Goblin Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 The mirrors in DCS require a lot of rendering resources. There's a very noticable drop in framerates when they are used. Would it be possible to make simple mirrors, perhaps? IRL, mirrors are used to check your immediate surroundings when on ground, and when in formation. They are also used to check your own aircraft. So in DCS, there's really no need to be able to view the terrain in detail, or aircraft more than maybe 20m away. The view you see in the mirrors could be limited to either brown for terrain, and blue for sky, your own aircraft and aircraft close enough to be in your formation. This would even be more realistic, because you don't really see much more details through a real mirror, that small. Just have a look in your rear view mirror in your car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razo+r Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 If you lower the resolution of the displays in the options, DCS also lowers resolution of the Mirrors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Yes, but the mirrors still reduce FPS a lot. What I'm hoping for are mirrors that only show what you need, so to speak. The mirrors we got today seems to reflect every little detail there is, and this is not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Here's a video of Aerofly FS2. I know, it's not nearly the same simulation category as DCS, although it's quite spectacular in VR. But, I like the way they render the mirrors and resembles what I'd like to have as 'simple' mirrors in DCS. @13 minutes shows what I mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzles Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Nah. Proper mirrors all the way. I don't see some low res blurred image when looking out the mirrors on my car or bike. If you do, I'd suggest you need a new mirror! Fancy trying Star Citizen? Click here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Buzzles, You missed my point. To see details in a mirror, you need to be pretty close to the object in the mirror. Next time you're out driving, take a look at a house that's 500m behind you. You really only use the mirrors for objects that are in close proximity. This is why I think ED could "ease up" on the rendering of the mirrors. They are way too detailed, and this shows up as such a performance hit that lots of simmers prefer to turn them off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuky Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 Sorry what? You want mirror graphics to be like graphics 20 years ago? No thanks. If they ruin your FPS so much simply turn them off or use low quality mirror setting. And by the way your suggestion would 100% not be more realistic. Thanks very much but I see every detail I see in real life when I look into my mirrors in the car or bathroom. :music_whistling: No longer active in DCS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 I'm so sorry! I thought this was the wishlist forum... Silly me. :) No, Kuky, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying ditch the mirrors. I'm saying I want mirrors that are not so resource intensive. It's a fact that many users turn off the mirrors because of FPS drops. I'm just suggesting, or wishing, that it might be possible to make even simpler mirrors, as an option. Maybe just an option to have the mirrors lo-res, and the displays at a higher res? That's all. IRL mirrors are used to check your own aircraft, and keeping tabs on your wingman. They're useless for anything farther away. You will never spot a bogey in one of them, because you'd already be dead by the time he's that close. Since we can't change the angle of the mirrors in DCS, they're just eyecandy anyway. Don't get me wrong, they're nice to have, because they make the cockpit look more real. But, they have very little tactical use. I have flown aircraft with rearview mirror. They're quite small... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 Pic of a mirror in a Patrouille Suisse F-5 :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzles Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Blurry photo has blurry mirror...I don't see what you're getting at. But even so, you can clearly see a fair bit of detail on the mountain range/cliff face behind the plane. If it wasn't a blurry you'd see it in sharp detail. Fancy trying Star Citizen? Click here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share Posted September 11, 2016 Blurry photo has blurry mirror...I don't see what you're getting at. But even so, you can clearly see a fair bit of detail on the mountain range/cliff face behind the plane. If it wasn't a blurry you'd see it in sharp detail. That's because you just look at the picture. If you read what I wrote, you would know what I'm getting at :) Mirrors are hogging lots of resources in DCS. Many users turn them off because of this. I'm wishing for simple mirrors that just show what you actually use the mirrors for; checking your own aircraft and viewing aircraft in close formation. You don't really use the mirrors for admiring the scenery, so this can be left out or simplified if it saves resources. The pic is blurry, yes, but it clearly show the wing of the F-5 and the wingman. That's what you need to see in the mirror. That's why I posted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banquo Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) Hi Goblin, Totally understand where you are coming from. I used to have a pc that groaned everytime I put mirrors on. I am lucky enough to have been able to upgrade so it is not an issue for me anymore. What ED could do is put a tick option in the special options tab for a reduced mirror resolution but I cannot see it being done right now as there are so many other priorities and I am unsure how much effort it would take. But this is, as you say, a wishlist. I do wonder how many other people stay in silence and just deal with the issue and would actually love this to be implemented. I can say that previously I was one of those people. Edited September 11, 2016 by Banquo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share Posted September 11, 2016 Banquo, That's something that could work. I totally get that ED has lot of stuff on their plate. And I don't know if there's a way of doing this either, or if it would save resources. That's for the coders to decide. I'm just a wishful simmer ;) I have a i7 4790 @4GHz, 16Gb RAM and a GTX 980 TI. It's no slouch. And mirrors weren't a problem until I got my Oculus Rift. Now I need every ounce of power I can get, so I turn the mirrors off. That's a way of solving the problem I guess. But I really like having the mirrors, even if they're not really that useful. It makes the cockpit look more "alive" and real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banquo Posted September 11, 2016 Share Posted September 11, 2016 Ahh the Oculus, I am envious now :) ED will have to focus on VR support more and more in the coming years as it becomes increasingly popular, so your suggestion will become even more pertinent then. I like the idea of more options wherever we can have them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goblin Posted September 11, 2016 Author Share Posted September 11, 2016 Ahh the Oculus DCS is so incredibly cool in VR! There are drawbacks like harder to see smaller details and see your keyboard and controllers. You need a HOTAS and you need to be proficient with your mouse in the virtual cockpit. And that's besides the fact that VR needs good FPS... But the experience is phenomenal! I really don't want to go back to 2D again. I actually sold my 34" 3440x1440 curved screen... I like the idea of more options wherever we can have them :) Me too! :) Give me 'Advanced settings' and options for everything! ;) Or show me which file and setting to change... DCS is really scalable in that way. There are many settings available if you know your way around the files. Even with most options @low, to get good FPS, DCS still looks better than any other sim out there. Especially when viewed through a VR HMD. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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