No icons basically simulates myopic pilots. This is not up for debate. In recent frames in the Pac and North Africa, however that was a worthwhile handicap in exchange for certain other more realistic aspects no-icons brought to the table.
However, trying to fly with no icons in the current setup, which the CMs have set at continuous twilight, is absolutely asinine. Planes are not difficult to see, they are impossible to see if they are between you and the deck at default zoom. This is leading to "tactics" which can charitably be described as "ultra melontery" in terms of realism and relation to what went on in WWII...and making it more like WWII is the whole point of a freakin' Axis versus Allies arena.
Tired of it, I'm done with AvA until the sun comes out, either through change in the current setup or the coming of the next map. Before I get the usual "don't let the door hit you" comments, remember this amounts to one less player in an arena that needs all the numbers it can get. I'm sure I've often been the second, third, fourth, or fifth player puttering in the arena that led to another player or two coming in and leading to the synergy in numbers that actually create the rare occasions when the AvA is a-rockin'.
P.S. I have pretty much discovered that dumbing down my graphics, turning off anti-aliasing and lowering res, makes the dots MUCH more visible. But I put alot of effort and money into building a computer that can run the game at a decent level of graphics, I'm not about to fly with crap graphics to gain some kind of gamey "advantage".
