TI what is it good for?

[Suhiir]

I know personally I'd LOVE to see TI capability available at ranges (and costs) less then 40 hexes. There's no reason/need for a 40 hex range on infantry squads, MMG's, Inf AT (LAAW, SMAW, RPG, etc) weapons yet if you want TI capability you're currently "stuck" with a 40 hex range/cost.

I suspect this is one of those issues where no change is practical because it's buried in the code and would require going thru every unit in every OOB to implement.

As to changing my game play.
Definitely !

[Ramm]

Thanks everyone for responding. The exellent attitude of wargamers here is a major reason why this game is so fun. I have a few more questions if you will bear with me,

RecruitMonty, If you can find the time and wouldn't mind indulging my curiosity could you answer [A],[b] and [C]. Thanks

Marcello, if you wouldn't mind sharing your exploits agaisnt the US this would be exellent, the BEST I can do agaisnt U.S. Army with Iraq is a marginal defeat! thats the BEST, I suck X-D. I would love to learn from your expeirence. Thanks

[Marcello]

Marcello, if you wouldn't mind sharing your exploits agaisnt the US this would be exellent, the BEST I can do agaisnt U.S. Army with Iraq is a marginal defeat! thats the BEST, I suck X-D. I would love to learn from your expeirence. Thanks

It isn't really that difficult, I am a mediocre player really (what I actually do most of the time is using mobhack and testing what I have created in shooting range style scenarios). The key is employing the terrain in such a way as to have the americans driving past your positions and then getting them with flank and rear shots by T-72s. Typically this means a reverse slope defense where the tanks are hugging the base of the ridge or others available reliefs, hidden inside their irregularities as to eliminate (to the extent this is possible) frontal fire arcs, retaining only narrow side fire arcs and large rears ones. This ensures that when the Abrams charge beyond the ridge top at least a few T-72s can survive to get flank and rear shots.
This is of course possible under SPMBT near laboratory conditions. In real life an iraqi commander who had been ordered to deploy on an essentially flat terrain, who could expect the enemy coming from several directions, had little idea of the exact US tactical capabilities and faced an US commander usually smarter than your run of the mill videogame AI was in a rather uglier predicament.

[Marek_Tucan]

And mind you, Iraq-US scenarios are about the worst situation you can get into. Get into mid-European typical terrain with hills, forests, villages and towns and you get major boost of non-TI forces as it is much easier to hide even from TI. Under correct circumstances even lowly T-55 can ambush Abrams with fatal results.

[DRG]

Actually this IS about the worse " worse case sceanrio" I can think of. A newbie playing as the Iraqi's in the desert against the Americans.

No..... I stand corrected, you could have the map visibility set to 5 for a night battle. That would be worse.

Maybe a nice "balkans" battle in the 1960s might make a better game at this stage for you?

Don

[Ramm]

DRG that sounds like an exellent suggestion, Do you have any particular countries in mind?

[pdoktar]

If you want taks and TI and a nice fight try for example germany vs. UK in 1980->2020 range. Although somewhat ahistorical (who cares..?), countries are pretty evenly matched and both have lot of high-tech equipment and good tanks against each other. If TI bothers you, try some latin american or african countries and before 1990.

[DRG]

Ramm said:
DRG that sounds like an exellent suggestion, Do you have any particular countries in mind?

Try Yugoslavia against Yugoslavia in 1969.

There are a number of good maps that appear for Yugoslavia but if you want something interesting try pressing "View Map" then press the upper right hand button and enter 183

Don

[IronDragon]

I know personally I'd LOVE to see TI capability available at ranges (and costs) less then 40 hexes. There's no reason/need for a 40 hex range on infantry squads, MMG's, Inf AT (LAAW, SMAW, RPG, etc) weapons yet if you want TI capability you're currently "stuck" with a 40 hex range/cost.

I suspect this is one of those issues where no change is practical because it's buried in the code and would require going thru every unit in every OOB to implement.

It is not a 'code' thing insofar as a 40 hex range on thermal imaging devices. As I am sure we all understand, thermal imaging devices register the thermal (heat) radiation from objects. Radiated energy of this type travels in a straight line at the speed of light. Thermal imaging devices are line-of-sight, and are quite capable of 'seeing' well beyond 2000m (40 hexes). If anything, the 40 hex range limit within the confines of the came engine should be considered conservative.

[PlasmaKrab]

Well, low-wavelength infrared reflected on targets by the IR searchlight of old-style active night vision devices travel in a straight line at lightspeed as well, so where is the point?
Also, nothing whatsoever in the game will prevent you from having TI/GSR* units with vision ranges up to 255 hexes, for whatever good it will do.
I think, since we already had this discussion here, that Suhiir regrets that there cannot be units with TI sight range inferior to 40 hexes. Vision rating under 40 will not see through smoke as opposed to TI/GSR from 40 onwards.
Personally, I agree that for infantry vision devices, some AT weapons and maybe old low-tech stuff with poor definition, having a lower recognition range and accordingly lower cost could be interesting but I don*t think it is going to happen.

*Yes, TI and GSR are one and the same thing in the game, in the sense that they are just a property that allows a unit to see through otherwise obscuring elements (smoke, vegetation...). So no need to go all physicist, "TI" is what sees through smoke and what sees through smoke is TI, more or less.