Instant Action Scenario question

[ChrisWerb]

99% of my play has been playing the Instant Action scenario over and over. It is my version of the card game solitaire and I find it very soothing - very little to think about but stopping the enemy and I can forget my cares. I think the game is worth $125 for that alone. Most of the time I play the M1A2SEP as it enables me to rack up kill ratios far in excess of those I achieve in anything else. I have experimented a lot and what I find works best so far is to have 2 tubes fire 2 rounds per minute of ICM onto a 50x400 metre template along the road and behind the trees for 12 minutes. That is enough to kill some enemy vehicles, but not make them all stop, so more come into the trap. It also saves precious ICM for later use. What then happens is that one or two vehicles are set on fire by the ICM where you can just see them through the trees. I take that as my cue to fire through the trees, lasing the trees and aiming up a little. If I am lucky I also catch other enemy vehicles and create a blockage with ever more dead enemy vehicles creating more and more obstacles when killed. Last night, for the first time, I created an obstacle so effective that it stopped all further enemy vehicles from passing through - I then mopped up the few on my side of the obstacle for a total of 67 kills (this is my second highest total - I have killed 71 twice in the past before being killed).

 

Now what I don't understand is what happened to the other 93 enemy vehicles?  I kept putting DPICM down on the far side of the blockage, but did not get any secondary explosions or smoke columns. Are there conditions under which they stop spawning? I quit the game at 50 minutes whilst my tank was still alive and saved the AAR. I had taken a screen cap of the map screen. I had lost several crew members including the gunner and my left and right tracks, but the vehicle's weapon systems were fully operational. So I survived, but did not complete the scenario having stalemated myself.

Edited January 11, 2017 by ChrisWerb
Grammar

[Ssnake]

As far as I remember - no, there is no condition that stops the spawning. For the IA I think that this part of the behavior is largely hardcoded (so the usual rules for mission design do not apply, one of the reasons why the files are passworded and not in a regular scenario file location).

I'd need to look at the scenario itself to make a definite statement, but I think that what may have happened is that you created a blockade in very close vicinity of a waypoint on the road, and that may have made tanks go on a random route through the forest (where they may have gotten stuck, and blocked each other from getting anywhere) in search of SOME path towards that waypoint. That might explain why you didn't see a lot more fire - they weren't on the road, but they weren't going anywhere either.

 

Now, in such a situation, if you feel adventurous (or bored), maybe you can reconnoiter the minefield around you.

 

Also, the AAR may provide some clues, if you switch to "vehicle mode" view in the map display options.

[ChrisWerb]

Hi Ssnake. I have now managed to block and stop the enemy four times. The most kills I have ever achieved in doing so is 76. The blockage always takes effect between 61 and 76 vehicles. Additional artillery put down behind the blockage does not appear to cause more secondary explosions/fires/kills. Most recent attempt resulted in 62 kills.

Edited January 13, 2017 by ChrisWerb