Lighting & Weather

MENACE is modeled with the real world in mind, and the weather and light conditions greatly impact any warfare or conflict. Fighting at night is chaotic and dangerous for ill-trained and equipped troops. Blazing heat strains soldiers, and dense fog makes it hard to identify enemies on the battlefield.

Times of Day

First, there are four times of days the player may fight in, with the following aesthetic and tactical characteristics:

Dawn

Early in the morning, the sun is typically very low and still weak. Its light is already yellow-orange but way lighter than at dusk. Shadows are light with a blue or even purple tint and, of course, very long. Mornings also often have a light fog as the humidity of the night evaporates under the increasing sunlight.

In the game, there will be no special modifiers tied to dawn.

Day

The classical daylight is the time at which most missions will be fought. The default setup here is very sunny, with the sun high on the horizon. Shadows are sharp, dark, and short. Colors are intense, and exposure and brightness are high.

This lighting will not affect combat.

Dusk

One of the most distinct lighting effects in nature is dusk, with its very low sun that usually turns into a bright orange. Shadows are long and dark, while the light is still strong but brightly colored. Some fog might rise and create rays of light streaming across the map. There are also no combat effects from this time of day.

Night

The night is very dark, with little light and hardly any shadows. The colors are tinted blue or purple and desaturated. Of course, vehicles turn on their headlights at night, creating long and sharp shadows wherever they move and adding to the eerie atmosphere.

This time of day has the most severe effects on gameplay: All units' vision ranges will be reduced by 2, their detection value by 25%, and their accuracy by 20%. This will lead to fights at night taking place over shorter ranges, and with lower accuracy. However, some Perks and Accessories can help offset the penalties from night fighting.

Weather Conditions

Rain

Light rain has no effect, but heavy rain reduces vision range and detection by 1.

Sandstorms

Present in the desert Biomes, sandstorms not only reduce vision range and detection by 1 and accuracy by 5%, but also increase movement cost by 2 AP per tile.

Blizzards

Present in ice Biomes, blizzards have the same effects as sandstorms: reduce vision range and detection by 1 and accuracy by 5%, as well as increasing movement cost by 2 AP per tile.

References

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2432860/view/515205641165341678