Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: rocketboy

I too found that NATO arty seemed more deadly than before patch. Took out 5 T-72s in one barrage, that I haven't seen before.

We have noticed this too in our testing and have been keeping an eye on it. I was concerned that it was too powerful now. In the past in the prior biulds some of our play testers were complaining it was too weak. From the tests I have ran so far, I am not as concerned about arty as I was. The total kills at the end of the scenario seem about what I would expect. Yes, arty is the big killer on the battlefield. However, as counterbattery takes it toil and the number of tubes drop, so do the kills.

However, we are continuing to look at it and appreciate your and any one else's thoughts/observations.

The problem with the counterbattery idea however, is that the Warpact's "basic" arty, the D-30/2S1, is very weak and cannot effectively eliminate M109s. Or much of anything that's not in the open, for that matter.

I might be in support of a tiny HE buff, like 0.5 or 1.

Hi and many thanks for this quick response. I'll post the specs below. Again, many thanks ...

Playing the game via Steam
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (English)
Celeron(R) CPU G1610 @ 2.60GHz
Intel(R) HD Graphics
Video Memory 1.85 GB
Screen Resolution 1680 x 1050

Intel(R) HD Graphics
Video Processor Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
Manufacturer Intel Corporation
Video Architecture VGA
DAC Type Internal
Memory Size 1.85 GB
Memory Type Unknown
Video Mode 1680 x 1050 x 4294967296 colors
Current Refresh Rate 60 Hz
Driver Version 8.15.10.2761
Driver Date 21/05/2012

I have the impression that the units tend to stuck together or build a big stack. Playing the Hells crossroad now the third time, always the same. Maybe a bug? Never seen such a lot of stacks before. And if you hit them with your ari, well quit a lot of hits and kills.

They can stack up on the move and there are limits to the number that can be in a hex. The AI tries to spread things out when it can but in certain cases a traffic jam can occur.

Artillery phenomenon appears to only apply to NATO M109s. 2S3 Akatsiyas of the same caliber fail to claim any tanks when they fire, even if there is a large stack in the open.

Looking at them, their guns have the trait "LG". I don't know what this does.

LG is the ability to fire laser guided arty rounds. Special for future use.

I will check to make sure we did not revert some code and break arty on one side.

ORIGINAL: Capn Darwin

I will check to make sure we did not revert some code and break arty on one side.

Hi,

FWIW I've noticed the uber M109's as well, particularly against tanks....it's almost like they have an endless supply of ICM's. I also note that most of the kills are disabled rather than destroyed, which also fits with the ICM results pattern in previous games/builds.

Rob.

Almost sounds like the old ICM special bug is back. I'll will check this on Sunday.

Persisting problem since 2.0.10 where certain AD units like the Strela-10M (SA-13) do not engage fixed wing aircraft

I've noticed quite a few problems. Allow me to vent out my frustration, it's everything that I find issue with in this beta:
-Tank Company and MRC within the same hex as a single Cavalry scout refuse to engage them and are destroyed by the resulting artillery as well as being unable to resupply
-Persisting problem from before 2.0.10 where units seemingly "forget" their orders and are stuck in place until issued new orders (Which noticeably remove/reduce the delay as opposed to what you'd expect to happen). This occurs even if they have been in no combat at all
-The "Damage amplification" all around makes attacking very painful as it is much easier to lose all your forces. You'd expect a Soviet tank battalion to overrun a tank platoon easily at close range, not lose two companies before they can take out the tanks. Similarly, A Soviet tank company can wipe out a larger American force loss-less at ranges that should favor NATO. The "faster gameplay" I expected from earlier might just end up turning into "slower gameplay" as the combat dynamic shifts from focus on maneuver, to focus on who digs in first.
-Soviet Infantry's primary role seems to be "bullet sponging" rather than holding ground. The damage amplification has made them very, very squishy, even if they're within good cover. They don't open fire often and when they do, it doesn't do much unless you can manage to get them onto the same hex as the enemy tanks.
-I must really emphasize again how terrible M109s have gotten. An off-map battery (Or more) is a nightmare for the Soviets since the chances they'll be hit by CB fire, let alone take any damage at all from it, is small, whereas they can pelt your forces all day with their M270-strength barrages. In repeated tests, an M1A1 Coy (+) with support from one off-map battery can shut down and destroy an entire Soviet tank regiment.
-Mi-24s have gone from "Kings of the sky" to "Virtually useless" as they only open fire every 10 minutes and sit still for enemy AA gunners.

I either got much worse at the game over the last week, or playing as the attacking player just got a lot harder.

Checked the arty, all seems to be working as designed. We will keep an eye on the numbers as we continue testing the 11 betas.

Stimpak, I will look into that Monday evening.

Concerning the M109s, I have thrown up an "Artillery Test Range" map that should test and measure the relative effectiveness of Soviet and American artillery.

You can download it here.

Something seems off about M1A1 Abrams in the beta. They destroy a platoon's worth or more every shot they take.

What are the parameters of the engagement?

M1A1 Company vs T-80BV Battalion, range 1000m, Soviets are at default values, Americans are at default values.
Ran it in both versions:

2.0.10b: Soviets inflict heavy casualties and sustain light casualties
2.0.11.1 beta: Americans inflict very heavy casualties and lose 3 tanks

Scenario example here

Jacob--Thanks for the examples. We are looking at them along with our own.

Bug fixes for me with Beta 11:
a) Fixes 'No disc in drive E:' error popups x4 on startup.
b) Can finally open the 'Bruder gegen Bruder' Campaign.

One bug still there:
c) Popup warning that 'Cannot overwrite file that already exists' on starting a scenario sometimes.

Any updates?