Guys - this is from an email I sent to Warren Bajan, who is one of my playtesters, concerning the use of the line 4 entries in the PDT files concerning Dawn and Dusk and Night turns:
---- begin text to Warren---
It is important to know that if the last value on Line 4 of the PDT file is a "1" that there will be no Dawn or Dusk turns listed on the info window area. Instead the weather lines kick in with visibility values. The game will go from "Night" to "Day" and likewise later in the day from "Day" to "Night' - this is important as Night turns are problematic for Line infantry movement. They will Disorder automatically if moving during the night.
If the PDT values are not correct it can confuse the players.
If you are building a PDT file with weather lines here are some tips on the times on line 4:
The first two values (7 & 0 or 0700) are the Dawn time in hours and minutes unless the last value on the line is "1." In that case then the first two values are the Day time. "Day" will show up in front of the Visibility value down at the bottom of the screen. Anything prior to this will be a Night turn. Thus if you want Dawn to be 0700 set the values to 7 and 0. Then code your PDT file weather lines for 0700, 0720 and so on to have increased lighting.
Here is an example from Austerlitz:
12
December 2-4, 1805
0
7 0 18 0 0 1 (line 4 of the file)
In this sample the end value is set to "1" and thus Day will begin at 0700. Turns prior to 0700 will use the Night time value (in this case 30 min. turns) or in this case 0600 will then move on to 0630.
If you do not set the end of line 4 to be a "1" then the game will use the default values of 4 hexes for Dawn/Dusk and Night turns will be 1 hex visibility.
The "Dawn" and "Dusk" tags in the game at the bottom of the page thus only work if the value at the end of line 4 is set to a "0." If it is set to "1" then you need to add in a tag at the end of your weather line that includes "Dawn" or "Dusk" to remind the players that there is decreased visibility due to the sun going up or down.
Again these tags are found at the bottom of the screen in the game where you would see the time/date listed, player turn (French or Allied) and so on.
This was very confusing to me for some time and I must now go back through all of my games that use the value of "1" at the end of line 4 to make sure that the weather lines are correct.
-----end of text to Warren----
What this all boils down to is that the value at the end of line 4 was added by John at my request so that we could use the Weather lines to reflect the gradual lighting effects of sunrise and sunset. If the value at end 4 is a "1" then the times values on that line are for DAY and NIGHT respectively. You will want to make sure especially that your Dusk time settings in the Weather lines are prior to the NIGHT time value on Line 4. Example:
I want a scenario to have a Dusk start time of 1800 and night to fall at 1900. So I have the second time value (or NIGHT value) set to 1900 and make sure that the end line value is a "1." I create my weather line values using 1800, 1810, 1820, etc as the times for each line and give them a visibility value that decreases gradually each turn. Some people would rather see Dusk last for only four turns (40 mins.) and they might be right. Just go with whatever works the best. I prefer to keep the visibility at a higher level and have the curtain come down on day for those settings where there is a flat land area like a desert or plains type setting. For mountain settings though the Dusk turns would be a bit different. For those of you that have been to the mountains you know that Dusk is a bit different there. If the mountains are to the west of your location you get darkness sooner but it is a lingering kind of darkness. But on the plains once the sun falls it is not long after that the night falls.
Example:
Night begins at 1800 in this example:
Mountain setting:
1550 - 50 hexes
1600 - 40 hexes (sun has gone down over the mountains but you still have light - just not the same amount)
1610 - 36 hexes
etc
1700 - 18 hexes
1710 - 14 hexes
1720 - 8 hexes
1730 - 6 hexes
1740 - 4 hexes
1750 - 2 hexes
1800 - night 1 hex
Plains:
1650 40 hexes
1700 36 hexes
1710 32 hexes
1720 26 hexes
1730 18 hexes
1740 10 hexes
1750 4 hexes
1800 night 1 hex
The main problem with not aligning the values in the weather lines to that of the values on line 4 will become apparent to the players when they go to use the weather lines as a reference point but find out that they are incorrect.
Hope this helps to all of you that are building scenarios with weather lines. Also I highly suggest that you check the times yourself by changing the START time of the scenario and opening it up in the game engine. See if the values you plugged into the weather lines work. If not you probably need to change the values on line 4.
For instance: If you have Dawn starting at 0600 then set 0500 to be the start time on line 4 and see if that is a Night turn and then advance the turns to see when the Dawn turns actually start.
_________________
Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Prinz Peters von Dennewitz
3. Husaren-Regiment, Reserve-Kavallerie, Preußischen Armee-Korps
Honarary CO of Garde-Ulanen Regiment, Garde-Grenadier Kavallerie
NWC Founding Member
For Club Games: I prefer the Single Phase mode of play. I prefer to play with the following options
OFF:
MDF, VP4LC, NRO, MTD, CMR, PR, MIM, NDM, OMR (ver 4.07)
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