Faster Turret Tracking at High Azimuth Angles

[z64555]

Turrets have a problem tracking targets when they're near the 90 degree mark on the azimuth, this is because of a gimble lock situation where the base has to yaw before the gun can pitch up/down to match the trajectory of the target. Since the turrets have a relatively slow turning speed, this means that fast moving targets can outpace the turrets and thus effectively evade their fire.

One of the most common solutions to gimble lock is of course to add another gimble, or axis of rotation, so that the number of axes the device has is more than the number of axes it needs to rotate.

However this isn't a feasible solution to the turrets, as the gun artwork is large enough and is designed over the idea of having a bit of a counterbalance. So another solution is proposed:

Increase the yaw rate limits so that the base of the turret can spin faster when the pitch angle is near 90 degrees. Physically speaking, this makes sense because the moment of inertia of a gun is lighter spinning around its bore axis than it is the other axes.

Another part of the solution would be to allow pitch angles of beyond 90 degrees, but this would require tweaks to the model so that the guns don't clip through their mounts.

 

[Morbad]

Your observations are entirely correct, but the perception that these aspects of turret behavior constitute a problem looking for a solution is unfounded.

Faster tracking isn't likely to fly as it's one of the key limiters on turret performance which is in turn one of the key balance points of turrets. Using/countering turrets are supposed to be skills and they are currently fairly well balanced against each other.

 

[z64555]

They'll still have issues tracking at 90 degrees even if the yaw rate was made infinite at 90, as the pitch rate is untouched and of course they'll still have the gimbal lock situation.

But, of course, balancing the effectiveness of the turret and the ability to counter it isn't an easy task. The solution presented is another means of tweaking things instead of just increasing the yaw rate entirely.