TCing a Leopard with damaged stabilization

[Chaplain]

Does anyone who plays Leopards from the TC position stick with a tank that has lost its stabilization? If so, how in the world to you communicate your intentions to the gunner? Shift-(up/left/right)arrow is certainly not adequate to the task.

I have found that if the stab goes, my only option is to either switch tanks or go to the external view. (The AI TC seems to have no trouble guiding the gunner even with the stab out, of course.) Am I missing some trick?

[Ssnake]

Well, in real life you can "talk the gunner to target", and that's what we simulate when you're in the external position. Since you cannot talk to your gunner unless in a network team, my suggestion for a workaround is to make your tank turn towards the target, and then use the Shift+Up combination, or to jump into the gunner's place.

It's a trade-off when deciding for the Leo or the M1 - superior override in one mode and none in all the others, or a more or less inaccurate method that works most of the time. You can't have everything at the same time.

[Chaplain]

It's counter-intuitive, but your method of pointing the tank and then using shirt-up-arrow does seem to work. At least, as long as the enemy AFV's are on the same plane as the turret. I'll have to try to see if it works when the enemy AFV is either high or low.

It's certainly very clunky, but then again I'm sure that talking the gunner onto the target is just as clunky.

Have you considered adding commands like ctrl-left-arrow: turret 20 mils left, ctrl-up-arrow gun 20 mils up? This would be similar to the commands that the TC gives the driver.

[Ssnake]

Well, you can go into the external view, and use the Shift+Lase combination to tell the then computer controlled crew what you just saw. This is probably as close an approximation to real procedures as it can get. You're not supposed to talk the gunner into the target like "left, left, left, left, faster! left, left, dang it! right, right, left, stop! Can't you see it, you @%&$§!! ?"

[Chaplain]

Well, then, how do you talk the gunner onto a target? My assumption was something like this:

TC "Tank, right 90 mils, up 15 mils"

Gunner "Cannot identify"

TC "right 20 mils"

Gunner "Identified"

TC "Fire!"

Granted, the TC would not say "right 20 mils" five times, but if a single keystroke represented 20 mils, then a quick 4 or 5 taps would approximate 90 mils.

I know it's my opinion, but I would find these commands far more useful in play than being able to punch a range into the computer if my LRF goes out. I'm more likely to hit a target using Kentucky windage than I am to figure out a close-enough range to punch it into the computer so that I can use the automatic-lead function. (In other words, I won't hit it either way. :casstet: ) Since the stab is often to first thing to go during a battle, I would think that a feasible way of staying in the TC's seat yet being able to guide the gunner would be a definite plus to the simulation side of SB.

(Okay, maybe the turret is the first thing to go with the Leopard. :o Since I am a little slow on the draw, I have come to depend upon being able to take several hits before I can dispatch all my targets. Therefore, I have to be able to guide the gunner without the stab, as it almost invariably gets knocked out of commision. With an M1 I can usually get away with that technique. Maybe I shouldn't try it with the Leopard? :P)

[Hackworth]

"left, left, left, left, faster! left, left, dang it! right, right, left, stop! Can't you see it, you @%&$§!! ?"

ROFLMAO

[Ssnake]

Well, then, how do you talk the gunner onto a target? You try to give a short description, e.g.
TC: "11:30, 2000, yellow house!"
Gnr: "Identified!"
TC: "To the right, three bushes, behind them tank!"
Gnr: "Identified!"
TC: "Fire!"I know it's my opinion, but I would find these commands far more useful in play than being able to punch a range into the computer if my LRF goes out.Again, things in real life (at least in the Leo) are different from what you get to see in SB. In the Leo, you don't have a keypad to push number buttons, but a turning knob. Turn right to increase the distance, turn left to reduce it. In a shaking and bouncing tank this is pretty fool proof. You can enter small errors that way, but no big errors. With a keypad, you could enter 3200 when you actually wanted to enter 2200. With the turning dial the max error is 2250 or 2180. I also think it's quicker in most cases.
The other thing is that you don't prepare your map well enough in the planning phase. What you could do is to draw lines from each preplanned battle position to significant places on the map, and type in the distance for the line label. Reserve one or two colors for that, e.g. light and/or dark gray. That way, when you fight from this position, you have a fan of range marks on the map, and you can compare identified enemy positions (ideally from defilade) with your marks, and adjust the manual range input.

Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance... ;)