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1) Mechs use a Radar Cross-Section value, which is based on their tonnage but takes into consideration other elements like Radar Dep and ECM to determine how "big" they appear to other mechs trying to detect them.
2) All mechs have a Sensor Strength score, which adds tons onto other mechs in the game for the purpose of determining detection ranges. Also counts BAP and Advanced Sensor Module.
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In this thread, I propose yet another system for determining at which ranges mechs can detect other mechs, taking into consideration both the mech doing the targeting and the mech being targeted.
Determining how resistant a mech is to detection
As a general rule, larger and heavier mechs should be detected more easily than smaller and lighter mechs. For this reason, a mech's tonnage is used as the basis for how easily it is detected, along with a "stealth" quirk to offset this on a per-chassis basis.
Stealth quirks should follow a range of around 0 to +15, with +15 being very stealthy.
Other considerations include whether or not the mech has the Radar Deprivation module or an ECM suite installed and in disrupt mode. In my system, Radar Deprivation simply adjusts the mech's effective tonnage in terms of detection in exactly the same fashion as the "stealth quirk" does. In my example, Radar Dep gives the mech -15 tons as far as sensor range is concerned.
In order for ECM to benefit both light and assault mechs, the bonus for having ECM installed needs to scale up with the size of the mech carrying it. For this reason, an active ECM suite reduces the effective tonnage of the mech carrying it by 50% (before radar dep or quirks). In other words, an AS7-D-DC counts as a 50-ton mech in terms of detection range. A HBR-PRIME counts as a 32.5 ton mech. A RVN-3L counts as 17.5 tons, etc.
I call the resulting "effective tons" the mech's radar cross-section, which is calculated as follows:
Radar Cross-Section = Tonnage - [ECM](Tonnage*0.5) - [Radar Dep]15 - [Stealth Quirk]X
RCS can be as high as the tonnage of the mech or as low as appro -15 or so.
Determining how well can a mech detect others
There are a number of different mechs that specialize in sensors across a wide range of tonnages. For this reason, a mech's ability to detect other mechs is not influenced by how large or heavy it is.
Rather, a mech's sensor capabilities is determined by a sensor range quirk, whether or not the mech has an Active Probe and whether or not the player has installed the Advanced Sensor Module. Each of these items gives the mech a simple bonus to it's ability to detect, called Sensor Strength.
Sensor range quirks should sit somewhere between 0 and +15 (with +15 representing a mech with a highly-advanced sensor suite).
Sensor Strength is calculated as:
Sensor Strength = [BAP/CAP]20 + [Sensor Module]15 + [Sensor Quirk]X
SS would see a range of around 0 to approximately +45.
Getting the final detection range
With both the Radar Cross-Section and Sensor Strength scores known, we determine the detection range as follows:
Detection Range = 300m + 10m * (RCS + SS)
Using this, you get a spread of detection ranges ranging from around 200m to 1600m. Here is a spreadsheet showing how this might look with different mechs:
All values expressed herein are for demonstration purposes only, and would of course have to be refined in testing.
Edited by Hornsby, 21 December 2015 - 05:16 PM.
