Hyperwave decoder

[Solitaire]

How exactly does a HWD work?

 

Does it have infinte or set range, and what's its' detection rate?

[sgt caedes]

On this site you can see all the statistics: www.ufopaedia.com

[NKF]

It has a tracking (after a UFO has been sighted) range slightly beyond the large radar and it reveals race, task and destination info.

 

If you use Novosibirsk as your point of comparison, the small radar can track all the way to Moscow, the large radar to Berlin and the HWD has been known to track UFOs a bit past London. Well, not quite, but close enough.

 

And one extra tidbit that I couldn't help add: Only one radar of each type will function - regardless of what the base radar info screen tells you. Unfortunately only the small and large radar can combine their abilities and get any benefit from it - the HWD surpasses them completely - but will still stack its abilities with the other two radars, but the benefit is lost.

 

No, sorry, couldn't help myself: Tracking a UFO is 100% regardless of the radar capabilities, however the detection abilties are different. The only real difference is that with a low scanning ability, the UFOs flying towards your covered area will have a chance of moving in a bit further before you spot them - but a higher scanning ability allows you to see them at the very edge of your tracking range. Note that UFOs can spawn inside your scanning area, so you might see one suddenly pop up near your base - don't fret! It's not that you couldn't see it, it just never existed until then.

 

- NKF

[Solitaire]

...Are you some sort of living computer? oO

 

Thanks for the tips

[FullAuto]

NKF and Zombie are both StatMasters™ when it comes to X-Com.

[Zombie]

Note that UFOs can spawn inside your scanning area, so you might see one suddenly pop up near your base - don't fret! It's not that you couldn't see it, it just never existed until then.

The Hyperwave Decoder has a detection radius of 2400 nautical miles (so says the OSG). I still believe that my theory of "hemispherical detection" is correct. That is to say that the HWD has a detection range of 2400 nautical miles in any direction - including up.

 

Say a UFO is flying at a height of 2399 nautical miles. If its flight plan takes it nearly above your base, it will be detected while it is 1 mile from your base (it will appear to magically appear right on top of your base). Me thinks UFO's do not just suddenly spawn within your detection range. Your radar systems are just detecting those UFO's as they enter the hemisphere extending above your base.

[Kratos]

Wouldn't the diagonal range be less than direct above? ie: 45*=1200 nautical miles of range. I am sure if it was 2399 nautical miles above, but it may be a mile off of the diagonal range.

[Zombie]

There are actually 2 different distances we are looking at right now. For hemispherical detection, just picture the top half of a circle. In the center is your base, while the line denoting the circle is your radars detection range. The nice things about circles (and spheres for that matter) are that anything on the outer edge is always the same distance to the center. This is a point-to-point distance, which will always be 2400 nautical miles.

 

The idea you are trying to make is that the distance from a UFO to your base is shorter assuming your base is at the same height as the UFO. While this is true, your calculation is not.

 

Let's take your example of a UFO being 45 degrees to either side of your base. Our "knowns" are the hypotenuse (2400 nautical miles) and the angle (45 degrees). The unknown is the adjacent side (or the distance to your base). Using simple trigonometry, we need to use the cosine function:

cos(45) = x / 2400

0.707 = x / 2400

2400 * 0.707 = x

x = 1697 nautical miles, not 1200 as you found.

 

In the end, it all boils down to spatial relationships and appearances. The Hyperwave Decoder will always detect UFO's if they are within (or on) it's detection radius. In our example, if a UFO is detected 45 degrees above horizontal (and your base) it lies 2400 nautical miles away. However, because the map of the globe is in 2 dimensions, it will appear as though the UFO is detected at 1697 nautical miles. In another example, assume the UFO is detected at 89 degrees above the horizontal. While the UFO is still 2400 nautical miles out, it will appear as if it is only 42 nautical miles away!

 

Can everyone see what just happened? My theory explains the reason why some UFO's appear as though they are detected closer than is actually possible with the Hyperwave. It's not because UFO's are "spawning" within your detection radius, it's because the map is in 2 dimensions, while the globe is in 3. Appearances can be deceiving.

 

- Zombie

[Jman4117]

So they entirely left out things such as the curvature of the earth and atmosphere effecting the horizontal range but not so much vertical?

[Kratos]

Yes, your right zombie, but I was just taking the quick way of calculating. I was too tired to think about trigonometry and I am posting around that same time.