Metalogic,
Actually weather fronts can be important: an escaping plane can use the weather line between average to bad weather to try degrading a pursuing player radar, visibility, FLIR and so on...
Anyway, dynamic weather was present in games like Harpoon II. The original manual said:
"The weather model in Harpoon II is more complex than might appear
on the surface. When a scenario is first created, the weather model
is run on its map. This generates a set of low and high pressure cells
based on a set of environmental rules. The map itself has a set of
meteorological information that represents the base values for the
map region and season depicted by the scenario. When the game is
run, these low and high pressure cells interact with the base values
present on the map, producing pressure changes and thus cell
“movement” across the map. The interaction of these cells produces
boundary effects along their edges, including various types of cloud
cover and precipitation. The relative movement of these pressure
cells also generates wind speeds, which effect the sea state for that
area. One of the most important things about weather in Harpoon
II is its effect on sensor performance. Radar and other electromagnetic
sensors (including eyes) are effected appropriately by precipitation
and visibility levels. Sea State is another example; it has a
terrific effect on sonar performance, both passive and active. Sea
State is a general measure of ocean conditions, both in terms of wind
speed and wave height, and is represented by a number from 0 to 9.
A Sea State value of 1 would represent a light breeze with flat, calm
(maybe rippled) seas, while a value of 9 indicates almost fifty foot
waves and a wind strength of over sixty-five knots! Each increase in
Sea State reduces passive sonar ranges by about 15%, depending on
the operating frequency of the sonar. High and medium frequency
sonars are affected more severely than low frequencies. Active
sonars are affected even more by Sea State. Rough seas tend to fill
the ocean with tiny air bubbles, even at great depths. Since air
bubbles reflect sound, the reverb effects make active sonar almost
useless above Sea State 5. A similar effect can be demonstrated by
turning on your automobile high-beam lights in a dense fog bank."
Notice how, in 1994 (21 years ago) we only had not only dynamic weather, but it depended from the *region* and the *season*. Basically: no snow over the Sahara or rain over the North Pole.
Of course modern technology overcame *part* of the problems caused by weather, but it remains a key factor in scenarios set - to make a wild guess - the '50s and the '60s. There is is a reason as why in the '40s (admittedly 10 years before) fleets "chased storms". The USS Enterprise was saved by a storm in the Battle of Santa Cruz; the USS Hornet was not so lucky and she was sunk. We are talking about *a* battle, just to show how a difference in weather just some miles away could be crucial.
|