140. How to handle human escort players "spotting" u-boats/periscopes?
I've been giving some thought recently as to how this might be handled in game to sidestep some of the foreseeable potential problems of having human players "on watch" looking for u-boats, and how that relates to visual detection ranges as currently handled by the AI.
The foreseeable problems are: manipulation of gamma, allowing seeing of a u-boat when otherwise it'd be too dark. Graphical limitations meaning that diesel-smoke or water splashes being visible from too great a distance. Lack of natural sea-foam making it too easy to spot one caused by a periscope feather etc.
Possible methods to forestall these problems:
a) Limit the range at which water effects, such as periscope feather, to no more than the normal AI detection-range, so that a human observer cannot use these as a cue outside of the normal AI detection-range.
b) Limit the render range of both the surfaced u-boat, and the periscope when submerged, to appropriate detection-ranges, modified by fog value (if any), so that gamma manipulation cannot confer an ability to see a u-boat much beyond the detection range at which the AI can "spot" a u-boat visually.
c) Make the binocular view on escorts powerful in magnification, but with a correspondingly small field of view, so that simply panning cannot guarantee spotting a uboat, as it may be outside of the field of view.
d) Allow the binocular view to pan, but only for 45 degrees or so, before the user has to come off the magnified position to reposition for the next pan for the next 45 degrees. Consider limiting the total angle over which any position can pan, to circa 150 degrees.
e) Limit the ability to use binoculars to a reasonable speed of escort/wind value, so that using the binoculars is not possible at very high speeds/strong wave action combinations. If adequately slow, it should always be possible to use binoculars.
Thoughts on alerts with combinations of human/AI escorts.
Alerts caused by uboats coming within detection range of an AI escort can probably remain as they are now. For playable escorts, a manual means of causing an alert needs to exist. This needs to be limited, so that it one cannot cause an alert without actually seeing a u-boat. Else it could be misused. As the host is tracking the positions of u-boats and escorts, and could also track the positions of binoculars (or gun optics), it ought to be possible to require the captain of the escort to view the u-boat, and for his binos/gun optics to be "tested" to see if is pointed at a u-boat when the "request" for an alert is made. This would make it impossible for a human player to cause the convoy to alert, unless his optic is pointing at the uboat when the request is sent. If it is, then the alert can be set in train, causing the AI escorts and merchants to behave in the required fashion.
I think it's important that a human escort captain has the option to NOT necessarily cause the alert at the instant he can. This would allow, if the circumstances are such where a delay in reacting confers some benefit to the escorts - for the Convoy Commander to quietly send off a couple of escorts to the general area of the u-boat, and therefore increase the chance of catching it at a shallower depth when it is attacked. Anything that "muddies the waters" as to when a detection is made, and when it has not been, helps generate varied content.
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