KWhitehead wrote:
In the game, because of the ammo levels, it is best to keep the maximum ranges to where the gun actually has a chance of a hit so ammo isn't wasted or the player forced to set the AI to minimum distances to prevent useless fire.
I believe that is the biggest problem with the artillery right now. Don't know how the middle selection for artillery fire evolved, but I would much prefer a set range of 10 or 12 hexes. The problem, of course, is ADF, or even opportunity fire. Say you have a stack of three units in the woods at 21 hexes. Each one turns this way and that way six times. That will create 18 chances to draw essentially useless artillery fire. If it doesn't draw any fire, you can probably assume artillery is set at minimum range, and it is safe to move within five hexes of the enemy's artillery.
The alternative is to give artillery units a maximum effective range in the PDT, instead of a max range. Like John did with small arms in some of his Overland PDTs. It sacrifices a bit of historical accuracy for the sake of better automated defensive fire.