6thSense.eu Presents: Tracers (Beta)

[griff330 0]

yes, thank you for apologizing, now, I do agree with you, they do need to thicker in front, then trail off, your analogy of the sparkler was well put, thats How i think they should look.

[ThePredator 0]

I have to add, that I shot quite a bunch of weapons in my young life. But the often mentioned "VBS 2" tracers are as unrealistic as the current tracers. Bullets act quite different to the simple ballistics in ArmA, ricochets, for example. And light sources always look different, because they are unpredictable to some extend.

I said, shooting tracers is different to watching tracers being shot.

I guess, I should explain that the shooter, if he uses tracers for trajectory corrections (realizing the path) does see the rear of the source. More of the burning substance is visible to the shooter. The glimming tracer rounds are barely visible to bystanders, still bright enough for night vision. We didn't have those, so I can't tell you the difference.

Update: While I was typing, the misunderstanding was solved. Yes, my thoughts exactly. Thought you meant those raindrops from VBS 2.

[sickboy 13]

Interesting talks to read this morning, thanks mates!

With the right drop/particle settings I can probably get the effect of the cone by placing a particle at the front, though let's see what we can do with the Model & Material settings (damn, Material settings is really cool!!.

I want to add that I welcome anyone who wishes to back the project up, supplying tracer(model) examples or better color settings etc, as the project is already based on lots of different cooperation

ATM Garlay is supplying me with Models as I barely scratched the surface of Models, but anyone is welcome to contribute if he wishes.

Played yesterday for a couple of hours in Multiplayer and I was amazed by it's good Performance. You should try putting the tracer bullets every round and then open up with Shilkas & Vulcans :P

About the burn-time of the tracers, I will add such properties!

I guess it shouldn't be a distance estimation but rather a timer...

In that case 5.xx caliber should live about 0.5 seconds, and 7.xx caliber about 1 second, I guess? (Taking a ~800m/s).

[Panda-PL- 0]

Problem with ArmA is this is a game. It has an FPS just like camera does, and not like human eye. Make your own model and test it, at fps of 25-30 the cone at the tip of the gun will look awkward.

Tracers are lines on video because the sensors in camera (one sensor per each pixel) are registering the highest ammount of ligth they recived between taking frames.

What is interesting the old tape cameras an photos see the tracer the same way, but this time it is the shutter time that causes it. This time it's the chemical substance that registers the cummulative ammount of ligth it recived.

Receptors in human eye are more perfect and they catch ligth over shorter periods. As a metter of fact the receptors in human eye can register a single photon, but there is filtering needed to get rid of noises, so neural "filters only allow a signal to pass to the brain to trigger a conscious response when at least about five to nine arrive within less than 100 ms." Then the signal is processed by the brain itself: there is a memory of signal so that we still can see when we blink etc. This is used in TV screens.

An actual analogy between TV screen and tracer exists: TV image is formed using an electron beam hitting the screen and making it glow. Since electron ray is only producing a point, which travels each row one after another one could argue that we are able to see a 0>- shape on TV screen using the same logic as for tracer rounds.

However human brain will remember the highest ammount of ligth in each point and will present us with a post-processed picture... It will even interpret the shapes and "guess" the motion that happens between the frames.

And finally an experiment (for little inventors). Take a small ligthbulb and some cable, plug it to the battery. Now hold the cable and spin the ligthbulb around fast. What do you see?

I see a circle.

[ThePredator 0]

The same technique is used for laser shows. It's fun to see how lazy the human eye is.

I guess we can find some agreement on line-like tracers. They will look like Star Wars for sure, but better star wars, than magic missiles (for the RPG fanatics among us).

@ sickboy:

Quote[/b] ]About the burn-time of the tracers, I will add such properties!

I guess it shouldn't be a distance estimation but rather a timer...

In that case 5.xx caliber should live about 0.5 seconds, and 7.xx caliber about 1 second, I guess? (Taking a ~800m/s).

7,62x51 needs 1.345 seconds for 800 m (match grade HPBT, 175 grains @ 835 m/s)

and 5,56x45 needs 0.697 seconds for 500 meters (M855 ball)

[sickboy 13]

Thanks Pred!

WIP Beta3:

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/66/tracermh1.jpg

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/8600/tracerhq7.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/849/traceryg3.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8784/tracertv8.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1046/tracerzl9.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1527/tracercg3.jpg

Center position has been resolved, tracers appear now nicely on the right height and not "under the rifle" (under the bullet). Also, they appear further away from the barrel now and not from "behind the barrel"

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Looks better AFAIK (never fired tracer rounds), I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that version. Keep it up.

[sickboy 13]

Looks better AFAIK (never fired tracer rounds), I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that version. Keep it up.

Beta Update prolly tonight CET, but I intend to have the Final release of v0.1 out by the weekend.

There's some scripting I must update to take the configuration from the ammo classes properties instead of from script arrays, aswell as the addition of automatic enabling of the tracers without any need of mission script/game logic.

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Heh, in the short time you've been involved in the community, chances are your scripting skills already crap all over mine. Looking forward to the final result here.

[Strag 0]

Hi sickboy,

Very nice work.  I've been following the cent_tracers thread and now this one.  Thanks for your work on this, as well as everyone else who has been involved.

My personal observations of M856 Tracer (orange bullet tip) fired from an AR-15 with a 20" barrel at night:

- Shooter's perspective: rounds were almost point sources of light, bright orange-white in color.

- Observer's perspective from the side:  rounds were short streaks of light, bright orange-white in color -- similar to how they look here, but maybe a third of the length of the tracer round immediately in front of the AH-6.

I hope this is of some use to you.

[nubbin77 0]

Sickboy,

Great work again. I am really enjoying these.

Is there any chance of a large tracer round for tank shells?

Not for next release or anything, just a thought for the future. I don't know if they are used in practice, but I've seen it enough times on various military documentaries about tanks doing target training. Not sure about realism but they sure look neat.

[ThePredator 0]

Tank shell tracers were always included.

[nubbin77 0]

Is it every 3rd round (in current set up)? That may be why I didn't notice. Also was looking for a larger tracer then for normal bullets (forgive me if that is already included too, and I didn't notice).

[RedStorm 0]

Looks amazing! To make it perfect, I agree with Strag, make the tracers about 1/3d of the length they are now and they'd be bloody brilliant. Thanks a lot for doing this! Improves the game a million.

[griff330 0]

hey if you wanna see what tracers from 50 cals, 25mm cannon (Bradley), and from the abrams looks like check out this vid: Liveleak

Warning Bad Language

and yes, it does say stryker at the top of the vid, but its actually a bradley

[sickboy 13]

<span style='color:red'>Boys 'n Girls, I present to you:</span>

<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'><span style='color:blue'>6thSense.eu Tracers v0.1RC1 (Release Candidate 1)</span></span>

Changes:

[*] Smaller Tracers

[*] Tracers are Centerred

[*] No more scripted configuration; All done by properties in the ammo classes inside cfgAmmo

[*] Functions and scripts optimized!

[*] Tracers are automaticly Enabled in EVERY mission (On all Weapons that use or inherit from the default BIS ammo classes)

[*] Added Tracer Lifetime; Tracers now die after X-amount of time (depending on AmmoType)

[*] You can now exclude a certain weapon by adding the weapon as string to the SIX_TRACER_EXCL_WEAP array

Current Ammo Configuration: http://pastebin.ca/548317

Download RC1 Here!!

<span style='font-size:19pt;line-height:100%'>ENJOY</span>

If you have suggestions; Hurry I would like to Release final v0.1 over the weekend. Future updates are possible, though nothing planned ATM.

Requesting Screenshots and Vids Ty in advance

[Winters1807 0]

I pasted the pbo into my mod folder and i aint seeing anything, in fact i am gettin default BIS tracers :S

[LoFFeN 0]

^Yeah, the same happens to me too.

EDIT: And yes, I followed the instructions in the readme.

[sickboy 13]

Hmmm, just tested here with Modfolder etc, and works fine mates...

ThePredator & Garlay Confirms aswell.

Please double check, also there must be a unit on the map that does not have it's Init EventHandlers overwritten, so if you use Mod Units, and if those mods hve custom init eventhandlers INSIDE THEIR CONFIG then you must add at least 1 bis unit or game logic on the map.

v1.07beta btw?

PS: I updated the package on the website to include the old demo mission, was stupid not to include it :P

[Panda-PL- 0]

My arma shortcut:

D:\ArmA\beta\arma.exe -mod=beta;ModWarSound;@six_tracers -nosplash -WINDOW

and my tracer pbo is in:

D:\ArmA\@SIX_Tracers\Addons\

Works fine.

They take 5 seconds to initialize. Open editor and place one BiS usnit, wait 5 seconds and check.

[Winters1807 0]

When i do the demo mission, is says i need downloadable content, the PBO is in my mod folder, so i dunno what 2 do

[Panda-PL- 0]

Inside mission.sqm:

addOns[]=

{

"cacharacters",

"desert",

"CAWheeled",

"CATracked",

"CAAir",

"SIX_Tracers"

};

^this is the cause. You can try removing the addons to make it look like:

addOns[]=

{

"SIX_Tracers"

};

And same with addOnsAuto[]=

Or wait for Sickboy to update it.

[sickboy 13]

Panda, no mate, those addons are default ArmA Addons

When i do the demo mission, is says i need downloadable content, the PBO is in my mod folder, so i dunno what 2 do

the pbo should be inside modfolder\addons and make sure shortcut is fine

[ThePredator 0]

Known bugs:

- Aircraft do not have tracers

- tracers sometimes appear above the player

- firing right after a tank shell with the machine gun will disable tracers (tested with T-72)

- two tracers visible per bullet

Delete all old tracer related files before using the new RC-1.

Do not use other mods to test if the tracers work and enable one mod after another.

Use the beta / beta arma.exe

[nubbin77 0]

Sickboy,

The way you have set up this configuration is ideal. Being able to set the size, color, and rounds per, is just great. Simply amazing progress for about 2 weeks of work from when you first started getting involved in this (going from my head, you may have been working longer).

The only thing I'm a little concerned about is if people want to adjust their own tracer pbo to their own liking, but that's the same for any addon I suppose.