T34 85 time for perk upgrade

[atlau]

Why is less T-34s a good thing?     Is this Jedi logic where we must bring balance to the Force? The Force was good until it was "Balanced" by turning Anakin into a Sith. Duh!

Variety is nice. HtC spent a lot of effort modeling various planes and tanks. Might as well see them out there.

Come to think of it, maybe this game would be more interesting if we only had 3 planes and 3 tanks to choose from with a rock paper scissors mindset. Not sure what 3 it would be though

[Vinkman]

Variety is nice. HtC spent a lot of effort modeling various planes and tanks. Might as well see them out there.

Come to think of it, maybe this game would be more interesting if we only had 3 planes and 3 tanks to choose from with a rock paper scissors mindset. Not sure what 3 it would be though

Please try to understand that variety of shapes is not the goal.  The different performance attributes of each vehicle/plane are supposed to create a diversity of outcomes driven by adapting use cases.   if the use cases nullify the attribute differences, then all your left with is a variety of shapes. in such a case, why is even distribution across the shapes a good thing?

Plane fights differ greatly, because the sky does not limit the use case of engagement.  Tank fights are all the same because most of the terrains (trees, hills, etc) limit the use case for tank engagements to close range shots. This makes the differing tank attributes (speed, armor thickness, muzzle velocity) non-factors. That's why you don't see Tiger IIs running around in the woods chasing Panzer IVs.   You will see 262s and Typhoons engaging Brewsters, and P-40s in the sky however.

So perking Tanks only balances the shapes not the fight. The fight is already balanced. 

[atlau]

Huh?

I just like different matchups.  I'm all for changing the terrain to give other tanks more usefulness. Maybe a desert terrain or open plains with less cover that provide longer range engagement opportunities.

Cue offtopic mapmaking rant in 3, 2, 1...

[Chalenge]

Huh?

I just like different matchups.  I'm all for changing the terrain to give other tanks more usefulness. Maybe a desert terrain or open plains with less cover that provide longer range engagement opportunities.

Cue offtopic mapmaking rant in 3, 2, 1...

This will only encourage the mudhens.

[Vinkman]

Huh?

I just like different matchups.  I'm all for changing the terrain to give other tanks more usefulness. Maybe a desert terrain or open plains with less cover that provide longer range engagement opportunities.

If the terrains were as you say then the tank differences would be more of a factor in the out come. Then the data of usage and kill ratio to determine perks might be worth something, and a diversity of match ups and outcomes would result. But I don;t make terrains so I can't help. 

[atlau]

I cant remember the map, but there was a spawn (85?) fight that was always a hoot with 2 sides just duking it out non stop. And I'm not really a GVer. But I do wish for some additional variety in the gv fight. I cant even remember the last time I encountered a jagdpanther.

[bustr]

You need to ask the right questions.

The heavy tree and bush cluttered maps have been conquered by a handful of players who shoot from commander mode while their victims waste time looking for them, then jump to the gun sight. Commander mode your eyes are up to 6ft higher than in gun mode making people think you can shoot through trees and hills. As long as your round is 4ft or so away from large branches and trunks, your round passes through leaves your target's commander can't see through from the gun sight 5-6ft lower down than the commander view. I kill tanks hiding under leaves all the time shooting blind with my IL2.

The right question to ask if the aces will give it up, how do you setup commander mode so you have an aimpoint to aim the main gun 2000, 1500, 1000 and so forth. Past 2000 many of the tank guns are not sure one shot killers. After that, it's developing those tank combat skills of shutting down to ambush and driving smart to hunt. Commander mode is superior to seeing around than gunsight mode.

Someone told me he has marks on his monitor and drives people nuts with how easy he kills them in commander mode. Maybe you guys should wish for a commander mode reticle like the fire control Mil reticle you get shooting the big guns on the cruiser and battleship. WW2 binoculars had reticles.

And I've listened to the complaints for several years now from many tankers about the trees and players like Dr7's magic invisibility and incredible shooting in deep clutter and trees. So the terrain currently in production, here is what I'm doing for all those long rangers who believe long open vistas will magically make them GV gauwds.

At all spawns the trees will be this sparse or sparser, I'm still undecided since this spot on the map I keep playing with the trees and spawning out to test the view. That is a village in the bottom of the depression that everyone will spawn right on top of each other to fight over like the AH2 CraterMA tank town. The dimensions of this area are the same. I'll make the terrain around all the airfields just as sparse for tanks. All I can say is be carfule what you scream for. And I'm testing laying down random bits and pieces of villages to hide behind.

SPARSE




SPARSER




I'm about halfway finished with all those mountain ranges and that vbase in the center is so I can test offline by setting out tank drones and finding them from the rim with the panther optics. I move that vbase all around the area in the center to see what the tanks look like through my SAPRSE AND SPARSER testing. It's one of those super tiny ones I used in the center of BowlMA. Good way to setup an offline tank gunnery range to shoot at tanks. Tested a silk thread with marks on it taped to my monitor frame down the center for commander mode shooting. Yeah, marks on your monitor or a clear overlay with marks from commander mode will work shooting to 2000. And you get zoom in your T34 that way. Maybe a clear plastic strip an inch wide that I tape on just before using a tank each time. Can probably get something from a stationary store that will work. That would make my squad mates 1bspade and slider monsters...hmmm, I tested that string with the 88 on a tank range for direct fire....wish we had the direct fire reticle...

[Vinkman]

SPARSER

Bustr, new maps and all the work you do on them is greatly appreciated. are the trees a response to bomb****s? it seems like a great map for tank battles, might result in no tank battles due to the ease with which sparse terrain allows aircraft to find and kill GVs.  Hmmm it's difficult problem.

[bustr]

See I told you, first whines for years the trees are too thick and all I heard in the MA from O'l Goldilocks and the Bear Co. was Hitech needed to thin the trees to be like AH2. So now I thin the trees and O'l Goldilocks thinks the porridge is too thin.

Fortunately that tank town, I set a circle at 1.5radii sectors out from the three center 1x1 vbases on my blueprint. There are no airfields inside of that 3 sector diameter center of the map area to make casual airplane interference a time involved chore for most players. Also each vbase will have a spawn from one of it's country's uncapturable feilds close enough on a high wooded overlook so you can spawn in a panzer assault force and wipe out the vbase quickly with HE and run in an M3 hoard. That way the tankers can keep the fun going one way or another in spite of the greifers.

As for the rest of the map, there will only be those three vbase while airfields will be connected with spawns. At this time I'm pretty sure since I will be placing spawns much closer together to speed up tank to tank contact, I'll add a local spawn from each airfield out to the incoming GV spawns. With today's numbers, four vehical hangers at a vbase feeding tanks onto airfields is just too many hangers to expect anyone to take down to relieve the pressure by tanks against an overwhelmed airfield. With airfields having the single hanger, it will be easier to slow down a tank assault for your average MA player. These days I hear a lot of the equivalent to "why bother, it's way too much trouble" against the AH3 objects. I can't change the objects themselves but, I can change how I use them to speed up or slowdown the game flow in the MA. It takes about three or four MA terrains to get a handle on this aspect of the game.

As for the thin trees, live with it. I suspect the players most impacted by it will be the small number of tank ACM monsters like Dr7 who have adapted to the AH3 too thick trees and clutter. The North Sea island I'm using to pattern the topography from has no trees, and there have been those asking for more real world like MA terrains. So this time around, screech alls yas wants, thin trees and more real world like topography. Each and every one of my past three terrains screwed someone's sacred pooch while making others happier than Peggy Bundy locked in a Bon Bon factory overnight.

[atlau]

I dont think anyone is saying there are too many trees. Just that it would be nice to have to be some variety in cover that would lead people to use different tools (tanks) based on the situation. Some desert terrains or open plains, and some forest terrains. Simulating the different environment of ww2.

[bustr]

Then build a terrain if you want that.

This one below is based off Norway's Svalbard island near the arctic circle. I used a topographical profile geomap and stretched and added a little to fit it into a 10x10 sector import file for the terrain editor. All the glacier cuts are mine due to having to fit airfields to a set of MA rules from Hitech. I moved it south a bit so I could use summertime trees from that region and not have to create all the glaciers. I actually put some glaciers on Oceania above one of the HQ. The snow tile for AH3 reflects the sun so intensely you cannot look directly at them if the arena is at 12noon.

So you really think I'm interested in your observations atlau when none of you are willing to do this yourselves? The area with tan in the south of this clipboard map file are today's pending work area to create mountain ridges and side cut canyons. The tan defines the glacier cut path which the real Svalbard island is defined and sculpted by them. At Svalbard's latitude, it only has arctic vegetation which if I did that, all the tank guys would be driving on nothing but rock and grass. Now that would be some fine whining here in the forums. I did consider it as an option for awhile since I was hearing so many tankers recently complaining about our tank aces having magical abilities to see them through buildings and hills and dense trees. They all wished Hitech would remove most of the trees and then they would show those tank wizards a thing or two.






I laid down the keel for this project on March 4th, this is the base terrain created by the import on 3-4-19, today is 5-16-19. So atlau show me some of your terrains.....

[atlau]

Bustr I'm a paying customer. I can ask for whatever I want or make suggestions to the developers on ways to enhance gameplay. They can of course choose to ignore it.

 Not every thread is about you and your maps or how your squad likes to crush Dickweed bomber missions. Why you take it so personally is beyond me. You come off as a map making martyr in your own mind. (If you want to make maps as a hobby more power to you - and I'll gladly fly and fight in them). I'll spend my unpaid time playing the game or hanging out with my kiddo.

[guncrasher]

I think we are now in 2019 and a little less bush nicely trimmed in the right places is always appreciated.


semp

[Arlo]

Bustr I'm a paying customer. I can ask for whatever I want or make suggestions to the developers on ways to enhance gameplay. They can of course choose to ignore it.

 Not every thread is about you and your maps or how your squad likes to crush Dickweed bomber missions. Why you take it so personally is beyond me. You come off as a map making martyr in your own mind. (If you want to make maps as a hobby more power to you - and I'll gladly fly and fight in them). I'll spend my unpaid time playing the game or hanging out with my kiddo.

Bustr politely suggested that you take charge of your dreams when, in fact, you've been given the tools by HTC to do so. Now, granted, if you're like me and that skill set seems out of your wheel house and other matters press you can always enlist the aid of someone with the skill and time. Your methodology eludes me. Spending your unpaid time on this forum poking at someone who can and does both make terrains for others to enjoy and enjoys the game without as much need to endlessly nitpick as some seems like it would take from the valuable time of you playing the game and hanging out with said kiddo.

[atlau]

Arlo if you follow the thread it started with the t34 85 being perked too low based on how good it was in AH3. We identified that part of it was the terrain which features mostly short range engagements thus making a large set of vehicles hangar queens and that it would be a nice addition to gameplay if we had greater variety of terrains to keep things interesting. That is a valid observation regardless of who spends their Sunday afternoons making maps.