[WIP] Optical Targeting Assist, with Omnimeter

[vanjast]

Any idea of the time scale for the sliderule thingy.. looks nice

[Hitman]

and the maximum of 60,000 yards distance

Scurvy I just remembered that according to Nisgeis the game will not load any unit that is more than 40km away from you (And consequently will not show them in the radar screen). For that reason I modified the scales in my radar mod and gave them a maximum of 40000 metres (~40400 yards) because I could have increased precision in the scale as it is smaller than a 60.000 one.

Just in case you find it useful

[keltos01]

I took a little break from SH4 but what I find when I come back is truly nice work !

good work Captnscurvy !

I've been playing DW of late (SH5 won't run on my rig sadly ?)

regards

keltos

[WH4K]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Scurvy I just remembered that according to Nisgeis the game will not load any unit that is more than 40km away from you (And consequently will not show them in the radar screen). For that reason I modified the scales in my radar mod and gave them a maximum of 40000 metres (~40400 yards) because I could have increased precision in the scale as it is smaller than a 60.000 one.

Just in case you find it useful

It occurs to me that the 80000 yard setting on the radar is wishful thinking at best, regardless of game engine limits.

According to this radar/visual horizon calculator (http://radarproblems.com/calculators/horizon.htm), the radar horizon for a notional submarine radar is only about 26 km.

That's assuming a 10 m antenna height and a target at least 10 m off the water. Reduce either number and the maximum range shrinks further.

Furuno USA, a maritime radar manufacturer, puts the radar horzion at around 6% greater than the visual horizon (http://www.furunousa.com/LearningCen...alculator.aspx). Using the above assumptions, their calculator generates a result of 13 nautical miles or 24 km.

The numbers can vary a lot, depending on the assumptions used - antenna height, radar wavelength, sea state, atmospheric absorption model, and so on.

Given those numbers, it seems reasonable to pin our fleet boat radar's maximum detection range at no more than 25-30 km.

Displaying "only" a 40 km radius is therefore more than sufficient.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Scurvy I just remembered that according to Nisgeis the game will not load any unit that is more than 40km away from you (And consequently will not show them in the radar screen). For that reason I modified the scales in my radar mod and gave them a maximum of 40000 metres (~40400 yards) because I could have increased precision in the scale as it is smaller than a 60.000 one.

Just in case you find it useful

Thanks again Hitman, I too have found this to be the case with the stock game not rendering a radar object over 30,000 yards or about 17 miles. I've set aircraft out over 25 miles from the sub and the stock game will pick them up through the navigation map well before the radar unit displays it. I believe the stock game does this to compensate for the lack of an air search (SD) radar station. The nav map is its answer to having an air search scope screen.

In truth that's not so bad considering the SJ-1 radar was only reliable to maybe 30,000 yards (17 miles) with an antenna height of 33 ft, and only that was with the larger ships as targets (BB's, CV's and large merchants). The real life SD radar was about the same at finding a large plane over 1000 ft high, maybe 20 miles out at best for a reliable range. So, I'm not too worried about the PPI or A-Scope radars not picking up further out. If anything, the stock game having a plane displayed on the navigation map at much greater distances would seem to be a larger problem.

I see what you mean about being able to be more precise if you can top out the range to maximise its potential. I know you know the real life units had the capabilities of the A-Scope of switching between the 3,000, 20,000 and 60,000 yard ranges. The PPI between 8,000, 40,000 and 80,000 yard ranges. Did they ever pick up anything out at the max limit? I'd guess yes, radio signals can do strange things (ever have a short wave radio and pick up stations half way around the world with rabbit ears?). Was the maximum range "reliable"? Nope, I'd guess not. So, maximum range can be exceeded from time to time but reliable ranges of 17 miles or less was the norm.

I'm not really looking at wanting the radar to give me nuts accurate range. Least not at long distances. The help the radar unit provides is the ability to see further than what the human eye can see, and over the horizon where we can't see at all. I do expect it to find a target at a reasonable distance though, especially if its within eye sight of the sub. Having the stock game miss that kind of target is just wrong.


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Vanjast, I've just completed a PDF "Using Radar" to describe the American and German radar used in the game. I'm going over the Change Log files to update them and finishing the other documentation. Outside of this, I'll be ready to send it out very soon.

[Husksubsky]

nothing for sh 5 capn?

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Husksubsky

nothing for sh 5 capn?

No Husksubsky, I don't own the game.

I'm working on a version for SH4 patched to only 1.4 (as promised). I don't plan to leave out those that didn't buy into the idea of playing the German side in the Pacific was a good idea.

Sorry, my heart isn't in playing the German side anyway. Silent Hunter (the first edition) is where this game franchise should have stayed with it's campaign. Guess I'm just too close to "The Greatest Generation" to see it any other way. To clarify, I'm not a part of it, but my father certainly was. I'm just a full fledged, early on, "Baby Boomer" who's father's stories of his service in the Pacific revealed the hatred, and horrific conflict that front line soldiers (Ground Pounders) dealt with. He was overseas for almost three years (Army Armor division), losing his cousin who he entered the Army with, and later his younger brother who wanted to follow in his "big brother's" footsteps. Both are MIA's.

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Regarding Optical Targeting Correction (I should have added this information into this thread earlier), the [Released] version can be found HERE.