Area Fire: Linear designation

[Yoozername]

I would like to be able to designate area fire from weapons like MG much the same way that indirect fire is designated in the linear fashion. So a MG could concentrate its fire along a wall or hedgerow or across a floor of a building. The player would just 'paint' a stripe along the target zone

 

[Reaver]

I can see how this would be useful for spraying down large areas of bocage lines for attach. I've not been in a situation where I've used my machineguns in an area interdiction role yet, so i can't say how much use I'd find it for that. But on the attack, against a linear position, I think it'd be an excellent addition.

 

[Rico]

I would like to be able to designate area fire from weapons like MG much the same way that indirect fire is designated in the linear fashion. So a MG could concentrate its fire along a wall or hedgerow or across a floor of a building. The player would just 'paint' a stripe along the target zone

That's actually a very good idea -- german MG's with their high rate of fire, could and were actually used that way as area denial weapons instead of firing at actual visible targets -- many reports of a few MG-42's holding up entire infantry companies.

 

[Earl of Grey]

Interesting proposition. Too bad that the MGs neither can be targeted like artillery nor are firing at full auto if the situation demands it... and it'd be pretty useless to add yet another "we want" feature to an already endless list.

 

[Yoozername]

There seems to be some 'dither' as to where the weapons area fire right now. In game terms, I suppose they target one 'action-spot' and then another one. It doesn't seem very realistic.

 

[Cue-Ball]

This would be really nice to have, but considering that mortars can't even direct fire lines/areas (even though they can do both via direct fire), I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

 

[mTk]

This what I recalled reading in the manual re area fire so it appears an MG will spread the bullets around a bit.

"Issuing a Target order against the ground or a building will order the unit to perform what is known as Area Fire. The unit will fire at the terrain without
knowing whether it is hitting any enemy units or not. Area Firing units will spread their shots around to cover the nearby terrain, and will switch to
enemy units if they appear in the area."

 

[Yoozername]

I suppose that it might be a bit 'high-church'. But instead, i would accept multiple 'action-spots' instead. A player could just choose up to a 4-5 spots to target that are conected to each other. So a hedgerow or wall or rowhouse, etc. might get coverage. the number of actionspots 'allowed' might be tied to the weapon's performance. A BAR might target two spots while a sMG42 'tripod' might do six.

Hey! It might be a firelane then also! The action spots chosen could all be 'in-line'.

I suppose I would like that feature for on-board mortars also. This way the natural spread of the mortar bombs and targeting combine to cover an area.