Spotting Bandits

[B_Tank88]

Been playing some 1v1 dogfights recently. It's possible it's just me as I'm not really that good yet at the game, but I'm find spotting enemies an absolute pain.

 

I've been doing custom 1v1 missions me Su27 vs an excellent F-16 blk52.

 

I'm really, really struggling to keep an eye on him. I have model enlargement to max. I have mild clouds on, and pretty much everything else on the highest graphics setting. My monitor is 1680x1050, 22" and that's my resolution. I sit pretty much point blank on a desk.

 

With labels on, I can defeat him most the time. But with labels off, about 80% of the time I end up losing him and as soon as I lose him I'm dead. The only chance I have a remote chance of spotting him is when he is on the horizon. Above the horizon in the blue sky, or below against the ground, it's like trying to spot a grain of sand.

 

Is there anything I can do to make this easier?

 

My TrackIR also doesn't seem to go above 45 degrees on the up/down axis which doesn't help.

[Bushmanni]

Having a good track IR profile is important for spotting. Besides being able to look into every direction (especially directly up) without problems you should be able to keep the view stable to see movement and small details. It takes careful balancing of the curves to get what you need.

 

If you have poor contrast in your monitor you will be having more trouble spotting targets as targets have poor contrast in DCS to begin with. You might be able to improve this by adjusting your monitor settings. Increasing backlight brightness could improve contrast between colors as human capability to differentiate colors gets better with more light. (This most likely ruins the overall contrast ratio of the monitor though ie. black turns into grey.)

 

Put zoom in some handy place so you can zoom in and out during the fight with ease. When the bandit gets farther out you need zoom to keep track of him.

 

Keeping track of the bandits in a turn fight is supposed to be hard. You can also get better at it with practice. It's especially important to learn to predict where the bandit moves on the canopy as you and the bandit maneuver your aircraft.

 

When you loose tally (sight of the bandit) the usual place where you find him is your six o'clock so that's where you should have your eyes 50% of the time when trying to regain tally. You should also keep flying your last maneuver instead of straightening out as that will usually pose most problems for the bandit and postpone getting him in your six.

[AtaliaA1]

You say "My monitor is 1680x1050, 22". That is difficult on the eyes on a 22" monitor. It is excellent on a 50". Adjust accordingly.

 

To Calibrate the contrast on your monitor go to the manufactures website and use their Calibration Tool. They all have them.

 

For a better BVR/Dog Fight Tutorial I use Pete Bonanni "Art of the Kill". Its on YouTube.

[Slazi]

This post in the MiG-15 forums may be of interest. You're not alone.

[Nefaro]

You say "My monitor is 1680x1050, 22". That is difficult on the eyes on a 22" monitor. It is excellent on a 50". Adjust accordingly.

 

To Calibrate the contrast on your monitor go to the manufactures website and use their Calibration Tool. They all have them.

 

For a better BVR/Dog Fight Tutorial I use Pete Bonanni "Art of the Kill". Its on YouTube.

 

 

He needs to run his LCD/LED monitor at it's Native Resolution for best results; i.e. the highest resolution it can run. Otherwise the picture won't be as crisp & clear.

 

A 16:10 ratio monitor of that size, it's likely 1680x1050. Any lower and it gets blurrier. Can't go higher. :smilewink:

[B_Tank88]

I've been running it at native currently, with 16xMSAA. I can see how lowering the resolution could make the targets larger, but at the compromise of the rest of the graphics sharpness.

[The Legman]

It's not only a matter of hardware, it's pretty difficult to keep the situational awareness on all the time if you are flying and changing your perspective but your body is on the same place so up and down are the same for you pretty much.

 

I think you should watch the famous falcon tutorial on the art of the kill, that it's on youtube. I mean this because more often than not, your enemies will maneuver in predictable ways because they are trying to achieve an objective and AI always does the same, chasing your tail to kill you. So they will take advantage of your mistakes and punish you for them.

 

For example, if you are flying straight or in a very predictable manner while looking around you are an easy cake to kill.

 

It takes practice and time to get better at it, but its perfectly doable without any model enlargement. Just that the bots will have no problem knowing where you are.

 

I suggest you to fly against real people on servers. And i don't mean the airquake servers, others with more realistic loads and such. People are less predictable but also suffer from the same struggles as you might. Also, it's much more satisfying to take down a real player :)

[MikeMikeJuliet]

I second Bushmanni. Try to get your travkIR profile to allow you to look around further. It will take some getting used to, don't worry.

 

Also, as stated, learning where the enemy will likely be in comparison to you after you both maneuver increses the likelyhood of you spotting him. If possible record your flights on tacview and make sure to debrief your flight after each try. If you can analyze what is happening, and remember when you lost tally, you have a chance of learning what caused it and what happened after the fact.

 

This is very much one of those isues where you can't practice too much.

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

[B_Tank88]

I second Bushmanni. Try to get your travkIR profile to allow you to look around further. It will take some getting used to, don't worry.

 

Also, as stated, learning where the enemy will likely be in comparison to you after you both maneuver increses the likelyhood of you spotting him. If possible record your flights on tacview and make sure to debrief your flight after each try. If you can analyze what is happening, and remember when you lost tally, you have a chance of learning what caused it and what happened after the fact.

 

This is very much one of those isues where you can't practice too much.

 

Regards,

MikeMikeJuliet

I have made another thread about TrackIR problem I've been having here:

 

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforums%2Eeagle%2Eru%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D177189&share_tid=177189&share_fid=74365&share_type=t

 

FaceTrackNoIR curve problem

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[AtaliaA1]

He needs to run his LCD/LED monitor at it's Native Resolution for best results; i.e. the highest resolution it can run. Otherwise the picture won't be as crisp & clear.

 

A 16:10 ratio monitor of that size, it's likely 1680x1050. Any lower and it gets blurrier. Can't go higher. :smilewink:

 

 

Not true.

 

It changes with driver updates. Clarity is a matter of vision, distance from the monitor and adjusting the monitors resolution to fit what the user feels is his best fit for him.