Naval spotting?

[CaesarAug]

I was under the impression that naval spotting was always “automatic”, that is, if any naval unit (with the exception of subs on silent routine), would automatically be detected if within the radius of the naval spotting hex range.

But in my testing—and to my pleasant surprise—that is not the case, or at least, not always the case.

In a Pacific test scenario, I manoeuvred two Japanese carriers (with a naval spotting of 4) carefully within 4, 3, and even 2 hexes to where I positively knew was an American carrier… and it was NOT automatically detected, not even in calm weather!

True enough in other testing, a Japanese manual carrier air recon mission obviously did reveal the hidden American carrier. But this carrier was not detected with “automatic” naval spotting hex range.

Most intriguing! Are there algorithms for naval detection so as to not make it automatic every time if enemy units are merely within naval spotting range? Or is this a bug of sorts?

I sure hope it’s a feature!

[Bavre]

Hmm, did you move the Jap carrier hex by hex? Spotting beyond 1 hex is only applied at the starting point and after the first move.

[CaesarAug]

Hmm, did you move the Jap carrier hex by hex? Spotting beyond 1 hex is only applied at the starting point and after the first move.

Ah! I wasn’t aware of this. Thanks! I figure that explains my “intrigue.”

Yes, I did move the Japanese carrier hex by hex in order to close the range. Obviously the American carrier was purposely beyond the naval spotting range of 4. I’ll try it again, close the range with one move, and it should be automatically detected.

You see, I’m testing naval spotting so as to make it more difficult to spot at sea. Makes the ocean “larger”, as it were, for simulating more historical realism.

So giving every naval unit, including carriers, a maximum naval spotting range of 1 should do it. Naval spotting beyond one hex in practice would thus be limited to air recon missions in such a mod.

But I’m concerned about the AI. Will this unduly cripple the AI? Does the AI know how to do manual carrier air recon missions for spotting?

[CaesarAug]

In my preliminary testing, it does seem to cripple the AI. Perhaps not at first, but it tends to lessen the chance of AI carrier-based strikes. So some spotting range beyond 1 hex seems to be required for the AI to behave more as expected with carriers.

[Bavre]

I've never played the WaW AI, but given that one of the difficulty options iirc is additional passive sight range, that is most likely.

[CaesarAug]

Yes, I was thinking along those lines, too. It stands to reason that if the developers provide AI bonuses for spotting, that must be a major concern if spotting is universally reduced to just 1 hex. While that certainly makes it harder for a human player, it seems to cripple the AI. I suppose this modding is better suited for two human players. Alternatively, the AI side can be given “normal” spotting ranges while the human player side can be adjusted.