Free Elevation tanks

[Mobhack]

Technically, we could give the UK shoulder guided guns a stabiliser vaue of 1. Because the inter-war regulars pracised shooting on the move a lot, and the shoulder rig was supposed to make tracking a moving target while you yourself are moving easier. But that required a heck of a lot of training time, and when the expansion of the army with conscripts happened, less time was available to exhaustively train on the shoulder elevated system. So we would require say tanks up to 40-1(??) with stab 1, and then the same thing with stab 0 after.

Then cue the incoming whines from the rivet-counter types about say the matilda 2 suddenly losing its stabiliser, or "why has the matilda 2 early model got a stabiliser when they had no such mechanism - error! error!".

So they dont have a stabiliser, despite the fact that the interwar regulars with well-honed extensive training could actually be deemed to perform as if they had one, with the skilled gunner himself being the stabiliser mechanism. So less whining from error ferrets, and no need for a slightly different model of several AFV post 40-41 which saves OOB slots...

[lansoar]

Hi Mobhack,

I'm curious here. As both a WW2 and MBT player, I tend to see the Stabilizer variable as being rather limited in terms of flexibility given the small range of values utilized. For example, going from pre WW2 to 2024, the range varies from 0-6, with notable advancements mostly coming in the post WW2 situation.

I'm interested in hearing the devs take on this variable as I had in the past the displeasure of participating in old WW2 threads where some participants would argue up and down that the existence of a "stabilizer" en masse for the US Army gave them a "major" advantage during that war. (represented in the game as "1")

My opinion has always been that that is a gross exaggeration given that true fire on the move capability didn't evolve till well after WW2 and during the cold war escalations in technology. I've read many of the anecdotal accounts during WW2 and it seems to be that a stab level of "1" basically represented a slight advantage if a tank was moving slowly over fairly even terrain. otherwise, it was mostly used as a "travel lock" Level 2 presented a primitive but more comprehensive level of stabilization and 3 to 3+ representing the realm of true fire on the move capability.

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by lansoar

Hi Mobhack,

I'm curious here. As both a WW2 and MBT player, I tend to see the Stabilizer variable as being rather limited in terms of flexibility given the small range of values utilized. For example, going from pre WW2 to 2024, the range varies from 0-6, with notable advancements mostly coming in the post WW2 situation.

I'm interested in hearing the devs take on this variable as I had in the past the displeasure of participating in old WW2 threads where some participants would argue up and down that the existence of a "stabilizer" en masse for the US Army gave them a "major" advantage during that war. (represented in the game as "1")

My opinion has always been that that is a gross exaggeration given that true fire on the move capability didn't evolve till well after WW2 and during the cold war escalations in technology. I've read many of the anecdotal accounts during WW2 and it seems to be that a stab level of "1" basically represented a slight advantage if a tank was moving slowly over fairly even terrain. otherwise, it was mostly used as a "travel lock" Level 2 presented a primitive but more comprehensive level of stabilization and 3 to 3+ representing the realm of true fire on the move capability.

A stabiliser valur of 1 is a tiny little data advantage that gives a very small benefit if the firer has moved a hex or 2, and really is only useful if ou want to move your tank while staying locked onto the target. Staying locked on means if you move, any steps up the rangefinding ladder you had breviously made from prior shots fired at it remain and you dont have to restart at the bottom rung. Which is nullified if you lose LOS to the target by putting say smoke or a tree between you and it by your own movement.

So tanks with 1 stab like grant, sherman and stuart - really dont have any great advantage I find. Post WW2 tanks with larger numbers do have a noticeable benefit though. But a stationary tank which fires its shots from the same spot still has the ultimate to-hit scores and so I try to refrain from moving and fire from the halt if I can do so.