[Bug? Intended?]"Intercept" Declares Unknown Contacts as "Hostile."
Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:29 pm
This isn't new to 1307.14 or anything. It's been like this since I bought CMO a couple months ago. It just came to me to ask about it today is all.
In the manual it says (pgs 81-82) "If a potential target is right clicked while holding the shift key, a new dialog appears <Screenshot showing "Engage with" and "Intercept."> This allows you to engage a target with the selected unit using specific weapons or to simply order an intercept. If an intercept is ordered, the selected unit automatically selects an appropriate throttle settings and moves to identify the target using the best path possible."
For me it instantly auto-declares an unknown contact as "hostile" when I do this which, in turn causes any other units within weapons range of the unkown-now-hostile contact to to move to condition "Engaged offensive" and immediately start firing on it. This can be a problem. The manual seems to imply that "intercept" should only investigate, not declare hostile and open fire.
For now I either just set course directly toward an unkown unit or try to re-declare a unit as "neutral" before anyone starts firing, but I can't set them back to "unkown."
Is this intended behavior? Has "investigate" been removed? I seem to recall seeing that option in the manual (or blog?) but can't seem to find it.
Perhaps "intercept" is intended to only be used to engage a contact? If so it would be nice if there were an "investigate" as well, at least on unknowns. For units already declared hostile it makes sense for there to only be the "intercept" option
Or is this a bug?
In the manual it says (pgs 81-82) "If a potential target is right clicked while holding the shift key, a new dialog appears <Screenshot showing "Engage with" and "Intercept."> This allows you to engage a target with the selected unit using specific weapons or to simply order an intercept. If an intercept is ordered, the selected unit automatically selects an appropriate throttle settings and moves to identify the target using the best path possible."
For me it instantly auto-declares an unknown contact as "hostile" when I do this which, in turn causes any other units within weapons range of the unkown-now-hostile contact to to move to condition "Engaged offensive" and immediately start firing on it. This can be a problem. The manual seems to imply that "intercept" should only investigate, not declare hostile and open fire.
For now I either just set course directly toward an unkown unit or try to re-declare a unit as "neutral" before anyone starts firing, but I can't set them back to "unkown."
Is this intended behavior? Has "investigate" been removed? I seem to recall seeing that option in the manual (or blog?) but can't seem to find it.
Perhaps "intercept" is intended to only be used to engage a contact? If so it would be nice if there were an "investigate" as well, at least on unknowns. For units already declared hostile it makes sense for there to only be the "intercept" option
Or is this a bug?