From WarzoneWiki

Visibility in Warzone is actually quite complex. However, this complexity was not utilized very well in the published version. It seems obvious, though, that they planned an expansion or a future new version that would have more complicated visibility rules. Each droid and structure in the game has built-in sensor with range and power that it uses to look for other game objects with. Each object also has a calculated ECM value, which stands for Electronic Counter Measures. ECM reduces the ability of enemy sensors to detect you. In the published version, ECM was unused.

In the original code, there are commented out references to two kinds of detection - visual and sensor. The visual detection is simply by distance, within a certain distance an object can detect another always, since it is within visual range. Outside this distance ECM works to reduce the detection range of a sensor.

It would be nice to be able to support evasion of both kinds of detection. In the game, we can look at all kinds of electromagnetic (EM) wave based detection as one - technology at this point in time should allow all combat units to see into different EM wavelengths, including infrared and ultraviolet. The only other kind of detection would be sound wave based, which would be an interesting game play mechanic. A scavenger faction could have motion sensors, ships could have sonars, and so on. Although sonic detection is added to the tables below, it is not planned for inclusion any time soon. It is only added for completeness at this time.

Types of detectors:

(*)We should happily ignore the possibility of using active sound wave detection against ground based targets. Although bats do it, it is not efficient unless it is pitch dark (which would be dull to play in), and there is no need for this as a game play mechanic.

All game objects should have a innate detectability value for each kind of detector. These are called:

Any source of EM emissions, like radar sensors and ECM turrets, would of course add the power of their sensor or jammer to their Reflective Emission value. It is hard to hide in the electromagnetic spectrum when you are broadcasting in it!

To this corresponds the following innate anti-detector technology keywords:

(*)There may be ways to hide against sonar, but it is unlikely that we want that complication added in the foreseeable future.

In addition, there are two area-of-effect anti-detector technologies:

• ECM - Electronic Counter Measures. Disrupts radar detection over a large area by adding stealth to friendly objects, but the effect has a rapid drop off rate, which means it gets weaker with distance from the jammer.
• EM Tracker (tentative name - ideas wanted) - A listening post or turret for electromagnetic sources. Can detect active radar sensors and ECM jammers over a very large area and display them on the map and minimap as radar blips. Such radar blips can be targeted by ranged fire, although with poor accuracy. It can give away attacking of defensive force concentrations, if these employ radars or ECMs.

When we get support for playing a scavenger faction, these might be able to build motion sensor towers that give away the noisy, rumbling droids of Project vehicles when they move, showing them as radar blips.

Cyborgs should have low radar detectability, and the player should be able to research both stealth and camouflage technologies for cyborgs. VTOL droids should have low visual detectability, making radar important to counter them. Ordinary droids or game objects should not have radar - this should be reserved for HQ and sensors droids and towers.

One issue is that the HQ of a player will be easily detected by enemy players with a EM tracker, since it has a radar. We may want to allow the player to customize the HQ with several choices of turret.