Very well noticed, Pei.
The distance changes in increments of 200 yards within 1k distance, and 500 yards outside 1k.
It's still a bit early to say what kind of real changes in combat this would bring, but I've seen a quite a few people complaining how enemy planes they thought were out in safe distances, suddenly 'jumped' close to them.
What it seems to suggest, is people might start putting less trust into the numbers, and actually grow a habit of paying attention to the situation/enemy plane itself.
If someone spots an enemy from far away, the changing increments of 500 yards is enough for him to judge the relative differences in speed between his plane and the enemy's. However, if you weren't paying attention, and suddenly notice an enemy plane behind you at 1.5k, you have no idea if that distance will suddenly diminish to 400 yards in 1 second, or 5 seconds.
In the old icons, you can tell the E state by watching how the distance diminishes by every yard, but since there's no way of telling that in the new icons, it'd bring out many interesting situations - and of course, interesting whines
