Confused about exact effects of stealth + null field

[redartrats]

I'm confused about what effect exactly a scout's stealth skill and null field has on enemy troops.  The library mentions that each point of stealth (provided a buff like null field or overdrive is in effect) reduces the ability of an enemy unit to detect the templar by 1 square. But how many squares can enemies detect a templar to begin with?  And are there limits on how much this detection range can be reduced?  And are there other factors that affect detection?

Also, once a scout is detected by some enemy unit, does his position also become known to other enemy units?

I'm experiencing an unusual effect in my current game (in Hive Ship: Outer Hull)... I have a level 26 scout and a level 20 scout, and both have +16 stealth and null field 10.  With the first scout, I don't seem to have a problem; I can be 2 squares away from a narv and it wouldn't detect me. Yet with the second scout, the narvs consistently detect him and squish him instantly.  What's the difference? Why is the first scout more effective than the second?

[contributor]

I can't answer that conclusively but a few things I've noticed are that. If a scout is very far from other Templars the Narvs will be drawn to him/her, presumably because they can't detect anyone else, for this reason I prefer high Overdrive to Null Field because you can often lead the Narvs around and stay ahead of them with enough MP. You just have to keep a careful eye on heat.

They will also attack stealth scout if they end up on a square adjacent to them, even if they are moving towards another templar. So if you scout is running against the flow of Narvs heading toward your main group they may still end next to him and attack him. At least this is what I seem to have observed, but I may be mistaken too.

[fallen]

Oct 26, 2016 15:58:35 GMT -5 redartrats said:

Also, once a scout is detected by some enemy unit, does his position also become known to other enemy units?

I'm experiencing an unusual effect in my current game (in Hive Ship: Outer Hull)... I have a level 26 scout and a level 20 scout, and both have +16 stealth and null field 10.  With the first scout, I don't seem to have a problem; I can be 2 squares away from a narv and it wouldn't detect me. Yet with the second scout, the narvs consistently detect him and squish him instantly.  What's the difference? Why is the first scout more effective than the second?

Each enemy unit rolls detection individually.

Probably a difference is an active +Stealth buff? Stealth is not used at all if you have no +Stealth buff.

[contributor]

I've definitely seen enemies go after my scouts with extremely high stealth and active stealth buff on this level, but normally they are way at the opposite end of the map (top left), isolated from my other knights.

[redartrats]

Actually, I just tried replayed the level, and noticed that even with the first scout sometimes narv Seekers still detect him from about 2-3 squares away. He had both Overdrive 10 and Null Field 9 active, and has +16 stealth. Other times, the same scout can shoot at narvs about 2-3 squares away and they just continue on their way towards the rest of the squad.

I think contributor may be on to something. If the rest of the squad is far away and the enemy isn't actively sending troops against them, and the narv has no other targets, then it will target the scout, seemingly regardless of the +stealth buffs. But if the squad is nearby, or in the middle of a battle and the AI is actively sending reinforcements, then the scout isn't detected. Perhaps there's a kind of detection priority queue in effect?

In retrospect it seems to make sense; if an enemy unit is standing idle at his guard post, he's quite likely to notice somebody trying to creep down the corridor towards him; but if the alarms are blaring and the commander is giving orders to charge down the hall at the visible majority of the enemy squad, then he's much more likely to overlook that shadow slinking past him. Unless Null Field is a kind of invisibility tech, it's a bit hard to believe that a giant 10-foot-tall Leviathan suit walking down the corridor wouldn't be seen at all, if the enemy unit's attention isn't distracted by something more pressing!

[En1gma]

I remember Cory Trese talking about a heat map, let me see if I can find it.

[En1gma]

Here it is-- there is a link in there that will help explain the heat map concept. From what I gather, Stealth is a way to dampen each Templar's heat on the map, so the area in which they can be detected becomes smaller. I could be wrong in my interpretation, but it's worked well so far for me


startradersrpg.proboards.com/thread/11478/skitter-scouts

[bobc]

Go to Tips & Techniques (p2) - Giving up on Scouts. Towards the bottom Cory Trese gives a link to a Steam discussion where he explains the design for stealth rules. Well worth a read.

Yep, dropping in a link would be so much easier and one day I will figure out how to do it on my phone! lol

[redartrats]

bobc Thanks for the tip! Found the link to Cory's description of how stealth works. Very detailed, and very insightful. Thanks!!