Variable Visibility

[Herr Straße Laufer]

Plus, you could look into "dawn" and "dusk" changes that could be programmed into the engine that, when selected, visibility can adjust up or down (not both) to reflect moving into sunrise or sunset?

If for example designer could apply different visibility values due to the weather conditions during the battle which would change at specific turn. That would increase the modelling capability of the designer. That would have little impact on short scenario, but would be important for longer ones.

Best regards

Slawek

Yes, Slawek. A twenty turn scenario could easily use it to model growing darkness, or rising sunshine?
Obviously the longer scenarios, or even the monster 100+ turn scenarios could use it.
With the proper algorithm the a game could cover night into day or day into night. The designer would have to consider starshells, etc. but, it would open up the parameters for what could be done within the game?

Ed

[K K Rossokolski]

This seems to me a must have. Dawn and dusk transition. Short for the tropics, longer for higher lattitudes. How easy/difficult would it be program-wise?

[RADO]

How could it be set in the game to accomodate "high noon", so to speak in the desert of North Africa. Sighting conditions are affected quite a bit there in the heat of the day.

- Greg

:stir:

[K K Rossokolski]

We are right off track talking about "sighting" conditions. CS provides raw visibility, regardless of range all targets remain the same size and aspect and sit on a little circle telling whose side it's on. Sighting conditions which in real life might include the need for identification etc, seem well outside CS capability.

I am trying to test peoples' thoughts towards a ....let's call it a day/night switch....... in CS which can be programmed by a designer to change at a selected turn. There are so many WWII era battles that crossed from dark into light., or the other way, ot both.

[umbro]

KKR:

Do you see this as a variable progression, or something fixed by the scenario designer?

umbro

[K K Rossokolski]

KKR:

Do you see this as a variable progression, or something fixed by the scenario designer?

umbro

I see it as something provided by the game program but determined by the scenario designer to occur at a certain turn.
For example a dawn attack on fixed defences might be set up thus:
Turns 1-4 Full dark (vis 1) Prelim bombardment, attack troops move to jumpoff positions
Turn 5 Dawn vis to 3 troops attack
Turn 6 Vis to basic day time level
For a tropical game, probably no transition is necessary, as "the dawn comes up like thunder."

Obviously this is a significant option for the designer. It is not an option for the player, anymore than wishing to play an existing Market Garden game in tropical or desert terrain is an option.
I do not see this as incompatible in anyway with the VV option.
The use of say 1-3 turns to effect a transition from night to day or the opposite is a crude attempt to replicate what actually happens dependent on latitude. It is NOT necessary if it is difficult or impossible to include. A straight one turn change would be fine.

An additional point, on visibility....it seems to me that the minimum visibility setting acceptable is 1, ie a vis of up to 250m which makes it a pretty damn bright night. Is it possible to reduce to 0, ie you can see the hex you are in. Might smarten up the footwork in some night scens.

[Hobbes]

This has been discussed quite a bit. I'm left with the feeling that the original idea for variable visibility was to allow the scenario designer to dictate when visibility would change (can't be difficult to program) - but somehow we ended up with what we have now. Some scenarios represent 6 minutes but I certainly found in the ones that I have made that a realistic timescale is around and hour or two per turn (but a different topic).

Cheers, Chris

[junk2drive]

KKR what don't you like about the current dawn to day and dusk to night settings?

[K K Rossokolski]

KKR what don't you like about the current dawn to day and dusk to night settings?

As far as I am aware, a designer can choose to turn night into day (or vice versa) but the players have to make some sort of code setting adjustment at the suggested point in the game to make it happen. As I recall, Huib invented this, or at least introduced it.
I am not aware of any automatic day/night /day changeover, which is what I am arguing for.
A dusk/night dawn/day thingy seems to me a different, much more limited situation.

And I agree with Mr Hobbes...... let us not get into turn duration....on this thread. Sorry, Ed!!!

[junk2drive]

Page 118 of the 1.03 1.04 manual

Dusk-Night: This is a special setting that allows the visibility to change after 6 turns from a day scenario to a night scenario. There is a percentage chance that night will appear on turn 6, and continue to attempt to change to night at the beginning of each turn until successful.
Dawn-Day: This is a special setting that allows the visibility to change after 6 turns from a night scenario to a day scenario. Night must be checked in order for this to work. There is a percentage chance that day will break on turn 6, and continue to attempt to change to day at the beginning of each turn until successful.