Why does zeroing almost never work?

[rawalanche 13]

Hi,

i've been playing through campaign, and i have hard time using zeroing on any of the weapons i got so far. I try to press PgUP or PgDOWN keys, but zeroing remains the same. I tried already several weapons and and also tried to remap the keys to be sure they work, but so far no luck...

Basically, here is a screenshot:

http://i.imgur.com/Vm1o0Ng.jpg (508 kB)

There's zeroing indicator on the top right corner of UI, which seems like first intuitive indication of that it should be adjustable. But most importantly, looking at the scope mouted on my weapon, it seems to have screws for both horizontal and vertical zeroing. Considering level of simulation BIS puts into their games, i would expect scope that has modeled zeroing mechanism to work with zeroing.

Anyone has any idea what am i doing wrong?

[jshock 513]

Certain scopes are "hard-zeroed", however some scopes (i.e. most of the marksman scopes) are capable of zeroing.

What scope are you using in the picture?

[chortles 263]

That would be the MRCO which is a fixed-zero scope, the numerical indicator is just there to tell you what that distance is.

[jshock 513]

That would be the MRCO which is a fixed-zero scope, the numerical indicator is just there to tell you what that distance is.

That's what I thought it was, but was just making sure I wasn't going cross-eyed :p.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Another tip is with these Fixed-Zero'd sights, you can use the numbers on the reticle while looking down scope to get proper range. Say your Target is 560 meters away. What you do then, is look down scope. It should be 300 meters dead center. The next is 400, 500, 600, 700, 800. So, you want to put your target in between 500 and 600. Then go slightly above the center of the two, you should be aiming 560-ish. Fire, and you will either see your target flinch, see dust kick up close by the target, or you may even be lucky enough for a kill. Good luck.

[Sterlingarcherz101 15]

Another tip is with these Fixed-Zero'd sights, you can use the numbers on the reticle while looking down scope to get proper range. Say your Target is 560 meters away. What you do then, is look down scope. It should be 300 meters dead center. The next is 400, 500, 600, 700, 800. So, you want to put your target in between 500 and 600. Then go slightly above the center of the two, you should be aiming 560-ish. Fire, and you will either see your target flinch, see dust kick up close by the target, or you may even be lucky enough for a kill. Good luck.

Damn Darkside he already feels stupid for asking the question. No need to rub noob salt on the wound.. You helpful insensitive custard. Had to fix that last word.

[rawalanche 13]

Damn Darkside he already feels stupid for asking the question. No need to rub noob salt on the wound.. You helpful insensitive custard. Had to fix that last word.

Actually i don't. I believe ArmA community members are mature enough to objectively answer questions without personal attacks, and are aware that no one is born ArmA expert. Of course, except a few individuals like you.

I play ArmA series ever since original OFP, and i play very actively, but ever since i got a time consuming job, i was unable to keep up with the development of the series, so i don't play ArmA 3 that often and can't get into the game completely.

Main reason i asked is because i played fair bit of ArmA 2 OA, where zeroing was introduced, and from what i remember, zeroing worked on a fair amount of scopes there. So my initial thought was that mechanism of this feature somehow changed in ArmA.

Now, all of the people above you gave me some useful answers, that make sense. So big thanks goes to them :)

[chortles 263]

Amazingly enough, someone made a Web site just for the optics (should be up to date, considering that it incorporates the SOS -> MOS rename), so any optic there with differing min/max zero distances can be adjusted. Note that in-game switching to the close-quarters sight will also switch the displayed zero distance to that of the close-quarters sight, and vice versa.

[rawalanche 13]

Amazingly enough, someone made a Web site just for the optics (should be up to date, considering that it incorporates the SOS -> MOS rename), so any optic there with differing min/max zero distances can be adjusted. Note that in-game switching to the close-quarters sight will also switch the displayed zero distance to that of the close-quarters sight, and vice versa.

Very useful. Thanks a lot!

[KeyCat 131]

Great guide. Thanks for posting Chortles!

/KC

[Sterlingarcherz101 15]

Actually i don't. I believe ArmA community members are mature enough to objectively answer questions without personal attacks, and are aware that no one is born ArmA expert. Of course, except a few individuals like you.

I play ArmA series ever since original OFP, and i play very actively, but ever since i got a time consuming job, i was unable to keep up with the development of the series, so i don't play ArmA 3 that often and can't get into the game completely.

Personal attacks, oh dear god.Poor sensitive soul. Step off.

Guess I give "mature" arma players too much credit. So I'll have to point out my post was an ironic one. Hense the usage of the word noob.

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Damn Darkside he already feels stupid for asking the question. No need to rub noob salt on the wound.. You helpful insensitive custard. Had to fix that last word.

Was that rubbing salt on a wound? I just told him how i shoot, personally. Nothing less, nothing more. However, if you' like salt, let me go collect some from my Ex. :icon_twisted:

[gibonez 18]

Because the zeroing system in Arma is based on an algorithm further complicating something that should be inherently simple.

simple way to fix the problem is to completely revamp the optics in the game and add mil turrets this way regardless of suppressors, ammo velocity or weather conditions the player has far more control over his adjustments.

Mil turrets are the way to go along with complete removal of 100m elevation zeroing on optics that do not have such a thing irl.

[brightcandle 114]

Because the zeroing system in Arma is based on an algorithm further complicating something that should be inherently simple.

simple way to fix the problem is to completely revamp the optics in the game and add mil turrets this way regardless of suppressors, ammo velocity or weather conditions the player has far more control over his adjustments.

Mil turrets are the way to go along with complete removal of 100m elevation zeroing on optics that do not have such a thing irl.

For those sights that support it. Really the Red dots ought to be zeroed at 300m and whether we can change it or not isn't that important because you couldn't realistically do that in the field anyway. The optics is much more complicated because you have to choose the zero point, maybe it should be set the first time its placed on the rifle or something like that, so the zero point is dependent on the effective range of the rifle its placed on. Then we need turrets to adjust it further along with a range chart for windage and elevation.

When they announced marksman DLC this is basically what I expected/wanted. It struck me this was the one thing missing in Arma that no mods did well and really ought to be in the base game. Sadly they thought bipods was what this was about to keep things "easy".

[st_dux 26]

Because the zeroing system in Arma is based on an algorithm further complicating something that should be inherently simple.

simple way to fix the problem is to completely revamp the optics in the game and add mil turrets this way regardless of suppressors, ammo velocity or weather conditions the player has far more control over his adjustments.

Mil turrets are the way to go along with complete removal of 100m elevation zeroing on optics that do not have such a thing irl.

How would that be simpler than what we have now? "Mil turrets" would require the player to know what each angular adjustment translates to in terms of range, and this would vary widely from weapon to weapon and even from ammo type to ammo type. Right now all the player needs to do is select the appropriate range and go.

Also, you're wrong about 100m zeroing not existing in real life. This is the standard zero for a rifle with adjustable sights.

[evil koala 6]

Because the zeroing system in Arma is based on an algorithm further complicating something that should be inherently simple.

simple way to fix the problem is to completely revamp the optics in the game and add mil turrets this way regardless of suppressors, ammo velocity or weather conditions the player has far more control over his adjustments.

Mil turrets are the way to go along with complete removal of 100m elevation zeroing on optics that do not have such a thing irl.

If this were the case they'd have to also provide ballistic tables for all of the ammunition types as well as muzzle velocities for all of the weapons. This would be awesome and would move the series in the right direction IMO, but I'm not really certain the direction BI are trying to go with the ArmA series any more.

[Jackal326 1181]

Because the zeroing system in Arma is based on an algorithm further complicating something that should be inherently simple.

simple way to fix the problem is to completely revamp the optics in the game and add mil turrets this way regardless of suppressors, ammo velocity or weather conditions the player has far more control over his adjustments.

Mil turrets are the way to go along with complete removal of 100m elevation zeroing on optics that do not have such a thing irl.

I think you've got it backwards. It simplifies something that can be seen as complicated for someone without military experience. The concept of "Mil turrets" would be way beyond the "average gamer", and I think the 100/200/300m ranging is far more accessible to said "average gamer".

For those sights that support it. Really the Red dots ought to be zeroed at 300m and whether we can change it or not isn't that important because you couldn't realistically do that in the field anyway.

300m? For a backup CQB sight. What a fantastic idea...Why not zero the scopes to 3km while we're at it...100m is fine (some might consider 100m too far).

When they announced marksman DLC this is basically what I expected/wanted. It struck me this was the one thing missing in Arma that no mods did well and really ought to be in the base game. Sadly they thought bipods was what this was about to keep things "easy".

They added in a feature to the base game that the community has been crying out for since OFP. How dare they?!

Whilst I understand the zeroing and ranging of scopes isn't exactly the most realistic, its certainly accessible to new-comers and those without military experience as I mentioned above. At the end of it all, ArmA is a game, and if they start going too far down the realism route, they start to alienate large parts of the player base. As a member of a realism unit I would welcome a more in depth approach to optics, however I understand the reasons for not doing so.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Jackal326

[st_dux 26]

If this were the case they'd have to also provide ballistic tables for all of the ammunition types as well as muzzle velocities for all of the weapons. This would be awesome and would move the series in the right direction IMO, but I'm not really certain the direction BI are trying to go with the ArmA series any more.

Introducing the real-world process of looking up data in a table doesn't really add anything interesting to game. All you do in reality is look at the table for your weapon, find out how many clicks you need to make to be accurate at X meters, and then turn a dial that many times. You are still essentially just hitting a button (or turning a knob) until you're at the desired range setting, but now you need to look at a table first to find out what that setting is. There's no skill involved or anything like that.

300m? For a backup CQB sight. What a fantastic idea...Why not zero the scopes to 3km while we're at it...100m is fine (some might consider 100m too far).

I think BrightCandle is referring to the normal red dot sights, not the backup ones. He's correct in saying that you couldn't adjust the zero with a simple sight like this in the field, which is why a battle sight zero of 300m makes sense. Such a zero will be reasonably accurate at all ranges less than 350m, even CQB ranges. This is because a bullet trajectory that crosses your line of sight at 300m on its way down will also cross it at around 25m (precise value will vary with weapon/ammo) on its way up. Between 25m and 300m, your shots will actually hit a bit high, but not by much: You'll hit reliably if you aim for center mass.

[issen 13]

Amazingly enough, someone made a Web site just for the optics (should be up to date, considering that it incorporates the SOS -> MOS rename), so any optic there with differing min/max zero distances can be adjusted.

This guide uses the ingame item descriptions when it comes to magnification, which are unfortunately incorrect most of the time (except for the holosights / ACOs). The DMS for example is 6-12x and not 2-4x like stated in the description AFAIK.

You can help by upvoting this ticket.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Issen