38 replies to this topic

[torgian]

I've used night vision goggles in the military. This game's NV optics is pretty good in my opinion. As for thermal, never had the chance.

[Furniture]

Night vision in the game has the problem where certain surfaces glare brightly even though no light is shining on them, and the surface is not reflective, such as a stone or concrete building side. This causes HDR to darken other objects in view (just like before when the glowing mechs was darkening your screen). The effect is not anywhere near as bad as the glowing mechs were, but it is still there. If they got rid of that and made the night vision look better, it would be more useful. The night vision should look more like ARMA II's night vision.

[Bhael Fire]

Furniture, on 30 December 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

The night vision should look more like ARMA II's night vision.

I agree. ARMA II adjusts the overall gamma level instead of just showing the specularity channel of the shader.

[LynxFury]

Quote

Not everybody uses IR night vision in combat. Tanks don't for very simple reason: what happens if they turn on an IR lamp that is strong enough to light up the terrain in front of them -> they light themselves up pretty good for enemy fire.

Thermal is very useful in tanks. They don't need the IR headlights most of the time. The few times I've seen IR lights used are to light up a large area in support for thermal equipped infantry and of course to mark themselves for friendly air.

From HMMWVs we used to use strong IR floodlights from the turrets during patrols all the time and to support infantry raids.

Edited by LynxFury, 30 December 2012 - 11:44 PM.

[Xandralkus]

I have used both night-vision and thermal imaging systems, in-game and out-of-game.

The thermal imaging camera I installed in my car works better and has a sharper picture than that of my battlemech.

The night-vision scope I purchased works better and has a clearer picture than that of my battlemech.

Unblur thermal imaging and increase target contrast. Make night-vision automatically scale intensity according to incoming light, just like any truly decent modernized NVG does. And most importantly, increase the damn resolution on them. NVG and thermal imaging in a mech should be equally viable in daytime and nighttime, not a derpy alterative in case the sun goes down.

[Bhael Fire]

Found an interesting comparison of IR ("nightvision") vs FLIR ("thermal"):

[Bhael Fire]

So basically, IR should only be more effective than FLIR if the ambient temperatures are similar to the targets you're looking for.

I think augmented viability should be like this in the game:

Normal: Work best in environments with clear ambient visibility
IR: Works best in low-light conditions and extremely hot environments
FLIR: Works best for all-round night vision and situational awareness in extremely dark/obscured environments

[Willie Sauerland]

LynxFury, on 30 December 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

Thermal is very useful in tanks. They don't need the IR headlights most of the time. The few times I've seen IR lights used are to light up a large area in support for thermal equipped infantry and of course to mark themselves for friendly air.

From HMMWVs we used to use strong IR headlights during patrols all the time and to support infantry raids.

Nice to see somebody else who has actually used NV commenting besides just me...

I remember sitting in an Abrams being able to distinctly see the rank insignia of a SFC at quite a distance, though I believe that distance is still classified...

I will say, IR is not accurately represented in this game in terms of distance, but I think it is working quite well.

[Savroix]

Gremlich Johns, on 30 December 2012 - 09:31 AM, said:

and I suggested/provided feedback that it works just fine. Just because my point of view is different than your's does not mean you are right.

Dude, you're the one whining about non-existent whining; not the OP. Now, shhh...

Edited by Savroix, 30 December 2012 - 11:36 PM.

[SICk Nick]

I think the Thermal and Night Vision capabilities I had in the Army were at par or better than the views we get in game.

It's 3050 in the game is it not? Are you telling me that in the next thousand years we never developed any further in visual technology?

Also, what about focusing the "enhanced zoom" a little better too? An M1-A2 Abrams or a UAV drone or a targeting pod on a fighter see WAY further and clearer then the zooms we have in a Mech'.

Just my 2 cents.

[blinkin]

SICk Nick, on 04 January 2013 - 06:36 PM, said:

I think the Thermal and Night Vision capabilities I had in the Army were at par or better than the views we get in game.

It's 3050 in the game is it not? Are you telling me that in the next thousand years we never developed any further in visual technology?

Also, what about focusing the "enhanced zoom" a little better too? An M1-A2 Abrams or a UAV drone or a targeting pod on a fighter see WAY further and clearer then the zooms we have in a Mech'.

Just my 2 cents.

engaging broken record:
dark ages and lost technology. the lore in this game revolves heavily around humanity losing most of their acquired knowledge. society has fallen in between now and 3050.

not saying that this stuff can't be added in, but they have a good solid excuse if they choose not to. trying to say they should have it because we have it now is not a valid argument in the battletech universe.

[MasterBLB]

Here is example how they could improve NV:

[Burktross]

Nightvision has too much contrast: 45% black 45% white 10% just right.

[DeadlyNerd]

the night vision is just too bright. My eyes actually hurt more by using the nightvision than trying to find mechs in the dark.

[blinkin]

DeadlyNerd, on 05 January 2013 - 02:47 PM, said:

the night vision is just too bright. My eyes actually hurt more by using the nightvision than trying to find mechs in the dark.

this must be some sort of monitor settings issue. i will admit it is not the most pleasant image, but my eyes tend to be very sensitive to video settings. i have to keep my monitor running at 75 hertz or i will quickly get a headache. the NV has never caused me any issues, and i use it EVERY TIME i play river city night.

[shotokan5]

night vision is being gotten rid of because long term tests have shown that they destroy your vision when used for long periods. Thermal to this point shows non of these problems and over the next few years they will replace night vision. as far as mech goes the thermal may seem bright but it allows you to see targets at a distance impossible to see any other way. perhaps a way of adjusting it would not be to bad an idea. Great in the real world night vision can be seen by an enemy. a flash bang also makes it useless.

Edited by shotokan5, 06 January 2013 - 07:27 PM.

[SICk Nick]

In the Army I always opted for Thermal vision when available, even during the day. Night vision was just more compact, so had to be used for light infantry tactics.

but, I keep hearing this lost technology thing...sooo...yeah...

[Astarot]

Night vision goggles. People keep calling them NVGs, when they are actually called NVDs, night vision devices, as there are many different types of night vision. Most night vision now in days uses infrared to detect objects.

Someone Also made a point that you can see the LEDs from nightvision....Thats a load of horse-gib cause you can't see on the infrared scale of energy. So there is no marker from the NVD.

The other point about it destroying your eyes, what it is, that active NVDs is normally fed back to the wearer as a solid green colors, it actually not the night vision itself, it the choice of feed back colors. Green being the easiest, and least expensive to produce. Now you can actually find night vision that is on a grey scale, and grey blue scale.

Another point is, night vision, while yes uses infrared, also amplifies existing /light/ and our sun gives off more then just light rays, they also give off infra-red as well, that is why it not suggested to use them in the day.

Also comes my final point, in real life, Thermal is not blue to red when it comes to combat, we have black heat, then we have white heat, and they are both basically the same thing, Black heat is the black points are the hottest, and the white is the coldest, while white heat, white is the hottest, and black is the coldest. That is the thermal system we should be using, not this, blue to red crap.

Edited by Astarot, 30 January 2013 - 12:02 AM.

[blinkin]

Astarot, on 30 January 2013 - 12:00 AM, said:

Also comes my final point, in real life, Thermal is not blue to red when it comes to combat, we have black heat, then we have white heat, and they are both basically the same thing, Black heat is the black points are the hottest, and the white is the coldest, while white heat, white is the hottest, and black is the coldest. That is the thermal system we should be using, not this, blue to red crap.

i blame the predator movies.