The finer points of proficiency in TOAW and ideas about abstraction

[Don Maddox]

I was reading through the manual today and I came up with a couple of questions about proficiency.

The book says that Force Night Combat Proficiency is averaged with unit proficincies to determine anti-armor, anti-personnel, and defense strengths at night. I take it the game does this just prior to combat, otherwise it would show up on the unit counters during night turns. But my real question is this: I understand what Night Proficiency does, and it is obvious how it works in a scenario with 6 hour turns. On night turns a force a high Night proficiency will suffer less of a penalty than a force with a low one. However, how is this applied in scenarios where the turns are a full week? Is a portion of the combat routinely computed as night fighting?

In regards to Force Guided Weapons Level, the book states that systems with precision guided munitions have most of their strengths modfied by 100% + force guided weapons level. A force that had a Force Guided Weapons Level of 100% would effectively double the strength of the unit, but this wouldn't show up on the unit counter. Correct?

In regards to abstraction, do you find scenarios with loads of fine detail to be a lot more fun, or do you prefer simpler more straight forward battles?

[Dan Neely]

Day/Night proficiency does show up in unit strengths. I 1st noticed this in the cuba scenario, when I was trying to figure out why some of my units were varying in strength by large ammounts on a turn by turn basis. In scenarios with fullday+ turns, the day and night proficiencies are averaged and that value is used.

[Don Maddox]

So the ACOW engine is automatically assuming that half the combat that occurs in scenarios with turns that are full day or greater, takes place at night?

And you're saying that in scenarios that have less than full day turns, units from a force with a very low night proficiency rating should have their strength decreased greatly during night turns? I have not noticed this as I thought it was transparent. That's interesting.

[Grant]

Originally posted by Don Maddox
So the ACOW engine is automatically assuming that half the combat that occurs in scenarios with turns that are full day or greater, takes place at night?


I don't think it's that high. For aircraft, the engine just reduces their overall effectiveness by 20-25% if they're not all-weather capable. I think that the numbers are the same for other units- the game assumes about 25% of combat to be occurring at night. This all bears testing, though: the manual is often inaccurate.

[a white rabbit]

Originally posted by Don Maddox
So the ACOW engine is automatically assuming that half the combat that occurs in scenarios with turns that are full day or greater, takes place at night?

And you're saying that in scenarios that have less than full day turns, units from a force with a very low night proficiency rating should have their strength decreased greatly during night turns? I have not noticed this as I thought it was transparent. That's interesting.

..very reduced, i tried compensating with shock to get a third daylight move for the full-moon mai 1940 but it wasn't a satisfactory solution..,