Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Midnight on December 17, 2002, 10:36:45 AM

Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Midnight on December 17, 2002, 10:36:45 AM
I know that HTC has removed the instant position change of tank turrets to match the pintle gun, but do we really want this?

The reason for asking is due to the very limited field of view available while actually manning the main gun. Unless you are already pointing the gun at a target, it can be very difficult to locate one.

Maybe a suggestion could be giving the player the abilaty to somehow mark a position for the main gun to traverse to while in the pintle gun. This would simulate the tank commander telling the gunner to move the turret.

What I am thinking is something similar to the way you target with the ship guns in Land Mode. Basically, while you are in the pintle gun, you can use your mouse to 'click' somewhere. This would then make the turret traverse (at the proper speed) to where you had clicked.

This way, you could be in the pintle, surveying the landscape. When you see something you want to shoot at, click the mouse and the turret traverses to that position.

This WOULD NOT be auto aiming. Just a means to get your main gun site in the area that you want to look at.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Swoop on December 17, 2002, 10:49:06 AM
What a damn good idea.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: gofaster on December 17, 2002, 10:51:07 AM
Sounds good to me, too.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: pugg666 on December 17, 2002, 10:52:17 AM
what they said
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Preon1 on December 17, 2002, 10:58:40 AM
agreed
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: MrLars on December 17, 2002, 11:00:06 AM
Either something like this or back to the old way.

The ability to sight and target your prey quickly is needed because of your limited view while in the main gun position. Without a set of eyes in the commander's position watching for threats unseen by the gunner, IMO, a gameplay concession to make targeting easy and quick should be given to the groundpounder.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Wotan on December 17, 2002, 11:04:27 AM
I wish you could control the turret with your rudder pedals while in the mg.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: MrLars on December 17, 2002, 11:12:27 AM
Great idea Wotan! Create a key command to switch the rudder axis from steering to turret rotation.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Midnight on December 17, 2002, 02:19:36 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Wotan
I wish you could control the turret with your rudder pedals while in the mg.


That would be nice too, but then you wouldn't be able to steer.

It's bad enough you can't stop the GVs unless your in the driver's seat. I do most of my steering from the pintle gun, where I can see what's going on.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Ripsnort on December 17, 2002, 02:28:18 PM
Yes! to the original posters idea!
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Yeager on December 17, 2002, 02:40:45 PM
Good idea MN.  I think the mouse should also be used to point the manned MGs instead of thge JS.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Wotan on December 17, 2002, 02:45:03 PM
I rather steer with my tow breaks. You set steering to the left/right break on keyboard/stick/toe breaks etc. But if your firing when driving then you aint gonna hit much any way.

Brady taught me awhile back always come to a stop to fire. pintle gun, main gun, tank, m3 it dont matter. You wont out drive a guy shooting at you unless your in an m8. If you get umm sited stop and kill um.

I'd rather have "mouse look" like in il2 with the hold the button down deal.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Wotan on December 17, 2002, 02:47:21 PM
also from the drivers position on the piv (not on tiger) you can page up through the hatch and set all your views so you can see everything.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: popeye on December 17, 2002, 02:54:50 PM
How about.... steer/brake with toe brakes, use the throttle for engine speed, use the joystick to aim the pintle gun, use rudder pedals to traverse the turret, and the joystick for main gun elevation.

That way you could drive, shoot the pintle gun, and traverse the turret at the same time.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Midnight on December 17, 2002, 03:19:04 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Wotan
Brady taught me awhile back always come to a stop to fire. pintle gun, main gun, tank, m3 it dont matter. You wont out drive a guy shooting at you unless your in an m8. If you get umm sited stop and kill um.


For firing the Main gun on a tank, Stopping is certainly a good idea. However, I would say I do at least 90% of my AA fire while on the move. I do it in 2nd gear, which is slow enough not to bounce you around too much, yet keeps you on the move so you can avoid being too easy of a target.

Quote
Originally posted by Wotan
also from the drivers position on the piv (not on tiger) you can page up through the hatch and set all your views so you can see everything.


Yep.. but like you said, you can't do it in the Tiger, and in most other vehicles, you can't see behind anyway.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Saintaw on December 17, 2002, 06:45:27 PM
I like it too!

Could use a key as well to "stop" the tank (press it, it brakes...shoot... press it again, it starts rolling). I think we had this in M1TPII or in StealBeast, was neat.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Shiva on December 17, 2002, 06:52:48 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Midnight
I know that HTC has removed the instant position change of tank turrets to match the pintle gun, but do we really want this?

The reason for asking is due to the very limited field of view available while actually manning the main gun. Unless you are already pointing the gun at a target, it can be very difficult to locate one.


Not to mention that German tanks had an indicator to let you know where the turret was pointing relative to the hull, so you at least had some idea which way the turret was pointed...

I don't know how hard it would be to program, but Wings managed it with Panzer Elite, putting a little tank indicator on the display to show the player where his turret pointed:
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: bj229r on December 17, 2002, 06:57:29 PM
Popeye's is the winner..but failing that..at LEAST a 360 degree gauge to see where main gun is aimed relative to front of tank..damned hard to line the thing up
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Citabria on December 17, 2002, 09:50:45 PM
i like it the way it is.

dont change it htc :)

the new real time turret rotation vs the insta turn adds a new strategic element to tanking.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Pongo on December 17, 2002, 10:01:57 PM
The way it was was a better representation of the advantage of having a crew of 5 instead of a crew of one. Maybe make it slower for tanks with slower traverse speeds. But the recomnedations here are better then the "fixed" way.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: bj229r on December 18, 2002, 07:21:20 AM
One other problem--the aNNOYING habit of the pintle gun pointing to 3:00 every time ya jump in it..THEN ya have to re-acquire nmy..THEN figger out how much further to swing main gun
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: GScholz on December 18, 2002, 08:05:53 AM
Can't vehicles take gunners? Two-man crew, like bombers?
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Midnight on December 18, 2002, 11:20:55 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Citabria
i like it the way it is.

dont change it htc :)

the new real time turret rotation vs the insta turn adds a new strategic element to tanking.


Read it again Fester.

I am asking for a way to move the turret while in the pintle gun. Not instantly point it like before.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Midnight on December 18, 2002, 11:24:46 AM
Quote
Originally posted by GScholz
Can't vehicles take gunners? Two-man crew, like bombers?


Yes, but the graphical updates of turret positions are not real-time. It would be difficult for one player in the pintle gun to tell the other player in the main gun turret where to point and stop motion in the proper place.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: Shiva on December 18, 2002, 11:46:09 AM
I still want a turret position indicator, but adding a single key function in the pintle position for 'Slew turret to LOS' that would turn the turret until the main gun lined up with whatever direction you were looking (not necessarily aligned with the pintle gun) would be a very useful addition to the simulation, more effectively simulating the effect of having a multiple-person crew. Jump to the pintle position, scan the field looking for targets, and order the turret swung to engage; it would still have to take the time to rotate to the correct azimuth, but at least you wouldn't be flying blind trying to figure out whether you'd swung the turret far enough or not.
Title: Turret Position with Pintle gun
Post by: vorticon on December 18, 2002, 01:07:40 PM
sounds good to me