MajorH
Member
Below are terrain related items that I wrote for the TacOps Gazette.
> Do you have an idea of how to put an area like the enclosed
> map snipped into a TacOps map?
I don't have an easy to explain, step wise, or even consistent method of translating real world mountainous terrain into a two level TacOps map. The best I can say is that I try to interpret and represent the tactical significance of the most important high ground that is on the real world paper map. It is all about trade offs and compromise. Sometimes I go by the contour line at the bottom of a hill or mountain, sometimes I guide on a middle contour line, or sometimes I go by a contour that is near the top of the hill or mountain.
> Is there any way to code swamps
I used some or all of the following to represent swamps and marshes on the Camp Lejeune map.
1. Water (unit has to be amphibious to enter or cross).
2. Water + woods (unit has to be amphibious to enter or cross).
3. Rough1 through Rough4 (any unit can enter and cross). Rough can not be combined with water.
4. Woods + Rough1 through Rough4 (any unit can enter and cross). Rough can not be combined with water.
Woods + rough4 is the worst terrain possible in TacOps - that is still passable to all units.
> What do the different categories of rough stand for?
The info below is an approximation of the effects of rough1 through rough4 terrain for a given unit type. There are other things going on in the game so this may not always be exact.
Rough1 - 50% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough2 - 25% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough3 - 12.5% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough4 - 6% of cross country, clear terrain speed
The level of 'roughness' affects both speed of transit and visibility. You can mark an area as 'rough' either because it is (a) actually slow to cross due to poor trafficability or due to a vehicle not being able to drive very far in a straight line [i.e. move around boulders, bogs, vegetation] or (b) you can call an area rough because it has a lot of local minor elevations changes or vegetation clumps that tend to cause vehicles to disappear from LOS as they move around or (c) because the area has a lot of local folds that make it easy for a vehicle to choose to hide itself momentarily. 'Rough' works OK for any of those conceptual abstractions. Rough terrain does not block line of sight (unless combined with woods, town, or a misc LOS block) but it will cause spotted enemy units to randomly disappear from the map display. The rougher the terrain, the more often that happens. This is more of a distraction to the human watching the screen than it is to his units on the map. In June of 2002 I added three levels of "impassible" to the terrain types. Unless a road is present, Level 1 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles. Level 2 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles or tracked vehicles. Level 3 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles, or dismounted infantry. The presence of road terrain negates any level of impassable terrain.
> I don't know if you have a Rough0
That would be 'Clear' terrain. In TacOps 'Clear Terrain' is easily trafficable to both tracked and military style wheeled vehicles, is reasonably level, and is mostly free of tall vegetation. The only thing in TacOps that is better/faster than 'Clear Terrain' is 'Road Terrain'.
> Do you tie line-of-sight to the Rough levels?
Line of sight - No. Transient visibility potential - Yes.
> if you have 1000 meters of non wooded terrain that is uniformly labeled
> Rough2, can an observer see across the entire space?
Yes - with regard to having a technically unblocked line of sight to an active or spotted unit. But, if a unit becomes motionless and passes a combat phase without firing then the game engine assumes that the unit has taken some sort of small movement action to reduce its vulnerability to being spotted - the game engine then lowers that unit's transient 'visibility' classification. In other words enemy units will have to get closer to such a unit in order to spot it well enough to justify firing on it. If the unit moves or begins firing then its 'visibility' to the enemy instantly jumps back up to maximum. The 'rougher' the terrain then the lower the unit's potential visibility - until it either moves or fires.
> In woods in TacOps, units seem to be able to see about
> 200-300 meters. Is this limitation because you have it
> labeled as Rough2, or because of some other coding you use
> to indicate that the woods block line-of-sight?
This LOS limitation is linked to the coding of 'woods' and not to 'rough'. There are two main abstractions regarding 'woods' terrain. Units that are 'deep' inside 'woods' terrain can only see into adjacent wooded 100 meter squares - this is linked to the terrain being coded as 'woods' and is not due to whether such wooded terrain is or is not also some level of 'rough'. Units that are located in the outermost 100 meters of a body of woods terrain cells can see out of the woods into non wooded terrain the same as if they were in clear terrain - this is also linked to the terrain being coded as 'woods' and is not due to whether such wooded terrain is or is not also some level of 'rough'. To understand the latter abstraction, picture having your vehicle parked just inside the edge of a wood line. You can see out of the woods just fine but distant enemy units have a hard time spotting you because your motionless silhouette is broken up by vegetation beside and behind you. But if you move or start shooting then they can often pick you out instantly. The most basic principle of fieldcraft is that activity draws fire.
> Do you have an idea of how to put an area like the enclosed
> map snipped into a TacOps map?
I don't have an easy to explain, step wise, or even consistent method of translating real world mountainous terrain into a two level TacOps map. The best I can say is that I try to interpret and represent the tactical significance of the most important high ground that is on the real world paper map. It is all about trade offs and compromise. Sometimes I go by the contour line at the bottom of a hill or mountain, sometimes I guide on a middle contour line, or sometimes I go by a contour that is near the top of the hill or mountain.
> Is there any way to code swamps
I used some or all of the following to represent swamps and marshes on the Camp Lejeune map.
1. Water (unit has to be amphibious to enter or cross).
2. Water + woods (unit has to be amphibious to enter or cross).
3. Rough1 through Rough4 (any unit can enter and cross). Rough can not be combined with water.
4. Woods + Rough1 through Rough4 (any unit can enter and cross). Rough can not be combined with water.
Woods + rough4 is the worst terrain possible in TacOps - that is still passable to all units.
> What do the different categories of rough stand for?
The info below is an approximation of the effects of rough1 through rough4 terrain for a given unit type. There are other things going on in the game so this may not always be exact.
Rough1 - 50% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough2 - 25% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough3 - 12.5% of cross country, clear terrain speed
Rough4 - 6% of cross country, clear terrain speed
The level of 'roughness' affects both speed of transit and visibility. You can mark an area as 'rough' either because it is (a) actually slow to cross due to poor trafficability or due to a vehicle not being able to drive very far in a straight line [i.e. move around boulders, bogs, vegetation] or (b) you can call an area rough because it has a lot of local minor elevations changes or vegetation clumps that tend to cause vehicles to disappear from LOS as they move around or (c) because the area has a lot of local folds that make it easy for a vehicle to choose to hide itself momentarily. 'Rough' works OK for any of those conceptual abstractions. Rough terrain does not block line of sight (unless combined with woods, town, or a misc LOS block) but it will cause spotted enemy units to randomly disappear from the map display. The rougher the terrain, the more often that happens. This is more of a distraction to the human watching the screen than it is to his units on the map. In June of 2002 I added three levels of "impassible" to the terrain types. Unless a road is present, Level 1 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles. Level 2 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles or tracked vehicles. Level 3 can not be entered by wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles, or dismounted infantry. The presence of road terrain negates any level of impassable terrain.
> I don't know if you have a Rough0
That would be 'Clear' terrain. In TacOps 'Clear Terrain' is easily trafficable to both tracked and military style wheeled vehicles, is reasonably level, and is mostly free of tall vegetation. The only thing in TacOps that is better/faster than 'Clear Terrain' is 'Road Terrain'.
> Do you tie line-of-sight to the Rough levels?
Line of sight - No. Transient visibility potential - Yes.
> if you have 1000 meters of non wooded terrain that is uniformly labeled
> Rough2, can an observer see across the entire space?
Yes - with regard to having a technically unblocked line of sight to an active or spotted unit. But, if a unit becomes motionless and passes a combat phase without firing then the game engine assumes that the unit has taken some sort of small movement action to reduce its vulnerability to being spotted - the game engine then lowers that unit's transient 'visibility' classification. In other words enemy units will have to get closer to such a unit in order to spot it well enough to justify firing on it. If the unit moves or begins firing then its 'visibility' to the enemy instantly jumps back up to maximum. The 'rougher' the terrain then the lower the unit's potential visibility - until it either moves or fires.
> In woods in TacOps, units seem to be able to see about
> 200-300 meters. Is this limitation because you have it
> labeled as Rough2, or because of some other coding you use
> to indicate that the woods block line-of-sight?
This LOS limitation is linked to the coding of 'woods' and not to 'rough'. There are two main abstractions regarding 'woods' terrain. Units that are 'deep' inside 'woods' terrain can only see into adjacent wooded 100 meter squares - this is linked to the terrain being coded as 'woods' and is not due to whether such wooded terrain is or is not also some level of 'rough'. Units that are located in the outermost 100 meters of a body of woods terrain cells can see out of the woods into non wooded terrain the same as if they were in clear terrain - this is also linked to the terrain being coded as 'woods' and is not due to whether such wooded terrain is or is not also some level of 'rough'. To understand the latter abstraction, picture having your vehicle parked just inside the edge of a wood line. You can see out of the woods just fine but distant enemy units have a hard time spotting you because your motionless silhouette is broken up by vegetation beside and behind you. But if you move or start shooting then they can often pick you out instantly. The most basic principle of fieldcraft is that activity draws fire.