In ground sim if you set range in one view mode and then shoot in another you’ll always miss.
Ranging parallax
Just like gunner sight parallax, there is a ranging parallax that happens because of how optics and crew are physically spaced around your vehicle. Due to this spacing, you get slightly different ranges and barrel adjustments from each optic and crew position. This means in addition to adjusting your aim for gunner sight parallax, you may also have to adjust for whichever view mode you set range in.
This ranging parallax effects both manual ranging (via sight distance control) and automatic ranging (via laser rangefinders). The effect can be pretty subtle and the amount of parallax depends on which vehicle you’re using. It’s generally worse the further apart your gunner and commander sit. You’ll also have this ranging parallax in other modes if you play with “Camera from tank gunner sight” enabled.
If you play ground sim and use binoculars or frequently set range in other view modes, this might be why you’ve unexpectedly overshot your target.
Parallax demo
Here’s a test drive example demonstrating ranging parallax. I aim and shoot at the corner of a bunker vent with a HEATFS round in a 2S25M. I laser rangefind twice from a stationary position to the same target and get two different impact points. Try it out in a test drive!
Gameplay examples
Here’s some common gameplay examples:
- You laser rangefind a target in binocular view and shoot in sniper mode. You overshoot your target because of ranging parallax.
- You set range manually in binocular view and shoot in sniper mode. You overshoot your target because of ranging parallax.
- You reset range while scanning for targets in external camera. You shoot a target in sniper mode and overshoot because of ranging parallax.
- You set range to a target in commander view (???) and switch to sniper mode to shoot. You overshoot the target because of ranging parallax.
- You reset range while scanning for targets in external camera. You switch to sniper mode and reset range again. Your crosshair “jumps” unexpectedly because of ranging parallax.
How it works
Here’s details on why this happens:
Details (click to expand)
View modes
You can set range from four different view modes. Each view mode has a corresponding position or sight on your vehicle.
- sniper mode (gunner sight)
- binocular view (binocular position)
- commander view (commander sight)
- external camera (binocular position)
Bore offsets
The corresponding parallax for each view mode is due to bore offset distance. This is the distance from the sight to the bore.
Here’s a 2S25M in hangar and the different bore offsets for each view mode.
Gun adjustment
When you set range, your gun will move and adjust according to that range. Because each view mode has a distinct bore offset, the gun will move and adjust a different amount for each.
For example, if the gunner sight is 1.5 meters forwards, 3 meters left, and 0.5 meters below the binocular position, the ranges you measure/set will reflect that. This means the amount your gun adjusts will also be different.
Here’s a .gif of a 2S25M in test drive. You can see that setting range with the laser rangefinder leads to a distinct barrel adjustment for each view mode.
(click to play)
Result
So because each view mode has a distinct bore offset distance you’ll get a different gun adjustment even when setting range to the same target. A different gun adjustment means a different aim point for the same target.
Resetting range from each view mode also gives a distinct barrel adjustment, which is really confusing. This is also what causes those crosshair “jumps”.
This doesn’t happen in other gamemodes because you look down the barrel in sniper mode, so you don’t need to adjust your aim for the barrel adjustment. You do still get slightly different range measurements from each view mode. It will happen in other gamemodes if you play with “Camera from tank gunner sight” enabled.
Current workaround
For older vehicles, avoid setting range when not in sniper mode.
For LRF equipped vehicles, change to gunner sights before ranging completes.
- Switch to binoculars
- Aim at target
- LRF from binoculars
- Before LRF finishes, quickly switch to sniper mode
Gaijin fix?
Does this seem like an oversight? In the context of this game, it doesn’t really make sense to range a target from a stationary position and get different results.
You can set range from four view modes but only shoot from three. Why do you get a unique range from binocular view when you can’t even shoot from that mode? Even in WW2 vehicles, the fire control system should automatically adjust for this. Why does resetting range depend on which view mode you reset from?
As a fix, should setting range always adjust the gun for the gunner sight offset?
(rip commander view sim players)
Or instead, should your barrel automatically and instantly adjust for a given range every time you switch view modes?