Benchmark test: AI's "SHIP SPOTTED" and TC

[The Avon Lady]

I decided to look into the effects that weather, time of day and time compression have on SH3's AI crew's ability to spot a target versus the range to target once SH3 has dropped straight back down to 1x TC.

I created 4 simple missions (http://www.filefront.com/?filepath=/theofpfaq/sh3/SH3_Mission_BenchmarkShipSpotted.rar). The date for all 4 is set to January 1, 1943. All 4 missions are the same except for their time of day and weather conditions. Two of the missions take place at 00:00 - midnight. One of these missions has the weather set for as clear as possible. The other mission has the weather set for as foggy and rainy as possible.

Similarly, the remaining 2 missions have the same weather extremes but both missions have their time set for 12:00 - midday.

In all of the missions, the player's type VIIC UBoat's waypoint cuts right through the path of a stationary C3 merchant ship some 25km or so due south. Also, the UBoat's AI crew is defined in all missions as being "ELITE", the highest possible level.

Immediately upon each mission's start, I would set the UBoat's speed to ahead flank on surface, meaning it would travel at 18-19kph. The watch officer was always present in his tower position.

I played each mission 4 times, at the following time compression speeds: 1x, 256x, 1024x and 2048x. My SH3 configuration is set up so that when a ship is spotted, time compression automatically drops back down to 1x.

My SH3 installation is patched to version 1.4b. It includes several mods that may possibly affect the outcome of these benchmark tests, though I believe that the results would be similar for someone running SH3 v1.4b without any mods.

Here are the results, showing the UBoat's approximate distance from the ship spotted under the various scenarios. The distance to ship spotted was determined by switching to Uzo view immediately after receiving the AI's "SHIP SPOTTED" message.

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/6546/sh3benchmark0tt.jpg

[gouldjg]

Could you please use the same test, however remove all the bad weather effects in basif cfg as below as I have a slight hunch that not all is correct here.

[FATIGUE_COEF]
;comp 0
RegularFactor00=0.003
SpecificFactor00=0.012
BadWeather0=0
;comp1
RegularFactor10=0
RegularFactor11=0
SpecificFactor10=-0.015
SpecificFactor11=0.017
BadWeather1=0
;comp2
RegularFactor20=0.003
RegularFactor21=0.003
SpecificFactor20=0.003
SpecificFactor21=0.006
BadWeather2=0
;comp3
RegularFactor30=0.003
RegularFactor31=0.003
SpecificFactor30=0.012
SpecificFactor31=0.003
BadWeather3=0
;comp4
RegularFactor40=0.003
RegularFactor41=0.003
SpecificFactor40=0.003
SpecificFactor41=0.012
BadWeather4=0
;comp5
RegularFactor50=0.01
RegularFactor51=0.01
SpecificFactor50=0.03
SpecificFactor51=0.04
BadWeather5=0
;comp6
SpecificFactor60=-0.03
SpecificFactor61=-0.03
;comp7
SpecificFactor70=-0.03
SpecificFactor71=-0.03
;comp8
RegularFactor80=0.01
RegularFactor81=0.01
SpecificFactor80=0.03
SpecificFactor81=0.04
BadWeather8=0
;comp9
RegularFactor90=0.003
SpecificFactor90=0.015
BadWeather9=0
;comp10
RegularFactor100=0.003
SpecificFactor100=0.012
BadWeather10=0
;comp 11
RegularFactor110=0.01
RegularFactor111=0.01
SpecificFactor110=0.01
SpecificFactor111=0.01
BadWeather11=0

[The Avon Lady]

Could you please use the same test, however remove all the bad weather effects in basif cfg as below as I have a slight hunch that not all is correct here as well.
Please do me a favor. It took me ages to run these tests. I've provided a link above, from where you can download the 4 missions.

Install them, run the tests you want and share your results with us here. :yep:

[gouldjg]

It was worth a try :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Ok I will do my own test :up:

[Twitchy]

Yar Kapitan! I spot bullsh*t off the port bow! I hate TC.

[Col7777]

Thank you Avon, I used to do tests like this in SH2, it does take many hours I know. Some tests I did proved fruitless after going in and out of the sim tweaking this and that, some turned up a gem.
If it wasn't for modders and tests like this we would be stuck with buggy games. :up:

[von Buelow]

great :roll: so now I have to sit at my computer for 7 days straight in order not to be spotted in an appropriate amount of time to dive, or whatever.

now the question is, how to adjust the script so that the distances for spotting goes up.

I apologize to the true sims out there who are offended by my request, I'm a arcade-type who relies on TC to accomplish at least 1 mission in a sitting

[gdogghenrikson]

looks like another mod coming into formation

[BaronVonSchnitzel]

Sounds like some good information. Thanks, Avon!

[Marhkimov]

looks like another mod coming into formation

Yeah, it seems like we can smell a mod from miles away... :lol:



Great test, by the way. And by using your very useful data, I have composed a very practical 'Kaleun Haiku'. Here goes:

TC is okay
sailing in the day
but TC at night
will give you a fright!


:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

looks like another mod coming into formation

Yeah, it seems like we can smell a mod from miles away... :lol:



Great test, by the way. And by using your very useful data, I have composed a very practical 'Kaleun Haiku'. Here goes:

TC is okay
sailing in the day
but TC at night
will give you a fright!


:lol: :lol: :lol:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: HAIKU :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Der Teddy Bar]

Excellent work!

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

Great test, by the way. And by using your very useful data, I have composed a very practical 'Kaleun Haiku'. Here goes:

TC is okay
sailing in the day
but TC at night
will give you a fright!


:lol: :lol: :lol:[/quote]

Think that is a rhyming couplet, a haiku goes 5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables e.g.

Compression too fast
Watchman does not see the ship
You are dead again

[Marhkimov]

whoops, i forgot the definition of a haiku. Thanks!

Who knew that Silent Hunter 3 could be so poetic??? :lol:

[The Avon Lady]

Let me try!

Brit ports are red.
French ports are blue.
AI is to TC
Like bureaucrats to glue.

:P

[Col7777]

:D "Like bureaucrats to glue. "

Are you trying to make this thread a sticky Avon?

[Twitchy]

If it wasn't for modders and tests like this we would be stuck with buggy games. :up:

Buggy games like SH3? :dead:

[oRGy]

The ships aspect (ie angle of bow) also plays a role in spotting times.

Tests should also be repeated several times, as there is inbuilt randomisation to the spotting routine.

[_alphaBeta_]

Excellent work! I have long wondered about this, but never had the time to pull off a controlled experiment like this. Although the results do not surprise me, I'm glad to see some definitive evidence that TC plays a role in things like this.

:up:

Any update on your changes gouldjg?

[Curval]

looks like another mod coming into formation

Yeah, it seems like we can smell a mod from miles away... :lol:



Great test, by the way. And by using your very useful data, I have composed a very practical 'Kaleun Haiku'. Here goes:

TC is okay
sailing in the day
but TC at night
will give you a fright!


:lol: :lol: :lol:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: HAIKU :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Not even close to a Haiku.

A Haiku is three lines of prose with each line having 5,7 and 5 syllables repectively in each line.

It should also include a "seasonal" element.

[Marhkimov]

My appologies... I have disrespected the gracious haiku... :nope:



And thank you Avon Lady. I will use your missions to test the atmospheric pack that we have going on... Thanks, you have saved me the trouble of having to create my own missions.


Too bad you won't be able to save me the trouble of testing... :lol:

[The Avon Lady]

/bump

Any mod makers run these tests with their relevant mods? :-?

Post your results. :know:

[kiwi_2005]

Great! Now my paranioa while on the surface has just trippled! :|\

[glenno]

TC is okay
sailing in the day
but TC at night
will give you a fright!

I think my
dark night
sailors delight
dark day
players dismay
was better.

[rulle34]

/bump

Any mod makers run these tests with their relevant mods? :-?

Post your results. :know:

There are lots of these cinds of tests run with the visibility mod and later also with Atmospheric mod. Also a great deal of testresults that shows what factors affect visibility.
I will not torture you to read, or refer to all these >20 pages, but visibility is very difficult to get stable. Apart from weather and if it's day or night, it depends of AOB, size of the ship and also act different with different mods.
In a test I did, I got different spotting values with a clean install (only visibility mod enabled) than with all the other mods I usually have. A clean install with newly patched 1.4 and my ordinary mods enabled, gave more stable visibility values and to my mind also better colours in game. Both water and sky. Game engine also seem to ranomoze values. This is for the visibility and Atmospheric mod, but in general this will probaly go for stock values as well. Dfference is maybe smaller.

Anyway, if you want your spotting distances become better (and to my mind in a bigger perspective also more realistic) use the visibility mod, or even better, the Atmospheric mod. I have recently tweaked together a Atmospheric mod that is keeping RUb colours and water murkiness.

Links for DL:
Latest 16 km visibilty mod:http://rapidshare.de/files/6207495/16_km_visibility_mod_RWR_Moon_fix_Clear_water.rar. html

Atmospheric mod 2.0 different versions:http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=44986

Atmospheric mod 2.0 with RUb colours and murky water: http://rapidshare.de/files/7395372/RUb_1.44-1.45_Atmosphere_mod_2.0.rar.html

[Marhkimov]

TC also makes a big difference in crew spotting, so we should set a control value for that.

[rulle34]

TC also makes a big difference in crew spotting, so we should set a control value for that.

Absolutely right marhkimov. I just forgot to write it there :oops: