Matrix Games Forums

I was reading the hotfix notes:

"Gameplay Change: The way that surface radar is used in naval combat has been modified as follows: Visual confirmation is now required before ships will open fire, meaning that ships must close to visual range first. Also, in situations where range is increasing, if it goes beyond visual range (factoring in Detection Level) fire ceases."


Wont this completely negate the US surface fleet's radar advantages, especially in engagements such as leyte gulf, where US BB's opened fire on the japanese task forces coming through the straits, from beyond visual range of the battleships?


The wiki article on the engagement in ques:

At 03:16, USS West Virginia’s radar picked up the surviving ships of Nishimura's force at a range of 42,000 yards (38 km) and had achieved a firing solution at 30,000 yards (27 km). West Virginia tracked them as they approached in the pitch black night. At 03:53 she fired the eight 16-inch (406 mm) guns of her main battery at a range of 22,800 yards (20.8 km), striking the Yamashiro with her first salvo. She went on to fire a total of 93 shells. At 03:55 California and Tennessee joined in, firing respectively a total of 69 and 63 14-inch shells. Radar fire control allowed these American battleships to hit targets from a distance at which the Japanese battleships, with their inferior fire control systems, could not return fire.[3][7]

Isnt this an absolutely major game change?

Jack;

I think radar modeling is one of the tougher things the developers have to contend with in the game. As an old sailor who sat in front of Navy radar scopes from 1974 to 2002 I still think a lot of it is "FBM" or "freaking black magic" as our ET's used to say.

Radar that did not work in the rain, radar that did not work in high winds or high sea states, or if it did work you had to "lock" the antenna tight to the pedestal so it rolled with the ship and stared at the sky one sweep and the ocean the next. White caps that looked like airplanes and close to shore the "land return" wiped out just about anything. And this was with "modern" SPS 48-49, SPS-10, SPN-35-43, radars. I cannot imagine what it looked like in the 40s.

When it works good at the right moment you love it. When it works bad at the right moment you hate it!


All the best!

agreed it was not ideal; numerous cases in guadalcanal where the japanese night optics picked up american ships before they got a radar return, esp before the sg radar was widespread.

but - to see that completely negated by lategame - not sure i like that compromise. not sure why its there, either.

Radar will improve over time in patch 2. This improvement will eventually allow radar controlled fire at ranges beyond visual range.

thanks!