Day/Dusk/Night/Dawn time table?

Guys,

Do you guys have some sort of time table to know when your mission should start to have for example a nice dusk or dawn according to the season? Or from what time NVG are required according to the season?

Thanks.

This might help as a start

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1590249&postcount=21

I wonder how Madtommy got that data?

Personally, I've always used this for Sun and Moon data:

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php

Plugging in values for Tbilisi on September 1, 2011, (GMT +4, 41 45'N 44 45'E) I get significantly different data than what Madtommy posted:

Sun and Moon Data for One Day

 

The following information is provided for %28no Name Given) (longitude E44.8, latitude N41.8):

 

Thursday

1 September 2011 Universal Time + 4h

 

SUN

Begin civil twilight 05:58

Sunrise 06:26

Sun transit 13:01

Sunset 19:35

End civil twilight 20:04

 

MOON

Moonset 20:31 on preceding day

Moonrise 10:24

Moon transit 15:49

Moonset 21:06

Moonrise 11:39 on following day

 

 

Phase of the Moon on 1 September: waxing crescent with 15% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

 

New Moon on 29 August 2011 at 07:03 (Universal Time + 4h).

The real-life moon position is nearly a week earlier than the moon data Madtommy posted.

I think it's fair to say that the USNO data quoted above is correct to real life. However, where did Madtommy get his data? He doesn't say, so I can't tell if his data should be more accurate to the game than the real life data.

This might help as a start

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=1590249&postcount=21

Awesome.

Yes, what is really relevant here is the SIM sunset/sunrise times.

Yes, what is really relevant here is the SIM sunset/sunrise times.

Agreed, but MadTommy never cited a source for his data, so we can't verify if the times he has are accurate or not. From the way he states it, I kinda get the feeling he generated the sunrise/sunset times and lunar cycle data via some math equation or website. Maybe we should send him a PM and find out if he doesn't see this post soon enough.

Thanks guys for the replies but what Habu 69 is rightly pointing out is how sunset/sunrise is calculated in the sim. You cannot specify any date in the ME, only the season. So I can only assume sunset/sunrise are fixed times coded somewhere. Note that I can probably run some trials and errors missions until I can find the answer. But if I can avoid the hassle....

Edit: Hold on, I see on MadTommy's post mentioning day 000 to day 366 in the editor. What is it?

Ahhh, but one can specify the date in the ME by selecting the start Day for units in the Group Panel waypoint time box according to MadTommy's Editor Day column. Theoretically sky objects should then be synchronized for that day of the year.

Thanks guys for the replies but what Habu 69 is rightly pointing out is how sunset/sunrise is calculated in the sim. You cannot specify any date in the ME, only the season. So I can only assume sunset/sunrise are fixed times coded somewhere. Note that I can probably run some trials and errors missions until I can find the answer. But if I can avoid the hassle....

 

Edit: Hold on, I see on MadTommy's post mentioning day 000 to day 366 in the editor. What is it?

What's going on is that the "fall/spring/summer/winter" setting in the ME just sets the terrain tile coloration and probably a few other cosmetic things.

Sunrise/sunset, the moon phases, and the stars are determined by the start time of the mission. The stars, sun and moon are fairly accurate to real life, however, there are no planets.

Day 1 (or does the ME start at day 0? I don't remember) is currently June 1, 2011.

So really, what you need to do is use spring tiles for days 1-20 and days 294-365, summer tiles for days 21-112, fall tiles for days 113-225, and winter tiles for days 226-293. And, yes, you can go past day 365, so just repeat this pattern for missions starting past day 365.

Wow. OK, this is a bit more complicated than what I though indeed. Thank you so much for all this information.

I cannot find where you set the day number. In the waypoint time box, I got 12:0:0/0.?

 

I cannot find where you set the day number. In the waypoint time box, I got 12:0:0/0.?

The last zero is the day number.

OK. I can't believe I totally missed this for the last 3 or 4 years I am building missions.... Thanks a million guys.

Wow. OK, this is a bit more complicated than what I though indeed. Thank you so much for all this information.

 

I cannot find where you set the day number. In the waypoint time box, I got 12:0:0/0.?

Yes, that's where you say the day number for a waypoint, but to set the day number for the start time of the mission, you need to click on the button (forgot it's name- it's the one that takes you to the screen where you can enter the mission briefing text, IIRC).