Re: [DS2]Moon - Help Requested

At 22:16 12/13/98 -0500, I wrote:
>You can simply use this approximate formula:
>
>DISTANCE_TO_HORIZON = (2*RADIUS_OF_SURFACE*HEIGHT_OF_OBSERVER)^1/2
>
One thing to be aware of when using this formula is that this 
give the distance to the horizon. You could actually see objects 
past this distance as long as they have a height greater than 
zero. In order to determine the maximum range at which a target is 
visible, you would need to use:

MAX_VISIBLE_RANGE( Ho, Ht ) = ((2*R)^0.5)*(Ho^0.5 + Ht^0.5)

Ho = observer height
Ht = target height
R = radius of curvature of surface

In other words, the sum of the distances to the horizon for 
both the observer and the target. Still, I would only use 
the distance to the observer's horizon when firing, or at 
least give the target hull/turret down status from the observer's 
horizon to the MAX_VISIBLE_RANGE.

This is the same effect that led to the realization that the 
earth was round - seeing only the masts of ships over the 
horizon.

You can see that infantry could use the limited horizon more 
effectively than tanks by going to ground, etc. This would 
also apply to short people. Towers would be a necessity for 
all static defences (that is, if you want to see the enemy coming).

Hope this helps!

       Tony Christney
       tchristney@questercorp.com

  "If the end user has to worry about how the program was 
   written then there is something wrong with that program"
				  -Bjarne Stroustrup