A potential fix for the Aircraft visibility problems?
 

Salute

As everyone who flys this sim knows, nothing is more frustrating than having your eye on a dot which you KNOW is an enemy aircraft, and then having it disappear from view just as you close to within Identification range.

This is a function of the game's LOD models, these are a step forward in the sense there are 7 of them instead of the 3 in IL-2 1946, but at the same time they are also one of the game's biggest failings.

The issue is the developers have not taken into account the notion of depth of field and the fact an aircraft in 3 dimensions is not going to be at the same focal length as the objects behind it, especially when those objects are quite distant.

When you focus your eye on an aircraft, the background will almost invariably be out of focus, simply because of the separation in distance between the foreground and the background.

Your own eye's focus brings the foreground aircraft into sharp focus, in effect creating a boundary between it and the background, which is out of focus. This allows your eye to separate the object from the background. Conversely, if you are looking at a background, and another object passes in front of your eye and in front of the background, you will pick up the difference in focus, the object will appear initially blurred, and your eye will automatically snap into focus on it.

Of course we are dealing with a 2 D game, attempting to replicate real life. How to do this?

The solution, if the game can handle it, is quite simple.

As it stands now, an aircraft LOD model which is passing in front of a similarly coloured background, ie. a camoflauged aircraft, will blend into the background, there is no depth of field, and no way for your eye to focus directly on the aircraft. This is particularly the case with CoD with its pastel colourings and the fact there is no reflection modelled.

Some players have a solution for this, they turn down the resolution to enable them to spot their enemy easier. And maybe this does make it easier to pick out your opponent, but what is the point of a game with all the graphics highlights of this one having to be uglified to be playable?

The solution is to highlight the edges of the LOD models with a darker colouring. In effect, you are drawing a sharp line around the edge of the object, in the same way your eye does with focal length, and by doing so, you are causing it to stand out against the background, as it would in real life.

Of course the question is, can the game be programmed and can the graphics models be modified?

Hoping this does happen, because right now the current situation is neither realistic or playable.

I do not have this problem:confused:

You would need a "Focus on Target" setting button, which would boka the background and double vision the foreground... as well as the "target" set as 3d in all LoD's.

But, that only works when viewing in close range... viewing from off at a distance the sim would need to deal with, it doesn't happen that way


even then, some wouldn't find the target and complain...

The eye doesn't put a "black edge" to objects and the further the objects are away from the viewer, the more they go to grey


Basically, what you want is three monitors (at least) with each projection onto each monitor set to 20 ~ 25 degrees. NOT as current when using one, two or three monitors , which has the FoV set to 60 ~75 degrees across the spread

In my opinion the air target's distant spot should be 3*3 pixels, with light pixels on the outside and dark pixels on the inside (or vice versa, doesn't make a difference). Meanwhile, ground targets should still be the current size and shade.

i fully agree with the OP, and in fact it was exactly that what i was thinking about two days ago...how to make the contacts better visible in a realistic manner....

a focus on target button would be horrible in my honest opinion...maybe optional for not full real servers...but definitely not as a "always available option".

the most annoying fact about the disappearing contacts is, that it was not the case with the release version.it was still hard to spot enemy planes, but at least, they didnt disappear completely like spits do now for example.
making the edges darker sounds like a solution...it wouldnt be possible in the case where the aircraft is visible only as a dot of one pixel,...but in that distance, the pixel is visible good enough anyway in my opinion...the real problem starts, when the aircraft is getting closer and switches from being a dot to being a 3d model.

Did any of you tried MeshShowLod=1 in conf.ini?

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=28085

I think the majority of the problem has to do with the lack of AA. We have no crisp images at much over 30m away so at a few kilometers away, while trying to keep track of this dot, it looks like a tearing small blob on your screen. AA would be a start IMO. I do not like the LOD issues at all.

is far from "realistic :cool: you might as well just ask for a flashing neon arrow pointing to the target

Now I am wondering if my 120HZ is a factor

That would be the case with the people that have difficulties to see the dots, when the dots are there... But when there is no dot nor 3D model at all in the transition from dot to 3D model AA would do nothing.

Of course may be difficult to distinguish between one problem and the other...