First, I think we all agree that the "hit map" has to remain the correct size. Even if we experiment with plane art size, the damage/hit area should remain where it is.
Second, I think Fats has a valid point on the gamma correction idea. I agree with him that the game is dark and it's a pain that we can't easily alter it in the game.
This should be done now and it shouldn't be too hard. Camo should have an effect, of course, but with most of the terrain a "frog-skin green" the terrain texture itself is "camo." So we have camo planes flying over camo terrain. If all the ground texture were field, forest or buildings that would help but framerates would suffer. Perhaps it would help to make terrain textures a bit more unfriendly to aircraft by altering the color.
Third, I still believe ICONS are the enemy. Thus, the goal is to provide essentially the same ACM cues that icons presently provide but to do that without the huge neon halos.
So, we've basically got to convey country, type and range by using aircraft color, shape and size. As I see it, those are the only real variables,unless you guys can think of another.
Here's some ideas to kick around:
Range might be handled by using a known color scaling. The shape would be black at long range, changing to a dark gray then gray then the color scheme of the aircraft. This would give 4 "range categories". Use black at long range (6+ miles), dark gray (6-2), gray (2-1) and inside a mile use the color texture.
We could use larger shapes in the same way. Thus even at 6+ miles bombers would be larger than fighters. A big black shape is a buff, a 1/2 size of that is a fighter. If you zoom, you might be able to tell type inside of, say 4 miles or so. In zoom, telltale color marks should appear on the shape to tell friend/foe. For example, in zoom at 4 miles, you see red tips on spinner, wingtips and stab of enemies, green on friends.
Then inside of a mile we use current plane colors and perhaps _slightly_ (5%? 10%) increase plane size, with the friend/foe coloring as above.
I don't suggest that this is the answer. It's a place to start the discussion and then perhaps give a system something like this a chance.
The icons are bogus, no way around it.
We're going to have to experiment to see if we can come up with a workable alternative.
BTW, I don't think any icons should be user selectable. Once we get rid of them, they're gone. It's part of SA. We're working towards as much realism as we can get. It will take some doing, but icons aren't in it.
Flame on...but this is meant not to condemn but improve.
