Ballistics and scope ranging

[Hunt3r]

So, how about it? Would it be possible to, for example, have an ACOG zeroed at 100 yards, and have the BDC do something, and be realistic for ranging purposes?

[m249guy]

A good suggestion regarding the sight ranging, but I believe that most standard non-CQB military rifles are zeroed to about 250-350m est. I guess this all does depend on the operator of the weapon, but I dont think people would like their rifles zeroed at 100m in non CQB situations.

I also think that it would take too much time to actually estimate the range of the target and then fire of your rounds hoping they hit. This suggestion would be better suited to sniping situations IMO.

[Rudd]

One of the problems with true ballistics is that the tracers are deemed heavier ingame and therefore fall faster iirc.

Ballistics have been covered many times by people who can actually code.

Though you're forgiven because the thread is buries someplace, all I remember is that mosquill and Jonny were heavily involved in the making of it.

[Thermis]

The problem with realistic ballistics is that tracers can't be changed iirc. We can make all the non-tracer rounds have proper ballistics then you would have a need for the mil dot on scopes. Previous thread linked below.

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f18-pr ... acers.html

I believe there are still a few people working on this trying to figure out a work around. Please don't go necro that thread. I linked it so you could be better informed.

[TheLean]

Considering how greatly the insurgents have benefited from the removal of tracers from their faction, do we really need them? 9 out of 10 times tracers do more bad than they do good ingame which is why i hope they are removed. I guess IRL they have a bigger purpose but ingame they give away your position too easily.

Some "facts" about tracers from wikipedia:
Tracers can never be a totally reliable indicator of a gunner's aim, since all tracer rounds have different aerodynamics and even weight from ordinary rounds. Over long ranges, the stream of tracer rounds and the stream of ordinary rounds will diverge significantly, due to a tracer bullet's mass decreasing over time, because the tracer material in its base burns and vaporizes. Although advances in tracer design have diminished this problem, it still exists in modern ammunition.

Tracers can also serve to direct fire at a given target, because it is visible to other combatants. The disadvantage is that they betray the gunner's position; the tracer path leads back to its source. To make it more difficult for an enemy to do this, most modern tracers have a delay element, which results in the trace becoming visible some distance from the muzzle. Its lethality is similar to conventional ammunition. However, the mass loss and the burning aspects can make the consequences of the impact slightly different.

[Ninja2dan]

Tracer rounds are not meant to be used as spotting rounds. You aren't going to fire a single tracer, and then use that to adjust all other rounds for precision fire.

Tracer rounds are primarily used in automatic weapons in order to get their fire on target faster. Because automatic weapons are going to have some innate dispersion, the slight variance in tracer trajectory is not much of a concern. Again, you are using those tracers as a means to get the rest of your rounds in the general direction of your target. This is also why tracers are linked in a 1:5 ratio and never used 1:1.

Other uses of tracer rounds can be for example an ambush, where the lead will load a tracer round or two or three into his weapon and give the order "Fire on my Tracer". He will then be the first to fire, and when everyone else sees that tracer fired off, they light the baddies up.

So, if you are trying to sight in an optic in PR you are not going to be using the tracer fire as your PoA, and neither would you do so in real life.


Because tracer ballistics has little to do with the use of a BDC or with adjusting the dials on an optic unit, I don't really see why tracers were brought up. The OP's question was regarding the ability to adjust the dials on optics in-game or having a BDC available.

I will let the other staff answer if that's a desired option or what is possible in PR/BF2. Personally, I don't see snipers using their weapons in PR properly so I see little point in giving them another ability that they will either use incorrectly or not use at all, with the exception of only a pinch of players that know a fart's worth of sniping tactics and techniques. It's not that difficult to just hold over. As for a properly-marked BDC on optics like the ACOG, I imagine it would be possible but you would need someone to spend a lot of time marking ranges and drawing up new reticles. We'll see if someone wants to take up that task.