Night Combat

During WWII night attacks were used with increasing frequency - certainly
more than in any other major conflict prior to it. This is especially true in the
Pacific theater, where the Japanese frequently favored the effects of darkness for
masking both infiltration and mass assaults.

A set-piece scenario that takes place at night will be so noted in the intro-
duction to that battle, just prior to the recommended side. The "Visibility"
window of Scenario Information display (hot key 1) also states if Night rules are
in effect and the maximum visibility that a Gunflash can be seen.

During Night scenarios the following rules are in effect:

Map: The map is displayed with a darkened landscape. Hexes out of LOS or not
reachable (when using the "Show hexes in LOS" or "Show Reachable hexes"
features, respectively) are displayed with a dark bluish tint overlay.

Movement: Non-foot movement costs are doubled during a Night scenario, even
in illuminated areas. Movement by units using foot-type movement is not
affected at Night.

Design Note: Having the doubled movement cost apply only to non-foot-movement units is I
admittedly, a concession to game play. Increasing foot movement costs would force all night scenarios to be longer in duration without any accompanying benefit to play. Players may wish to consider a night Game Turn being longer than a normal, 6-minute day Game Turn.              
Line of Sight & Illuminated Hexes: The default line of sight during a Night
scenario is always one hex. However, LOS can be "extended" by a Gunflash.
and the presence of a Starshell out to the limit of the scenarios weather con-
dition. Hexes affected by Starshells, or that contain six or more wrecks, are defined as "illuminated".

Combat: An attack into a hex within night visibility range (normally one hex,
but also including an illuminated hex) is performed at full firepower. An attack
into a Gunflash hex is performed at halved firepower (attack strength/2) as
the firer is considered to be firing at the Gunflash, not at a specific target.


Gunflashes 

When a unit that would be in enemy LOS in a daytime scenario fires from (or suffers
a mine attack in) a non-illuminated hex, that hex is marked with a Gunflash.The presence
of the gunflash allows the enemy to fire at that hex. (Exception: A Gunflash cannot be
spotted or direct-fired on at greater than the weathers visibility limit.) Fire at a Gunflash location is resolved at half firepower (fractions rounded up) if that hex is non-illuminated and is two or more hexes from the firer.

If more than one unit occupies a Gunflash hex, the target unit is chosen randomly
(assuming the firer can fire at that target hex only due to the presence of a gunflash)
Exception: Indirect fire still affects all units in the hex.

Design Note: When a unit fires at a Gunflash it is literally firing at the flashes of light - it is assumed the firer cannot see the target(s) in the hex - nor even how many targets are actually in the hex.

The results of an attack vs. a Gunflash hex are always "Unknown effects vs. unknown
units".

A Gunflash is automatically removed at the end of the Player Turn after the Player Turn
in which it appeared.


Starshells

In a Night scenario both sides will usually be allotted a number of Starshells. The num-
ber alloted to each side, if any. is listed in the Unit List below "Smoke" (see page 25). The number of Starshells available to the phasing side is also displayed in the Status Bar (to the right of the number of Smoke rounds available). If Fog of War is in effect, the number of starshells available for the opposing side is shown as a "?".

A unit with an attack factor > 0 and at least 20APs can attempt to fire a Starshelt dur-
ing its Player Turn. Each attempt to fire a starshelt costs 20APs, regardless of success. Each attempt to fire a Starshell has a 40% chance of success (this is decreased to 20% if the unit attempting to fire the Starshell is disrupted). Additionally, if a Leader is selected with a friendly unit trying to fire a Starshell, he will improve that units chance of successfully firing a starshell (a number equal to five times the Leaders Command Rating is added to the base success rate). If used thusly, the Leader also has 20 APs deducted for each Starshell attempt he is used for (whether successful or not). A Leader by himself cannot fire a starshell; he must be selected with an eligible friendly unit.

A Starshell can be fired by selecting an eligible unit, ensuring that the program is in Fire
Mode and, while depressing the Alt and Shift keys, right-clicking in the target hex.

The range from the firing unit that a Starshell can be fired is two hexes - unless the
firing unit is using indirect fre, in which case it equals half (fractions rounded up) of the units maximum range. Also, a Starshell fired from an Indirect Fire unit is not delayed a Game Turn (unlike normal fire from such a unit). Once fired, the Starshell has a -40% chance of landing in the intended target hex, otherwise it will land in one of the six hexes adjacent to the intended target hex.


A Starshell illuminates its hex and the six adjacent hexes. An illuminated hex is consid-
ered to be "in the LOS" of all units that would have a line of sight to it in a da/time sce-
nario. (Exception: An illuminated hex cannot be spotted or direct-fired on beyond the
scenarios visibility limit) Illuminated hexes do not display the night-darkened pattern.
Note that a just-placed Starshell will not automatically reveal hidden enemy units in its illumination zone. Instead, it sheds enough light such that any unit that enters a location in it's illumination zone is revealed if it is in line of sight of an enemy unit (taking into consideration the maximum visibility due to current weather conditions set for that scenario).

A Starshell is removed at the start of the friendly Player Turn following the Game Turn in
which it was placed.

Design Note: The inability to have complete control over the firing of Starshells, and the chance of "drift" of fired Starshells, is intended to help simulate the uncertainties of night combat. When a Starshell firing attempt fails, don't think of it as a flare gun "misfiring", but instead simply that the concerned unit did not know to fire. Similarly, when a Starshell lands in an unintended hex, it does not mean that it fired incorrectly, but that the firing unit thought it heard noises or saw movement in that area. Lastly, each Starshell actually represents several Starshells fired from hand-held flare pistols (if fired from a "ground" unit) or one or more illumination rounds (from a gun battery).

