From: Peter Mancini <peter_mancini@m...>
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 19:16:29 EST
Subject: [FMA - possibly SG2/DS2] spotted/observed rules concept
Spotted vs. Observed Here is an idea I came up with after playing in a night drop gaming using Command Decision rules. I haven't tried it out fully so it is just a rough sketch for now. Basically something can be spotted without being observed. Example, you can hear machine gun fire from around the corner. You can't observe the gunner but with an active imagination you can visualize where he is and what weapon he is carrying. Spotted means you have a potential target, observed means you have a target in your direct line of sight under observation. On worlds with significant atmosphere one can expect the mechanical wave of sound to travel. To the clever ear it can bring useful information in a night game (substitute for fog or other low visibility). When playing a game with hidden movement and a referee try using the following concept. Rank events by the amount of signature they give off. Signature can be measured by sound, ground vibration and light flash. At the bottom of the signature list (least signature) would be troops walking on grass. At the top, 240MM artillery firing, by battery, with the 2097th Regimental Band playing "God and Our Glorious Cannon." In the first case the signature travels perhaps a few meters. In the second case the signature travels a few kilometers. What makes them the same is, to certain observers they might no longer be hidden. Troops in hiding might hear the other troops walk past. They won't know if they are friendly or enemy, or exactly how many there are or even exactly where they are. However they will have a general indication that something is afoot. Here is another example. If someone or a group fires a weapon, that sound will be heard. A veteran or better will be able to tell almost instantly what kind of weapon it is, and perhaps it's type. This could give rise to suspicion of who owns the weapon. Example, U.S. Rangers dropped at night approach Bogainville. Suddenly out of the night air comes the crisp sound of a couple of MP-40's crackling away. They don't sound like Thompsons. The Ranger unit will know the general direction and the weapon type. If there is LOS then they might also see the muzzle flash. How do you game this? Well my approach is this: I consider the source of the signature. I then give it a scale of 1-20. 1 is a whisper and 20 is something as horrific as a Main Gun blast from a tank. That signature cubed is the potential range in meters that the sound travels. At the high end that would be 8 kilometers. Every obstuction in the way multiplies the sound by a 1/2. What is an obstruction? A solid wall, every 50 meters of trees, a trench the observer is occupying. I've created a chart in a spreadsheet that calculates the ranges based on the level of noise. Range in meters at which signature can be spotted Sound Lvl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 UnObs 1 8 27 64 125 216 343 512 729 1000 1331 1728 2197 2744 3375 4096 4913 5832 6859 8000 Obs1 0 1 3 8 16 27 43 64 91 125 166 216 275 343 422 512 614 729 857 1000 Obs2 0 0 0 1 2 3 5 8 11 16 21 27 34 43 53 64 77 91 107 125 Obs3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 7 8 10 11 13 16 UnObs = Unobstructed Obsn = Obstructed n levels. As you can see - once you get past 3 layers of obstruction it becomes very hard to hear an event. When it is determined that a unit is within range of a sound event there are these possible results: Enemy Spotted, Identifies type, weapons, location. Enemy Spotted, Identifies type, weapons Enemy Spotted, Identifies Type Enemy Not Spotted I haven't worked out to my own satisfaction a table that does this last bit justice. I've tried a couple of things but it can be difficult. You need rules that say things like: weapon designation only known if weapon fired, etc. Give it a try with a paper based night game. Get a couple of friends together, give them maps, a squad and an objective they must shoot up. Have them write orders and pass them to you. This isn't too far fetched, in the year 2000 only a very few troops get issued night vision equipment.