Aircraft disappearing at certain zoom levels - graphics settings for spotting?

[m0rl0ck]

I have noticed at certain zoom levels distant aircraft will disappear. I can see them in the distance as dots a couple of pixels big or so and then when i zoom in to get a better look they disappear. If i zoom out again they are back and the problem goes away when i get closer to them.

Im guessing this might be due to aa or scaling (NIS) and im just wondering what the best graphics settings are for spotting?

Thanks.

Edited March 29, 2023 by m0rl0ck

[Mars Exulte]

The high detail model you see up close to an aircraft is not used uniformly at all distances. It actually switches to progessively simpler models as the object is further away, lessening the burden on your PC without discernable loss of detail. This is called LoD (level of detail) and typically there are 5+ models it switches between.

 Aircraft disappearing in between two points of visibility (you can see it zoomed out, can see it zoomed in, but not at a halfway point) is typically due to poor or outright missing LoDs. None of your settings are going to have an effect on something that is literally NOT THERE and there's not really anything you personally can do about it.

 It affects a number of units. In particular the MiG-21 used to vanish at intermediate ranges as I remember but I THINK they fixed that a while back, but don't take my word for it.

[m0rl0ck]

Well thanks thats a good analysis of it and makes sense. Sounds like it might be dependent on the plane model and probably so low on the list of priorities that it likely wont be fixed.

[Mars Exulte]

7 hours ago, m0rl0ck said:

Well thanks thats a good analysis of it and makes sense. Sounds like it might be dependent on the plane model and probably so low on the list of priorities that it likely wont be fixed.

 Some planes, some vehicles. It's particularly obvious when part of a mixed group, some disappear and some don't. And yeah... after twenty years I would safely say they don't care. We still have jet flyby noises for WWII planes in the distance despite having them for however long that is. Meanwhile we have fully modeled wiring harnesses in a helicopter people will look at exactly once and enthusiasts quibble over rivet count while basic elements of the game itself are ignored for literal decades.