Shooting at "dots"

[synrgy]

I know it is prob realistic the way it is now but am I the only one that is finding it annoying that you we are shooting at dots instead of planes? Unless I have something setup wrong I can't make out that a con is a plane and can draw a decent bead on them unless we are within colliding range.

PIII 450
256meg ram
voodoo3 2000 agp
CH HOTAS setup (pro pedals, pro throttle, combatstick)
TFSU (tactile feedback unit)
128K ISDN connection
running in 1024x768 with good fps

[Ozymandias_KoK]

Have you tried using the z key for zoom?  You can also adjust zoom using the brackets. []  Makes big difference.  Ozassumes you did mean planes in icon range and not simply "dots".  

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TKoKFKA-OZDS-

[synrgy]

You assumed correctly  . With planes in icon range. Tried the "z" key and it helped with working to get sights on the con but not for making out the con except that its about a 4 pixel square dot till its within a range where I'm more worried about avoiding a collision than squeezing the triggers. Will play with the resolutions and other settings a bit more  

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1LT Bill "synerg" West
22nd F/B Group
Red Raiders

[synrgy]

Well after trying the differant resolutions and some other things I still see nothing but dots and the big red icon till the con is very close to me (200 or so) unless I use the zoom "z" key and bring everything in with the "[]" keys. Problem with this is that you lose your gauges and all your depth perception in that you can't tell how close to ground or alot of times even what orientation you are in. Can also forget outside views/panning while in the mode.

Another drawback to being zoomed in like this is that it tends to add to the problem of motion sickness akin to playing quake or one of the many other games using the quake graphics engine.

Since I'm the only one that has posted this problem I guess its just me or my setup  . So I'll let you good folks go back to your fun and I'll stay with my other sims/games and check back now and then to see how its progressing.

[Baaaaa Monkey]

You are not the only one.  I posted something like this under the airplanes BB.  Let just hope more of us come up to bat  .


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Since I'm the only one that has posted this problem I guess its just me or my setup . So I'll let you good folks go back to your
                         fun and I'll stay with my other sims/games and check back now and then to see how its progressing.
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[Paxil]

I don't really like the dots either. Now... I have looked out the window of a passenger jet and seen other planes a good distance away very clearly. Hopefully this is an area that will improve.

[Cabby]

Any "zoom" function is bogus, IMO.  The icons, the range indicator, all need work.

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cabby ++44th SOS++

[Granger]

I agree on this subject, the planes are way too small, and the con/country/range indicators are overpoweringly huge in comparison to the planes themselves.
I was looking yesterday at 2 planes during flight, both p51's. one was at 1.5k, the other at 2.3k from my position. Both were EXACTLY the same size. I would think 800 yards difference at these ranges would scale much better. I assume they still have work to do on the range scaling. Would be nice if the fonts were also scaled back..maybe just a red or green dot..then when you closed the plane indicator could show up..small at first, but larger as the plane advances.
If this is not possible, then howbout giving us several font size options for displaying cons for our own personal preferance?

Granger

[1776]

I too have trouble "seeing".  The icon is overpowering!!!  Don't care if he is a Knight or a Rook.  Just need the distance que in a smaller font if possible.  When many cons in area the screen is a real mess,
icons overlapping etc, would be nice to be able to only select enme cons!!!

Shooting at dots:

I find it difficult to judge what a enme plane is  doing at distance as he is only a small dot.  Seems the transformation from a dot to a plane shape is sudden and dramatic!!
Gennerlly tooo late for this poor pilot to react  However, they sure look cool in my six view prior to being shot down,bullets flying everywhere!!

Now, I am not a very good pilot, and have not tried the "z" view(need to see gauges just to keep the plane in the air!!).  However I am using a 21" monitor and should be able to do a little better in the "seeing" area.

This sim is very hard and very challenging!!!! ADDICTING TOO!!!

 

 

[BB Gun]

Hey cabby,

Zoom feature is needed and even, IMO, realistic.  Why, you say?  I'll tell you, says I..

It all goes back to the 90 degree FOV squeezed into a 17"-19"-21" monitor.  The zoom key isn't actually a zoom, or at least, it shouldn't be, but a "field of view modifier."  IIRC, a 17" monitor at a typical viewing distance encompasses about a 35 degree FoV, and we are squeezing 90 degrees into it.  The Zoom key, (I hope - not an alpha tester, but thats how it was explained to me in another sim currently under development) merely reduces the FoV squeezed into the monitor.  If you want true realism, use pan mode and decrease your default FoV to 35 degrees, and see how well your SA holds up.  

We have a 90 degree FoV for our general SA simulation, and then a zoom key to simulate actual gunning and aircraft orientation/ACM information.

Brendan "BB Gun" Bayne
bbgun

[HomeBoy]

I would like to see an aircraft distance measuring system similar to what the game Fighter Duel used to use.  An aircraft off in the distance would be a black dot (as in AH) and as you got closer to it the color would change to yellow and then red then the aircraft itself would come into view.  This would eliminate all the text as you knew yellow meant >20K, red meant >10k, etc.  It could even be done with shades of red (or green as appropriate).  The closer the plane gets, the brighter the color gets until you get actual visual.  Another feature I liked about Fighter Duel was that the aircraft were not labeled unless you held down a key; i.e., there was only a momentary labeling which kept the arena a little less cluttered and was a good compromise in realism.