Strange Weather

[mcaryf1]

This thread is not actually about the incessant rain in the UK since Spring or the heatwave in the US but rather pointing out some minor anomalies in the way SC handles weather. These are minor so I am not requesting that SC is changed but players and scenario designers might like to be aware of them.

First anomaly - if you have a scenario which has simultaneous rather than alternate turns the date does not change but the weather might. Thus if you are playing Axis and you place a ship in a convenient rain squall to avoid air attack you cannot be sure that the squall will still be there for the Allied players turn despite it being the same date. Personally I think this is quite reasonable as otherwise it gives an advantage to the player going first, however, it is not necessarily what you might expect.

Second anomaly - it seems that the check as to whether the weather is such that air action is possible is conducted just in the start and finish squares. I have observed the flight line from airport to target pass right over my own fighter which was not allowed to intercept due to rain. This was despite there being sufficient rainy areas in the way so that the target could not be reached. I have seen this type of effect manifest itself in a different way when an IJN CV in the Med was able to attack one of my ships in the Bay of Biscay despite neutral Spain, Vichy France and Switzerland being in the way. I guess the lack of weather interdiction might be fair on the basis that once a plane is in the air it could possibly fly over the top of bad weather. That would not appease the irate neutrals but I think neutrality was occasionally abused in WW2 so I am not arguing for a change!

Third Anomaly - seasonal turns which cover longer periods in winter are based on the seasons in the Northern hemisphere. Personally I think they are a good facility as they give both players a chance to consolidate and rebuild their forces. However, there are some consequences with respect to those countries/areas where the Northern winter dates are actually the best period for campaigning. An example is Burma where "winter" months are normally the driest part of their year, for the rest of the time aircraft are quietly rusting in their hangars! I am not sure what would be the best way to address this but it might be reasonable to examine the various weather zones where this would be true and see if it might be possible to tweak the weather values in Spring and Autumn to recognise the "winter" campaigning time that had been lost.

Regards

Mike

[jon_j_rambo]

Agreed.

I'm beta testing a couple features. Allow players to spend MMPs for prayer requests to the Almighty. Example: General George S. Patton orders his minister to create a special prayer for weather in purpose to destroy the enemy during the Battle of the Bulge. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower requests blessings for Operation Overlord, results in lessened tide water issues and reducing deaths.

On the flip side, for the non-believers, I'm designing events such as: Allied scientists from Green Planet accurately predict that global warming will reduce rain, United Kingdom given +2 combat rolls for July 1944.

There's no greater defense than the weather,

-Legend

[SeaMonkey]

I'm thinking that because SC turns can encompass a large section of time, that limited air sorties should be available to the scenario designer in inclement weather. Just like the availability of rebasing, limited air strikes of dubious results as well as intercepts should be an option for campaign designers.(high evasion percentages)

Think about it, surely in the midst of a two month sequential turn, there would be a window of opportunity for air operations. Two strikes in optimum conditions, high probability of success, one strike in lesser conditions, low percentage of success, and of course recon should be of a similar pattern.

[jon_j_rambo]

Speaking of strange weather, this 100+ East Coast is too much for the Legend. Just finished my personal tour of Gettysburg.