Ok, so educate me...

[Wibbler]

I'm new to the game, and I'm sure there are plenty of little things I'm yet to learn, but my experience in a server earlier today confused me...

After being killed by an enemy APC far out on the frontlines with my squad, I spawned back at main base due to my squad leader not setting up a forward spawn yet. All the other squads had set up their forward spawns, and here was me 1000m behind the frontlines...alone...with an unused APC sat next to me. My thought was "excellent, I don't have to walk for 10 minutes and I can provide cover fire for my squad with this!". As soon as I entered the APC people on the server started screaming "NO SOLO APC!!!11" which confused me. I pointed out nobody else was going to jump in the APC all the way back here, so either someone drives it solo to somewhere useful and picks people up or it sits there back at main base being a wasted resource. But they continued screaming "NO SOLO APC!!! WIBBLER. ADMIN!" so I asked what I should do, but nobody offered any advice. They initiated a votekick so I abandoned the APC and proceeded on foot to see if it would appease them, but they kicked me anyway.

So, what exactly did I do wrong? And what should I do next time I find myself a good 5-10 minute stroll behind the lines if there is nobody to pick me up and I'm not allowed to use a personnel carrier to carry personnel? The server I was booted from is rather popular and I have good ping there, so I'd like to avoid getting cryptically kicked again.

[Morgan]

That's an odd one. As long as you arranged to pick up a squad mate to be your extra crewman that'd be fine in my eyes. Just a bad experiance on a server, nothing unusual about that at all. Which server was it?

P.s. Welcome to the forums and a great game!

[gazzthompson]

basically, dont drive in APC alone even to go pick some one up, what if you come across a enemy APC ?. where was your squad ? they where killed with you? if not wait till squad leader sets a RP and spawn in. if they where killed with you, crew with them.

The APC is a personnel carrier, but not for personal use.

[Dubbs_Malone]

!. They probably kicked you because you may not have returned the APC after you abandoned it.
2. Even if you had another person to be gunner, they most likely have rules concerning dedicated APC squads.
3. I doubt it was actually a 5- 10 minute walk. It may have seemed that way.
4. If you are killed and your squad has no rally point, the first thing you do is ask the squad leader if he can set a new one. If he can't you then look for a fire base closer than the main base. If there is none, spawn at main and walk or wait for a ride.

Project Reality is a game of patience. Vehicles take much longer to respawn and incurr heavier ticket penalties for being destroyed. And besides, what were you planning on doing with the APC once you got there, abandon it? You are new to the game and wouldn't necessarily know how to use it correctly anyway. That may sound weird but there are a few small details that make all the difference and you MUST learn them.

PR takes some getting used to. Take the time to learn the little "ins and outs". Most of the rules are in place to make the game more efficient/enjoyable. And ask questions on here if you can't figure them out.

ps- have you read the manual???

[IAJTHOMAS]

Wait until someone in your squad dies and then have them spawn back at main to gun/drive for you. Sods law states that you'll meet something that can kill you in time it takes you get to your squad. That'll be potentially 11 tickets down the drain (depending on the type of APC) and 15? minutes without the asset.

One of the only time i can think of where its acceptable to solo is to bring back an abandoned APC to main (if someone has DC'd/its been disabled, abandoned and later repaired etc..

[victor_phx]

Most servers have rules against driving an armored vehicle around without a gunner/full crew. That is most of the time necessary, because it avoids people wandering around with an APC - for instance - operating at only 10% of its potential; which is caused by the lack of a proper crew.

On the other hand, we often see an empty vehicle at our mainbase and feel like taking it to a spot where some guy from our squad would enter it and help you operate it. And I personally see that happening every day with Humvees and Technicals in general. And you know what? That is not wrong.

But when it comes to an actual APC or armor, there has to be some restraint about the issue. They will be much more effective with two people operating them, contrasting to the ineffectiveness of a solo APC or tank.

[lucky14]

I remember one time on Basrah, my gunner went to fix his mic, so my mate got an APC near the front, and got in the gunner, while I drove the tank into the back. Anyway, my mate killed 3 or so bomb cars for us.

To be more honest, what you should have done was move it to a good spot inside the base, and then gun it to protect base if SL would allow you to until someone else came.

[ralfidude]

You do know about the 30 second warm up time on the gunners side right?

If you would have spotted another piece of armor, by the time u switch to the gunners seat, youd be dead.

OR, a HAT or LT would have spotted you and taken you out.

Never drive these valuable pieces of armor alone, even if they are not being used.

Alot of servers have that rule, squads named with an asset, like APC, have the rights to it, so hopping into it, will get u kicked as well. (By the way, kits are not seen as assets, therefore kits cannot be reserved, like sniper squad).

[Smuke]

Sorry to hear you had a bad game, dont worry

Just keep playing PR, make sure you read the manual, always use your mic aswell!

[Snazz]

So, what exactly did I do wrong?

Solo'ing APCs over distances is frowned upon, regardless of the reason.

And what should I do next time I find myself a good 5-10 minute stroll behind the lines if there is nobody to pick me up and I'm not allowed to use a personnel carrier to carry personnel?

Try and get your squad leader to place a rally and if they don't do it without a good excuse then join a different squad.

Some players in PR will try to get you kicked/banned for numerous reasons, occasionally yelling at you over voip for trivial/rediculous matters. Sensitive people who're obbsessed with what everyone else is doing.