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Stupid Newb Question


actrade

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I went through all the tutorials and plan on doing so again somewhat slower and noticed a few things. First, when in manual mode, you must press shift and fire to fire your main gun. Second, when unbuttoned, you must press the move up/move down (Q/Z) keys to actually pop your head up out of the tank. Neither of these were documented as far as I can tell and I spent hours trying to find out how to do these two things. Finally, I'm completely lost in trying to orient myself in game. For example, is there anyway to tell if which way you're looking with regard to a compass heading. I was doing the artillery tutorial and saw a target shooting at me, but had no idea which direction the fire was coming from? I could see the fire, but had no idea on how to put artillery on it. I know that by looking at the map, I can use grid coordinates, but how in the world do I know where the enemy is just by looking in that direction? Thanks in advance.

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Finally, I'm completely lost in trying to orient myself in game. For example, is there anyway to tell if which way you're looking with regard to a compass heading. I was doing the artillery tutorial and saw a target shooting at me, but had no idea which direction the fire was coming from? I could see the fire, but had no idea on how to put artillery on it. I know that by looking at the map, I can use grid coordinates, but how in the world do I know where the enemy is just by looking in that direction? Thanks in advance.

...

On SA (situational awareness) 2 things remain consistant in any battle..

1. While looking at the map, the Top of your screen/map is always N, the bottom is always S, your right side is always E, and your left side of the screen/map is always W.

2. This is also true with your "tank-clock" you see in the lower rt corner, and if in the gunners position, etc., the tank-clock will always show you which way you are looking, or the gun barrel is facing. That is the key, which way the gun barrel is pointing, or the front of the tank is heading.. One, the front hull, can be heading/pointing left/West, and the gun barrel can be facing Up/North.. etc.

This never changes.. Top of screen is N, bottom is S, right is E, left is W.

Also, each square grid is 1000m by 1000m, so if you see a target, and lase it, or go to the map and it shows up, you can measure quickly, the aprox distance and direction in which to lay your artty on a target.

Good hunting

LS

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ahh...now I see. Thank you for that info. In other words, the white dot on the tank, which represents which way I'm looking, should be a constant. In other words, if the white dot is at the 2 oclock position, I'm looking NE regardless of which way the tank is oriented, right?

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another newb question

As the gunner in a Leo ...

... I don't have to designate ammo type do I ? ... I tried using the keys for designating ammo like you do in the Abrams but it doesn't work in the Leo (and my ballistic computer seems to know what's loaded ... I think I know the answer but I want to be sure I'm not missing something obvious)

... I don't have to dump lead either do I ?

... I prefer gunning in the Leo ... what's others preference as gunner: Leo or M1A1 ?

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As the gunner in a Leo ...

... I don't have to designate ammo type do I ?

That's correct. The loader pushes the required button after loading.

... I don't have to dump lead either do I ?

Again, you're right.

You only press the dynamic lead button (and hold it pressed!) when and while the target is moving. If just your own tank is moving, the stabilization system will compensate for it so that every round will land exactly on the spot shown within the crosshair's circle when you press the trigger.

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... I prefer gunning in the Leo ... what's others preference as gunner: Leo or M1A1 ?

It really is a matter of personal preference or scenario design. I was a M1IP-M1A2 tanker, so my preference is for the M1, but IMHO the Leo is a simpler tank to gun and is what I would recommend for a beginner. Once the M1A2 arrives in the future, I think that you'll find both tanks near identical enough to make the question moot.

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another newb question

... I prefer gunning in the Leo ... what's others preference as gunner: Leo or M1A1 ?

I prefer the Leo too.

I find the need to remember what type of ammo was loaded in the M1 during the heat of a battle troublesome, and can be quite fatal if you're face-to-face with the enemy but enter the wrong ammo type and see your round fell shot or over.

Also, the independent commander sight is indispensible, imo.

cheers

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It really is a matter of personal preference or scenario design. I was a M1IP-M1A2 tanker, so my preference is for the M1, but IMHO the Leo is a simpler tank to gun and is what I would recommend for a beginner. Once the M1A2 arrives in the future, I think that you'll find both tanks near identical enough to make the question moot.

does this mean the control system is simular to te one one the leo?

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It really is a matter of personal preference or scenario design. I was a M1IP-M1A2 tanker, so my preference is for the M1, but IMHO the Leo is a simpler tank to gun and is what I would recommend for a beginner. Once the M1A2 arrives in the future, I think that you'll find both tanks near identical enough to make the question moot.

I actually prefer the lead system in the M1A1 over the Leo, myself. Holding down 'P' while simultaneously tracking and hitting space is ... well, awkward for me. Tracking, dumping lead and then firing is actually more intuitive.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm weird. :)

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I use a simple marble mouse with two buttons.

I: place the mid finger on "P" and my thumb on spacebar (a little awkward at first)

I: track the target; push on the "P" button, hit the right mouse button to lase; then concentrate on the little circle in the middle of the crosshairs to keep it tracking on target ... pop the space bar ... walla !! Dead tank !! Normally from lase to "blaze" its only a split-second or two but if the target is moving perpendicular to me I can take a second or two to be sure the hairs tracking on the target

I've been bringing my gunnery range score down the last few days. I tend to miss one ... sometimes twice ... 10/12 ... and my time ranges from 8 sec. to 18 sec. Mwhahahahahah!! sometimes I take too much time ... thus, I be dead on the battlefield.

Hopefully that will improve

hank

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Ever tried the middle mouse button instead?

I tried that, too, but it threw off my aiming because of the change in pressure on the mouse. The side buttons take less pressure than the middle, so pressing them doesn't throw me off that extra little bit.

I fully embrace that I'm a lousy shot, in the first place. :)

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Maybe you should try a joystick. Some people handle SB much better with them.

Sadly, even less than an option with my current physical configuration. As is I use an old-school M-style IBM keyboard with Microsoft's toggling shift/ctrl/alt keys engaged, and my mouse sits on the floor. It does have the advantage of being able to type and move pointer at the same time, but even my toes aren't as flexible as all that. :)

(Actually, the main problem with a stick is the buttons tend to be up on the stick where your fingertips are supposed to go. One that recalled the old Atari exclamation-point shaped ones with buttons on the base might be an option. Generally, though, I've just accepted I'll always be a lousy shot and concentrate on trying to be a decent commander. :))

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does this mean the control system is simular to te one one the leo?

Not exactly, the setup for the gunner on an M1A2 remains the same, but with the addition of the DAHA (Dual-Axis Head Assembly) reticule jump and "bobble" go away, making for a smoother track and quicker engagement times. Mind you it is still necessary to dump lead in between engagements, but you won't be dragging your reticule around. The controls for the CITV are nearly identical to that of the Leo's Commander's Periscope but with the addition of a handy choke sight for range determination without lasing.

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The way I understand it, slight wobble can still occur if the turret can't compensate fast enough for a wildly variating moving average for lead computations. In practice this probably is hadly ever noticeable because you don't try to work with extreme inputs in training since expensive and heavy machinery is involved (with the resulting danger of accidents).

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You may be right. I never noticed any additional movement of the reticule on the 'A2, but it is probable it could happen under certain circumstances. I got out before the SEPs were fielded, but friends who have fired them say they’re rock solid compared to the 'A1 and even the first generation 'A2s. Of course that's anecdotal…take it for what its worth. ;)

3Star – Yeah, the instructors hammered the hell out of us on the lead issue during transition, once you lose the visual cue of the reticule moving you just forget to dump it.

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I remapped the commands from the "P" key to the "V" key that is directly above the spacebar. Now I can easily hold down the "V" key, move the mouse to track my target, and then push the spacebar directly below the "V" key to fire. It is not awkward at all anymore.

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  • 2 years later...
I remapped the commands from the "P" key to the "V" key that is directly above the spacebar. Now I can easily hold down the "V" key, move the mouse to track my target, and then push the spacebar directly below the "V" key to fire. It is not awkward at all anymore.

Is there a way to remap the old SB 1.226?

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No. This was one of the novelty features in SB Pro PE.

Thanks ... I consider that more than a novelty feature ... that's a good one. I'll continue to use a marble mouse for now. I remember trying to use a joy stick way back when ... and I did not do as well shooting as I do with my trusty marble mouse. I'm so used to using it for several games that its just a natural. I use it for Mechwarrior, SB and all other games that are sim types except Pacific Fighters / IL2 Sturmovich.

Pacific Fighters is the only game I've been good at using the joystick.

I actually wore out two Wingman joysticks back then which were middle of the road quality sticks ... my third one is the one I use with PF.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

Here's a stupid NewB question for you...All of the info here is great and everything and I am thrilled to see mods and maps as well as the tutorials! I have been doing this on my own for a while and am glad to see that I can get help and get beyond my limited abilities!

Here's my problem... I have no idea how to get the mods, maps and the scenarios to work. No idea what to do with the .sce, .raw, and any other files in order to make them work! I am still on the very basic V.1.15 (Can't figure out how to get those darn upgrade patches to work, either...Grrr!)

I initially downloaded the program to run off of my external drive. I don't know where I need to extract the files to in order to get them to work.

I will be happy to uninstall the program and reinstall where it will make it easier to add the files!:biggrin:

Though I am a pretty bright guy, I have just some basic computer skills and don't mind being talked to like I am a little slow!:confused:

I love this game so far and spend quite a bit of time improving my gunnery! I am particularly interested right now in scenarios that allow me to spend most of my time in the gunner's position. I imagine eventually I'll get bored and will really sink my teeth into the TC role, but for now, Gunner suits me just fine!

If anyone can steer me towards Gunner-heavy scenarios that would be great! (assuming I can ever get help getting the downloads to work!)

Thanks for any help I can get from you all!

:)

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