Energy State Bars for Film Viewer

[doright]

The film viewer for me is an important learning tool (ya I know, I obviously need to use it a LOT more). Given that it really isn't an historical WW2 technology that fidelity to must be maintained, I would really like to see the ability to turn on E-state bars above the airplane icons for your plane and selected other planes.


oops realized this is a little hard to read

Obviously this information is mostly available in text form in the box on the right. But a graphical presentation is much more user friendly and has a significantly better mental impact.

Besides which instead of smacking my monitor upside the head, I could now tell a person to record a film and watch it after they say they are going to "dive to pick up E."

[Ack-Ack]

The bars would clutter the screen too much.

ack-ack

[doright]

The bars would clutter the screen too much.

ack-ack

Doright inc would like to thank you for your input. All operators are presently busy, so while on hold please feel to read the part of the post that says "the ability to turn on E-state bars" or even for your further perusal "Column added for an E state check box". If you still have question feel free to read the extremely brief entirety before posting.

Your carefully considered comments as to the utility of a E state box as a learning tool would, however, have the potential of the possibility of contributing to the concept.

[BaldEagl]

All operators are presently busy,

Hello, this is Peggy...

[FLS]

You won't fix a bad merge with energy bars. Consider merging with the bandit's flight path instead of crossing it.

[Arlo]

[715]

Well I think it's a neat idea.  Perhaps the screen would get a little busy with the energy bars flying around.  Perhaps just have them off to the side labeled with the plane handle?  Also, don't you want some way to judge total E for one plane versus the other?  If the total length of the bar is normalized to the first time you click them on, then you can't see the relative E state between the planes.

[SIK1]

You can tell your energy state and that of your opponents by looking at the speed and altitude that is already a part of the film viewer. The real trick is being able to accurately judge energy when in the engagement.

[pervert]

Well I think it's a neat idea.  Perhaps the screen would get a little busy with the energy bars flying around.  Perhaps just have them off to the side labeled with the plane handle?  Also, don't you want some way to judge total E for one plane versus the other?  If the total length of the bar is normalized to the first time you click them on, then you can't see the relative E state between the planes.

Why not just have the trails change colour with energy state? dunno how doable that is though :/ I made a rough training aid like that once but it was too much of a pain to recolour the trails with photoshop.

[Arlo]

Why not just have the trails change colour with energy state? dunno how doable that is though :/ I made a rough training aid like that once but it was too much of a pain to recolour the trails with photoshop.

Making rainbows? Um. 

[pervert]

Making rainbows? Um. 

Seemed like a good idea at the time...until I realised how many segments of bars I would have to recolour and how much rechecking of the film I would have to do and record for the final picture :/ and if I recall the colours were red 

[pembquist]

Why not just have the trails change colour with energy state? dunno how doable that is though :/ I made a rough training aid like that once but it was too much of a pain to recolour the trails with photoshop.

That is an idea worthy of a patent.

[bustr]

As a toggle, instead of the bars, have the speed of the two planes be part of their Icon or replace the icon in large enough font to be useful.

[doright]

Why not just have the trails change colour with energy state? dunno how doable that is though :/ I made a rough training aid like that once but it was too much of a pain to recolour the trails with photoshop.

That is a cool idea.

Thing I like better about a bar though is it would be easy to see the interchange of kinetic and potential energy and how one is converted to the other. Additionally how fast different maneuvers are bleeding the total energy would be much more apparent, especially in the vertical. Perhaps the two ideas could be combined somehow or both left as display options.

You can tell your energy state and that of your opponents by looking at the speed and altitude that is already a part of the film viewer. The real trick is being able to accurately judge energy when in the engagement.

Accurately judging energy when in an engagement is kind of the whole point of having films to look at and learn from. An energy bar would just make learning easier since evaluating from just textual airspeed and altitude is tough and unintuitive.

As a toggle, instead of the bars, have the speed of the two planes be part of their Icon or replace the icon in large enough font to be useful.

But speed is not total energy, and could give a very misleading impression in vertical fights.

[PFactorDave]

Hello, this is Peggy...

For those who don't remember.