Testing was conducted as follows:
- Hunter Ship: Origin 325A
- Target Ship: Anvil F7C-S
- Arena: Broken Moon
- Game Mode: Spectrum Match, Battle Royale, Public v1.0.3
We tested several different scenarios, including:
- Target Ship Cold (Shields, Weapons, Engines powered down)
- Target Ship Hot (Above systems powered up)
- Target Ship Firing & Boosting (Maximum Signature)
Finally, we tested the stealth capability of the Hornet Ghost when cold and parked in the shadow of an asteroid, as well as the Hornet's ability to detect the 325A.
Max Signature
The first, and most uninteresting point, was that the Hornet was able to fully resolve the 325A as a target upon spawning in, at an indicated range of
12.1km. The 325A was
unable to locate the Hornet at this range in either hot or cold states, even while sillouetted against open space. When the Hornet went to maximum signature (ie: firing weapons and afterburner) the 325 immediately resolved it as a target.
Hot Signature
The next step was to bring the Hornet in "hot" condition closer until the 325 could resolve it as a contact and identify it. Starting at approximately
8km, the 325 reported intermittent contact, indicated by a blue scanning circle appearing in the targeting display, but was unable to maintain a fix or identify the Hornet. It wasn't until the Hornet closed to within
6km that the 325A was able to fully resolve it as a target.
Cold Signature
Following this "hot" test, we powered the Hornet down into it's cold state, shutting off power to the engines, shields, and weapons, as well as dimming the landing and cabin lights. It immediately disappeared from the 325A's sensors. The 325 had to approach to within
2500 meters to fully resolve the target again. In other words, the Hornet, in a cold state, could lie in wait for a target ship to approach until it was nearly in weapons range before being detected, at least with the current avionics and scanners in Arena Commander.
Asteroid Test
Finally, after conducting these tests in open space, we tested the ability of the 325 to locate the Hornet against the background clutter of an asteroid. We parked the F7C-S within 20m of a large asteroid and put it into a cold state. The 325A had so much difficulty locating the target, even when given the search area, that we had to talk the pilot onto target. It picked up intermittent contact at approximately
1000 meters and finally resolved the target at
650 meters. As an aside to this test, we attempted to lock onto the Hornet using cross-section missiles. With the Hornet against the surface of the asteroid, the missiles could not acquire a lock until the 325 maneuvered to sillouette the Hornet against the sky.
Conclusions and TL: DR
Stealth mechanics are currently implemented in the public build of Arena Commander, and are more robust than we had anticipated. If these mechanics are carried over into the PU as-is, we can expext to see stealth craft have a significant, albeit situational, advantage over their adversaries.
To summarize: running cold presents a lower risk of detection than running hot with shields and weapons powered up. Background clutter further reduces the ability of other craft to resolve your ship's cross section, and impars the ability of cross-section missiles to aquire a lock.
Further testing is required to see if these results hold true for other craft, but it's 1:45 on a work night. Good night and happy hunting!