Op fire filter question.

[Grumbler]

Whaouch ! This is a revolution !
So CD players have a definite edge over DL players ??
Is that new feature able to prevent the dancing tactics ?

No, it just makes it more difficult for the attacker to use certain types of vehicles. It also makes it possible for the defender to select targets, by type and frontal armor. So you can set an ambush to ignore trucks and only shoot at tanks with a front armor rating higher then you select. Or lower. so a MBT will go by while the APC full of troops following it will be shot at by a anti-armor weapon that cannot kill the MBT but can kill the APC.
The setting are onlt affected by area fire for the category of the area fifing unit. I think. The Manual doesn't say, but I have experimented and think that is the way it works. In the DL version you can blow and ambush by area firing and the ambushers will reset the range to that of the area firing unit plus 1 hex. Now it will just reset the range for that type of unit.
I don't use it against players that don't have the CD and seldom against those that do. Only the aces.

[RedDevil]

I don't use it against players that don't have the CD and seldom against those that do. Only the aces.

Good that's means I'm safe :whis:


:kill:

[matxer]

I'm still puzzling how to use this new feature (outside ambushes, which Grumbler described well).

The most obvious use I see is for ATGM. ATGM ammos are low (generally 4 to 8) and each time you fire, you run the risk of being detected.
So you want the juicy targets only. It makes sense to filter out the soft targets (trucks), the scouts and armored troop carriers (low armor) to save the shots for the MBTs, doesn't it ?

[Narwan]

You can also set an overwatch hex for a unit. This can be any hex in LOS (and within weapons range). You can set a perimeter around that hex if you want (make it range 2 and all hexes within range 2 of the selected hex will be overwatched). So in effect you can select specific parts of the battlefield for a unit to OP fire at. That, if used well, can also take care of a lot of OP fire draining.

Bu the most obvious use for the OP filter system is to prevent units from firing at AFV's whose armor they can't penetrate anyway and using their ammo against those they can hurt.

[matxer]

Narwan,

You first paragraph is in fact about ambush or related I guess ?


"Bu the most obvious use for the OP filter system is to prevent units from firing at AFV's whose armor they can't penetrate anyway and using their ammo against those they can hurt."
Yes, but if the target be shot from the flank, then you would want the opfire to trigger (it's common not to penetrate the front but the flank). Trouble is the parameter to enter is the front steel armor...

I'm afraid this feature is so tricky and so advanced, that setting it incorrectly may be worse than sticking to the default.

[Walrus]

HI Matxer

It is a little tricky when you start to use it but once you get the hang of the filters it is BRILLIANT!!!

It gives you some measure of control of your units during the enemy's phase of the turn.
It is perfect for ambushes, be it an ATGM (as you pointed out) or a sniper or MG or anything else for that matter.
Also it is very useful for any other unit that is advancing on the field. You may not be thinking of an ambush with that unit but if something comes into LOS then you can at least control the shots fires during the op-fire phase.

I still just use the Y key to set distance and sometimes switch off a weapon but when the fighting gets desperate and you are dealing with important units ...the filters are exceptional.

Set up a practice battle and have a play.
In half an hour you will see how easy it can be.

Cheers
Walrus

[Narwan]

Hi Maxter,

You're right in that the filter does add one more thing to the game a player can bungle. It does need some experimenting and practicing to get the hang of it. But once you do figure it out, it opens a lot more possibilities.

The overwatch is about far more than just ambushes. In one game I have now I have some armor in positions overlooking most of a big coastal area in front of them. I set the filter for them so that each covers a specific area with OP fire. Those area's are at 40+ hexes distance so I wouldn't qualify it as ambush settings. The area's are chosen because they are the most likely places the enemy might pop up with (light) armor taking a quick recon peek. It also has the advantage that my tanks will only fire at targets more or less directly in front of them. If they were to OP fire diagonally to the far left (and remember, they have a very wide view) they would possibly expose their (turret) sides to flanking fire from the far right. Now they'll keep their thickest armor facing the enemy.

Another use is if you know a specific enemy AFV type like a heavy tank is just behind a crest line (it keeps popping up firing at you and going back) and you have only 1 weapon available that can take it out. Then set the armor thickness parameters and overwatch zone in such a way it'll only fire at that brute once it shows itself again and at nothing else. I'm sure you'll find other uses too.

Narwan

[Grumbler]

Quick question. Is the overwatch button exclusive? IE; will the selected unit op fire someplace besides the overwatched hex(s)?
Bonus question. Does the shooter get a to hit bonus? I'm thinking like the bore sighted bonus in Squad Leader, for any of those who clipped their corners so they could see facing without picking up the counter.

[Narwan]

If you mean whether you get just one overwatch hex it is. But you can still set the range from the unit itself too. So in the example of my armor in overwatching positions, they can OP fire at their own overwatch zones at 40+ hexes or at anything that comes within the regular range I set for the unit (which is much less than 40 hexes). So you can set a specific overwatch zone, ignoring other area's, unless the enemy comes to close to your own position. And even then you can differentiate ranges between infantry, armor, etc.

I don't know of a hit bonus. I do suspect a spotting bonus for your overwatch zone though.

Narwan

[matxer]

Wouldnt it be rather a 'focus': spotting bonus in the overwatch area and spotting malus elsewhere ?