Binoculars

Some real world A-10s use binoculars. Is it possible to zoom in as if you're using Binoculars? I often find it difficult to spot ground targets.

You can zoom in with * on the numeric pad, but it's mostly not enough (at least for me) to spot targets.

Gyrostabilized 12- or 15-power binoculars like they used in Kosovo would be a neato addition. Especially for those flights when you go without the Litening II pod.

Some real world A-10s use binoculars. Is it possible to zoom in as if you're using Binoculars? I often find it difficult to spot ground targets.

Right ... post in on the wish list ... :thumbup:

No Need :)

They will signal you with flashing lights...you just have to be in range.

Sorry to not be of much use but somewhere on this forum, I searched and couldn't find it, there is a post that explains how to edit the Zoom level so that it simulates binoculars.

I'm reading a book by an A-10 pilot who flew in the Gulf War and most of the pilots carried binoculars, so no, you're not cheating...

I think when ED removed the FAC aspect from the Sim so went the Binocular View,:chair:

Sorry to not be of much use but somewhere on this forum, I searched and couldn't find it, there is a post that explains how to edit the Zoom level so that it simulates binoculars.

 

I'm reading a book by an A-10 pilot who flew in the Gulf War and most of the pilots carried binoculars, so no, you're not cheating...

Navigate to your DCS:A-10C/Config/View folder and open the view.LUA file with Notepad++.

Go down to line 126 to the following entry-

CameraViewAngleLimits[A_10A]   = {20.0, 140.0}

and edit the first value (20) to a lower value (lower the value the further the zoom). Save and exit and you're good to go.

I am not certain which value corresponds to the bino view the Hog-Drivers got with Bino's. Somehow 6 rings a vague bell, but I'm not sure - you'll need to experiment.

Thanks Viper,

That's the edit I meant.

I have mine set to 5.0 and that's pretty close to real life.

It does get really unstable at full zoom though.

Now we just need an anti-shake mod.

It does get really unstable at full zoom though.

Now we just need an anti-shake mod.

No Bother :)

If you have TrackIr you can stabilize the view at zoom - helps a wee bit with the jitters.

Our pilots fly with binoculars often. To me the zoom basically is the binocular of the sim.

Our pilots fly with binoculars often. To me the zoom basically is the binocular of the sim.

So I think ED should fully implement the binoculars and it's characteristic.

And how about the LOD? I mean, dont the vehicles all disappear after a few km, because you wouldnt see them normally anyway? So if you zoom in with the binocs, will they even be there?

Doesn't the max zoom in DCS pretty much represent the level of detail you would see with your real eyes? I mean, I usually fly with 60° field of view in the game, which is about what humans experience, but depending on how far I sit from my 21" monitor, I probably have a real field of view of around 10°, which means if I set the ingame FOV to 10° it would represent the level of detail, or zoom, I'd really experience. This would give me somewhere around the max zoom in DCS, but it would be too narrow to fly with normally...

My point is, even the max zoom in DCS isn't probable to simulate binoculars anytime soon, unless I change the values as stated. I'd really apreciate if ED modeled some kind of optical enhancement such as binoculars. Maybe like with night vision, only they enable zooming in more, maybe to 3° or similar.

CameraViewAngleLimits[A_10A] = {20.0, 140.0}

great find:pilotfly:

i can now SEE the enemy

(straight in the eyes :D, almost, at value 5)

Navigate to your DCS:A-10C/Config/View folder and open the view.LUA file with Notepad++.

 

Go down to line 126 to the following entry-

 

 

CameraViewAngleLimits[A_10A]   = {20.0, 140.0}

 

 

and edit the first value (20) to a lower value (lower the value the further the zoom). Save and exit and you're good to go.

 

I am not certain which value corresponds to the bino view the Hog-Drivers got with Bino's. Somehow 6 rings a vague bell, but I'm not sure - you'll need to experiment.

Yea. setting that value to 5 or 6 could be roughly considered like having a pair of 8-12X binoculars... really depends on how far away from the monitor you sit :)

Doesn't the max zoom in DCS pretty much represent the level of detail you would see with your real eyes?

Kinda.. it's in the neighborhood. By the criterion of resolution, you're pretty close to someone with very good vision. It all depends on how close you sit to your monitor, how good your RL vision is, etc.

Setting the max zoom level to 5 or 6 is a lot like binoculars based on a different criterion, true field of view. A pair of 10X binoculars is probably gonna give you between a 6 and 7 degree field of view- binoculars will typically have apparent fields of view of between like 60 and 70 degrees, so 60degrees/10X = 6 true degrees.

But there are so many variables, it's all a rough approximation... Anyway, if you base your max zoom level off of the resolution criterion rather the field of view criterion, you might have to increase your max zoom level even more than to just 5 or 6 degrees to simulate 10X binoculars. I could do the calculation real quick, but I gotta go...

So if you zoom in with the binocs, will they even be there?

They will indeed.

Our pilots fly with binoculars often. To me the zoom basically is the binocular of the sim.

Yes, but only if you decrease the min FOV to less than 20 degrees. Here's some calculations to demonstrate:

Say you sit rather close, 2' (feet), away from a monitor that spans 25" (inches) in the horizontal dimension. This is probably a bit larger monitor than most people have, and a little closer than most people sit. Anyway, the monitor will span 2*arctan(12.5/24) = 55 degrees. Say that your resolution across this monitor is 1900 pixels. So each pixel represents 3600*20/1900 = 38" (arc seconds), which is slightly smaller than someone with really excellent vision can probably see (though there are reports of some people resolving Venus near closest approach to earth as a crescent... and it is like 40" across then).

Someone with normal, 20/20 vision however, can only resolve things down to about 1.5' (arc minutes), or 90" (arc seconds). Sitting two feet away from a monitor that is 25" (inches) across at 1900 pixels, then that is 55 [degrees]*3600 [sec/degree]/1900 = 104" (arc seconds). So each pixel is roughly the same angular size as the smallest thing your eye can resolve. So theoretically:

IF:

1) You have a monitor that horizontally spans 25", and is 1900 pixels in this direction

2) You are sitting 2' away from this monitor

3) You have 20/20 vision

4) You zoom in till the horizontal 25" dimension of your monitor represents 20 degrees in the game world

THEN:

You will have slightly better or equal vision capabilities as a person with excellent vision would have sitting in the cockpit of the real A-10.

This however, discounts that the LOD drastically and suddenly scales back at a certain visual size, making things much harder to see. Because of this flaw, you should take what I say above with a grain of salt. A real pilot wouldn't have to worry about LOD and would furthermore, frequently be able to spot vehicles based on dust trails (which do not always appear when they should in DCS) or crushed foliation. However, of course, a real pilot would have to contend with more ground clutter than we do.

So the end result is, if you want binocular resolution, you need to increase your max zoom a lot more than the defaults allow.

Thanks for figuring this out, Speed, rep inbound. :) I'll probably modify mine to about 3° minimum.

I would like binos too. preferably without having to delve into the workings of the sim, that gives me the heeby-jeebies.

Didn't read all the posts - but if you are searching for a quick and easy way to simulate Binos with a "one click".

Than this is maybe your solution:

Zoom-In/Zoom-Out on... < Thread with detailed explanation "how to".

Putting it in on "Pac-1" is only one example.

Its Pretty easy to set up in SST when you have a saitek controller - It is also doable with "aoutohotkey".

Wow, this PAC1 - auto zoom looks really interesting!

Unfortunately I can not use SST and I have no idea how to set this up in auto hotkey... Could you maybe create a commented video for auto hotkey...? :-/

Thanks in advance!

Why a video?

Download autohotkey and use this script-

Binos-pess and hold.AHK:

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
#Warn  ; Recommended for catching common errors.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

4Joy17:: ; This is my Bino toggle Jostick button = Jostick ID #4 Button 17 -change this to your new "Bino" button. 
        ; Use joystick test from autohotkey help to locate your button

SetKeyDelay, 60, 60

Loop 11 ; "11" is how long it will zoom in - change this to your liking - do the same in line #15
{
sendevent {NumpadMult Down}
} 
sendevent {NumpadMult Up} ; zoom in

KeyWait 4Joy17   ; Wait for the user to release the joystick button.
                ; This is my Bino toggle Jostick button = Jostick ID #4 Button 17 -change this to your new "Bino" button. 
                ; Use joystick test from autohotkey help to locate your button

Loop 11 ; "11" is how long it will zoom out - change this to your liking - do the same in line #11
{
sendevent {NumpadDiv Down}
} 
sendevent {NumpadDiv Up} ; zoom out
return

Don't forget to edit it to your Button ID you want to use for "Binos"

>>> 4Joy17:: ; This is my Bino toggle Jostick button = Jostick ID #4 Button 17 -change this to your new "Bino" button.

; Use joystick test from autohotkey help to locate your button

How its possible to Max the LOD of the units ? Because its really annoying that they dissapear , can't they just stay visible but very very small ?