Mortars, Flamethrowers, and Other Assorted Goodies
Mortars, Flamethrowers, and Other Assorted Goodies
I think that light mortars can be implemented in the game adding to the game and the tactical environment too. This is a re-hash of something I posted over at the Steam forums, so some of you may have already read this. Etc., etc. -
Morters would be cool to model in-game, except for playability maybe a Player could take a 'mortarman' positin and automatically be assigned two bots to be the 'pack mules' and do all the relatively low-key stuff that mortars do to fire (load, prep rounds, etc.). The Player could actually 'key in' angle and elevation (similar to the way tankers have to eyeball ranges) and a spotter could help walk him onto the target. (When
Note that a mortar team would almost from necessity need a halftrack- something the Russians currently lack (a Klown Kar doesn't fit the bill)- for transport, unless they want to hump that mortar on foot from the rear spawn up to the Ruins on the Orel map! Do give them a mix of HE and Smoke rounds, though- that would be a nice (and correct!) addition.
Thought #2: I think I saw somehwere that AT guns were going to be added along the way- is this true? If so, perhaps the same could apply to them with regard to bots being 'part of the furniture' when you get a gun. (They wouldn't do anything that really affects the game, more for visual effect). The Player would still have to lay and fire the AT gun, just like a tank's main gun with the 'ghost loader' in the turret doing the reloading.
Also, limit the number of in-game rounds a mortar Player or AT Gun Player (not the weapon itself) can fire in the course of the battle.
Thought #3: Flamethrowers. An earlier response noted that FT napalm sticks and burns, which might create problems with map meshes and such. Elegant solution: don't make the FT napalm stick! A lot of flamethrowers used a thinner mixture that made for a huge belch of flame, but not much stickiness; once the initial flame damage was done, it burned out relatively quickly. In-game, perhaps once a FT blasts a target, that target is pretty much wasted (if it's a destructible mesh lke players, tanks, etc.) but if it's non-destructible just let the flames burn for a while and eventually go out, leaving a smoke collumn only (but buildings and such still standing and usable. I can see this use of FT as being more of a quick-kill item and a short-term area denial item, but not as a major player in-game.
A side-note: if FT carriers get shot in the front, regular wounds- if they get shot in the back or side, instant fireball and death. And make them as heavy to carry as an MG, too.
Thought #4: RANGE FINDERS for tanks. Nearly every one of them had them, especially German tanks with their excellent optics and such. Tie a button to a range-finder (say, to the nearest hundred meters or so, based on what the gun cross-hairs are laid on) and give the Player the option to 'dial in' that range, or go by his best judgement. This obviously has a much better function on large maps, but it would very well model the long-range capability of German guns. Note that Tigers, in particular, were best suited for engaging tanks at a distance; in-game their vision is no better than any other tank. In-game, even binoculars have more magnification than gun sights!
On a side note, perhaps these range-finders could be part of the potential damage-able items on a tank due to hits, just like for engine and track hits.
Thought #5: Skins for troops. Not necessarily a thing for stock RO to use, but maybe some whiz kid out there could come up with a skin for, say, German Paratroops- or FEMALE Russian troops? Maybe this could be a mod available on some maps, or included 'standard' for certain battle scenarios. Maybe the same for vehicles? On Arad, for instance, German vehicles are SO much more visible due to the yellow paint scheme- in the field they would have been camo'd up to hide better. I'm sure Clans/Teams might want to adopt a particular 'uniform' at some point, if it can be supported in-game.
Thought #6: to balance out the mortar situation (with regard to transport not being currently available to the Russians), how about offesetting them with having 'Commissars' available? For each 'Commissar' give them a standard number of bots (maybe 5-8) who act on basic commands just as bot tankers do: follow me, attack front, take cover (go prone), etc. And don't make them mindless shooters, either, make them a challenge- but when the Commissar gets killed, the bots go away to return at the spawn point with him- and limit the number he can spawn with during the battle.
Thought #7: Tank riders- give troops the option to ride ON a tank (but be more vulnerable to enemy fire), and allow them to shoot from a halftrack. And PLEASE give the halftrack 'commander' the option to look OVER the MG mount, not just through it.
Thought #8: Tags for vehicles. Most, if not all, tactical combat vehicles (especially German) had tactical markers on them to denote that particular vehicle's identifier. In lieu of this, how about having an option to 'turn on' Player names over a vehicle, designating who is occupying it as the vehicle commander (or if none, the driver). The Player name could be visible at close range, but less so as distance increases. For Leaders (designated Tank Commanders or Squad Leaders ONLY) how about giving them friendly troop locations on their HUD map? This would enable them to be real leaders in the field, as opposed to being reduced to artillery runners.
Thought #9: Air Support. How cool would it be to have the ability to call for fire on a target and have graphics of Sturmoviks or Stukas overhead, dive-bombing or strafing a target area? Of course, I'm not talking about adding AIRCRAFT to the available vehicles to be crewed, just maybe a graphic mod to add to the atmosphere of the game? Even some low level-flying Heinkels or Lend-Lease Mitchells would be cool to see overhead (unless you're the target)!
Thought #10: Civilian bots. How about some random civilians running about in Stalingrad or some of the villages on various maps? Not many, of course, but just enough to add even more realism to an already awesome game...
That's about it for now... if I can ever learn how to model this kind of stuff maybe I'll give it a shot. Until then, if any of you modders out there know how to do it and are interested, please steal these ideas and go for it! I have NO IDEA how hard this stuff will be to get done, but it would all add som egreat atmosphere to the game.
KR
