Player Features and Ideas Discussion

PROBLEM
I don't know if I'm in alone in this, but I don't know what .0175 Radians per second looks like. I really really don't know what the difference between .0175 radians/second looks like compared to .0195 radians per second. I'm even less able to comprehend exactly how that is effecting my ability to hit an interceptor traveling at 3200 M/s at an sharpening angle that I can guestimate at less than 20 degrees, from 35 km and closing, and whether I stand a chane of hitting it before I'm warp jammed with my turrets.

My experience is that I I usually can't hit that target. But I don't know by how much I'm missing. I dont' know if getting rid of that shield extender and putting on a tracking computer is going to make the difference. And I certainly don't know if the tracking script vs. just the standard computer is going to make the difference. I have no clue. How is everyone else doing with this?

Of course I understand that radians per second is a measure of the movement of a point along the perimiter of a circle to give me an idea of how long it takes for my guns to change facing ACCURATELY. However, consider this equation:

ChanceToHit = 0.5 ^ ((((Transversal speed/(Range to target * Turret Tracking))*(Turret Signature Resolution / Target Signature Radius))^2) + ((max(0, Range To Target - Turret Optimal Range))/Turret Falloff)^2)

I can't translate that into meaningful visual data that gives me an intuitive response to differing combat scenarious.

And so, translating tracking data in Eve for almost everyone simply comes down to, higher number/lower number. We have no idea what they mean. I've been told using 350mm vs. 425mm rails is helping me in missions for real DPS. But is it? Should I be mounting a target painter on my sniper battleship? How the hell do I know? Isn't this a little absurd?

SOLUTION
My suggestion is that when turrets are assigned to a ship, a color bar be present that shows how much the ships speed is effecting tracking. Another bar could be present to show sig radius, and another for optimal/falloff for the gun aimed at it. If multiple types guns, then only the first gun that was used to shoot at it, AND/Or, it could be displayed at the static target box, in a bar that extends from the icon showing weapon assignment.

Once you get into being able to display relevant target data next to the relevant target, all kinds of exciting ideas just flow in! All of them system side, none of them increasing lag, and all of them with a toggle, so if you don't like it, it can go away.

When using missiles, it could show how speed is effecting the shot. This would be a simple comparison between effective turret tracking/missile explosion velocity, ship signature radius, and ship speed/angular velocity. The ratio when favorable would move be a short green bar. as the ship increased angular velocity it would move towards red. Once it broke measurement, the green portion could shrink and the red grow to give an idea of how far beyond it went.

ANTICIPATED COUNTER
If you really love stairing at numbers, I Suppose the hud could have an option to show numbers/ratios rather than color bars. Maybe it could color the numbers! I know this is really advanced stuff, but I think CCP's might find a way. This information is readily available, should be a system side calculation (no added server load).


RATIONALE
Right now the targetting end of the hud, except for the data tables, is COMPLETELY USELESS, except that it flashes yellow and red. and gives me lines that help me spin my camera to look. (Please consider, right-click, Center: then my camera, centered on my ship, will move to keep the object centered. Another system side calculation) This would have to coincide with removing the ridiculous pegs on camera movement.

The truth is if, like some other MMORPG's out there that I despise, we were allowed to use incoming data to create our own bolt-on visual mods, this would have long before been done already. If the company wants to monopolize the HUD of their game, then they should at least keep up with a decade old standard of comprehensibility. It was unacceptable when the game was first released, it's unacceptable now. If they game didn't have so many other unique and awesome features, it would have been a killjoy.

PLEASE ENDORSE
Please endorse.

P.S. Honk if you're a lazy piece of **** that wouldn't be able to fly a ship manually to save your life. My tear jar is open!