Damage Model Sweetness

[Bullethead]

I was doing a solitaire CG battle that eventually saw Askold pouring port broadsides into the starboard side of Ikitsushima from about 4500 yards while the 2 of them were all alone. At this point in time, Ikitsushima's starboard battery was totally out of action so she could only bang away (at very low ROF) with her massive forward gun. This isn't much of a threat, at least at this range, due to its long reload time making it hard to maintain a plot on a moving target. The big shells periodically came Askold's way, but landed 2 or 3 ship lengths away. Nothing else was shooting at Askold except this 1 gun. However, the blind sow finally found an acorn and that's when I saw the damage model do something really cool.

I paused the game as soon as I heard the hit sound so got to look at it quite well. The shell hit way forward on Askold's port bow, near the anchors. When it hit, it made the huge hemisphere shockwave, which as best I could determine, when looking down the length of the ship, was centered on the port side of the hull. However, the shell apparently went completely through the ship and out the starboard side right at the waterline, because it also made it's big splash on the starboard side of the ship. The splash graphic rose up right against the hull, partially covered by it, like a torpedo hit. The shell obviously didn't go over the hull to get there, so it had to have gone through.

This is the 1st time I've ever seen this well-documented shell pass-through effect modelled in a game. Always before, projectiles have stopped on the 1st surface they've met. But that's just part of the coolness. I quickly checked Askold's ship info screen to view the damage, and was amazed again. On the port side, the shell had knocked out the forward anti-TB gun in passing, and had then caused 15% flooding on the starboard side. Before this hit, Askold had only been engaged to port so had no starboard flooding. And the starboard flooding was a lot for just a shell hole, so I'm thinking the damage model threw in some near miss blast damage from the adjacent splash. Askold also lost 2 knots of top speed from this hit, which on the surface is a lot for a hit with not much flooding and so far from the engineering spaces. However, that's cool, too. Maybe the shell burst in exiting, leaving a lot of twisted metal dragging in the water. Or maybe the because the hit was so far forward, the ship was really whipsawed from the shock and that bent the prop shafts a little. Or maybe some of each. Either way, it was an awesome display of the damage model in action. I'm very impressed .

[WallysWorld]

Yes, the damage graphics and model are done very, very well.

Yesterday, a single torpedo from one of my Russian protected cruisers hit the old Chinese battleship Chin Yen in the port rear. I watched as the ship slowly starting to sink by listing to port with the bow rising up. In other words, taking on water where the torpedo hit. It was kind of neat to see the main port gun get covered by water as the ship slowly turned turtle and finally sank. Excellent show!

[Hinchinbrooke]

Just sank Chin Yen myself............ after she was pounded by three of my cruisers and numerous torp attacks (after obliterating the cruiser "Suma"). The old gal could certainly take some punishment.



Out of interest, do ships blow up? Chances are you'll hit the magazines sometime.

I agree, the sinkings are fascinating to watch, although the ships seem to go below the surface just a little too fast for my taste (?).

[JaguarUSF]

I watched a ship roll over to about 120 degrees before going below the surface. That must have been quite a ride for the people on board!

[Bullethead]

Y'all are missing the point. Have you ever before seen a shell go THROUGH any game object at all (not counting FPS railguns) without exploding? Historical documentation for this in naval battles is abundant, from the War Between the States to the Falklands War, yet I've never seen it in a game. And on top of that, this shell did damage on the far side after going through the near side. Kudos to ES!

[Hinchinbrooke]

No, I'm well aware that shells went through ships, rather than into them. Just enjoying what we have.

[Silencer]

Out of interest, do ships blow up? Chances are you'll hit the magazines sometime.

I agree, the sinkings are fascinating to watch, although the ships seem to go below the surface just a little too fast for my taste (?).

In the demo, I had one cruiser blow up completely and sank really fast after the a magazine was hit. nice effect.

[Rhetor]

Bullethead

Thanks for noticing this. This game is really a masterpiece of simulation.

[Speedy]

Y'all are missing the point. Have you ever before seen a shell go THROUGH any game object at all (not counting FPS railguns) without exploding?

Yep, happens all the time in Steel Beasts Pro PE.

[Xylitol]

Yep, happens all the time in Steel Beasts Pro PE.

Also in WWIIOnline. You can penetrate whole tank and kill infantry behind it, if lucky and powerfull gun (or weak armor), in that game.