Harpoon ANW: AAW radar difficulties

[mllange]

I've been playing HC for some time and enjoy it, and recently purchased ANW hoping for a similar level of enjoyment. As I am attempting to learn the ropes I am continually frustrated by my lack of success in employing my AAW patrols. I've yet to see any meaningful difference between simply using passive systems and when I light up my active radar in terms of identifying new contacts or targeting information. I've tried different difficulty levels (short of auto-id, which I'm not interested in; what's the point?) and I've tried different settings (passive, int and active) but my forces usually fail to come up with a 'red' level positive ID until a plane or two of mine is shot down. What is the secret to using radar in ANW?

(Note: I would provide more details, but it's the same for each scenario I've tried - different databases, different planes, different scenarios, nationalities, etc) ) Am I the only one with this experience?

[hermanhum]

The color of the icon will not change from yellow (unknown) to Red until it is confirmed. This often happens visually. The icon will turn Red if the unit commits a hostile act. I think that if it fires on you or locks a fire-control radar onto your unit will suffice to classify it as hostile.

The inability for radar to classify a target as hostile is pretty realistic, IMO. If you turn on your radar, all you get is a blip. For example, many countries fly the F-16 and they would all look the same on a radar screen. Unless that blip performs a hostile act (i.e. fires a weapon or locks on with fire-control emissions), there really isn't any way to know if it is hostile or not.

The difference between active and passive radar is simply the ability to pinpoint your target. Instead of a large zone of uncertainty, you get a single, localized contact if you activate your radar.

[Shemar]

To continue on what Herman said, you usually do not want to wait for the computer to turn the icon red for you. If you are reasonably confident the contact is indeed hostile, use the 'H' key on it to designate it as hostile so any of your units will fire on it (also depending on your weapons status, free or tight).
 
Also be aware that that artificial opponent 'cheats' in that point. Because it is nearly impossible to simulate a human judgement on whether a contact is hostile or not and the AO would be next to useless if it waited to confirm target identity before engaging, the AO automatically knows which side a detected contact is on.

[CV32]

ORIGINAL: hermanhum
The inability for radar to classify a target as hostile is pretty realistic, IMO. If you turn on your radar, all you get is a blip. For example, many countries fly the F-16 and they would all look the same on a radar screen. Unless that blip performs a hostile act (i.e. fires a weapon or locks on with fire-control emissions), there really isn't any way to know if it is hostile or not.

Generally, but not entirely true, especially with modern radar, IFF systems and non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR). And not all F-16s will necessarily look the same on a radar screen. There are many different variants and configurations, as well as different radars and emitters housed in those F-16 variants.

One of the things I like about ANW, iirc (and please correct me if I'm wrong), is that it identifies an emitting air contact by the emitter type rather than the host aircraft (i.e. you might detect an APG-66 radar rather than detecting it as an F-16).

[hermanhum]

ORIGINAL: CV32

One of the things I like about ANW, iirc (and please correct me if I'm wrong), is that it identifies an emitting air contact by the emitter type rather than the host aircraft (i.e. you might detect an APG-66 radar rather than detecting it as an F-16).

AFAIK, this is an option that is available to the database editor. He can set the various flags and values on the sensors to adjust their various sensitivities and capabilities. So, to re-iterate, you might get an APG-66 detection, but you don't know which aircraft it comes from. I like this 'fog of war' feature very much, too. [:)]

[mllange]

Thanks for the replies - the 'H' key will prove especially useful as I missed that in the manual and couldn't figure out how to attack suspected hostile targets. I had been checking the type of emissions and had a pretty good idea what I was encountering, but my units refused to fire on them. Maybe now I can kill something before losing a plane just trying to get a positive identification! [8|]

[hermanhum]

There are a number of hotkeys that seem to have "missed the manual".  Check them out:

tm.asp?m=1884429

http://www.computerharpoon.com/wiki/mai ... le=Hotkeys

A bunch of them are pretty handy.  [:D]

So, when are we going to get an MP game with you?

[mllange]

You mean when are you going to pick me apart, piece by piece again? [;)]

I'm hoping to have some time tomorrow - I'll watch for players in the lobby if anyone has some time.

[hermanhum]

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to simply show up and await a game in the lobby.  There just aren't enough ANW MP players at this time for that to happen.  [:(]

From what I've seen, the only way to get an MP game is to pre-arrange a match with someone.  Either drop me a line when you want a game or post when you would like to play on the forum.  Hopefully, someone will answer you and show up for a battle. 

Just showing up and waiting on the server for an opponent is an exercise in futility. [>:]