Distance measuring

[onyx pasture]

there's a skill that allows you to spot with your scope, if you haven't already got it, which basically stops you from needing to rely on your binoculars for spotting at crucial times

and with the zeroing perk, 70m is negligible. Even without the perk, and accounting for bullet drop, a range of 230-300 is enough to give you an idea of where to aim with the pips in the scope.

[fresh rock]

@onyx pasture that is nice, but has nothing to do with what the OP was referring to. A lot of players only like to shoot at zeroed distances and not in-between, so to move closer and risk having the animal move while you wait for it to un-spot and then re-spot is frustrating for some.

[onyx pasture]

maybe so. it'd be a nice thing to have but the reality is, despite this not being a 1:1 sim, you're never going to get perfect distances to optimize your zeroing whether it's due to trees or hills or any other aspect. There's a shooting range for that which is a free dlc found in Hirschfelden. which also teaches you to accommodate for imperfect distances and even then those distances differ from the zeroing skills

practise is part of improving skills and expecting that someone else is to deliver you precisely what you want with no skill or effort involved speaks volumes in and of itself.

and unless you're spotting a lone animal with nothing else in your field of view, you can simply spot the animal next to it.

a live distance tracker though, that does sound interesting

i've also never had to alter the zeroing after I get to a zone. animals just don't move enough when they're calm unless they get spooked or are travelling

[fresh rock]

the devs added the distance next to the trophy score on the information popup and changed the way the Ranger perk worked, specifically to be more accurate than the rangefinder. Sometimes the rangefinder will tell me something is 285m and then I'll spot it and the range will say 220-260, which is more accurate and preferrable.

When they added that featuure, it updated in real-time, like the rangefinder and waypoint distances. As long as something was spotted, the information on the information box in the top-right corner updated when you moved. But shortly after, they changed it to be a static number that only changed when you re-spotted an animal.

For example, if I only see one animal somewhere, and it tells me in the information box that it is 230m-260m away, but since my weapon only zeroes for 75, 150 or 300, I only want to shoot it between 140-160 or 290-310, which means where I'm currently standing is not where I want to take the shot and I have to move, either closer or further away. If I stay watching the animal, it stays spotted while I'm moving and aiming, meaning after moving 100m, I'm now within 170m of it, and the information box still says 230m-260m, and I don't know that I'm within 170m now until I stop aiming at it, wait 10-30 seconds depending on if I have the skill that keeps animals spotted for longer, and then spot it again. And in that time, it could start traveling. And if it does, I now have to do it all again to get within the distance I am comfortable shooting it.

If the information still updated in real time, like it originally did when implimented, I don't have to stop aiming, will know when I'm within 170m and can stop and fire without waiting or risking it moving. This doesn't require practicing at the range on Hirschfelden to account for drop or raise or calculating anything extra. It is simpler and more convenient. And all the OP did was express that it was preferrable that way instead of what it was changed to.

[onyx pasture]

i support the idea of live distance tracking. i think it's a nice idea

[fresh rock]

and while on the topic of more accurate distances, I also preferred when waypoints used decimals in their number; I use yards instead of meters, which isn't a 1-1 conversion, so I found it more pleasing to look at and more comfortable to understand and process having decimal points in the distance calculation, like we have with the rangefinders and on the map. I'm perfectly fine with whole numbers, it just looks too plain to me.

[onyx pasture]

there's also something to be said for upskilling so that something like a new feature doesn't impact the way a game is enjoyed. There's a disproportionate shift in the number of people that expect things to be perfect and a significant decrease in people that learn how to adapt and develop new skills

[fresh rock]

I have adapted just fine. I used to not use Zeroing at all for a while and did a lot of practice at both the firing range and archery range as well as learning through trial and error how to shoot from pretty much any distance with the default/middle zeroing. But when they add or change a feature and we get used to how it is, and then they update it, there will always be those who prefer it as it was before and see no reason for the update whether the change is beneficial as a whole or not.

[onyx pasture]

and myabe there was a technical reason. maybe it was a coding issue, maybe it was to make room for something else. at the end of the day, players are not privvy to the reasonings of dev changes.

[fresh rock]

I agree 100%. This has been my mindset the whole time. But that doesn't mean it wasn't preferable before. And the fact that it was that way initially makes some believe that it's still possible in some way.

[onyx pasture]

you go back to 4 years ago and there was a mechanic in place that affected how respawns behave. would be a total luxury to have nowadays but it's just not possible. bottom line is, wishing for something is nice, and complimenting a previous feature is too but don't sit there and criticise something just because you think your point of view is the right point of view

[fresh rock]

The purpose of this is for support and feedback. OP commented on a feature they wanted the devs to take a look at, now all we have to do is let the devs do their thing.

[open vortex]

EW is a small shop, I figured this changing distance estimate got lost in an update and they just never had the manpower or motivation to fix it.

[open vortex]

The real benefit, for me, was that I could spot an animal and actively know when to stop running, or to crouch. For example, if the waypoint is on my tripod, and herds are off to both sides, I want to spot around and see my distance changing. Trigonometry baby! 🎯

Or try running the coast for crocs - you're not placing a waypoint on each one - you want to spot them and keep running, and know when to slow down. Back in my day, we could see the distance changing.

[errant bear]

I wish the devs would reinstate the dynamic distance so that I can tell if a bird that flushes at 100m is flying toward me or away from me. 😕
I don't need to know the exact distance... just whether I should be adjusting my aim up or down as it moves.

[fresh pike]

I think meta-wise, if you think about IRL, when you spot an animal with just your eyes you are making an estimate of how far it is (IE; 120-180m). The game, just as IRL, then has technology that you can buy to get a more accurate reading (IE: rangefinders, both stand-alone and the bino or bow sight with built-in rangefinder). If they made spotting do what rangefinders do, you wouldn't need the rangefinder tech.

[errant bear]

The OP's message isn't about replacing the need for range finders, but rather having the vague eyeball estimate update as the distance to target changes due to hunter or animal movement.