Main Gun Traveling Lock and AI Behaviour

[FTC_Zero]

First of all, great thanks to dev team for those exceptional tank models. There is so much love in details. I always appreciate that and know that you will further improve Tank Crew  ?

Now to my feedback. In the new 4.009 update you added gun locks to the interior which are nicely animated traveling locks for the main guns. I love it but they way when they are engaged and how the ai handle it is imo questionable. Here are the vids for the Pz4 and Pz3 so you can see:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

If the AI has no visual contract to the enemy then they always lock the gun. If you switch to free view, gun gets locked. I also do not like when you switch to the commander and back to the gunner sight: You have no control and the ai tries to go back to the lock positions for 2-3 seconds, then you get control back and the gun correct back to the aim, very unpleasant.

But my main point is: Do you see how long it takes to unlock and get the gun in a ready position? In the Pz3 a pin locks the gun, ok. But in the Pz4 there are 2 screws you must unwind wich are done in hyper speed ingame, but it is still very slow and depressing the gun takes forever. Now imagine that the ai does that after every tank kill. This is not a battle ready tank. I tried to find some german tank manuals or refernce in how and when a locks would be enganged, but i could not find any yet. I hope some of you can help.

Edited August 20, 2020 by ZeroCrack01

[FTC_Zero]

1 minute ago, TIGRE88 said:

 

this problem also concerns the TIGER tank although it is less obvious than for the panzer3  an 4

All tanks have it, but yeah, on russian tanks or panther and tiger it is not that obviously. It is a nice feature, but here german engineering just back fires if badly implemented. 

[FTC_Zero]

10 minutes ago, TIGRE88 said:

yes it is a nice option but  unsuitable in a combat situation .   and I wonder if the optics really go wrong in the game after driving without a gun lock ... as does the deterioration of the barrel mechanism. 

and if this is the case I think it should be felt after a long time, it would surprise me that in reality the gun deteriorates in 30 minutes or 1 hour of maneuver witout gun lock ..

and for the optics on the other hand I don't know

Yes, i really wish that we have some reference material for that matter. I think it is mainly for transport and protection of the gun mechanics on difficult terrain. But we said, it appears very unpractical in combat situations. 

[SCG_judgedeath3]

Jagdtiger as example needed only 100 meters or such in forest to have sight issues occuring if you didnt locked the gun. But depends on terrain, gun etc. according to carius book.

[FTC_Zero]

2 hours ago, SCG_judgedeath3 said:

Jagdtiger as example needed only 100 meters or such in forest to have sight issues occuring if you didnt locked the gun. But depends on terrain, gun etc. according to carius book.

Dunno if that is the case with a 12.8 cm gun monster overweight SPG that was barely produced. But a tank is a offensive weapon with a balanced gun and suspensions. Don't know how they handled that in combat in a pz4. Just for imagination

1) Rotate gun into neutral position and elevate gun all the way up -> untighten lock bar and move it down -> depress gun so it interlocks -> gunner tighten upper and lower screwlock -> drive blindly (gunner with the best sights in the tank enjoys the sky view)
2) enemy target spotted by anyone but the gunner-> tank stops -> gunner untighten upper and lower screwlock -> elevate the gun so you can disengage the lock bar -> move lock bar up and tighten it up again so it cant fall down ->  depress the gun all the way down to a neutral position -> rotate turret to the target -> identify, estimate and correct range -> shoot

3) continue fighting or change target

4) before continuing driving repeat from 1)

 

Just imagine you are in an offensive, closing in to the enemy and stop every 10- 20m for a shot. Not to mention that the gun needs to be loaded as well.

Edited August 20, 2020 by ZeroCrack01

[LachenKrieg]

3 hours ago, SCG_judgedeath3 said:

Jagdtiger as example needed only 100 meters or such in forest to have sight issues occuring if you didnt locked the gun. But depends on terrain, gun etc. according to carius book.

The gun lock is a great feature that really enhances the SIM. The issue is not with the gun lock itself, but the way it was implemented. There should be two different key-bindings for the SIM to work properly. One to take control of the gun, and another one to lock it. With the Pz4 for example, if you pressed the "T" key to take control of the gun and then want to momentarily open the hatch, you should be able to close the hatch and get right back into battle with your gun and sight the way you left them.

[SCG_judgedeath3]

Yep and is working on a video and cant tell here but hopefully have this issue solved in the close future. 

The issue is as you say that when you switch place in the tank is that sight, direction of the turret and height/horizontal and gun lock resets, which my guess is down to how the airplane mechanics is from the game engine but not sure.

 

can when i get home and not on a break at my job like now explain how and when to use gun locks from my tank training and studies of ww2 tanks.