Unit Purchasing issues

[Falke_MatrixForum]

Hi
Good game so far. I have some gripes about Units when purchasing. (If i missed something in the Manual , please Point me to the corresponding page)


Switchable Units - How can i view the stats of the switched Option?
Torpedoes 1 - can we have some indication of the attack value? It seems These vary depending on the unit
Torpedoes 2 - Can we have Information about the reload time
LOS Range - WHere can i see this

Floatplanes - WHat is the Point of These, i have one and it can not even spot Units directly underneath it. FIghters and TBs are better at spotting than this

[Horst]

I miss the spotting range value too although you can still mouse-hover an enemy to see the black hex-border lines of its range. It was rather shocking at beginning how far the coastal guns can spot.

[Erik2]

Hexes outside LOS have a somewhat darker shade. And it really pays to check out enemy gun range, vital to play a decent naval game.

[Myrddraal]

Horst, the light black hex border that appears when you mouse over an enemy unit shows that unit's range, not LOS.

LOS in the game is dynamic, a kind of psuedo-true LOS. Units don't have a fixed 'spotting range'. LOS is determined by unit type and the terrain types that the unit has to look 'through'. For example, all naval units struggle to see far over land, even open terrain. Forest and jungle block LOS for ground units, but not for aircraft.

Remember also that 'concealable' units like infantry can hide in towns and jungle, even when the jungle or town is not in FoW. Only adjacent units can spot these concealed units.

[Rood]

I really like the dynamic LOS, but I too would like in general to know how far a unit could "see".

I've noticed I can look it up in the units.txt file but having the information on the unit pop-up would be nice imo.
BTW I do assume that LOS = 4 means 4 hexes (in open terrain)?

[Myrddraal]

Rood, are you looking in units.txt?

You should also have a look at terrain.txt, where the LOS 'cost' is defined per unit type and per terrain type. The combination of the unit's LOS and the LOS cost determines how far the unit can see over different terrain types.

[adherbal]

The problem is that a value of 4 LOS doesn't mean it can see 4 hexes into the FoW. The actual range depends on the terrain type (as explained above). Jungles and mountains are harder to "see through" than water and open terrain.

This creates interesting gameplay but also makes it difficult to display LOS range in the UI, because one value on its own doesn't really mean anything. For most land/air/naval units of same classes the LOS values are identical, so once you've played a bit more it becomes more intuitive how far a specific unit can see under specific circumstances.

[Rood]

Ty for your explanation, I didn't look at the terrain.txt file yet.

I guess I should play the game a bit more than lurk on the forums (currently at work though).

[Horst]

The LoS (Line of Sight) system is most excellent in this game, as plenty turn-based strategy games don’t bother about having x-ray sight through cities, forests and mountains.
As far as I've read the LoS values in the units.txt file:
- most combat ground units have a LoS range of 4
- trucks, trains 2
- commandos 2
- LVT 2-4 or 3 (naval)
- tunnel and mines 0
- bunker, hangar, fuel depot, oil pump 2
- radar 2 ground and 18 air (and naval fog of war?)
- fortress 4
- coastal gun 5
- airplanes have mainly 3
- transport ships 2
- submarines 3-4 or 2 (submerged)
- DD 4
- CA 4-5
- CV 4-6
- BB 6 (or 4 undermanned)

Below the LoS "cost" taken from the terrain.txt file.

[OPEN]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[OPEN_B]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[WATER]
LOS = land, 1
LOS = naval, 1
LOS = air, 1

[DEEP_WATER]
LOS = land, 1
LOS = naval, 1
LOS = air, 1

[FOREST]
conceals
LOS = land, 5
LOS = naval, 8
LOS = air, 1

[JUNGLE]
conceals
LOS = land, 5
LOS = naval, 8
LOS = air, 1

[BEACH]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 5
LOS = air, 1

[HILLS]
LOS = land, 3
LOS = naval, 8
LOS = air, 1

[MOUNTAINS]
LOS = land, 5
LOS = naval, 10
LOS = air, 1

[SWAMP]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[VILLAGE]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[JAPANESE_VILLAGE]
conceals
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[TOWN]
conceals
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[CITY]
conceals
LOS = land, 3
LOS = naval, 8
LOS = air, 1

[AIRFIELD]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[PORT]
conceals
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 2
LOS = air, 1

[CLIFFS]
LOS = land, 1
LOS = naval, 6
LOS = air, 1

[SCORCHED]
LOS = land, 2
LOS = naval, 7
LOS = air, 1

[Fishsticks]

[JUNGLE]
conceals
LOS = land, 5
LOS = naval, 8
LOS = air, 1

Thanks for the useful info Horst. I understand your first section but what do the LOS "costs" mean. Take jungle for example.

[adherbal]

If a unit has 4 LOS and the terrain LOS cost is 2, that means it can see 2 hexes into that terrain (4 / 2).

An another example below:

<X>
<2>
<1>
<1>

X is a unit, the other values are LOS costs of a column of hexes toward the south of that unit.
If the unit has LOS 2 it can only see into the first hex (cost 2 = all LOS points depleted)
If the unit has LOS 3 it can only see into the second hex (cost 2 + 1 = all LOS points depleted on the second hex)
If the unit has LOS 4 it can only see into the third hex (cost 2 + 1 + 1 = all LOS points depleted on the third hex)

[Fishsticks]

If a unit has 4 LOS and the terrain LOS cost is 2, that means it can see 2 hexes into that terrain (4 / 2).

An another example below:

<X>
<2>
<1>
<1>

X is a unit, the other values are LOS costs of a column of hexes toward the south of that unit.
If the unit has LOS 2 it can only see into the first hex (cost 2 = all LOS points depleted)
If the unit has LOS 3 it can only see into the second hex (cost 2 + 1 = all LOS points depleted on the second hex)
If the unit has LOS 4 it can only see into the third hex (cost 2 + 1 + 1 = all LOS points depleted on the third hex)

Thank you Adherbal. I'm new and trying to wrap my head around everything. Only other wargame I have played is Battle Academy.