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BBfanboy -> RE: Air Ops Altitude (12/21/2018 6:36:06 PM)
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The developers long ago said that 6000 feet is the optimal compromise altitude for visual spotting. Any higher gives you greater distance to the horizon but more chance of not seeing ships/subs. Any lower gives better chance of seeing ships/subs, but not as much distance to the horizon. Think of this in relation to the wedge-shaped 10º arc that each plane searches. At the beginning it is easy to see from one side of the wedge to the other but beyond about 10 hexes the wedge is too wide to be searched from side to side. That is why Naval Search beyond 12 hexes is deemed mostly ineffective.
Note that when some search aircraft get airborne radars, their chances of spotting a target increase and flying at a higher altitude might be better than the 6000 foot level. Some players say they get good detection at 10,000 feet.
Crew experience does count for search effectiveness and for accuracy of identification of things spotted. Early in the game the search skill levels are poor and you get lots of reports of 6 enemy ships at hex (XXX,YY) when in fact it was a pod of dolphins.
ASW is a different skill than search, and is meant to be used when a sub has already been spotted in an area so the ASW mission aircraft can follow up and attack it. An attack at 1000 feet is more likely to be successful than an attack at 2000 or 3000 feet. But if you do not have any dedicated search aircraft to locate subs, you may want to increase the altitude of your ASW aircraft (I use 3000 feet) to give them a better chance of spotting the sub. Even if this means a less effective attack, the mere fact that the sub is located makes it less effective - your ships will be more likely to avoid the sub and if they can't, will be more likely to dodge the sub's attack or have an escort attack the sub first.
Also note that the search range in hexes for ASW is half the range you have set for the mission. This is because ASW is a very intensive search for something as small as a periscope.
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