Real life tanks

So was reading through that, that somebody posted on another post. Rather interesting, and I think we could take a lesson from RL tanks when it comes to balancing.

"Originally they were designed to assist infantry. They still do, and quite well I might add. There are several problems with this however. Unlike infantry they cannot sneak up on you. They are often restricted to what terrain they can travel through."

(Right now, tanks easily sneak up on ya. It's nearly impossible to tell directionally where a tank is, just that you know it's in the general area around you, same with dropships.)

"Now the best way to kill a tank is to use another tank."

(True of tanks now)

"Tanks can move faster than an infantryman, about five hundred meters a minute."

(And infantry want to keep up with tanks?)

"Infantry are the nemesis of tanks and there is a love/hate relationship. Tanks hate infantry and infantry hate tanks, yet when the two are on the same side they love each other."

(How fing true is this in relation to dust! )

"Tanks destroy targets that are too tough for most infantry and infantry keep the tanks safe from other infantry."

(Perhaps tanks need an actual purpose on the battlefield. Like breaking down a gate, to allow infantry easier/ more access points to an objective.)

"Attacking is what tanks are primarily designed for. Their frontal armor is thickest and their weapons point forward of their main gun. Anything in front of a tank is going to get hurt and is unlikely to hurt the tank in return."

(Imagine that, our tanks are just like this!)

"The sides, rear, top and bottom of a tank are another story completely. Although they are usually well armored the armor is not nearly as thick as the front. That is why infantry like to attack tanks from nearly any direction but the front (plus tanks have no qualms about running over infantry if they can't shoot them up infantry know this)."

(IE we need the ability to run people over) (Infantry at one time had now qualms attacking from any angle.)

"Because large viewports would make the tank vulnerable to rockets and enemy cannon, the viewports have to be small. This means that when the crew is hiding behind the armor they can't see very well. In fact if an infantryman can get within ten meters of a Soviet built tank then the tanker cannot see him unless he sticks his head out. Also to minimize the weakpoints in the armor the main guns are limited in how high and low they can elevate. This means that if an infantryman can get within twenty feet of the tank, the tanker can't shoot him with any of the tank weapons. The tanker can still try to run over the poor guy though and tanks can move fast.

This is why tanks need infantry. Enemy infantrymen to the rear or flanks of a tank can be a major threat. If the tank has infantry to keep off pesky enemy infantry the tank becomes a true terror. Infantry can shoot at enemy infantry on or near friendly tanks without fear because tanks are bullet proof in the truest sense of the word. Enemy infantry are not."

As far as balance is concerned, changing gun depression so that it's impossible to hit any infantry within 10M isn't a bad idea. (Currently, this is true only of the madrudger, turret depression allows them to shoot infantry right next to their tanks.)

But that's something I've noticed with the new build, infantry used to BE the tanks. They were fearless when it came to tanks, hardly giving a second thought to the tank in front of them. Now though, the things described in these quotes are coming true. Infantry are no longer headstrong and fearless against tanks, and have had to adapt and change tactics to ones similar to dealing with RL tanks.

I think we could take a lesson though from how RL works when it comes to infantry and tank interaction.