Idea to alternative to replace AWACS radar

[Animl-AW]

Several plane models in WWII had onboard radar, just not all of them. Pretty sure axis didn’t.

Personally, I don’t care, event radar is ok, I’m good with dot dar, icon doesn’t bother me, MA is a game, events is the sim. IMO,

Icon helps new players find action.

I also see LilMak points.

IMO it all depends on how one squints their eyes.

[CAV]

We have an update interval for just that reason, would you like it to be longer?

I think what many of us want is the AWACS part to be gone....

As in every plane & GV in the game being its own radar station.

If the radar Tower is up you have radar if it's down, you don't.

And I also think we need to talk about the GVs with their Klingon cloaking devices

But one step at a time... AWACS frist plz

[hitech]

I think what many of us want is the AWACS part to be gone....

As in every plane & GV in the game being its own radar station.

If the radar Tower is up you have radar if it's down, you don't.

And I also think we need to talk about the GVs with their Klingon cloaking devices

But one step at a time... AWACS frist plz

There are no awacs there are planes reporting in on their sightings at vis distance.

HiTech

[Dadtallica]

I think what many of us want is the AWACS part to be gone....

As in every plane & GV in the game being its own radar station.

If the radar Tower is up you have radar if it's down, you don't.

And I also think we need to talk about the GVs with their Klingon cloaking devices

But one step at a time... AWACS frist plz

The other night we were trying to find slaxer for a good long time. Tons of tanks had tried. I was flying around in the air.

It happened to be part of a video I was recording for something else so when I went back to watch to see where he really was, it was the best hiding spot I’ve ever seen in my life. Definitely nothing nefarious, but in the trees in the shadows very well hidden at the top of a hill. I even flew over him several times at treetop and couldn’t see him it was humbling to see that in the video lol.

[LilMak]

There are no awacs there are planes reporting in on their sightings at vis distance.

HiTech

Perhaps you should Google AWACS and learn what it means? Because you just defined AWACS in the second part of your sentence.

…And it isn’t just planes doing it.

We don’t need it and you should consider reverting to pre AWIII standards.

[CAV]

There are no awacs there are planes reporting in on their sightings at vis distance.

That was done by radio (VOX) in WW2, if they was in range of someone. what we have isn't anything like that.
But the players back in the sim. Combat is hard work, remove the EZ buttons.

[Animl-AW]

What he's describing is similar to a Plotting Table? Your map is pretty much just that.

The difference is, instead of AH players getting a radio message (which AI could do) you get a visual. Planes radio in and people visually monitoring on ground telephone it in. The Plotting Table changes second to second and change would be radioed to pilots. The visual in flight is what's not RL, but a mental imaging from radio messages.

[Oldman731]

Combat is hard work, remove the EZ buttons.

You want the ability to sneak up on someone.  Yes?  Isn't what this is all about?

- oldman

[Shane]

You want the ability to sneak up on someone.  Yes?  Isn't what this is all about?

- oldman

noooooo....  him and others want to remove what they feel is too much info currently being provided; heading and type is quite a bit of info to work with.

Going back to dot dar for both types puts some unknowns back into the mix.

[hitech]

YOu wan't me to work with you , start working with me, if you simply keep asking for me to turn it back to the way it was, it is NOT going to happen.

HiTech

[Shane]

YOu wan't me to work with you , start working with me, if you simply keep asking for me to turn it back to the way it was, it is NOT going to happen.

HiTech

I wasn't around to see any debate or decision as to plane type and bearing being added back when. I can understand, somewhat the decision to provide that info, but am unsure how using dot dar would be detrimental to engagements?

It would help to understand why you seem opposed to dot dar (?) as it still provides enough information to initiate engagement.   Local planes and GVs would still show up as dots, just absent type and bearing?

[Dadtallica]

You want the ability to sneak up on someone.  Yes?  Isn't what this is all about?

- oldman

This is one of the silliest repeated arguments that we have. The only reason for not wanting to know what the actual dot is would be so you’re just as unprepared as the person you’re coming upon.

That was never how things worked in real life or a simulation. If you wanna go back to real life, just because a B-17 bomber group didn’t know what plane you were in exactly; they still had a F-Ton of intelligence and a good list to pick from. They also had a pretty good idea where exactly you’re coming from more or less.

If there were still a few hundred people playing this game every night and I launch a set of buffs into the void then I would expect what’s coming to me. And if it didn’t work out, there was another fight right around the corner somewhere always and more than one Arena.

When it’s under 100 and I’m gonna go spend the next whatever amount of time getting to altitude, no matter what plane type I’m on, then I want a fair idea of what I’m heading to or what’s coming at me. Especially since 10% to 20% of those players could be gone by the time I get there. The MA, even when it hits its peaks, still is under 100 (usually 85 or less) people before 7PM EST and after 10PM almost always. Yes, there’s an occasional outlier, but it’s exactly that.

I don’t know what the average login time is because I’m dead certain some of you never log out, or sleep or work, or eat food, or do anything else other than this. Looking at you Shane!  but I’m willing to lay unfavorable odds that’s it’s gotta be somewhere under three hours and personally I feel like it’s closer to my one and a half to two a night. Long story short everyone just needs to chill out and have some fun.

It was pretty spotty tonight on the Rook side except for maybe an hour of action on the Bish front and same on the Knight side. I just went around and pestered things and had a lot of fun.

If you can’t find fun in the MA with the handful of people we have left, maybe you should be more concerned about keeping those people playing than worrying about whether someone can identify your little dot on the map.

Otherwise, go touch some grass and come back later.

[LilMak]

YOu wan't me to work with you , start working with me, if you simply keep asking for me to turn it back to the way it was, it is NOT going to happen.

HiTech

I have never asked for that. Not once. I’ve asked that you leave the presentation as it is (not revert to dot dar). But I have asked that you stop making every player a radar tower. What I want is the following…

I want you to turn every plane and ESPECIALLY tank as a radar tower off. It’s ruined the MA as a balanced sandbox. This one setting has nuked so many cool aspects of the game that are hard to quantify.

Here’s what I’ve asked for multiple times…

Turn off AWACS (every tank and plane is a radar tower) but leave the radar presented as it is within the radar rings (icons are fine). I’ve never thought “dot dar” was the problem. Maybe update the darbar so it’s virtually instant. And/OR…increase the darbar’s effectiveness so it’s more accurate without feeding too much information (like making it cover quarters of sectors). This makes it easier to find the enemy without painting them on the clipboard and giving a localized radar advantage for the team with the most players. AWACS makes SA amlost irrelevant. Nullifies clouds. Ruins the advantage of a bubble canopy. Pushes players into faster aircraft to be competitive. Nullifies the C-47 completely. Punishes bomber pilots by painting them for all the world to see. Makes altitude more important. And, most of all, promotes gameplay that avoids conflict as a default.

At the very minimum. If you change nothing that I ask for. Leave the icons at 6k and make the stupid AWACS only show up at 3k or less. That way a player in a horde can at least close come distance before every picker within a grid is instantly vectored towards them.

If none of this is feasible, be kind enough to let a customer of almost three decades know that you have no intention of changing it.

What you’ve actually created is not “AWACS” but ADS-B in/out. Which is horse crap for WWII aviation. If you REALLY need it to find fights… Leave it on in the tower and turn it off in flight. It’s the second biggest mistake you’ve ever made.

[hazmatt]

If none of this is feasible, be kind enough to let a customer of almost three decades know that you have no intention of changing it.

YOu wan't me to work with you , start working with me, if you simply keep asking for me to turn it back to the way it was, it is NOT going to happen.

I'm not good at reading between the lines but I'm pretty sure he said: "it is NOT going to happen" So I guess this is dead horse beating at this point.

[caldera]

The current radar settings enable individual planes and tanks to be mobile radar towers in enemy territory.

Tanks specifically, can be sitting invisible under a tree.  Sending exact enemy numbers to all of their countrymen, while the enemy flies right over them in a vain attempt to find them.  A lot like having a spy satellite.

Any single pilot is subject to impromptu gang bangs, wherever they go.  Because as soon as one guy sees you, they all do.  If you are already engaged by 1 or 2, the rest suddenly find the courage to make it 5 or 6.

Conversely, if one pilot sees a bunch coming, he can head the other way.  Fun for everybody!