Oolite Bulletins

I have noticed that some of my ships have problems hitting targets at a distance (like missiles or other small ships), while others seem much better at it. The question is, when your cross-hairs signal target lock (or even the sniperlock oxp), is it indicating a direct line along the line of sight from your view point, or the lasers line of sight (which can vary greatly on some ships)? Am I making sense? };]

There is a parallax effect - and the 'sweet spot' does vary.

And this can vary between ships, which I like as it gives every ship a different feel. With some ships the view is looking right down the barrel of your forward laser and so there is very little to none offset. With the Cobra III your cockpit is above the laser and so with the greater the distance the harder it is to be accurate.

Also remember the three different lasers are range restricted so if you have a Pulse laser you may be on target but your gun doesn't have the rage to hit it and it appears you are missing your mark.

Try flying the Falcon. That ship is giving a very interesting parallax as you are not sitting in the centre of the ship, but completely on the right side.

Parallax is also important on docking.

No, I understand what parallax is, but I am evidently not being clear with my question.

How do my cross-hairs know when to turn red? Is it:

A) When a direct/straight line can be drawn from my "view_position_forward =" to the center of the target?

Or:

B) When a direct/straight line can be drawn from my "weapon_position_forward =" to the center of the target?

I think currently it is A, but if so, should be B. I am pretty sure that even current targeting systems are intelligent enough to signal when the weapon itself is on target, and not just the point of view of the pilot...?

It is B. And it has never been anything else but B since Oolite existed.

Which is what Cody already answered with his reply that there is a parallax effect in Oolite.

If you got everything lined-up, you'd see no laser beam as such - only this.

Commander McLane wrote:

It is B. And it has never been anything else but B since Oolite existed.

Which is what Cody already answered with his reply that there is a parallax effect in Oolite.

So, according to you, when my laser barrel is on a direct line of sight with the target, that is when the cross-hairs signal a target lock... Then why does it miss?? And why then would accuracy diminish the further the laser is from the pilots point of view?

Eric Walch wrote:

Try flying the Falcon. That ship is giving a very interesting parallax as you are not sitting in the centre of the ship, but completely on the right side.

Parallax is also important on docking.

Exactly!!! Because the pilots point of view is so far to the side! But if the target lock is connected directly to the weapons point of view and NOT the pilots point of view, then it shouldn't matter! You should get target lock when the weapon is sighted directly at the target, not when the pilot is sighted at it.

Paradox wrote:

The question is, when your cross-hairs signal target lock (or even the sniperlock oxp), is it indicating a direct line along the line of sight from your view point, or the lasers line of sight (which can vary greatly on some ships)? Am I making sense? };]

Yes, you're making sense (to me, at least).. But your use of terminology is causing considerable confusion, both to yourself and others..(see below for explanation)

As has been mentioned, if you want to see some extreme parallax in action, the Falcon is your baby.. Here's a screenshot taken from my Falcon-S.. according to the red target reticle, I have a lock, although the metal fragment is well to the left of the crosshairs on the centre-line, where the laser beam is firing, and missing.. so clearly the reticle is indicating the pilot's line-of-sight, and not the laser's. The degree of compensation needs to be guess-timated.. with distance to target as a factor.

Paradox wrote:

Commander McLane wrote:

It is B. And it has never been anything else but B since Oolite existed.

So, according to you, when my laser barrel is on a direct line of sight with the target, that is when the cross-hairs signal a target lock... Then why does it miss?? And why then would accuracy diminish the further the laser is from the pilots point of view?

The above well illustrates the confusion of both yourself and Commander Mclane.. You are each talking about something completely different.

This is the root of the confusion:

Paradox wrote:

How do my cross-hairs know when to turn red?

You keep using the expression "crosshairs signalling a target lock" or "crosshairs turning red". The crosshairs do not "turn red". In fact, they do not "signal" anything. What you are referring to is the Target Reticle turning red, to indicate a target lock.

Commander McLane is correct when he states that the crosshairs indicate a direct/straight line drawn from the weapon_position_forward to a point directly forward of the laser barrel. As you can see in the screenshot, the laser strikes the exact center of the crosshairs (those green Y-shaped things and the circle in the middle of the screen).

But your question is not actually about the crosshairs at all. If, instead of "crosshairs", you had used the term targeting reticle, Commander McLane would have answered "A", since, as can be seen in the above screenshot, it's very clear that the colour-change 'signal' of the targeting reticle indicates a direct/straight line from the pilot's view_position_forward to the center of the target.

Clear as mud?

(As you can see, correct use of terminology is quite important, particularly in view of the many board members we have, -McLane included- for whom English is not their primary language, and who therefore tend to take what is said quite literally)

The target reticle turning red is still useful at distance, but at close range, you need to ignore the green/red signalling of the reticle and concentrate on getting the target into the crosshairs instead.

Paradox wrote:

I am pretty sure that even current targeting systems are intelligent enough to signal when the weapon itself is on target, and not just the point of view of the pilot...?

On this point, I completely agree with you. I would like to see the colour-change of the reticle linked to the weapon line-of-sight, instead of the pilot's line-of-sight.

Diziet Sma wrote:

Here's a screenshot taken from my Falcon-S.. according to the red target reticle, I have a lock, although the metal fragment is well to the left of the crosshairs on the centre-line, where the laser beam is firing, and missing.. so clearly the reticle is indicating the pilot's line-of-sight, and not the laser's. The degree of compensation needs to be guess-timated.. with distance to target as a factor.

It looks like the target reticule sensitive is neither looking at the laser nor the players view position, but just at the centre of he ship.
The Falcon has shifted both the view position and the laser position 24 meters to the right. The red color indicating that it is 'spot-on' can only mean that the ship's centre is 'spot-on'.

Most ships have the laser completely centred on the ship and than the viewpoint a little above it. For those ships the cross hair gets red when on target. But, apparently it is just accidentally that the crosshair sensitive works as expected.

Eric Walch wrote:

The red color indicating that it is 'spot-on' can only mean that the ship's centre is 'spot-on'.

If the ship's center was 'spot on', then the laser would be striking the target, since the laser is mounted on the centerline.

Diziet Sma wrote:

If the ship's center was 'spot on', then the laser would be striking the target, since the laser is mounted on the centerline.

It can't be. Otherwise in the screenshot the laser beam would be angled from the side, not straight down the centre line of the scanner.

JazHaz wrote:

Diziet Sma wrote:

If the ship's center was 'spot on', then the laser would be striking the target, since the laser is mounted on the centerline.

It can't be. Otherwise in the screenshot the laser beam would be angled from the side, not straight down the centre line of the scanner.

So do you mean Eric is correct when he says

Eric Walch wrote:

The Falcon has shifted both the view position and the laser position 24 meters to the right.

How the hell can a mere viewpoint physically change the position of a laser mount?

Diziet Sma wrote:

If the ship's center was 'spot on', then the laser would be striking the target, since the laser is mounted on the centerline.

In shipdata, you see that the laser has the same x coordinate as the players view, and also on your screenshot, you see that the laser originates from below the players view. So clearly, the laser in NOT in the centre.