DG: sun vs gunnery

[alexsmith]

Dear Bullethead!

Sorry, it's me again

Couldn't you please tell - at that picture - position of sun is more preffered for which side?



I hope I've made a correct screenshot...

[Bullethead]

Originally Posted by alexsmith

Sorry, it's me again

Don't apologize. I don't mind and it's good to have some posts in here for a change .

Couldn't you please tell - at that picture - position of sun is more preffered for which side?

The sun is favoring the Russians in this picture. It's the afternoon and they're to the west of the Japanese. However, it's nearly 3 hours until sunset, so the sun is still pretty high. It's therefore not much of a problem for the Japanese right now. If the fleets retain their current positions relative to the sun, as time goes on the sun will become more of a problem for the Japanese.

The sun only has a large effect when it's close to the horizon, above or below. If it's close above, then it shines in the eyes of whoever is looking toward it, making it hard for them to hit targets in that direction. OTOH, if the sun is a little below the horizon, the situation is reversed. Those looking toward it can see the enemy backlit against the glowing horizon, but they themselves are in the dark when viewed by the enemy.

[alexsmith]

Originally Posted by Bullethead

The sun only has a large effect when it's close to the horizon, above or below.

Thank's! But how to track the moment - when sun become a problem for either side? How long before/after sunset? I can't visually recognize that time - for me it's allready hard to look at Russian ship's at that picture

[Bullethead]

Originally Posted by alexsmith

Thank's! But how to track the moment - when sun become a problem for either side? How long before/after sunset? I can't visually recognize that time - for me it's allready hard to look at Russian ship's at that picture

I don't know the details--you'd have to ask Norm.

However, from what I've seen, both in the game and in real life, the sun only has much of an effect between the time the horizon gets light enough to see the enemy backlit against it and when it's about an hour above the horizon. That's going in either direction, so from like 1/2 hour before sunrise to 1 hour after, and from 1 hour before sunset until about 1/2 hour after.

This, however, only holds true within say 40^ latitude either way of the Equator. At higher latitudes, the sun doesn't rise very high in the winter and gets much higher in the summer. So in Jutland, especially toward the northern part of the map, in winter the sun might be a significant factor all day in winter and not a factor at all in the summer.

And yes, the times of sunrise and sunset, the path of the sun through the sky, how high it gets, and where it crosses the horizon are all completely realistic for the latitude of the battle and the day of the year. If you're really anal, therefore, you could look up the data in an almanac.

[alexsmith]

Originally Posted by Bullethead

I don't know the details--you'd have to ask Norm.

I would certainly- could you please tell his home phone number?

According to accuracy my ships demostrate I would say they target looking at the sun not at the enemy...

[Bullethead]

Originally Posted by alexsmith

I would certainly- could you please tell his home phone number?

Well, you could PM him over on the other forum. He shows up there periodically. But I'd doubt he'd say much different than I have.