Additional feedback regarding zoom feature

[czarnyborsuk 2]

Peter (I think it was him) said during the talk with BarelyInfected that the zoom-in feature might be removed forever. He said that he didn't want it removed but loading assets and sight alignment/animation issues make it really problematic.

While I understand technical limitations and the push to make the binoculars more useful I feel like I should defend this feature because it's one of the few features that really separates cautious players from those who just run from town to town by the road. I don't mean to insult any kind of players here, just highlight that there are differences.

Currently the zoom-in feature allows players to replicate what their eyes do in real life automatically. Spotting things in the distance is much easier in real life than it is in game. Our eyes automatically focus on what we are looking at, there is no problem with lower quality of assets viewed from a distance, there is no resolution limitations. Option to zoom in while standing, traveling, overwatching allows players to bypass the limitations of the game and look freely as well as they could in real life.

Example from my experience: When I travel in game I rarely follow any popular routes, I travel through safe areas while constantly watching all the areas where other players could show up. I can do that because I can zoom in while running/jogging and look around while focusing on those risky angles from which players could come. It allows me to spot others before they spot me, it allows my careful decisions to pay off. I will never have the reflexes that I had when I was 15 years old, but I can use my (limited) wits to outsmart others this way. I have tried playing without the zoom in during a few days when my right mouse button was broken. The lack of zoom limited me much more than the fact that I had to use a button on my keyboard to look through the sights of my gun.

Last section is going to be solutions. Communities and people without proffesional experience in game development are well known to make bad suggestions so keep that in mind while reading my suggestions. Possible solutions:

Allowing the zoom to work only when a character is standing or jogging without a raised weapon. It would be kind of realistic because it's much harder to focus on things in the distance while running. It would solve the issue of sight alignment/animations because you would not be able to do it while aiming down sights. Another solution: Not loading higher quality assets while changing field of view through zooming. It wouldn't give that much advantage to players using zoom and it would eliminate the technical problems with loading a big amount of assets. The disadvantage is quite clear, the game might just look very bad when zoomed in with low quality assets.

While the decisions about this removal are not final and there is still time I would really love the devs to reconsider their approach to this feature. It does not really matter if it's iconic ArmA feature. What matters is the tactical planned decisions that it favours and all the good it brings to the gameplay. While it may not be easy to keep this feature in doing so is vital to the dayz experience and it's one of the features that are clearly in line with the direction where the game has been heading all the time.

It would be really nice to get some dev response, especially from Peter.

[czarnyborsuk 2]

As of now it seems that the feature is getting removed because you want to take a development shortcut, not remake it for 0.63 because of the problems it causes, some of which might be connected to the console port (object loading while changing LOD, we all know that console hardware is not very good compared to modern PC's).

Edited August 29, 2017 by czarnyborsuk

[-Gews- 7443]

6 hours ago, czarnyborsuk said:

As of now it seems that the feature is getting removed because you want to take a development shortcut, not remake it for 0.63 because of the problems it causes, some of which might be connected to the console port (object loading while changing LOD, we all know that console hardware is not very good compared to modern PC's).

I thought of the console thing as well. There's no evidence that is the actual reason behind it, but yeah, the thought did pop into my head.

 

6 hours ago, czarnyborsuk said:

While I understand technical limitations and the push to make the binoculars more useful

I don't completely get the binoculars thing. It was mentioned in the video, but:

-They're already a very useful tool, why must they be even more useful?
-No eye zoom also means correspondingly less binocular zoom at the same power magnification
-Should we really need binoculars to see people instead of dots at 300, 400 yards?
-Wouldn't this exacerbate disparity between scoped/unscoped weapons? I don't think that's important myself, but now various scopes could still see to edge of network bubble while eyes are handicapped, which seems contrary to the wishes of some.

I think the binoculars thing is not that well thought-out.

 

[Mantasisg 172]

Dots are easier to render

[IMT 3190]

4 hours ago, Mantasisg said:

Dots are easier to render

Or get a pair of glasses.

[-Gews- 7443]

10 hours ago, IMT said:

Or get a pair of glasses.

I can see it now, a new item for 0.63!

 

class BiopticBase; // external class reference

class BiopticGlasses : BiopticBase {
        scope = public;
        model = "\DZ\characters\glasses\bioptic_vision_aid.p3d";
        displayName = "Bioptic vision aid";
        lootTag[] = {"Civilian"};
        descriptionShort = "Made of plastic with a fashionable horn rim design and tortoiseshell frame, this bioptic will allow your vision-impaired character to see properly.";
        handAnim[] = {"OFP2_ManSkeleton", "\DZ\anims\data\anim\sdr\ik\clothing\glases\bioptic_vision_aid.rtm"};
        armAction = "OneHanded";
        minFov = 0.4143;
 

  

 

 

[sneakydude 480]

5 minutes ago, -Gews- said:

I can see it now, a new item for 0.63!

 

class BiopticBase; // external class reference

class BiopticGlasses : BiopticBase {
        scope = public;
        model = "\DZ\characters\glasses\bioptic_vision_aid.p3d";
        displayName = "Bioptic vision aid";
        lootTag[] = {"Civilian"};
        descriptionShort = "Made of plastic with a fashionable horn rim design and tortoiseshell frame, this bioptic will allow your vision-impaired character to see properly.";
        handAnim[] = {"OFP2_ManSkeleton", "\DZ\anims\data\anim\sdr\ik\clothing\glases\bioptic_vision_aid.rtm"};
        armAction = "OneHanded";
        minFov = 0.4143;
 

  

 

 

Because your great at explaining this to people. What exactly zoom are we talking about? the right click view out distances? or the scopes on weapons and the way it zooms in and out?

 

[-Gews- 7443]

6 minutes ago, sneakydude said:

Because your great at explaining this to people. What exactly zoom are we talking about?

RMB 'zoom-in'.