ghostdog688

And in (dental) record time!

"Gunner, COAX, Troops!" my solution is a little messier...

I'm counting the days of June down... Here's hoping for an update soon!

i don't think we're at a stage where we all need to ditch our four man crews - the benefits of having another dude in the team to help share the daily tasks with still outweigh the disadvantages. For now! Once the technology becomes reliable enough, it will be no longer a concern. Tank crew numbers have shrunk dramatically since their inception. Bear in mind the following: the mark one british tank tanks in ww1 had 8 crewmembers: several gunners to operate the multiple MG's/Guns, loaders to keep he guns ammo'd up and spot targets, a driver, a co-driver and a commander. improved technology such as a rotating turret and increased engine reliability meant less crew were needed to use a more flexible piece of firepower. this led to work on the Churchill: 5 crew, TC, Gunner, Driver, Loader/RTO and Co-driver/hull gunner. as the main gun improved on both sides of the battlefield, the second MG (and its crew position) became outmoded. why on earth shold we assume it to be any different with a loader? eventually, it'll get worked down to driver and TC, once technology improves to the point that the TC simply needs to confirm to the computer the correct round for the located target and authorise to shoot. Then it'll be just one person to control the tank. and by this time it'll be from a distance (drone tech). Thats just how technology works - making the job of many come down to the job of one (or none). Ultimately, the less human life there is on a battlefield, the less risk there is to the soldier and the more effective they can be through gaining experience from mistakes that otherwise would have killed or injured them. Now, if we are at that point now is another question altogether. But we WILL get there eventually.

good point imp! further more, as many have said already: I have yet to be yelled at by a VU in any sim because i didn't know what i was doing. if you're unsure, ask questions. It shows you're paying attention. Not to be too advertismental, but i personally noticed kanium.eu, and can highly recommend them for new players - they've been patient with me (only played this game for a 6 weeks or so now!), and have always given me no more than i feel comfortable managing. if i don't feel happy to take a role, they have figured it out around folks like me and found me a job. heck, even if you're not up for running so much as a tank, you can gun/observe. As long you try your best, its good enough come along to see us next time or find a VU that suits your time zone. the learning and experience you gather is exponential!

Could've said the same thing lol

I think the problem is the perception that an auto loader is somehow more or less reliable source than a human. There comes a point where the reliability concern will disappear as technology and material strength improves. the other concern is doctrinal: it takes time and training to get a loader to a proficiency equal or better than an auto loader. Right now, some nations are willing to pay that cost, but as military spending gets cut, auto loaders end up providing great value for money as you no longer need to loader or spent money on the training. It also allows for turret designs to shrink down, reducing the target size. also, the development involved with designing this kind of complex machinery whilst keeping it reliable, easy to maintain and simple to operate allow for engineering developments that will translate into other parts of the tank. If your auto loader machinery is well built and reliable, chances are you can do the same job on other parts of the tank like the engine, stabilisation or turret drive. i know a lot of folks will counter with the t64 or 72: both had auto loaders but no so great engines or stabilisation systems. But once again, this is a different era where the technology was still in its infancy and there was a fundamental desire to drive down cost. The soviet states wanted a simple, cheap tank. if they spent the money to make them high-tech and top of the line reliable and useful, the number of tanks would be much smaller but the reliability and quality of them would be much higher. i don't have a problem with auto loaders provided they are reliable, easy to maintain in the field, tested, and combat-rated. Put them up against an experienced loader and see how each one performs. Then look at the cost of that individual trained and compare to the per unit cost of the autoloader. Your decision will come naturally.

That's cool, didn't know that. Mounting/dismounting is a little labour some, what about if the infantry is close enough to the PC that they get resupplied (like what happens to tanks near a fuel/ammo truck)?

Sorry i I think in being misunderstood. I know why they have a hatch in real life, I just wondered what i can do with it inside the sim? Is it really just for popping my head out and not having to deal with vision blocks? Personally if I have a good excuse not to break my immersion and use observer mode, it can only be a good thing, but if it's just purely immersion and realism that's fine. Just wanted to make sure I'm not missing some other fundamental function we've all been doing without for so long

Thanks for he response. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but as there's no MG above the gunners hatch, what reason would we have to stand in the hatch instead of/alongside the TC, or is this really just an immersion thing? im not complaining, just trying figure out how I will use this feature to my advantage in game.

Nice one jartsev! I also noticed you can pop out of the gunners hatch; is this peculiar to t72b1 or inherent in many vehicles? Would be cool to use the loaders MG in the M1 for example...

I know it won't help unless you are playing multicrew, but the TC would usually issue more detailed corrections and a decent range estimate with his periscope while the gunner did their job. But to echo the others, if you're going to do t-62 in SP, switching magnification should in most cases give you a rough idea of shot placement. Either that or it'll give you a squint

Hey I'll be happy if it's 3-4 weeks and not 3-4 falcon weeks lol BMS guys will get that more than anyone else...

Deja, they only look "terrible" in comparison to the newer ones. I know I couldn't do a better job, so as long as the systems and tactics are real, I'm happy. No complaints here its like saying "oh, I've got all these diamonds and one rubbish looking ruby". You've still got something good there!

I played OFP but only in single player, but it was pretty cool for the time. But realistic vehicles? No way, even with realism mods like ACE and ACRE, SB still kicks ass as a Tank and Armoured vehicle sim. if we could get arma3 (not VBS) to talk to SB, that would rock, but only if it's done well.

Disclaimer: I don't mean this in a ride or condescending way, please don't read that into the words! Having played sims since 1992 (b17 Flying Fortress by microprose for DOS), I can safely say that for me, graphics don't matter whatsoever. Perhaps I have an active enough imagination, perhaps it's more because my PC runs off an NVIDIA GTX460 (so I'm not exactly spoiled as it is), but I can quite happily state that realism in my sims is vastly more important than graphics. if graphics are important to you, then I understand that SB (and many decent sims in the same category) are not the best in the world for this, but I guess you just have to make do unless you can contribute to the graphical engine positively in some way

I'll do my best to turn up, depends on my work if I'll be on time

I misread it, thought it was the AT variant. False alarm

I too would like to 'go red', especially with the bmp-2 coming out. Anyone else notice the brdm-2 on the list too or did I misread that?

i bet that "Friday at 2359" we will get the details . It would still count esims, you tease

It'll help if you intentionally murder the Germans language by reading it out loud and swapping the 'chs' sound with a 'ks' sound. But not around minors or work colleagues

I personally hope he gives a Fuchs, but I'll take a chieftain too

I bet ssnake and company are loving the bandwidth spike cause by refresh fever on this thread lol

If you can, upload it elsewhere as unlisted and then on hotel wifi you can just set it to public

I like that, Ssnake. It's a fair balance and allows the commander nominate targets (AT assets, HVT, exposed crew etc) and leave the rest to the AI . If the team is equipped with an anti-materiel rifle (say Barrett .50 etc), can we nominate soft skinned vehicles (for example scouts or jeeps)