Fire at Point weapon options

[WirtsLegs]

Currently with the fire at point task you can select from a few options for which weapon to fire, these are:

• Auto
• Unguided
  • Shells
    • Conventional
  • Marker
    • Smoke
    • Illumination
  • Rockets
• Guided
  • Missiles
  • ASM
    • ATGM
    • Cruise Missiles

 

I would like to propose one (or possibly more additions), I would like to see the shell sub types split into the various weapon types, perhaps aligned with how they are defined in unit definitions, so that we can task cannons and machine guns and other distinct weapon-types explicitly.

 

Specific use-case I have in mind is being able to give a tank a fire at point specific to its machine gun(s) and not its main gun, or vice-versa. This could be useful for naval units and in other situations as well.

 

[Northstar98]

Personally, it would be better if the list could dynamically show you the exact weapon types the unit has available to it and (should it be supported), ammunition types if applicable

So for instance using the Oliver Hazard Perry as an example:

• Auto:
• Unguided:
  • 76 mm/62 Mark 75 [OTO Melara 76 mm Compact]:
    • HE-PD¹
    • IM84 HE-PFF¹
    • ...
  • 25 mm/87 Mark 38 MGS Mod 1
    • M791 APDS-T
    • M792 HEI-T
  • 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx Block IB
  • .50 M2HB
• Guided:
  • RIM-66E-6 SM-1MR Block VIB²
  • RGM-84D Harpoon IC³
  • Mk 46 NEARTIP Mod 5A³
  • Mk 50 Barracuda³

Notes:

Spoiler

1. I'm not sure what the exhaustive list of ammunition types used by the Mark 75 is, nor what their USN designations are. However, it can be reasonably assumed that it includes at least high-explosive point-detonating round (HE-PD) for usage against surface targets and a proximity fused HE projectile against aerial targets.
2. IRL all SM-1MR/ERs, SM-2MR/ERs and SM-6 ERAM have secondary surface attack modes (the same is true for the majority of naval SAMs and at least some ground-based SAMs).
3. For the RGM-84D, this could support a BOL mode, where the missile goes active at the set point (AFAIK, IRL it can be defined to follow waypoints, but I'm not sure how many (though I am aware that in the Hornet, it has 1). The same is true for the torpedoes should they have a BOL mode (I assume it can either run straight and then perform a helical search upon activation, but massive grains of salt here - I know they can definitely perform helical searches)

Edited September 1, 2023 by Northstar98

[WirtsLegs]

3 hours ago, Northstar98 said:

Personally, it would be better if the list could dynamically show you the exact weapon types the unit has available to it and (should it be supported), ammunition types if applicable

  Reveal hidden contents

1. I'm not sure what the exhaustive list of ammunition types the Mark 75 has, nor what their USN designations are. However, it can be reasonably assumed that it includes a high-explosive point-detonating round (HE-PD) for usage against surface targets and a proximity fused HE projectile against aerial targets.
2. IRL all SM-1MR/ERs, SM-2MR/ERs and SM-6 ERAM have secondary surface attack modes (the same is true for the majority of naval SAMs and at least some ground-based SAMs).
3. For the RGM-84D, this could support a BOL mode, where the missile goes active at the set point (AFAIK, IRL it can be defined to follow waypoints, but I'm not sure how many (though I am aware that in the Hornet, it has 1). The same is true for the torpedoes should they have a BOL mode (I assume it can either run straight and then perform a helical search upon activation, but massive grains of salt here - I know they can definitely perform helical searches)

 

I would agree in general, I figured reach for what felt like more low hanging fruit at first, as a bit of a catch when going to specific ammo/weapon types it would need a fair amount of work around the Lua API to be able to use properly as now the options are different for each unit(I think would still need to retain good generalized options), and the list could get very long when you factor in groups with multiple different unit types each with different weapons.

[Northstar98]

2 hours ago, WirtsLegs said:

I would agree in general, I figured reach for what felt like more low hanging fruit at first, as a bit of a catch when going to specific ammo/weapon types it would need a fair amount of work around the Lua API to be able to use properly as now the options are different for each unit(I think would still need to retain good generalized options), and the list could get very long when you factor in groups with multiple different unit types each with different weapons.

Fair enough, I can appreciate going for a more simpler solution in the mean time and yes, this would need some function that is able to get all the weapon types available (though note that selecting which ammunition to use isn't currently supported).

For the issue with groups, I personally don't think that having a long list would be particularly problematic, though I certainly wouldn't be opposed to being able to select a category of weapon (i.e "gun"), when selecting a particular one isn't necessary (so if you were to select guided, the AI should choose an appropriate weapon) and all the options should probably be in a collapsible menu.

So in the case of groups, the fire-at-point task could list the units in the group and when a unit is clicked on it gives you the list:

Spoiler

So for instance:

• Unit 1 [+]
• Unit 2 [-]
  • Unguided [-]:
    • 76 mm/62 Mark 75 [OTO Melara 76 mm Compact]:
      • HE-PD¹
      • IM84 HE-PFF
      • ...
    • 25 mm/87 Mark 38 Mod 1
      • M791 APDS-T
      • M792 HEI-T
    • 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx Block IB
    • .50 M2HB
  • Guided [-]:
    • RIM-66E-6 SM-1MR Block VIB
    • RGM-84D Harpoon IC³
    • Mk 46 NEARTIP Mod 5A
    • Mk 50 Barracuda
• Unit 3 [+]

Alternatively, in this case you could break down the categories to guns, missiles and torpedoes.

[upyr1]

19 hours ago, WirtsLegs said:

I would like to propose one (or possibly more additions), I would like to see the shell sub types split into the various weapon types, perhaps aligned with how they are defined in unit definitions, so that we can task cannons and machine guns and other distinct weapon-types explicitly.

 

Specific use-case I have in mind is being able to give a tank a fire at point specific to its machine gun(s) and not its main gun, or vice-versa. This could be useful for naval units and in other situations as well.

If/when we ever get some Battleships, this would be awesome we could assign the 5-inch guns to one target and the 16-inch guns to another.  I would also add cluster and armor-piercing shells and guided shells to the guided weapons list 

15 hours ago, Northstar98 said:

Personally, it would be better if the list could dynamically show you the exact weapon types the unit has available to it and (should it be supported), ammunition types if applicable

So for instance using the Oliver Hazard Perry as an example:

• Auto:
• Unguided:
  • 76 mm/62 Mark 75 [OTO Melara 76 mm Compact]:
    • HE-PD¹
    • IM84 HE-PFF¹
    • ...
  • 25 mm/87 Mark 38 Mod 1
    • M791 APDS-T
    • M792 HEI-T
  • 20 mm Mk 15 Phalanx Block IB
  • .50 M2HB
• Guided:
  • RIM-66E-6 SM-1MR Block VIB²
  • RGM-84D Harpoon IC³
  • Mk 46 NEARTIP Mod 5A³
  • Mk 50 Barracuda³

Notes:

  Hide contents

1. I'm not sure what the exhaustive list of ammunition types the Mark 75 has, nor what their USN designations are. However, it can be reasonably assumed that it includes a high-explosive point-detonating round (HE-PD) for usage against surface targets and a proximity fused HE projectile against aerial targets.
2. IRL all SM-1MR/ERs, SM-2MR/ERs and SM-6 ERAM have secondary surface attack modes (the same is true for the majority of naval SAMs and at least some ground-based SAMs).
3. For the RGM-84D, this could support a BOL mode, where the missile goes active at the set point (AFAIK, IRL it can be defined to follow waypoints, but I'm not sure how many (though I am aware that in the Hornet, it has 1). The same is true for the torpedoes should they have a BOL mode (I assume it can either run straight and then perform a helical search upon activation, but massive grains of salt here - I know they can definitely perform helical searches)

 

no problems adding more details I would like the option to configure the shell load