The observer and ship condition

The observer is a person at a lens who says what another ship looks like. A ship condition is the plain word for how much of a hull still works.

8 numbers, 1 with an outside source

A0 numbers at grade A
B1 numbers at grade B
C0 numbers at grade C
D0 numbers at grade D
E7 numbers at grade E

Functionality

1 topic

The bridge

[1] to [4] | the helm, weapons, sensors and engineering stations, each with its own orders.
[7] | the drone station, on a hull with a drone bay.
[0] | the observer, who watches each contact.
[5] | the standing orders. [6] | the wing.
[8] [9] | step through the hostiles and the wing.
[V] | the camera. [I] | every instrument.
[M] | the ways out of the fight.
ENTER | pauses the clock or runs it.
[T] | its speed: real time, faster or fastest.
[N] | skips to the next call from the crew.

Values

8 numbers: 1 B, 7 E

Each value is read from the game code. Sort by any column heading, or filter by grade or by a word.

Numbers the game runs for the observer and ship condition
Quantity	Value	Grade	Source	Why this value
Hull share at or above which a hull is in each condition state	100, 60, 35, 10, 0 hull share	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose the cutoffs. A hull at the cautious captain's breakoff counts as crippled, so the cautious turn away there. The sources are silent on this figure.
Wavelength of the light a passive look uses	0 m	BSecondary	Atomic Rockets, usefultables, The Boom Table	The mirror lists a green photon as 550 nanometers.
Observer's lens aperture as a share of the hull length	0.01 share of length	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose a lens one hundredth of the hull length, so a bigger ship carries a bigger lens. No source gives a lens size. The sources are silent on this figure.
How many times coarser the picture gets when our own ship jinks	3 x	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose a blur so a jinking ship sees less. No source gives a figure for lens shake. The sources are silent on this figure.
Detail an active sweep images to	3 m	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose a fixed fine detail for an active sweep at any range inside its limit. The sources are silent on this figure.
Range past which active returns are too faint to image	1,500 km	EAuthored	Atomic Rockets, spacewardetect, What If I Run Silent And Cold?	The game chose a limit. The mirror gives detection ranges but no imaging limit for a sweep. The sources are silent on this figure.
Cells a feature must span, seconds between looks and report detail, by observer skill	rookie cells 6, period 30, detail 0, seasoned cells 4, period 15, detail 1, veteran cells 3, period 5, detail 2 mixed	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose a rookie who needs a big feature and looks rarely, and a veteran who needs a small one and looks often.
Size in meters of the thing each sign is	structure None, fire 10, vent 50, fins 30, drive 20, guns 5, pd 2, jets 1 m	EAuthored	No source recorded	The game chose the size of a mount, a plume, a vent and a fin set. A report can name one only when the lens resolves it.

Real-world basis

4 points

A lens resolves detail by its aperture and the wavelength of the light, so a bigger lens and a shorter wavelength see finer detail.
A jink shakes the observer's own lens, so a ship that dodges sees less.
An active sweep images finer than a passive look but gives away the observer.
A report of damage says what the hull can still do and not how a person feels.

Game and reality differences

2 points

The game uses the wavelength of green light for every passive look. A real sensor on a hot hull would work in the infrared.
The size of each sign (a mount, a plume, a vent) is the game's own list and not a measured set.

Source absences

3 points

Atomic Rockets does not provide values for the following:
1. Lens size for a warship. An aperture of 0.01 of the hull length is authored.
2. Cells a crew needs to call a feature. The count by observer skill is authored.
3. Imaging limit for an active sweep. The page gives detection ranges only.

Sources

1 document

Atomic Rockets, usefultables, The Boom Table: A green photon has a wavelength of 550 nanometers. (all uses)