Odd AI Behavior

[gila]

Originally Posted by PopskiPPA

Regarding auto pivot
How about teaching the AI not to present 12 o'clock but 11 or 01?
Just like the drivers of a Tiger were taught, show the corner, not the front (for Tigers it was 10:30 and 01:30).
This adds 15% to the front armor and doubles the side armor. It protects the front and all hits to the side should glance off.

Maybe a check could be implemented if the front armor is a lot stronger than the side armor (e.g. Panther) and then decided if it's better to present the front or the corner.

Would any tank crew under fire have time to adjust to optimum angle?I think panic and self preservation would be the first reaction(knowing the 2nd or 3rd could be a kill shot) and they would quick move to frontal position, and pray!

[PopskiPPA]

Originally Posted by gila

Would any tank crew under fire have time to adjust to optimum angle?I think panic and self preservation would be the first reaction(knowing the 2nd or 3rd could be a kill shot) and they would quick move to frontal position, and pray!

At least that's what written in the manual of the Tiger and the Panther (Tigerfibel, page 84 and following, Pantherfibel, page 5 and following, readily available on the net).

The manual of the Tiger teaches the driver to present the corners (10:30 or 01:30). This makes the hull invulnerable even against 15,2cm (says the manual).

The manual of the Panther teaches the driver to present the front (12). Actually any angle between 11 and 01 makes the Panther invulnerable (says the manual).

If the enemy is located more than 30° (Panther) or 45° (Tiger) off, then it's faster to present a corner. Most German tanks were able to turn on the spot (all the late ones I think).

So we have the Tiger with an almost even armor distribution and the Panther as example for a very uneven distribution. The Tiger hugely benefits, the Panther is not more vulnerable from showing the corner (hits on the Panther side should ricochet and the line of sight thickness of the armor is doubled).

That's why I proposed 11 and 01 (Panther) and not 10:30 and 01:30 (Tiger) as a simple solution, it should be better for all kinds of armor distribution.

The actual armor distribution is in the database, so it should be no big problem to calculate the "perfect" angle for each tank. That angle should be taught to the (real life) crew during training, in my opinion.

[RERomine]

Originally Posted by gila

Would any tank crew under fire have time to adjust to optimum angle?I think panic and self preservation would be the first reaction(knowing the 2nd or 3rd could be a kill shot) and they would quick move to frontal position, and pray!

That's where training comes into play. Under pressure, trained troops will generally react instinctively to their training, suppressing self presevation. Generally militia units tended to run when trained units would hold fast when faced with the same risks.

As for angling Tigers when engaging the enemy, I had heard that before. That's why I started looking at it in the game since I knew it did take into account engagement angles when calculating armor penetration.