SUBSIM Radio Room Forums



SUBSIM: The Web's #1 resource for all submarine & naval simulations since 1997

Go Back   SUBSIM Radio Room Forums > Sub/Naval + Other Games > Indie Subsims
Forget password? Reset here

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-14-19, 10:56 PM   #106
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default VEHICLE HIGHLIGHT

This week, we'll be taking a look at the USS Spruance, the first and titular ship of the Spruance-class destroyer.

The ships were being built right into the year Blue Water takes place, 1983, making them the new, modern ships of the time, including automated guns and digital weapon control systems.



With the increasing threat from improving Soviet Submarine technology, their designed task was to serve as ASW escorts for carrier battle group.



Working from bow to stern, first we have our Mark 45 5" guns. These have a rate of fire of 16-20 rounds per minute each, and have an effective range of 24 km, and a magazine with 600 rounds.



Behind it is the Mk. 16 Mod 7 RUR-5 ASROC launcher. Although the Spruance itself was new, the ASROC dated back to the 60's. They could launch either a 10-kt W44 nuclear depth charge or a Mk.46 torpedo 19 km. Upon arriving to the specific location, the Mk.46 would separate, parachute, enter the water, and begin searching for nearby submarines.

The Spruance also carried two additional reloads for each in the launcher, for a total of 24 missiles.





Above the bridge and above the hanger is a Phalanx Block 0 CIWS. These are newer than the Spruance itself, with the USS Spruance not originally having been built with them, and only having just, in 1983, barely been modernized with their addition. Their weapon is an M61 Vulcan capable of putting out 3,000 20mm rounds per minute. Its primary role is to shoot down incoming missiles, though it's also more than adequate against any nearby aircraft. Usage against ships is also possible.





Below are the two quad RGM-84A Harpoon canisters. Being 1983, some RGM-84Cs would be in service as well. These sea-skimming, high-subsonic cruise missiles have a range of 92.6 km.

They have the name "harpoon" because they were originally designed in the 60's as a counter to surfaced Soviet submarines - thus they were weapons to be used against large submerging leviathans, and were called the "harpoon".

While their uses are far more general than that, that role may still prove useful should an Echo or Juliet surface and begin preparing to fire from a far (but not far enough) distance.

Notice the starboard canister has expended two missiles.





Next we have, what may arguably be the most useful ASW weapon on the Spruance. Given the Seasprite has already gotten its own highlight, there's not much to add here. These will prove invaluable in expanding the search area against Soviet "whales", or making full use of the RUR-5's range.



Being primarily an ASW vessel, the Spruance only had (relatively) short-range RIM-7 Sea Sparrows for extended air defense beyond the Phalanx's range. Like the ASROC, it only has a range of 19 km - but against sea-skimming missiles, this may be all the warning you'll get, anyways. Like most SAMs, it is semi-active radar homing.





And finally, all too easy to miss, yet still a possible godsend in the worst scenarios...



A pair of Mark 32 Triple torpedo tubes on each side of the ship, in a torpedo room within the ship's aft hull, for six Mk. 46 torpedoes ready to launch at any time.





And finally, two more shots of the Spruance during the day - with the last one to show the hanger in the closed position.



Believe it or not, both of the helos actually can fit in that hanger... But only barely.



That's it for this week, please keep the questions and comments coming, and I'll shoot to be more timely for next week. Until then, good sailing.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-19, 01:22 PM   #107
longface
Watch
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 24
Downloads: 8
Uploads: 0
Default

Absolutely stunning. Love the R2D2! Also, the Seasprite flies now! One thing, though, anything white seems to glow, I think they reflect too much light. Everything else looks lovely.

Are you still aiming for the November release of the game?
longface is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-19, 07:57 PM   #108
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by longface View Post
Absolutely stunning. Love the R2D2! Also, the Seasprite flies now! One thing, though, anything white seems to glow, I think they reflect too much light. Everything else looks lovely.

Are you still aiming for the November release of the game?
I think it's worth it to get the sparkling water, though getting everything white to not be so blinding but keeping the sparkling water would be ideal. Should definitely be possible. Will look into it.

As for November, aiming is the key word, here. I'm beginning to wonder if it's realistic - it may have to be delayed, but I'm not ready to give up on it quite yet.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-19, 08:07 PM   #109
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default WEEKLY UPDATE

Hello again,

There's not a whole lot to show off - not all work is equally flashy, as I'm sure most here are already aware, but progress is still happening.

One part of that that does create some nice eye candy, though, is recently the model for the P-500 Bazalt has been done, so I decided to make a video and put some pictures together so there's something to show off this week.

With a range of 550 km, cruising at Mach 2.5 and either a 1,000 kg high explosive warhead or a 350 kt nuclear warhead, it is not a missile you want to go up against. The one saving grace is they couldn't/didn't fly lower than 50 meters, and made rather large targets, being about 12 meters long and a meter wide.

It was made to fire in Salvos of eight, and the Slava-class carried sixteen.



















AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-19, 08:39 PM   #110
Wolfpack345
Torpedoman
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Under the Sea
Posts: 118
Downloads: 238
Uploads: 0
Default

Awesome! The cruise missile looks great!
__________________
Check out my Channel.
http://www.youtube.com/c/Wolfpack345
Wolfpack345 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-19, 01:20 AM   #111
Herman
Ace of the Deep
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,186
Downloads: 270
Uploads: 1046


radar

Quote:
Originally Posted by AzureSkies View Post
With a range of 550 km, cruising at Mach 2.5 ...
That is generally how Harpoon simulates the missile, too.

However, I remember an NWAC developer saying that the missile in his game had a slower cruise speed in transit and only increased speed when it neared the target area because it would have insufficient fuel for maximum speed throught the flight profile.

I would not profess to know which behaviour is wrong or right. Have you considered different operational parameters?
__________________
Guidelines for ScenShare scenarios:

1) Enjoy creating it
2) Enjoy playing it
3) Enjoy sharing it
4) Enjoy helping others create them

The PlayersDB - The Harpoon Community's #1 Choice.

Harpoon3 Frequently Asked Questions
Herman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-19, 04:10 AM   #112
Rickster1
Chief
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 320
Downloads: 508
Uploads: 0
Default looks good

All i can say is this game is looking good and looking forward to its development
Rickster1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-19, 03:14 PM   #113
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfpack345 View Post
Awesome! The cruise missile looks great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickster1 View Post
All i can say is this game is looking good and looking forward to its development
Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman View Post
That is generally how Harpoon simulates the missile, too.

However, I remember an NWAC developer saying that the missile in his game had a slower cruise speed in transit and only increased speed when it neared the target area because it would have insufficient fuel for maximum speed throught the flight profile.

I would not profess to know which behaviour is wrong or right. Have you considered different operational parameters?
This got me digging again.

So, to clarify, these are P-500 Bazalts. These were later upgraded to P-1000 Vulkans, which do have a terminal boost to above mach 3, but weren't cleared for service until the late 80's.

Some sources cite the Bazalt's top speed as Mach 2.5, others cite it as Mach 2 or even Mach 1.7. In any case, its drag would be largely dominated by wave drag. Wikipedia had some nice equations for wave drag. Approximating the Bazalt as a double-wedge aerofoil to get its drag at Mach 2.5, then using the specific fuel consumption of the R-15 turbojet (in afterburner) (since it's a turbojet engine from a similar era, so fuel economy should be very similar), I found it'd only take a few hundred kg of fuel for it to travel its entire range at Mach 2.5, using fairly conservative estimates.

The research on the missile is interesting, though. Learned more detail on their guidance AI and found a small tweak I'll probably make to their visual launch effects. This is another funny case where realism will probably look unrealistic - real pictures of Bazalts or Vulkans launching show an impressively large flame plume from the booster rockets.

On the topic of its guidance, I haven't spoken at length about the Bazalt's guidance software, but as some here may know, it was very impressively sophisticated. I haven't gone over it yet because I'm not sure I can implement it on the game's Early Access release, but realism holds some interesting challenges when it comes to balance.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-19, 10:28 PM   #114
Herman
Ace of the Deep
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,186
Downloads: 270
Uploads: 1046


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AzureSkies View Post
Some sources cite the Bazalt's top speed as Mach 2.5, others cite it as Mach 2 or even Mach 1.7. In any case, its drag would be largely dominated by wave drag. Wikipedia had some nice equations for wave drag. Approximating the Bazalt as a double-wedge aerofoil to get its drag at Mach 2.5, then using the specific fuel consumption of the R-15 turbojet (in afterburner) (since it's a turbojet engine from a similar era, so fuel economy should be very similar), I found it'd only take a few hundred kg of fuel for it to travel its entire range at Mach 2.5, using fairly conservative estimates.
Sources often vary, which begs the big question, will players be able to modify operational data if they feel one source is more credible than another? This is how it is done in both Harpoon and NWAC, the games do not profess to be omniscient. Players can enter their own operational data parameters. Of course, there are some self-important developers (of games that cannot be mentioned) who think they know it all and only have one set of 'allowable and acceptable' performance data.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AzureSkies View Post
On the topic of its guidance, I haven't spoken at length about the Bazalt's guidance software, but as some here may know, it was very impressively sophisticated. I haven't gone over it yet because I'm not sure I can implement it on the game's Early Access release, but realism holds some interesting challenges when it comes to balance.
I read about a hypothetical Soviet missile guidance system whereby one missile acted as the targeting system facilitator for a group of other missiles that actually carried warheads. This was supposedly used to facilitate long-range over-the-horizon engagements. It was only mentioned in a novel, so I do not know if it ever existed or not (probably not.)

Will the game be able to simulate and allow such potential systems?
__________________
Guidelines for ScenShare scenarios:

1) Enjoy creating it
2) Enjoy playing it
3) Enjoy sharing it
4) Enjoy helping others create them

The PlayersDB - The Harpoon Community's #1 Choice.

Harpoon3 Frequently Asked Questions
Herman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-19, 05:50 PM   #115
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman View Post
Sources often vary, which begs the big question, will players be able to modify operational data if they feel one source is more credible than another? This is how it is done in both Harpoon and NWAC, the games do not profess to be omniscient. Players can enter their own operational data parameters. Of course, there are some self-important developers (of games that cannot be mentioned) who think they know it all and only have one set of 'allowable and acceptable' performance data.
That goes right in with modability - so it's something I'll definitely be aiming to include.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Herman View Post
I read about a hypothetical Soviet missile guidance system whereby one missile acted as the targeting system facilitator for a group of other missiles that actually carried warheads. This was supposedly used to facilitate long-range over-the-horizon engagements. It was only mentioned in a novel, so I do not know if it ever existed or not (probably not.)

Will the game be able to simulate and allow such potential systems?
More than hypothetical, that's the actual way the P-500s and their derivatives/modernizations work.

Both of these things are the sorts of things I'd definitely want to include - the latter in particular has been on my mind as I've been working on the cruise missiles, since something like this would so radically alter their behavior.

Hard to say what'll make it into the early access or not, though.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-19, 05:58 PM   #116
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default WEEKLY UPDATE

Progress.






Last edited by AzureSkies; 08-27-19 at 06:06 PM.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-19, 10:35 AM   #117
Medley1991
Swabbie
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Belgium
Posts: 12
Downloads: 1
Uploads: 0
Default

I only see on real life the GoalKeepper firing, but the russian version have realy this "green" trace ?

The GoalKeepper is more yellow/orange.
Medley1991 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-19, 01:42 PM   #118
AzureSkies
Blue Water Dev
 
AzureSkies's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 95
Downloads: 0
Uploads: 0


Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Medley1991 View Post
I only see on real life the GoalKeepper firing, but the russian version have realy this "green" trace ?

The GoalKeepper is more yellow/orange.
I've seen Soviet tracers depicted as usually being green as far back as WWII. Here's a video clip of what's ostensibly an AK-630 firing - the colors are hard to read on the old video quality, and the old video quality would suggest using tracers was more of an 80's thing - but they do appear like they're green, just as green shows up on relatively older cameras.

(1:06 seconds)


Also, source 1 on the gun itself mentions it a few times, and another about the ammo, where you'll have to scroll down to "Naval Weapons", list tracers as one of their rounds.

But I've seen plenty of US C-RAM guns (a Phalanx plopped on land) firing red tracers - my guess is the tracer color is related to what resources are more naturally/commonly available in each country.

Addendum: Wikipedia and a Quora seem to back up this supposition - US/Western tracers typically working around Strontium, which seems a bit more complex to get it to work well, with Chinese and Russian tracers using green-burning Barium salts. Could be resource availability or just preference for what may be a simpler construction? Not sure, but it seems they use green tracers, either way.

Last edited by AzureSkies; 08-28-19 at 01:54 PM.
AzureSkies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-19, 06:50 PM   #119
Herman
Ace of the Deep
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,186
Downloads: 270
Uploads: 1046


Icon2

How about a simple feature that allows a player to set the tracer colour for each side? It might not be perfectly realistic, but it would accommodate those who suffer from colour blindness and other oddities (such as old eyes.)
__________________
Guidelines for ScenShare scenarios:

1) Enjoy creating it
2) Enjoy playing it
3) Enjoy sharing it
4) Enjoy helping others create them

The PlayersDB - The Harpoon Community's #1 Choice.

Harpoon3 Frequently Asked Questions
Herman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-29-19, 08:49 PM   #120
longface
Watch
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 24
Downloads: 8
Uploads: 0
Default

Cold Waters also models tracers as green, and I remember reading somewhere that NATO generally fires red tracers to WP's green.
longface is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 1995- 2024 Subsim®
"Subsim" is a registered trademark, all rights reserved.