Matrix Games Forums

Hey, I have read through a good deal of the adobe manual but I have a few questions I havnt been able to find the answer to yet.

1. The manual mentions firing at tanks to get them to button up so they are less reactive, but whenever I tell my regular soldiers to shoot at tanks, they just say "his armors too thick". Is this shooting at a tank to cause its reactions to slow down just false entirely as its not even possible to shoot at a tank with small arms or is there a way to do it?
2. How can you tell how well hidden you are? I have the outlines set for quality of cover, but does the quality of cover simply equal how well hidden you are? Are you allways as hidden as possible as long as you are in ambush mode no matter what your cover is?
4. Is there a simple way to get all your guys to get into good cover when they are right next to it? Often I have half my squad laying down next to a foxhole and I cant get them all to take cover in the foxhole.
5. Is there a way to make sure your unit doesnt fire at a unit passing by if you dont want to give away your position? Even when i have guys in ambush mode they will still fire at a tank, even if they are screwing themselves by doing so cause they stand no chance. Is it designed so that they will start firing as soon as they realize they are seen?
Thanks for the help.

1. I think to surpress armor, you have to give an aimpoint offset from the tank (e.g. "area fire"). Be careful. No matter how much you try and suppress it, your Russian rifle squad is probably going to lose to the Panzer VIe in front of you . . .
2.Cover quality is how well you are hidden. Ambush will make your guys hold their fire and keep their heads down, so they do not reveal their location and get the maxium benefit from terrain concealment.
4. Not really. Some squads are too big to fit in available cover, and sometimes your AI soldiers can be a little stupid or stubborn. Give them a "Sneak" order to closer to the cover you want them behind, and they may reposition themselves better.
5. No. CC and CC2 had a "Hide" command that prevented the soldiers from firing at all. This was replaced in CC3-CCCoI with the current "Ambush" command. If you give them an "Ambush" command with the defense arc pointing away from the enemy, they may hold fire longer; however, if they do get spotted, more than likely they will all be shot in the back before they can respond . . .

Thanks for the info.  The one other thing I was wondering about is what the bars at the bottom of the screen under the highlighted unit represent? I can see that they seem to show general anti-tank and anti-personell affectiveness, but why are there multiple bars at 3,6,9... or whatever the numbers are? Thanks again. 

Hi. I figured this was the correct thread to post this question. As an old ASL player, I have always been curious how the COI engine dealt with subtleties such as AFV hull down status and target acquisition? In my gameplay, I always attempt to place my AFV's hull down. I also try not to switch fire to alternate targets if at all possible, in the hope that the chances for a hit on the target are better. So does COI cater for target acquisition and hull down status? The answer might alter my gameplay

grantr, greetings!
 
The hull-down is somewhat modeled in the armor specs (lower armor is rated heavier than r/l). There is not an order for it, however.  The terrain is modeled in .5 meter increments, and bears watching for protective opportunities.
 
Target choice can be a case of micromanagement.  One helpful thing to remember is grouping of tanks (drag pointer to select, CTRL-# to group) as an aid for ordered fire.  And of course, more experienced crews and those in command radius will perform much better.