Can we get the hatches on AAVs working?

[Apocal]

Not a huge deal, but occassionally I've found it desireable to have infantry up and scanning for targets, especially in non-urban terrain. I know you can do it, the AG hatches on the Stryker are implemented (complete with pintle mounted MGs) and a rather nice feature I honestly wasn't expecting.

[Peter Panzer]

This was something I requested prior to v.1.11 as well.

Ideally, this would apply to LAV's and perhaps some REDFOR IFV's too. Just as important, it would be nice if the player could have the option to order the Stryker whack-a-mole guard to button up.

These are the types of "small things" that cumulatively add a great deal of tactical nuance to the game in my estimate. How many folks around these parts agree with that assessment is another question.

[hcrof]

+1 to that idea! Any chances of being able to fire out of the gun ports either side of the red IFV's too?

[purpheart23]

Not a huge deal, but occassionally I've found it desireable to have infantry up and scanning for targets, especially in non-urban terrain. I know you can do it, the AG hatches on the Stryker are implemented (complete with pintle mounted MGs) and a rather nice feature I honestly wasn't expecting.

Agreed. Working hatches would be a nice addition.

[Apocal]

This was something I requested prior to v.1.11 as well.

Ideally, this would apply to LAV's and perhaps some REDFOR IFV's too. Just as important, it would be nice if the player could have the option to order the Stryker whack-a-mole guard to button up.

I'm pretty sure if you click on the squad embarked and click on OPEN UP, they get down. It's just by default their are up in the hatches, using the machineguns.

These are the types of "small things" that cumulatively add a great deal of tactical nuance to the game in my estimate. How many folks around these parts agree with that assessment is another question.

I agree.

EDIT: Just checked on the Stryker AGs, I was wrong. Although I could have sworn one TF Thunder mission, the one with Strykers and Abrams where a preplanned barrage is coming down on the easy path, I got them to get in their hatches and stay in until the Strykers had rolled past the steel rain.

[akd]

Yeah, you can't order the air guards to button up, and it really sucks when a grenade gets tossed on to the top deck with them unbuttoned. If you select the passenger unit, "open up" command causes the unit leader to pop his head in and out of the most forward passenger hatch.

This could be more of a problem with half-tracks in Normandy. There you should be able to have most of the squad up and shooting or staying down below the sides depending on the tactical situation. I'd like to see "open-up" for HT crew to cause the MG gunner to man his gun or duck down into the compartment and "open up" for the passenger squad to have them observing/shooting over the sides. Would also be neat for the squad to disembark over the sides.

[Homo ferricus]

I would also like this feature. BFCs previous point (as far as i can recall) was that it is SOP for air guard to be up at essentially all times when in a combat zone, causing a feature like this to be meaningless micromanagement that will likely get in the way more often than it proves to be useful to the player.

I have to disagree with this point, if it is the stance that BFC has taken (once again, it is quite likely i'm mistaken). It needs to be understood that this feature is being asked for with no extra baggage; the AI won't take cover if under fire (as with HMMWVs), so no coding there, and no arguing about how much it needs to be tweaked. We don't care about choosing which MOS goes through the hatch, etc. etc. -- EVERYTHING would stay the same except now when we select the PASSENGER unit of the vehicle and hit "open up", it would toggle the airguard, not the vehicle crew's buttoned/unbuttoned status. Coding would be marginal, as far as i can imagine, and besides; it's super intuitive, and doesn't add any micromanagement to the interface.

This feature can be great when force preservation is of utmost importance, or when driving past suspected IEDs or VBIEDs etc.

[zmoney]

Yea I've been talking about this since the game came out. I think they could make a system like the FO has in the FSV vehicle. Where you click on the FO and then select unbutton. It would work the same if you just click on the individual units inside the vehicle, and then unbutton to open up the troop hatches or click on the vehicle itself to unbutton the commander’s hatch. It makes me so mad that you can’t button up your infantry in Strykers in urban situations.

[c3k]

The hatches in my AAV's tend not to matter; the men get blown through them regardless of the position. Note: do NOT assault with AAV's despite what the acronym means (especially in POOH).

[Apocal]

This feature can be great when force preservation is of utmost importance, or when driving past suspected IEDs or VBIEDs etc.

I'm just looking for the raison d'etre for the hatches, protection from airbursting artillery while offering a higher degree of situational awareness when the forecast doesn't include steel rain.