Frank wrote:Well, in the manual, page 67, one can read: "The exact speed of repeat firing is dependent upon the Initiative value of the unit."
In the forum, it have been said so by, at least, Opthalamia, Tkobo and Balthagor in the thread "reaction time + enhanced range".
Balthagor also said in the thread "Questions regarding aircraft":
Balthagor wrote:1km vs. 2km - no difference to the game, still one hex.
Initiative is a number of factors including how fast a unit reloads, retargets and responds to player orders.
So we still don't know the details (George, if you read this...), but we do know that an higher "Reaction time" is better.
Attention, don't confuse the "Initiative" setting one can change in the ROE.
Frank wrote:Good to know
Now I would be very interested to know more about these differences.Balthagor wrote:The actual range has no impact on who fires first if they are still within the same number of hexes (divisions of 16km)
Initiative rates are different per class IIRC.(...)
For example, given they have the same Initiative* value, what unit would attack first between a Recon and an Infantry unit?
* Please note that I'm talking here about the Initiative value (Default.UNIT's "Init" value (J column), which is displayed (as far as I know) as "Reaction time" in game), not the ROE's Initiative setting.
George Geczy wrote:Unfortunately it is hard to provide very exact values; the 'initiative' unit spec (poorly named, I know) is combined with a number of other factors in the various formulas.
One of the big effects of this initiative (as mentioned above, 'reaction time' is a better name) is the time to reload after a shot. The average reload time for a unit with initiative of 2 is 45 minutes of 'game time'; in effect it would fire about 20-30 times a day (until it ran out of ammo). (Note that artillery fire at half this rate, and units with range extender techs will also fire more slowly.) With an initiative of 9, the reload time could be as low as 10 minutes (over 100 times per day). (9 represents the fastest 'reload' rate.)
These values are also affected by unit efficiency, morale, military alert level, and related factors.
'Initiative' also affects how often a unit will scan for targets, and how long it is 'asleep' between scanning. This is particularly used by longer-range units; so chances are you can get in closer undetected (or not fired upon by) a unit with initiative of 2 versus a higher value.
As I say this is all a bit fuzzy because so many factors come into play with these calculations.
-- George.
Frank wrote:Thank you for taking the time to answer George.
So we now know that Initiative mean "average reload time" and also "how often a unit will scan for targets". *
We also know that values range from 2 to 9, that 2 would mean "every 45 minutes" and 9 would mean "every 10 minutes", right?
So the remaining question is about the different classes.
All other things being equal, is an Initiative value of 2 meaning "every 45 minutes" both for a Class 0 unit and for a Class 1 unit?
In other words, at equal initiative value, would a Recce unit scan for target more often than an Infantry unit?
About the naming, it's mostly the values naming that is misleading.
Actually, an high value is called "High" rather than Fast, so one may think that an high Reaction Time mean that an unit is in fact reacting slowly.
Alternatively, rather than "Reaction Time", I would suggest "Reactivity" so the actual rating would fit much better.
* I first though that it was a bad idea to mix the two because it does mean that sensors and weapon systems are sharing the same efficiencies, something that make my hardcore gamer mind bounce.
But given the actual engine (land, air and ground units sharing the same mechanism) and the level of simulation (Bn including much more than a single type of sensor/weapon system) we do have in SR2020, it doesn't really matter.
I'm dreaming about a game mixing Grand Strategy management and Harpoonesk warfare level of detail but it's probably not something that will ever be more than a dream