RWY and TAXI signs now billboards!

[JerryT87 22]

On 2/16/2021 at 9:06 PM, FlyingInACessna said:

I agree that they’re a bit too big in some cases, but at least the size system works now. Before, everything was automatically size 1 and that was a bug. Now they’re legible at least, which matters the most in my mind.

Yep, same for me. my old eyes can now read them, so I'm willing to deal with the immersion hit here.

[JerryT87 22]

On 2/16/2021 at 9:24 PM, Chock said:

 

Ahhh. If only all cell phone while driving users suffered the same fate, there would be so much less traffic to deal with. 

[HighBypass 2,338]

22 hours ago, Mike S KPDX said:

and hangers.... 

I think you should let them off the hook... unless they make the same mistakes with hangars... 

[sanh 809]

They look horrible. Especially since they are not well positioned at many airports and tend to be on taxi ways as well. They stand out massively and look like huge yellow blocks on the airfield. Hopefully someone figure out how to make them smaller.

[Ixoye 1,567]

They look fine to me, and hopefully for the majority, I want them as they are, readable ...

[jonasbeaver 4]

This is a philosophical question on if as users of the sim we should push for as realistic a world as possible or a world where taxiway signs are easier to read and twice the size of what they represent.

My answer to that question is: if something existing in reality is 1 metre tall and were to be represented in the sim, it should also be 1 metre tall.

There is no debate on any other situation being more realistic. If you can't see the signs when they are the correct size, change your view - the camera functions and variables are pretty darn good! A little right click on the mouse or right stick on a controller, to turn your head toward what you are looking at, and a little scroll wheel to zoom in solves the problem EXACTLY the same way I do in the real world, turning my head and focusing my eyes. TrackIR makes it even easier, turn your head a little, two scrollwheel clicks up, read what I need, then back to normal. It is the exact same thing I do in the sim when something on the panel is too small to read!

Taxiway signs in the real world are not always very easy to read either.  Unless I know the airport well or its a single runway / single taxiway configuration I always have an airport diagram to follow, nowadays easy to do on my EFB. Someone who's reading signs as they go is NOT simulating the real world well on their end at all. Add to all this that taxiways and signage at most airports is already wrong in the sim and now we are just putting a big bright yellow highlighter on those errors.

I have never been down a taxiway with my head pointed straight ahead only, in the sim or especially in the real world. My head is on a swivel when I'm flying. Its the same way in the sim, you know, to simulate the real world.

An opinion preferring ease of use over realism is fine, just don't try to tell people that because its easier to use its more realistic because that argument is incorrect.

I see a lot of the people supporting this new signage are vatsim users, I'm a little disappointed, I thought our crew would be more FOR realism than against it.

 

 

Edit: I am equally annoyed by signage that is too small.

Edited February 26, 2021 by jonasbeaver
fair and balanced edit at the end

[joe cooper 24]

well said!!!

[wan2fly99 31]

when I fly   signs are redable at center taxiways and runways.  In the sim I had to zoom to 80% and move near edge of runways and taxiway.  Not realistic.  My view point

[abrams_tank 6,630]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:34 AM, jonasbeaver said:

This is a philosophical question on if as users of the sim we should push for as realistic a world as possible or a world where taxiway signs are easier to read and twice the size of what they represent.

My answer to that question is: if something existing in reality is 1 metre tall and were to be represented in the sim, it should also be 1 metre tall.

There is no debate on any other situation being more realistic. If you can't see the signs when they are the correct size, change your view - the camera functions and variables are pretty darn good! A little right click on the mouse or right stick on a controller, to turn your head toward what you are looking at, and a little scroll wheel to zoom in solves the problem EXACTLY the same way I do in the real world, turning my head and focusing my eyes. TrackIR makes it even easier, turn your head a little, two scrollwheel clicks up, read what I need, then back to normal. It is the exact same thing I do in the sim when something on the panel is too small to read!

Taxiway signs in the real world are not always very easy to read either.  Unless I know the airport well or its a single runway / single taxiway configuration I always have an airport diagram to follow, nowadays easy to do on my EFB. Someone who's reading signs as they go is NOT simulating the real world well on their end at all. Add to all this that taxiways and signage at most airports is already wrong in the sim and now we are just putting a big bright yellow highlighter on those errors.

I have never been down a taxiway with my head pointed straight ahead only, in the sim or especially in the real world. My head is on a swivel when I'm flying. Its the same way in the sim, you know, to simulate the real world.

An opinion preferring ease of use over realism is fine, just don't try to tell people that because its easier to use its more realistic because that argument is incorrect.

I see a lot of the people supporting this new signage are vatsim users, I'm a little disappointed, I thought our crew would be more FOR realism than against it.

 

 

Edit: I am equally annoyed by signage that is too small.

But realism also incorporates readability.  Because on a monitor things are scaled less than real life, you don't have equal readability of taxiway signs in the simulator that you do in real life.  The readability of taxiway signs in the simulator will always be worse than real life, if the monitor produces objects that are less than a 1 to 1 scale than real life.  So if you need to be at least 50 feet away in real life to read a taxiway sign, you need to be closer than 50 feet in a simulator to read the same taxiway sign.

The only way you can approach the same readability as real life is if your monitor produces objects on a 1 to 1 scale as real life.  BTW, this isn't just a problem with taxiway signs.  This a problem with all signs in video games.  It doesn't matter if it's MSFS, Truck Driver simulator, or even Grand Theft Auto.  The signs in MSFS, Truck Driver Simulator, and Grand Theft Auto will always be less readable in a video game (if the monitor produces objects less than a scale of 1) than real life.

[abrams_tank 6,630]

20 minutes ago, wan2fly99 said:

when I fly   signs are redable at center taxiways and runways.  In the sim I had to zoom to 80% and move near edge of runways and taxiway.  Not realistic.  My view point

Yup. It's a fundamental issue with monitors. Because almost all the monitors we use produce objects on a scale that is less than 1.  So the the readability of taxiway signs is worse in the simulator than in real life.  You need a monitor that produces objects on a 1 to 1 scale to real life, which means you need a very large monitor (like an 80 inch monitor or something like that).

[sidfadc 1,291]

I was one of those who said the old taxiway signs were unreadable and they were.  So whilst the new ones are a bit of an eyesore, from an accessibility point of view they are perfect.

[regis9 3,569]

I really hope oversized taxiway signs becomes an option rather than default.  I could read the old ones well enough and the oversized ones I saw at a few default airports yesterday looked horribly out of place.

[Nicholas Jackson 27]

I think the issue with the original pre-fix taxiway signs were that they were oversaturated with the the colours. I think if they were toned down they would be easier to read especially at low light/night conditions.

I agree the larger ones are easier to read but for me they are a little knock on the immersion factor.

 

 

[wan2fly99 31]

I agree monitor cant dipect correctly.  Just slight smaller than now and I think theywould be good.  Or just leave them I do not mind so long as they are positioned correctly

 

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,732]

I cannot read them all that well in real life - just saying 😄