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Haswell

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Posts posted by Haswell


  1. Hurray for last minute patch notes. :boredseal:

    https://aw.my.games/en/news/general/maintenance-march-5

    Quote

    On the 5th of March 2020, starting from 8:00 CET (4th of March, 11 PM PST), the server will not be available for 5 hours due to the application of Update 0.31.5990

     

    List of Update 0.31.5990 Changes

     

    AT Squad Rebalance

    Due to this type of Mechanized Infantry performing better than intended, we are introducing several corrections to it:

    • Slightly reduced the viewrange and camouflage
    • Increased the camouflage penalty from firing
    • The AT Squad can no longer fire at distances longer than their viewrange
    • The accuracy of Tier 3-5 AT Squad somewhat reduced

    Griffin 120mm Rebalance

    We are introducing the following changes to the Griffin 120mm Premium Light Tank:

    • XM1111 MRM-KE shell base penetration reduced from 670mm to 640mm
    • XM1111 MRM-KE shell penetration increase with distance improved from 10 to 15 percent
    • XM1111 MRM-KE shell damage increase with distance improved from 10 to 15
    • XM1111 MRM-KE distance for maximum penetration and damage bonus increased from 200m to 250m

    These changes stemmed from the fact that this shell was not only performing extremely well at long distances, but was better in practically any situation than the standard APFSDS ammunition, even when it wasn’t really intended. The abovementioned changes make it a bit better at long distances (the way it was intended) but somewhat worse at close ones.

    Additionally:

    • XM1111 MRM-CE shell no longer gets intercepted by hard-kill APS (like other HEAT shells)
    • Gun depression improved to -11 degrees since the vehicle geometry allows it
    • The amount of ammo carried improved to 48 rounds
    • Made small improvements to movement physics of this vehicle, resulting in more realistic behavior in some cases

    New Battle UI Improvements and Fixes

    We are introducing a number of improvements and fixes to the new Battle UI:

    • Improved the appearance of your vehicle’s health bar
    • Improved the appearance of the “You are spotted” indicator and added a sound effect to it
    • Added a setting, allowing you to display or hide the ammunition of your vehicle (hide altogether, show only for the active weapon, show for all weapons)
    • Added a setting, allowing you to display or hide the health of your target (hide altogether, show only in the Sniper mode, show always)
    • Fixed an issue that cause outgoing and incoming damage to appear incorrectly in battle in their respective tabs
    • Fixed an issue where APS and smoke icons could overlap with consumable icons after a respawn
    • Cruise control icon is now hidden in the Replay mode and the Spectator mode
    • Fixed the APS icon in the new Battle UI
    • Fixed the QN-506 Battle UI (some elements of it overlapping)
    • Implemented a number of smaller tweaks and fixes to reticle color settings
    • Fixed an issue where the locked target indicator did not change its color based on the state of your weapon

    General Changes

    • The item transfer mechanism now works as described in the initial Update 0.31 patchnotes
    • Merkava Mk.4M’s Trophy Next Gen and Armata’s Afganit hard-kill APS no longer intercept kinetic shells when in passive mode
    • Fixed an issue where the point of impact in Sniper mode and in Third Person mode could differ when switching between the two modes
    • Fixed an issue where it was possible to spot an enemy despite him being hidden behind an obstacle even at distances of over 50 meters
    • Fixed am issue where changing the rendering resolution would make various objects disappear
    • Improved the visual quality of MBT-class vehicles across the board
    • Fixed an issue where the MBT class did not lose as much camouflage when moving as intended
    • Abrams AGDS: This vehicle now has 8 smoke grenade charges (two in a magazine with 6 seconds between them the way other TDs do)
    • CATTB: Fixed an issue where it was impossible to fire shells that were assigned to the first slot after a respawn
    • Challenger 2 ATDU: Fixed an issue where it was possible to “climb” over another vehicle when ramming it
    • Harimau: Improved the appearance of its Pulat APS
    • K21: Fixed the trajectory and flight characteristics of the Raybolt ATGM
    • K21: Added a choice between two firepower upgrades – 20% bonus to its rate of fire, or 30% bonus to its rate of fire but also 50% less accuracy
    • M48 GAU-8: Fixed an issue where other players would see your vehicle’s tracers even if you weren’t firing at that moment
    • Merkava Mk.1: Fixed the protection of its internal modules
    • Type 89: Increased the ATGM flight speed from 200 to 250 m/s
    • Type 89: Improved the minimum distance, at which the ATGM will hit the target, from roughly 40m to roughly 20m
    • The Battalion member tab now also has the date of the last change to Battalion ranking
    • Spirithaven Special Operation, Chapter 2: Fixed the issue that allowed the Five Ways achievement to be obtainable by a platoon that wasn’t full
    • Spirithaven Special Operation, Chapter 2: Fixed an issue where the elevator sound would disappear if the camera rotated
    • If you change your render type from Normal to Simplified and some of your graphics settings are not supported by the Simplified render, a new warning will now appear to tell you so
    • Fixed an issue where the hard-kill APS effect was missing on the Alabino Proving Grounds map
    • Fixed an issue where the window type setting (borderless, fullscreen) would not save correctly
    • Reduced the volume of radar “ping” sounds during the activation of the Radar Active Ability
    • Fixed the Mouse settings in the new Settings window
    • Fixed an issue that caused the Sniper mode Chromatic Aberration setting to not save correctly
    • Fixed several smaller loading screen visual issues


    -RIP AT infantry memes
    -Griffin 120 got even more mediocre
    -UI might be less horrible
    -ATDU can't crush things as easily anymore

    -Disappearing shit issue with render resolution is finally fixed, I can play at 60FPS again :happyseal:

     


  2. Original article in case people want to read the massive wall of text with way too much fluff:

    Quote

    In Armored Warfare, the K2 Black Panther will be a Tier 10 progression Main Battle Tank, unlockable either from the AS21 Redback or the K-153C Tier 9 AFV.

    Gameplay-wise, the Black Panther will resemble the Altay Tier 10 Premium MBT as a highly-mobile MBT that will feature a number of high-tech solutions, compensated by only mediocre armor. Let’s take a look at its characteristics in detail but please do keep in mind that they are preliminary only and are subject to change.

    Let’s start, as usual, with the protection levels. The armor on this tank will be quite thin, roughly on par with the Leopard 2AX or Altay. However, the tank will feature ERA, the KAPS hard-kill APS as well as special smoke grenades with better properties than usual. Additionally, the tank uses an advanced ammo rack with significantly reduced damage from ammo explosions.

    But where things do get really interesting is its mobility and firepower.

     

     

    For starters, the vehicle will have hydraulic suspension, allowing it to tilt to all sides as well as to lower itself to the ground. Thanks to its 1500hp stock diesel engine, it will also feature good mobility (70 km/h maximum speed, acceleration from 0 to 32 km/h in 4 seconds). But all that is just the beginning. The tank will feature an upgraded 1650hp diesel that will make it accelerate even faster (acceleration improved to 3.7 seconds) as well as yet another upgrade that will make it accelerate and turn even better. All in all, it will be one of the most mobile MBTs in the game, second only to the Altay and the CATTB.

    Firepower-wise, the Black Panther will be armed with a 120mm L/55 gun, but don’t let that fool you because those are some really sharp claws indeed. Its strength will not lie in a vast amount of available shells though – in fact, the tank will only have one main type of ammunition (APFSDS shells with 850mm of penetration). The real trick is pretty much everything else that there is to this weapon system because you’ll be able to choose from two variants of this gun:

    • Ready Rack (3 rounds, 4 seconds between shots, increasing to 9.5 seconds once the rack is depleted)
    • Magazine Autoloader (2 rounds, 4 seconds between shots, followed by 13 seconds of magazine reload)

    This basic choice does not look all that important with the base values listed above but the difference between both options will become more apparent with the other optional upgrades. For example, after choosing your weapon type, you’ll be able to unlock the next tier of upgrades, where you will choose one of the following three improvements:

    • Upgrade to overall reload time (10 percent)
    • Upgrade to Ready Rack/Magazine rate of fire (50 percent)
    • Increased capacity of Ready Rack or Magazine (by 1)

    The next tier of upgrades will feature yet another set of similar modules, so you’ll be able to for example combine two capacity upgrades, or two reload time upgrades, or one from each – all up to you. It’s also worth noting that the gun will have truly excellent depression and elevation values (-11/+20 degrees without suspension, -16/+23 degrees with it).

     

     

    The Black Panther will also be able to use the Designate Target ability, making enemy vehicles take increased damage.

    Three Additional Progression modules will be available to this vehicle:

    • Hybrid engine that reduces this vehicle’s maximum speed to 55 km/h but significantly increases its acceleration (0 to 32 km/h in 2 seconds), agility and, as a bonus, it’s impossible to set on fire
    • Improved Targeting System that increases the spotting range and the duration of the Designate Target ability
    • Enhanced Maintenance Kit that makes module repairs 30 percent faster and provides additional module protection

    And last but not least, Commander Kwon Han will also be possible to unlock from the K2 Black Panther.

     

     

    All in all, the K2 Black Panther will be, as we mentioned above, a highly mobile MBT, suitable for aggressive gameplay. While its armor won’t be great, its module protection (especially with the Enhanced Maintenance Kit unlocked) will be second to none and its KAPS hard-kill APS will keep it safe from an occasional stray missile.

    In skilled hands, this tank will be a deadly tool in PvP, but will also be capable of delivering sustained fire in PvE, albeit in a more supportive role since its active defenses would get overwhelmed quickly when facing a large number of opponents. Its active suspension will allow for extremely comfortable gameplay and with all Additional Progression modules unlocked, few other vehicles will be able to go toe to toe with it in a duel.

     

    • Upvote 1

  3. Horrible, there's nearly nothing I like about it except for the camo percentage.

    -Important info are too spread out. I shouldn't have to look at 2 different sectors (status panel, health bar) on my screen just to check how damaged I am.
    -Reticle is too cluttered. I don't need to know how many shots of smoke or APS I have left to shoot the enemy.
    -Feedback on damage received is nearly nonexistent, the directional indicator is absolutely tiny and I don't even notice it a lot of times.
    -Hit indicator is just as cluttered as the reticle, I could barely tell whether I'm hitting modules or not until I actually break them

    I know they want change, but this is downright awful compared to the old UI.

    • Upvote 1

  4. Quote

    [03/02 17:09:31] 18<WoTLabsIRC18> <Q bicle> Apparently AT squads will receive "a small nerf" according to AW discord server
    [03/02 17:19:09] 18<WoTLabsIRC18> <Q bicle> ```- Their viewrange and camo factor was slightly reduced
    [03/02 17:19:09] 18<WoTLabsIRC18> <Q bicle> - They can't fire beyond their own viewrange anymore
    [03/02 17:19:09] 18<WoTLabsIRC18> <Q bicle> - They lose more camo when firing
    [03/02 17:19:09] 18<WoTLabsIRC18> <Q bicle> - Tier 3-5 AT squad accuracy also somewhat reduced```

    More than warranted IMO, but depending on execution they might end up completely useless.

    Would be nice if they let people know the actual stats of infantry, like view range and damage.


  5. 9 hours ago, KiwiTT said:

    He gets two bonuses - 32 metres view range and 5% camo increase when further than 25m from friendlies.  If you play the LT right you are always in a flanking position, trying to turn the enemy so your main force can get side shots or better yet you get side shots while still well at of their view range.

    The camo bonus on Erin allows me to pull off the same shenanigans, while letting me get even closer to the enemy without being spotted regardless. I can more than afford to keep firing all day without any fear of getting shot at in return, maximizing my effective DPM.

    9 hours ago, KiwiTT said:

    Similar reasoning here to Juan, you should be out of view range of the enemy when you are doing most of your engaging, hence less need for paint and more for DPM.  However since I mostly play Tier 9 and 10s with the extra slot I can use both improved gun breech and paint, so the choice is less of a problem.

    Not all the maps are large enough for me to guarantee that I will be outside of the bots' view ranges when it matters, especially on corridor maps that seem to be all the rage in spec ops. I can maximize my view range using retrofits easily, but camo is something I can't directly increase without stacking commander skills. Erin lets me stack a metric crap ton of camo skills to the point where I can remain unspotted while moving towards and firing at only 150m away from the bots, provided I'm careful enough. Time wasted on trying to avoid damage is time not spent on dishing out damage.

    Obviously I only use Erin in vehicles that I can't afford to get shot at, hence "squishy".


  6. TL;DR: low tier premiums are not worth it.

    It makes sense due to how the tier brackets are set up (1-3, 4-6, 7-10), that tier 6 is where premiums start to become worthy of collecting. I daresay however that that XM247 is likely the least terrible premium vehicle out of this sorry bunch due to its raw DPM. I still prefer the AMX-13 over it though.

    • Upvote 1

  7. 4 hours ago, KiwiTT said:

    TD and LT:Improved Gun Breech, Optics and Telescopic Lenses, if 4th-slot - Paint
    Small TD and AFV: Improved Gun Breech, Optics and Telescopic Lenses, if 4th-slot - Paint

    I had always opted to use paint over gun breech for squishies, vision control is far more important to me than marginal increases in raw DPM.

    4 hours ago, KiwiTT said:

    Juan Carlos Miramon for most LTs

    Joshua Seagrove, Andrey Zaitsev or Ioannis Sana for most TDs

    Erin O'Connell for scouting light AFVs

    Sabrina Washington for most other AFVs, especially those with PELE rounds

    Interesting, I usually prefer to use Erin for all things squishy for maximum vision control, since not trying to avoid damage = higher effective DPM. As a result almost everything squishy in my garage are geared towards vision control. Wilk being the exception with Sabrina of course.

    I've seen Juan being thrown around a lot for lights, but why?

     

    3 hours ago, LeoAegisMaximus said:

    What is your recommendation on the Terminator? i think it was a lord's of war package you could purchase during the alpha with the tier 8 terminator? last patch it got a apfsds round for its autocannon? Is a ramka 99 or the 2017 Terminator competition to it? 

    What about the tier 9 T-40 Lerclerc TD? 

    I personally treat the Termi and T40 as MBTs, so I throw whoever I'm trying to grind up in them. I don't feel like commander choice makes too much of a difference for MBTs in general.


  8. I honestly have no idea how crew experience get calculated, the number at the end doesn't seem to match up with the XP I earn no matter how I try to modify the visible multipliers.

    From what I recall, back when the game had the base system there was a building that gave a bonus to crew XP. I can't remember the precise numbers, but I reckon that has something to do with it.


  9. I'll start by saying that I free-xp'd to the HEAT shell and upgraded smoke grenades right away, otherwise my sanity might suffer.

    My first impression is that it's bloody slow and sluggish for a wheeled vehicle, but I came to realize that's just the trend of tier 7s in general. Beyond that, the Type 16 feels quite capable as a high-ish alpha mobile gun platform for a tier 7 (even if everything at tier 7 suck as a general rule).

    deuzhU8.jpg

    My cheapo setup focuses heavily on vision control. Despite the Type 16 having better than average frontal armor, it's still garbage against ATGMs and most things that will shoot at me. Best way for me to leverage the Type's DPM is still to position myself at locations where I can keep shooting uninterrupted, as is my MO for all things squishy in general.

    Initial thoughts after a dozen or so games:

    • great HEAT shell, being able to slap things for over 700 every 5 seconds at tier 7 makes it stand out
    • sluggish to accelerate and turn, must read the flow of battle and know when to reposition myself earlier than other squishies
    • far higher view range and slightly higher camo than the PSP and Cent 105, very good at vision control for a wheeled TD
    • lead indicator is annoying and I want to disable it so badly

    Compared to other related vehicles at tier 7:

    • PSP is just better despite not having a HEAT shell, it has overwhelming DPM and 360 smoke to brute-force its way through everything
    • Cent 105 has better burst alpha, but falls behind in terms of consistent DPM
    • Stingray 2 is like the Cent 105, but slightly better

     

    Overall, not a bad sort for a tier 7, but I wouldn't want to play it again once I ground it out. My recommendation is to free-xp to the HEAT shell at the very least, otherwise the Type wouldn't really stand out for anything. It almost feels like a Taifun at tier 7.

    Sitting at 16k DPG right now, will try to end my grind at 20k at least.


  10. Since the official forum got shut down last year, lots of existing content were lost in that process along with numerous excellent guides and content. Alas, I did not have the foresight or motivation to archive everything back then.

    If anyone has saved anything from the official forum back then, I (and everyone else) would be immensely grateful if they could be reposted here. New and novel guides are also welcomed so we can build up our library of knowledge.

    Thanks!

    :sealofapproval:


  11. Taken from the official AW page (https://aw.my.games/en/about/game-guides/spotting-and-camouflage), reposting here for better visibility.


     

    How fast will enemy vehicles appear on your screen? What if you only see half of them? What if they are hidden behind a rock or a bush? These and many other situations in Armored Warfare are controlled by the Spotting and Camouflage System.

    The Spotting and Camouflage System (furthermore referred to as SCS) is one of the most important and complex systems of Armored Warfare. To make sure it’s impossible to cheat by using the infamous “wall hacks”, all the important checks and equations are calculated not by your PCs, but by our servers and a large chunk of their processing power – around 30 percent – is dedicated to these calculations.

    But how exactly does it work? How does the server know what to show you?

    Basic Principles

     

    The entire SCS is operated by a management system called Spotting Manager. As the first step in every battle the Spotting Manager makes sure each vehicle in the game participates in the spotting system by assigning them a server token called Spotting Proxy. Spotting Proxies are basically representations of each vehicle’s spotting mechanism on the server side. In other words, any spotting interactions take place not between your vehicles per se, but between these Spotting Proxies purely on the server side and the SCS then only distributes the data regarding what should be rendered.

    Any advanced spotting calculations for friendly vehicles are disabled – you always know where your allies are without having to rely on things like line of sight or radio distance. Even today, modern armies rely on battlefield management systems that allow them to do exactly that – keep track of every unit and every vehicle on the battlefield in order to improve situational awareness, assess tactical situations and avoid friendly fire incidents. In this sense, this Armored Warfare model is completely realistic.

    Enemy vehicles, however, are a different thing entirely.

    In order to determine whether you see an enemy vehicle or not, the SCS relies on spotting checks. This is how they work.

    Every vehicle in the game has two “spotter” points that are used to look for the enemies. These are:

    • Gun sights (the gunner looks forward to see whether he can see the enemy or not)
    • Commander hatch (the commander uses the hatch to look outside)

    scr1

    Every vehicle also has eleven “spot check” points. These are:

    • Tip of the gun barrel
    • Four corners of the turret
    • Four corners of the hull
    • Two spots in the middle of the hull sides

    scr2

    SCS takes both spotter points for your vehicle and tries to trace a ray towards the enemy spot check points (in other words, 22 rays in total). If all of these rays are blocked by an obstacle (a hill, a building, a stone etc.), the spot check failed and your vehicle can’t spot the enemy. If one of the rays makes a connection from one of your spotter points to one of the enemy spot check points, the enemy vehicle becomes spotted. Naturally, this is an example for one vehicle. You may be hidden behind a wall but if an enemy creeps up behind you and sees you, you will get spotted even if no-one else has a direct line of sight towards you.

    scr3

    These spot checks are not permanent – to make the system manageable, these checks takes place using a certain frequency that decreases with distance. In the early iterations, spotting checks at long distances were performed roughly once per 2 seconds, the current maximum value is once per 0.8 seconds with the closest checks being considerably more frequent (the frequency of the checks was increased both in Update 0.20 and Update 0.21).

    The distance the rays travel (spotting distance) is not, however, infinite. The maximum value it can theoretically have (that is equal to maximum vehicle render distance – 808 meters) is reduced by a number of factors that include:

    • Vehicle View Range
    • Vehicle Configuration (modules, retrofits, commander skills)
    • Enemy vehicle camouflage (also depends on many factors)
    • Environmental camouflage (bushes and other foliage)
    • Action (moving, firing a gun)
    • Game Mode (PvE has additional special rules)

    Please note, however, that the maximum currently achievable view range value is 534 meters.

     

    Vehicle View Range

     

    Vehicle View Range is a number (its units are meters) that represents the quality of the vehicle’s optics. Generally speaking, it somewhat increases with Tiers (as the technology improves) and ranges from simple gun sights to advanced computer-assisted thermal imager optics that allow you to spot the enemy at very long distances. A Tier 1 Light Tank spotting distance is, for example, 415 meters while a Tier 10 Light Tank spotting distance is 460 meters.

    View Range is a balancing parameter that heavily depends on a class. Light Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles generally have the highest view range as their role is not only to deal damage, but also to spot the enemy vehicles for their allies. Tank Destroyers usually also have a good view range but Main Battle Tanks have it lower. The Self-Propelled Gun class has it the lowest in Armored Warfare.

     

    Vehicle Configuration

     

    Basic Vehicle View Range and spotting efficiency in general can be considerably modified by properly configuring your vehicle:

    • Recon Package module, available to spotting-oriented AFVs, increases the view range when the vehicle is standing
    • Thermal Sights modules decrease the effectiveness of environmental camouflage
    • Some Commander Skills (like Sabrina Washington’s Vigilant skill) increase the vehicle view range
    • Improved Electronic Lenses Retrofit increases the view range when the vehicle is standing
    • Augmented Optics Retrofit increases the view range under all circumstances but not by as much

    Please note that a properly configured AFV or LT will in vast majority of cases have a better view range value than a MBT. This arrangement makes each unique. Small AFVs such as the CRAB are the best scouts in the game.

     

    Enemy Vehicle Camouflage

     

    Vehicle Camouflage is, in a way, the polar opposite of View Range. It’s a modifier that reduces the enemy vehicle’s view range by a certain amount, specifically a percentage value. In Armored Warfare, this is determined by the vehicle’s camouflage factor.

    The camouflage factor uses percentage format. Until 0.21, the camouflage factor was determined by a fraction (0.370 for VBL INGWE for example) but we decided to switch to the more comprehensive percentage formatting. As such, 37 percent camouflage factor (earlier 0.37) will reduce the enemy view range by 37 percent. In other words, if the enemy vehicle would be normally able to spot targets at 400 meters (400m view range), it would only be able to spot the VBL INGWE at 252 meters since the number 400 was reduced by 37 percent.

    Like View Range, Camouflage Factor too depends on vehicle class (AFVs are the stealthiest while MBTs and SPGs are usually the most conspicuous vehicles on the battlefield), Tier and size. Smaller (or lower, height plays a major role) vehicles will have better camouflage factor than large, hulking ones. Additionally, vehicle’s camouflage factor can be modified by:

    • Commander skills (for example, Juan Carlos Miramon’s Blend In improves camouflage factor)
    • Modules (Electrical Starter and Generator increases camouflage factor on the move)
    • Retrofits (Electro-Absorbing Paint increases camouflage factor when the vehicle is stopped)
    • Visual Camouflage (increases the camouflage factor by 0.05 – or 5 percent)
    • AFV Active Ability (decreases targeted vehicle’s camouflage factor)

    Please note that no matter what, your camouflage rating cannot drop below 0 – in other words, you will never allow the enemies to see you beyond the spotting ranges determined by their vehicles.

     

    Environmental Camouflage

     

    As it is in real life, foliage such as bushes or small trees makes vehicles harder to spot. In Armored Warfare, hiding behind a bush (so that its outline conceals all your vehicle’s spot check points relatively to the enemy spotter) gives you a major bonus to your camouflage factor – it improves by 30% (0.3 in camouflage factor terms). In other words, the rays between enemy spotter points and your spot check points have to pass through the bush objects. This is called Environmental Camouflage Bonus. Please note that the camouflage bonus is not unified (bushes with fewer leaves for example provide smaller bonuses, as common sense dictates).

    scr4

    Multiple environmental camouflage bonuses (for multiple bushes that are between you and a spotter) can stack up to the bonus value of 0.45 (45 percent). In other words, even a Main Battle Tank with very low camouflage value of 0.1 (10 percent) can become significantly harder to detect when hiding behind bushes.

    Tree canopies work much like bushes but only the part with leaves is taken into account. When you stand under a tall tree with a large crown, it will not help your camouflage in the slightest. But if you stand on the same level as the tree canopy so that it is positioned between you and the enemy, it will work much like a bush. Fallen trees also work like improvised bushes.

    Please note:

    • Foliage within 15 meters of the spotter do not count towards enemy spotter’s environmental camouflage bonus
    • Your Environmental Camouflage Bonus can be reduced by firing your own weapon (bushes within 15 meters of you lose 66 percent of their environmental camouflage bonus for 5 seconds)
    • Some modules such as the Thermal Imager or Commander Skills also reduce the Environmental Camouflage Bonus
    • The ADAPTIV module, unique (for now) to the PL-01, acts as a “portable bush” and provides environmental camouflage bonus rather than standard camouflage bonus in all directions

     

    Action

     

    Moving or firing your gun makes you easier to spot. In Armored Warfare, both actions influence your camouflage factor considerably. However, as stated above, camouflage can never drop below 0.

    Firing a gun not only reduces the environmental camouflage as stated above, but also your own base camouflage, making you easier to spot for 5 seconds, as such (please note that the values are average as the penalty slightly differs from vehicle to vehicle and apply to one shot with exceptions listed below them):

    • Tank Destroyers (Gun and ATGM) and Armored Fighting Vehicles receive low overall penalty (10 to 15 percent per shot)
    • Light Tanks and non-TD ATGM launches receive medium overall penalty per shot (20 percent)
    • All other vehicles else receives high penalty (25 percent)

    Vehicles that are capable of firing multiple shots in a row without longer reloads (Terminator ATGM volleys, autoloader magazines, ready racks) see the penalty increase gradually (this is actually an improvement since in the previous spotting iteration, their overall camouflage was reduced to 0 with their second shot, leading in many cases to them being instantly spotted). Currently, firing a half of your magazine (that is 3 rounds or larger, excluding for example the XM1A3 FASTDRAW) gives you roughly the same penalty as if you fired a single shot weapon and then grows, eventually bringing your camouflage to 0.

    Autocannons receive a penalty of 2 percent per autocannon shot that can stack – firing continuously for 3-5 seconds will easily bring your camouflage to 0 – short bursts are now, however, relatively safe (unlike before).

    Moving also reduces camouflage – please note that even traversing the hull on the spot counts as movement while traversing a turret does not. This penalty isn’t binary – when the vehicle moves, it becomes active and when moving fast, it (quickly) climbs to its maximum value for that given speed. Moving slow reduces the maximum penalty. After the vehicle stops, the penalty (again, quickly) drops to its 0 value. Light Tanks do not lose camouflage on the move and Armored Fighting Vehicles do not lose camouflage when moving slowly.

    Last but not least, vehicles on fire (any type of fire) receive a major penalty to camouflage.

     

    PvE Spotting

     

    Spotting in PvP and Global Operations works as described above, but spotting in PvE mode has its peculiarities. First and foremost, AI does not “cheat” – the AI spotting works on the same principle as any other spotting.

    Due to the fact that the PvE maps are smaller than PvP maps, the spotting range is reduced for all vehicles on the map (players and AI). The view range for all vehicles is reduced by 55 percent. This actually affects the AI opponents more since:

    • Many AI opponents are AFVs
    • They come from multiple angles, making them more efficient in spotting players

    This penalty is applied to the final check. Furthermore, Update 0.21 introduces additional AI penalties to AI view range depending on PvE difficulty levels:

    • Easy Difficulty: Camouflage reduced by 20 percent and View Range by 15 percent
    • Medium Difficulty: Camouflage reduced by 15 percent and View Range by 10 percent
    • Hard Difficulty: Camouflage reduced by 10 percent and View Range by 5 percent

    No other changes are currently present in the PvE mode. We are evaluating Update 0.21 feedback.

     

    Losing Spotting Check

     

    An already spotted vehicle may disappear again from player sights if:

    • It moves behind some cover and the line of sight with the spotter is broken
    • It moves far enough or gains enough camouflage by other means for the spotting check to fail

    Upon failed spotting check, the vehicle will still briefly (for 5 seconds) stay spotted regardless of circumstances (except for deploying a smoke screen). After that, the silhouette is removed for 1 second and finally the vehicle disappears. This mechanism prevents vehicles from “magically disappearing” in the middle of a battlefield in most cases, or at least mitigates such situations to bare minimum.

     

    Advanced Spotting Mechanics

     

    Any enemy vehicle inside a certain range (50 meters) is spotted automatically regardless of any other circumstances – this is to simulate the state where the vehicle is so close the crews (or anyone around them) can hear it even over the racket of their own vehicle or the troops accompanying them let them know of the threat. In game terms, this rule is here to prevent situations that could potentially result in enemy tanks appearing at point blank range, which would result in poor gameplay.

    To a certain degree, the examples listed in the sections above are simplified to explain the basics of the mechanics. In reality, the calculation of the spotting range is a bit more complex. Earlier (before Update 0.20), the general equation for spotting distance was:

    SpottingDistance = ViewRange*(1 - Camouflage)

    However, the current spotting distance calculator is:

    SpottingDistance = 50+((ViewRange-50)*(1-Camouflage))

    This change in the way the automatic spotting range interacts was introduced to make sure that the standard spotting distance wouldn’t drop below 50 meters as that produced strange results. For example, 90 percent camouflage against a 400 meter view range worked earlier as such:

    SpottingDistance = 400*(1-0.9) = 40 meters

    While now, it works as such:

    SpottingDistance = 50+((400-50)*(1-0.9)) = 85 meters

    In other words, earlier, the spotting range could theoretically drop below the automatic 50 meter spotting limit, which produced undesired results where some vehicles were stealthy enough to be completely invisible save for the automatic 50 meter spotting system.

    Additionally, a spotting ray can only penetrate 10 objects before it disappears. Areas with a lot of foliage are therefore exceptionally hard to scout in.

    As a side note, early in Armored Warfare development (even before the alpha version), a different spotting mechanism was in place where, the Gun Sights spotter points increases the spotting distance in a narrow cone. In other words, the vehicles could see further if they “looked that way” – this mechanism was never implemented as it was found that it increased static gameplay, otherwise known as “camping”.

     

    Additional Spotting Tools

     

    All vehicles do have several other tools at their disposal to help the camouflage and spotting.

    “Spotted” Indicator – an icon that appears on the screen whenever your vehicle is spotted. This indicator is present for all vehicle classes but while for most of them it activates only 2.5 seconds after you become spotted by someone, it is instant for the majority of the Armored Fighting Vehicle class, allowing it a bit more time to retreat to compensate for its fragility (the bonus is in fact granted by the Reckon Package module that many AFVs have).

    Environmental Spotting Indicator – the indicator provides feedback for the environment in a 30 meter radius around your vehicle. Within that 30 meter radius, it uses the UI element to show the direction of the environmental cover as well as the amount of cover you get from that direction. If you are hiding behind a single bush, you are only getting a small amount of camouflage and the indicator displays a dark gray mark in that direction.

     

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    The more camouflage you get from the environment, the brighter the mark in that direction. If you are hiding behind a solid object such as a building or the side of a cliff, the indicator displays white to indicate that you are fully covered by the environment from that direction. This feature only provides feedback on the environment in your direct vicinity and does not indicate if you are going to be spotted or not. You still may be spotted by other players depending on your camouflage value, their view range, and lines of sight. Hiding next to a wall may show full cover, but if an enemy is high on a hill and can see you over the wall, you are still going to be spotted.

    Designate Target – Armored Fighting Vehicles have a special ability called Designate Target. Targeting an enemy with this ability deals massive penalty to his camouflage – additionally, your allies will inflict increased damage to the designated target.

    Smoke Grenade Launchers or Smoke Generators – for spotting purposes, the smoke from these devices counts as a physical obstacle (a “wall”, if you will) and will instantly break the line of sight. Any deployment of smoke grenades or smoke generator charges invokes a special spotting check outside of the spotting check cycle to ensure that the line of sight loss is instant.

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