My wonder list

[Aviar]

6. You can do that now by using custom icons.

7. Try the 'Instant View Forward With Padlock' command. It does what you want except you can't pan while looking forward. However, you should be able to see most of your instruments.

10. So you are asking for a 'Padlock Runway' command. That would be nice. What I do now is padlock a friendly unit near the runway. This basically has the same affect and keeps the runway in your padlocked view.

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[IceFire]

Since 4.10 the wind direction is directly specified by the mission builder including speed, direction, gust level and turbulence.

Runways on older maps tend to be fairly generic while on newer maps they tend to be specific to the real airfield. Some WWII airfields were very small grass fields while others were large and expansive. We see a mix of both. If you check out the airfields on the Slovakia, Bessarabia, Solomons, Burma, and Kurland maps (just to name a few) you will see very historical airfields.

If you don't like icons...they can be turned off.

[greybeard1]

Thanks for replies.

About custom icons, I know they could be turned off and anyway "customized". What I meant was totally different: since actually average player CANNOT perform visual identification like in RL, because in RL he use an eyeball having a 500 dpi resolution, in game resolution is bottle-necked by 96 dpi screen - five times less!

As a consequence, older games like Red Baron 3D gave to different letters on keyboard, different effect in searching and padlocking in sky various aircrafts: "E" for enemy, "F" for friend and much more. This allowed to get rid of icons, because when e.g. player hit "T" key, nearest threat is found and padlocked. THIS IS NOT unrealistic, because, given limitation mentioned above, that replicates what in RL pilot would do - this is called cybernetics (study of human behaviour applied to machines) a science vastly forgot lately. Unfortunately, more often, instead of cybernetics, we apply personal opinion (always arguable), so e.g. we think: "keeping visual track, into cockpit, thru' canopy frames is impossible, SO we make padlock view lost when this happen". Actual pilot behaviour, instead, is move is head so to keep still track of his target and, if visual track is lost, he restart search until he track again! This, in front of (again) a 96 dpi screen can be performed only by selective key, if we do not want read banners in the sky attached to various aircraft, that is HIGHLY unreal.

This also mean that padlock view should NEVER be lost if not intentionally by player. This for runway too, since currently padlocked view on a ground object is lost as well as soon as a visual obstruction gets in the mid.

Sorry for my poor english and lenght of message, I'm only trying to make myself understood; maybe something better for this sim gets through.

Cheers,
GB

[Aviar]

I understand exactly what you are saying. However, IL-2 still has some of what you are looking for. As I mentioned earlier, you can use custom icons so that you really couldn't see them at all. As far as this part you mentioned...."different effect in searching and padlocking in sky various aircrafts: "E" for enemy, "F" for friend and much more."....IL-2 already has the following Padlock commands:

Padlock Enemy
Padlock Friendly
Padlock Enemy Ground
Padlock Friendly Ground
Padlock Next
Padlock Previous

All of the above are INTERNAL (in-cockpit) commands. They seem to do exactly as you have described above.

I do understand that you would like your virtual pilot's viewing system to be more human-like. I agree. That would be great. (Be aware that there is a large percentage of IL-2 players who are totally against Padlock and disable this feature altogether from their server(s).)

Personally, I use Padlock. Could it be improved? Just about anything in IL-2 could be improved. However, I have been playing flight sims for many years and in my opinion, the Padlock implementation in IL-2 is the best I have ever seen. (Yes, I also played Red Baron 3D.)

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[greybeard1]

Hi Aviar,

you're forgetting an important difference about padlocking in respect of RB3D: when you hit, for instance, "M" key, RB3D performs search for you and then padlocks! To padlock on a flight mate in IL-2 you must have it in front sight, first, not to mention that IL-2 does not distinguish between "mate" and generic "friendly". So if you want padlock a mate, you must first perform his visual identification, which is impossible if he'sn't very close, that's to say you need (again) icons!

I'm always for maximum available customization, let no-padlock fans free to play the way they like. This does not force to have icons, if more effective devices are implemented.

I respect your opinion, although would be curious to know what's worse in RB3D system.

Cheers,
GB

[jameson]

Did it have an 'S' key you could press and then it shot it down?
Agree about difficulties with identification, but then I don't use icons...

[Aviar]

I understand exactly what you are requesting. Basically you want what we already have now (External Padlock Friend/Enemy), but you want it to be implemented INTERNALLY (in-cockpit). That is exactly what you are wishing for.

In other words, the padlock command will do all the work for the player. They don't even have to look around. That's fine. We can all wish for anything we like.

Just remember, we have exactly what you are reqesting right now. The only difference is that NOW you simply need to have the plane to be padlocked in your cockpit view.

Personally I wouldn't use the padlock you are requesting because it's a Wonder Woman' padlock. It would padlock a plane that your virtual pilot could not even see (behind, under or hidden by your plane's fuselage or wings.)

Like I said earlier, that's just an External Padlock implemented within the cockpit.

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