Tactical Visibility and Detection Using Observation

[swaghauler]

I have always found the encounter range rules to be fairly weak in Twilight.
I started doing a little research online and decided after reading TRADOC ARI Technical Report TR-78-A37- Ranges of Detection & Identification of Armored Vehicles, ARI Technical Report TR-753-600 Target Detection & Range Estimation, and the Berkley Study on Range of Facial Recognition; I decided to make some changes in the way Observation is used to Detect and Identify potential encounters.

I have listed a rough table for Detection and Identification of vehicle-sized and man-sized objects by "range band" below. I would like the forum's input on the tables and maybe suggestions for improving them before I type them up and laminate them. Please note that I use a different set of Skill Difficulty Levels from the original Twilight2000 2.2 and so I have put my Skill Multipliers in parenthesis after the Skill Difficulty. Version 1 users will actually find the range charts more compatible than version 2.2 users. I have also added a new Very Open Encounter Range (1D10 X 500 meters) to take into account areas of the World where you can see to the horizon (5km). Please note that this table is used AFTER the Encounter Range has been determined as normal, and is simply used to determine the chance of detection by range.

Detection Chances of Vehicle Sized Objects By Range:
Impossible Level (skill X 0.1) Observation: 3000m to 5000m
Formidable Level (skill X 0.25) Observation: 2000m to 3000m
Difficult Level (skill X 0.5) Observation: 1500m to 2000m
Average Level (skill X 1) Observation: 1000m to 1500m
Routine Level (skill X 1.5) Observation: 500m to 1000m
Easy Level (skill X 2) Observation: 500m or less

Detection Chances of Man Sized Objects By Range:
Impossible Level (skill X 0.1) Observation: 700m to 1000m
Formidable Level (skill X 0.25) Observation: 500m to 700m
Difficult Level (skill X 0.5) Observation: 300m to 500m
Average Level (skill X 1) Observation: 200m to 300m
Routine Level (skill X 1.5 Observation: 100m to 200m
Easy Level (skill X 2) Observation: 100m or less

Identification of a Specific Person in a Crowd:
Impossible Level (skill X 0.1) Observation: 40m to 50m
Formidable Level (skill X 0.25) Observation: 35m to 40m
Difficult Level (skill X 0.5) Observation: 30m to 35m
Average Level (skill X 1) Observation: 25m to 30m
Routine Level (skill X 1.5) Observation: 20m to 25m
Easy Level (skill X 2) Observation: 20m or less

The overlapping Range Bands are intentional. This is to give the GM the option to change the skill difficulty based on the circumstances of his own adventure/campaign. Please note too, this chart lists only the chance of Detection. Identification of the vehicle or equipment and arms is One Level HARDER. If this results in a chance worse than Impossible, then there is NO CHANCE of Identification. If a Detection Roll is shifted to better than Very Easy (3XSkill), Detection is AUTOMATIC. I shift the difficulty for better or worse depending on various conditions such as movement, visibility of clothing, weather and if the target is partially obscured.

Vision Devices:
I wasn't very fond of how binoculars are sort of minimized in the game. Optics are a powerful advantage on the battlefield. I decided to follow a derivative of the method I used for scopes. You take the Magnification of the optic and DIVIDE IT BY 2. This Magnification Factor is then used to divide the Encounter Range to determine your Observation Skill roll.
For Example, Joe is looking for a hidden APC using a pair of 10X50mm binoculars. Dividing the binocular's magnification in half gives a Magnification Factor of 5. The GM knows the vehicle is 2000 meters away. Dividing 2000 by 5 gives a range of 400 meters. Using binoculars allow's Joe to roll against Easy:Observation instead of Formidable:Observation.

I also use Quality levels for my observation devices:

Good Quality Optics: provide a bonus of 1 to your roll (so a 15 becomes 14) in addition to the effective range reduction.

Standard Quality Optics: provide no bonus but do give the effective range reduction

Poor Quality Optics: provide a penalty of 1 to your roll (so a 15 becomes 16) but also allow you to take advantage of the effective range reduction, which makes them better than the naked eye.

There's my take on Encounter Detection and Identification. So how do you make the initial encounter more realistic?

Swag.