Read Only Interface

The read only interface to the Scorched Earth Online War is designed for the pilots on both sides to preview missions and briefings plotted by the mission commander. Each side has a predetermined level of intelligence information after the initialization of the template. This setting, dynamic reconnaissance, is available when a template is loaded and cannot be adjusted afterwards. This reconnaissance boost does not last beyond the first turn.

Once logged in you can now navigate to the various districts on the map or have the entire map displayed. Choose the map district either by clicking on the letter on the map interface or selecting the district from the drop down in the center top of the screen. The only way to access the view entire district is through the dropdown. After selecting a district a more detailed map is displayed. Icons will be displayed on the map provided that this is not toggled off. To change districts click on the change text just above the mission time in the upper left corner. You will now be returned to the district selection screen.

When a district map is displayed in the map window, information is displayed to the left in the Mission HQ area. Text Situation Map, Objectives is a text pad icon. Move the mouse pointer over the icon and the Sector Overview is displayed. To the right of the word objectives is a text pad icon. Moving the mouse pointer over the text pad, displays the overall objective(s) for your side, if they have been set by the administrator.

The time entry displays when the next mission will takeoff. This time will not change until the mission is flown and the results are analyzed. Pay attention to the time as the mission may be scheduled for anytime day or night. The text pad icon beside the time gives information regarding the last database event, either analyzing a mission or advancing the clock.

Below the Time display is the current weather information. This information may influence the kinds of missions requested by the commander. The text pad to the right of the weather information is the 24 hour weather forecast for 6 and 24 hours from the current game time. Note that each side (Axis or Allied) receives a potentially different weather forecast and outlook generated automatically by SE as part of its climate generator. By default, both sides have meteorological forecasts of similar average accuracy (about 75% accurate), but the forecasts are random and can occasionally be very wrong. The SE climate generator is fully customizable and supports different climatic settings for each sector.

All (enemy and friendly) land and sea icons are displayed with a 1 hour lag time. This is to simulate the fog of war.

Map interface

The map interface is the map displayed to the right of the mission planning tools. It consists of a map with icons displayed. Icon colour denotes friendly or foe. The icons and their unit type or meaning are shown below:

Unit Type/Legend	Map Icon (military style)	Unit Type/Legend	Map Icon (military style)
Recon (Air)	Icon	Transport (Air)	Icon
Bomber (Air)	Icon	Dive Bomber (Air)	Icon
Fighter (Air)	Icon	Fighter-Bomber (Air)	Icon
Seaplane (Air)	Icon		Icon
AAA (Ground)	Icon	Anti-Tank (Ground)	Icon
Armour (Ground)	Icon	Artillery (Ground)	Icon
Engineers (Ground)	Icon	Infantry (Ground)	Icon
Mechanized Infantry (Ground)	Icon	Recon (Ground)	Icon
Self-Propelled Artillery (Ground)	Icon	Tank Destroyer (Ground)	Icon
Aircraft Carrier (Naval)	Icon	Battleship (Naval)	Icon
Cruiser (Naval)	Icon	Destroyer (Naval	Icon
Transport (Naval)	Icon	Patrol Boat (Naval)	Icon
Submarine (Naval)	Icon		Icon
Train (Ground)	Icon	Transportation (Ground)	Icon
Truck (Ground)	Icon	Train	Icon
Unit Destroyed	Icon	Disputed Airbase	Icon
Unknown Unit	Icon	Air Supply	Icon
Air Withdraw	Icon	Ground Supply	Icon
Ground Withdraw	Icon	Sea Supply	Icon
Sea Withdraw	Icon	Control Icons (1 per country)	Icon
Bridge, Destroyed	Icon	Factory, Destroyed	Icon
Fuel Dump, Destroyed	Icon		Icon

Table 2 - Unit and Map Icons