We need some method of long-distance concealment!

[NordKindchen 12]

First - the bush models are pretty neat to look at. Especially the leaves look really nice.

However - sadly they are not designed very well! For example it is not possible to hide under them. At distance you are clearly visible., as you can see in the example pics on the left.

Example pic_1

Example pic_2

Since camouflage is a big concern in a military shooter this design flaw is even more dramatic.

Look at the roots of the plants in the left pictures.. They stand out way to much.

Luckily this is easy fixable. If you remodel the bush model - every bush in the whole game will be adjusted at the same time. Therefore this would only need a simple workover to be implemented.

it would make camouflage in the distance way more realistic - and thats exactly what we want in a military simulation.

ps: This is meant to be a discussion - since there is obviously also the possibilty to implement this via a mod.

[wiresnsnakes 1]

I dont think there will ever be a solution that isnt just for soldiers who prone. It would be one, if the whole island would be totally flat.

In many cases you see units with a hill behind them/at the side of a hill or from above a hill.

First: That woulnt mean, that you are behind grass, but the grass would be around you and the grass underneath you would be, well: not visible.

A "real" "solution should effect all units proning or not and in a way, that it works, "like" in the distance would be the same details and shadows so the suits from snipers woulnd be totally ridicilous, which is the case two with Bends Textures. So you got a kind of use from your camo and stealth, especially in situations there is something behind you, you blend in with and I would crawl above the whole island, just im not as easy to spot with grass, plants and other stuff, like in a desert. That isnt realism, but limited technology.

Besides the undetailed washed out Texture which makes everything easy to spot, which isnt part of the texture you got more things that effect it.

Lightning: There lighting in the distance is rudimentary and there is nothing that can effect it, like grass would darken fregments of the scape cause grass actually makes shadows, besides the next point

The polycount from the landscape: ...is minimal and there is no bumpmapping-tech so its totally flat, everything above it stands out.

Dirt, little stones, and especially grass: All this things kinda dissort the environment, so does your camo did with your body and in the ideal case let you blind in

In combanation with shadows: grass, plants, trees and stones have mostly one colour or a tone from it. But shadows effect everything if the sun/light isnt exactly all around it, so parts are much darker so more kinda dissdortion. BTW: Units out of the range from the shadowdraw-distance are easy to spot in woods.

Then: Alaising/Antialaising, FXAA and other Filters. the edges of 3D Objects are flickering, so for example a soldier or a tank. On the other side, there is nothing around you that is effected by this.

Movement: You move. That makes you easy to spot, even if you move slowly. Grass moves. But there isnt anything that could move.

Overall I dont have any knowledge of the tech-part. I really dont care about eyecandy. Which is important is, that the rules of the visuals are always the same, no matter the distance, cause: Gameplay. Gameplay, without fast respawning in the nearby spot. So i would prefer Arma 2 graphics with a real solution for the distance cause every interaction in ranges above 200, are just horrible, dont know how other can stand it, i wish I could or would have known, so I didnt spend money, but...

Nordkindchen approach is a first step. Bends textures allready archive a nice effect. But there should be more:

1. lowdetailgrass, maybe with shadows allready build in so: imagine a stripe with two pixels one normal green one extreme dark green.

Or: Instead of a grasslayer a disstortionlayer. You can still see the texture underneath it, but it somehow simulates details and objects above it, so many little dots, in case of a area with grass: 40% transperant, 40% green pixels, 20% darkgreen/black pixels. I dont have any idea how this possible, just a idea.

2. An effect that blurs the edges that connect with the environment from soldiers and units, so they blend more in and the alaising doesnt make objects flicker.

3. A way to make the places without shadows under woods, single trees and bushes darker and the units effected by them too.

The game is very pretty at close and high range. But the midrange shouldnt be much different, but not cause "the pretty". I would prefer an rather dated looking game, if the visual influences to the gameplay would be always the same. I mean: Its a sim. The sim and so the gameplay aspect should be the first priority.

In Planetside I always know, that im pretty visible most of the time, by looking around me. In Arma 3 I would think I wouldnt be so visible from 500 and especially not 1500m from someone with a scope but Im easy to spot. I feel constantly cheated and I just wonder which game it is and from which decade, if i look through a scope and see an enemy.

Cause everyone calls it a Mil-Sim I would expect that the environment, so the visuals deliver realism. But there are two games(play's) depending on the range of the engagement.

Funny thing is, that im not even a realism-nerd and appreciate many simpe actiongames.

[DavidJerk 1]

Just wanted to jump in and agree with this. I really don't know the "best" way to change it though. I do that some serious texture changes may cause even more performance issues. Many players already have problems; making grass render at far ranges would be a nightmare on even good systems. All I know is that I can spot a guy a thousand meters away standing out on a side of a hill like basketball player in a crowd.

[dnk 13]

Nord's idea +

Elcoo's idea (and my take on it)

That's all we need, and the performance impact should be very minimal for both, and they make the game look much better.

[Mirudes 1]

It appears to some players --it may be dependent to the settings-- that the enemy will become even better visible with a higher distance.

It is just impossible when someone wearing camouflage suddenly pops up with a increasing distance. It is the opposite to what happens in reality.

I consider this both as a bug:

1. It shouldn't be dependent to the players settings. Because fairness.

2. I think that distance is a main factor for visibility. Because one have to watch at a higher amount of objects / shadows and backgrounds are melting together / even a silhouette becomes blurred / and mist, fog, smoke and flickering air are physical barriers for the light.

When you look at the enemy from the distance, it used to be blurry, but when you zoom-in with a scope, the units have to be sharp.

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?132196-Firefight-Dynamics-in-ArmA-3&p=2132805&viewfull=1#post2132805

About grass and soldiers hiding in the grass:

The problem are mipmaps - textures have lower resolution when settings are low, you see polygon at an angle, or in the distance.

Generally they get more and more blurry.

So when youre hiding in the grass and someone else looks at you - even if grass covers half of body (just like it happens in A2) - you are still realy easy to see as you're only sharp object in blurry environment. [snip]

More links about this topic (wiresnsnakes):

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?154927-Any-real-solution-for-the-visibility-of-units-at-higher-distances-possible&p=2394847&viewfull=1#post2394847

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?147538-Share-your-first-Arma3-Alpha-Impressions-(all-first-impression-type-posts-here-pls)&p=2358193&viewfull=1#post2358193