Spotting in multiplayer and Ultrawide @1440p - What is the trick?

[Althar93]

Hello all,

 

Whilst not a complete beginner with DCS or flight sims, I am still very much learning the ropes of spotting and fighting with the Mig21-bis. My issue is that spotting other aircraft is next to impossible beyond 1-2nm without anything but custom dot labels (which aren't available on most multiplayer servers).

 

I was flying in the Cold War server yesterday with my Mig21 and spotted F-5s maybe twice in the entirety of my 2-hour session : those were engaged in fights and the smoke/flares kind of alerted me to their presence in the distance ; in the meantime I got shot down with guns about 4 times without ever seeing the enemy plane sneak up, until it was too late and I was staring at them through my mirror before meeting my demise.

 

I also lost a fellow Mig21 flying straight & level right in front of me (we took off at the same time) and that can't have been more than 1-2nm and I knew exactly where to look but just couldn't see him past a certain point.

 

After the session I opened up TacView and watched the replay to see what I missed and where I went wrong. To my surprise I had enemy planes constantly flying right in front of my face at ranges between 1-4nm (I was following the bogey dopes so I knew where to look) but I never ever saw a thing.

 

I even got a merge with both of us flying head on, same altitude above the horizon, I just carried on in a straight line completely blind as he/she flew right past me and shot me in the face at point blank range. Flipping to my foe's view, I can tell from the replay that he/she had me figured out at about 5nm.

 

I am sporting a 34" ultra wide monitor and playing the game at a resolution of 3440x1440p with FXAA enabled in the Nvidia control panel but MSAA disabled in game (absolute performance hog if I enable it, even at 2x). In single player I can just about spot things with some custom dot labels.

 

What is your trick for spotting ANYTHING in multiplayer servers which do not allow labels/custom dot labels? Could changing the resolution from 1440p to 1080p  help? Is the FOV of running ultra-wide a factor? Does MSAA improve spotting?

 

Am I just a terrible pilot for not being able to spot a single pixel? I mean I have no problems spotting specks of dust or dead pixels on my monitor, which should be the same size. I guess my other alternative is to switch to a more modern jet and look into BVR engagements but to be fair, this isn't really something I am particularly interested in...

 

Thanks for reading my little rant!

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Althar93

[corn322]

Does the FXAA blur single pixel planes so that you can't see them anymore? I play in single player at 1900*1200, and I get a noticeable black dot even at 20km away. I also run no AA.

[Scaley]

The way LODs and aircraft are rendered at different distances is totally illogical in DCS, and spotting things can be very trick.  Sometimes things will render at 20+nm and sometimes not.  To make matters worse, the LODs are defined differently for each aircraft, and work differently (it appears) in different resolutions.  A lot of people seem to think 1440p is the worst, and anecdotally if I change my resolution down from 1440 native to 1080 I find things much easier (but then cant' run 2 monitors...).

 

Oddly, often zooming OUT (so wider FOV) makes things easier to see since DCS then changes to rendering lower LOD objects, which often have higher contrast.  

Edited February 4, 2021 by Scaley

[borisbarzotto]

Playing a lot, lot, lot with WWII birds helped me improve my spotting, It also allowed me (test) to configure my graphics, FOV,  until I felt very comfortable spotting. So when i jump again to Cold War Server with Mig21, men now i could enjoy it. Before that I was like you having a really bad time with the Bis. So, all i wanted to say is that putting you in situations where you have threats all the time and so concentrate helps sharpen eyesight (in this section I appreciate the wwii servers, many critical situations happen around you), It is not the same as looking for threats on a larger map where everything is more dispersed. Also flying with some friends helps a lot the fact that in real time they can help to visualize, but even more it serves to compare and know that for example everyone is seeing something at some point in the sky and you are not, so you start correcting graphics settings and FOV.

In term of graphic setting, first find a nice FOV (Field of View) setting the zoom, then make sure to play with your native resolution, disable the filters as far as you can so that they do not soften the contacts, they make them very blurred and always in any mission adjust gamma, adjusting the gamma will help you to better contrast the contacts, use it always.

[silverdevil]

23 minutes ago, borisbarzotto said:

... then make sure to play with your native resolution..

 

to borisbarzotto's point using non-native res on anything will lessen the clarity. monitor quality has a lot to do with it too. this was definitely the case for me too. i got a new monitor going from res 19x10 to 34x14. the pixels were much more crisp. it was a game changer. 

[Althar93]

2 hours ago, corn322 said:

Does the FXAA blur single pixel planes so that you can't see them anymore? I play in single player at 1900*1200, and I get a noticeable black dot even at 20km away. I also run no AA.

 

I did think that - I've switched FXAA off and enabled MSAA 2x again. A few updates ago it completely killed my framerate but they must have fixed something since because performance is on par with FXAA. I'll see if my spotting ability improves.

[Althar93]

FWIW, I played on the BlueFlag Caucasus server for the first time this evening with my stubborn Mig21-bis and whilst I ended up being taken out by some interceptors way beyond the range of my radar and/or weapons, I was actually able to spot the missile coming for me as well as the flight as it got closer to me when I'd ejected & was slowly descending towards the ground.

 

I know I need to actively practice my spotting (and overall tactics/flying to avoid BVR deaths) but it did seem like disabling FXAA and going back to MSAA 2x has improved the situation enough for me to take notice in the last session. Spotting a pixel is still a tough exercise but at least the pixel doesn't pop in and out of existence.

 

Next step is for me to get a clean canopy mod for the Mig. Whilst I love the worn look of the cockpit and dials, whoever thought a dirty canopy was a good idea...

[nighthawk2174]

1 minute ago, Althar93 said:

FWIW, I played on the BlueFlag Caucasus server for the first time this evening with my stubborn Mig21-bis and whilst I ended up being taken out by some interceptors way beyond the range of my radar and/or weapons, I was actually able to spot the missile coming for me as well as the flight as it got closer to me when I'd ejected & was slowly descending towards the ground.

 

I know I need to actively practice my spotting (and overall tactics/flying to avoid BVR deaths) but it did seem like disabling FXAA and going back to MSAA 2x has improved the situation enough for me to take notice in the last session. Spotting a pixel is still a tough exercise but at least the pixel doesn't pop in and out of existence.

 

Next step is for me to get a clean canopy mod for the Mig. Whilst I love the worn look of the cockpit and dials, whoever thought a dirty canopy was a good idea...

If possible use dot labels, while not perfect they will help.

[Althar93]

7 hours ago, nighthawk2174 said:

If possible use dot labels, while not perfect they will help.

Believe me I do but not every multiplayer server will allow custom labels and/or labels at all.

[IVAN01rch]

Just disable all FXAA MSAA. No antialiasing or no spotting. Thats it.

[okopanja]

Went to Eigma's server in mig-21/su-25. Just about anyone and his cousin killed me dead on. I could not see a thing despite using Overloard. They seem to see me way better, which means I am doing something wrong, or perhaps VR is actually a thing?

34'' monitor here with 3440x1440

Edit: didn't mention that I survive better in 21 on modern server?

Edited July 3, 2022 by okopanja

[horstweihrauch]

Turning off all anti aliasing is the way to go.

People on this server are probably also more skilled with spotting compared to modern server. I think it will get better with more hours on it.

[Headwarp]

as cool as the ultra wide 3440x1440 monitor setup is.. the vertical height is actually pretty tiny.     My Predator X34 fell of my monitor stand and destroyed itself recently and I replaced it with a 32" 2560x1440 monitor and in general while I have less horizontal FOV things appear larger on my screen due to the increase in vertical height.   As resolution increases and screen size decreases you end up with sharper images which also translates to black specs in the distance being harder to see. 

For flight simming, I fly in VR, and the black smudges at a distance are much easier to see.   If I zoom they're harder.    Other than that, it's an acquired skill, spotting virtual aircraft. 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Headwarp