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Some gunnery issues.


the_13th_redneck

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OMFG!!!!!!!

Partially it's my joystick and my skill (lack thereof) but man is that harder than a constipated rhino's poop in instant action.

When you see a little sliver of a PC or tank and it's so small you can't get an accurate lase on it and you kinda have to wait and then they kind of blow you out of your position... what a nut buster.

I wished there was a way we could select next ammo in the gunner's position. Yeah I know that wouldn't be realistic but switching from the commander's position just to select ammo, then back to the gunner (who is now facing a completely different direction) is a bit disorienting. And you can't do that in instant action either so you're stuck with selecting the coax mg and shooting away until the TC grabs the turret from you and points it towards the tank that you can barely see, let alone lase. (Let's say the TC wants to take out a tank that's hiding behind a rolling hill and hasn't even seen me yet and I'm more interested in taking out the infantry that's firing the ATGM at me).

Also, if the target is within the gunner's GPS or GAS line of sight, wished the TC wouldn't "correct" me when I am shooting manually because it screws up my lead.

Anyone have solutions to these ?

EDIT: Speak of the devil it happened again. Enemy tank, chasis hidden by rolling hill in front of it, exposed turret so damned small I can't get an accurate lase on it (first and last lase just doesn't cut it. The first one is WAY too close and the last lase is going to lase a friggin' lake WAAAY behind the guy), shows up and within seconds sends a lethal sabot and destroys my tank. Didn't even get to squeeze off a round.

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Tapping the T key every 10 seconds or so is the solution to your problems. In the next version, the TC "stun time" should be even longer so you don't have to mash it as much.

There are going to be times when you can't get a good lase. Overcoming this just takes practice. Try lasing something nearby, dumping the lead and compensating for lead yourself. Or you may manually enter a range into the computer. The M1 also has the ability to switch from first return/last return on the laser. If the target is barely visible behind a berm, use last return.

Also - if you are in the M1, make sure you are indexing the correct ammo type as the gunner. Otherwise you will be very frustrated.

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...and in any case, use the planning phase of Instant Action to define a number of alternate firing positions. Once that you come under effective fire it's time to displace and move to a new location. You don't have THAT much choice, but still a hill is a hill and you can use that ridge where you begin for concealed movement.

Also you must identify the critical choke points. The enemy needs to place at least one bridge before they can cross the river.

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Thanks for the tips!

I had no idea I could move around in instant action. After all, it did tell me I was in the middle of a mine field!

Alright, the T key. I will use that from now on.

As for the correct ammo indexing, I got the hang of that now and don't make that many mistakes with it although somtimes I get carried away and forget.

ADDED:

Alright, so I'm doing a lot better as I've picked myself a better firing position. And here comes the next one. I have a PC and a tank. The tank is closer. It's blasting the hell out of me. TC INSISTS we take out the PC. Next thing you know, the tank has, surprise, surprise, transformed my tank into a crater. Any ideas?

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Gotta love that, also the TC switching your ammo to HEAT every time it sees a PC is a pain. Although in instant action you will get killed by the ATGMs of the PCs much more than the tanks. The problem is the TC switches to HEAT making it much harder to hit them in time, and making the tanks harder to kill. You have unlimited ammo, can there be an option to only use SABOT in instant action.

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I had no idea I could move around in instant action. After all, it did tell me I was in the middle of a mine field!

It says, you're "surrounded" by mine fields, not that you're in the middle of one.

And here comes the next one. I have a PC and a tank. The tank is closer. It's blasting the hell out of me. TC INSISTS we take out the PC. Next thing you know, the tank has, surprise, surprise, transformed my tank into a crater. Any ideas?

Use the T key.

But don't complain if next time it's the PC that dismounts troops with missiles that then kill you while you're busy with the tank.

;)

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Gotta love that, also the TC switching your ammo to HEAT every time it sees a PC is a pain. Although in instant action you will get killed by the ATGMs of the PCs much more than the tanks. The problem is the TC switches to HEAT making it much harder to hit them in time, and making the tanks harder to kill. You have unlimited ammo, can there be an option to only use SABOT in instant action.

That would make it a bit too easy, wouldn't you agree?

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The good thing about the ATGMs is that they kick up a lot of smoke when they've fired and they fly slow enough so I can pull back behind the hill and I'll watch it blow up harmlessly in front of me, kicking up dirt. Yeah, I'd say the TANK is a lot higher on my list of priorities!

About the joystick. I find that the gun is far more responsive when it's moving down rather than moving up. I can tilt the joystick forward a good 15 or even 20 degrees and the gun barely budges... then if I apply slightly more it moves pretty fast. Makes for moving the gun up slightly tricky. When trying to move the gun down it behaves much better. Is it an issue with the joystick or is it modelled that way on purpose? When I used the mouse to aim this wasn't an issue but I would assume that using the joystick is closer to the real thing... though what I really would have liked is a wheel style flight stick.

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About the joystick.

Hm. I suspect an issue with the calibration; sometimes a change in the size of the dead zone can help as well. Then there are the Alt+J and Ctrl+J hotkeys; one reverses the Y-axis, the other re-centers the stick (I can't remember which does which... I never could. Don't ask me why).

No, it's not an intentional behavior.

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Double check your calibration. Check the movement of the joystick in the calibration tool to ensure that you can move to the full extents both up and down. If you can't calibrate it to where it does, then your pots in the joystick need to be replaced.

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Then there are the Alt+J and Ctrl+J hotkeys; one reverses the Y-axis, the other re-centers the stick (I can't remember which does which... I never could. Don't ask me why).

Ctrl+J reverses the Y-axis.

Its one of those useless bits of information I have tucked away in the many corners of my mind.

You never know, they come in handy from time to time. :biggrin:

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Don't think I want to flip the Y axis... after all in the real tank apparently pushing the controller forward will depress the gun (i.e. opposite from airplanes). I got used to that so that's a good thing.

Recalibration will be worth a try but I guess if I can deal with an unresponsive and crap controller, the real thing may look and feel easier in comparison.

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Here's my spiel every time this comes up: I'm a fan of crisp response from the mouse. Perfect consistency during traverse, no dead zones, and no miles of sloppy travel from the stick. Jeez, I can't stand travel... And nevermind having to jump to the mouse anyway, for anything that requires precision (like menues or the map).

In my humble opinion, the mouse is a -far- superior choice. My Abrams engagement times are in the 3 sec. range (on a good day). :)

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I guess you could though good luck keeping it under control while the vehicle is moving and one can only imagine the sort of accidents it could cause.

The only reason why I use a joystick is because I haven't got a tank type wheel stick which would be my numero uno choice.

Flat Tax, are you saying the mouse control helps you shoot better on a real M1A1 or on the computer M1A1? I used the mouse before, obviously much easier, but it's not going to help me much if it's too far from the real thing.

Anyways I've got my score up to 5 or 6 kills before my tank gets disabled in instant action usually though I've had the odd instance where a tank that I could barely see and obviously he could barely see me as well just showed a few pixel's worth of itself before blasting my tank to hell. The real challenge is keeping my stick stable. Sometimes it jumps and it screws up the lead. Just don't know what I can do about that... Perhaps there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. But again, if this thing is a total vagina about it, the real one shouldn't be so bad. That's positive thinking.

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I'm talking about the SB tank range. :)

The mouse (with reasonably high sensitivity) is the most efficient option available. You can't train motor skills for real life gunnery with a joystick anyway, so I'd put the thing out to pasture.

Believe me, the enemy's challenge enough. You'll get much more out of this sim if you don't have to fight the interface, too.

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