Ships equipped with rangefinders and gun directors should feature three distinct types of sights:
Binoculars
Gun Director
Rangefinder
Targeting sequence could work as follows:
- Initial spotting – You use binoculars to locate targets. When you press the “Lock on Target” key, the rangefinders and main guns will start tracking the selected target. You can still freely use your binoculars to observe the battlefield.
The selected target would not be highlighted in any artificial way — the only indicator would be the rangefinder’s focus on it.
- Rangefinding – Switching to the rangefinder view allows you to see your target (unless it’s obscured by a smokescreen, an island, or other ships).
Example view: https://images.app.goo.gl/iNZti
Use the mouse scroll to adjust and determine the target’s range.
- Firing solution – Once you believe the range is correct, press the “Lock on Target” key again. At this point, the ballistic computer begins calculating the firing solution.
The goal is to keep range readings accurate.
The player would need to make constant range adjustments, with the ability to move guns horizontally if the target’s course changes unpredictably.
This system would still feel somewhat “arcade” in accessibility but would require more attention and situational awareness. It would also prevent unrealistic “snapshots,” giving the impression of operating a complex warship rather than simply steering a floating platform with guns.
AI gunners spotting – AI gunners should not automatically fire upon sighting a target. Instead, they should only report when a target enters their engagement range. The player would then decide whether to engage by pressing a bound key — similar to the mechanic used for “thanking for help with repairs.”
[Would you like to see this in-game?]
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I disagree on the automatic secondary gunner part, but the first part could really be interesting.
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I ment this, but it’s my first post here, and it was basicly copied from Reddit
My point was that lots of the times AI gunners work as early warning system, shooting at and sinking ships without effort on the part of the player. This, in my opinion made any sneaking attack impossible. I would go even further and baned all Independent actions from AI gunners, replacing them with “target spotted” notification, followed by player manualy asigning spotted target to be shot
Yeah, just axe AI gunners from any non-arcade game mode. It’s impossible to make AI “balanced” - either it can’t hit the broad side of a barn and you die or it’s the Iron Dome, with nothing in between.
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There is this “select target” command (alt + (1/2/3), where AI gunners shoot at marked target, this I would save. But AI gunners need to go
this seems jank AF not gonna lie , just not thought trough
Which parts would you change?
Cause the way I ment it was:
- Spawn and Survey: You spawn and look around using either third-person view or binoculars.
- Target Acquisition: If you spot your target through the binoculars, you lock onto it by pressing the designated lock target key or, similar to ground battles, by simply clicking on the target.
- Switch to Rangefinder View: After locking the target, you switch to the rangefinder view either by pressing a specific key or it switches automatically upon clicking the target.
- Set the Range: You adjust the range by scrolling the mouse wheel
- Fire Control Calculation: Once the range is set, the fire control computer begins calculating the firing solution.
- Firing and Adjustments: When the firing solution is ready, you can fire. After firing, you make corrections to the range and target course using your mouse and mouse wheel to improve accuracy.
Here’s how it worked irl:
