[WIP] D6 AI Detection

[Ducimus]

See release: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=163905

[Will-Rommel]

ROCK ON !

I'm on an highway to enjoy.

[Sgtmonkeynads]

Alright !

Have a Drink On Me, cause I'm Thunderstruck !

[Bilge_Rat]

I knew you could not stay away. I also wanted to attract your attention to this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=163304

I presume the fact that we can now "see" the escort's detection range will make it easier to tweak its effectiveness.

[Dowly]

Thanks! Will have a try.

[CCIP]

Good project. Will give this a shot - if indeed there is complex scripts for AI behaviour, I think we're in for a treat in the long run with this mod

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

I
I presume the fact that we can now "see" the escort's detection range will make it easier to tweak its effectiveness.

Yup. That's what acutally helped me figure out that some of the numbers work differently in SH5. Depending on the numbers you input, (and what you do in game) you can watch the detection range get smaller or bigger.


Just FYI, i don't expect huge drastic changes with this initial release. All i did was tweak the sim.cfg for now. Im not going too deeply into this just yet, cause the game has another 3 patch's to go if track records still hold true for ubi.

[Bilge_Rat]

I will test it out this weekend.

[Therion_Prime]

Just tested your mod against two late war elite DDs.
They now behave as I expect them to.

You improved the game another 100%. Thank you very much!

[Ducimus]

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.

[piri_reis]

Just installing this, it's sure to up the realism a few notches

And very important info there Ducimus, thanks.

[Therion_Prime]

Ok, i did a test again, this time with one poor and one novice DD.
They seem a tad too good for my liking. Veteran and elite feel just right IMO.

[CCIP]

My problems are mostly in depth-restricted settings. I can't even lose more than one "poor" DD in 100m of water. A pair of them WOULD be guaranteed death... unfortunately for them, I find that the probability of even a damaging DC hit on a sub traveling straight at 90m and slow ahead without manuevering is about once per hour. Hopefully a radius extension will help this.

Otherwise my main issue is active sonar operation on multiple ships in depth-restricted settings. They're able to ping at 120 degrees or more off bow, and aspect doesn't seem to throw them off within about a mile's range (i.e. showing bow/stern to them doesn't throw off the pinging). Would it perhaps be possible to get aspect/surface area to factor more into active sonar detection, assuming you don't want to reduce the detection cone? Just to have some sort of mechanism for breaking contact - otherwise as I say, with two escorts, you have to be very deep for them to even briefly lose you.