Estimated distances frozen

[ancient eagle]

Before Emerald coast the estimated distance on any animal you highlighted updated continually, now it seems to only update whenever you rehighlight it.
This is purely speculation but could it be due to the new sounds from animals fleeing? It'd make sense that the estimate from that was static.

[green bramble]

I also have the static distance estimates, even when an animal is moving towards or away from me. 😕

[flat yacht]

I've also noticed this.

[lethal bronze]

This has occasionally happened to me too.

[buoyant anvil]

If it's an intentional change rather than a bug I'm personally fine with it.

[hollow quail]

It throws me off so much though

[shell wing]

This is indeed frustrating. was nice to have distance estimated while bow hunting, now we're back to referencing binos

[buoyant anvil]

Sounds like you may be referring to the rangefinding bow sight change? That's a separate thing where they changed the bind to activate it so that's it's not the same bind as spotting. The change this thread is about is the rough range estimate in the spotting infobox, which still exists but now doesn't update in realtime.

[shell wing]

No I'm talking about what you're talking about, the spotting info box is mainly what I referenced. I know the button for the auto sight changed.

[buoyant anvil]

Ah, in that case I guess I'm not sure how it affects bows more than other weapons. Also I don't find using the binos for bow range an issue. I don't use the rangefinding sight but I also typically don't take a bow shot at a moving target, so the time to switch between binos isn't a hindrance.

[hollow quail]

The problem is when I'm stalking something until I'm close enough to shoot and it'll be at 300m and as you run forward it still says 300m until the spot wears off and you re spot it just to do it again

[buoyant anvil]

I dunno, I suppose that having played for years without any distance estimate in the game it's hard for me to see that as an issue. If you and the animal haven't moved very far then just use your eyes to judge how far you both have moved and adjust the last estimate from there. And I plan on spotting it again before taking a shot anyway because I want my final ranging to be based on an exact reading from a rangefinder, not the estimate from spotting.

[hollow quail]

Well I started with it so I see it as an issue now that it's gone

[buoyant anvil]

Alright, I had a feeling that might be the case. I was struggling to understand how people were so thrown off by the recent change, because for anyone who's been playing since before a few months ago the distance estimate is just bonus information and not something essential they would have built their whole approach around.

If you don't already have either the standalone rangefinder or the rangefinding binos, you should start saving for one of them. Getting an exact range is way more useful than the estimate. You can also use them to do things like getting the range on a tree, rock, etc. ahead of you. So if you see a tree that's 50m away then once you reach it you'll know you can take 50m off the last range you got for the animal. That also provides a good opportunity for practicing judging distances in the game with the naked eye. Before you point the rangefinder at the tree guess to yourself how far away you think it is and see how that compares to the actual reading. Eventually you'll get decent enough at it that the range estimate from spotting will just be a bit of confirmation rather than something to lean on.

[hollow quail]

I'm fine with the estimate range I don't miss my shots unless they are running. It just makes sense that the distance should change as you move closer and not just be static. I'm not saying I won't get used to it. But the fact is I don't see why it would be changed

[buoyant anvil]

Well it makes just as much sense to me that you wouldn't know that they're moving closer or further away if you have your back turned to them or foliage blocking your view.

[hollow quail]

I mean you usually don't have your back to things your walking towards

[buoyant anvil]

My point didn't hinge on how common of an occurrence it is.

[green bramble]

For many animals, once they are highlighted, it becomes impossible to "use your eyes" to see if they are moving toward or away from you. Flinter mentioned often after the distance estimate feature was released, how useful it was to be able to tell while looking down his scope whether a bird was flying toward or away from him.

To sum up: many players rely on it as an accessibility feature that positively impacts their gameplay, and want this current bugged implementation fixed.

I'm also fine with DoofusMagnus offering differing opinions since it keeps bumping this thread. 😁

[buoyant anvil]

Well I also don't use the spotting outline, so if there's something blocking my view of the animal then I have no idea what it's doing, and that's the way I like it.

The game has so many assists already and I guess I don't understand people wanting more. I would be content (and was for years) without the distance estimate from spotting at all, because if I'm pointing binos or a scope at something to spot it then I've already got a distance estimate using a handy little trick called looking at it. 😛

The distance estimate from audio clues on the other hand I appreciate because the audio in the game is far less consistent and accurate than the visuals.

And if you wanna make the most of my bumps then you'd be better off not directly replying, since that gives me a chance to reply soon enough that it doesn't affect the post's position. 😉

[solemn egret]

This change to the spotting distance estimate mechanics does have a precedent. The High Tech RangeFinder Bowsight - this will give you the range to target (whatever is currently in the red dot's line of sight). There is a control that needs to be pressed in order to measure the range and display it. If you aim at something else, the displayed range will not update until you press the control again.

On my Xbox controller (what I use to play on PC), the 'Y' button triggers the range measurement and display. As with other sights, the 'X' button is used for sight spotting.

[solemn egret]

Check the patch notes for the latest update: this is explicitly mentioned as a deliberate change to the previous behavior - the intent was always for this to be a static measurement, requiring you to spot the animal again.

[hollow willow]

Yes I am having this same problem. It is the distance calculator that pops up underneath the animals name and weight estimate when you either hear a warning,flee,mating call or you spot the animal it just stays frozen on the estimated distance that it was at the time of the spotting or the call. I know that you have to keep refreshing the distance calculator for the bowsight but I don't think we are talking about that Im pretty sure everyone here is talking about the range estimate that you get with the perks and skills as you level up in the game. If anyone here sees this and I am wrong to assume that this is what you are talking about please feel free to let me know I want to know so then I can either take it down or leave it.

[solemn egret]

the most recent patch notes mention that this was intentionally changed