Deriving distance from the sight

[Furious]

While reading "Fly for Your Life", the story of Robert Tuck, I came across something I was unaware of that I think would be a great addition to the sim.

In the book Tuck mentions a new British reflector sight that has a knob used to select type or size of enemy aircraft.  Based on the selection the size of the sight ring adjusts to fit that aircraft from wingtip to wingtip at 300 yds, giving the pilot an estimate of distance.

I would love to see this implemented.  Lose the distance information in the icon once the con becomes a discernable aircraft shape.  Use the aircraft type from the icon to dial in the sight, work your way onto his 6, fill the ring and blammo.

Andy Bush touched on this in the Help and Training forum as well.

Furious

[Fatty]

Not until I have a 30 inch monitor.

[Karnak]

Furious,
If you recall, Tuck also said that he noticed that the Bf109 had the same kind of sight, coppied from the British.

Fatty,
What does monitor size have to do with it?  You'd still have the icon that ID'd the type of aircraft.  It would simply switch to a historical method of ranging.

Sisu
-Karnak

[Jekyll]

Fatty, Air Warrior has had this feature since 1985.  And in those days it was all 14" monitors.

Trust me, you won't go blind trying something like this.

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=357th Pony Express=
Aces High Training Corps

[Fatty]

You haven't seen me squinting at my monitor.

I just don't see a pixel display coming anywhere in the ballpark of what you could really see anytime soon.  In the interests of realism you'd be simulating flying with foggy goggles on.

[Karnak]

Fatty,
I'm still not getting it. Could you explain in detail what monitor size has to do with this?

Thanks

Sisu
-Karnak

[Fatty]

A graphical representation of an image is not going to be as accurate or easy to make out as the true image would be.

The smaller the display that graphical represenation is on, the harder subtleties will be to make out. (for instance I can spot ground vehicles on my 17", I cannot on my 15", with the same computer)

[Karnak]

Fatty,
Always true, but in this system you'd still have the icon over the target that said Spit, 109 or whatever.  It would just be the range readout that would go away.

Take a look at the size of the various aircraft in AH when you are 300 yards from them.  That is when the wingtips would touch the gunsight's lines to indicate the range.  I don't think that you'll find it to be bad at all.

Sisu
-Karnak

[Fatty]

You could get by with it, but I still think you're making it harder than it would be RL in an attempt to simulate RL.