HC2002 vs. HCE

[bradclark1]

Is it really worth upgrading?

Thanks,
Brad

[TonyE]

Yes, the sonar and radar changes alone would make it worth it imho.
 
Then there is:
   The editable database but moreso the HCDB database included in HCE, and editable database is nice but when a group of people go thru and do a fine job of refining and greatly expanded the database that is a much more valuable piece of property, imho.
 
   Western Pacific BattleSet showing off some nasty difficult scenarios.
 
   Totally replaced radar jamming.
 
   Land units, even some that are mobile.  In combination with the radar changes flying low over AAA can be a very deadly experience.
 
   Lots of other changes, and more to come...
 
Hehe, yes, I'm biased!

[CV32]

ORIGINAL: bradclark1
Is it really worth upgrading? Thanks,
Brad

Undoubtedly so. [:)]

[JRyan]

ORIGINAL: TonyE


Hehe, yes, I'm biased!

But nonetheless correct in your assessment.

[SteveF2006]

Worth EVERY nickel!

[mack2]

Without question. Yes. 

[Morewise]

Tony,

Thanks for all your help and information. I'm just starting to checkout the HCE game.

1. How do the changes work for stealth (just a reduction in the size #?), area radar jamming and EW?

2. What about AESA radars. Are they treated differently than regular radars? For example, the F-22 radar is supposed to be hard to localize when on. Is this modeled in the game. Otherwise the stealth advantage disappears.

Also the APG-77 is supposed to have some EW ability including frying incoming missile electronics (?). Or is that just rumors?

Steve

[TonyE]

ORIGINAL: Morewise

Tony,

Thanks for all your help and information. I'm just starting to checkout the HCE game.

1. How do the changes work for stealth (just a reduction in the size #?), area radar jamming and EW?

2. What about AESA radars. Are they treated differently than regular radars? For example, the F-22 radar is supposed to be hard to localize when on. Is this modeled in the game. Otherwise the stealth advantage disappears.

Also the APG-77 is supposed to have some EW ability including frying incoming missile electronics (?). Or is that just rumors?

Steve

1. Yes, for stealth, just a smaller RCS number. HC used to have only 5 different sizes in terms of radar detection - Small, Medium, Big, Large, and Very Large, then a couple of modifiers tossed in as well. In HCE there are 255 possibilities for RCS, a much wider range, though in practice the number of choices for each type of platform is less than 255. In earlier versions of HC, radar jamming only protected units in the same group as the jammer and cut the opposing radar's range by exactly 50%. HCE's radar jamming is quite a bit more sophisticated, and much more difficult to quantify. Now radar jammers do standoff jamming (my Prowler stands off 25nm from a enemy radar and reduces that radar's range against any target), they can also do escort jamming by reducing the radar range against units in close proximity to the jammer, they also provide a reduction in PH when missiles are about to impact nearby units. If you use two jammers, they help protect each other, otherwise your lone jammer sticks out like a sore thumb. The first patch will introduce the idea of chaff/flares/radar jamming on ships, though the implementation there is far from complete (the jammers don't yet adhere to mount arcs and do not operate if placed in a multi-mount).
RCS worksheet to see how a platform with a certain RCS performs against a radar of a given range (assuming optimal conditions for the detecting radar) http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.ph ... howfile=28

2. AESA and LPI radars are not yet treated differently, ESM needs an overhaul. I don't know when that will happen, it may not make the 2nd patch even. F-22 works like magic in game as long as you have AEW birds radiating instead of the F-22s.

3. Any jamming capability inherent to radars will have to be modelled as a separate jammer. The APG-77 has enough power, whether the software exists I can't say but I bet someone reading this can say with a fair degree of certainty whether the latent capability is in use.