Quote:
Originally Posted by Reckall
Anyway, dynamic weather was present in games like Harpoon II. The original manual said:
"The weather model in Harpoon II is more complex than might appear
on the surface. When a scenario is first created, the weather model
is run on its map. This generates a set of low and high pressure cells
based on a set of environmental rules. The map itself has a set of
meteorological information that represents the base values for the
map region and season depicted by the scenario. When the game is
run, these low and high pressure cells interact with the base values
present on the map, producing pressure changes and thus cell
“movement” across the map. The interaction of these cells produces
boundary effects along their edges, including various types of cloud
cover and precipitation. The relative movement of these pressure
cells also generates wind speeds, which effect the sea state for that
area. One of the most important things about weather in Harpoon
II is its effect on sensor performance. Radar and other electromagnetic
sensors (including eyes) are effected appropriately by precipitation
and visibility levels. Sea State is another example; it has a
terrific effect on sonar performance, both passive and active. Sea
State is a general measure of ocean conditions, both in terms of wind
speed and wave height, and is represented by a number from 0 to 9.
A Sea State value of 1 would represent a light breeze with flat, calm
(maybe rippled) seas, while a value of 9 indicates almost fifty foot
waves and a wind strength of over sixty-five knots! Each increase in
Sea State reduces passive sonar ranges by about 15%, depending on
the operating frequency of the sonar. High and medium frequency
sonars are affected more severely than low frequencies. Active
sonars are affected even more by Sea State. Rough seas tend to fill
the ocean with tiny air bubbles, even at great depths. Since air
bubbles reflect sound, the reverb effects make active sonar almost
useless above Sea State 5. A similar effect can be demonstrated by
turning on your automobile high-beam lights in a dense fog bank."
|
Nice theory. Too bad
it doesn't work.
The only area of H2/3's model actually affected by weather is sonar. (And sonar modelling had so many problems that the inclusion of weather was small consolation).
Effect on visual sensors - none (not even day & night difference!!!). Effect of e.g. rain on IR sensors - none. Clouds hiding aircraft - nope. Clouds & fog blocking LGBs - nope. Weather & sea state affecting ships: none. Nothing.
Nada.
In contrast: Command actually models these things. Visibility varies not simply by day and night but by actual time of day (different ranges at e.g. dawn, noon & dusk). Rain drastically reduces visual, IR and laser sensors depending on its intensity. Clouds can block both visual/IR sensor and things like LGB illumination. Even some radar frequency ranges are affected by rain. Rain and increased sea state can also mess up sonar surface ducting and CZ propagation (it does not affect deep-to-deep sonar detections, as in RL). Furthermore, heavy sea state drastically affects the accuracy of gunfire and other unguided weapons on ships - the smaller the ship, the more severe the effect. And more.
In addition: in H2/3 the scenario author has no control at all over weather. Let's say you want to make a Falklands scenario, with appropriately dark pissy weather, and the wonderful weather engine decides it's warm and sunny in the area - tough luck, you can't do anything (not that it would matter much, considering that only sonar is affected by the weather) . Command OTOH lets you fully customize the weather properties to suit your area of interest _and_ also change them later on the course of the scenario via easy and powerful scripting. And what's more, these properties _actually matter_. Which is why many scen authors use them.
Advantage:
COMMAND 