ARTILLERY AND OPFIRE

[Pip Roberts]

This post should be read in conjunction with the 2 previous posts on Indirect and Direct fire.

OPFIRE - an important, variable weapon.
Either you or the enemy may use variations of OPFIRE while moving so it should be considered throughout the game. Do NOT set it and forget it.

Points favouring OpFire.
It is constantly variable so has surprise value
It may operate during the enemy's turn (or yours if he so wishes) so watch out and note what he is doing.
Different ranges can be set for indiividual units provided that they are less than the global range for all units of that type.
Points against OpFire
It is unreliable and may (or may not) fire.
Each unit only gets one shot
The maximum settings are global for all units.
Once your unit fires it can be spotted

All games change as they proceed so OpFire too must change. Here are some suggestions:-
1.OTHER FIRING UNITS
The OpFire ranges should ALL be set to NEVER until the direct fire guns are ready to expose themselves. When the guns are in place, set their range on LONG for Soft Targets so that you may hit them far off if they appear durng the enemy's turn. Mortars in the Front Line can be set at NEVER or SHORT for other targets to hit advancing enemy hard, close by.
2.ANTI-TANK AND HEAVY AA
These can work at long range so use the LONG setting for hard vehicles and try to hit distant tanks which move into sight during the enemy's turn.
Set at NEVER for Soft Vehicles and other Firing Units
3. HARD VEHICLES
Set the range at NEVER to keep their presence secret (forward movement must be done carefully after reconnaissance) As tanks are most vulnerable close up and from the side hide yours in ambush and emerge after enemy units have passed by. Once they have been revealed set the range at SHORT for hard targets and NEVER for all other targets

The above and the 2 previous posts on Artillery will hopefully bring forth comments based on other gamers' experiences and thus add to all of our skills and interest in the great CS game Engine.

[Pip Roberts]

OK so Opfire is not popular but a weapon that fires during the enemy's turn and can be changed in many ways has great surprise value can be very useful. I am disappointed that we havbe not had any contributions to this thread