- Major changes to ship detection.

-- Visual detection requires a much closer approach, and all ships are now equally capable of visual detection instead of getting better on larger hulls. Ships will be visible at approximately 20 gu for every 1 gu of hitbox radius.

-- Sensor detection is weaker, making it easier to conceal a ship with low but not negative signature at great distance. Most ships can detect an object at 250 gu per 1 signature; Scouts can detect out to 500 gu per 1 signature. Scanners also do not provide nearly as much of a boost to sensor strength; they only increase detection distance by 500 gu per 1 signature at all levels.

Quote: -- Visual detection requires a much closer approach, and all ships are now equally capable of visual detection instead of getting better on larger hulls. Ships will be visible at approximately 20 gu for every 1 gu of hitbox radius.

Does this mean cloaked ships will be detectable at extremely close ranges or only ships with <= 0 signature? Also some example numbers would be good for some hull types.

Quote: -- Sensor detection is weaker, making it easier to conceal a ship with low but not negative signature at great distance. Most ships can detect an object at 250 gu per 1 signature; Scouts can detect out to 500 gu per 1 signature. Scanners also do not provide nearly as much of a boost to sensor strength; they only increase detection distance by 500 gu per 1 signature at all levels.

Woah, I can't find anything about signature reworking but these numbers seem huge. 3 signature means a scout can detect me out at 1500 gu? Without even using a scanner? Jeeze.

On 2013-08-30 10:53, Schroedingers Gun wrote:
why does this feel like a big smeg you to the people that like scouts and small ship?

On 2013-08-30 09:58, Jim Starluck wrote:

Cloaked ships have a Visibility value of 0.0, which makes them completely undetectable by visual detection. All other ships have Visibility 1.0, making them detectable. A Visibility value of 0.5 would, for example, make you visible at 10 gu for every 1 gu of hitbox radius, instead of 20.

And that's a nerf from where it is in Release. In there it only took a relatively small sig to make you visible all the way out to 5k, especially with a Scanner. This gives you a lot more wiggle room.

On 2013-08-30 11:51, Jim Starluck wrote:

Quote: On 2013-08-30 10:53, Schroedingers Gun wrote: why does this feel like a big smeg you to the people that like scouts and small ship?

It shouldn't. Scouts and Frigates have the lowest natural signature and the highest base detection range, so they have a major edge over just about everything else. With these changes it becomes even easier for a small ship to remain undetected.

If I recall correctly, the old detection distance per sig values were something like so:

Scout: 750
Frigate: 550
Everything else: 500

Now they're:

Scout: 500
Frigate: 375
Most everything else: 250
Stations: 375

So Scout detection distances have only dropped a third, while most other ships have dropped a half. Scouts and Frigates are still naturally talented for EWar work, even before them getting the AoE Ewar gadgets.