Sunday, March 26, 2017

Hitmaps: One plot to evaluate jousting ability

How dangerous is a given pilot ? Or is this pilot worth it, compared to this other pilot, in terms of offensive power ? Is this pilot worth his points ?
Hitmaps are 2D plots that try to evaluate the offensive power of a unit. It simply combines the positions it can reach in one maneuver and action, with the % to hit an enemy unit.
You can display hitmaps in Squadron benchmark, when building a new squad.

What does hitmap mean ?

Well, that's not a heatmap, but the idea is to show how dangerous a pilot is with a single 2D plot.
Take for instance a Prototype Pilot in his A-Wing. His initial position is indicated in the right plot by the small square. After a 1 straight maneuver, his position is just below the colored orange arc and he can fire on any enemy in his primary firing arc, indicated in orange, yellow and green.
The different colors indicate different % to hit, when the target is an Academy Pilot. Orange: 72.23%, Yellow: 47.6% and Green: 34.9%. The Academy pilot has no focus token, no evade. The Prototype Pilot does a Target Lock. There are different % due to the range bonus.
 Now, assume the Pilot performs a 3 straight. Again, you see the same plot, slightly moved upward.
The colored arc shows positions of the Academy Pilot that can be shot by the Prototype Pilot.
If we consider that the pilot can either perform a 1 straight or a 3 straight, the best shots are shown here, by taking the maximum % of both previous arcs. How is it computed ? Quite simply, all arcs for a given range are computed, sorted according to their % to hit and then displayed in order, starting with the smallest % to hit.
Finally, if you consider in turn each possible move, with each possible action from the action bar, the combined colored arcs give, when taking the max %, the following plot in the left.
Only actions of the action bar are taken into account. Here the 4 actions in green on the card.
We can see there are 4 ranges for a Prototype Pilot. 3 ranges that can be reach, with a focus or target lock. And 1 range, the dark green one, that can only be reach with a boost.
The pilot is the most dangerous when he can shoot in the orange zone. This corresponds to range 1. The pilot can fire at the zone corresponding to the position he has left only if he performs a K maneuver.
The circles around the initial position show the different ranges from this position. Range 1 correspond to the first circle, range 2 to the second, ...So an A-Wing can fire up to range 5 from its initial position.  


Comparing T-70 and T-65 X-Wings with their hitmaps

Let's use the hitmaps to compare now some pilots between the old and new version of the X-Wing.  Let's start with the two cheapest pilots for each. We can immediately see that the Blue Sq. Novice has a wider range of attack, provided by its additional boost action. The Novice can also attack better at the rear, thanks to its two Talon Roll maneuvers.

If you add some  engine upgrade to the Rookie Pilot X-Wing, we have then the following hitmap:
This is very similar to the Blue Squadron Novice hitmap, but it's more expensive, has no TR maneuver and takes one modification upgrade slot. Not convincing, in term of offensive power, the vanilla T-70 is of course better.








Now let's consider some unique T-65 pilots.
Wedge has only an offensive capacity, if we add a Engine Upgrade, the hitmap is very red ! 93% in the center, 46% at the farthest. That's 6.5% better when shooting at range 1, nearly 10% better at range 3, after a boost.
Definitely deadly.


Blue Ace is a T-70 ace that adds maneuverability. Well, that doesn't show much on his hitmap. There are a few better (orange) arcs at the bottom, and obvisouly this pilot can fire at opponent that follow him, but this is not improving the % to hit for straight/bank or turn maneuvers.


 For 'Snap', this is quite different. The zone where he can shoot with 87% chance to hit is much larger than any other X-Wing pilot so far. Even when overextending with a boost, he manages to shoot with a 59% chance to hit. More than 1 chance out of 2 !
Wedge shoots harder when at range 1 (6.5% better) but overall, Snap is able to perform better for all its attack range, and is 5 points cheaper.



Ello Atsy is not bad, firing after a TR and performing a focus or TL makes a round hitmap: It is as if he had a turret, at the cost of maneuvering: he can fire equally in all directions. That's nice, but not really competitive when compared to Snap or Wedge.


 And to finish, the best ace for T-70s, Poe Dameron. He is very similar to Wedge with an engine upgrade. The different colors correspond for Wedge to 93%, 83%, 72%, 46% and to 94%, 82%, 70%, 53% for Poe.
While Wedge is only good at shooting, Poe ability is also nice for defense, as you keep the focus token. And then it's a T-70, so more upgrade slots, native boost, TR.
So, what would be a more dangerous version of Poe, for a single shot ? This snipper version could be equipped with "Crack shot", Weapon Guidance and a Vectored Thruster (for improving a bit the range of its weapon). He is a bit expensive but there's a 99.5% chance that he can hit an Academy Pilot at range 1, after a move, and at its extreme range, there's still a 80% chance to hit. That's essentially the effect of "Crack shot", and  Weapon Guidance only improves the % slightly.




That's all for now ! Feel free to try more comparison with hitmaps.
If you have ideas for displaying in a similar fashion the defensive power + maneuverability of a ship, I'm opened to suggestions ! :-)
Cheers !

25 comments:

  1. Lovely work. It's definitely getting more stable, but I flagged a few things today nevertheless.

    The Lightweight Frame Mod is giving ships an extra defense die all of the time. It should only give a defense die when the attack dice outnumber the defender's dice.

    Adaptive Ailerons is activating even when the Tie Striker is stressed.

    Also, the game freezes when I include The Inquisitor in my squad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ok, all corrected. For the last one, this one a big bug affecting many upgrades/pilots (recently added bug). Cheers!

      Delete
  2. Couple of interesting things happened with this replay:

    http://xws-bench.github.io/bench/index.html?AwGgjAHA7OAsCcIBMBWF5gDYTxmKmAXJqFKPMANyiR4LhSJhbLMNEngpI5U3ThwEdM2xI2+DqCQBmWL0oAyJMHm1ws5KsIQVIMiAC0FakLpMZTFpJ2wa3Iyf55wloSOsFb0uY6qK7GWRMMEEqFBlsCJo8SnF5OXQZUKRKGSh5WE5xEBlKFAgIXNh0bFg0zB5MEPBEFEUAMwBDABsAZwBTRQAXACcAVy6AYRamtraASwBjRQB9QwAFQzBDJHmllZl15cNYWaRDAFtDADFYQ2BVu33TgHlZy5P7lafZleOTlcuwFTe7h6Op3OlyQ10e9xQgLOFyuwFmkIAKhdZucPsDYSjDEi4TIoZCQddca9zq9Ia9FjsULNcQ0YXCDrTgQCGgB7AFIvbnVnM3bIyHdZGXbmQ2nfAFtZaYgVwrkwsDiyWXCXypWSikHLbq3Y3Y4AZQAMgdIN9GDcACKGKmXD5fZZgeB-G1y34ve7gm6kwEAIQASrbQZjjgj9bb5eddQjqYYI-Do5HcUGQzCKFGY1qqTTVsiGWyDkitgcBQXDLTcTjDBLywALSW4ytRmvy3FTYwNxUVwWGRsAgCSUfruO7uIAJsiVtyVhy-ozkedlbHaQd6R21rKlzd5wd5xTcZqlri9gdjr6l4ZdACg365TI4ZcYysYwcY5DE6Gb7G2t0P5LUVikyDVwrL8d0tG5aXxb81hWAU9nHXkVRLS0+Q7eVIW7Ndsw7Zduwpc4915Q9vX-ZZYHlLcvwOV53VdC9DC9YikDWJUv3eU5Qx+P5P1jS9T3wNZEWRXDQJzG4kSpBkkLhSF6zQyVZPlcc2UnUDoJUxCIKFNlLhg9lQKFSSFyzZd6wObtTMlcyw0Qr5tkhfDIUIvVDWWCATQdSi3X+GjrSBGFQVvLzAQRH1eKgKCsVAl8-39TBA2imE0Fs4TEKZVSqUUv4xOnAzpOQ7t5NjUcpK7dtuUuKd9KZOcfxQzFRUEpZMEMfCmr2HzgzfALXhojzHTY504WUxy6JCuVTTzbVfw668ZVqikmvEwwdIk84rPrcNI0hGNzhbCBMXQkqrJbB1zgOlswC2U6avO2KrrIwwLWLR7zWal6tjgqqsP2mqivmAB1RRAeAIA

    First thing I noticed was that doing the 2 left s-loop with a 2 right bank the next turn does not place me in the same spot. Showing traces shows the same thing. I should end in the same place (turned around, ofc)

    Second thing is that rigged cargo chute's debris doesn't trigger the moment it lands on the table. Once it hits the table, everyone who overlaps where the debris lands deals with a debris's effects.

    Third thing was Boba Fett crew behaving very oddly. When I dealt a Critical to Fenn Rau with Title, Autothrusters, and mindlink, the only thing I was allowed to remove was mindlink. (There were also 2 skip buttons(?)) Later in the game, I dealt 4 crits on a miracle proton torp to a ship, and Boba let me discard 4 things. On the list of things included a Jumpmaster Primary Weapon Turret ("Laser") Naturally I discarded the laser 4 times.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jyn Erso crew upgrade not working

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  4. Hello there. nice to have you back!!!
    my list is Kanan, Kwing and Zeb Docked. I try VS Omega leader, Thomax Brenn and Colonel Vessery.
    When I click "Go" my ships are fine, all the imps are stacked one on top of the other on my side of the starfield and I do not see any asteroid in the field.
    When I then start (even without the rocks), as soon as I move my Kwing with Pilot skill 2, then I cannot move anything else :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. this is the imperial list

      Omega Leader + Juke + Comm Relay
      Tomax Bren + Crack Shot + Extra Munitions + Cluster Missiles + Concussion Missiles + Guidance Chips
      Colonel Vessery + Crack Shot + Tractor Beam + TIE/D

      Delete
    2. I just tried to pick another random imperial list and it seems to work. may be some upgrade card/pilot broken in that first list.

      Delete
    3. Hi Federico,
      Just tried the list and it works for me...Strange. Have you selected another language than English in the front page ? If so, which one ?
      Cheers !

      Delete
    4. Hello Denis. I tried again on another PC and now it is working. weird.

      Delete
  5. Is there a way to delete a saved squad? When the Inquisitor wasn't working I mashed him a bunch of times and now there is a saved squad with a dozen Inquisitors in it. Would be nice to be able to clean up the saved squads anyways since I like to mess around with lots of squads.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a good point! I removed the X button to delete a squad, in the new table layout. It will be back soon :-)

      Delete
  6. After Inaldra burns a shield to reroll she gets given a bunch of shields instead of losing one.

    Spacetug tractor array freezes game.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Operations specialists appears to freeze the game when it procs.

    On the main page (https://xws-bench.github.io/bench/main.html#creation) the home button and part of the free combat buttons in the top right corner are obscured behind the squad 2 area. (chrome)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Is there a way to give initiative to the other team when both teams have the same points? In order to give my opponent the initiative I put my team as team 2 so team 1 coud get the initiative. the problem is that when doing that, and I use the ghost with the phantom docked, no matter what I do, the phantom gets undocked after the first movement and I do not even have the chance to choose what to do.

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  9. I usually play ghost with phantom docked. It seems that enemy ships can TL the phantom beyond range 3 when it is docked.

    Another thing I noticed is that if you are moving and you press ESC, the game somehow gets stuck

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hull Upgrade and Shield Upgrade don't appear to be working at present

    ReplyDelete
  11. Quin Jast being in your squad makes no ships attack during combat phase.

    Constable Zuvio has unlimited bombs, and after you drop one using his ability (reveal reverse, drop from front) you can then drop bombs after any maneuver.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Crack shot is working the opposite way it should. When has it equipped and is defending, the attacker can use crack shot. When the ship with it equipped attacks, it is not available.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sabine crew allows multiple bomb tokens to trigger extra damage (if more than one cluster mine token is hit, for example, Sabine allows multiple "extra damage" selections).

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  14. Guessing this isn't being updated anymore?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Denis usually updates with a lot of content all at once. I suspect he'll have his hands full with the azituck, skurrg and the aggressor for a while yet.

      Delete
    2. I was more pointing to the lack of updates. Hasn't been one in over three months.

      Delete
  15. Will we be seeing the Auzituck, Skurgg and TIE Aggressor soon? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Denis, can you share any info on the proyect? any future updates?
    Please keep up informed.

    ReplyDelete