Op fire filter question.

[Fubar]

Is it possible to set your op fire filter setting for a SAM unit so that it wont shoot at UAV's and scout planes?

I tried upping the minimum armour value to 01 as UAV's have an armour rating of 0, so i believe, but it didn't stop them wasting 4 valuable SAM missiles on the next turn. It just seems a little daft that crews would waste ammo on a UAV and have nowt left for the Jabbos.

[matxer]

This is the same issue as the so called 'dancer' tactics: you attack with a dispendable unit to trigger opportunity fires from the enemy MBT and then kill that precious MBT with an MBT of yours.

This is a IMO a limitation of the 'I go U go' system: the op fire is as clever is the AI, that is completely brainless.

[Grumbler]

'Dancer' tactics, as you call them, have been use in the real world for thousands of years. It is SOP for both the IAF and the USAF to use UAV to probe the defenses before sending in the Jabos. Now that other nations are starting to ramp-up on UAV's I suspect they will use similar tactics. As far as the AD units goes, most of the combat happens beyond visual range and to fast for human reflexes. So the battlefield management system gets a radar return that it id's as a hostile aircraft and sends out a missile ( two in most cases, since that bumps the kill probability from about 65 to 90 percent).
It's all part of the ECM game. That UCV could be emitting a false signal that fools the SAM into thinking it's a Jabo, or it could ba a Jabo emmitting a false signal; that makes the SAM think it's a UAV. So the program doesn't try to guess, it just kills it.
From the SP POV, the combat emulates the real world, which is a good thing to some of us.
I look at my opponents OOB before I buy and if he has AD with an EW rating of 5 or better, I either;
1.) forget about buying air
2.) buy SEAD, which is designed to take care of those pesky SAM's.
3.) make finding and hammering the SAM's with arty a priority.
4.) buy air that has a plus 2 EW rating over the enemy AD.
It is the EW rating that counts. A SEAD strike with a 9 EW rating will pretty much deal with a light AD system ( 1 battery, or a section of SPSAM's).
The battle between the SEAD and the SAM's happens way off the map, but the program still likes to fly the SEAD plane over the map, so when you are setting up the SEAD strikes, use the edges and corners of the map. You can do this with any aircraft with a high enough EW rating. Set your strike to come in a few hexes down on the corner and then exit at that corner. It won't affect the EW battle, but it will cut dwn on the golden BB syndrome, which is the greatest danger a high EW airstrike faces.

[matxer]

It's SOP to taunt the defender but it's up to the defender not to be caught by that trick.

IgoUgo is not real time. In real time, the dancer is shot, but the attacking MBT is also shot afterwards. Well, while this is debatable for the main gun (low rate of fire), it's obvious for a machine gun.

This limitation is why the HPS Panzer Campaign added an optional rule to allow more phases and thus allow the player to choose whether or not to trigger op fire.

Here is an except of an article on the HPS optional rules subject by J. Cridder: (bold characters by me)

"Manual Defensive Fire (MDF)

This rule replaces the extremely versatile and powerful default turn phasing with more stringent time/space constraints. The free-flowing Panzer Campaigns turn sequence is replaced by a turn sequence more similar to John Tiller's Battleground games with separate movement, defensive fire, and assault phases. Usually this greatly benefits the defender in a scenario since breakthroughs will be more difficult to achieve and exploit. MDF also prevents some "gamey" tactics such as "dancing" and what I call "the hit parade." Dancing refers to using a unit to draw off enemy opportunity fire by repeatedly moving it past a defender so that no further opportunity fire is available when more valuable units move in. The Hit Parade refers to the situation where a single defending hex may be attacked repeatedly from the same direction by several different units which move in, fire, then move away. "

[wulfir]

matxer,

have you used to op-fire filter?

[Fubar]

I hadn't thought of it as Grumbler describes it, as a player with a Gods Eye view of things i realize it's only a UAV and not worth shooting at, but as the guy on the ground looking at a blip on a scope with only seconds to decide i guess it makes sense to fire.

I'll have to remember next game to watch out for UAV's drawing all my SAM ammo down the drain.

[matxer]

In SPMBT ? You can only choose the range and disable the weapons you dont want to (op) fire. That's all you can do when playing, isn't it ?

[wulfir]

In SPMBT ? You can only choose the range and disable the weapons you dont want to (op) fire. That's all you can do when playing, isn't it ?

Well..., some things have changed while you were away ;)

If you have the CD version you get the Op-fire filter, meaning you'll have much greater control over what exactly your units op-fire at. Check the game guide.

With the regular DL version you will not have access to the Op-fire filter.

[Epoletov [SPR].]

It is necessary to ask SP CAMO to make / to expand OP - filtr for shooting on planes. :cool:

[matxer]

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 ?