Anything that add more realism is great in my book.
SH should be about simulation, and of course immersion. (Especially in a sub sim
).
A similar argument has raged in the flight sim world for ages. Having to represent an aircraft cockpit on a average monitor means that the default view has to be overly zoomed out to provide a useful field of view.
With a periscope though things are different.
Firstly we are representing optics. Therefore they have a fixed field of view.
The first step should be to have the periscopes with the same field of views as they did in RL. I belive that the Magui did a fair bit of work in this area, and I like the FOV it provides.
Second, levels of zoom.
Id actually forgotten that GWX featured a 10x scope. Since i reloaded SH3 (after being dissapointed with SH5 even with mods, although the Magui in that version does feature a max zoom of x6) i modded it up.
I can see why it was done, but personally feel its not a fix for the issue, and infact worse than the original problem it was designed to fix.
Consider optics in other "realistic" games. Sniper scopes for example. I have never heard the argument that because our screen res is low that the zooms have been doubled. It seems odd.
I understand that the problem lays in that even a HD display comes nowhere near representing the resolution that real optics provide to the naked eye.
But then again the same limitations can give us an unrealistic advantage over the real thing too. Our virtual scopes dont mist up, get dirty, misaligned. The atmospheric conditions and lighting are all very basic and dont provide anywhere near the variety of situations we encounter in the game. Sea state, spray, its there but very basic and a lot easier to look through than the real thing. So on balance I would suggest that the advantages and disadvantages cancel out.
OK i may have trouble working out what flag those pixels actually represent through a x6 view, but also my optics are not having to peer through a load of mist or spray or gunk on the lens.
That said I think the idea of enlarging the veiw of the periscope to its largest possible screen area is a great workaround, and would help the resolution problem. At the end of the day no solution is going to get around the fact that your sat infront of a monitor, but this sounds like a logical way improve the situation.
Then again, having narrow views of the outside world is something that sub sims are all about. On an emotional and athestic level they help to encourage that feeling of claustraphobia.
I feel more comfortable when in my F4 conning tower view as it feels like being outside. Would having full screen optics detract from that? Maybe.
Finally There is another question -
How hard is it to implement?
I have no idea. Given the other GUI mods that have been released i imagine it is possible, and hopefully someone will step up to the challenge. As a mod people (myself included) could try it out and vote via JSGME. As I started my post, anything that adds to realism & immersion is good.