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PSA on Radar Positioning.

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#1
ticklemyiguana

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Put your radar and team chat on the top of the screen.

Why? Because it's important. If it's important, then you should be checking it frequently. If you're checking it frequently, that means your eyes are on it, and not on what's in front of you. So put it at the top of your screen, because your peripheral vision won't be blocked by the mech's cockpit.

When your radar is on the bottom of your screen, a significant portion of your peripheral vision will fall on the static image of your mech's cockpit, as opposed to the field of play in front of you. You can't visually focus on two images at once, but you can limit the gap in awareness between them.

Furthermore, enemies above the center of your screen are generally speaking more dangerous than enemies below the center of your screen, and keeping your radar at the top of your screen will minimize the distance your eye travels from it to your more significant threats.

Put your radar at the top of your screen.
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#2
LoC_TR

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Tldr; pay attention to your damn radar you fools!
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#3
Silverfire

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I still prefer radar on the bottom of my screen.  I keep important info more centralized that way; health, fuel, items, ability, and lastly Radar is all in one neat line so I can glance in one direction and get all the info I need instead of my eyes wandering around the screen.  I don't like my view obstructed by the radar.  

 

Plus radar on the bottom left reminds me of Ace Combat 4, one of my all time favorite games.

 

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#4
ticklemyiguana

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I still prefer radar on the bottom of my screen.  I keep important info more centralized that way; health, fuel, items, ability, and lastly Radar is all in one neat line so I can glance in one direction and get all the info I need instead of my eyes wandering around the screen.  I don't like my view obstructed by the radar.  

 

I can't speak to everyone's playstyle, but think of it like driving. You check one mirror, then out the windshield, then the other. If you're simply going from one mirror to the other, you're spending more time than necessary gathering non-immediate information. (Unsure how common that sort of knowledge is, as it is a somewhat minimal difference derived through courses in car racing, though in both a firefight and a race, those minimal differences add up.)

 

In hectic fights, radar information takes more time to mentally process than the linear fuel and health values, and shouldn't be lumped together with them. It's reasonable to state that you should be checking your immediate surroundings in between. Not only does setting the radar at the top of the screen allow you to do so in a relatively linear fashion, but also during the period in time that you're checking your radar, your peripheral vision isn't blocked.


Edited by ticklemyiguana, 15 April 2015 - 02:56 PM.

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#5
BaronSaturday

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I keep mine on the top right.

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#6
Nov8tr

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I'll give it a shot and see how it works for me. Worth trying. I'm always open to new ideas.

 

*update* Well that didn't go well. Too many years of using it at the bottom. It would take me some time to get used to that. :)


Edited by Nov8tr, 15 April 2015 - 04:52 PM.

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#7
Leonhardt

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Radar is for suckers
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#8
spinningchurro

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I tried 1 match with it at the top.  Maybe I'll try again some other time.



#9
hoghead

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.


Edited by hoghead, 20 June 2015 - 05:03 PM.

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#10
Bratwurst

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Uh... Radar.

 

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#11
defekt

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PSA: Put the radar where it's most comfortable for you.

 

I keep it bottom left because every sim I've ever played keeps MFDs and the like down there, and I used to play SC a great deal and I'm used to flicking my eyes 'down/left' every few seconds - it's a reflex I can't stop doing even now.


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#12
Hellzilla

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PSA: Put the radar up your nose.

 

For your health!



#13
PoopSlinger

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Screw that noise, my radar goes down next to health, fuel and the like.  Shove your top corner radar fuzzy bunny up ur fatass.  Pretty sure thats where it was pre-ascension and I welcomed the change.


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#14
ticklemyiguana

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Screw that noise, my radar goes down next to health, fuel and the like. Shove your top corner radar fuzzy bunny up ur fatass. Pretty sure thats where it was pre-ascension and I welcomed the change.

A uh... Little aggressive there buddy.

Be sure to look at the road between checking mirrors.

Edited by ticklemyiguana, 22 September 2015 - 09:34 AM.

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#15
hellc9943

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No need to, you can always check in the rear mirror what that little bump was.
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#16
comic_sans

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Lotta necros today.


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#17
_incitatus

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A uh... Little aggressive there buddy.

Be sure to look at the road between checking mirrors.


What about my speedometer, tachometer etc? Who mounts their GPS up next to the rear view mirror? Also, side view mirror is on bottom left, like radar.

I got used to radar in the upper right corner and then when they moved it I actually liked it better on the bottom left.
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#18
Amidatelion

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What the fuzzy bunnyty fuzzy bunny is with all these fuzzy bunnyng necro threads
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#19
phed

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I like it on the bottom right, for like reasons and fuzzy bunny.

#20
ticklemyiguana

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What about my speedometer, tachometer etc? Who mounts their GPS up next to the rear view mirror? Also, side view mirror is on bottom left, like radar.

I got used to radar in the upper right corner and then when they moved it I actually liked it better on the bottom left.

Between checking your side mirrors and your rear view, do your eyes not cross over the windshield? Also who in the hell checks their side mirrors right after checking their speed or anything else? Between everything you look at, you're supposed to have your eyes on the road. Seriously.

 

The argument for positioning it at the top is that visually, more stuff happens at the top of the screen than the bottom, and you're more likely to catch it if what you're looking at is at the top of the screen. That part of the argument doesn't pertain to cars.

 

The part that does is that you don't switch from mirror to mirror to speedometer without checking the road in front of you, and a similar principle applies to Hawken, and thus the argument "having them all in a line lets me check them all faster" implies that you're not checking your screen in between, and you are making yourself unnecessarily vulnerable.


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#21
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Much like my mirrors, I only check my radar when I sense movement in my periphery or hear something...

There's just too much going on at the top of my screen that I don't notice the blips

#22
Hyginos

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I'm not convinced that a reasonably sized screen is large enough in your field of view that the shift in focus is sufficient for placement to matter beyond preference.

 

The idea that having the radar over the static cockpit is an issue also doesn't really make sense to me. First, the cockpit is in both the top and bottom of the screen, so there's no way to get around being near it, and second the radar transparency means that moving images behind it could interfere with the pilot's ability to quickly comprehend it or to read roughly it from peripheral vision.

 

Additionally, the radar is the same distance from the reticule regardless of which position you use, meaning that the transit time between them is only changed by position if your eye muscles have significant asymmetry.


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#23
thirtysix

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Well as long as we are all talking about the radar...

The red dots have arrows that indicate elevation, above, below, no arrow same level as you.

There is a mini map visible in the radar as well.

 

(some ppl might not know this)


Edited by thirtysix, 22 September 2015 - 12:38 PM.

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#24
ticklemyiguana

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I'm not convinced that a reasonably sized screen is large enough in your field of view that the shift in focus is sufficient for placement to matter beyond preference.

 

The idea that having the radar over the static cockpit is an issue also doesn't really make sense to me. First, the cockpit is in both the top and bottom of the screen, so there's no way to get around being near it, and second the radar transparency means that moving images behind it could interfere with the pilot's ability to quickly comprehend it or to read roughly it from peripheral vision.

 

Additionally, the radar is the same distance from the reticule regardless of which position you use, meaning that the transit time between them is only changed by position if your eye muscles have significant asymmetry.

First point, it is - unless you're sitting a far distance away from a small screen, which is a bigger issue. At my position, the difference between the top of the screen and the bottom is about the difference between the top of a mid size SUV and the bottom while sitting on the opposite side of the road. Of course you could be sitting further from your screen or have a smaller one, but it's certainly not a disadvantage.

 

Second, there is undeniably more visual information about the field of play at the top of the screen than the bottom due to the cockpit at the bare minimum. That's not questionable. Also the radar isn't transparent.

 

Third, the transit time from the reticle to the radar is not what's being discussed, it's transit time from the radar to higher concentrations of visual information pertaining to immediate threats - found much more frequently on the top half of your screen than the bottom, again due to the amount of space the cockpit occupies, but also due to reasons I believe I outlined above (forgive me, I haven't read this thread in literally five months.) which ought to read something along the lines of "herp derp a lot of the bottom of the screen is occupied be the floor and also mechs fly."


Edited by ticklemyiguana, 22 September 2015 - 12:52 PM.

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#25
Hyginos

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First point, it is - unless you're sitting a far distance away from a small screen, which is a bigger issue. At my position, the difference between the top of the screen and the bottom is about the difference between the top of a mid size SUV and the bottom while sitting on the opposite side of the road. Of course you could be sitting further from your screen or have a smaller one, but it's certainly not a disadvantage.

 

Second, there is undeniably more visual information about the field of play at the top of the screen than the bottom due to the cockpit at the bare minimum. That's not questionable. Also the radar isn't transparent.

 

Third, the transit time from the reticle to the radar is not what's being discussed, it's transit time from the radar to higher concentrations of visual information pertaining to immediate threats - found much more frequently on the top half of your screen than the bottom, again due to the amount of space the cockpit occupies, but also due to reasons I believe I outlined above (forgive me, I haven't read this thread in literally five months.) which ought to read something along the lines of "herp derp a lot of the bottom of the screen is occupied be the floor and also mechs fly."

 

I guess I've just never perceived any issue accessing all the information on my screen. Since I can't see through my weapons anyway putting the radar in front of it shows me more of the important stuff at the top of the screen.

 

Watch the first 3 or so seconds of this video to conclude the discussion on radar transparency.


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#26
ticklemyiguana

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I guess I've just never perceived any issue accessing all the information on my screen. Since I can't see through my weapons anyway putting the radar in front of it shows me more of the important stuff at the top of the screen.

 

Watch the first 3 or so seconds of this video to conclude the discussion on radar transparency.

Ah. Yes. Empty radar is transparent. However objects, like the map itself are not. On most maps there's a map.


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#27
spr1nterJam

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down right



#28
Browno

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Top right

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...and let slip the dogs of war...

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#29
PsychedelicGrass

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i always tape a piece of paper to my monitor to cover up the radar, because radar is for casuals

 

how bout that


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#30
hellc9943

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i always tape a piece of paper to my monitor to cover up the radar, because radar is for casuals

 

how bout that

 

I don't even have a monitor.


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#31
_incitatus

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Between checking your side mirrors and your rear view, do your eyes not cross over the windshield? Also who in the hell checks their side mirrors right after checking their speed or anything else? Between everything you look at, you're supposed to have your eyes on the road. Seriously.

 

The argument for positioning it at the top is that visually, more stuff happens at the top of the screen than the bottom, and you're more likely to catch it if what you're looking at is at the top of the screen. That part of the argument doesn't pertain to cars.

 

The part that does is that you don't switch from mirror to mirror to speedometer without checking the road in front of you, and a similar principle applies to Hawken, and thus the argument "having them all in a line lets me check them all faster" implies that you're not checking your screen in between, and you are making yourself unnecessarily vulnerable.

 

Sorry, I was just being a smart ass lol...

 

But srsly, I might try moving it back just because of this thread and see if it improves gameplay.



#32
DM30

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While I see the merits this thread is trying to make about top positioning of radar, there are two points that feel like flaws in the reasoning to me:

1 - "Having a single line of vital info implies not checking the main screen during that time". While the period of time that you're looking away from the screen per instrument check might be longer, the fact that you're gathering all info at once rather than in two separate checks means less time looking away from the action overall.

2 - "Peripheral vision is blocked by the cockpit, while most action happens in the top half of the screen". Fair point, but by the same token if most action happens in the top portion of the screen then having the radar there obstructs a portion of that important area. While looking at the radar you may see more in your peripherals, but the rest of the time your field of view is reduced on the side that the radar's on.

Overall I still think preference is the most important factor and there is no distinct advantage to having it on top.
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#33
StubbornPuppet

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Radar is training wheelz for noobz.  Real pilots Hawken by instinct. :P


To be serious for a moment this is just a joke

 


#34
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Come to etho's chigago-siege-24 or whatever it's called for your no radar team battles, origin siege is insane no radar. I keep check thus blank spot on my cockpit, in that case, maybe it would have been better to be trained to looking in the top right, since I'd still see *something* :p

#35
driedjello

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I think I look at my radar about 50% of the time

 

unless somebody is using a scrambler...

 

Then I use it 100% of the time looking for a dot that doesn't move


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#36
Zaxik

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Radar on top? Only if you like to jump with your eyes up and down all the time while checking stuff that really matters in a fight: radar, health, fuel, cooldowns. Three of these are already on the bottom, why should I put the last important piece somewhere completely away from other important info? Sounds rather stupid to me... but hey, if people prefer shooting themselves in the knee, whatever, it's everyone's choice.


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#37
DieselCat

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Put the radar wherever one feels the most comfortable with it...left, right, up or down. It all will depend on that person's preference. 

 

I remember when it was locked into the upper right corner before ADH changed it to the lower left and then to be able to position it on any portion of the screen.

 

At first it was uncomfortable for me but then I became adjusted to it in the lower right and still feel good with it there...but that's me. Someone else may feel better with it else where.

 

I don't think putting it in one location as opposed to any other will make a player use it more efficiently. It's just a personal preference.

 

 

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#38
ticklemyiguana

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Radar on top? Only if you like to jump with your eyes up and down all the time while checking stuff that really matters in a fight: radar, health, fuel, cooldowns. Three of these are already on the bottom, why should I put the last important piece somewhere completely away from other important info? Sounds rather stupid to me... but hey, if people prefer shooting themselves in the knee, whatever, it's everyone's choice.

You can read anything other than the title and the first sentence of the first post for the answer to your questions.

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