Distance of spotting ? GWX2.1

[Catfish]

Hello,
i just again encountered a destroyer who saw me at 10 miles in 1939, shelling me. This ship had no radar then, so it must have been visual detection. This was daylight and calm seas, but i could not even see him when he already began shelling me.

Now my wach officer spots a ship at 13300 meters/8-9 miles distance, but it is 1.45 o'clock, and pitch black night. Ok i know my officers are good, but still...

Just wondering,
greetings,
Catfish

[danlisa]

Ooo goodie, I'm prepared for this.

These are not figures that GWX has used to base any of the detection ranges etc on, however they do give you an idea of what's happening regards spotting ranges.



Ok, these are distances to the horizon however, obviously you can see over the horizon when taller targets are involved & visa versa.

Ships did & do have better optical equipment than you do on your U-Boat, as discussed in the manual.

However, at the end of the day, it comes down to 'game balance'. GWX is limited to the confines of the game code, so a change to night time spotting distances may affect day time ranges etc (as well as other aspects of sensors)....sucks I know but I feel the best balance has been achieved.

[Catfish]

Hello,
this was one fast reply
thanks, however this seems a bit far at night.
The special coated Zeiss lenses of the U-boat crews should have been the best at that time, if not the height of the conning tower would spoil it.
It is certainly easier to see a target against the horizon than if it is closer, when towering at a greater height. I will have look at Buchheims numbers, however this list is something to work with.
Thanks a lot and greetings,
Catfish

[danlisa]

Originally Posted by Catfish

I will have look at Buchheims numbers, however this list is something to work with.
Thanks a lot and greetings,
Catfish

I would be interested in what you find.

It has bugged me on occasion but I accept it as a game limitation.

Edit - As for being a fast reply. It's only because I was recently tweaking my files to remove a small annoyance of mine.

[Sailor Steve]

I agree with Catfish. Destroyers and above had better fire control ranging optics than any submarine, but spotters used the same binoculars as everyone else. Again, as he said, smaller targets are not seen against the horizon, and smaller ships almost always spotted bigger ships before the vice versa.

[Rubini]

Anyone already listened about StayALert crewmod?:hmm:

Just kidding because I never adapted it to GWX2.x (it's for GWX 1.03)

This issue was in better conditions on that mod mod. Your crew will see the ships first almost all the time (exception to heavy fog where it's uncertain) and will see "more at the same time that you can see". Also, FYI, in the GWX 8km this problem is more accentuate.

Anyhow, StayAlert crew mod was dropped down for some ppl that don't understood that it is customizable for any play style (more or less sensible).
However, the "night vampire vision", is really hardcoded, a true bug left behind by the devs...