Upcoming Infantry Changes in 0.32

[Qbicle 98]

Source article:

https://aw.my.games/en/news/general/developer-diary-upcoming-infantry-changes

 

Quote

As you already know, Update 0.32 will be a part of the Spirithaven season with its main feature being the Engima’s Legacy Battle Path campaign. That’s, however, not all that it’s bringing. In this update, we’ll be introducing a number of updates and improvements to the Mechanized Infantry feature and today we’d like to tell you more about some of them.

 

Updated Model Animations

 

The first feature and probably the one most noticeable at first glance feature we’ll be introducing will be the updated model animations of all the vehicles that carry Mechanized Infantry. Simply put, these vehicles will now have animated doors that will open with the troops disembarking realistically, the way they do in real life. Take a look at this small demonstration:

 

 

All the vehicles with Mechanized Infantry – more than thirty 30 of them – are getting this upgrade. Not only will this change make the battlefield look more realistic, but it’s also tied to a lot of other model tweaks, checks and improvements.

 

Other Infantry Updates

 

Another thing that we wanted to do that’s related to the Mechanized Infantry feature is the update of some Commander skills in order to provide bonuses to Mechanized Infantry. However, instead of introducing a new Commander and making some other less popular commanders even more obsolete, we’ve decided to update one of the existing Commanders – Viktor Kirsanov – with a series of skills that will affect Mechanized Infantry. The upper left corner of his skill field will be overhauled to accommodate those and the commander will also become available for unlocking from the BMP-1 and BMD-1 AFVs.

And last but not least, we’ll be introducing a number of Infantry-related changes and fixes in the future, throughout the rest of the Spirithaven season:

• We’ll be introducing the option to command your Mechanized Infantry to either move to the location of your choosing (by aiming your reticle at terrain) or to fire at the enemy designated by you (by aiming at the enemy) using a single key
• All non-MBT vehicles (including TDs and LTs) that do not use ATGMs as the main weapon system will receive the option to fire machineguns as long as they don’t use autocannons, ATGMs or rockets as their main armament and have a machinegun modeled on them
• HE shells from MBT caliber cannons will be more effective at killing infantry with splash, addressing the issue where some HE explosions wouldn’t harm infantry even if landing almost next to them
• We will, of course, fix a number of Mechanized Infantry issues, including mechanics and animation

Please note that since the Infantry Command mechanics are planned to arrive at a later date after the launch of Update 0.32, we’ll tell you more about them in a separate article when the time is right. But until that time:

 

Getting to order your infantry to go or shoot where you aim will be something I really look forward to; no need to shepherd them anymore.

Viktor will lose crew-related skills and gain infantry-related skills? Will have to see what the new skills are. I suspect very few people ever use the top left corner on his skill grid.

Non-MBTs eligible for machine gun will get them like most MBTs do. I'd welcome that.

[Haswell 294]

Infantry improvements sound too good to be true right now... but if the controls actually work as described they will definitely be a lot more useful.

Kirsanov is currently one of the most useless commanders IMO, so making him slightly more useful will definitely be a welcome change. That said, most vehicles that can carry infantry right now are squishies and benefit from vision control more than anything else, and Kirsanov don't really offer much in that regard except for a paltry 13.8m view range buff. I'm not sure the infantry skills will be worth losing camo and/or view range skills.

Maybe Kirsanov will be useful in the T-15 or Merk 4/4M, but I have my doubts.

[Austin5125 2]

I still don't understand why Leo 2AX, Obj640 and CATTB don't get MGs. For the MBT, MG is more like tools rather than weapons, like removing infantry or secondary objects. If they are going to equip TD and LT with MGs, those MBTs should be equipped with it as well. The fact that real vehicles didn't have co-ax doesn't really matter, because all they have to do is add commander MG or RCWS like T-80B or T-14 Armata.

[Katsumoto 11]

This whole animation of the dismount of the infantry is a waste of time.  It is very very seldom I actually watch them dismount from the vehicle directly so all this is a waste of time on the developers part.

[Bias 0]

The animation is useful, and I watch my squad dismount every time. Because if you move too early with the AT squad, not all infantry will disembark.

[Katsumoto 11]

I look to see how many caret symbols there are before I move.  That allows me to keep on eye on what's up front.