Binoculars for Helicopters and A-10C.

[TrigaNZ]

We need a binocular simulation for Scout/CAS aircraft. Kiowa and A-10 pilots often carry binoculars with them.

Just a simple circle like an NVG but ambient, magnified X times. Can have zoom feature or a fixed setting made in the Special Options.

Could also remove the Zoom feature from TIR etc, as this is not realistic.

 

Edited April 16 by TrigaNZ

[Bob_Petuss]

+++

[Bremspropeller]

+1

[Victor3]

+1 (X100)

[Thamiel]

In other Words, a zoom?

[SharpeXB]

14 hours ago, TrigaNZ said:

Could also remove the Zoom feature from TIR etc, as this is not realistic

It’s not unrealistic. Unless you think the real world is the size and resolution of a typical monitor.

A binocular effect in the sim is not a bad idea though. 

Edited April 16 by SharpeXB

[Gunfreak]

Also need it for the warbirds. It was particularly common to use in the navy/marine aircraft that are coming.

[TrigaNZ]

When I lean forward IRL things in the far distance don’t get bigger. 
Remove the Zoom, you can still lean in to see the aircraft panel etc. 

Binoculars would be a fixed magnification, so you would key it on and off simulating picking up a pair of binoculars. 

[SharpeXB]

2 hours ago, TrigaNZ said:

When I lean forward IRL things in the far distance don’t get bigger. 
Remove the Zoom, you can still lean in to see the aircraft panel etc. 

Binoculars would be a fixed magnification, so you would key it on and off simulating picking up a pair of binoculars. 

The zoom view is the only way to replicate real world peripheral and foveal vision on a 2D low res screen. I trust you have eyes and are familiar with how they work. If this eye chart was somehow placed in the game 10’ away from you, how would you be able to read the 20/20 line without zooming in? Do you need to lean in to the dashboard of your car to see the small numbers? (Please say no if you’re driving)
https://www.hves.com/wp-content/uploads/snellen-chart.pdf

Then there’s the FOV issue. If you want the view in the game to be at a lifelike size, it would be like this. That’s hardly playable for a game where you need all around awareness. So it’s necessary to change your FOV constantly depending on the situation.

The zoom view feature isn’t unique to DCS, all flight sims have this for the reasons above. If you don’t utilize it, you can’t play effectively.

 

2 hours ago, TrigaNZ said:

When I lean forward IRL things in the far distance don’t get bigger. 

Technically they do, just imperceptibly. 

Edited April 17 by SharpeXB

[Czar66]

On 4/15/2025 at 9:26 PM, TrigaNZ said:

Could also remove the Zoom feature from TIR etc, as this is not realistic.

NO! There are many parameters that a 2D screen is a flat out disadvantage against "being there for real" and the zoom function balance things out.

The rest: yes.

On 4/17/2025 at 7:01 AM, TrigaNZ said:

When I lean forward IRL things in the far distance don’t get bigger. 

Leaning forward triggers zoom? I don't have that feature on my end turned on. You can remove that if you do.

[bies]

It would be nice, but right now the default "zoom" is like boniculars

The level of zoom has been chosen some ~20 years ago, when computers and graphisc was significantly worse. But right now the level of common zoom is exaggerated, literally like binoculars.

[SharpeXB]

1 hour ago, bies said:

It would be nice, but right now the default "zoom" is like boniculars

The level of zoom has been chosen some ~20 years ago, when computers and graphisc was significantly worse. But right now the level of common zoom is exaggerated, literally like binoculars.

Binoculars typically magnify to the order of 8-10x. The zoom in the game is only about 2-3x what you’d see IRL depending on your screen size. It should be obvious that even 4K is far short of real life acuity.

The FOV in a 1st person game has nothing to do with reality. The 90ish value is simply a good comprise that looks normal without being too narrow or too wide and distorted. If you wanted to set a real value for is like racing sim players do (because it affects the perception of speed) do this:

https://dinex86.github.io/FOV-Calculator/

If you try it my guess is you will end up at a value that’s way too narrow to be practical in a combat flight sim (I end up with 47 which I think looks too odd in racing but many of those people are using triple screens). And still there’s the issue of resolution, the only solution for that is to magnify the image. 

Edited April 18 by SharpeXB

[Czar66]

2 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

https://dinex86.github.io/FOV-Calculator/

If you try it my guess is you will end up at a value that’s way too narrow to be practical in a combat flight sim (I end up with 47 which I think looks too odd in racing but many of those people are using triple screens). And still there’s the issue of resolution, the only solution for that is to magnify the image. 

This calculator is more for feels than function. I would end up with 40° FOV where I'm comfy with 60 to 65 on racing games (simulators). And 85 to 90° on SCS Truck Sims for SA while still being able to read the dash.

For DCS 106-107° proved to be king for me. Higher situational awareness and much easier air refueling while taking advantage of easy to access zoom buttons on hotas. On youtube, lots of folks with lower than ideal FOV which renders everything harder to do and unwatchable.

Everyone should experiment with FOV values at their own pace and setup. Fully ignore 'rules' and calculators online for it. Most likely you would end up with the wrong FOV for you harming directly your enjoyment of the sim. ....speed sensation will be highly improved as well.

106° single screen:

Around 106-107 ish great for formation flying:

Edited April 18 by Czar66

[SharpeXB]

24 minutes ago, Czar66 said:

This calculator is more for feels than function.

I agree. But the point is there’s nothing real or unreal about using a zoom view in the game. It’s just a necessity. 

[Czar66]

32 minutes ago, SharpeXB said:

I agree. But the point is there’s nothing real or unreal about using a zoom view in the game. It’s just a necessity. 

I'm as well in agreement with that thought.

[TrigaNZ]

OK, I'm not suggesting you should not be able to lean forward to see stuff in the cockpit better, but just using the X axis, not the ZOOM option.

Do you support the idea of binoculars?

Edited April 19 by TrigaNZ

[SharpeXB]

9 hours ago, TrigaNZ said:

OK, I'm not suggesting you should not be able to lean forward to see stuff in the cockpit better, but just using the X axis, not the ZOOM option.

The reason you need to lean close to the dash to read things is that the resolution of your screen is too low to simulate real life eyesight. Also the more playable wide FOV you’re using likely makes the cockpit and everything else in the game too small when you want to see more detail. 
Hence the need for a zoom view. There’s nothing unrealistic about this feature.

9 hours ago, TrigaNZ said:

Do you support the idea of binoculars?

Not as a substitute for the zoom view.

A challenge for implementing a game binocular effect is that IRL these are image stabilized. Simply magnifying the player’s view by 8-10x wouldn’t be usable since the resulting view would be too unsteady. Especially with head-tracking that magnifies your movements. So there would need to be some way for the game to simulate that stabilization. 

Edited April 19 by SharpeXB