missing info Ground assets - arbitray LOS/LOD render issues in random location, random assets

rogorogo · January 18, 2022

The very same collection of assets in the very same area under the very same circumstances will render correctly standing or moving just 150m away from each other.

This has been paid attention to for over a year, yet no corelation has emerged in subjective and chaotic (statistical sense) observation and sampling.

It seems to arbitrarily and randomly happen with any asset placed in some areas - which is especially disturbing when those assets are basically parked in the middle of an open plain, no a Wadi, divet, gulp, valley, vegetation or placed directly on a road.

This blocks reproduction on a downsized track but also points to a more systemic bug that has nothing to do with the assets, the map module (per se but it still applies to PG solely by occurence in observation thus far).

The terrain features and the mesh surface category the asset stand on or traverse over seems to not cause the issue.

Attached are two exemplary tracks with non-engineered exemplary bug occurence as per DCS open beta 2.7.9.18080, comments provided.

track "tank_convoys"

map grid CS50, position , throughout the entire track when player asset (Shaitan-Arba) approaches the two tank convoys at different angels and different vectors.
Notice how the eastern convoy will render late at point blank (when SR SAMs would long have been in range fe), despite both convoys being on a road surface, throughout the entire track - while the western convoys renders normally, as expected in the same area on the same surface in the same asset composition and same asset state

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ouiVgAR3IkzyW9snRnhPaqa74jwTA_E1/view?usp=sharing

track "AAA_groups"

map grid DR 79, NE, position , throughout the entire track track when player asset (Shaitan-Arba) approaches the aa groups at different angels and different vectors.
Both groups or one of the groups and later placed assets in the open plain render late or point blank, while other assets further away render as expected.

Placed assets on the eastern side of the AO (BLUE FARP EAST area) map show the same bug randomly on the high NE plains througout the track, while the entir lower east plains (FARP urban area) with the same surface show normal behaviour

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1osJYb-IBYW54tSxCtYuc3r3kyLSrgadG/view?usp=sharing

The current even more intense unreliablity of trackfiles as a means of reproduction (system divergences in reproduction of events) has to be taken into account.

What can be observed to HAVE NO CORRELATION (beyond the exemplary tracks provided):

terrain features (plains, valleys, wadis, slopes, urban, country)
terrain surface (grassed, humid, dry, rock, sand, concrete, road, urban, shrubs, palms, vegetation)
asset (type, faction, composition, state, category)
movement state (parked, movement speed)
LOS altitude (low, medium high) - IMPORTANT, initially thought that LOW-ALT, rotary sandmowing was correlating but this is NOT the case!
client settings (checked with other reliable players on diverging systems in instance)
player module and category (fixed wing, rotary, CA ground asset!!!, checked with other reliable players on diverging systems in instance)
fps, RAM, GPU capabilities, CPU timer
dynamic weather
static weather
weatjer conditions set (static) or scope (dyanamic)

This bug is systemic but also puzzling as it may be narrowed down to some sort of trigger combination for the bug - but this is beyond what can be expected from a player/product consumer.

What can be observed:

assets are NOT sunken into the ground
assets "pop-render" appear
assets have proper behaviour (fe engage with main guns, coax, ballistic aa, launch SR, MR, LR SAMs, trigger movement if AI is set to do so)
munitions launched from vanished assets can also be invisible, launch transistions might or might not appear

As this is a combat simulator product the bug itself is severe nonetheless, especially for assets and eras where LOS, VFR, visual canning are dictating the engagement envelope for A2G.

Exemplary tracks provided, engineered trigger track not possible, dxdiag irrelevant as bug occurrence is on low-average-median-high-highend systems at all settings noticeable with both Nvidia and AMD chipsets, both Intel and and AMD CPUs.