Cant complete "no tanks land"

[Sir_Psycho]

Just bought this game and have figured out what to do but I still cant complete this first mission to save my life.
2 main problems I have:
1: The tanks have engines with plenty of torque (780nm) and ok speed for the scenario but the AI clearly cant make use of it because they get stuck on the slightest incline and sometimes on no incline at all. sometimes they just stop for no reason. I can cross most of the inclines leading up to the 1st trench line but the AI seem completely dumbfounded.
2: I can get past the first trench line with zero problems but the second one is a complete pain in the ass. out of 8 tries at the second line with different setups i only managed to cross it once without getting stuck and I still couldn't progress because I went right into a shell crater and couldn't dig myself out.

[Sir_Psycho]

Messaggio originale di Richard Dastardly:

Messaggio originale di Sir_Psycho:

1: enemy tanks are way to accurate, creating a heavy tank meta. being fast and mobile does not mean jack right now. Not that I don't like heavy tanks, its just annoying and doesn't leave much room for creativity for completing an objective.
2: you get tracked way to easily
3: theirs no repair system as far as I know so once your immobile, that's it, your done.

I've done everything bar the WW1 level with sub 3t tanks - you get a lot of them ( one scenario will give you up to 16 ), doesn't really matter if you get tracked if you've still got a horde. It's far easier to use a lot of cheap tanks than one big one, in fact.

There won't be any repairs. Bring more tanks.

not sure what scenario gives you that many tanks, but ive swapped over to the fields scenario and I can barely get 2 tanks and even then the allied AI tank just gets killed in 5 seconds or less. also having a horde doesn't excuse the glass tracks and ridiculous aim of the enemy AI.

[spoon66]

Ground clearance is a must full length Tracks my Armored Gun Carrier was 7 meters long.
very simple build just a box on tracks with a v shaped front with a fixed 75 mm gun with elevation. 80 mm Armor as you are going to take a lot of incoming fire , we before you locate the AT guns and Tanks you will have to fight through to reach the Heavy Guns that need to be put out of action.

I would class No Tank land one of the Hardest tests in this game in its current form with Cross roads been another tricky one.

Not Tank land is tough because of the limits and performance of early tanks and the awful terrain you must navigate over , one can not simply drive in a straight line and shell holes can be fatal getting stuck is just part of this test until you get the hang of it .

[spoon66]

Messaggio originale di Sir_Psycho:

Messaggio originale di Richard Dastardly:

I've done everything bar the WW1 level with sub 3t tanks - you get a lot of them ( one scenario will give you up to 16 ), doesn't really matter if you get tracked if you've still got a horde. It's far easier to use a lot of cheap tanks than one big one, in fact.

There won't be any repairs. Bring more tanks.

not sure what scenario gives you that many tanks, but ive swapped over to the fields scenario and I can barely get 2 tanks and even then the allied AI tank just gets killed in 5 seconds or less. also having a horde doesn't excuse the glass tracks and ridiculous aim of the enemy AI.

Cost and weight effect the amounts of support tanks given to your AI I had at least 5 AI Support tanks on No Tank land most got stuck . but they did at least draw fire while I picked my way through the first two trench lines and out of the Heavy Shell fire .

The tracks still need work both strength wise and drive wise the road wheels are still the main drive wheels over the Tracks and that still needs addressing better.

I read some were that the AI insta kill even with well sloped armor is a random bug that still needs fixing.

[MasterFool]

Keep your tank under 10 tons, I kept mine down to 8. It was small (Renault size) and I was able to cross the wood bridges easily. It also gives you a LOT of small tanks to play with. If you go too big, it adds tanks on to the enemy side, stay small and you won't have anything but artillery and AT guns to contend with.
A good 40-60mm gun works well here if you can design good guns.
Good frontal armor can deal with the AT guns until you get into a good long distance range.
Remember to cut your crew size down with small tanks. 2 crew works well.
If you can't climb hills, your tank is likely too under-powered in either engine or transmission, likely both. It takes a while to figure out the best transmission and engine settings. I personally think this is the most complex design area of the game.

[Sir_Psycho]

Messaggio originale di MasterFool:

Keep your tank under 10 tons, I kept mine down to 8. It was small (Renault size) and I was able to cross the wood bridges easily. It also gives you a LOT of small tanks to play with. If you go too big, it adds tanks on to the enemy side, stay small and you won't have anything but artillery and AT guns to contend with.
A good 40-60mm gun works well here if you can design good guns.
Good frontal armor can deal with the AT guns until you get into a good long distance range.
Remember to cut your crew size down with small tanks. 2 crew works well.
If you can't climb hills, your tank is likely too under-powered in either engine or transmission, likely both. It takes a while to figure out the best transmission and engine settings. I personally think this is the most complex design area of the game.

interesting you say that. Ill give it a go but with a tank that light I'm surprised you aren't one shot the second you get into range. I played the pre-made small ww1 tank that was in the game and that doesn't seem to be able to cross trenches.

[calembredaine]

model IV is pretty bad for no tank's land, yes.

[Arby]

My solution is:
7m minimum length
extreme angles on lower and upper hull, super angled turret and sponsons. Maximize armor all over.
Basic gun, max engine. Make sure to find the right decimal for your gears, and set road wheels to max width.
You will now have a 40 ton tank that will survive any AT shot from the front, and claps the enemy tanks as long as you brought a good enough gun, and now you just have to learn the timing of the artillery barrages to make it past them.
have fun!

[calembredaine]

i will remind you can totally bypass artillery by crossing the flanks instead of the middle

[Neurotic Panda]

1. Long tank design so trench's are a non issue.

2. High track height so small hills and obstacles aren't an issue.

3. I'd say a good 30mm gun , high velocity rounds and fast reload.

4. Good thick front armor on hull and turret, also don't neglect top armor due to mortars.

5. Profit.

[817]

I find 5 things key if you're trying to cross the trenches:
1. Big enough and high enough idler wheel to push it over the opposite edge.
2. Road wheels not too low w.r.t. the idler. Max. half can stick out under the idler as again otherwise it will get stuck on the opposing edge. Some IRL tanks had raised first roadwheels for this.
3. Absolute minimum stiffness torsion bars if you use them so as many road wheels as possible get grip.
4. Wide enough tracks for traction.
5. Centre of gravity in the rear to avoid plunging down into the trench.

It's sort of amusing but also rewarding how the first mission is the hardest of the lot.

[Arby]

Messaggio originale di 817:

I find 5 things key if you're trying to cross the trenches:
1. Big enough and high enough idler wheel to push it over the opposite edge.
2. Road wheels not too low w.r.t. the idler. Max. half can stick out under the idler as again otherwise it will get stuck on the opposing edge. Some IRL tanks had raised first roadwheels for this.
3. Absolute minimum stiffness torsion bars if you use them so as many road wheels as possible get grip.
4. Wide enough tracks for traction.
5. Centre of gravity in the rear to avoid plunging down into the trench.

It's sort of amusing but also rewarding how the first mission is the hardest of the lot.

Honestly I had much more trouble with the night mission, it seems nearly impossible with interwar tech to make something that can survive even one hit from those at guns or the tank at the end. Ended up having to make the lightest tank I could so that I could just flood the road with basically ifvs rushing to get through.

[calembredaine]

"silent borders" had its difficulty changing drastically for me depending on how i started it.

if started for the first time in a session, friendly ai can laser every AT guns given a good enough cannon and sufficient rotation speed. they did all the work for me.
then for any retry, they are blind even when picked off, meaning you have to know the exact spots to shoot in the dark.

[spoon66]

Messaggio originale di MasterFool:

Keep your tank under 10 tons, I kept mine down to 8. It was small (Renault size) and I was able to cross the wood bridges easily. It also gives you a LOT of small tanks to play with. If you go too big, it adds tanks on to the enemy side, stay small and you won't have anything but artillery and AT guns to contend with.
A good 40-60mm gun works well here if you can design good guns.
Good frontal armor can deal with the AT guns until you get into a good long distance range.
Remember to cut your crew size down with small tanks. 2 crew works well.
If you can't climb hills, your tank is likely too under-powered in either engine or transmission, likely both. It takes a while to figure out the best transmission and engine settings. I personally think this is the most complex design area of the game.

interesting never knew that under 10 tons leads to no AI tanks on this map.
I built a Tank based loosely on the french Saint-Chamond, a well armored tank but not good for trench breaching . with its original short track layout . only once I added full length tracks
and several tweaks did I crawl across this map been more of a moving bullet sponge.
slowly taking out all the AT and Tanks before finally delaying with the fixed heavy artillery.
Never had a tank in this game take some many hits and still make it through to the end .
with most of the crew receiving some sort of light injury's and light tank damage.

[[KWSN] fear the beard |_CM_|]

I managed to deal with this one by placing the wierd "scoop" looking thing (it's in one of the tabs under crew) on the back of my tank. It prevented it from tipping when going over trenches.
I also had a pair of them set on the front.
The Tank ended up at roughly 24T and even the AI managed to reach about halfway through the field before they got hit by the arty.