I've started playing the computer game combat mission (various versions) again, and I like the way it handles vehicles and tanks. Now granted that this is in ww2, but breakdowns in radios etc could render you about ww2 equivalent. What the game includes is things like:
Vehicle special traits:
Burns Easily - some vehicles stow ammunition and/or fuel in such a way that internal damage regularly causes the entire vehicle to catch fire.
Shot Trap - certain vehicles (like the early Panther model A) have a design flaw in their external shape, which creates a "shot-trap" - a curved surface on the underside of the turret front which deflects incoming projectiles downward into the turret ring, or the weakly-armored hull top, where it often penetrates easily.
Slow ROF - certain vehicles are known for their slow "rate of fire", i.e. long reloading times for their main gun. This can be due to design flaws (e.g. a cramped crew compartment) or especially bulky ammunition or cumbersome loading mechanisms.
Cupola - some tanks feature a tank commander's hatch with cupola allowing the tank commander a 360° view around the tank even with the hatch closed. It enhances a tank's close range observation against infantry assaults, even from from the rear.
- comment - Slow ROF would be captured by the ROF of the main gun, but things like burns easily etc may be interesting things to include in certain vehicles as special notes and that cause damage results to vary. We already have this type of thing for the M1Ax's blast panels for ammo explosions.
- most modern tanks probably have cupolas, probably any tank that isn't CIH would be assumed to have one?
Turret Speed
Turreted vehicles (mostly tanks but also some armored cars) are rated for their ability to rotate the turret. Five different speeds are possible: Very fast turret, fast turret, medium turret, slow turret, very slow turret.
- comment - we could define 5 or 6 turret speeds and have rules saying what each means in terms of rotations and how far it can rotate and shoot in the same turn, for example.
An armored vehicle can still be damaged even by a hit which does not penetrate the armor. External equipment such as the gun or its optics can be damaged, as well as the vehicle becoming immobilized by a hit to the tracks or a vital engine component. A non-penetrating hit can even injure or kill crewmembers by causing internal armor flaking or "spalling".
- comment - maybe a non penetrating shot (and perhaps not small-arms fire) has a 1 in 10 chance of inflicting minor damage to certain components such as the optics, searchlights etc.
The game includes the effect of optics - magnification, field or view, all kinds of things. I don't think we need to go this far. Anyway, if your tank doesn't have thermal optics in tw2k spotting should be hugely dependant on the buttoned us status of the observers, movement by both sides, etc.
As another cool note, I've been reading that the T-72 (and I guess -80 and -90) can be used to "bulldoze" a hole with its glacis plate (? or is there an attachment) in 2 minutes that is big enough for the tank to go hull-down. There is a computer game video showing it in "action"
ftp://ftp.battlefront.com/pub/misc/T...nch%20Demo.wmv