DX8 beta12 : opening new heights?

[Kweassa]

Ok, so its here, and you've pretty much all tried it. And, even though there were some tough debates over "external sound can be heard" vs "it cannot be heard"...

 Yeah, you've gotta admit it sure Sounds GOOD     !!! I was in the tower, and I think I actually heard a bullet hitting nearby and ricocheting ! That "* Thwup *  *Zing~~* " sound was awesome.

 Being vulched is always frustrating, but now at least, sitting at the tower, you can hear all the ruckus   this obviously new feature brings out a smile on my face...

 Another interesting thing was the 'shaky' gunsights. This feature, if permanently implanted in 1.08, seems it would definately lower the bullet hit percentages of shots fired during high G turns and sudden rudder movements. Also brings out a smile towards all those N1K2 drivers * Grin *  

 But I haven't figured out why the sights would look this way. I don't think it is simulating any sort of 'gyroscopic' sight movements such as the one in P-51D models..

 What is it? Is it simulating the state where the pilot's torso lean and shakes during highly 'turbulent' maneuvers?

[SKurj]

Who uses the gunsight in any sort of hi gee maneuver? +)  If you stabbing the rudder u may well be just chasing your stream.

SKurj

[Kratzer]

Originally posted by Kweassa:

 What is it? Is it simulating the state where the pilot's torso lean and shakes during highly 'turbulent' maneuvers?

I believe that is exactly what it is simulating... it also probably paves the way for gyroscopic sights... which I can't use anyway.

[streakeagle]

Actual reflector sights are like holographic images focused at infinity. If you move your head, does the sun move? I am not sure how real sights respond to head movement, but my schooling and experience in imaging physics says what happens in the beta is more realistic than the disappearing effect in the regular build. Moving your head does not change the fact the image is being projected onto the glass, but merely changes the apparent reflection and refraction angles. I would love to play with a real sight just to see how it works. On submarines, we didn't have anything like that, not even on the periscope sights. Anyone here a current fighter jock and want to comment on what a real HUD image does when you move your head (the projection technology has changed little since then, only what is projected has really changed)?

I am hoping this new moving sight will also open the door to having a genuine gyroscopic LCOS sight. With a little practice, I do well with a fixed sight even at high g's and odd deflection angles (the icon range indication certainly helps me a lot), but it rarely hurts to have an LCOS sight give you a cue unless you can't remain stable long enough for it to settle. Then I think the fixed sight is preferable. My thumbwheel on my throttle stick could finally do what it was originally used for: adjusting the size of the reticle to match the wingspan of the target to estimate range.

An interesting fact: the A-10's gun ammo has such a high velocity (and flat trajectory), that the extra cost of an LCOS sight was deemed a waste of money. They have a fixed reticle and judge range to the tanks by the size of the tank compared to the center dot.

The F/A-18's sight (and later revisions to other teen series fighter fire control radars) uses advanced processing to make realtime calculations that minimize the time of flight delay effects and stability problems associated with all previous LCOS sights.

The IFFC "Firefly" system tested on the F-15 over a decade ago allowed the computer to take over the flight controls when the trigger was pulled and fired only when rounds could hit. It had better than a 99% hit probabilty even at the worst deflection angles.

[mrfish]

something about the shakey gunsight thing really makes my day. it is amazing how such a little nothing can affect the sense of immersion.