FlameThrowers/Fires/Burning/Hothothot

[gibsonm]

Well I’m afraid you’ll have to continue to miss them, unfortunately.

[Volltreffer]

Please tell me that Schwimmwagen's will eventually make it into the game....

[Battlefront.com]

No flame belching devices of any sort, no fires of any sort. The two are interrelated and it's why we have neither in for Normandy.

Steve

[Mord]

You meant to add "yet" right Steve?

"The two are interrelated and it's why we have neither in for Normandy....yet."

LOL.

Mord.

[Battlefront.com]

I don't know when fire and fire burpers will be simulated, but yes... at some point they will find their way into Combat Mission. It is on a short priority list of major features to tackle.

Steve

[Mord]

I'll kiss Emrys if you get them in by the last Normandy module...and knowing what I know about his hygiene...I don't say that lightly.

Mord.

[Michael Emrys]

I'll kiss Emrys...

Not if I see you first!

Michael

[phil stanbridge]

I can certainly appreciate why they aren't going to show immediately but they would be very welcome in the commonwealth module. I'm sure this would be a logical step as there will be less commonwealth armour to simulate in the first place. Plus it would add some nice variation to the missions. I can't imagine a WWII battlefield without flamers and/or fire personally.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Yup. And the Crocodiles of 79th Armoured were whored out extensively, even to US forces usually not keen on British innovations.

Besides, it's about time BFC started on decent looking flames. The knocked out vehicle flames just don't cut it and might benefit from BFC having a proper go at flamey things.

[c3k]

Agreed: the flames need proper treatment.

But the flames, man, the flames. Why are they 2D? We need volumetric flames. Cool flames, flames like Wolfenstein, flames like Company of Heroes. Flames that make you sweat when you see them. Burning flames of purity.

Where were we?

(from http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=89904 )

Hmm, maybe a good place to start would be...FLARES! (See: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=92544 )

Ken

[gibsonm]

Oh yes lets wander off down another rabbit warren.

[Copper]

Thanks for the answer Steve. I'm glad to hear that fires/flamethrowers will see the light of day in the game someday.

[Krilly]

*steers clear of the flares*

I can certainly live without flamethrowers or wild fires being in the first game. But I sure do hope we get some tasty explosion and burning wreck animations again. Just like CM:BO had for its day.

I like my carnage bright and spectacular

[scottie]

I don't know when fire and fire burpers will be simulated, but yes... at some point they will find their way into Combat Mission. It is on a short priority list of major features to tackle.

Steve

Would be interested to hear what else is on the "short priority list of major features to tackle" if possible. Would give us an indication of what to expect in the release and what to expect in the near/mid future. Needle in haystack stuff trying to think of the correct questions to ask to reveal relevant stuff ...

[noxnoctum]

Ya I'm glad flamethrowers are on a low priority compared to other stuff... I mean, how many of you used flammie teams frequently in CMx1?? They were useless unless at point blank range, and in that case you might as well just use a dirt cheap/moves faster than a slug SMG squad or a pioneer squad to chuck a few satchels and blow the offending pixeltruppen apart . The flamethrower tanks were cool, but their rarity made them wayyyyy too expensive to make it worth the purchase.

[phil stanbridge]

Ya I'm glad flamethrowers are on a low priority compared to other stuff... I mean, how many of you used flammie teams frequently in CMx1?? They were useless unless at point blank range, and in that case you might as well just use a dirt cheap/moves faster than a slug SMG squad or a pioneer squad to chuck a few satchels and blow the offending pixeltruppen apart . The flamethrower tanks were cool, but their rarity made them wayyyyy too expensive to make it worth the purchase.

I used flamer vehicles quite a lot in my random QB's mate. That's all I would play latterly. Not realistic of course, but fun all the same and that's what it's all about. With the poor QB engine in SF I lost a lot of that instant gratification. Sure, the scenarios and ops were generally very good, but I really missed that quick fix. With Normandy offering a revised QB engine, this opens up massive potential once again. Of course, I'm patient and happy to wait, but fire and flamers would be pretty cool eventually if you'll pardon the pun!

[noxnoctum]

Could you illustrate how you would use them? I'm just curious because of all the many QBs I've played I've seen ONE player with anything with a flamethrower, and it was a flammie tank (OT-34). Course I killed it before it could actually do anything. And there goes ~500 points .

[Lanzfeld]

Keep them hidden until all obvious threats are known and contained. Stubborn enemy SMG squad in the "rear" of a building? No problem. Bring em up. Also...dont forget the residual effects of having fire back in the series.....houses burning/collapsing, fires spreading in fields, ect..

[phil stanbridge]

I would play loads of different QB's - actually I was probably addicted to unbalanced QBs versus the AI, with the odds in my favour because I hate losing

It was simple really, I would never lead with the flamers - I would send them in after the initial attack. I'd keep anything soft-skinned or 'flamed' up well out of the way until I was satisfied everything that could potentially knock it out had gone. So I would pick out the usual plethora of AT guns first and then I could cruise my dudes anywhere I wanted within the relative safety of numbers. Once you get a flamer inside a village though - it's great. Set fire to the lot, and nothing can really touch you. Actually, I think they are one of the most under-rated things in the game.

[Elmar Bijlsma]

The big trick to flame units is to not let them get within LOS of the enemy.

Area fire nearby any intended victim just outside of their LOS and that target will become REALLY unhappy about staying put.

It takes some extra effort but if used properly they are more able to dislodge an enemy then a full SMG squad.

[noxnoctum]

Hmmm still doesn't seem worth it to me... an SMG or pioneer squad is way more flexible. The latter especially will obliterate any infantry unit in a building. (and the former will too if it's just facing a rifle squad).

[Flanker15]

I was more interested in setting the ground on fire which I used a lot in CMx1 e.g. got a bunker problem? Fire at the forest it's in until it catches fire and watch as the crew run off.

Enemy in the weat field? a few bursts of tracer fire will take care of them (and the crop for that year). Of course it only works in hot/dry climate but I did use it quite a bit.

Good to hear it's coming back some time.

[noxnoctum]

Hmmm... never noticed that. So you're saying if I area attack with a flamethrower infantry unit one end of a decent sized forest... it'll eventually consume the entire thing? How long does that take? (I'm assuming it works the same in both CMBB and CMAK right?). Cause if so... yes I could see that being v. useful.

[Flanker15]

Works in BO too, the temperature, type and dampness effect the chance of a tile catching fire so if you have optimal conditions your machine guns can set fire to things just with their tracers. Once a tiles on fire it "rolls to ignite" everything around it so it will spread through highly flammable stuff quite quickly forcing units out.

I think in at least AK wind effected how fast and what direction the fire spread too.

[Lanzfeld]

And dont forget that unlike any other SMG/Pioneer/Whatever squad attacking an entrenched enemy, Flammers have the unique ability to break "fanatic" squads and make them flee into the open. Priceless!