The problem with AH aircraft labels

[Puma44]

As someone who sits in an AC room all day talking and watching planes looking through a window....you are wrong. The number of factors you are forgetting is like 20.

Good point!  Real world visibility issues are quantum leaps above the AH world.

[Oldman731]

Once you saw something, it was hard not to keep your eyes on it. But, until then, you could miss small planes for many reasons even on a clear day.

Yup.  It's one thing to pick out a plane when you know where to look, and quite another when you don't.  I think every pilot has vivid memories of other planes suddenly appearing nearby.  Even when the TCAS is flashing, I often find it's difficult to locate the enemy aircraft.  Was at an AOPA lecture once, where an ATC controller, who was also a pilot, related that her non-flying controller friends were all unpleasantly surprised to see how difficult it is to actually spot other airplanes in the sky.  Johnnie Johnson's book, "Wing Leader," tells of an occasion near the end of the war, when his entire wing failed to spot an FW 190 flying beneath them.

- oldman

[Vraciu]

Vision and age have a lot to do with it.  In my 20s I was able to spot planes like a hawk.  Now in my 40s--even with TCAS and 20/15 vision--it's not so easy.

[Vulcan]

Twice tonight I lost in a 1v1 on equal terms with a Yak-9. Literally nothing I can do in an A5, he can catch me if I run and pull inside any conceivable maneuver I make. I've played for two years and I can fly my usual rides to the edge of the stall horn without loosing control so I know it's not me. Their plane is just better. Period.

The Yak-9U is an incredibly underrated ride in the MA - most go for the Yak-3. I think a lot of people find the guns too "weak" with too little ammo - but I've had 6 kill runs on a single ammo load. I'm a crappy shot, so need to get close and that suits the yak. The A5 can be a very nimble ride, and I've had good hard fights in a 9U vs an A5, I also used to fly the A5 a bit.  In the A5 take the minimal gun package, empty the Mgs, fight with the  aft tank empty, if someone gets on you use the fast roll/instantaneous turn, or weave with a bit of rudder to force an overshoot. Yaks are high powered and are often easy to milk overshoots from.

[JunkyII]

Seeing a plane moving perpendicular to you is easier to see then one coming at you

A plane that is a lighter color against the clouds will be hard to see compared to a green plane....but the green plane will blend in with the ground

Visibility isn't the only thing I'm talking about...10 and a million...aka clear skies and unlimited visibility planes are still hard to see even when you know where they are at.

Icons are one thing that doesnt need to change...making the distance shorter might be a viable dicussion like it is in SEA.

Fact is yea a brofessional gamer will win most 1v1s in a spit 16 ect ect...you need to know ACM to give yourself the best possible setup.

[Wiley]

I wouldn't be opposed if they changed it to something a bit more general like country and 1/2/4 engines at long range, then maybe type at some distance, then model when you get to 800 like it is now.  I would be opposed to shortening them though.  Knowing something is there at 6k is a reasonable compromise IMO.

Wiley.

[icepac]

When I was in my teens my father and his friends would tune a channel and plan lunch at Fredrick Md. during regular Saturday club flying. Before that they would give a common location to group up which was code for fly around chasing each other's 6 over a well known farm. If it was partially cloudy, you could miss everyone while looking between cloud gaps and end up with one of them sneaking up on your low 6. If it was a clear day, 5 miles was a good average distance to see them coming. 10 miles, maybe if something large and Military was flying around at 10,000ft. All of our antics was between 7 and 10k. Once you saw something, it was hard not to keep your eyes on it. But, until then, you could miss small planes for many reasons even on a clear day. That is why my only task was to keep scanning for other planes becasue the Maryland airspace was very busy with private aircraft. Lower planes unless they were all white blended in well with the Maryland countryside.

I used to be a flight planner for AOPA at frederick airport.     Interesting place.

[Bizman]

Vision and age have a lot to do with it.  In my 20s I was able to spot planes like a hawk.  Now in my 40s--even with TCAS and 20/15 vision--it's not so easy.

So you're of the younger generation in this game...

I suppose the Air Forces all around the world still require perfect eye sight for the trainees. During WW2 the FAF pilots ate lots of blueberries to keep their eyes fit; they are rich with lutein which should be healthy for the eyes. Chosen ones, trained ones... Compare them to us having to use glasses to see near due to aging! Despite the icon showing distances up to 6k the image on the screen is still only an arm's length away.

[Vraciu]

So you're of the younger generation in this game...

I suppose the Air Forces all around the world still require perfect eye sight for the trainees. During WW2 the FAF pilots ate lots of blueberries to keep their eyes fit; they are rich with lutein which should be healthy for the eyes. Chosen ones, trained ones... Compare them to us having to use glasses to see near due to aging! Despite the icon showing distances up to 6k the image on the screen is still only an arm's length away.

I like the sound of that. 

[Mister Fork]

I like the sound of that. 

Very true.

Sometimes in the AvA we turn up the haze a bit.  That makes it like a typical summer day in Europe with higher humidity and with no icons, you really need to be looking - at the monitor closely just 1-2 feet away from your face. With my VR headset, however, nothing misses my eyes as I find I'm able to pick up and track enemy fighters with uncanny accuracy and ability.

So the question is - do we tweak the current icon model or do we lower the distance? Maybe it should be tied in with the environmental model - fog/haze distance sets the icon range as well?

[Shuffler]

Can we all close our eyes and fly by ear?

 

[rvflyer]

Just for the fun of it I went back into WB this week to play and see how it compared now to what AH is now. Awful game don't see what I ever enjoyed about it.

Warbirds is still kicking, even if it's a weak kick.

If my memory serves me, only the scenarios had the vertical bar above the plane indicating friendly or enemy aircraft red/green, but  range only showed below 1k distance.

They also had a radar arrow pointing to the nearest enemy aircraft, but no radar bar (we talking long time ago, I left WB 7 years ago)

Maybe later development of WB tried the no icon feature

Best icons imho was/is the ww2online circle.

[Vraciu]

Just for the fun of it I went back into WB this week to play and see how it compared now to what AH is now. Awful game don't see what I ever enjoyed about it.

Yeah.  Weird how perspective shifts.  Still has better rudder modeling though.  No input lag at all.  Miss that. 

[Oldman731]

Can we all close our eyes and fly by ear?

Been doing that for many years now.

Shows in my score, too.

- oldman

[Puma44]

Shows in my score, too.

- oldman

There’s a score?!