airdoc Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 If an aircraft in the far really is represented sololy with a number of pixels, then maybe there could be somekind of calibration. Maybe to display some kind of dots and let the user to adjust it's size on his screen until he can or can not see that dot, then calculate how many dots are needed to present an airplane in different distance based on that result... It would be nice for DCS to offer the ability to calibrate far dot size for each user, but this could lead to various issues, the most important one being "unfair advantage" (i.e. cheating). Most likely, the majority of players would end up adjusting the calibration so that it would yield the max dot size. Even the ones who are rather "honest" during this process, would surely change their minds quickly if they join multiplayer sessions and get bounced all the time by enemies they never saw coming (who had implemented max dot size during calibration). The only way around this that I could think of, would be for the software to auto-detect the user's monitor size and adjust the far-dot size accordingly; but i 'm not sure if this can always be reliably implemented and not be subject to various cheating methods. Also, the problem lies not only in far-distance LODs, but in short and medium distances as well. It is frustratingly hard to spot an aircraft at 2-4kms, where the LOD isn't a dot. The three best things in life are a good landing, a good orgasm, and a good bowel movement. The night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities in life to experience all three at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der_Fred Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) The average pilot "spotting distance" is about 8 miles. Giora Epstein an israelian pilot was able to spot aircraft at a distance of 24 miles (44 km) .I have also heard about pilots in the israeli arab wars that spotted enemy planes 11 km below them. It depends on the terrain background.. A few weeks ago i spotted an airliner at, at least 50km.. OK a big object, but it was a black dot against a layer of snow white stratus below. My best occassion was spotting a low flying aircraft a/c against normal terrain at approx 30km, but as mentioned, it was it's movement that gave away it's position - This is essentially how you (and animals/insects) spot your targets What I've found is that you should not focus on any point when searching. This tends to blur the background, and highlight any moving object... bingo!! :) Having said this... I leave it for you to work out how to get real close to your target without being 'seen'. :) :) Edited October 19, 2014 by Der_Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastfreddie Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Bob Anderson was a WWII Mustang ace that could spot large formations from 50-60 miles. I don't think people are trying to cheat by changing dot size but spotting needs serious attention and I hope EDGE fixes that. I do notice alot of Mustang pilots just cruising along and not scanning at all. My biggest problem is when your actually in a dogfight and they just disappear into the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts