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Thread: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

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    Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    Before I begin, allow me to point out I am in no way a programmer; this proposal is something that sounds like it should be a simple modification of an existing in game value, but that is with zero actual knowledge. That said:

    I have been thinking for a long time that our sixward view in CLOD is extremely ahistorical. I just could not reconcile all the accounts of pilots weaving all over the sky, needing wingmen, coming back with neck cramps, and generally be killed unawares from the rear, with our ability to effectively clear your six to 180 degrees effortlessly. We have plenty of pilots who can effectively fly in reverse. So I decided to check how realistic the current FOVs are in CLOD. The answer is that our pilots are super human in their ability to look rearward as I'll demonstrate momentarily. I believe that by limiting the range of motion available to the view - and the game already naturally stops you around the 180 degree mark - you could more accurately simulate what a pilot could actually see.

    The Issue

    There are a couple key numbers to hihglight before we go into lots of pretty pictures:

    1. The angle a human neck can turn to one side: Variable on source, but the highest claim it around 80 degrees.

    2. Human field of vision: You get about 60 degrees of focusable vision (30 degrees each side of a center point,), and another 30 degrees on each side of binocular peripheral. You also get some monocular peripheral for 15 degrees - aka "what was that movement?' - and the ability to "rotate your eyes" for about 15 more degrees, albeit only temporarily and losing a lot of field depth. Try looking out the back of your car while driving and you get the idea on how those last two work. You definitely aren't focusing on any car that is more than 100m away from you.

    3. The angle you can rotate your center line without moving your body forward: 5-10 degrees, usually towards the lower end in men.

    What that means...with pictures!

    Now, those numbers are important because added together they provide the following criteria for realistic observation capability (which granted, would be straining your neck and core to do indefinitely, but our virtual pilots are all ripped) that you be able to shift your view point, to include moving your eyes, only 100-105 degrees left or right from where the center of your body is. (Neck 80, torso 5, eye roll 15). How does that compare to CLOD?

    This, a typical CLOD "self six" is according to my track IR, a whopping 174 degrees rotation of my point of view to the left without any "center of body" movement.

    CLOD UnMOD 174.jpg

    This is the 105 degrees that you are actually capable of rotating your body and eyes before you start leaning forward and out.

    CLOD Porop 105.jpg
    Last edited by GloriousRuse; Mar-16-2017 at 19:19.

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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    Now, let's demonstrate what CLOD lets you do in 1G level flight versus what you can actually do while leaning forward and out.

    This is a 180 degree rotation of the center of view to the left, combined with essentially flipping around your body by displacing the seated position onto the control stick and then leaning right until your head hits the glass.

    Full body displace left view.jpg

    This is what happens with a 105 degree leftward rotation, displacing your body 45 degrees forward left. The pilot's shoulders are off the seat; this is the furthest optimal you can move your body and turn rearward with your legs facing forward...any further forward and you lose ability to look over your shoulder as effectively, any further left and your abs stop the forward movement. You do this naturally when you are backing your car up in really close quarters. It is about the maximum you check your own six under optimal conditions.

    MaxCehckSix.jpg

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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    And finally, we have the "high G" variant, where the pilot is actually pushed back into the seat...

    What CLOD allows:

    Clod High G.jpg

    What you get in reality with only head turning from a pushed back position:

    Real high g.png

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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    Now hopefully all those shiny pictures have demonstrated a very real human modelling error in the original source. One that I believe probably impacts air to air combat a lot more than whether or not a Minen round was really that effective, or if the FMs are 99% correct versus 99.9% correct. We cavort about our virtual battlefield with an inhuman ability to observe our six during cruise well beyond that of any pilot ever made, and just as importantly, we can maintain that stare long, stress free, and uninterrupted even as we are various break turning, rolling, and diving to our hearts content. The number of pilot guides that have some version of "yeah, you learn to fly backwards" or "keep up your alertness and you won't get bounced" or "keep your eyes on him as you <INSERT ACM HERE> and watch precisely for the moment he does <X> behind you" speak to this supernatural advantage. There is a reason most fighter kills in real life generally consisted of blowing somebody's brains out un noticed.

    There is also a reason bubble canopies were game changers - imagine if in each of the "real" screenshots there wasn't the rest of the cockpit in the way! You would suddenly have a huge field of view bonus for those 105 degrees you can actually rotate! They're hardly worth mentioning in the CLOD model where any spit or 109 (even more egregious given the bucket seat modeling) can stare 180 degrees out his own tail pipe essentially.

    My humble request to TF would be to see if there is a way to limit DoF in view for 4.5 or 5.0, to more accurately simulate the realities of air combat in WWII. Ideally to 105 degrees from the "center" of view; arguably you could expand that 105 a bit if you needed to make up for ocular deficiencies on screen, such as not being able to simulate mono ocular peripheral vision very well.

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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    +1 to the sentiment of the above & to add to it IRL the pilot had goggles on - further restricting the periphery / field of vision....

    ...but I was thinking about this in a different context earlier - namely what it will (hopefully, maybe one day ) be like to fly CloD in VR, where you actually have to physically look behind you to , er look behind you as it were, without all the handy multipliers we have if using Track IR or whatever. Wearing a HMD is like doing so IRL whilst wearing a scuba mask...so I guess any changes may need to cater for that also or you may end up making it almost impossible to check six (with historical accuracy) for VR users..

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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    ''Check 6''


    I do apologise...I just couldn't resist...

    Seriously you are right...Although to be fair it's bad enough for me with SA anyway even with the advantage of the extra degrees of vision...
    Last edited by ATAG_Lewis; Mar-16-2017 at 22:02.
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    Re: Human Observation Limits - OR - Why You Can't Actually Check Your Own Six

    Quote Originally Posted by ATAG_Dave View Post
    +1 to the sentiment of the above & to add to it IRL the pilot had goggles on - further restricting the periphery / field of vision....

    ...but I was thinking about this in a different context earlier - namely what it will (hopefully, maybe one day ) be like to fly CloD in VR, where you actually have to physically look behind you to , er look behind you as it were, without all the handy multipliers we have if using Track IR or whatever. Wearing a HMD is like doing so IRL whilst wearing a scuba mask...so I guess any changes may need to cater for that also or you may end up making it almost impossible to check six (with historical accuracy) for VR users..
    The only way to check six with Rift is to hang out of the chair, leaning sideways and looking past the headrest at the same side you are leaning.
    Impossible if one were really strapped tightly into a cockpit. If you were strapped in, then I expect 5 and 7 o'clock would be about the best you could achieve unless you happened to star in The Exorcist.

    If you have not tried VR in a combat flight simulator, you would be very surprised what hard work it is, when the radar warning receiver is beeping and showing someone on your tail, while you, in a slow mud mover dodge around valleys, hoping to break his radar lock before he gets into eyeball / IR range by employing terrain masking while simultaneously trying to spot the bogey/incoming missile.

    You can get quite a sweat on doing the seat gymnastics trying to look behind.
    Last edited by Tinkicker; Apr-06-2017 at 16:19.
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