SPArty Use against Recon

[Tom_]

Hi Folks,

Playing the Tutorial #1 as NATO.
Anyone have any tips regarding the US SPArty, namely, how to prevent it targeting fast moving Rus Recce units (and missing)?

The RUS recce units are the first targets that are spotted, the SPArty opens up but by the time the rounds land the Recce units have moved on. Further to this the SPArty is firing several salvos so its wasting ammo.

[22sec]

There are times the FSCC works wonders, and there are situations that challenge it. If I see the FSCC has a plotted fire mission that I don't like while I am issuing orders I will reassign the artillery unit back to On Call. That wipes out any current fire missions. I also am a big fan of adjusting the rounds and time of a barrage from the Unit Dashboard. If I have a battery of 8 guns and a position I really want to hammer I might do 72 rounds in 3 minutes. That is 3 rounds per gun per minute. If I want to suppress a position I might lower the rounds per minute to 1 and increase the total minutes they are firing.

[CapnDarwin]

Having the target under direct observation helps. Recon can react much faster than it did in Red Storm and is hard to spot if in good concealment.

[Tom_]

Some really good advice in here thanks!
I wonder if in the future some ability to tell arty what type of targets to prioritise would be useful in the SOP section?
i.e. ignore moving recon units. Always target infantry, moving and stationary...etc

[CapnDarwin]

Tom, priority target lists are something we discussed as a possible future feature addition.

[Tom_]

Tom, priority target lists are something we discussed as a possible future feature addition.

Massive thumbs up from me

[IronMikeGolf]

"I wonder if in the future some ability to tell arty what type of targets to prioritise would be useful in the SOP section?"

We could certainly do that. Within our team, I'll draw a line, stick my bayonet in the sand, and argue vehemently against that sort of knobs and levers for players.

Why? It goes against one of our core game design goals. We intend this game to deliver to you, the Player, a glimpse of the experience of being Commander and Staff of Battalions, Brigades, and Regiments. Those people don't tell Fire Support people what kinds of targets to engage. They tell them which subordinate commands have priority of fire and when during the execution of a mission. And the Fire Support staff work hard at figuring out which requested missions best support the unit mission. And it is very hard to build an AI that does that.

The knobs and levers are there now for doing what you want (don't waste ammo on fast moving recon), to an extent. It does have to happen during an Orders phase, and that's a constraint for us to work on. Think of it as what level of command in your organization to plug the fire support unit in. It starts at the top level, unless the Scenario Designer wires them in at a lower level. By tis I mean, whatever HQ you wired the arty to support, it will listen to any unit at a lower level.

So, you don't want to shoot arty at fast moving enemy recon? Here's your options now.
1. If you want to save your arty ammo until the main fight, pull the arty units out of FSCC control. The downside is no fires, other than what you order in the Orders Phase.
2. Keep the arty units in FSCC control, so they can fire at targets spotted during turn resolution. BUT, wire them up with a unit whose subordinates aren't likely to see enemy recon units and the first thing they see will likely be the enemy main body. Now, figure out how to kill enemy recon before they come in contact with the folks wired up with fire support. That's kinda how we did it in my youth.

[Tom_]

Completely respect that and will offer my thoughts.

I actually don't want to micro - I understand the premise of the game and that's why I love it.

However, fire support staff would, I think, highly unlikely target a unit that was quickly passing through an area, such as a moving recon unit. Knowing full well that rounds are going to miss - Or when rounds are missing don't cease fire.
That being said if building an AI to fulfil the task of fire support staff is challenging, well that's that. I suppose I'm trying to mitigate the AI by asking for that type of fidelity.

The orders phase is a great strength of the game so I wouldn't want to be able disseminate orders during that, but I don't see the knobs and levers that allow conservation of ammo on fast moving targets. - Except for the two options you have provided, which I'd suggest are not ideal.

Hopefully that gives more insight into what and why I made that suggestion.

[IronMikeGolf]

"Except for the two options you have provided, which I'd suggest are not ideal"

Concur. In fact, it's so much a concur that it needs to be a core behavior in fire mission queue management. So, not a single lever or knob for the player is necessary nor desired. It's on the list for consideration to addition to the roadmap.

Edited for spellcheck