Why no generic tank/vehicle model like CMx1?

[Stafford]

Something struck me while I was doing my PBEM turns today (it was a pen lid thrown by my wife because I wasn't listening to her, but that's beside the point...), why is it we have almost no identification for troops (as it should be) but armoured vehicles are 100% identified the moment they're spotted? In CMx1 there was a generic tank or vehicle model until positive identification could be made, and in some cases that wasn't until the end of the game!

Given that in WWII every german tank on the western front was a 'Tiger', it's clear that misidentification of vehicles was a very common issue - just curious as to why this feature was not kept in CMx2, afterall, not actually knowing what you are engaging makes things all the more exciting.

 

[MOS:96B2P]

Well........... at least she didn't throw the entire pen......

Interesting observation. Tentative contacts don't display information in the UI (along the bottom of the screen) at all. The player only knows a tentative contact is light armor, armor, soft skin transport etc. But once there is a confirmed spot on the vehicle most of the vehicle information does show in the UI. I say "most" because I just did a quick test and the exact type of tank was not reported. I had a confirmed contact on a Panzer IVH. The UI identified it as a medium tank with the type of main gun. The UI also showed the weight, speed, off-road etc. It didn't ID the tank as a IVH but did tell me almost everything else.

I also had a confirmed spot on a truck. The UI only identified it as a "truck" (with the off road stats etc). Then I zoomed in and read "Opel Blitz" on the grill along with the registration plate number WH 692253 .

I suspect one reason the UI gives so much information is that the player can zoom in on the vehicle and ID it themselves anyway. I think the vast majority of CM players would be able to make this identification without help from the UI. Some may not know (or even really care) about the difference between a Panzer IVH and Panzer IVJ but they would know it was not a Tiger. So maybe that's why Battlefront left most of the info in the UI???

Having said all that I think a mod could be made where the UI was made to display only generic information. But the player could still zoom in and make a positive ID on his own.

 

[Meat Grinder]

Something struck me while I was doing my PBEM turns today (it was a pen lid thrown by my wife because I wasn't listening to her, but that's beside the point...),

 

[Stafford]

I'll try dig out and load up CMBB or CMAK to get a screenshot of the generic tank & vehicle models, they're basically flat grey blocky models so zooming in on them gives no information anyway.

Now where did I put those CDs...

 

[Bulletpoint]

My hunch would be that they removed them because the blocky generic unidentified tanks stick out more visually in CM2 than in the more basic graphics in CM1. More immersion-breaking in CM2 than in the more abstract CM1.

 

[Stafford]

I suppose to circumvent that they could show the tank as what your troops think it is, ie, it might be a Panzer IV, but your troops think it is a Tiger, so it's displayed as a Tiger. This might happen at longer ranges, ie, 500m+, but if it gets closer then the model might change to what the tank actually is (or closer to it). Better identification comes from having higher level (more exerienced) troops, and/or units equipped with binocs.

If the arcane shenanigans of Iron mode are anything to go by, it wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility for this kind of thing to be implimented.

 

[Bulletpoint]

If the arcane shenanigans of Iron mode are anything to go by, it wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility for this kind of thing to be implimented.

The reason why iron mode is weird is that it is a feature that was never fully implemented. You won't find anybody admit it officially, but it's pretty obvious just from the fact that it doesn't even work as described in the manual.

Iron mode is a leftover from the time when the fundamentals of the game were still under active development. Now the game is more like an old volcano that still sends out a puff of smoke once in a while, but generally it's more or less dormant