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[choctaw111]

THAT would be awesome!  The tracer view distance should definitely be pushed out a lot further.  Is this currently a setting buried deep in the code somewhere?
I've seen tracers from so far away it looked like they were hardly moving.
How will online servers handle this stuff.  I mean, if each player can edit the conf, it will be detected that there's a difference.
Also, please look into increasing the live times on everything larger than 50 cal to more than 6.5 like the 50's are.

[WxTech]

Updated mod for my variation of PAL's tracer and tracer smoke mod, available in this thread:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,70268.0.html

I place it there because it's useful also for anyone not already using my big effects pack. The v1.6 Effects pack will include this stuff, obviously.

It boosts the visibility of tracers to as far as the game will permit (I'm assuming the possibility of up to 20km, which you can try); I have the default set to 12km (whichever distance you set applies at all times of day and night.)

I also allowed to increase the length of the simple line tracer to as much as double the default 10m, if anyone is so inclined. (It would be best to have the length of the 3D mesh for nearby tracers the same, for consistency.)

[choctaw111]

Something else to take into consideration is that some tracers should
be thinner than others.  I was testing the Il2 Type 3M, the
plane that has 2 7.62 guns and 2 37 cannon, and the tracer
cavity diameter for the 37mm should be much larger than that of the 7.62x54R cartridge when rendered in game.
What this means is the tracer for the 7.62 should appear much thinner but being
the same length.  Shooting both gun types simultaneously and seeing the tracers
as the same diameter just isn't right
Tracers for 7.62 (30 caliber) weapons should be thinner than those for 50 cal,
20mm, etc.  To be clear, the tracer diameter is NOT the same diameter as the
projectile.  Some tracers on the larger calibers were a simple threaded cup that
could be screwed onto the base of a projectile while others were designed into
the projectile itself.  I have a small collection of WW2 aircraft ammunition,
including a rare BK3,7 Hartkern.
I know you're all about accuracy and this is another huge step in the historical direction!
I have a rare book on the Flying Guns of WW2 (and WW1 as well) with many diagrams
and blueprints of the different projectiles used by all sides.
As an example, a 30 cal 7.62mm tracer generally has a tracer diameter of about 5mm.
A 50 cal (12.7mm) tracer is about 8mm (for a boattail) and a 20mm tracer has a cavity 10-15mm depending
on type.  Once you get to larger calibers than that, the tracer diameter is generally
between 10 and 15mm, regardless of projectile size.

Regarding the "squiggle", that's something that only a camera records when it's shook or vibrated by the guns firing.  Human eyes don't see them that way.  Perhaps make an option to switch between straight for cockpit or free cam views, and squiggly for gun cam videos edits.
How about a texel that shows the squiggles ONLY while a gun button is pressed!  THAT would be pretty good!

[WxTech]

I just looked at the tracer texture and the mesh dimensions I supply. The bright core of the tracer, 7 pixels in width, comes out to 85mm, or more than 3 inches wide. The fainter halo about triples that. Already this is abnormally large from the standpoint of technical correctness.

But we must factor in matters of appearance on a display having a very finite array of pixels. Realistically thin tracers would be greatly under-sampled at a view distance beyond a few tens of meters, appearing as dim, shimmery things paling into utter insignificance compared to the always-solid, '2D' line representation at longer range. Already we have this shimmery aspect commencing well before the '3D' tracer gives way to the '2D' line.

In order to differentiate between tracer line widths by calibre, while not suffering the too-thin small calibre line, we would have to make the tracer width for the larger calibres push into the realm of the comical, if not the grotesque.

Now, the potential approach I see is this. For the smaller calibres, the gun class reads the same mesh from its own folder, but which utilizes a texture having a bit more transparency, making it more 'see-through'. And the specified line tracer color in the class has a smaller alpha value, making that line less intense.

[choctaw111]

Hmmm...I'd like to see how that looks in game...
and with greater view distance of line tracers as well...
plus longer live times
I hope you're having as much or more fun than I am!

[WxTech]

Here's a look at a different mesh I just cooked up, with relevant side view texture, which would be more suitable for 10m long tracers. The current mesh is fine for shorter tracers, such as 6m.

In this view, the two little inserts are the texture alpha channels, the old on the left, and the new on the right with its extra wiggle. The main view of the green 'worm' is this new model.

[WxTech]

Hmmm...I'd like to see how that looks in game...
and with greater view distance of line tracers as well...
plus longer live times
I hope you're having as much or more fun than I am!

Did you miss my reply #109 above? I've addressed the line tracer draw distance, and even added the ability for the player to set his own preferred distance; I have 12km set as the default (which now applies equally day or night.)

You might also want to get the configurable long distance mod, which could possibly have a bearing on the max tracer draw distance. In any event, it's worth having because other stuff is impacted. Available from this thread:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=67712.0

[choctaw111]

Hmmm...I'd like to see how that looks in game...
and with greater view distance of line tracers as well...
plus longer live times
I hope you're having as much or more fun than I am!

Did you miss my reply #109 above? I've addressed the line tracer draw distance, and even added the ability for the player to set his own preferred distance; I have 12km set as the default (which now applies equally day or night.)

You might also want to get the configurable long distance mod, which could possibly have a bearing on the max tracer draw distance. In any event, it's worth having because other stuff is impacted. Available from this thread:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=67712.0

Awesome!  I'll test it now!

[choctaw111]

Hmmm...I'd like to see how that looks in game...
and with greater view distance of line tracers as well...
plus longer live times
I hope you're having as much or more fun than I am!

Did you miss my reply #109 above? I've addressed the line tracer draw distance, and even added the ability for the player to set his own preferred distance; I have 12km set as the default (which now applies equally day or night.)

You might also want to get the configurable long distance mod, which could possibly have a bearing on the max tracer draw distance. In any event, it's worth having because other stuff is impacted. Available from this thread:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php?topic=67712.0

Updated mod for my variation of PAL's tracer and tracer smoke mod, available in this thread:

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,70268.0.html

I place it there because it's useful also for anyone not already using my big effects pack. The v1.6 Effects pack will include this stuff, obviously.

It boosts the visibility of tracers to as far as the game will permit (I'm assuming the possibility of up to 20km, which you can try); I have the default set to 12km (whichever distance you set applies at all times of day and night.)

I also allowed to increase the length of the simple line tracer to as much as double the default 10m, if anyone is so inclined. (It would be best to have the length of the 3D mesh for nearby tracers the same, for consistency.)

This works GREAT!  To test this, I have my MaxLen in the [HookView Config] set to 30000.  That number determines how far you can zoom out from your aircraft in external mode.   This number is set to 3000 initially.  I've set up missions with as many bombers parked on the runway as I can, then set up enemy to attack the runway.  I just let the sim run and watch the light show from a far distance.  It's pretty awesome

[WxTech]

Here's the new tracer mesh in action. The considerable foreshortening in this zoomed-in view strengthens the apparent magnitude of the squiggling. I'm not sure if I think it's a good replacement... I'll see how it wears on me. (Click the image for a larger size.)

[WxTech]

Here we compare, both at a 10m length. I've given the Zero's 20mm guns the old mesh, which make the long familiar single squiggle, coloured orange. Its 7.7mm guns spit yellow tracers and the P-40's bark red tracers, both of which have the new, double-squiggle mesh. (Click the image for a larger version.)

[choctaw111]

Here we compare, both at a 10m length. I've given the Zero's 20mm guns the old mesh, which make the long familiar single squiggle, coloured orange. Its 7.7mm guns spit yellow tracers and the P-40's bark red tracers, both of which have the new, double-squiggle mesh. (Click the image for a larger version.)

Here we compare, both at a 10m length. I've given the Zero's 20mm guns the old mesh, which make the long familiar single squiggle, coloured orange. Its 7.7mm guns spit yellow tracers and the P-40's bark red tracers, both of which have the new, double-squiggle mesh. (Click the image for a larger version.)

Too much squiggle is not good, especially from a free camera standpoint.
They just don't look that way when you see them.  Tracers are literally straight lines when you're watching them fly.
If you must have a squiggle, go for a squiggle that's very subtle.
Is there a way to add a squiggle texel ONLY while a gun trigger is being squeezed?