Blue Water Development Diary

[AzureSkies]

Originally Posted by Phaeton

A very interesting project! Looking forward for it and will be happy to buy it when it will be ready. Also happy that Soviet side will be playable.
Best wishes with development!

Thanks! And I'm looking forward to it, myself.

Originally Posted by Herman

Will Sea State play a great role in sensor detection or combat resolution such as sea-skimmers?

Aircraft operations? NWAC had aircraft actually crashing due to severe weather.

Well, I guess if NWAC did it I'll have to do it.

As of the moment, a high sea state already decreases the effective seeker range of cruise missiles.

So implementing a high sea state making it harder to detect the missiles themselves should be coming soon...

Aircraft handling will be a bit of a tougher one to implement, but it's definitely worth a shot.

I'll also have to experiment to see if the sea state already naturally decreases ships' max speed. I don't know if you noticed, but in the sailing video, the velocity indicator of the ship was bobbing around on the map - the waves actually push and pull on the ship. Theoretically, this should naturally create the speed reduction seen IRL by high seas. But it doesn't seem to be showing up on the speed dial - but that may be because of how it determines speed.

So, basically, I'll have to play with it.

...Wait, did I say something about cruise missiles?

Next update coming real soon here...

[Herman]

Originally Posted by AzureSkies

As of the moment, a high sea state already decreases the effective seeker range of cruise missiles.

So implementing a high sea state making it harder to detect the missiles themselves should be coming soon...

Sounds very promising. I was also wondering if severe sea states might actually inhibit missile engagements due to the sea-skimmers hitting high waves.

Originally Posted by AzureSkies

I'll also have to experiment to see if the sea state already naturally decreases ships' max speed. I don't know if you noticed, but in the sailing video, the velocity indicator of the ship was bobbing around on the map - the waves actually push and pull on the ship. Theoretically, this should naturally create the speed reduction seen IRL by high seas. But it doesn't seem to be showing up on the speed dial - but that may be because of how it determines speed.

Good to see the effect of sea state on speed. I urge some restraint on the number of calculations or updates. For example, if there is constant fluctuation in the sea state indicator due to constant revision of the final digit, then it can be more of a distraction than a help. i.e. if the state is 6.27 and the '.7' is forever an amorphous blur as it constantly goes up and down, then the precision really isn't helping the game. Is it really necessary to know sea state to that 100th level of precision?

[AzureSkies]

Originally Posted by Herman

Sounds very promising. I was also wondering if severe sea states might actually inhibit missile engagements due to the sea-skimmers hitting high waves.

A solid possibility. Presumably a real missile would be using radar to determine height and attempting to avoid hitting the water. I'll see if there's something computationally efficient I can do with the code to simulate this, because there may be...

My bet is that it won't be able to function reliably above Sea State 7 or so. Being all-weather capable is an advertised feature of the newest Harpoon missiles, implying old versions had a max sea state. These would be Block Is, Block IBs and Block ICs, a far cry from the modern block IIER+.

Also happen to know from old research on the Juliet that it couldn't fire its missiles above Sea State 6. Technically that's very different, but broadly it shows how even 70's and 80's navies could be rather severely limited by weather with their missiles.

Originally Posted by Herman

Good to see the effect of sea state on speed. I urge some restraint on the number of calculations or updates. For example, if there is constant fluctuation in the sea state indicator due to constant revision of the final digit, then it can be more of a distraction than a help. i.e. if the state is 6.27 and the '.7' is forever an amorphous blur as it constantly goes up and down, then the precision really isn't helping the game. Is it really necessary to know sea state to that 100th level of precision?

Oh, the sea state indicator shown was just for that demonstration video. Real UI for that will be very different.

[longface]

This looks really good! I can't wait to hear more!

Just some questions I have off the top of my mind:
1. Do you plan for a sound delay due to distance for any loud transients/explosions? Cold Waters does that thing where you watch a target explode ten kiloyards away and the explosion comes instantaneously, which of course isn't realistic (but seeing that CW allows you to view events from many different positions not modeling a sound delay is understandable).
2. The Harpoon seems to be tracking the stern of the Azov instead of dead center. Is this true to life?

[Phaeton]

AzureSkies, will you integrate CIWS in game for anti-missile duties? If CIWS will be operational, could it engage surface and air targets?
I know, CIWS weapon range in naval warfare is like a punch range in gun fight. Still, possibility of it is amusing.
For example, in War Thunder AK-230 in close ranges (<2 km) is a threat even to a destroyers.
Example #2: in Wargame: Red Dragon CIWS alongside with autocannons can be used to engage naval and air targets (especially when missiles were exhausted).
Anyway, best luck with development!

[AzureSkies]

Apologies, but this week's update won't be ready tonight. It will be posted by tomorrow night, though, and I'll reply to questions here, as well.

[AzureSkies]

Originally Posted by longface

This looks really good! I can't wait to hear more!

Just some questions I have off the top of my mind:
1. Do you plan for a sound delay due to distance for any loud transients/explosions? Cold Waters does that thing where you watch a target explode ten kiloyards away and the explosion comes instantaneously, which of course isn't realistic (but seeing that CW allows you to view events from many different positions not modeling a sound delay is understandable).
2. The Harpoon seems to be tracking the stern of the Azov instead of dead center. Is this true to life?

1. I've noticed that, and personally love the feature. Wouldn't be simple to implement within the Unity game engine, though, unfortunately. Other things are taking priority, but this is a detail I'd like to be able to include.

2. It depends on the particular missile, but old enough ones will go for whatever the biggest radar reflector is, I'd guess. As to the video I posted, though, I'll probably fix that pretty easily by implementing lead into the terminal homing phase. There's already lead in some of the other calculations the missile does, so it'd be a simple fix.

Originally Posted by Phaeton

AzureSkies, will you integrate CIWS in game for anti-missile duties? If CIWS will be operational, could it engage surface and air targets?
I know, CIWS weapon range in naval warfare is like a punch range in gun fight. Still, possibility of it is amusing.
For example, in War Thunder AK-230 in close ranges (<2 km) is a threat even to a destroyers.
Example #2: in Wargame: Red Dragon CIWS alongside with autocannons can be used to engage naval and air targets (especially when missiles were exhausted).
Anyway, best luck with development!

Definitely for anti-missile and anti-aircraft. Most CIWS systems are highly autonomous and will shoot anything closing in too fast and too close. How sensor systems are planned to be scripted, it won't even bother to differentiate between incoming missiles and aircraft.

And I do plan to have them able to engage other ships, too. That's very simple to do, especially given there's a variety of other weapon systems that will be able to target multiple platform types, anyways (SS-N-14 "Silex" missiles, RIM-66 SM-1 SAMs, and ship guns like the Mk45 or AK130 just to name a few).

Thanks!

Weekly update coming shortly. It's about time for that vehicle highlight...