turn and engage.

How prevalent has this "illogical" vehicle auto facing been for everyone else after 1.04 was released? What are all of your thoughts on these issues, do you agree with the above recommendations and has it caused any of you great unhappiness and gnashing of teeth, as with myself?

[Melnibone]

I tend to use covered arcs a lot with my armour. I suspect they would help with some of your issues.

[Pandur]

After the M1A1s and the MGS backup have engaged some targets, the M1A1s tend to randomly turn their turrent 180 degrees toward their rear and begin rotating their hull around too.

i had exactly the same behaviour 2 days ago in the first campain mission with M1´s on the berm.

How prevalent has this "illogical" vehicle auto facing been for everyone else after 1.04 was released?

well i started a thread and talked about the same stuff that you stated after 1.02 introduced that "feature".

i was said its "realistic" and you allways want to point your hull towards the threat.

the underlaying problem is that control has been taken away how you can controll the facing of the turrent respectively to the hull.

"normaly", in CMx1, you could rotate the vehicle hull and define wich direction to face with the turret by the cover arc.

now when i want to face the hull vs. possible tanks wich arent there yet and rotate the gun mainly vs. an infantry threat to the right wich is spotted and also a danger.

"thats simply not possible" !

when you plot a cover arc you still cant rotate a vehicle and the vehicle rotates itself towards the cover arc...i mean "WHY"!?

you have the same behaviour without cover arc so i see absolutely no reason to force the same behaviour with cover arcs too.

yet, it was told the result is more "realistic" to not allow to define the facing of the turret/hull by myself.

[Omenowl]

Yeah, I have seen the same thing with strykers in the middle of combat. They will stop to fire, can't see the threat and then face some random direction.

[dan/california]

Same thing happened to me, The tank is setting on the berm and suddenly just decides to turn around. Makes for a bit of frantic mouse clicking seeing as how you can kill one from the back with about anything. That was about the only flaw I saw that game though. 1.04 may not be perfect but on the overall it is MUCH better.

They can take a day or two to change the solution and filters on Charles's jar now.

[Huntarr]

I reported this already. Right as 1.04 came out. Should be handled for 1.05 Sorry

[Statisoris]

Alright, do you know if any changes will be made in how armor reacts to different threat types?

[thewood]

IIRC, this stuff took a lot of tweaking in CMBO.

[Pandur]

IIRC, this stuff took a lot of tweaking in CMBO

i can understand that one cant get everything right by tomorrow

but i sure hope this rotating gets some attention, and somehow, we get the controll back where we point the hull, of the vehicle, to.

right now vehicles end up facing "some" direction at most. you could go and cancle the cover arc to order a face command, wait a minute, and than in the next command phase you order a cover arc again, hopeing that the vehicle doesnt orientate towards these new arc.

thats sure too complicated to get such a easy thing done.

but beside the remaining problems, 1.04 put things into shape, i have a blast in the campain these days.

[aka_tom_w]

I hope this is on the priority list for v1 .05