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My Dream Tank UI/implementation

Mormegil

Grizzled Veteran
Nov 21, 2005
4,177
574
Nargothrond
I've updated my wishlist. Lots of the old wishes happened to have made it into Ostfront. Here are some new ones and some unfulfilled old ones.

Commander:
  • Fine range adjustment key. Sometimes that target is at 550 meters. Either a shift key (like hold jump and pressing lean) or a separate key for 10 or 25 (pick one) meter increments.
  • Add panoramic scope for gunner (less magnification, so you have as good if not better situational awareness)
  • Add Obvervation Periscope view (less magnification, so you have as good if not better situational awareness)
  • Have pistol available when out of cupola
  • Limited movement when out of cupola, leaning and ducking
  • Limited movement with cupola view, with leaning sideway and "leaning" forward for better visibility
Driver:
  • Have at least 3 gears - one slow (infantry walking/jogging speed) and for climbing, one fast (basically what we have now), and Reverse, shift up with jump down with crouch. Or at least the option to go to Manual (right now the game changes gears automatically for you).
  • Speedometer either in HUD or 3D gauge (looks like a working tachometer too)
  • Smoke screen if available
  • Limited movement when buttoned, with leaning sideway and "leaning" forward for better visibility
MGer/Radio:
  • Ability to unbutton to help in situation awareness
  • If a second MG is available, allow switching between the two, or have 2 MG positions (IS-2)
Edit: Having the roles more specialized with somewhat greater control and complexity for each tank role would encourage people to specialize (like many currently do with infantry roles - everyone has their favorite role). This makes each role more satisfying, and I think could encourage more people to multi-crew.

Exiting:
For all: add a major delay in exiting the tank. Right now, if there's infantry coming up, you can pop out, SMG them down, and pop right back in.

Switching:
Now many people complain about the instantaneous switching of positions. In general, I'd like to see a delay in switching positions, but that could be detrimental to tank maps when you don't have enough players.

A solution might be to implement "AI" for whatever position you're not currently occupying. So if you're Commander, there's an AI/bot driver that could rudimentally follow your orders (Attack Peninsula), just like the current bots do. You should also be able to tell the MGer to either hold or open fire.

Unless the pinpoint accuracy of the bot's tank aim has been fixed, I'd prefer to not see AI gunners/commanders when you're driving.

With this implementation, switching positions isn't really "switching positions" just taking over control of the AI/bots, which I think is fine.

Damage:
  • Effects of engine damage - lower top speed / acceleration, and possibly eventually dying (a la IL-2)
  • Damageable turret ring (locks up when hit enough)
  • Damageable optics
  • Damageable cannon barrel (with external damage visible)
  • Increase track damage area to cover not just the bottom of the tracks, but the whole thing, and allow shells the ability to penetrate the hull after hitting tracks (right now, I think it may be one or the other) - externally visible damage to tracks
 
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I think 2 gears would be enough: 1 for crouching infantry, 1 "Normal", including Reverse.
Different ammo-types would be nice, but they are not a have-to. When they should be in there, change ammo type with the button you use to attach bayonet/deploy MG as soldier, scroll mouse to change view(scope/turret/cupola), left mouse to fire, right mouse for coaxial MG fire.

For all the rest: good ideas and 100% agreed
 
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Richard_B. said:
I think 2 gears would be enough: 1 for crouching infantry, 1 "Normal", including Reverse.
For all the rest: good ideas and 100% agreed


I was counting Reverse as a gear, so when I said 3 gears, I meant 2 forward, 1 reverse.

I'm not sure of the slow gear should be the crouch/walk+IS speed or jog (moving without IS, not sprint).


Though, it might be prudent to set it to a bit slower than the new crouch/sprint - so soldiers can definately keep up while crouched, and can just stop (to regain stamina) once they've "caught up" to the tank.


If there's a throttle, implemented with either joystick or Up/Down moves a visible throttle lever, either visible to the driver or in the HUD, then it would be a LOT easier to have infantry keep up.


Something else that could be useful (and I'll add this to the list), is a speedometer for the driver. They'll know if they're outrunning their infantry, and it'll be easier to coordinate tank movement. If you know that IS-2 next to you can only go so fast, you can ensure you don't outrun it.
 
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Nice post, I completely agree.

I'd personally love complete, functional interiors. In a tank you'd be able to look around and see the whole interior, as well other animated crew members. As you mentioned it would be awesome to have periscopes and the like. I think in the current Panzer 4 model in 3.3, the driver's interior has a periscope you can see off to the right. A working one would be fantastic :)

Here's hoping! A nice bit from that Gamecloud interview I didn't notice before:

Ramm Jaeger said:
All of the vehicles are highly detailed inside and out and each interior position such as the commander’s cupola for tanks is fully modeled, similar to the way simulations like IL-2 Sturmovic do their cockpits. It is a lot of extra work, but the added functionality and gameplay of having actual interiors to our vehicles makes it work the trouble.
 
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I too would like to see animated crew-members (i've been waiting for a game to do that for years) im guessing that RO will like most games with interiors (il2) have no visible legs/crew, otherwise some of the tank will be covered up. Still maybe in a later date, that would be awesome.

And as for the the turret issue, i would much prefer that the keyboard used to traverse the turret, keep the speed consistent, but also have the mouse used as the 'fine adjustment' so you can move it maybe +3/-3 degrees or similar for those long range shots where a few mm is the difference between a hit and death
 
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Zoring said:
I too would like to see animated crew-members (i've been waiting for a game to do that for years) im guessing that RO will like most games with interiors (il2) have no visible legs/crew, otherwise some of the tank will be covered up. Still maybe in a later date, that would be awesome.

And as for the the turret issue, i would much prefer that the keyboard used to traverse the turret, keep the speed consistent, but also have the mouse used as the 'fine adjustment' so you can move it maybe +3/-3 degrees or similar for those long range shots where a few mm is the difference between a hit and death
Animated crew members would be cool, though I like OFP's cockpits too, but they are so clean and have only 1 console. :S

When the drivers seat was actually crammed full of electronics and computers, or switches, levers and guages...

Animated crewmembers would do very good...
Seeing your own legs and arms holding the driving sticks or the steer-kinda thing in the Tiger tank would be awesome too, if animated too of course... :D
 
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Pretty much agree with everything in the first post. I hope we see alot of this in Roost.

Like you said, high and low gears would be really useful for having infantry following you.

I'm particularly partial to having more accurate looking tank optics, all those fancy numbers and such.

BTW, I happen to catch a few new screenies of RO:OSt in a magazine at the store and the tank interiors look alot more detailed, ALOT. Nice early Panzergrey color, too. Hope that's ok to say, cose well, I already said it. :D
 
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The only turret mounts I'm aware off would be on the late StuGs and the Lend-Lease Sherman.

What I would like a lot is the driver's (or gunners) ability to look at something, then press a key and have them call out "target at xx O'Clock" where xx is actually derived from the way the guy looked.

More refined even, if the center of the screen shows a tank when the driver presses the key, let him shout out "tank at x O'clock" or change that to infantry, AT-Gun, whatever.

I had a lenghty tanking session with a good friend at Kalinin yesterday, and it proved to me how hard it is for a gunner to keep the overview, and for the driver to point out targets correctly and quickly.
 
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TheBeagle said:
There's pictures of late war(44/45) Panthers and King Tigers/Tigers with MG-34 mounts welded on their cuppolas. Particularly King Tigers.
Also on some Pz4. But as I know, they used MG42, because the main use of the cupola MG was getting down enemy planes...

Mounted MG's were often used, but I don't know if they were seen so often at the eastern front as on the west front. Wasn't there also Lend-Lease M26 Pershing? And M3/M5?
 
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Richard_B. said:
Also on some Pz4. But as I know, they used MG42, because the main use of the cupola MG was getting down enemy planes...

Actually, you may be right. I'm sure it was used for both. Reason I said MG-34s is cose that's what I've seen in pics. Edited to read "MGs" And come to think of it, the pics I've seen were from the West front I think.
 
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ATIKO said:
Talking about tanks, one thing came to mind. It would be grate if the commanders movement keys would be used to call out voice commands. The directional keys for forward, left, right and backward and crouch for stop and jump for move. Would make cooperation without microphone a lot smother.

That's already in the Mod, but it's the numpad keys for voice comes. So I'm sure that'll be in the game.
 
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