Colour Blindness a Handicap?

[infiltrator_2k 29]

I'm wondering if being colourblind gives you a disadvantage when playing ArmA. Being myself colourblind, I get my greens, yellows, browns & reds sometimes mixed up, as well as purples, blues lilacs pinks etc.. so it's fair to say that I'm quite severly colourlind :( I'm just wondering if this gives the 8% of male players & 0.5% of women a disadvantage when playing ArmA and other games alike.

Do BI take colourblindess into account when creating ArmA's coloured textures I wonder? Seeing the enemy before they see you is obviously key.

[SASrecon 0]

I really doubt BI take this into account, this is a simulator after-all and real life doesn't take colour-blind people into account so if you're a real soldier you'll be seeing the same colours on vehicles etc. as you would in the game I guess..

[CameronMcDonald 146]

?

[lugiahua 26]

One of my college professors claimed some colorblindness actually makes better soldiers because they could easily identified most camoed targets...

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

The human eye, just like most predators, react mostly on movement rather than "what they see". No, colorblindness wont really affect you in that regards.

Camouflage is made to confuse none colorblind people. So if you see purple on the green color the enemy forces uses, as a eg, you will rather have an advantage. :)

[infiltrator_2k 29]

I really doubt BI take this into account, this is a simulator after-all and real life doesn't take colour-blind people into account so if you're a real soldier you'll be seeing the same colours on vehicles etc. as you would in the game I guess..

Unfortunately, colour blindness is a little more complex than people think. There are different degrees of severity, and whether or not you can distinguish a specific colour will often be determined by the environment you're in. i.e. fluorescent lighting (indoors) will substantially hinder your ability to distinguish colours, whereas natural light will enhance your ability.

---------- Post added at 10:32 ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 ----------

The human eye, just like most predators, react mostly on movement rather than "what they see". No, colorblindness wont really affect you in that regards.

Camouflage is made to confuse none colorblind people. So if you see purple on the green color the enemy forces uses, as a eg, you will rather have an advantage. :)

You've got a valid point Jojo, so I've got absolutely no excuse for being ass raped by the enemy :p Thanks for clearing that up ;)

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

You've got a valid point Jojo, so I've got absolutely no excuse for being ass raped by the enemy :p Thanks for clearing that up ;)

Cant blame colorblindness on everything :D

5PDuqk_DSMw

[Sabre=TE= 10]

Unfortunately, colour blindness is a little more complex than people think. There are different degrees of severity, and whether or not you can distinguish a specific colour will often be determined by the environment you're in. i.e. fluorescent lighting (indoors) will substantially hinder your ability to distinguish colours, whereas natural light will enhance your ability.

There are indeed many types, I am red green colour deficient which means these colours are missing from my spectrum and therefore I'm likley to mix up reds greens and browns. As somebody has pointed out this is a simulator so I suspect that in the game as in real life that we are disadvantaged. To what degree is likely to depend on the individual.

For me the problem comes when dealing with static targets that are camouflaged. With movement I can normally pick it up, whether it's friendly movement or not well (shoot first ask questions later) :)

For those wondering whether it makes a difference in what a colour blind person sees and what a normal sighted person sees check out this link. You will see that on a number of occasions what a mormal sighted person sees as a number will be seen as just a load of spots to a colour blind person.

http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/ishihara.asp

To finish the real world does think it's a problem because there are many jobs you will not be able to undertake with colour blindness. For example In the UK you cannot become a Firefighter, Policeman, Pilot, Air Traffic Controller to name just a few.

[sparks50 0]

The top-down radar shows hostiles/friendlies as red/green, but I guess you could learn the different brightnesses.

The Norwegian defense does not care about colorblindness except for certain tasks where color coding is important, such as ship navigation and piloting.

Edited September 25, 2010 by sparks50

[JojoTheSlayer 35]

To finish the real world does think it's a problem because there are many jobs you will not be able to undertake with colour blindness. For example In the UK you cannot become a Firefighter, Policeman, Pilot, Air Traffic Controller to name just a few.

Buy the circle book. Study the pictures and know them by heart...

Every time I have been tested for stuff like this its always the same book.

No real reason why a police officer cant have light colorblindness.

A fighter pilot, or air traffic controller, thats different.

[Sabre=TE= 10]

Buy the circle book. Study the pictures and know them by heart...

Every time I have been tested for stuff like this its always the same book.

No real reason why a police officer cant have light colorblindness.

A fighter pilot, or air traffic controller, thats different.

LOL if only life was that simple :) I like your idea though, thankfully I'm passed the age when I'm going to bothered by that. On a slightly more serious note you have to consider the impact on others eg a firefighter who can't distinguish the type of gas cylinder because he doesn't know the colour could well land his colleagues in deep shit or the police officer who has has colleagues chasing a guy in a red shirt when it's really green :D

The top-down radar shows hostiles/friendlies as red/green, but I guess you could learn the different brightnesses.

Strangely you do learn many coping strategies, brightness, physical position, etc

Edited September 25, 2010 by Sabre=TE=

[celery 8]

Aren't BLUFOR blue and OPFOR red in OA?

[infiltrator_2k 29]

One of my college professors claimed some colorblindness actually makes better soldiers because they could easily identified most camoed targets...

Interesting theory, I'm actually an ex-infanteer, (they wouldn't let me join the EOD) :D I did apply to join the para's as they restricted my options due to my colour blindness, although the colonel said at 24 I was too old for the regiment :o However, he did say if I packed in smoking & got my BFT time down to under 8 minutes he'd enlist me. The BFT time absolutely! packing in the fags? no way!:eek: Not at the time anyway. Ended up joining the Rifles instead - been smoke free for over 7 years now though :)

[DaveP 66]

I can't imagine it would be, given that at range the major give away of a unit isn't so much their colour but usually the small white flash of their weapon you get

[infiltrator_2k 29]

I can't imagine it would be, given that at range the major give away of a unit isn't so much their colour but usually the small white flash of their weapon you get

Yeah muzzle flash is a huge factor, as well as movement, shape and sound.

[dmarkwick 261]

I guess that severely colourblind people can make use of those monitors that allow RGB tuning of the display, to accentuate or desatuate a particular range to minimise (as far as possible) the disadvantage?

But then I suppose you'd still be seeing the world in a way that's not familiar to you? Dunno. Colourblindness is not generally a condition that prevents general military service, but it DOES prevent military service in certain careers. Engineers and technicians for example.

[kklownboy 43]

its a bad deal if your trying to defuse a bomb and you cant tell what color the wires are( always cut blue)

[Evil_Echo 11]

Having multiple vision issues is annoying at times, but never think of it as a handicap.

For one thing, I tend to game in teams. My clan mates are my spotters, calling out distance/bearing for targets they know I have trouble seeing. Once clued in, aiming and hitting are not a problem.

Sometimes I find targets they miss, because I hunt by motion/sound. A good sense of tactics helps also, knowing where targets are likely to hide.

Love night fighting. In low-vis conditions, having vision issues is less of an hinderance since we are used to using our other senses more. Darkness becomes an instrument of terror - you're being tracked down by someone who does not need night vision tools to find and kill you.

[ziiip 1]

Do BI take colourblindess into account when creating ArmA's coloured textures I wonder? Seeing the enemy before they see you is obviously key.

Why would they?

[SASrecon 0]

Having multiple vision issues is annoying at times, but never think of it as a handicap.

For one thing, I tend to game in teams. My clan mates are my spotters, calling out distance/bearing for targets they know I have trouble seeing. Once clued in, aiming and hitting are not a problem.

Sometimes I find targets they miss, because I hunt by motion/sound. A good sense of tactics helps also, knowing where targets are likely to hide.

Love night fighting. In low-vis conditions, having vision issues is less of an hinderance since we are used to using our other senses more. Darkness becomes an instrument of terror - you're being tracked down by someone who does not need night vision tools to find and kill you.

Good point, your other senses are often very underrated and can be very useful in many situations.

I remember back when I played mw2 I had a very different playstyle to everyone else, which resulted in me being called a wallhacker every 2-3 games (for example

a perfect example of the term 'sound-whoring' at 1:20 :)), that's because I used sound, uav and knowledge of popular spots to my advantage, with a team (or as a lone-soldier) and application of tactics this can be applied to sticky low-vis situations to turn the situation in your favour even in ARMA! Edited September 25, 2010 by SASrecon