[NO LONGER PASSES IC] Improved Contact Dot Spotting (Updated v1.1)

[bell_rj]

Spotting has long been a bug bear of mine. It's probably one of the reasons why I found MP play so frustrating - I was finding it very hard to see the enemy before they saw me. Of course, practice helps - but it was clear to me that the graphics weren't helping at all. Now with this mod I can actually spot aircraft in what feels like a realistic manner. It still requires work, which is good, but it is now possible to do. And most importantly, ED, the spotting help makes me want to play the game more. This mod has improved the experience and made MP combat fun again. Not overly easy, which no-one wants, just fun. Please do not let the devs ban this mod with the integrity check. It's been a major factor in making MP flying fun for me.

[BreakLux]

I play on 1440p and this has made it much easier for me to spot enemies WVR. Before I either had the choice to be blind as a bat or see anything up to 50 miles out with the unrealistic dot labels. It's now much more enjoyable to play the game, as I get to engage bandits visually while retaining graphical fidelity and immersiveness. I think that the fact that bandits are less visible at BVR range is great. The only downside to this mod is that missiles and aircraft are virtually indistinguishable at a distance. It'd be great if the size of the object was reflected in the dot. But I understand this is a DCS limitation only ED can resolve.

Edited April 24, 2023 by BreakLux

[Padinn]

Couple improvements if it was added to game officially

 

1.) Occluded by clouds- right now it seems to work through them

2.) Do not apply to missiles, people parachuting, ect.

I think its great and allows me to properly enjoy DCS at 4k. I tested flying warbirds.

 

[Sarowa]

3 minutes ago, Padinn said:

Couple improvements if it was added to game officially

 

1.) Occluded by clouds- right now it seems to work through them

This is a known issue in the DCS multithreading build even without this mod. If you switch back to the DCS singlethreading build, you won't see this issue.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Sarowa

[MIghtymoo]

3 hours ago, Sarowa said:

This is a known issue in the DCS multithreading build even without this mod. If you switch back to the DCS singlethreading build, you won't see this issue.

 

Dots visibility does not have anything to do with ST/MT.

[Sarowa]

35 minutes ago, MIghtymoo said:

Dots visibility does not have anything to do with ST/MT.

It does when it comes to seeing spotting dots through clouds. I tested it myself. This issue appears in MT but not ST.

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Sarowa

[jstnj]

3 minutes ago, Sarowa said:

It does when it comes to seeing spotting dots through clouds. I tested it myself. This issue appears in MT but not ST.

 

 

Ah, i was wondering why I had laser vision through clouds

[Enigma89]

This may be the only time in history something has polled at 95% in agreement... Not even 95% of people like ham.

[Nirvi]

Tested the mod, and it's great to be able to spot units easier, completely changes the way to fight.

But also, it gives the mod user a massive advantage over everyone not using it, so it should be integrated to the base game for everyone, or moved to the IC.
I also feel with the mod it's too easy to spot other planes, especially in VR. Doesn't feel realistic. 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by Nirvi

[ironhard]

4 hours ago, Enigma89 said:

This may be the only time in history something has polled at 95% in agreement... Not even 95% of people like ham.

I don't know about the others, but I voted because it's an attempt at fixing a long lasting broken DCS feature (spotting), that is considered by its developers as "correct as is". The mod is not perfect, but it's better than vanilla.

2 hours ago, Nirvi said:

Tested the mod, and it's great to be able to spot units easier, completely changes the way to fight.

But also, it gives the mod user a massive advantage over everyone not using it, so it should be integrated to the base game for everyone, or moved to the IC.
I also feel with the mod it's too easy to spot other planes, especially in VR. Doesn't feel realistic. 

 

 

 

I hope it may then be integrated into DCS, because if airquake's balance is more important and prevents the community from fixing spotting, that'd be a shame.

[QB.Gregor]

Just tried it for a flight on ECW and it's an extreme improvement on 2560x1440. So much easier to spot contacts within 20km even against the ground. Maybe it is a little too easy, comparing it to other flight sims but definitly a big step in the right direction compared to stock.

[VirusAM]

13 hours ago, Nirvi said:

Tested the mod, and it's great to be able to spot units easier, completely changes the way to fight.

But also, it gives the mod user a massive advantage over everyone not using it, so it should be integrated to the base game for everyone, or moved to the IC.
I also feel with the mod it's too easy to spot other planes, especially in VR. Doesn't feel realistic. 

 

 

 

it's easier WVR, and doesn't let you lose the enemy plane which is just in front of you.

But in bvr as explained by the author it is much more difficult now

[JG15_Hans]

Running on 1440p here and o MY this is so much better

[Harlikwin]

1 hour ago, VirusAM said:

it's easier WVR, and doesn't let you lose the enemy plane which is just in front of you.

But in bvr as explained by the author it is much more difficult now

That sounds far more realistic to me. 

[Taz1004]

Am I the only one experiencing shaking dots on missiles I fire?  I'm using 2X MSAA and VR.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Taz1004

[PeevishMonkey]

16 часов назад, QB.Gregor сказал:

So much easier to spot contacts

It would be awful if this improvement turned to "too much easier"...

[JohnnyST]

9 hours ago, Taz1004 said:

Am I the only one experiencing shaking dots on missiles I fire?  I'm using 2X MSAA and VR.

 

Yes, I confirm, on airplanes, too. The dot size is also too big on the HP Reverb G2. I changed the point size multiplier in line 84: float2 scaledDotSize = onePixelSize * sizeMultiplier * controlPixel;

Looks better.

[VirusAM]

17 hours ago, Harlikwin said:

That sounds far more realistic to me. 

and for me as well...I was just replying to the user above

[MoleUK]

The customer isn't always right.

But when 95% of your customers are trying to tell you something, it's usually good to at least listen.

This has made 1440p a FAR more playable experience. It's not perfect, but it's a big improvement imo.

[festr]

with aero varjo I have tested this - I cannot see plain on 7nm with this mode I can see the dot

[peachmonkey]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:22 PM, Sarowa said:

It does when it comes to seeing spotting dots through clouds. I tested it myself. This issue appears in MT but not ST.

 

 

this is the issue with core DCS and has nothing to do with the mod itself.

Without the mod I can see dots thru the clouds as it is.

edit: i see them thru the clouds when they are Faaar away, i.e. a single pixel for AC that shows up 30nm away. Once the plane gets closer and crosses the magic broken LOD boundary it is no longer visible.

Edited April 27, 2023 by peachmonkey

[Sarowa]

33 minutes ago, peachmonkey said:

this is the issue with core DCS and has nothing to do with the mod itself.

Without the mod I can see dots thru the clouds as it is.

If you scroll 2 posts above the one you quoted you'll see I'm aware this bug occurs without the mod.

[Xtorris]

19 hours ago, MoleUK said:

The customer isn't always right.

But when 95% of your customers are trying to tell you something, it's usually good to at least listen.

This has made 1440p a FAR more playable experience. It's not perfect, but it's a big improvement imo.

Sadly they'll probably lock it behind IC, and implement no changes.

[peachmonkey]

2 hours ago, Sarowa said:

If you scroll 2 posts above the one you quoted you'll see I'm aware this bug occurs without the mod.

all good, I was just replying to your specific post, sometimes I miss pre/post comments, my bad.

[DayGlow]

On 4/25/2023 at 11:46 PM, JohnnyST said:

Yes, I confirm, on airplanes, too. The dot size is also too big on the HP Reverb G2. I changed the point size multiplier in line 84: float2 scaledDotSize = onePixelSize * sizeMultiplier * controlPixel;

Looks better.

what multiplier did you use?