RPS Flare Path article on Tank Crew EA

[DetCord12B]

Love Tim Stone's articles.

 

Quote

Well, that wasn’t unenjoyable. With a little help from a motley, AI-controlled Kamfgruppe of halftracks and Panzer IIIs, I’ve just retaken a railway station that had fallen into Soviet hands. My whitewashed Tiger was clanged by AP shells expectorated by T-34s, KV-1s and various AT guns, and rocked by rockets flung by low-flying Sturmoviks during the course of the advance but somehow managed to soldier on and get the job done.

 

In the very early stages of Early Access, Tank Crew – Clash at Prokhorovka presently lacks six of its ten driveables, and comes without its lumpy/large Kursk Salient map, yet is still capable of entertaining. The included KV-1 and Tiger (simple versions of the T-34 and PzKpfw III are also available) can be tested in Quick Mission mode on any IL-2 map against a variety of static and mobile foes in much the same way as series aircraft. Via three scenarios, one of which is that railhead reconquest mission, you can also get a feel for the kind of scripted single-player actions that will ultimately populate the two campaigns.

 

With things like gearboxes, smoke mortars, binoculars, and tank commander instructions (Go there! Target that!..) yet to be implemented, Steel Fury, Panzer Front Ausf.B, and Panzer Elite Special Edition veterans will probably find the facilities a little rudimentary at the moment. Over time shortcomings like these are sure to be addressed, and, hopefully, 777/1CGS’s stance on infantry…

All of the aforementioned classics model foot sloggers, and their battlefields are far more interesting, believable places as a result. Given a choice between grunts and a slightly smaller ride selection, personally I’d plump for fewer tanks. 

 

Pictured above is my jammiest kill thus far. In Tank Crew not only do shells glance off steel, sod, and water on occasion, but given the right trajectory they can travel for miles before running out of zip. The HE round that ripped the starboard wing off this about-to-taxi IL-2 was one of perhaps a dozen I speculatively loosed at a faraway VVS airbase. It travelled a good 3km before conducting the amputation.

 

Without Graviteam-style after-action impact arrows, it’s difficult to properly assess the current penetration and damage modelling. The fact that Tigers are able to withstand blizzards of fire from threats like BT-7s and BA-10s while KV-1s when faced by comparable enemies feel less robust, suggests that there’s already some sophistication in the algorithms. On a couple of occasions I’ve lost KV-1 caterpillars to AP fire, but I’ve yet to see shattered vision blocks, disabled weaponry, or tossed turrets. Presumably subtleties like these will be introduced during the Early Access year.

 

One of the biggest challenges facing 777/1CGS is the coding of credible AI. The game is already more attractive than its rivals, but if the devs are serious about supplanting the likes of Steel Fury, Tank Crew really has to offer silicon opponents that understand the value of hull-down positions and know when to shoot-and-scoot, use smoke, reverse and ram. The two big words on the box lid suggest the devs are as interested in the fleshy components of a WW2 MBT as the ferrous ones. An army of expectant solo tank simmers is praying that this is indeed the case.

 

Much like the player requested features here, I do hope his mentions get some attention.

 

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/07/27/the-flare-path-narrow-minded/

Edited July 31, 2018 by DetCord12B