rifle scope zeroing and magnification

I'm trying to configure a 3x-20x scope, but I have trouble zeroing it. On a 800m away man-size target, the hole is always near the belt when I aim at the head. I'm puzzled, probably missing the forest through the trees, maybe someone can give me a hint.

Supposedly I should be able to zero the weapon with distanceZoomMin, but that doesn't have any effect at all, whether I set it to e.g. 500 or 2000. I've also tried different values for opticsZoomMin und Max, which works as intended (zooming in more or less) but didn't change the zeroing. Using either \ca\weapons\2Dscope_MilDot_14 or _10 for modelOptics didn't make any difference either (do I need a new one for this?). The issue is not due to dispersion, I set it to 0.0001 for the time being for debug purposes, so the shot is always highly accurate, just too low. I've even tried replacing the ammo in the magazines, B_762x51_Ball or B_127x99_Ball_noTracer doesn't make a difference either.

	class OpticsModes {
		class StepScope {
			opticsID = 1;
			useModelOptics = 1;
			opticsPPEffects[] = {"OpticsCHAbera1", "OpticsBlur1"};
			opticsZoomMin = 0.01245;
			opticsZoomMax = 0.083;
			opticsZoomInit = 0.083;
			memoryPointCamera = "eye";
			opticsFlare = true;
			opticsDisablePeripherialVision = true;
			distanceZoomMin = 800;
			distanceZoomMax = 200;
			cameraDir = "";
			visionMode[] = {"Normal","NVG"};
			discreteDistance[] = {100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800};
			discreteDistanceInitIndex = 2;
		};
	};

DistanceZoomMin/DistanceZoomMax would be the correct parameter. Different values here will result in a "sliding" zero between the two zoom levels 200 and 800 meters. Here is an example from a reconfig of the DMR I did for OA:

class DMR : Rifle {
 handAnim[] = {};
 modelOptics = "\Ca\weapons_E\SCAR\TacMil_optic_8x.p3d";
 dispersion = 0.00012;
 weaponInfoType = "RscWeaponZeroing";

 class OpticsModes {
  class StepScope {
   opticsID = 1;
   useModelOptics = 1;
   opticsPPEffects[] = {"OpticsCHAbera1", "OpticsBlur1"};
   opticsZoomMin = 0.087666;
   opticsZoomMax = 0.0339;
   opticsZoomInit = 0.087666;
   memoryPointCamera = "eye";
   opticsFlare = true;
   opticsDisablePeripherialVision = true;
   distanceZoomMin = 200;
   distanceZoomMax = 200;
   cameraDir = "";
   visionMode[] = {"Normal"};
   discretefov[] = {0.087666, 0.0339};
   discreteInitIndex = 0;
   discreteDistance[] = {200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200};
   discreteDistanceInitIndex = 0;
  };
 };
};

Zero is set to a steady 200 meters, magnification is stepped at round about 3x and 8.5x. Exact magnification value doesn't matter that much. More important is that magnification matches the mildot scale for distance calculation.

sry for not getting back to you earlier.

This doesn't help me directly, but maybe it set me on the right track. I noticed I have no discretefov array in my config, maybe that's it. Will check it out when I have time.

discretefov is for when you want several discrete zoom levels IIRC.

Yeah, I just found that out, too. That's the reason why I left it out in the first place^^ So I'm not getting forward at all.

Well, my goal is that I can zoom in and out continuously with a magnification of 3x to 20x, and that the zeroing works, i.e. when I set the rifle to 800m that the bullet actually hits where the crosshair is (disregarding wind drift, dispersion etc. for the moment).

Weird thing is that even if I copy over all the values from other rifles where the scopes fit perfectly, it won't work, it's still off. I assume I have one really dumb mistake somewhere. Also weird is that even if I set different values, the error is the same, it's always a hit in the groin instead of a headshot on a 800m target.

Any hints are very welcome.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Brainbug

Ok, I just noticed that your distanceZoomMin and-Max values are reversed. Should be the other way around if I remember correctly.

If you are using the class stepScope the rifle is always zeroed at the set distance (in the UI). So if you wanted a sliding zero between mag levels use the scope definition as it was in ArmA2. You won't get there with a stepscope. The drawback is, that it will be hard to calculate the correct corresponding values. You could use the config of one of the original marksman rifles (DMR, MK12 SPR) from ArmA2 as a template; both had a stepless zoom scope.

If you want a mixed method, which I guess is your goal, it might not work at all. Also to keep in mind is the fact that there might be an issue with the rifles model. The L115LRR snipers from BAF would be an example. They are always zeroed at a value set distance minus 100 ...

Edited October 31, 2012 by Guess Who

Ok, I just noticed that your distanceZoomMin and-Max values are reversed. Should be the other way around if I remember correctly.

No, I think that is correct. I tried the other way, but that only gave one fixed zoom. Also doesn't make sense. The distanceZoomMax/Min is the viewing angle in radians (actually I calculated 0.0249/zoomfactor, a number which I found in several other threads around here, i.e. 0.0249/3=0.083, 0.0249/20=0.01245), so a bigger number means a wider angle, i.e. less magnification. Max and Min are not to be understood as "biggest/smallest zoom factor", just "biggest/smallest angle". You can e.g. see that in the original config for the DMR, where the max value is the bigger number, and equal to the init value (and it starts with the smallest magnification).

I tried to do away with the stepscope class and just put the needed values in the parent class, like in the good old DMR config. Had no effect. :(

The mildots are off anyway in most cases because the reticle doesn't zoom, so you can't use them for measuring target distance. That's why I tried to have a zeroing option, the mildots would be for cosmetics only.

First I was in doubt, not anymore: you were talking about OpticsZoomMin/Max. That is related to field of view (in mils?). Now DistanceZoomMin/Max describes the zeroing point in meters. So it should look like

DistanceZoomMax = 800;

DistanceZoomMin = 200;

Also this is in my experience not very reliable in the original configs; hence my comment regarding the BAF LLRs which are off by a hundred meters. This seems to be model related because I couldn't correct it in the configs by whatever I tried. Are you sure your rifle model is correct in this aspect? Maybe try with a working model like the M24 or DMR for reference.

Regarding the mildots I usually look for a matching reticle and adjust the magnification in the config until it matches the mildots. Ranging is more important to me than absolute magnification level. Unfortunately for you there is no 20x powerscope in OA, just the 14x scope from the M107.

Yeah, you're right, I mixed that up, the angle is opticsZoomMin/Max. However, in the default config of the DMR, the distanceZoomMin value is larger (400) than the distanceZoomMax value (120), same in the M107 config (500 and 200 respectively).

As makeshift base for my tryouts I used a Robert Hammer rifle, the HK417 (because I had the idea to turn it into a G28 somehow, modding textures was the easy part as it turned out^^). In the original config, it has a fixed zoom of about 8.4x (0.29624), so I thought a few lines of config would give it a proper S&B PMII 3-20x50.

But after looking carefully, I think it is also off by a bit, in the same direction that I experienced. It only wasn't so apparent because of the low zoom level. Hoewever, applying 20x instead of 8.4x made it quite noticable. I also found this: http://tactical.nekromantix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=21610 so I thought it is actually a shortcoming of the model. But then I replaced it with the default DMR model, which should have fixed it theoretically, but it had no effect, hits are still the same bit too low.

Just proper zeroing would be a success now. Proper mildots are probably not possible at all with a sliding zoom, and with two or more discrete zoom steps, it would have to be different on each step. Though I don't think that is it possible to change the reticle.

Hmm, I think I'll just give up, obviously it is pointless to try getting it to work. Either that or I'm too dumb to find the source of the problem. This little fun project turned out to be not that much fun in the end.*sigh*

Don't give up to easily, I'm fiddeling with weapon configs for about three years now ... :)

I guess your link to the PMS forums is on the right track. I did a bit of fiddeling/testing yesterday for the assault rifles. The outcome is that all assault rifles inheriting from M16/M4 base classes using ACOGs/RCOs are off in zeroing and magnification. To get a good shooting result up to 400 meters I had to reduce the magnification to ~ 0.7 and set the zero /distanceZoomMin/Max) to 200 meters. With these values you get a zero of 100 meters at the top of the TA31F reticle chevron and a clean hit at 400 meters with the 400 meters mark. This is sufficient for me. The distanceZoomMin/Max values clearly have an effect here.

But I also noticed that the DMR and M24 still hit a little low. This seems consistent over the range of 100 to 1000 meters; so I would assume it's not rooted in ballistics but more in model quirks as suggested in that linked thread. Fact is, you can't obviously correct these faults with configs alone because with stepscopes the zero takes always the value you give it in the UI. DistanceZoomMin/Max have zero effect here! Unless we leave the internal BI zeroing out like in ACE and utilize a totally different system (like ACE) we will have to live with it. Maybe I will have to convert to ACE after all ...

... or maybe someone should port this mod to OA: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=1648

Edited November 2, 2012 by Guess Who