Fire/Engage Hold fire/Disengage

[Kommiekat 11]

Hi people!

Using the F1 command, it's "Fire" and "Hold fire"

I think from the space bar to #3 is "Engage" and "Disengage"

So......um.........what's the difference between Fire and Engage?

If I use 'Fire' and use 'Disengage'.......anything whacked about that?

Thanks for your help....

[sprayer_faust 0]

Fire and engage commands fall each into their own category. Fire is used after you give your unit a specific target (with the menu or with the mouse). Engage/disengage/engage at will are commands that define how strict you want your formation to be.

Engage: If your team is in a firefight, your team mates (the selected) are free to break formation and attack on their own. If not, nothing happens.

Engage at will: Your team mates are free to break formation at any given time until the disengage order is given.

Disengage: Your AI's are not allowed to break formation.

[Kommiekat 11]

Fire and engage commands fall each into their own category. Fire is used after you give your unit a specific target (with the menu or with the mouse). Engage/disengage/engage at will are commands that define how strict you want your formation to be.

Engage: If your team is in a firefight, your team mates (the selected) are free to break formation and attack on their own. If not, nothing happens.

Engage at will: Your team mates are free to break formation at any given time until the disengage order is given.

Disengage: Your AI's are not allowed to break formation.

Thanks for the help on that. Much clearer now.

So, to confirm Open fire/Hold:

Using Open fire I must have a specific target for the AI character to fire at?

I notice at times when I sneak up, I have my squad on Hold Fire and don't open up until I am up nice and close, but one (more actually) time, some knucklehead in the squad will open up without my command........damn fool! Almost got me killed!:D

[zoog 18]

I notice at times when I sneak up, I have my squad on Hold Fire and don't open up until I am up nice and close, but one (more actually) time, some knucklehead in the squad will open up without my command........damn fool! Almost got me killed!:D

Strange. I've been using Hold fire a lot and never had that. When on Hold fire I get messages like "target acquired" etc. So I keep sneaking up and they keep finding targets, and once close enough I tell to Open fire and all hell breaks loose. They always hold their fire, unless they are being fired upon but I'm not even sure about that (sometimes it seems they keep holding).

[WarOnDemand 10]

Thanks for the help on that. Much clearer now.

So, to confirm Open fire/Hold:

Using Open fire I must have a specific target for the AI character to fire at?

I notice at times when I sneak up, I have my squad on Hold Fire and don't open up until I am up nice and close, but one (more actually) time, some knucklehead in the squad will open up without my command........damn fool! Almost got me killed!:D

Fire= Units shoot at selected target.

Engage = Units engage your selected target, meaning they will close in on it until it is dead. If the enemy unit runs they will chase the unit until it loses them or it is killed by them.

If you do this, units will move forward on their own, no 'move / move up' orders are needed. If done if a group order in a Combat stance order then units will do bounding overwatches, meaing one or two guys will move up while the rest hold in the rear and cover, then the rest will move up to regroup then repeat. Units will choose their own engagement areas, such as the enemies left, right, front, or rear side. (Choices are more noticed in urban areas)

A move order will cancel the Engage order and likewise, a Engage order will cancel a move order.

Engage at will = Units engage any target they wish on their own and will auto-engage any other nearby enemies once their selected target is killed or runs.

If you have unit on an engage at will stance during a move order, the unit will move to the ordered position but will seek to destroy any units they find on the way.

If moving from A to B and spot a unit out on the far side within range, they will stop and fight or even move away from the move order path and engage the unit, but if it runs or is killed they will resume the move order.

If hold fire is active during an engage or engage at will order, the unit will not fire unless fired upon directly (not a unit standing directly next to it or nearby, he will need to be engaged by the enemy AI). This will end the hold fire completely and will need to be reordered when desired, IF the unit survives the intial shots fired at it to cancel the order.

Disengage = Units will not engage and will stop chasing if an engage order is canceled. They will either sit where they are or regroup.

Edited February 1, 2010 by WarOnDemand

[zoog 18]

Awesome explanation! So that's probably why (engage) they constantly break formation when in a firefight :)