"Vehicle Only"

[Stejones82]

In the available loads drop down menu, vehicle weapons often have some sort of AP round with a note in parentheses that says "Vehicle Only."

What does this mean in game turns? Does it mean:

a) that if the AP round is selected, it will fire the AP round (with the higher penetration) at ALL targets including non-vehicle targets?

b) that if selected, the AP round will fire at vehicle targets, but ALL other targets will automatically get the HP or another optional round.

c) some other devious trick of the designer.


Curious, because for 'soft' targets (infantry, e.g.) in 'hard-ish' terrain (urban, industrial e.g.) the AP is the better weapon of choice, but if selected, am I actually sending the HE or non-penetrating round downrange?

So, to sum up, can someone please give a reasonable and succinct explanation of what "vehicle only" is telling me?

Steve

[Jeff Conner]

My understanding is that it means that if you fire it at something other than a vehicle, it will have no effect. And, yes, the engine will let you fire it at other types of targets. You have to manually select which type of ammo you want to fire as the engine will not do this for you unlike some other tactical games. This isn't usually much of a problem during your turn, but requires some thought before you hit the "end turn" button about what types of targets your guns might have to engage during your opponent's turn. And before I forget it, I also believe that bunkers and pillboxes are considered vehicles.

Jeff

[Compass Rose]

As Jeff stated the ammo loads do not change automatically. It will only change when you change it manually.

For example, if you are wanting to fire your tank at another tank, you 1st need to go to the Weapons Load Menu and make sure you select (AP) Vehicle only. If you want to fire a HE round on infantry, you need to manual change your weapons load to HE. At the end of your "tank turn" and your tank has no more movement points, it is highly suggested to go to the weapons load menu and select AP (Vehicle only) if there is a chance that you may be attacked by enemy armor. You would need to do this if you had fired a HE round. If you do not, and you are attacked while it is your opponent's turn, your tank will fire HE rounds at the enemy tank, not AP rounds.

The same is true for AT guns.

The link below is a very good tip thread and there is a post by Rabbit that offers a good example of what is considered "vehicles" and what is not.


https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...#pid352341

If you still have more questions after reading it, feel free to ask.

[Stejones82]

Thanks gents, fountains of wisdom, as always!

Yikes, have I been wasting a lot of good AT rounds and weapon efficiency!

So what is the best way to hurt infantry holed up in Protection 48 Industrial hexes?

Also, when it says, "has no effect." Does that mean that even the random checks for Pinned and Demoralized?

[Jeff Conner]

When you have terrain with high protection values and you need to take the hex, you should use HEAT rounds or flame weapons and get close enough to assault. If you don't need to take the hex, bypass it and continue to advance.

I do believe that when it says "no effect" it means no effect. The manual is not real clear on some of these things though so I could be wrong. You can always set up a test scenario and try it 100 times and see if you get a result. That sounds like it would take a while, but once you get the hang of it, your test would probably only take a half hour or so.