Night too "light"?

Fidd · 11-20-19, 09:48 PM

One of the things that bothers me in game is the white superstructures and masts etc, shining brightly, even on the otherwise darkest night. This really needs toning down, so that the merchants are at brightest, a dark grey in full night=time illumination.

During the war, both aircraft and U-boats used to try and fire from up-moon (as it were) along the moon-path and towards the relatively illuminated ships, if the moon is providing illumination.

Personally I'd like to see different phases of the moon being possible as a configurable "difficulty" setting, and at the same time, the white superstructure colours greatly darkened. In this way, the usual observations of ship type, speed and heading can be made, but more easily done whilst the enemy ship is illuminated in the moon-path. Attempting to achieve this the other way would provide a good silhouette only....

Truly dark moonless nights would obviously cause problems for identifying ships etc, however, would also allow surfaced U-boats to attack at much shorter ranges.

This combination of improvements appeals to me as it will vary the tactics being applied to make use of the conditions that play-session, and therefore vary the experiences of players..

derstosstrupp · 11-20-19, 10:47 PM

I second this. Night time needs fixing. The spotting range is too high, and yes the ships are too bright. Historical accounts describe surface shooting sometimes at dark shapes, and the U-boat commander’s handbook explicitly mentions how difficult estimating AOB is at night. Plus, once we can get reasonably close, as in 1000 m or less on a dark night, that will allow this very important tactic, the night surface attack, to be finally possible in the game.

VonHoffman · 11-30-19, 06:33 PM

I third, fourth, and fifth this.

Night time is too light! It must be drastically darkened.

It seems the sim already accounts for visibility distance, but graphically it is far too bright.

Fidd · 11-30-19, 10:59 PM

What I was driving at was the great contrast between the white-upper-works and masts etc, and the darkness behind. I figure if the dark was less dark, and the white of the ships much darker, then it would appear visually consistent.

As it is, the ships appear to be painted with luminous paint!

VonHoffman · 11-30-19, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidd

What I was driving at was the great contrast between the white-upper-works and masts etc, and the darkness behind. I figure if the dark was less dark, and the white of the ships much darker, then it would appear visually consistent.

As it is, the ships appear to be painted with luminous paint!

Yes!

The visibility fog needs a tweak, too. The gradient is too steep. They should fade out sooner and more gradually, loosing contrast first.

There also seems to be a weird graphical artifact with smoke.

gurudennis · 12-01-19, 11:45 PM

The ships are too bright indeed. I think Onkel is aware (we talked about it before) but whether the developers are treating it with priority is another matter. It's been broken for several patches now.

Conversely, the spotting range is fixed at least as of 0.20. In pitch black conditions you are only spotted at 200 m (!).

Fidd · 12-02-19, 12:16 PM

So here's the question, if the ship upper-works are more of an escort-grey - I attach a couple of admittedly black and white pictures my father took crossing the Atlantic during the war - where he was trained to fly before returning to the UK. These pictures are thought to have been taken circa February 1945. Note the very dilapidated appearance of the majority of ships, and the general, but not complete absence, of white upper-works.

A following reply will attach others. which I hope will be of some interest

Fidd · 12-02-19, 12:18 PM

Hmm can't post remainder due some limit or other.

Pisces · 12-02-19, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidd

Hmm can't post remainder due some limit or other.

You can make picture albums and upload files to it. Keeps them in high res. Then post the link to it here. Check the User CP link at the top of the forum menu bar. 5 option down I think.

gurudennis · 12-03-19, 04:09 AM

Amazing pictures, Fidd! Can almost touch the history there.

They do look very consistent with other wartime merchant ship pictures I've seen: grey and not particularly clean in appearance (but hopefully functional, as all equipment should be).

It's actually quite hard to find any pictures where wartime merchants would be sporting clean white paint on the superstructure. Nor can I see any examples of a black hull paint scheme like we see in Wolfpack.

I hope their appearance in the game is mostly a placeholder, hopefully to be replaced with more neatly textured models in coming patches.

11-20-19, 09:48 PM	#1
Fidd Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 542 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Night too "light"? One of the things that bothers me in game is the white superstructures and masts etc, shining brightly, even on the otherwise darkest night. This really needs toning down, so that the merchants are at brightest, a dark grey in full night=time illumination. During the war, both aircraft and U-boats used to try and fire from up-moon (as it were) along the moon-path and towards the relatively illuminated ships, if the moon is providing illumination. Personally I'd like to see different phases of the moon being possible as a configurable "difficulty" setting, and at the same time, the white superstructure colours greatly darkened. In this way, the usual observations of ship type, speed and heading can be made, but more easily done whilst the enemy ship is illuminated in the moon-path. Attempting to achieve this the other way would provide a good silhouette only.... Truly dark moonless nights would obviously cause problems for identifying ships etc, however, would also allow surfaced U-boats to attack at much shorter ranges. This combination of improvements appeals to me as it will vary the tactics being applied to make use of the conditions that play-session, and therefore vary the experiences of players..

11-20-19, 10:47 PM	#2
derstosstrupp Grey Wolf Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 913 Downloads: 490 Uploads: 0	I second this. Night time needs fixing. The spotting range is too high, and yes the ships are too bright. Historical accounts describe surface shooting sometimes at dark shapes, and the U-boat commander’s handbook explicitly mentions how difficult estimating AOB is at night. Plus, once we can get reasonably close, as in 1000 m or less on a dark night, that will allow this very important tactic, the night surface attack, to be finally possible in the game. __________________ Ask me anything about the Type VII or IX! One-Stop Targeting Shop: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...WwBt-1vjW28JbO My YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIJ...9FXbD3S2kgwdPQ

11-30-19, 06:33 PM	#3
VonHoffman Seaman Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Near crush depth. Maybe. Posts: 33 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	I third, fourth, and fifth this. Night time is too light! It must be drastically darkened. It seems the sim already accounts for visibility distance, but graphically it is far too bright.

11-30-19, 10:59 PM	#4
Fidd Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 542 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	What I was driving at was the great contrast between the white-upper-works and masts etc, and the darkness behind. I figure if the dark was less dark, and the white of the ships much darker, then it would appear visually consistent. As it is, the ships appear to be painted with luminous paint!

12-01-19, 11:45 PM	#6
gurudennis Mate Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 55 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	The ships are too bright indeed. I think Onkel is aware (we talked about it before) but whether the developers are treating it with priority is another matter. It's been broken for several patches now. Conversely, the spotting range is fixed at least as of 0.20. In pitch black conditions you are only spotted at 200 m (!).

12-02-19, 12:18 PM	#8
Fidd Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 542 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Hmm can't post remainder due some limit or other.

12-03-19, 04:09 AM	#10
gurudennis Mate Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 55 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Amazing pictures, Fidd! Can almost touch the history there. They do look very consistent with other wartime merchant ship pictures I've seen: grey and not particularly clean in appearance (but hopefully functional, as all equipment should be). It's actually quite hard to find any pictures where wartime merchants would be sporting clean white paint on the superstructure. Nor can I see any examples of a black hull paint scheme like we see in Wolfpack. I hope their appearance in the game is mostly a placeholder, hopefully to be replaced with more neatly textured models in coming patches.