Radar Feedback

[-gg-]

That's a good explanation. I do remember the way radar used to work and then when it was updated to the AWACS version, lol.

I think it was a good call to change the radar to what it is now. I really like it.

[Animl-AW]

You’re not a joke.

Anyone who sticks their neck out upfront for a change, even with best intensions, is also opening themselves to clubbing by the vocals. Ask me how I know.

What I see is the convo is vastly over-talked.
Several here think recycling creative ways to say the same thing over and over gives it more weight. Which can be true, but sometimes it can also become an irritant and repelling can take over.

You don’t have to defend the change. It comes down to it either works with the masses or it doesn’t.

I think in ENY and Dar changes, no matter if they go over well or not, it shows HTs willingness to work directly with the players and give their ideas and input a consideration. I can’t think of another game where dev works directly with the players.

Just a few months ago we got nothing. Now everyone wants their wishlist implemented yesterday.

I still maintain; “do you want it done fast or right” they aren’t always both.

Personally, I think a lil different approach may evolve. I don’t think it’s the magic solution. But it’s a move in the right direction to do anything at all.

Main point, stick your neck out and someone will chop it off,…you’ll find who your friends aren’t right quick. It goes with the territory.

[-gg-]

Well said, Animal. There's a reason why those people in our squad won't come here to express their opinions on anything. You've got people here who don't even play the game who will just ride you.

People have opinions on e n y within our squadron and they won't come here to express them even though they get super pissed off in the game about it. I've asked them to come here and they just won't because they're not going to get jumped on over here. Their words

[Mol]

I read a lot of different perspectives on the radar and I now accept my original post was heavily influenced by my initial difficulty getting used to the new settings and a failure to appreciate the bigger picture.

Can we have the Radar back the way it was please?

MoL

I've changed my mind, I no longer want it back the way it was, but I also don't want it the way it is now, for the following reasons:

That is the balance I am trying to find: enough on the map that a new player can find a fight, but not so much that a veteran can't get a fair one.

But I am trying to think of another way to have players be able to simply report the players they see, possibly by key press and anything in view gets sent. This then could also include vehicles.

Also no mater what we go with I will have the icons fade with update rate.

HiTech

That all sounds a lot better.

Two things seem certain, the thinking around this topic goes much deeper than I thought, and there are good things coming.

My oppologies for the initial post. Reading it back it sounds like a whine was recorded 

MoL

[DmonSlyr]

You’re right. Not many (recently) asked for a change. The change happened years ago. One day the MA had only radar within the radar rings. The next day we had every GV and airplane as its own individual radar tower with little to no delay and kill messages added for every death. This change wasn’t asked for. It just showed up. Presumably to make the MA appear more active and help people find the action.

It basically worked. Too well.

Initially the response was mixed with most of the complaints about individual players being hunted because their name was being broadcast whenever they scored or died. The name in lights thing was a symptom of the the real problem in my opinion. Which is/was the ability of localized groups to either flat out gang/hunt individual players while outright avoiding danger unless all the conditions were 100% favorable. It fed things like the C-47 becoming virtually useless. Bombers being singled out before they could even get close to targets unless they had copious amounts of altitude. Flanking large groups was nearly impossible. Plane selection pushed to faster and faster aircraft just to be competitive (both bombers and fighters). Altitude became much more important. Radar rings being less strategic. Pilots taking off from a quiet field were being broadcast on radar by an enemy GVs sleeping under trees. Lone pilots being converged on before they could even close to gun range on the lone enemy they see. Entire groups hovering on opposite sides of imaginary battle lines to avoid being the first one into a fight. All of that is still happening. Just slower.

There was pushback. Swaths if people complained. Many quit citing the radar settings as the final straw.

Some of us dealt with it (me) but refused to let it go. I’ve railed against proximity radar for years. To the point that I’m a basically joke because of it. Partly because it sucked much of the fun out of the game for me but mostly because I believe it was bad for business. I recognized that pilots like me are much more rare than we used to be. We were being run off and ignored providing fewer targets for the hordes and career pickers. We are type who didn’t care if we won the war. We generally didn’t care if we won or lost a good fight. As long as that fight could be had without radar pointing us out for the 2-6 other folks who never would’ve been a part of it if they weren’t spoon fed our position on the clipboard. Am I going to be picked with a 20 second delay? Yes. Am I going to be ganged? Yes. But I’m also going to have more fun providing a target for you which results in me being there for you to shoot down at a much higher frequency. Provided, of course, that you look out the cockpit every few seconds to actually see me.

So…yeah. Changes and compromises were asked for, but most of those asking gave up years ago or simply quit. But it’s been years in the past.

I personally can’t thank HT enough for the change. I was skeptical that the delay would do much of anything. The last couple weeks have been infinitely better. The fights are lasting longer without one side getting beat down. The first couple days there was a bunch of people who were clearly staring at the clipboard and getting surprised. That’s tapering off as they learn. I believe we can refine the radar without simply reverting to the uneven standard we had before the delay. Until then, keep it as it stands.

Likmak and I are on the same page here 

Regarding the balance issue hitech pointed to. I believe maybe making the dar bars look bigger with 3 or more planes would spark more defenders. Many players live off the dar bars. One of my biggest issues is a huge map with tiny 1 notch dars scattered all over the place. This makes rolling pointless.

One team being ganged by both sides at night is also a huge problem. 114 players on and not a single fight on the other side of the map while bish are being hoarded by both teams. This vastly limits # growth in fights. My idea to fix that is adding zones in specific areas of the map the provide more points/perks if you attack them, and they would also benefit the war effort and give people a path to action if there is no clear battle on that side.

[mERv]

The new radar system is dog cheeet 

-1

[diaster]

I havent heard a single player praise the dar change. All are in agreement it was an awful implementation. In a game that demands situational awareness, where the default views are awful already, the clip board map is something players heavily rely on.

I dont understand why a detrimental change to game play would be implemented to the MA. You dont fix what is not broken. 

Ok i will praise it then. It is more realistic, i see a plane on far, i plot an intercept to be where i think it will be. I have to actually look for it, once i arrrive. i have then managed an effective attack cause he was ruling on my last position. Minimums a radar sweep is appropriate and adds realism. One adjustment i would make. When you are within icon range the position should update constantly. That mimics verbal update comms as to location etc. also friendly positions updated in real time as that also mimics verbal comms. I say this because not all people talk, for reasons I am unsure, SkyHawk/OOPK and Pica to name two. Maybe it gives away age (when you build a rep as a united pilot, act like a child on 200 etc)or lack of English mastery, who knows. But live updates on friends would be appropriate

[Eagler]

HT has stated it's not radar but a display of gathered intelligence displayed in a logical usable manner..

All for the new settings including the new icon fade..

Thanks HT 

Eagler

[1Cane]

The new radar system is dog cheeet 

-1

 Please Quit fixing something that's not broken!

[Flayed1]

 The new radar system is good and, in my personal opinion doesn't go far enough. But I won't argue for more drastic change other than I would love to go back to dot dar.   There you have another long time player who is praising the new dar settings! 

[atlau]

My 2 cents with the current radar system is instead of fading to 0, have the icons fade to 25% where you can still see the last position rather than nothing at all...

[Blade]

So, in the end, it doesn't change the fact that all piston-engine fighters are equipped with omnidirectional radar and data links.
It feels way too casual to be able to pinpoint the enemy's location just by looking at a clipboard map—without having to switch your field of view back and forth, roll the aircraft, or make occasional turns to search for the enemy.

[JimmyD3]

So, in the end, it doesn't change the fact that all piston-engine fighters are equipped with omnidirectional radar and data links.
It feels way too casual to be able to pinpoint the enemy's location just by looking at a clipboard map—without having to switch your field of view back and forth, roll the aircraft, or make occasional turns to search for the enemy.

In the Radar ring, the only difference from what we had in AH2 is Plane/bomber symbols vs the dot. No big deal.

[Eagler]

My 2 cents with the current radar system is instead of fading to 0, have the icons fade to 25% where you can still see the last position rather than nothing at all...

The 2 second no icon is the best part of the change imo..

Eagler

[Busher]

The new radar system is dog cheeet 

-1

While I doubt HT cares whether we like it or not, I do suspect it will lead to some departures.... no idea how many,  if any.

I participate mostly in winter months when weather leaves F'all else to do but play computer games. Not a lot of fun right now.