Stadimeter range is off (Bug?)
 

I find that I have to bring the top image's waterline part of the way down the masts to get a correct range. It was like this in 1.1 also.


Anyone else?

yes but i dont think it will affect the topedo run's at the range's you should be useing (1100 - 400m)

No, doesn't make too much of a difference up close, but I've had instances where I've fired all the way up to around 3000yds and it definitely makes a difference that far away.

It always places the mark closer than the vessel actually is.. by a good amount.

I think the range finder is not bad at all. What I do, use the stadi and get the range. I then click on the sonar man to get his distance. Usually I'm with in 15 yards of what I see and what the sonar man sees.

Yeah this bugs me too.

If it wasn't for this I would go ahead and turn off map updates. As it stands now my routine is Use standimeter, look at attack map rinse and repeat about 50 times.

Lining it up never comes close, it's usually a good ways down the mast.

AVG: I wish I knew what you were doing because I am never that close.

I start my calculations about 4000 yards out. At this point, the stadi is just a rough estimate. As I close to 3000 yards I can make out the mast tips and I use the stadi again. After that, my sonar man can hear him(bug?) and I hit the sonarman range button. He gives me what he has. I compare the two. Usually I'm darn close and leave it at that. I close the distance. I do not plan on firing until I'm 1500 yards or closer. I'm not big on the long shots. Anyway, at 1500 yards, your stadi is darn clear and so is the mast tip. You can get a good reading(some what harder in rough seas and usually the best guess you can make rocking and rolling around). I recheck my AOB and by this time I have the speed set up and with in a knot or two of actual speed it is still a good solution. I make my quick adjustments if needed and fire. I always fire three torps. I run my first straight at the target my second to the right and third to the left with the angle wheel on the PK. I have about 10 seconds between shots to do this and open the doors for each. A little crasy for 30 seconds but after an hours of sitting quietly, I need some excitment.

I'm a in your face(1500 yards or better) and at 90 degrees from your port/starboard Skipper. If I can not have these two things as part of my solution....I make plans to have it my way....even if I have to run ahead several times to get it:yep:


I do play at the standard resolution. I do not know if this has an affect or not.

That last comment may be more interesting than realized...

...do you suppose, the reason the game originally had the 3d 'locked' at 1024x768, was that there was issues with scaling at different resolutions buggering up the stadimeter?

After all, 1024x768 is a 'standard' 4:3 aspect ratio. Most LCDs run at 1280x1024, which is 5:4, and with all the 1280x720s and 1680x1050s for widescreens...

...I dunno. Worth investigating, I suppose. Can anyone who has a good save to really test this problem try some different resolutions and see what effect these have?

In both 1.1 (1024x768, stretched ickily thanks to my widescreen :smug:), and 1.2 (1400x900, widescreen), the stadimeter seems to give range alright. Haven't tested it extensively, but I can wack ships with it no problem.

In the mods section, there is a mod that fixes three IJN ship's mast height that might have resulted in bad ranging.

PD

I have tried the mod and had the same problems.

I'm also running at 1280x1024. Perhaps the 5:4 ratio is screwy with it. I've been playing with map contacts on also to check my range estimate. On smaller vessels I don't have to drag the image down the mast as far as a taller one it seems.

I suspect the stadimeter is inaccurate at range by dev design in part. The detail on ships atrange is reduced enough to make accurate distance claculatioons difficult, espeically considering the limited fidelity/resolution in the adjustment of the stadimeter. Basically at range the masts arent rendered very well. It makes range calculations very loose until the ship is close and fully rendered in higher detail with masts accuratly rendered and the stadimeter's limited fidelity/resolution of no consequence.

I find hard to believe that the dev's have made the range measuring work so that some ships wouldn't use the mast top (OR, mast at all) as a measuring point due the poor rendering, while other ships would use. Their masts are equally visible to those that had biggest error in the ship height.

Example carrier Taiyo was one of two carriers that didn't take the mast top as a measuring point, but the flight deck instead (odd, cos the mast is clearly visible to a long distance). But when you measured the distance to her, using the stadimeter same way as with any other ship (to mast top) you got the distance of 340 meters when the ship actually was at 1000 meter range. That would make your shot miss the crosshair.

Reason for this was that in the ships cfg-file, ships height was only around 16 meters or so. That clearly can't be the case (when talking about 17,000 ton carrier), because the actual height (with the mast) is 43.5 meters.

I've corrected all the japanese (ships you'd attack) ships cfg-files so, that the ship data, most importantly, the heights would match the dimensions they suppose to be. Not all ships had bad data. Few big errors, some medium and small errors. What ever the case, I corrected all heights and other dimensions, some speeds and masses too. AND, all the fixed data comes from the developers, not from my head.

I just tested with the stadimeter(again, but first time in patch 1.2) all the jap merchants for their heights/ranges. They were ok (i.e. patched 1.2 are still porked, but the JP Ship Dimension Fix 1.2 corrects them). Variation in 1000 meters was +-30meters. NOT nearly 650 meters as before (in worst cases)! I use 1440x900 resolution.

I'll test the japanese warships later today. But I'd quess that they are ok too, because there weren't any changes in the merchants. But well see that later.

:-? I've had this same issue too. Another thing about taking stad. readings is that even at high res and FSAA, the masts seem to get jaggy (at a greater distance) and disappear and appear sometimes....

Sure, the masts are jaggy and it's hard to see the exact top time to time ( which is a good thing ), but you'll get at least guesstimate of the range which is enough and this brings some natural uncertainty to the range estimates. Not any artificial nonsense about measuring this or that mast from different heights or cross trees etc.

Main thing is, that that is the mark (mast top) were the stadimeter should be pointed every time (not some odd part of the mast or ship). And it gets easier as the target comes closer. You should be able to rely the fact, that the aiming point is alway the same (to get correct range), which is not the case in the SH4 (without modding the ship data).

Whilst this doesn't apply to the game, if you look at various photos of the Japanese carriers you'll see that they could 'flatten' the masts by rotating them outwards pointing away from the ship so that when aircraft were operating from the carrier there would be a minimum of obstructions. This means that the height of the flight deck would be the most reliable way of measuring the range of carriers. Possibly this is where the different spotting locations are coming from. In any case, in game terms, as you can't spot an arbitary point on a ship to get the height/range it should be consistent - or point out clearly when and why it isn't.

Have fun
Finn