Gliders or Paratroop transport?

[Mobhack]

why do gliders show as DESTROYED after a landing?even when they
land ok?

Gliders fly to the LZ then offload troops and are then marked as destroyed because they are no further use to the player. If they were left "live" then the AI would spend lots of time shooting them up if it got LOS to them as soft vehicle type targets.

In reality, the glider crews left the things and went to a central rally point and were eventually sent home. They are too valuable as trained pilots to use as infantry.

Another point to destroying them on landing - it stops silly players using the glider crews as "scouts". It also gives their VP to the opposite player, making the use of glider borne troops need a bit of thought.

The gliders advantage is that any troops landed in them are reasonably concentrated on landing whereas paratroops are usually spread all over the landscape like confetti. Gliders like about 500M of open flat space to land on - they do not like trees, orchards, buildings, slope hexes, marshland, rough ground or water landing hexes!. Good visibility reduces landing crashes, but this opens up the chance of AAA, and gliders are slow fliers...

Cheers
Andy

[chuckfourth]

Hi Andy
Any chance of removing the suppression the landed gliders give to their own troops?

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by chuckfourth

Hi Andy
Any chance of removing the suppression the landed gliders give to their own troops?

The gliders will give no suppression to the landed troops, as they aren't destroyed by enemy action, just marked as destroyed.

Any destruction would only count in the landing phase anyway, since wrecks have no suppressive effect beyond the destruction phase when all the troops are forming up, so are somewhat useless anyway?. You don't just land and go - see the glider landing at arnhem - but the forming up time for glider troops will be less than if you shotgunned paratroopers all over half a county. However either type of air landing troop if it falls under the guns of any formed enemy will be toast.

Cheers
Andy

[chuckfourth]

Hi Andy
Well I guess Im missing something then, In the test game attached unit D1 landed with 4 suppression points and after two turns sitting there now has 5
E0 had 4 now has 7
E3 had 5 now has 7
E4 had 5 now has 6
F0 had 4 now has 7
G0 had 4 now has 10
G1 had 4 now has 11
etc. etc.
They all landed cleanly without casualties and havnt moved I havnt done any rallying myself just relying on the autorally.
Most units are gradually increasing suppression I thought it must have been the wrecked gliders but if it isnt I'd be interested to know why suppression is increasing.
Ive also seen a "wrecked" glider with 2 suppression points shouldnt it have had 0?
Regards Chuck.

[Mobhack]

Looks like I missed a little bit of code - friendly wrecks within 7 hexes do give a chance of 1 point of suppression per such wreck.

It's irrelevant what suppression any wreck has - as it may just be what it had on crashing etc. and not cleared. It is not going to be morale tested on it.

I'll look into the glider landing routine - will probably mark them as abandoned with nil crew, so it will only be marked destroyed if the enemy co-locate in the same hex, or at game end if the game is his win etc.

Cheers
Andy

[Mobhack]

Gliders landing code changed - crew is reduced to 0 etc. as before, but they are marked as just STATUS_ABANDONED, not as STATUS_DESTROYED.

The suppression add for destroyed wreck within 7 hexes is now not applicable, unless the enemy remain in same hex as the trashed item and so flame it, as with any other abandoned item.

(Duplicated for MBT code as well)

Cheers
Andy

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

When Gliders Crashlland do they disappear? I can't find them after the action turn, also flame hexes give your troops supression?

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by iCaMpWiThAWP

When Gliders Crashlland do they disappear? I can't find them after the action turn, also flame hexes give your troops supression?

Crashed gliders are wrecked - and will only disappear if they have the misfortune to land on deep water, when everyone carried will drown as well.

You may be confused by the fact that gliders are shown on the deployment phase and are then stripped off the map (with the loaded passengers) as they are off map assets. Load them in the deployment phase, and also plot your air drops on the pre game bombardment screen, or you will be subject to long delays if you try to call them in ad-hoc during the game. (You really should not be able to do that, or at least with planning delays in terms of days!, but allowing that lets players who forget to plot to get a chance to use their airborne assets but with a 12 or so turn penalty).

Flame hexes give suppression, and the occasional casualty to dismounts, but nowhere like the original SP series games. It used to be a standard SP1 "gamy" tactic to plonk some engineers with flame-throwers in an extended line where the panzers were coming and X-fire a wall of flame across their predicted path, leaving 3-4 shots of FT to close assault the enemy. Any tanks left alive in the flame hexes were badly suppressed, as were any tank riders. Flame-throwers are now less effective, and the flame hexes are a nuisance, rather than deadly.

Cheers
Andy

[iCaMpWiThAWP]

Originally Posted by Mobhack

Crashed gliders are wrecked - and will only disappear if they have the misfortune to land on deep water, when everyone carried will drown as well.

You may be confused by the fact that gliders are shown on the deployment phase and are then stripped off the map (with the loaded passengers) as they are off map assets. Load them in the deployment phase, and also plot your air drops on the pre game bombardment screen, or you will be subject to long delays if you try to call them in ad-hoc during the game. (You really should not be able to do that, or at least with planning delays in terms of days!, but allowing that lets players who forget to plot to get a chance to use their airborne assets but with a 12 or so turn penalty).

Flame hexes give suppression, and the occasional casualty to dismounts, but nowhere like the original SP series games. It used to be a standard SP1 "gamy" tactic to plonk some engineers with flame-throwers in an extended line where the panzers were coming and X-fire a wall of flame across their predicted path, leaving 3-4 shots of FT to close assault the enemy. Any tanks left alive in the flame hexes were badly suppressed, as were any tank riders. Flame-throwers are now less effective, and the flame hexes are a nuisance, rather than deadly.

Cheers
Andy

Thanks for the advice

[BadCompany]

Originally Posted by iCaMpWiThAWP

When Gliders Crashlland do they disappear? I can't find them after the action turn, also flame hexes give your troops supression?

Dont think gliders are suppose to disappear.I believe fire do cause supression(even cause casaulties) but only heavy fires like the ones caused by flame throwers and napalm.