Idea for stadimeter range estimates

[TorpX]

Those who use manual targeting, doubtless already know that long range stadimeter use is exceedingly difficult, bordering on utterly useless, due to the masts seeming to grow or shrink moment to moment. I was thinking that, maybe it would be possible to change the ship models by adding something like a black knob on the top of the highest mast(s), and thereby permit us to see them better. (Think of something along the lines of a flagpole knob in black.)

I know this will strike many as a very gamey idea, and may not be worth the trouble, but I thought I'd throw it out here.

[Treetop64]

Sorry, but not really a fan of this idea at all.

Getting accurate stadimeter ranges at extreme rages "should" be difficult, and "is" useless, because you wouldn't hope to get accurate solutions at those ranges anyway. You can get a general idea of what's going on, then further refine it as the target gets closer and become easier to observe. By the time the target is 2000-4000 yards away, then you can conduct a series of observations accurate enough to fire a torp.

Artificially adding a visual aid to make long range stadimeter settings accurate is obviously unrealistic. It's along the same lines as the hated old red triangle. We don't need that.

[TorpX]

I would agree, except that we should be able to see the masts much better than we do. I don't expect stadimeter estimates to be dead on, but they should be half way useful. Even at moderate ranges, if I watch them for awhile, I can see them grow and shrink. This is mostly a graphical element of the game; not something realistic or intended.

I should add that I'm not talking about a drastically larger knob either. Unless you are staring at it from 10 yards away, it would most likely not look especially large.

For anybody interested:

I currently run a 23" 16X9 Monitor at 1080p

Viewed from 20" away, the resolution required to match the "standard 20-20" human eye would be something like 9000X5893

This amounts to actual image output being about 4% of the ideal

At 32bit color (true color), this is 1697184000 bits, which is 202.32 megabytes *per frame*.

Link to thread:http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=201121

This is from ColonelSandersLite. He has been using a technique where the width of the ship is used to calculate range instead of the height. Naturally, the stadimeter cannot be used for this. Why is he doing it this way? Only because of the lousy graphics problem. We know they did not do it this way; they used the stadimeter.

[TorpX]

Okay, it seems my idea is not going anywhere. I'll concede it is neither elegent nor ideal, but then not being able to make a fair range estimate on a plainly visible ship, on a clear day, isn't ideal either.

Has anyone found a solution to this problem? Is there some kind of graphic tweeks that will reduce it?

Any ideas...anything?

[Armistead]

I don't know a fix for it, except for max opticss and scaf.

[Hitman]

We know they did not do it this way; they used the stadimeter.

Yes but what they did is actually use another part of the ship's superstructure as reference, which is more accurate and will also be in the game - mastheads can not just be almost invisible, but also camouflaged with paint or shortened/lengthened on purpose.