Forums » Suggestions

Stacking up radars & scanners

Sep 05, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
I have an idea which has been proposed before, but not with details.

In real life, when You have many radio devices (radiotelescopes for example) You can stack them together to achieve better scanning range & precision.

http://www.utahskies.org/image_library/shallowsky/telescopes/VeryLargeArray.jpeg

So why wouldn't it be the case in Vendetta ? Let's say You need to have at least 3 devices for the stacking to work.

Example specifications:
+ With 3 devices of the same sort, You get 130% the range of the largest/most powerful device installed.
+ With 4 devices of the same sort, You get 145% the range of the largest/most powerful device installed.
+ With 5 devices of the same sort, You get 160% the range of the largest/most powerful device installed.

It should work with radar extenders, mining scanners & any slot-installable scanner devices implemented in game.

So, for example, if standard LARGE radar extender has 2500m range, and SMALL radar extender has 1500m range (numbers are fake), when You equip a Centaur with 2 large + 1 small radar extenders, You get 2500m x 130% = 3250m range.

However, when You take a Rag, and equip it with 3 large + 2 small radar extenders, You get 2500m x 160% = 4000m range.

Of course all the numbers can be adjusted properly for game-balancement purposes.
Sep 05, 2010 tarenty link
+1
Sep 05, 2010 ryan reign link
This ideas actually pretty good.

+1
Sep 05, 2010 Whistler link
I think the effect is really only cumulative when there is some space between the devices. An array of radio telescopes is usually spread over a large surface area, though sometimes the devices are separated by a great amount of space. The supplied image is a good example.

I thought the suggestion was going to be about the cumulative effect of several ships in a group or something. Cramming all the extenders on one ship would not have the same effect IRL - unless the ship was really big.

I do like the idea of having some sort of unarmed radar ship though. I submitted an image of one for the first ever "user submitted ship" thread. I don't have the image anymore.
Sep 06, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
@Whistler

[[[I think the effect is really only cumulative when there is some space between the devices. An array of radio telescopes is usually spread over a large surface area]]]

Actually in reality, if You connect many radiotelescopes together in a "cross" scheme, their combined power will be the same as a large one of the same diameter.

So lots of smaller telescopes stacked in the shape of a cross:


Will have about the same power as one extremely large telescope like this:


So the conception i'm proposing, actually works much _worse_ than it does in reality (unless You change the numbers of course).
Sep 06, 2010 The Shedu link
Not a Bad Idea... but not so useful unless as part of a group which could access the additional radar range (Amana?).
Sep 06, 2010 tarenty link
Two group radars and a small(s)?
Sep 06, 2010 pirren link
+1 to general idea
Sep 06, 2010 Whistler link
Paladin, I'm not sure how your reply modifies my response at all.
Sep 07, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
@Whistler

Little explanation.

Well, You're saying that the effect is _only_ cumulative when there are large spaces between devices.
- I'm saying that this is not true, because when You create a cross-like scheme, cumulation of the effects happens at any distances from small to large.

So even If You place 3 (or more) radars next to each other, they will work as one large radar which's diameter is equal to distances between the radars or more (i don't want to go into details here).
Sep 07, 2010 Alloh link
+1 to idea with Whistler's note.

Antenna arrays improves resolution relating to their separation. Three radiotelescopes aligned have same resolution as only the 2 most separated, while same 3 in a triangle formation have better resolution.

Those arrays crowded with antennas does not relate to resolution, but to intensity. More antennas detect fainter signals, improve signal-to-noise ratio...

This is basically the concept of group radar extender, but making them share attached items also, like storm extenders and any scanners. And give a bonus to radar of grouped ships, since they have enhanced resolution due separation of antennas, thus giving 30% added reach for individual radars.

Example, each radar reachs 5km, when both ships are 4999m apart, their radars reachs 13km