IndesTRUCKtible !

[PDiFolco]

Trucks have a real problem !
In BC2 one of my squad got charged (!) by empty trucks, after TWO turns of close combat not one was even destroyed, the squad was then killed by another farther enemy unit !
Eben a 150 mm barrage didn't make much damage on them either, and what about "Wheel penetrated but no damage" message ?!? [8|]...

Please, so something to give trucks a more realistic behavior (ie no charge !) and survivability. [&o]

Here's a funny shot :

[Romeo13]

Wow... did you get the Mad Max Mod or something???
 
LOL.... thats funny....

[madorosh]

Check out the Designer's Notes to the original Squad Leader for a note on truck durability...the designer is quoting Enemy at the Gates by William Craig:

"Pfluger waited patiently to spring a trap. He had stationed a 75-millimetre antitank gun to his right...When the first tank crawled up from the gully, the sergeant fired a purple Very light into the sky and the 75 roared. The shell cut through the tank turret and passed on into open air before it exploded. Two soldiers tumbled out of the T-34 and raced madly back up the hill. Pfluger was tracking one through his sights when he suddenly though, My God, if you're been that lucky, who am I to shoot you now. He lowered his rifle and let the man go."

The above also goes a long way to explain why trucks aren't automatically eliminated when hit by an AP round.

[right]...SL rulebook, 4th edition, p.32[/right]

I don't know that this is particularly relevant but I would argue that a truck should be able to absorb a little bit of punishment, and if all things are equal, there will be freak cases on occasion where units do things well out of the ordinary. It's why the Medal of Honor exists, after all. [:)]

[JudgeDredd]

LMAO...Attack fo the Killer Trucks!

[Stridor]

I wouldn't get too worked up over trucks. Outside of bootcamp, you will rarely encounter them.


I remember playing BC#2 many many times (obviously) and I never had a major problem in taking them out with small arms (they did absorb some punishment as MD quoted, but not an ungodly amount). Maybe there has been a little xml buglet slip through since that time which is affecting truck destroyability? Perhaps Erik can check it out.

[thewood1]

CM took some tweaking on trucks from CMBO to CMBB for basically the same reasons.

[Biffa]

I've been using this game exploit without really realising it until I read this post.

The German half tracks work well, basically just charge 2 or 3 of them at a flag that they may not capture straight away and while the enemy infantry focuses on them instead of your real forces slide on up to the flag and take the enemy out. Often once a few groups are down the flag will change and unless there's arty or mortars nearby usually one will survive long enough for your other forces to capture the area. I've had one survive for 9 turns atleast.

I dump out my grenadiers once I'm nearby then use the trucks as my main attacking force with the grenadiers rushing to catch them up at the flag.

Me bad, but sorry yes it works.

I guess in rl if you were a truck driver with just a gunner up top and you were surounded by enemy infantry pinging holes in your vehicle you would probably surrender, but these guys don't. Panzer crews will abandon a tank for much less...

[NefariousKoel]

Did Stephen King create those trucks? [:D]

[Mobius]

You could make up a scenario, "Shoot out at the OK Corral".  A platoon of Germans and halftracks on one side and a platoon of Russian Guards and their "technicals" on the other.  Put a flag in the middle and see who wins.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Stridor
Maybe there has been a little xml buglet slip through since that time which is affecting truck destroyability? Perhaps Erik can check it out.

No bug that I'm aware of - this seems like a fairly freak occurrence to me as I replayed that mission a couple of days ago and had no trouble taking out trucks. Yes, they can sometimes take some sustained _small arms_ fire, but if you think about it that's not really unrealistic. Perhaps I should make them easier to stun though and we could add in a morale penalty for them as well.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: SAF_Biffa
The German half tracks work well, basically just charge 2 or 3 of them at a flag that they may not capture straight away and while the enemy infantry focuses on them instead of your real forces slide on up to the flag and take the enemy out. Often once a few groups are down the flag will change and unless there's arty or mortars nearby usually one will survive long enough for your other forces to capture the area. I've had one survive for 9 turns atleast.

Well the half tracks do have some armor, but if they get close to enemy infantry they should be easy prey for close assault and small arms fire should penetrate them within about 100m.

I dump out my grenadiers once I'm nearby then use the trucks as my main attacking force with the grenadiers rushing to catch them up at the flag. Me bad, but sorry yes it works.

Hm, well that certainly seems to suggest that there may be some adjusting needed.

[quoteI guess in rl if you were a truck driver with just a gunner up top and you were surounded by enemy infantry pinging holes in your vehicle you would probably surrender, but these guys don't. Panzer crews will abandon a tank for much less...[/quote]

I'll make some modifications for the next update and see if that helps.

[PDiFolco]

I won't have been surprised if Halftracks charged and my CC was unsuccessful, but c'mon, they're TRUCKS and yet charge a fully effective squad !!?

Survability is off but behaviour also, worse than original CM (the problem they had with trucks and jeeps was'nt their modelling but abuse by players who used them as scouts, the AI didn't do it !).
Make the trucks flee as soon as hit or even close hit, please.

[Mobius]

Trucks are used so little in the game I see why their behaviour isn't modeled.  I don't like them even being a selection in the RBG.  Maybe when Russians get LL White scout cars these will be sent to the motor pool.

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: PDiFolco
Trucks have a real problem !
In BC2 one of my squad got charged (!) by empty trucks, after TWO turns of close combat not one was even destroyed, the squad was then killed by another farther enemy unit !
Here's a funny shot :

I've wondered if the satchel charge mod or activating Mobius' grenades would have turned the tables against them.

[Erik Rutins]

I've done a bit more testing and honestly I don't find trucks hard to blow up at all in that Boot Camp #2 scenario. With that said, clearly some unusual situations can occur if all the die rolls go the wrong way. I've tweaked trucks so that they should be more fragile in the next update and more likely to stop once under fire.

[PDiFolco]

To my surprise in BC3, russian trucks exploded quite easily when fired from afar by my platoon !
Yet I've played several times BC2 and each time trucks were quite hard to kill.

[Mobius]

I wonder if being in the woods had anything to do with their survival?

[PDiFolco]

ORIGINAL: Mobius

I wonder if being in the woods had anything to do with their survival?

I don't think so, they were already bullet and shellproof in open ground...[X(]