If you are looking for Harpoon answers, you have come to the right place.
Firstly, allow me to clarify a few things so that viewers may not be confused. The version numbers to which you refer (9.3.4 and 9.11) are not commonly associated with Harpoon. I think you may have jumbled them. There are three versions of Harpoon 3 available within the Harpoon Ultimate Edition bundle of games: H3 (v3.6), ANW (v3.9.4), and HUE (v3.10) For the purposes of this discussion, I will use these names and numbers. The HUE v3.10 is the last version released, but that does not necessarily equate to most sophisticated or 'best'. You can judge for yourself.
The red outlines to which you refer are called [UZ] Uncertainty Zones. The game engine has detected a contact and estimates it within the UZ. I will use a simple example from the PlayersDB and compare the three game versions. I use the PlayersDB because it is consistent throughout all three versions. Only the PlayersDB is available for each of the three versions. You can follow along with the example. The scenario I use is The Third Temple (3Temple.SCN). It can be found in the Mediterranean battleset. If you have yet to install it, you can find it:
Harpoon HUE users can get the:
Complete PlayersDB Harpoon HUE LibraryHarpoon ANW users can get the:
Complete PlayersDB Harpoon ANW LibraryHarpoon3.6.3 users can get the:
Complete PlayersDB Harpoon 3.6.3 LibraryI ran the same scenario in each of the versions and took screenshots at the 3.5 minute mark and at the 10 minute mark to show the differences.
Here is the scenario after 3.5mins in H3:
Here is the scenario after 10mins in H3:
Here is the scenario after 3.5mins in ANW:
Here is the scenario after 10mins in ANW:
Here is the scenario after 3.5mins in HUE:
Here is the scenario after 10mins in HUE:
Notice how the H3 game is able to clarify the ESM contacts easily after a few minutes. The game engine shows you an uncertainty zone with a general bearing, but not very much range data. IMO, this is how the game should work and is one of the primary reasons I continue to play H3 and avoid ANW and HUE whenever possible.
In ANW and HUE, notice how the UZs are virtually identical between the 3.5 minute mark and the 10 minute mark. The game is unable to clarify and reduce the size of the UZones. This was reported to the developers, but they claimed that no changes were made to the ESM calculations between the game versions. You can judge for yourself the veracity of this claim. The PlayersDB uses the
exact same sensor values between the various game versions. We do this in order to maintain a baseline of performance and to remain consistent. Players can compare a scenario between the various game versions and decide for themselves which is best for them. Logically, if the developers are to be believed, there should be little difference between the ESM detections in each game version. This is simply not the case.
HUE v3.10 also includes a database editor so you can modify the values if you do not agree with them. (The DB editor only works for the HUE version.) You are not forced to accept anyone else's perception of reality. The UZs can also be totally eliminated by modifying the database and removing the uncertainty variables altogether. I do not believe that is the best solution. Instead, I just play scenarios in H3 and avoid the other versions unless I absolutely cannot do so (i.e. multi-player is only possible in ANW).
I hope that this explanation is sufficiently clear. Let me know if you want to try the multi-player.
. There's definitely some bizarre stuff going on in HUE at the ten minute mark which ANW seems to avoid, but both look too cluttered to be useful in large engagements. I'll follow your example and stick with 3.6.3 while I get to grips with the game, along with the PlayersDB.