We need some method of long-distance concealment!

[daveallen10 35]

I have been playing the alpha for only a few weeks now but I think the thing that has bugged me the most is player/enemy visibility at long ranges (resulting in easy kills at a huge distance). At medium to long distances, depending on graphics settings, objects draw less frequently--grass, trees, and terrain is much more solid. Enemies (and yourself) sticks out like a sore thumb because the terrain and objects are not being rendered. This is especially noticeable for me because I have a low-grade machine and my graphics are turned low. There is no way for soldiers to effectively conceal themselves in this situation (whether by hiding in shadows, behind bushes, crawling in grass, etc..) , which takes a lot of the tension and realism out of the game.

I came up with three ideas to deal with this problem, maybe if enough people supported it, Bohemia would take a look into these ideas:

1) Create a more detailed low-res distance terrain texture that would let troops be "camouflaged" by the environment at long-distances to simulate the kind of terrain they are moving through.

2) Use more advanced terrain shaders at a distance to simulate the shadows of trees and objects on the ground and on people, which soldiers might utilize to remain unseen.

3) Create a low-res static grass that can at least partially mimic grass that conceals players when they are prone, at long distance.

4) Make a system that determines by algorithm how visible an enemy is from the player's position. At long distances only on low-graphics settings, the enemy will become partially opaque depending on their level of concealment (though never FULLY invisible). That would make scanning the terrain for hidden enemy troops equal in difficulty to those with high graphics settings. For example: if an enemy is in standing in plain sight in the sunlight, he will be fully visible at any distance. If he is laying prone in the grass, he will be slightly opaque at the distance where grass is no longer drawn. If he is prone and in a shadow or behind a bush, he will be more opaque. (Firing a weapon may reduce opacity to simulate visibility from muzzle flash)

5) As an alternative to the above, enemy players may be partially invisible based on a direct line-of-sight calculation from the player. For instance, if an enemy is hiding behind in some grass that does not render for a player, the computer will still take the grass into account and only draw the parts of the enemy that show up.

6) Some combination of the above.

LINK TO FEEDBACK TRACKER PAGE:

Edited June 8, 2013 by Daveallen10

[k0rd 3]

I would love to see this get better, have you considered making a ticket on the tracker for it?

[GSP167 1]

I totally agree with you, and this has been a problem since OFP! Would be cool if they could do something about it in ARMA III.

[EDcase 87]

Characters DO become concealed when prone especially at long distance.

Being under a bush will make you almost invisible unless you move a lot.

What is going to happen in PvP if snipers in Ghillie suits can be completely invisible and accurate at long ranges.....?

Lots and lots of snipers camping....

No thanks

Edited June 5, 2013 by EDcase

[NicotinKickballovich 1]

There already is a system for concealment. At long distances the body sinks into ground partially as they go prone. But yes standing or crouched targets have no other choice, but to take concealment under a bush/rock.

[l mandrake 9]

Yes but soldiers still stick out way too much at long ranges - mainly because of flat object lighting and lack of shadows at distance.

[St. Jimmy 272]

I say higher mid range textures and some transparency so I vote for the first and the last one. Increasing foliage drawing distance doesn't help in this issue anyway because you can't draw grass kilometer away.

Some older discussion: http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?131538-Foliage-cover-and-drawing-distance&p=2183129&viewfull=1#post2183129

Edited June 5, 2013 by St. Jimmy

[DaRkL3AD3R 1]

Terrain out to 100-200m+ becomes flat polygons with minimal lighting shading. This is a serious problem for concealment and leads to the whole sinking thing. Which personally, not a fan of. It makes me feel like my bullets are going to hit the terrain instead of the soldier. I know it's they only solution they have at hand right now, but man is it weak >: (

Ah well maybe one day we'll be able to render stuff like grass at far ranges and not have to worry about this.

[daveallen10 35]

I would love to see this get better, have you considered making a ticket on the tracker for it?

How do you go about doing that.

[old_painless 182]

Daveallen10, your input is very valid. But don't bother with a new ticket, just all vote for this one:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?149905-Sophisticated-considerations-on-how-to-get-rid-of-the-blurry-mid-range-textures

[Minoza 11]

And this one:

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=3505

[daveallen10 35]

I voted for you ticket. I would like to see that and more.

[no use for a name 0]

The more detailed terrain at distance seems the most plausible/easiest IMO, I hope we get this!

[mordeaniischaos 3]

Wasn't there a post near the beginning of alpha about having an alpha effect on distant targets in grass that would basically overlay transparency that looked like grass over distant duders. The "sinking into the ground" thing always pissed me off, because it's unrealistic and isn't clear at all as to what is going on. And as far as I know, it has nothing to do with the surface you're on, so it can happen on a barren road or in a patch of dirt or whatever.

[old_painless 182]

Yes that would be Minozas post above. The sinking into the ground has to go

[virtualvikingx 19]

Characters DO become concealed when prone especially at long distance.

Being under a bush will make you almost invisible unless you move a lot.

What is going to happen in PvP if snipers in Ghillie suits can be completely invisible and accurate at long ranges.....?

Lots and lots of snipers camping....

No thanks

Hehe. Tell that to Al Quadia! Or any modern sniper school. This a simulation. As always the pvp crowd can try and get some sort of option/off switch.

[St. Jimmy 272]

Yes that would be Minozas post above. The sinking into the ground has to go

It doesn't need to go. Combine sink in to the ground with something might be the best solution.

[metalcraze 290]

I don't see how sinking into the ground is a bad solution? Just more detailed multitexturing at a distance and it will be OK.

Although the solution posted by Bad Benson (?) looks like the best one.

[-Coulum- 35]

Sinking into ground is bad because:

• Messes with hit detection
  
• Doesn't break up the soldiers silhoutte (thus it is easier to see them)
  
• The smooth "cut" between the flat ground and the soldier is very easy to pickup (thus it is easier to see them)
  
• Looks damn ugly
  

I think NordKindchen's idea combined with elcoo's idea would be a huge step forward with out huge performance hits (I think).

Some kind of solution also needs to be made for shadows though. At range it is easy to see the bright tan uniform of enemies even in dark forests because they are rendered as if the sun is shining directly on them (the tree shadows are not rendered). This stands out against the dark terrain usually under forests.

A blur or decreased contrast of objects far away would be welcome in my books as well but really it would be just a bonus. The two tickets I mention on the other hand I see as essential.

[daveallen10 35]

New Link to Feedback Tracker Page. Please Vote up!

[Cyper 18]

YES.

It whould be awesome if the terrain colour would ''melt'' over the player at certain distances.

[NordKindchen 12]

Here you can see how my suggested system would benefit camouflage at the midrange.

Greetz

[daveallen10 35]

Here you can see how my suggested system would benefit camouflage at the midrange.

Greetz

Yeah that would do it, if they choose to implement it. I think some kind of "shadow shader" visualizer would be good too.

[Sneakson 1]

This is a big problem indeed but I think all of your solutions are terrible except for possibly the texture one.

What needs to be done is simply soften up player models that are viewed at a long distance so they blend in better perhaps by some sort of anti-aliasing process.

I think a combination of higher resolution, higher contrast textures, optimization that allows for detail object rendering at much greater distances and a way of rendering soldiers that make them smoother would work.

Another problem I have is that when you're lying down in grass you can't see shit but everyone else can see you because the grass doesn't render for them.

An option that lets you render grass over greater distances but at a lower density and detail would be nice.

Overall I think the fact that playing at lower settings usually gives you an edge is a concern in online competitive gaming.

[CaptainObvious 95]

I don't see how sinking into the ground is a bad solution?

I don't like the fact that I need to shoot at where the enemy seems to not be.