Contrails

[donpost]

I have a very lame computer, and have to run BF2 at all lowest settings (except view distance which I have at full). Anyway, I was thinking that having contrails on would give you a great advantage in dogfights, helping you see where the other jet has gone. So does anyone know which video setting I have to change to which level to get contrails to appear?

Thanks :)

[x + 95 = 4x - 10]

Re: Contrails

Not that I know of, but if you damage a jet to half way white smoke comes out, if you damage it 3/4 of the way black smoke comes out, and a contrail appears whenever you turn on afterburner (regardless of health).

[Talus]

Re: Contrails

Have you tried creating an empty server, getting in a jet, switching to 3rd person view (f10 or f11) and doing sharp turns and using afterburner?

Does it not show up for you at ALL?

[Rez_K'awil]

Re: Contrails

On the lowest video setting contrails will not show up at all. I believe you need at least medium or high to see that.

[TheGhost]

Re: Contrails

The setting you are looking for is "Effects". I run mine on High, I'm not sure if running it on Low or Medium just lessens the length/strength of the contrail of if it just turns it off; you will have to experiment with it to see.

[FMC-VLAD]

Re: Contrails

The view distance setting does that allow you too see farther? How does this effect fps is it ok to turn up?

[Kattspya]

Re: Contrails

View distance increases the viewdistance of the static map. Geometries increases the viewdistance of object. So it's better to have a high geometries than higher view distance at the cost of lower geometries.

[donpost]

Re: Contrails

The setting you are looking for is "Effects". I run mine on High, I'm not sure if running it on Low or Medium just lessens the length/strength of the contrail of if it just turns it off; you will have to experiment with it to see.

Thanks ghost. I have ALL of my settings on "Low", and contrails do not appear. I'll try medium :)

BTW by contrails I mean the white lines that appear off of an aircraft's wing tips when they pull off any hard turns etc. I don't think this is the right name for them though. Actually, arn't contrails the white lines of vapour that come from the engines?

[Rez_K'awil]

Re: Contrails

The view distance setting does that allow you too see farther? How does this effect fps is it ok to turn up?

Yeah, I have mine turned up all the way. It shouldn't be too detrimental to your system. Helps a lot if you're flying in a chopper or plane.

[Rez_K'awil]

Re: Contrails

BTW by contrails I mean the white lines that appear off of an aircraft's wing tips when they pull off any hard turns etc. I don't think this is the right name for them though. Actually, arn't contrails the white lines of vapour that come from the engines?

Actually, you were correct. Contrails (condensation trails) can form from either exhaust fumes which increase the amount of moisture in the air or from the wings which cause a drop in air pressure, also causing condensation. Same effect, slightly different process.

[TheGhost]

Re: Contrails

BTW by contrails I mean the white lines that appear off of an aircraft's wing tips when they pull off any hard turns etc. I don't think this is the right name for them though. Actually, arn't contrails the white lines of vapour that come from the engines?

Contrail is short for condensation trail. The lines produced by the engines and those produced by the wing tips are both considered contrails, although the methods by which they form are slightly different. You can also see racecars producing contrails at the corners of their rear wings (think Formula One).

The engine contrails are formed by water vapor freezing into ice crystals. The wing-tip type are the result of an object moving rapidly through humid air, which compresses the air and creates a low-pressure area behind the object. The result is water vapor actually being "sucked out" of the air, and forming the briefly visible contrail.

[whoosh]

Re: Contrails

Thanks ghost. I have ALL of my settings on "Low", and contrails do not appear. I'll try medium :)

BTW by contrails I mean the white lines that appear off of an aircraft's wing tips when they pull off any hard turns etc. I don't think this is the right name for them though. Actually, arn't contrails the white lines of vapour that come from the engines?

Actually contrails come from engines and votises (sp) come from wing tips.

If you want to see the white votises that come from the wing tips you have to at least have some settings on med. I don't know for sure which ones. I only know for sure that if I am on all med I get them - - - if I am on all low I don't.

[zzDimaxx]

Re: Contrails

To see what you need Set "" EFFECTS"" To medium that's the solution

[Chris_Redfield]

Re: Contrails

For the sake of everyone knowing "contrails" appear when you have your effects settings MEDIUM and HIGH. You also see those neat arty and bomb flash/explosions then!

[Rez_K'awil]

Re: Contrails

Actually contrails come from engines and votises (sp) come from wing tips.

I have never heard of votises before - what exactly are they? I was under the impression that the drop in air pressure at the tip of the wings caused a drop in air temperature, which allows water vapor to condense causing a condensation trail?