bert8for3
09-19-08, 08:58 AM
I ran up the following pic showing bearing lines from the player location on the bridge (on a type VIIB) and running those lines for the most part through readily identifiable visual marks on the bridge.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p109/bert8for3/Bearings.jpg
My inspiration (a possibly excessive term, as it may turn out to be thoroughly useless and merely illustrating a higher than average insanity level :lol: ) came last night as I was working around a convoy in and out of visual range and needed to keep tabs on the nearest escort. I've been using the binoculars which don't show the bearing, and I find it can be a little awkward locating a contact report through binos sooner rather than later, or determining the bearing of a target which I've spotted, but the crew haven't yet seen.
Obviously, you can put the bearings back in the binos (IIRC somebody put out a little mod to do that), or you can use the UZO. But I prefer not to put the bearings back in the binos, and while I use the UZO sometimes other than during actual attacks or prep for attack, the binos have a better field of view (or at least looks that way).
So I figure that visual reference marks (which I'm guessing that in RL lookouts would have used) may help, thus the pic. The pic btw is on a VIIB layout. Some of the marks, notably lookout heads, are not realistic naturally, but they're in the way of other reference points. Most of the visual marks are obvious, so I haven't described them. But there are some that aren't. 018 is the voice tube. A couple of marks are the right or left shoulder of a lookout, others are forward, middle, aft on a safety rail, in between rails, the end of the bulwark etc. The selection of bearings is pretty arbitrary, ie doesn't follow any particular pattern of compass points.
The ugly pink is the best I've come up with so far for contrast/readability.
I don't pretend that this is 100% accurate. There are a number of variables. Player location on the bridge can change slightly depending how much you turn around; some of the reference marks, notably lookout heads, can change slightly. And then my drawing of the lines is not absolutely precise. And even if the lines were precise, when you pick your reference mark in bridge view and then switch to binos, or vice versa, you'll never be precisely on the bearing. But I tried it out a little last night and found that I was locating targets faster. :know:
Anyway, I thought I'd share my daft project in case it's of interest to anyone, and the full-size pic in jpg and pdf is here: http://files.filefront.com/Bearings+VIIB7z/;11834317;/fileinfo.html
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p109/bert8for3/Bearings.jpg
My inspiration (a possibly excessive term, as it may turn out to be thoroughly useless and merely illustrating a higher than average insanity level :lol: ) came last night as I was working around a convoy in and out of visual range and needed to keep tabs on the nearest escort. I've been using the binoculars which don't show the bearing, and I find it can be a little awkward locating a contact report through binos sooner rather than later, or determining the bearing of a target which I've spotted, but the crew haven't yet seen.
Obviously, you can put the bearings back in the binos (IIRC somebody put out a little mod to do that), or you can use the UZO. But I prefer not to put the bearings back in the binos, and while I use the UZO sometimes other than during actual attacks or prep for attack, the binos have a better field of view (or at least looks that way).
So I figure that visual reference marks (which I'm guessing that in RL lookouts would have used) may help, thus the pic. The pic btw is on a VIIB layout. Some of the marks, notably lookout heads, are not realistic naturally, but they're in the way of other reference points. Most of the visual marks are obvious, so I haven't described them. But there are some that aren't. 018 is the voice tube. A couple of marks are the right or left shoulder of a lookout, others are forward, middle, aft on a safety rail, in between rails, the end of the bulwark etc. The selection of bearings is pretty arbitrary, ie doesn't follow any particular pattern of compass points.
The ugly pink is the best I've come up with so far for contrast/readability.
I don't pretend that this is 100% accurate. There are a number of variables. Player location on the bridge can change slightly depending how much you turn around; some of the reference marks, notably lookout heads, can change slightly. And then my drawing of the lines is not absolutely precise. And even if the lines were precise, when you pick your reference mark in bridge view and then switch to binos, or vice versa, you'll never be precisely on the bearing. But I tried it out a little last night and found that I was locating targets faster. :know:
Anyway, I thought I'd share my daft project in case it's of interest to anyone, and the full-size pic in jpg and pdf is here: http://files.filefront.com/Bearings+VIIB7z/;11834317;/fileinfo.html