Prep fire by Defense in QB maps

[SteveP]

I haven't spent much time yet with QBs but I am struck by the fact that they all seem to have prep fire by the defenders (i.e. the support targets). As an attacker you only have to wait a few minutes before moving, to avoid this problem and the defender uses up some artillery ammo.

My question is this: is there a technical reason why you always get prep fire by defenders in QB maps? My cursory look suggests that it is not required, but I could be missing something.

I am thinking about developing some QB maps, and this is one of the elements that is puzzling me right now.

[womble]

I think it's been said that it can be difficult to get the AI to use its arty meaningfully once battle is joined, so it's better to use it early on.

[mjkerner]

Scenario authors don't have to set support fire zones if they don't want to. (They're painted just like AI move zones.) Defender arty uses any arty that is left over after the prep bombardment on targets of opportunity (TOO), but I can't remember 1) if you have to have set a support fire zone(s) in order for the AI to use leftover arty on TOO, and 2) whether the arty will only fire on TOO in support fire zones. Oh hell....from the manual:

Scenario designers can specify Support Targets for the Computer Player’s

artillery and air support to use at the beginning of the scenario. Such artillery

strikes represent preplanned bombardments for a side controlled by a

Computer Player. If a Human player is in control of a side the designer’s

assigned Support Targets are simply ignored.

When Support Targets are specified, all Artillery and Air Support Assets allocated

to that side’s force are considered available for the AI to use. The only

requirement is that a valid spotter have line of sight (LOS) to the designated

target(s) in order to initiate the strike. All normal support rules apply such

as C2 links, delay times, etc. Artillery and Air Support Assets not used against

the Support Targets are available for the AI to use during the regular course

of the battle.

Up to 20 independent Support Targets can be designated. Simply select a target

number and paint the zone to be fired at in the 2D map. Zones can be any

size, contiguous or disjointed, though practically speaking it is best to keep

in mind the actual amount of assets available. If one target zone covers half

of the map, but the side only has a battery of two measly 82mm mortars

available that are low on ammo, don’t expect an earth shattering map-covering

artillery strike. Instead, it is more likely that the AI spotter will randomly

pick one place out of the entire zone and pound it until the mortars are

empty.

Each target can be assigned one of three possible missions. These determine

the intensity and duration of the strike:

Destroy – heavy intensity, long duration. Issue this type to cause maximum

damage. Available assets, ammo, and size of the target area are especially

critical here. A couple of 60mm mortars aren’t going to level a city block, for

example, but 4 batteries of 155mm Howitzers certainly can!

Damage – medium intensity, medium duration. Good for a quick, devastating

shock to a particular area Good balance between ammo conservation and

damage.

Suppress – low intensity, short duration. This is best used for harassing fire or

to pin an enemy force down to allow friendly on map units take advantage of

the situation.

Preplanned strikes arrive at the beginning of a scenario, but not always immediately

in the first few seconds. Normal C2 delays apply. Each target is

attacked in order, and if multiple assets are available, several targets can be

attacked simultaneously.

Any support assets that are not used up for the pre-planned bombardments are

available for the AI Player to use dynamically during the battle as long as it

has what it needs to call in a strike (e.g. proper spotter, adequate communications

links, etc.). In other words, the AI Player is bound by the same rules

as the Human Player, as explained in various sections of this manual.

[mjkerner]

So, if you use a very small support fire zone, and the AI has a lot of arty, then presumably there will be more for it to use throughout the battle.

[SteveP]

So far, it appears I am the only one who thinks that prep fire by the defense in a QB is an odd thing to do. Since you know it will always(?) happen, it is certainly easy for the attacker to avoid.

[StoneAge]

I'm doing a scenario where I want to drop an Arty barrage of 81mm mortars on a tree line about 25 minutes into the battle. Reading the bit from the manual above, it looks like I can do an opening barrage with C2 delay. Is there a way to make this arrive 25 minutes later.

[mjkerner]

Stoneage, I wish that would be possible, but don't know of any waqy to do that. I hope BFC looks into to making that happen, along with some basic triggering system...when unit A reaches zone X, enemy unit B assualts zone X from flank.