Arty response times, who likes them, who doesnt?

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: h_h_lightcap

IMHO-----The gAME SHOULD ALLOW for many more preplotted target hexes---maybe one to two per company and the default amount. The arty delay should be upped a bit .1 seems silly except in the preplotted hex, with the understanding that the Americans and British shoul have the lowest response delay BY FAR.

Because some iof this discussion smacks of the same old German-centric thinking----"there is no way the Americans should have beaten the germans.....shermans sucked and tigers rule....Blah Blah Blah" Battle of the Bulge anyone???? TO be accurate all meeting engagements and American advances/assaults from 1944 and later should have 4-1 or greater American pts and JABOS flying around in good weather.


ALBY----IN SUMMARY: MANY MORE PRE-PLOTS, more arty delay -----Thanks for bringing it up and thanks for ENHANCED!!!



REMEMBERING THE ALAMO---HH

One of my main reason for bringing this up is some players have 'defected' over to the other camp [;)] with the artillery routine as one of the reasons mainly the .01 and 02 delays without using pre plotted hexes....so was just seeing how many really don't like it...as you can see, no one seems to like the .01 delay even when they have it for use themselves (other than Gunny...LOL)

Oh ya almost forgot....
number of Preplots can be increased or decreased depending on map size, amount of points, and mission.

In previous versions of the game onboard mortar formations for instance could be given a special flag for "dedicated fast response artillery" which made them faster and more accurate, but I swear we discussed this with Mike Wood and at some point (version) the code was changed so that all on board arty receives this bonus regardless of special flag...(I believe Rockets are an exception.)
Now I am pretty sure that is what he said, but maybe I have misunderstood or forgotten in the past year.

[RERomine]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

The late Gene Sledge was a 60mm mortarman, and in "With the Old Breed" he mentions that during fire exercises the instructor had a stopwatch, and the competition was to see which mortar team could set up and lay fire the quickest.  Unfortunately, Mr. Sledge didn't give actual timings.  [:(] 

The implication, though, was that it became a matter of seconds, not minutes, in setting up and delivering accurate fire.   

I guess the question would be under what circumstances was the exercise. Line of sight or not, mortars are high tragectory weapons so it comes out as an indirect fire exercise. With direct line of sight, none of that position stuff matters because they can adjust their own fire. Under those circumstances, I would expect it to be fast. A training exercise also doesn't have the extra combat distractions going on. When we ran training exercises calling in artillery, we were the only ones call it in and there was no other combat activity going on. They were also 105mm rounds so there was no losing one of those [:)]

I might be over estimating the amount of confusion created by other combat. A mortar round, even a small one won't be lost to small arms fire. It really is a case by case basis sort of thing. If the forward observer doesn't see the spotting round, he can't really adjust other than to assume the range probably needs dropped. It might have also been a dud. Wouldn't be good to drop the range if you aren't sure.

[vahauser]

I personally believe that artillery response times are largely a non-issue when discussing single-player games against the computer.
 
When playing against the computer, then the human player can customize his game and the way he wants artillery to be employed in just about a zillion different ways to suit his own personal preferences.
 
When playing against the computer, I don't play like any other player I know.  I suspect most players are that way.  Indeed, one of the main (if not THE main) reasons for playing SPWAW as single player against the computer is to be able to customize the game however you want to without having to argue with anybody about it. 
 
So, given that perspective artillery response times in single-player games are mostly a non-issue.
 
Further, I also believe that no matter what artillery response times are provided by the game, it is impossible to "get them right".  Impossible.  It is impossible to provide "historically accurate" artillery response times to a game system where the time per turn is variable (nobody knows how long each SPWAW turn is).  Impossible.  It is also impossible to provide "historically accurate" artillery response times where you have airpower and off-map and on-map and command/control all using the same mechanics.  Impossible.
 
The current "best guesses" (as provided by SPWAW) are the result of years of trial and error and refinement.  It doesn't really matter that these best guesses are "broken" because there is no way to "fix" what is broken.  Impossible.  And any attempts to "fix" what is broken will be broken too.  I, personally, have no desire to see one "broken" system replaced by another "broken" system just to give somebody something to do.  Waste of time.  More than a waste of time, to me it is just meddling with the system with no honest payoff that will make the game better.  All it will do is make the game DIFFERENT, not better.  I'm tired of people meddling with the game just because they can. 
 
The current artillery system is likely not as broken as any attempts to "fix" it would be.  I say leave it alone until Mike Wood can personally address the system and determine for a fact that it can be improved and not changed just for the sake of change.

[KG Erwin]

Well, vahauser, that's what I wanted to say in the first place.   Thank you.  [:)]

However, even with the real and perceived flaws, it's a damn good game. Enough of this bickering. It's time to mount up and move out. See you on the battlefield.

"Get off your asses, Marines. We're moving out! The front line is to the left. Let's go!"

Photo: Marines at Guadalcanal, 1942

[RERomine]

Quite right. Response times aren't really a problem. I adapt to whatever it happens to be.

Now it wouldn't hurt my feelings it the adjust fire problem gets corrected. For those not familar with what I'm talking about, when you try to adjust your fire from a previously targeted hex, range to the new target hex is calculated from the FO instead of the firing unit. I keep my FOs away from the LD, with mortars closer, so it in effect, reduces the range of my mortars.

[h_h_lightcap]

ALBY----


Yes the Preplots can be more or less BUT there are not enough---ESPECIALLY for defends where the units may have been in place for more than a day or so---i.e. Stalingrad etc-----Anyway I dont mind the system the way it is now. as along as the GERMAN lovers among us dont start whining about how its not fair ---That is the American advantage --arty.

BTW---I love playing as the Germans.


STILL REMEMBERING THE ALAMO---HH

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: h_h_lightcap


STILL REMEMBERING THE ALAMO---HH

[:D]

[KG Erwin]

Lemme tell ya, if Travis had had a company of US Marines led by THIS guy, it would've been a different story : "Let's get those stinkin' Mexicans off our property!" [:D]

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Lemme tell ya, if Travis had had a company of US Marines led by THIS guy, it would've been a different story : "Let's get those stinkin' Mexicans off our property!" [:D]

Oh boy this thread is going to hell now!!
LOL

[RERomine]

ORIGINAL: Alby

Oh boy this thread is going to hell now!!
LOL

I'll tie it all together.

Just imagine how well they would have done in the Alamo with some four deuces with fast response times [:D]

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: RERomine

ORIGINAL: Alby

Oh boy this thread is going to hell now!!
LOL

I'll tie it all together.

Just imagine how well they would have done in the Alamo with some four deuces with fast response times [:D]

DEDICATED FAST RESPONSE>>>LOL