Ok, i knew crew ratings were important when adjusting the AI, and i knew crew ratings 0 through 2 were relatively useless, i just didn't know it make such a HUGE difference when put in terms of numbers. I suspect the devs did something new with crew ratings.
I really have to hand it to the devs, they've done some great improvements with AI detection, and the new user sensor rendering in the map is makinig it ALOT easier to gauge what is doing what.
Now as adjusting the visual sensors are concerned, there is acutally not a whole lot i can do because of crew ratings. Adjusting crew ratings is out of scope of this mod. That falls on campaign writers.
So heres some data to chew on.
(All numbers plus or minus 200 meters or so.)
Test run 1: Daylight
Parameters:
- Stock AI settings
- Player sub bows on to a destroyer at a distance of 15KM away.
- Wind speed at 15 kts
- No fog.
Results:
Destroyer crew rating 0: -> Max visual distance of 6700 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 1: -> Max visual distance of 7800 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 2: -> Max visual distance of 9200 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 3: -> Max visual distance of 12,500 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 4: -> Max visual distance of 13,700 meters.
Test run 2: Night time
Parameters:
- Stock AI settings
- Player sub bows on to a destroyer at a distance of 15KM away.
- Wind speed at 15 kts
- No fog.
Results:
Destroyer crew rating 0: -> Max visual distance of 550 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 1: -> Max visual distance of 850 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 2: -> Max visual distance of 1400 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 3: -> Max visual distance of 4300 meters.
Destroyer crew rating 4: -> Max visual distance of 6700 meters.
Special note about night time:
The devs included a new variable that directly allows you to control night time visibilty, instead of a flat reduction you couldn't adjust. This is a HUGE improvement, espeically when you consider the variance in crew ratings. That means in Sh5, you'll be able to do night surface attacks like never before.
But here is a problem:
If i adjust the visual sensors to improve the lower crew ratings, then ill make the higher crew ratings overpowered.
If i adjust the visual sensors to decrease the upper crew ratings, then ill make the lower end crew ratings even dumber!
I've often cited that alot of files are interrelated when it comes to modding a Silent hunter game, and this is a great example. Because to get a baseline of performance, this means i have to change crew ratings in the campaign file. I am not going there. So i think the best thing to do, is to return the AI visuals to stock settings, and leave crew ratings to the campaign writers.
Special note on aircraft:
They are subject to the above numbers, which is why they don't attack, they fly too fast, and by the time the detection time has expired in order to regester asjhaving sighted you, your already out of their visual range due to their velocity. Thankfully the devs put in a visual sensor that is just being used by battleships, and it is huge in max visual range., Im going to use that sensor on aircraft to increase their visual range, so you should see more of a response from them in the next update.
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