Re: [FMA - possibly SG2/DS2] spotted/observed rules concept

Stellar Conflicts and Uprisings by TCG has a mechanism for 'spotting'
enemy units.  Somewhat different mechanics but same intent.  You know
"it" is out there but until you 'spot' it you cannot shoot/hit it.

Gracias, Triphibious/Glenn (first war game played 1959)
Triphibious Marines = Nektons.
Not all Frogs are French, or even Human!
Nektons, be all the Marine you can be!
Resistance is EVERYTHING!

On Mon, 13 Nov 2000 19:16:29 EST "Peter Mancini" <peter_mancini@msn.com>
writes:
>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.
>
>--Peter
>
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