AP ammo: artillery and tanks

[PlasmaKrab]

Could someone explain me where the difference between tank guns and artillery howitzers lies, in terms of in-game AP rounds?
Both use the same weapon class(class 7, Guns, Howitzers > c. 101mm).
Which parameters decide wether a unit using one of these weapons should end up firing AP-APCR-APDS-type stuff or cluster rounds?
Does it comes from the range being over 200 (off-map indirect fire)? Apart from an HEK limit or simply a non-null APK, that's the most plausible possibility I can see.

Can someone help me about this?

[sparfell]

The parameters that decide if unit use tank guns or artillery guns is the "class unit".

[Mobhack]

PlasmaKrab said:
Could someone explain me where the difference between tank guns and artillery howitzers lies, in terms of in-game AP rounds?
Both use the same weapon class(class 7, Guns, Howitzers > c. 101mm).
Which parameters decide wether a unit using one of these weapons should end up firing AP-APCR-APDS-type stuff or cluster rounds?
Does it comes from the range being over 200 (off-map indirect fire)? Apart from an HEK limit or simply a non-null APK, that's the most plausible possibility I can see.

Can someone help me about this?

Those unit classes which fire indirect will treat an AP round as ICM. it's buried inthe mobhack help somewhere.

- try using the same howitzer in an AT gun class for example, and see what happens.

Another reason not to use AP on a howitzer type weapon is the long 200+ hex range - so the same howitzer with an AP weapon may kill at unrealistic ranges (a 25 pounder, say, at 200 hexes , as the pull-down for range will be very shallow.

Cheers
Andy

[Marcello]

SPAs will treat them as normal AP rouns if you shoot against tanks in direct fire.

[Beeg]

"Those unit classes which fire indirect will treat an AP round as ICM. it's buried inthe mobhack help somewhere."

I'm trying to keep up with all this military jargon. What does ICM mean?

Beeg

[Marcello]

cluster munitions I guess

[Weeble]

ICM

I mproved C onventional M unition = Cluster/sub-munition type

All it really does is confuse people enough to save the manufacturer from bad press.

[Mobhack]

Actually, as I recall, they will show the cluster graphic. Whether or not they then get confused and treat it as a monobloc AP round...

There are plenty of things in this game engine that just do not work in "edge" situations. The original MBT code appears to have been a total kludge on top of the original SP (WW2) code. The entire code needs throwing away, and a fresh start made on a completely new engine (for the future, if it ever happens . That would be the only way to get rid of having tube ATGM treated as a second weapon slot etc.

Cheers
Andy

[Marcello]

"Whether or not they then get confused and treat it as a monobloc AP round..."

Well, let's just say that I love that bug.It can be a nasty surprise for any enemy tank sneaking on my SPAs...

[Marek_Tucan]

If you want to model a solid AP round for an artillery weapon, you can throw it in as "sabot", IIRC it is already implemented with 25pdr and 76mm ZIS-3 gun, perhaps some more.