Recrew team weapons with halftracks

A suggestion, add an ability to reinforcement vehicles that lets it fully recrew abandoned team weapons for 100 mp. Like a target ability, you select the vehicle and target the abandoned weapon. Thoughts?

Not a bad idea, really. Especially as HT's see so little action, I'm in favour of anything that gives them more utility.

A suggestion, add an ability to reinforcement vehicles that lets it fully recrew abandoned team weapons for 100 mp. Like a target ability, you select the vehicle and target the abandoned weapon. Thoughts?

+1

I'm not sure this would work mechanically. I feel like one man entities run into problems, ie the last member of mortar teams/atg's routing after sustaining casualties, but someone more versed in the game engine could answer that more definitively.

On a side note, this discussion reminds of the 'script PTRS/Quad strategic paradigm that was oh so fun to deal with...

It sounds like it could be a really nice feature, but I'd rather have it just re-crew the weapon with just 2 models instead of being fully re-crewed (because for 100 manpower though). Then after re-crewed, they could simply reinforce the other models. It would also be nice for the halftrack to have an upgrade which would allow it to transport small weapon teams such as the mg-42 and mortar. While we're still on the topic, maybe even figure out how to tow larger weapon teams (ex. pak-40).

This reminds me of Blitzkrieg 1 (you could recrew weapons with a truck, if i remember well)

It sounds like it could be a really nice feature, but I'd rather have it just re-crew the weapon with just 2 models instead of being fully re-crewed (because for 100 manpower though). Then after re-crewed, they could simply reinforce the other models. It would also be nice for the halftrack to have an upgrade which would allow it to transport small weapon teams such as the mg-42 and mortar. While we're still on the topic, maybe even figure out how to tow larger weapon teams (ex. pak-40).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrjElARA9js

Most of what you said is possible, just not implemented, yet, due to unknown reasons.

It could be implemented as a modifier area of effect ability that changes reinforcement speed to instant and makes the halftrack immobile for a long duration as well....

Maybe lock said ability behind veterancy. And make halftrack veterancy SHARED officer style relic. Pls

The one-model crew issue doesn't need to arise, depending on how this was implemented. Remember that we can use anything the AI can do; so it would be quite possible to spawn a 3 or 4 model squad out of the half-track, which re-crews the weapon in exactly the same manner a regular squad would. Or whatever number is small enough to be completely consumed, so as not to leave any models hanging around.

Hell, you could even put medics or the OKW repair engineers in a HT; if it's parked within a radius of a damaged vehicle, the crew jumps out and gets to work.If you move the HT, they get back in again.

Another potential use for weapon recovery is not to have the HT re-crew the weapon directly, but have it tow the thing back to base. Engineers in CoH1 would go from where they were standing to plant a demo charge, and then return to their original spot; similarly, a HT could be parked in base and ordered to retrieve a weapon without any more intervention.

Seems to me there is a lot of room to expand on what HT's do, which would be interesting to me, partly because it would bring a certain element of logistics into the game that is currently entirely abstract. A while back I suggested chaining infantry squads to a HT so that they moved and deployed a s combat group.

Why HT's can't transport mortars and MG's leaves me baffled.

Im all for more halftrack utility amd depth, the fact that they see so little use outside of a poor mans ambulance saddens me

First of all utility halftracks need vet fixing, they cant get it in utility form and it's useless in upgrade form. It need total overhaul or at least vet system like US major.

Would this really be possible to achieve without reprogramming the engine?

I really don't see why reprogramming would be required. The AI is clearly capable of recrewing weapons, and of spawning squads, etc; nothing new needs to be added, as far as I can see. Not that I have any knowledge of the code or anything, I'm just going on general principle.

HT vet certainly needs to be reworked in general, and it would be even more necessary if any of these other functions made it in. All the HT vet is centred around the flamer upgrade IIRC, while non-upgraded HT's really want stuff like thicker armour, more HP, better speed and acceleration. But in this case the issue is how the vet stats are attached to the model; it might not be possible to completely distinguish between the upgraded and non-upgraded variety.