I can't help but agree that we need some assistance for newbies, but I wonder if BVR icon ranges are really much of a help. Think of this situation:
pilot is flying a p51 at 10,000 feet, when a dot on radar shows itself to be a FW190 at 20,000 feet d8.0 away.
If pilot is a vet, pilot runs away screaming.
If pilot is a newbie, pilot charges the FW, becoming an easy meal for the FW.
Ok, you say, but what about bounces. Newbies will find it frustrating to get shot down without even seeing their enemy.
Think back to your first days online. Did it really matter at what range the icons were? Heck, you had trouble just working the view system.
The current radar-and-icon setting for me has nothing to do with helping out newbies. What it does, imo, is add to the "furball corridor" syndrome by letting people know in what general part of the map the enemy is. The BVR icon and ident doesn't help them one bit. How many of them do you think actually know the difference in performance between a yak-9u and a n1k? These are advantages given only to those with a bit of experience.
