Parkour

The patch is definitely an improvement; however, we are still unable to turn off spotting dots in VR. Here is what they look like at 7.4nm. Four black squares floating in space. @BIGNEWY Is there a particular reason we aren't able to turn off Improved Spotting Dots in VR? The tooltip per the patch notes don't provide any insight into why they can't be turned off in VR as the dots are still rendered independent of zoom factor and is a "function" of object size. "With this option enabled the Spotting dots (distant visual contacts) are rendered independently of camera zoom factor. The dots visibility is a function of object size only." Patch notes mention of Spotting Dots: "Spotting dots size in VR adjusted to be smaller in certain cases based on feedback. We are still working on different preset logic for VR. (Please be advised that setting “Improved spotting dots” does not affect presence of spotting dots in VR, please read the setting tooltip)." Thanks

Updated as I could still see it's posts: 1. Hover your cursor over Tippis's icon. 2. Wait for the pop-up menu. 3. Select the Ignore button at the bottom right. 4. Select Update Preferences in the new screen. 5. Select the Gear icon next to the name in the Ignored Users list 6. Select Change Ignored Content 7. Select Posts, Messages, Mentions and Signatures 8. Select Update Preferences Finally, it's gone.

Here is how to fix the issue: 1. Hover your cursor over Tippis's icon. 2. Wait for the pop-up menu. 3. Select the Ignore button at the bottom right. 4. Select Update Preferences in the new screen. 5. Select the Gear icon next to the name in the Ignored Users list 6. Select Change Ignored Content 7. Select Posts, Messages, Mentions and Signatures 8. Select Update Preferences

This is what you see in VR with the "Improved" Spotting Dots with no way to turn them off. This is not an exaggeration. It is not a label. It's a disaster for anyone playing in VR not using a Pimax Crystal (which "For a limited time only, use code DCS2024 when purchasing your Crystal Light to receive a credit of 15,000 ED Miles, worth $15 at checkout in the DCS e-shop!") per: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/newsletters/a41b9e43c3c80f1fa3be25612a9c1db3/ null null

This is why I used a 6 month graph to show to decline after the Sept 30th patch. It shows a decrease in player base. The trend since the May bump has been going down. It these decisions of "we broke something, but we'd like your feedback" and the response from Bignewy of "it will take time". They don't have time anymore based on these trends. I'm not even sure why I'm trying anymore. I'll just go play IL-2 and have fun not flying against giant Lego black blocks.

Yeah, I guess a drop of 2000 players to 1000 players isn't a crash to you. But you appear to like the dots, so your ability to see correctly is in question as well...

Here is the source: https://steamdb.info/app/223750/charts/#max If they just fix the ability to turn OFF Improved Spotting Dots again in OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY, they'll instantly get 4 more players. A bump of .4% of their Steam Player Base.

Here are the numbers. YES - I know they don't represent those not using Steam and are using Standalone. Yes, there are more playing Standalone, etc... but, the numbers available don't lie. After the "Improved" Spotting Dots patch, there is the lowest counter of players playing DCS on Steam than EVER BEFORE. There is a significant drop after the Sept 30th patch with these "Improved" spotting dots. I know, for a FACT, that my entire wing has stopped playing (4 people). People can say a hotfix is only for crashes, but their player base is crashing and they need to fix this ASAP.

If you are so worried about cheaters, make it a Server/Mission setting that enforces them to be ON. Done. Otherwise, let the user choose to turn them OFF or ON as they like. For now, my entire squad has moved on from DCS, most playing IL-2 - which doesn't have this issue. The only reason I keep posting about this is due to the HUNDREDS of dollars I have invest in this game. I do not want BIG BLACK SQUARES covering the aircraft when I fly single player or with my squad against the AI. It's just insane this is even an issue. Has anyone from Eagle Dynamics actually played other flight sims to see how targets appear? It's unbelievable this is even a discussion. I just want to play single player - I don't care about multiplayer, exploits, cheaters or anything else. For those that do, demand a server setting. For the rest of us, get rid of spotting dots.

The patch did NOT fix the spotting dots. Even with "Improved Spotting Dots" turned OFF, the same horrible big blue to black squares exist. I just tested it after downloading 2.9.8.1214.1. They fixed nothing. Here is what they felt was more important: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/changelog/

I'm not a 1k forum poster like some here. I just started posting about this issue a week ago as I play in VR and do not have a Pimax headset. The new "Improved" Spotting Dots has ruined the sim for me as I can't stand how they look. The broken OPTIONS > GAME PLAY ability to turn off these spotting dots is the biggest disappointment and the lack of acknowledgement the feature is broken by ED, especially the insulting post by @BIGNEWY that we should "read the patch notes again" signals to me that ED has no interest in listening to their customers and are one of those companies that sees them as complaining idiots. They have definitely lost sales from me as I already own most maps and most of the US aircraft and was planning on the Chinook, F-15E and Kola map. These are no longer planned purchases. I will invest my time and future in other currently available flight sims that don't have this issue and treat their customer base and developer community a bit better as I recently learned about the whole issue with RAZBAM. Throw in the entire "we have partnered with Pimax" and here is a discount code to buy one, you quickly realize the entire Spotting Dots issue and "get a Pimax and the spotting dots issue is fixed" is more than just a coincidence. Just a sad example of hubris and a developer that has lost the passion for its user base.

IT IS BROKEN! You can't turn them off. This is the primary issue. OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY > Improved Spotting Dots On or OFF does nothing. No, they're aren't communicating. They are repeating a PR blurb of "we are taking feedback and working on improving it". They have made NO mention of how the option is unable to be turned off which is fundamentally the issue. The people that don't want to use them CAN'T.

So you consider the inability to turn OFF the Improved Spotting Dots as "working as intended"??? As I've explained in detail, the OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY > Improved Spotting Dots is currently broken. There is no difference in the size or when they activate when you set this to either ON or OFF. This is unbelievable. Hotfix this nightmare.

Improved Spotting Dots still unable to be turned OFF in OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY after the 2.9.8.1214 hotfix. Just tested in the F/A-18 in the 1v1 top single player mission and the Mig is a black square even up to just 2nm or closer. It looks horrible. It suddenly/snap changes to a Mig model when at about 1nm. It's just bad. Again, this is with Improved Spotting Dots OFF. This is literally a screenshot of the Mig 1-second before it drops flares and snaps into a Mig model. .

I just want to have an immersive experience with my friends while in VR. The same experience I had in 2.9.7.59263 on Saturday. Whereas on Monday, with 2.9.8.1107, I now have big blue squares in the sky and clouds and even worse big black squares with aircraft and giant house sized ground targets. I changed no settings and didn't ask for this nightmare. It has ruined DCS for me until its fixed. I'm sure many VR users feel the same way and we'll see more and more posts about it. A hotfix is absolutely needed at this point.

Then at least make it a server option. This effectively has ruined the game in VR for those that don't want to PvP. I honestly can't believe this is occurring.

At this point, I just want the ability to turn them off. Please hotfix the issue of OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY > Improved Spotting Dots > OFF no longer disables the function with 2.9.8.11072. Thanks!

+1 I can confirm this bug. Clicking OK after switching from ON to OFF, restarting DCS, restarting PC or anything else can not disable the "Improved Spotting Dots" which look horrible in VR.

Confirmed the "Improved Spotting Dots" are unable to be turned OFF with others in my DCS squad. This is both on the Quest 3 and Pimax Crystal headsets. Per the patch notes: "Improved Spotting dots. Adjusted appearance of spotting dots in VR to be close to their previous state. We are looking at feedback." Here is my feedback, they suck. Please revert the change back to DCS 2.9.7.59263 and/or fix the ability to turn them off so it can once again look like it did in DCS 2.9.7.59263. The current implementation of the VR "Improved Spotting Dots" literally look like graphics from an Atari 2600. There is no more detail of the planes going from a very faint gray/white dot, into a fine gray line, then a thin line with a dot on top for the tail, and then finally into an airplane. The ground targets are just as bad turning from a brown square literally the size of a house then snapping into a tank. It is incredibly immersion breaking to see the amazing VR visuals of the cockpit and sky to only be jarringly brought back to reality by graphics from the 80s. Even the planes from Lucas Arts Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe look better than the current implementation of the "Improved" Spotting Dots. The image below is with them turned ON. The image at the bottom is with them turned OFF. These are taken from the F/A-18 mission 1v1 by flying straight at the target. This can not be as you intended it to be. (You need to enlarge the image to see them as these are captures from VR. Yes, they are that pixelated and square.)

I can confirm the same issue. The GAMEPLAY option makes no difference when trying to turn Improved Spotting Dots OFF.

After patch 2.9.8.1107, trying to disable Improved Spotting Dots no longer works in OPTIONS > GAMEPLAY > Improved Spotting Dots. When the setting it turned OFF, the "Improved Spotting Dots" still occur making it possible to see targets 40nm away with a blue box around them. Close targets are worse as they look like large black squares. Ensuring to click OK, restarting DCS, selecting different missions, restarting the PC and VR make no difference. You get the same horrible "Improved Spotting Dots" if the option in GAMEPLAY is set to OFF or ON. Please fix as soon as possible as this is horrible looking in VR. Below are images of it with it On and Off in the F/A-18 1v1 mission: