Originally posted by Tac
...If you have an incoming NOE raid, they will be spotted in dot dar 6 miles out. And any kind of raid on a field will require planes to get at least 7k above the field's alt to be able to attack it... 6 miles + climb time = more than enough time for any moron to see a big blob of red 6 miles away from their field and up their spits, n1ks and la7's and flaks...
At 240 mph, 6 miles is covered in 1.5 minutes. At 360, 45 seconds. Time to react to the raid? I doubt it.
Not that I don't think something could (and maybe even should) be done. To figure it out, though, we need to think about what we should be simulating, how to satisfy most (if not all) players, and keep the game playable.
To my mind, bar dar represents the type of information I might get from a ground report... there is a large/medium/small group of planes flying within a 625 square mile area (one sector in AH). Actually, I would also expect some type of altitude information, too. I would only expect this information to be available to me over friendly territory, defined as my original country area, not the areas that I may have occupied. This would represent the loyal citizens and civil defense system of a country reporting what they see when they see it.
In occupied territories, I would only expect this type of information when planes overflew the front lines (defined maybe as 1/2 way between the opposing airfields?) or near an occupied base, city, depot, etc. This would represent reports from troops, but not from the hostile indiginous (sp?) population which would rather see the invaders gone.
In enemy controlled territory, I would not expect to get any bar dar information at all. There is no source available.
So, how would this effect NOE? It would certainly allow them into territory originally belonging to your side. It would also allow them over the ocean. Sure, as soon as they overflew enemy territory they would be spotted, but is that really unrealistic? It would, IMHO, allow realistic use of NOE strikes as opposed to having some rear base or HQ suddenly come under attack with no warning.
Possibly, you would need to show bar dar (maybe another color?) over enemy territory to indicate the type of information you might have on high altitude raids developing. Maybe having a yellow bar appear to represent planes over 10 or 15k. All sides had the ability to detect the high altitude bomber streams in plenty of time to intercept.
Dot dar? Well, I like dot dar. I prefer the quick fight to a long patrol looking for a bogie. I prefer to look for 1 vs 1 or so if I can find one. Dot dar helps do that. Without dot dar, everyone would fly in packs (even more than now!

) for fear of running into an enemy pack. Taking it out by destroying the dar at the base makes sense. I think destroying HQ should render bar dar useless (representing the destruction of the communications center which would collect, analyze, and distribute information based on reports) but leave dot dar intact since it is tied to a specific base.
Well, enough typing. Guess thats my 22 cents worth!
HaMmeR
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